Jordan's Track Talk

Author: jordanlhaynes

  • Round 5- Monaco Quali

    WOW… All I can say is wow… what a qualifying! So much happened I felt like I was watching a race 😂 but that is the joys of a circuit like Monaco!

    To start we only had 19 drivers competing in qualifying today as Mick Schumacher took a heavy hit in FP3 and wasn’t able to compete in qualifying as there was chassis damage.

    The Ferrari’s are on fire this weekend! As it stands Leclerc is in pole position at his home grand prix! However he had a pretty big crash at the end of qualifying which could result in him having a new gearbox which would mean a 5 place grid penalty.

    The rest of the top 10 are the following, P2- Verstappen, P3- Bottas, P4- Sainz, P5- Norris, P6- Gasly, P7- Hamilton, P8- Vettel, P9- Perez and P10- Giovinazzii.

    I’m so mixed feelings about the top 10, obviously absolutely gutted for Hamilton, but at the end of the day it’s not like this is the last race of the season, theres lot more races to come🤞🏻… Vettel is back into Q3 which I think lots of people are happy about including himself! He does look more comfortable in the car now than on other weekends, lets hope him getting into Q3 is more regular now!

    Now onto Daniel Ricciardo, he didn’t manage to put the McLaren into Q3 as he missed the checkered flag, but and thats a very big but I feel like he could redeem himself tomorrow, his won at this circuit before which we all know as the “redemption” could he maybe get himself to finish in the points tomorrow?

    Someone who did shock me today is Perez, his starting in P9 I expected him to be a bit better than that as in FP3 he finished P5 and FP1 he finished P1 so it will be interesting to see what kind of strategy he has tomorrow and if it will be effective enough…

    Predictions:

    My predictions for the top 5 tomorrow are P1- Verstappen, P2- Bottas, P3- Sainz, P4- Norris and P5- Hamilton and also I think Hamilton will set the fastest lap🙌🏻

    Obviously I would love to see Vettel and Ricciardo finish in the points aswell! I do think its all too play for tomorrow, especially on a track like this where anything could happen😬

    The race starts a 14:00pm (BST) and 15:00pm (CEST), now all eyes onto tomorrow👀

  • F2 Monaco- Day 1 & 2

    Wow what a long break that was from the first race! I know we had testing in April but even with that what a long time! Anyways i’m happy to see the F2 cars back on track and even more so in Monaco!🤩

    Day 1-

    First up we had free practice heres what happened! First of all there was three stoppages in the opening 20 minutes of the session, where Marino Sato came to a halt on track which brought out a red flag. The second stoppage was required after Gianluca Petecof’s Campos went up into smoke. Then the final stoppage was because Bent Viscaal managed to clip the wall so the VSC was required.

    The results from free practice was Shwartzman first with a 1:22.041, he was followed by Ticktum with a 1:22.564 and then he was followed by Vips who had a 1:22.628!

    Now onto Qualifying, they had to split the grid up into two qualifying groups because it is standard for Monaco.

    The 17 year old, Theo Pourchaire will start the feature race in pole position on Saturday afternoon making him the Formula Two’s youngest ever pole sitter in Monaco! In P2 is Shwartzman who topped qualifying group B with a 1:21.403, behind him is Piastri in P3 with a 1:21.443.

    Day 2-

    Now onto day 2 which is just made up of one sprint race and its a reverse grid of how the top 10 qualified, meaning Zhou will start P1 and let me tell you I think he was very happy with that as thats where he finished at the end of the 30 laps.

    Robert Shwartzman didn’t have a lucky day today as he pushed too hard and whacked the wall of Casino Square, which forced him to retire after attempting to get back out. Lundgaard got away brilliant at the beginning however that all came to a crashing hault when he started to have smoke come from the back of his car, which brought him to a stop with a yellow flag. Petecof doesn’t seem to be having a good weekend here in Monaco as he collided with the wall and stopped on the track which brought out a full safety car which could of potentially changed the entire race… There was then a fourth retirement by Marino Sato as he put his car into the wall.

    It ended up being a 1-2 podium for UNI-Virtuosi and they was joined by Williams test driver Roy Nissany in his first Formula 2 podium. Starting in P1 for tomorrows second Sprint Race is Marcus Armstrong after pulling off a last minute and risky move on Daruvala, Armstrong will be next to Liam Lawson as he is starting P2 tomorrow and then Oscar Piastri in P3…

    The second sprint race tomorrow will be starting at 7:20am (BST) and 8:20am (CEST) and for the feature race it will be 16:15pm (BST) and 17:15 (CEST)

  • Monaco

    Finally we are back racing again and we are also back at Monaco after not being here since 2019! This is the home grand prix of Charles Leclerc and lets hope its a good one…

    Whilst were on the topic of Charles Leclerc he will be wanting to have a good weekend as since his been in F1 he has never finished his home race… Really hoping he does well this weekend and let’s hope the past doesn’t come into it on race day🤞🏻

    The Monaco circuit is the toughest one out of all off them as its very narrow and known for not much overtaking. Sunday we are blessed with 78 laps of this beautiful circuit which has 19 turns and only one DRS zone.

    Now onto track limits (and yes I know who would of thought Monaco has track limits!😂) The FIA will be monitoring Turn 10 as F1 race director Michael Masi said: “A lap time achieved during any practice session or race by leaving the track and failing to negotiate Turn 10 by using the track will result in that lap time being invalidated by the stewards”

    Predictions for Qualifying:

    My top 5 for qualifying is P1: Hamilton, P2: Verstappen, P3: Leclerc, P4: Bottas and P5: Sainz…

    I would like to see Pierre Gasly get a good qualifying result too! His highest qualifying result this season has been P5 so I feel like maybe he could be the underdog of qualifying… Another driver i’d like to see get a good result is Vettel! I feel maybe this weekend could be his? He knows this track so well so hopefully he can pull something out of the bag on Saturday!

    Times for Saturday are: FP3- 11:00am (BST), 12:00pm (CEST) and Qualifying- 14:00pm (BST) and 15:00pm (CEST). Remember there is no free practices tomorrow as they were on today (Thursday) however tomorrow there is Formula Two on at 10:45am (BST) and 11:45am (CEST)

  • Lando signs multi year deal

    So today we had the first contract announcement of the season… and that was Lando Norris resigning for McLaren with a fresh multi year deal🤩

    His been with the McLaren family since 2017 and scored his first podium with them last year- now his onto his second podium and now sitting fourth in the drivers standing whilst also being on a run of nine successive points finishes.

    His new deal now matches his team mates Daniel Ricciardo’s meaning they will both be with the team until at least the end of 2023.

    This is honestly amazing news! I think Lando has definitely got a bright future ahead of him and it will be interesting to see what him and the McLaren team can do together! Also what brilliant timing for the announcement ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix this weekend where they are showing off their new livery! I actually didn’t expect a contract announcement so soon but somebody has to get the ball rolling!

    See below to see what Lando put on his social media for the announcement🙌🏻

  • McLaren’s special livery

    Last night it got announced on social media that McLaren have a one-off special livery for this weekend at the Monaco Grand Prix.

    McLaren are bringing back the iconic blue and orange colours of Gulf Oil back into Formula One. The British teams initial association with Gulf dates back to the days of team founder Bruce McLaren, when the companies use to work together in F1 and Can-Am racing in the late 60’s and early 70’s. They then renewed their relationship last July, when Gulf Oil came on board as a strategetic partner.

    Norris and Ricciardo have also got new racing suits and race team kits which match the new livery, they are also having new helmets for this weekend however they are a one-off bespoke retro helmet designs which will then be raffled off for the teams mental health charity partner, Mind.

    Personally, I absolutely love it! I just think it looks so clean and sharp and obviously it’s got history about it- I have seen lots of comments on social media about people wanting it to stay and I would like it to however I think the McLaren will go back to its normal colours for Azerbaijan.

    The action this weekend gets underway on Thursday so you get to see the new look for McLaren one day sooner😉

  • Turkey Cancelled…

    After lots of speculation that Turkey may be cancelled due to Covid-19 travel restrictions its now been announced today that we won’t be racing there on the 11th-13th of June. It only got announced a fortnight ago that Turkey was in the calendar again as it replaced the Canadian Grand Prix.

    However, the French Grand Prix has now moved a week earlier than planned to June 18th-20th and we now have a second race in Austria- the Styrian Grand Prix on the 25th-27th June.

    This now creates a France-Styria-Austria triple header, with the original Austrian Grand Prix staying in its original slot, meaning that there is now a two week break from the second Austrian Grand Prix to the British Grand Prix.

    I was really looking forward to seeing Turkey back on the calendar again this year as last years race was good, i’m hoping F1 might keep it as a back up just like China incase other races get cancelled later on in the year… I’m not to sure if having two Austrian races is the right call but its all about sticking to the Covid restrictions in each country, however saying this i’m glad we still have the 23 races.

  • Hamilton to stay?

    7 time world champion Lewis Hamilton has said he wants to negotiate a contract earlier this year, as the contract for this year went over to winter break and he said it had “ruined” his time off… The Brit didn’t manage to sign the contract till early February, just over one month away from the pre-season testing and it only being a one year extension.

    Lewis volunteered to test the new 18″ Pirelli tyres for the 2022 season and after being asked why he volunteered at Imola, he replied back saying he plans to be here next year. You can see why he wants to be here next year as obviously after testing the new tyres he knew it wasn’t his time to leave the sport yet and he feels good about them…

    The question everyone is wondering is will he have a new teammate next year? And if he wins the 8th title this year, meaning he will break Michael Schumacher’s record, could he be aiming for his 9th?👀

    To be honest, I want him to stay and I don’t think his ready to leave for at least a few years yet! You can tell how happy and passionate he is in the sport and when his winning/making history.

  • Round 4- Spain Race

    And what a race that was!! I didn’t expect too much to happen but wow😳

    Lewis Hamilton extends his lead in the championship after finishing first, Verstappen finished second after not being able to hold of Lewis after his second pit stop… Verstappen also ended up taking fastest lap too and then we have Bottas who ended up finishing 3rd.

    P4 goes to Leclerc and P5 to Perez who was followed by Daniel Ricciardo. Whatever Ricciardo has done this weekend is obviously working, the only way is up from here🤞🏻

    There was a yellow flag earlier on in the race due to Tsunoda stopping at Turn 10 making his race stop earlier than expected :(

    I definitely thought that the Aston Martins might pull something out of the bag this weekend as both drivers have now got the upgrades but maybe it wasn’t the track for them 🤷🏻‍♀️

    Next up we have Monte Carlo on the weekend off 20th to 23rd May, it’s the race that everyone wants to win, so tune in for more details across the race weekend🤩

  • Round 4- Spain Quali

    Get in there!!! That is 100 poles for Lewis Hamilton 🙌🏻👏🏻 His closely followed by Verstappen and then Bottas…

    The two Ferrari boys seemed to be going good with Leclerc starting P4 and Sainz P6 they have definitely fount the pace…

    Ocon really surprised me he splits the Ferrari’s and obviously the improvements to the Alpine are working as Alonso starts in P10, not the best showing for his home race however😬

    I actually expected better from Perez… his starting in P8 as he spun at turn 13 earlier in Q3 which meant he could only set one time in the session, he will be on the hunt tomorrow…

    A team I haven’t mentioned recently is the Alpha Tauri’s, I feel like Gasly is doing well as usual but poor Tusonda his just gone down hill since the beginning of the season, hopefully we get to see him finish in the points tomorrow🤞🏻

    Predictions for tomorrow are P1 for Hamilton, P2 for Verstappen, P3 for Leclerc, P4 for Ricciardo and P5 for Norris😬, all eyes on to tomorrow👀🤞🏻

  • Spanish Grand Prix

    We are now onto our fourth race out of twenty-one!! This weekend in we are in Barcelona, Spain. It is the home race of Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz.

    The McLaren boys will want to keep up their streak of being the only team which has finished in the points in all the races👀 Bottas will also want to show the world that he deserves the seat his currently in and stop the speculation too😬

    We have 66 laps on Sunday of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya with 16 corners in total and a restructured turn 10 this year👏🏻

    Overtaking chances? Is there any or is it restricted? Well… at the end of the two DRS zones into tight corners are the best opportunity for the drivers, this would be at the end of the back straight and the pit straight.

    Predictions over the weekend: Well considering we’re only three races in it’s so tight already and not just for the Championship. I don’t think anyone has currently got the upper hand over anyone else, I’d say if anything we may see that happening in the next few races.

    This weekend will be more familiar and normal to the drivers including the newbies. Given the fact that the teams usually test here we should see a real indication to how the teams are shaping up and improvements etc.

    My top 5 predictions for tomorrow for qualifying is: P1- Hamilton, P2- Bottas, P3- Perez, P4- Norris and P5-Vertsappen

  • Grosjean’s special return

    It got announced today that Romain Grosjean is making a special return to F1 with a one off Mercedes test. Seven months on from his horrific crash at the Bahrain Grand Prix and he was determined that his final time in an F1 car wouldn’t be the crash.

    When Grosjean was recovering in the hospital he had received a promise of an F1 test with Mercedes from the main man Toto Wolff… And Toto kept that promise, Grosjean will drive Lewis Hamilton’s 2019 championship winning W10 in a full day test at the French Grand Prix venue Circuit Paul Ricard on June the 29th, he will also pilot the car for a series of demonstration laps ahead of his home race at the same venue two days earlier.

    After an amazing stint of 10 seasons in F1, Romain is now on a new chapter of his racing career, as he is now competing in IndyCar for Dale Coyne Racing.

    I think its such a remarkable and amazing thing to do after such a horrifying crash! It made me so happy when I saw the announcement today, Grosjean is definitely an inspiration to everyone! I didn’t have a doubt in my mind that Mercedes or Toto wouldn’t go through with the promise! 🙌🏻

    If you wasn’t planning on watching the French Grand Prix, I think you should change that! Going to be an emotional one on the 27th of June❤️

  • Round 3- Portimao Race

    And that’s another win for Lewis!! Making him have an 8 point advantage on Verstappen🙌🏻👏🏻 We then had Verstappen 2nd and Bottas 3rd, Bottas also managed to get fastest lap after Max originally got it but he exceeded track limits so it got deleted👀

    Another amazing drive for Lando Norris, unfortunately no podium for him this time around but he did manage to finish P5 and also Daniel Ricciardo from starting at P16 to finishing in the points at P9👏🏻 Amazing drive from the Aussie!

    We had one safety car this race as predicted and that was for Kimi Raikkonen when trying to over take his team mate early on in the race which means Kimi’s race ended quicker than expected😬

    Perez seemed to be on form today more than Verstappen anyway👀, unfortunately he missed out on the podium just but done his best finish with the Red Bull team!

    The Alpine pair were on fire today Ocon finished P7 and Alonso P8, Alonso done some amazing overtakes towards the end of the race trying to get more points for the team!

    We only have to wait a week till the next race and we are in Barcelona 🇪🇸 all eyes onto then👀

  • Round 3- Portimao Quali

    And that is a 1-2 for the Mercedes boys 👏🏻🙌🏻they fully deserve it this weekend they’ve been so strong throughout all the sessions, gutted Lewis didn’t get his 100th pole but there’s plenty more opportunities😉

    At least my predictions are more on point this week!!🤣🤣 It was a bit touch and go whether the McLaren’s would get into the top 10 but Norris managed it and will be starting at P7 tomorrow! Poor Ricciardo starting in P16 absolutely gutted for him his got some work to do tomorrow…

    Mr Saturday (aka George Russell) starting P11!! Just missing out on Q3 😖let’s hope he has an amazing race tomorrow and maybe even score some points👀 Also Vettel too!! Finally back into Q3 and I am so happy to see it! Let’s see what he can do tomorrow.

    I feel like this track doesn’t suit the Red Bulls especially on the mediums… it’s all too play for tomorrow and Verstappen isn’t going to give up on the title fight🤩

    Predictions for tomorrow are… P1 for Hamilton, P2 for Sainz and P3 for Lando, I’d love to see two former teammates on the podium. Once again would love to see Russell get some points and Vettel too🙌🏻. I feel like there may be at least one safety car as the winds affect this track quite a bit as we’ve seen over the past 2 days…

  • Portuguese Grand Prix

    So after two weeks off from racing we have been blessed with a double header… first up we are in Portugal!

    What to expect this weekend… the most obvious is Verstappen vs Hamilton duel which I think gives everyone some excitement during the race 👀. Next up is Perez, he will be wanting to recover from a Imola after he managed to get a 10 second time penalty and a spin too which made him finish P11 overall…

    Russell as well will want to do some redemption after his crash with Bottas at Imola, at least now the dust has settled and apologies has been said and now George can focus on getting them all important points👏🏻 . Ricciardo will want to push himself even more now that his teammate has landed on the podium so early on, so it will be interesting to see how Ricciardo does over the weekend…

    There is some track limits this weekend and they are at Turn 1, 4 and the exit of Turn 15, once again lap time will be deleted throughout the weekend. There has been a second DRS zone added and that is between Turn 4 and Turn 5 with the detection point 35 metres before the left-gander and the activation point 180 metres after…

    My predictions for tomorrow’s qualifying is… P1-Hamilton, P2- Bottas, P3- Verstappen, P4-Leclerc and P5 to Perez. I’d like to see Russel make it into Q3 I think his got it in the bag this weekend👏🏻 Also I would like to see Vettel make his mark tomorrow and show his still got it! Would like to see the McLaren boys up there in top 10 too🙌🏻

    Time for tomorrows Qualifying is: BST- 15:00 and CEST- 16:00, it’s definitely one to watch👀

  • Turkey to replace Canada…

    Formula 1 has confirmed a change to round 7 of the 2021 calendar, the Turkish Grand Prix replacing the Canadian Grand Prix. Due to the ongoing international travel restrictions in place in Canada it became impossible for F1 to enter the country without a mandatory 14-day quarantine…

    It becomes the third race of the year to be officially cancelled after the Vietnam and Chinese Grand Prix suffered the same fate earlier this year…

    Last year we saw Turkey return for the first time in 9 years in F1, which we saw Lewis Hamilton was crowned world champion for a record-equalling seventh time.

    I remember watching last years Turkish Grand Prix and I absolutely loved it! I feel like it will be a very good race there this year with everything being so close so i’m happy to have it back on the calendar for this year😁 Roll on June 11th-13th!!

    The Canadian Grand Prix will be returning to the F1 calendar in 2022, they have just signed a 2 year contract extension to remain on the calendar!

  • Ilott signs as Alfa Romeo reserve

    Ferrari Academy driver Callum Ilott has signed a deal with Alfa Romeo to become the teams second reserve driver, he will also get chances to drive in FP1’s starting on Friday at Portugal. Callum also serves as Ferrari’s test and reserve driver too.

    The Briton is not a stranger to Alfa Romeo, he has tested with them in 2019 and then again in the 2020 Abu Dhabi Young Drivers Test. The 22 year old will share reserve duties with Robert Kubica, who will be unavailable at some grand prix this year due to his racing and testing commitments in other motorsport categories.

    Ilott finished runner-up in Formula Two last year, loosing out to Haas driver Mick Schumacher, the championship went down to the final race in Bahrain.

    I wonder if this is setting Ilott up for next year? As both Alfa Romeo drivers contracts end this year so they may want to get him in while there is a chance. I do believe that Callum does deserve a seat in F1, his very talented and he showed that in F2, now we have to wait patiently for him to get a full time seat in the sport…

  • Green light for Sprint Quali…

    Today its been announced that Sprint Qualifying will be happening this year and at three Grand Prix’s, two European venues and one non-European, these will be announced in due course. Sprint Qualifying will see the drivers battle it out over 100km on Saturday afternoons of the selected Grand Prix’s.

    Fridays Qualifying will see the starting grid for the Saturday Sprint Qualifying, then the result from Saturdays Sprint Qualifying will then decide the starting grid for Sundays race.

    The schedule for race weekend will be the following:

    Friday- 60 minute first practice in the morning and Normal Qualifying format in the afternoon.

    Saturday- 60 minute second free practice in the morning and 100km Sprint Qualifying in the afternoon.

    Sunday- Full distance Grand Prix as normal

    It has been decided, that the top three finishers in Saturdays Sprint Qualifying will receive points- three for first place, two for second and one point for third.

    I think its a good idea that they are only doing it at 3 race weekends to kind of trial it before bringing it to different circuits. I also think this could make it even more exciting (if thats possible) between Hamilton and Verstappen for the title as they will both want to fight for more points on the Saturday as well as the Sunday, I know its only 3, 2 or 1 points but looking at the points now theres only 1 between them and thats due to Hamilton’s fastest lap. I do think people should give this a chance before judging too quick, no one knows how its going to go👏🏻

  • Barcelona F2 Testing

    This weekend we have had the F2 cars back on track at Barcelona for some more testing, once again it was split into morning and afternoon sessions with a total of 18 hours of track time across the weekend.

    Day 1- A bit of a foggy start to the morning session, with teams letting the drivers out for an install lap. Campos shot out on track as soon as it was clear, followed by MP Motorsport however MP didn’t get to set a competitive time as Carlin’s Jehan Daruvala stopped at turn 1 which brought out the first red flag of the weekend. Following the first red flag there was then another as Piastri stopped at turn 3 but he did manage to set a good time overall. After having two cars back in the garage safely Lungaard headed out onto the circuit and posted the quickest time of the morning setting a time of 1:29.606. The morning session finished with Lundgaard at the top with a 1:29.594, followed by Drugovich with a 1:29.772, then followed Vips with a 1:29.988.

    Once the afternoon session got the green light MP were the first team to get back onto the track, with both drivers getting a fast run out of the way. Verschoor charged his way to the top of the table after his fifth lap and then was backed up by his teammate Zendeli. A little while later Zendeli lost control of his MP and managed to tag the barrier… There was then another red flag shortly after this as Nissany lost control at Turn 9 and touched the wall too. Lundgaard was the one to bump Verschoor down to P2 with a lap time of 1:29.827, Verschoor ended up with a 1:30.165 and was very closely followed by Theo Pourchaire with a 1:30.167.

    Day 2- The morning session of Day 2 was the opportune time for some Qualifying simulations, with fresh hard tyres on, the field quickly went out to get a feel for the circuit with Zendeli setting an early pace of 1:29.440. He was shortly knocked down the order after Boschung went two tenths quicker. Half way through the session you saw the teams switching to the mediums however their runs were halted as Nissany spun at Turn 3 and found himself stuck in gravel which brung out a red flag. The session ended with Verschoor on top with a 1:28.280 then followed by Ralph Boschung with a 1:28.474 and then Felipe Drugovich with a 1:28.544.

    The afternoon session is more based on the longer runs to gather data, so to start the session off, Petecof got things under way with a 1:30.684. There were three disruptions in this session with Deledda spinning at turns 12 and 1, and Shwartzman stopped at turn 3. Once things got restarted again the Charouz Racing System pair went first and second with Beckamnn having a 1:29.384 and Samaia with a 1:29.510. Verschoor then made it to P3 with a 1:29.951 and that finished up the second day.

    Day 3- The last day of testing wasn’t as bright as the second day, which led to us seeing some rain at the end of the first session. The field headed out at the earliest opportunity with them switching to their final set of mediums. Their was a brief stoppage which we saw HWA Racelab’s spun at the first turn which brought out a red flag. Action soon resumed, with Drugovich taking control, he was the first the driver to break the 1m 28s barrier for the first time in Barcelona with a 1:27.945. Lundgaard was next to follow, he took a qualifying simulation however he couldn’t nail all three sectors, he managed P2 with a 1:28.285. Lundgaard wasn’t at P2 for long as Piastri came out on fresh medium tyres and set a 1:28.105.

    The afternoon session got underway and the long runs soon started, the HWA Racelab duo set the benchmark times leading with 1:30.346 and 1:32.183. There was a brief stoppage in the opening hour of the session as Lawson touched the wall at Turn 5. He managed to get back out there but then came to halt between turns 8 and 9 with 15 minutes to go. There was a third red flag of the afternoon for Verschoor who stopped at turn 7. The top 3 for the end of the session were Viscaal with a 1:30.280, Nannini with a 1:30.346 and Sato with a 1:30.943.

    In my opinion I believe HiTech, MP Motorsport are strong and so is Lundgaard, all of them seemed to be consistent over the weekend whilst doing simulations and tests. I’m looking forward to the next race weekend and its in Monaco on the 22nd of May.

  • To sue or not to sue?

    During the course of last weekend it came to light that Aston Martin refused to rule out taking the FIA to court due to regulation changes which have severely hindered them this season and we are only two weekends in…

    A series of modifications made last year has reduced the downforce available from the rear floor which has harmed teams with low-rake cars, including Aston Martin. It’s taken the Silverstone based team from race winners to the lower end of the midfield.

    These changes were made for safety reasons given the downforce was becoming too great for the Pirelli’s tyres… However the Aston Martin team principal Otmar Szafnauer believes its for other reasons😬

    Although, this is now a different case and it seems like Aston Martin have now dropped this slightly… Szafnauer has softened his stance over the changes after a couple of meetings with the FIA. They are still in talks with the FIA but it was mainly wanting to know what the steps were and that their done properly and equitably.

    In my opinion I don’t really understand why Aston Martin are bringing it up now? As they knew that their car was going to be affected and they weren’t going to be the only ones… The FIA know what they are doing and they want the cars to be safe to keep the drivers safe, as thats what really matters here. It’s not like it got sprung on them with a weeks notice? All the teams agreed to tweak their floors and got given plenty of warning…👀

  • We’re going to Miami!!

    So over the weekend it got announced that F1 will be racing in Miami from next year on a 10 year deal! However the exact date for next year has not been confirmed just yet but its to be expected in the second quarter of the season👀

    The race which is set to be the first since 1959 in the US state, will be held on a new and exciting layout at the Hard Rock Stadium complex in Miami Gardens, its home to the NFL’s famous Miami Dolphins franchise.

    The circuit itself will be 5.41 km, it will feature 19 corners, three straights as well as three possible DRS zones… The Hard Rock Stadium which is a sports and entertainment hub which has hosted events from the Super Bowl to rock concerts will sit at the heart of the track.

    Miami will be the 11th different location Formula One has raced at in the United States since it began in 1950, the following are Indianapolis, Sebring, Riverside, Watkins Glen, Long Beach, Las Vegas, Detroit, Dallas, Phoneix and Circuit of the Americas in Austin.

    I feel like this is a good move from F1, as its bringing in a new track which makes it more of an exciting race and calendar. It also seems like there is a lot of potential for overtakes/ battles on this track which is what we like! I for one am looking forward to this🙌🏻

    Miami Circuit

  • Round 2- Imola Race

    WHAT A RACE 😳 So much happened I don’t even know where to begin!!

    Congratulations to the top 3, P1 for Verstappen, P2 for Hamilton and P3 for Mr Lando Norris👏🏻👏🏻 It’s safe to say my predictions didn’t come true🤣🤣but I suppose I can’t be right every time😉😂

    Following Norris closely is both Ferrari drivers Leclerc and Sainz, I must say its nice to see them back again and also see them fighting with other teams. So close to Leclerc getting a podium but I am sure he will get at least one this year…

    Now onto the worse part to always talk about, Bottas and Russell… The two came together quite ferociously after Russell was trying to overtake the Mercedes… It hasn’t been a good day for either of them, and I wont be surprised if Toto Wolff has a word with both of them. I do wonder though does this effect Bottas staying with Mercedes?

    I am actually very shocked about Perez and Mazepin, I was expecting fewer mistakes from Perez, he had a good weekend but he let himself down today by spinning/ going off the track and not scoring any points. Mazepin, finished his first F1 race and only managed to spin once during the race which I think shocked a lot of people, including my self😂

    We now have a two week break but we will be back on the 2nd May for the Portuguese Grand Prix and its safe to say I am looking forward to the fight…😁

  • Round 2- Imola Quali

    What a Quali that was! I knew it would be tight between drivers but just wow!😳

    Top 3 for the starting grid for tomorrow are Hamilton, Perez and Verstappen… I really didn’t expect the Red Bulls to be as good as they were in Qualifying as they have had some reliability issues this weekend… Congratulations to Perez for qualifying front row for the first time in his career😁

    I am so happy for the Williams boys, both drivers got into Q2 👏🏻 Russell qualified P12 and Latifi P14. So unlucky for George though! So close to being into Q3 but he will get his chance 👏🏻

    I have to bring up Tsunoda, how gutting for him though being out of all the sessions due to going into the wall 💔 Let’s hope he can make up for it tomorrow as that’s where it counts!

    So shocked with Bottas P8! It’s not like him to be that far back from Lewis! I bet he is so gutted, he has some work to do tomorrow 😬 Lando had a disappointing end! He qualified for P2 until he got his lap time deleted for track limits, his now starting 7th just after his team mate…

    My predictions for the result tomorrow are P1 for Hamilton, P2 Perez and P3 Leclerc. I’d love to see either of the Williams in the points… I think we could possibly have a safety car tomorrow but who knows👀

    Starting times for tomorrow are 14:00pm (BST), 15:00pm (CEST). I’m looking forward to the race tomorrow, I think we’re in for an exciting one 🤩

  • Imola

    Wow that felt like the longest three week break ever! But i’m happy F1 is back this weekend and we are in Imola🇮🇹the home grand prix of Alpha Tauri! Let’s talk predictions and more…

    I feel like so much went on today in the two free practice sessions! There was a couple of yellow flags and red flags, also quite a few track times got deleted as well as some spins… Is there more to come of this over the weekend?

    It is only day one of the weekend and I feel like we are in for a very exciting and close qualifying and race😁.

    Some drivers/ teams who shocked me today was Williams, both drivers were giving it there all and it was nice to see them both up in the top 10 during the session👏🏻 Ferrari also shocked me as well today, both drivers again was giving it their all and stayed consistent being near the top.

    At this track there is some track limits put in place, they are the exits of turn 9 and 15 (also beyond the red, white and green kerb), and the apex of turn 13.

    My top 5 qualifying predictions is P1 for Hamilton, P2 for Gasly, P3 Bottas, P4 Verstappen and P5 Leclerc. I’d like to see Tsunoda start in top 10, and both Williams drivers nearer to the middle of the grid…

    Times for tomorrow are… FP3 is at 10:00 am (BST), 11:00am (CEST). Qualifying is 13:00pm (BST), 14:00pm (CEST).

  • Hülkenberg in? Vettel out?

    It recently got announced that Hülkenberg is Aston Martin’s reserve and development driver for the 2021 season… However does this put more pressure on Vettel to perform well?

    Nico Hülkenberg is very well known with the Silverstone based team, he raced with them between 2012 to 2016. He also stood in for them three times last year when both drivers was off at separate times due to positive Covid tests and then had to quarantine. He can now expect the call to stand in for either of the drivers should either of them miss a race over the course of the season.

    It’s well known that Sebastian Vettel hasn’t had the easiest of year in his career, but with him moving to AM you would think things would start looking up as he is at a new team… Unfortunately not he didn’t have very good luck at pre-season testing and in the first race weekend of the season. I do get moving to a new team things are different and it will be tough etc, but if you look at other drivers it hasn’t been that difficult for them to settle into their teams. Has Vettel lost his mojo? Can he get it back if he has?

    At the moment Hülkenberg’s role is strictly a reserve one, however that hasn’t stopped people from thinking will he be first in line to replace Vettel or even Stroll?

    Everyone knows that Hülkenberg can deliver on a race weekend and he proved that last year when he stood in for the team… I do think Vettel needs to watch himself otherwise he could be out of a seat! Which none of us want but if he doesn’t start performing throughout the weekend then it just may become true and I don’t see him going to another team after this…

    Personally, I would like to see Hülkenberg back in F1 permanently whether that be with Aston Martin or with a different team, his got the talent and I think some teams are crazy to not have him as there driver!

  • Why F1 could get interesting this season…

    So ever since the Rosberg vs Hamilton days back in 2016, F1 has done a 360 since then and became very predictable, however after the Bahrain race it made me think how things could change and become interesting throughout the season…

    The most obvious one is Hamilton & Verstappen. There is no doubt Red Bull have up’d there game this year and how Mercedes are having a little bit of trouble… The race was exciting from start to finish which I think is so good and also more people would want to start watching it because there is now someone bringing the heat to Hamilton.

    McLaren are on fire, they finished 3rd last year in the constructors and with the first race done the results were Lando 4th and Daniel 7th. They had a strong pre-season test and they showed in the first race they have a strong team, while some may see that Ricciardo finished 7th however we all know that he gets better as the season goes on and it was only his first drive with the team and it does take some time to settle in…

    Ferrari are obviously back! Or at least trying to get back 🤞🏻. I believe they will not finish in top 3 of the constructors at the end of the season, but I do think they will finish 4th or 5th which isn’t bad compared to last years result! The competition for them this year I think will be Alpha Tauri.

    Tsunoda is the dark horse this year! We all saw how good and consistent he was in pre-season testing, and over the race weekend… I do think as his experience grows we will see him grow and see him get more confident and get more points in the races!

  • Has the FIA got tougher?…

    So there’s been lots of changes recently in F1 with changes to the weekend layout and so on but the FIA have got tougher on the teams this year…

    The F1 teams are trusted to come to races with fully legal cars and as well the F1 sporting regulations. These note that “competitors must ensure that their cars comply with the conditions of eligibility and safety throughout each practice session and the race,” and that “the presentation of a car for initial scrutinising will be deemed an implicit statement of conformity.”

    Cars are not examined thoroughly every weekend, for example at the Bahrain after the race, the cars get weighed, and all underwent a series of tests related to their power units were operated during the race.

    At the Bahrain Grand Prix the FIA announced that after every race this season they will check a car at random and do deeper level of checks and analysis.

    Why has this been introduced? Well, there is always rumours and suspicion throughout F1, but relying on either pre-existing or protests by rival teams to flag potential problems is not rigorous enough. Hence why a random check, which could hit any team after the race is the best way to do it.

    In my opinion I can see why the FIA has introduced it, but in the back of my mind it makes me think why didn’t they sort it sooner sort of thing… I do however thinks it’s a good idea and it makes the sport seem more fair in that way, as they wont be picking the same team every single race weekend.

  • Drivers Market

    So with the 2021 season now underway and currently waiting for the next race weekend! Lets talk about available seats and drivers, I always think this is a good subject to talk about as you can make up some good scenarios!

    Mercedes- They have both seats available at the end of this season, as the reigning champions will they keep both drivers for the 2022 season or will they possibly think about putting George Russell in one of the seats and retain one driver? I personally think Bottas may be out of a seat and Russell in one of them and joined by Hamilton…

    Red Bull- So Verstappen’s contract ends in 2023, however Perez is only signed for the 2021 season. Potential candidates I think are Perez (depending on how he does), Tsunoda (the same again) and possibly bringing Albon back in? But then again Albon has to prove that he wants the seat…

    Ferrari- I don’t think there will be any change in the Ferrari line up, Leclerc has a contract till 2024 and Sainz has one till 2022.

    McLaren- Ricciardo’s contract finishes 2023 and Norris 2022, I don’t see either of them leaving the team any time soon!

    Aston Martin- There is some uncertainty of how long both drivers contracts are at Aston Martin however I can’t see either them leaving until after the 2022 season.

    Alpine- The returning Alonso, has signed up for 2 years so his contract is set to end in 2022. However Ocon’s ends this year, I think it depends massively on how Ocon performs this year… Saying that if he doesn’t then I think a potential candidate could be Pierre Gasly…

    Alpha Tauri- Both drivers are up for grabs at the end of this season, could they retain Tsunoda for another year if he gets no other offers? If both drivers leave I could see Albon returning (depending on RB) and maybe somebody from Formula Two just not sure who yet…

    Alfa Romeo- Once again, both drivers only have a years contract ending this year. To be honest I think Alfa Romeo may go with rookies, possibly Callum Ilott and Robert Shwartzman? Or the team could go down the route of retaining one driver and have one new driver.

    Haas- The team have a line up for the 21′ and 22′ season, so no change there.

    Williams- Both drivers contracts are ending this year, I believe that only one current driver will stay and I think that will be Latifi, and he could be joined by either Jack Aitken or Dan Ticktum possibly…

  • Penalty Points

    Since 2014, Formula One has had a penalty point system in place, where any breaches of the rules mean a drivers’ super licence is given endorsements. If any of the drivers rack up 12 points over a 12 month period they well then be banned for one race.

    Last year there was lots of penalty points given out for a number of different reasons which included failing to respect yellow flags, practice start violations.

    So, going into the new race year the rookies start off with zero, as well as Alonso, Bottas, Verstappen, Latifi, Gasly and Vettel. However in the first race weekend Vettel managed to get 5 over a weekend which has brought him up the table very quickly…

    On the other end of the scale we have defending 7 time world champion Lewis Hamilton and he is joined by Mr Saturday (George Russell) and Lando Norris.

    It will be very interesting to see how many points everyone will finish on at the end of a 23 race year… Below is how many each driver currently has :)

    Driver:Points:
    Lewis Hamilton6
    George Russell6
    Lando Norris5
    Sebastian Vettel5
    Kimi Raikkonen4
    Charles Leclrec3
    Antonio Giovinazzi3
    Lance Stroll 3
    Sergio Perez2
    Carlos Sainz 1
    Esteban Ocon1
    Daniel Ricciardo1
    Pierre Gasly0
    Valtteri Bottas0
    Max Verstappen0
    Nicholas Latifi0
    Fernando Alonso0
    Yuki Tsunoda0
    Mick Schumacher0
    Nikita Mazepin0
    Updated table of Penalty Points 02/04/2021

  • Day 3 Bahrain- F2

    What a weekend it has been in Formula Two, it feels so good to have it back on TV! On a Sunday we now have a feature race and let me tell you it did not disappoint..

    The three drivers on the podium were Guanyu Zhou, Dan Ticktum and Liam Lawson. It was touch and go whether Zhou would take the win or not but he managed to hold on to it making it his first Feature Race win.

    A safety car brought a stop to Lundgaard and Zhou’s fight for first after Roy Nissany was clipped by Shwartzman which forced him to retire, Shwartzman however didn’t need to retire but was handed a drive-through penalty.

    There was a second safety car after Gianluca Petecof retired, which shook up the order massively as Armstrong was leading with Piastri and Verschoor behind him, however Armstrong quickly dropped back after the restart as Verschoor took the lead on the softs.

    Zhou eventually took back the top spot after Verschoor couldn’t defend anymore. Verschoor then had to defend from Piastri however Piastri was more focused on defending Ticktum, which didn’t end well after they come together at Turn 2 which then led to Piastri spinning off and then out of the race, Ticktum got away unscathed.

    One person who massively impressed me over the weekend was Liam Lawson, he is very talented and one to watch out in the future for sure…

    Next up we have three day testing in April, then after that the second race weekend is in May and they head to Monte Carlo.

  • Round 1- Bahrain Race

    GET IN THERE LEWIS. That is a Formula One race right there… Hamilton held off Verstappen in the first race of the season. Not only did Hamilton win the race he also passed Michael Schumacher’s record of 5,111 for the most laps led in F1 history. Finishing behind Verstappen was Bottas and he also managed to take the fastest lap of the Red Bulls too.

    Lando Norris and Sergio Perez make it fourth and fifth… These two shocked me so much, obviously McLaren has the power etc but Norris was just on another level today, he really held his own. And Perez from starting in the pits as there was an issue on the formation lap to then finish 5th is just wow, you can understand why he got the Red Bull seat now.

    The rookie Yuki Tsunoda made it into the points for his first F1 race and no doubt he is very happy with that! One rookie we should mention is Nikita Mazepin, he spun and crashed on the first lap of his first ever F1 race, he must be gutted…

    Aston Martin and Sebastian Vettel must be gutted too, making their come back to F1 and not having the best of races… Vettel starting P20 as he was handed a 5 place grid penalty after ignoring yellow flag and then he caused a collision with Ocon in the race, Seb finished P15.

    My driver of the day would be Red Bull’s Perez, he done very well and deserves it. Keep an eye out for a poll so you can make your vote! 😜Now we only have to wait 3 weeks until the next race… Which is in Italy from the 16th-18th of April.