Lirim Zendeli will be returning to the Formula 2 grid this weekend at Spa-Francorchamps as he takes the place of banned, Olli Caldwell at Campos Racing.
Caldwell, managed to rack up 12 penalty points this season which has prevented Caldwell from being allowed to take part in this weekend’s races.
Since loosing his seat halfway through his rookie F2 season in 2021 due to budget issues, Zendeli has only raced cars once as he made a FIA Formula 3 Championship appearance with Charouz Racing System earlier this year.
His 2021 F2 campaign featured four points finishes in 17 races, and before that he won once across two seasons in FIA F3 and also claimed podiums in the Toyota Racing Series.
I’m very excited and happy to be racing a F2 car again. It’s been a year now since my last time in F2 and I’m looking forward to this experience. Spa has been good to me, last time I drove there in F3 [I won]. Taking over the keys from Olli will be a big challenge but I will try my best to find the limits again as soon as possible. I also want to thank Olli and Campos for their trust in me and I’ll give it my all to return it in good results.
Lirim Zendelli on racing in F2 again.
After the last sanction imposed by the FIA, unfortunately, we cannot have Olli with us in this race. Zendeli comes in his place and I wish him a very good weekend, we know he has been out for a year but we hope he will have a quick adaptation to the car and I think that with all the support of the team we can have a good weekend.
We are back racing this week, and we are in Belgium! Pirelli have chosen the tyres for the Belgian Grand Prix, with Formula 2 and Formula 3 joining us aswell this weekend.
The middle of the range has been chosen: C2 (Hard), C3 (Medium), C4 (Soft).
The asphalt is new between Turns 2 and 4, and Turns 8 and 9, with the bumps removed as well as increased grip. Gravel traps have been added close to the track at Turns 1, 6, 7 and 9. The gravel features sharp stones as well as some sharp edges close to the concrete kerbing.
Spa is one of the most demanding circuits for tyres on the calendar, featuring particularly high later loads. The famous Eau Rouge-Raidilon complex is just one of the places where the tyres are subjected to multiple forces.
Variable weather is always a famous hallmark of Spa *flashback to last year*, making an outing for the Intermediate or full Wet tyres a distinct possibility.
Formula 2-
The medium and soft tyres have been nominated for this weekend, three medium and two soft. The sprint race lasts 18 laps and the Feature Race lasting 25 laps.
Formula 3-
Drivers have three new sets to use of the Medium tyres across the weekend, plus another set of mediums carried over from the previous round for use in free practice. The sprint race is 15 laps and the feature race 18 laps.
It’s race week! @F1 returns after the summer break for the #BelgianGP. We’re excited and so are our tyres! 😆
Ferrari reserve, Antonio Giovinazzi will return to Formula 1 as he runs for Haas in FP1 at both the Italian and United States Grand Prix.
The Italian driver lost his race seat at Alfa Romeo at the end of 2021 after three seasons with the team. He then embarked on a racing career in Formula E with Dragon Penske Racing whilst dovetailing the Ferrari F1 reserve role with Haas driver Mick Schumacher for this season.
The team announced the news ahead of this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix – the first race after the summer break. Haas announced Giovinazzi would test the VF-22 at Monza and COTA, with Ferrari keen to give the Italian some time in the 2022 spec machinery.
This isn’t the first time the 28 year old, has performed such duties with Haas before, having completed seven FP1 sessions in 2017.
However, Haas will still be obliged to make their car available for two further Free Practice 1 sessions this year under rule 3.12.2 of the Sporting Regulations. Haas reserve driver Pietro Fittipaldi is eligible for this as he has only raced twice for the team in 2020.
We’re happy to welcome Antonio Giovinazzi back to the team for the two FP1 outingsWe’re happy to welcome Antonio Giovinazzi back to the team for the two FP1 outings. Ferrari were keen to give Antonio some seat time in a current-spec Formula 1 car on a race weekend and we were naturally happy to assist. We enjoyed a similar situation back in 2017 with Antonio and Ferrari – the clear difference between then and now is the experience he’ll have gained competing for the previous three seasons in Formula 1 and the feedback he’ll be able to give us in Italy and America. I’m looking forward to seeing Antonio again and having him back in the paddock with us.
Haas Team Principle, Guenther Steiner.
I’m so glad to have the chance to drive again in official F1 sessions. Besides simulator driving, it is important to test a true car and I can’t wait to put my suit and helmet back on. It’ll be an opportunity to get confident with the new generation cars – it’s the best way to be ready if I were called as reserve driver. Driving on challenging and exciting tracks as Monza and COTA makes it even more thrilling. Thanks to Haas F1 Team and Scuderia Ferrari – I’m looking forward to giving my contribution to the team that counted on me already in 2017.
Seeing as we are past the halfway point of the 2022 season as well as having had an exciting start to the summer break and ‘silly season’ lets take a look at what seats are actually left, before we get back racing again!
Alpine-
Technically, Alpine’s seat is ‘taken’ due to them announcing Piastri at the start of the month, but since then we’ve had nothing from the French team, not even an acknowledgement on Piastri saying he hasn’t signed a contract.
But if Piastri is a definite no, then who could take the seat alongside Esteban Ocon? Well, if Piastri went to McLaren the first option would be Ricciardo. Zhou Guanyu, was an Alpine Academy member last year, but got released so he could driver for Alfa this year, could he possibly take the seat? If not their really only other option would be an F2 driver.
Alfa Romeo-
Valtteri Bottas has a multi year contract, so his seat is very much safe, but is Zhou Guanyu’s ? He hasn’t had the easiest season, and its not so much crashes but mechanical issues.
If he doesn’t get re-signed, he could be replaced by Sauber junior, Theo Pourchaire he is a favourite for the seat. If not Mick Schumacher possibly? Alfa Romeo still have a Ferrari engine and with Mick still linked to the FDA this could be possible…
Haas-
K-Mag came back this year and got that multi year contract sorted straight away, where as Mick has been on a 1 year contract both years his been in the sport. But are Haas happy with him?
But who could possibly take the seat? I personally don’t see them replacing Mick, I think they’ll re-sign him, it would be a step back for the American team…
Alpha Tauri-
Pierre Gasly sticks with Red Bulls sister team, but who could possibly join him next season? For the past two years the Frenchman has been paired with Yuki Tsunoda, but has he impressed enough to keep his seat?
If not who could replace him? Well Red Bull have a few junior drivers, one in particular stands out to me is Liam Lawson, I’d say all he needs to do is for the rest of his F2 season is just score lots of points.
Williams-
Williams already has Alex Albon secured for the 2023 season. But the British team has a few options for the second seat, as of right now, I don’t think the team is interested in keeping Latifi for next season…
But Williams have a few options and they are… Oscar Piastri, if they are still interested in him after the whole McLaren/Alpine situation. If not Nyck de Vries, he took the car out in an FP1 session earlier on in the season and he impressed a lot.
But I think, Williams are going to head to their Academy, and get F2 Junior, Logan Sargeant in that seat next year, he has impressed in F2 in his rookie season, and his now getting treated to an FP1 session at his home GP in America
The FIA World Motorsport Council has approved power unit regulations set to come into effect for the 2026 season with increased electrical power and 100% sustainable fuels two of the key aspects of the newly-approved rules.
The 2026 power units will maintain the current V6 internal combustion engine architecture, with the FIA setting out four key pillars of the new regulations, which are:
Maintaining the spectacle – the 2026 power unit will have similar performance to current designs, utilising high-power, high-revving V6 internal combustion engines and avoiding excessive performance differentiation to allow for improved raceability.
Environmental sustainability – the power unit will include an increase in the development of electrical power to up to 50% and utilise a 100% sustainable fuel.
Financial sustainability – financial regulations regarding the power units will reduce the overall costs for competitors whilst retaining the cutting edge technological of Formula 1.
Attractive to new power unit manufacturers – the new regulations are intended to make it possible and attractive for newcomers to join the sport at a competitive level.
The regulations will see the current Motor Generator Unit Heat or MGU-H element removed whilst the power output on the power units’ Energy Recovery Systems will be increased to 350 kilowatts.
The FIA continues to push forward on innovation and sustainability – across our entire motor sport portfolio – the 2026 Formula 1 Power Unit Regulations are the most high-profile example of that mission. The introduction of advanced PU technology along with synthetic sustainable fuels aligns with our objective of delivering benefits for road car users and meeting our objective of net zero carbon by 2030. Formula 1 is currently enjoying immense growth and we are confident these regulations will build on the excitement our 2022 changes have produced. I want to thank all of the FIA management and technical staff involved in this process for their diligence and commitment in working together with all of our Formula 1 stakeholders to deliver this. I also want to thank our WMSC members for their consideration and approval of these regulations.
FIA President, Mohammed Ben Sulayem.
2022 & 2023 porpoising and roll hoop regulations approved-
The WMSC also approved changes to the 2022 and 2023 Technical Regulations, designed to address both the issue of aerodynamic porpoising and of safety standards for roll hoops.
With regards to porpoising, it has now been approved that from this months Belgian Grand Prix until the end of the season, there will be changes to re-define the stiffness requirements of the plank and skids around the thickness measurement holes on the cars.
From 2023, meanwhile the following changes will be made:
The floor edges will be raised by 15mm
The diffuser throat height will be raised
The diffuser edge stiffness will be increased
An additional sensor will be mandated to monitor the porpoising phenomenon more effectively.
Additionally, follow Zhou Guanyu’s crash at the 2022 British Grand Prix, the following changes surrounding safety standards for the roll hoops on F1 cars were also approved to become of the 2023 Technical Regulations:
A rounded top will now be required on the roll hoop, which will reduce the chance of it digging into the ground during an incident.
A change will be made to ensure a minimum height for the point of application of the homologation test.
There will be a new physical homologation test where the load pushes the roll hoop in the forward direction.
There will be a definition of new tests, to be carried out by calculation.
Antonio Felix da Costa has joined the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E team as their new driver joins Pascal Wehrlein for Season 9.
Da Costa has competed in Formula E since the inaugural 2014/15 campiagn and strode to the Drivers’ title in Season 6, with the Portuguese driver dominating the unique six-race nine-day Berlin finale.
The 30 year old has 96 race starts, with seven race wins, 16 podiums and eight Julius Baer Pole Positions to his name.
Antonio, replaces Andre Lotterer at the German manufacturer. The multiple Le Mans winner and sportscar champion’s best finish was eight in Season 6 – his and Porsche’s first campaign in Formula E.
It’s like a dream come true. I’m really looking forward to cracking on and winning races for this team. I’ve been beaten by a Porsche many times in my career, and not only in Formula E, so I know that Porsche does everything to win. It’s in the brand’s DNA. I share the same ambition and can hardly wait to bond with the team and work together to ensure a successful start to the Gen3 era.
Antonio Felix Da Costa on his move.
I’m delighted that António is coming on board. He has an incredible skill set as a racing driver and has demonstrated many times that he’s a winner, not only in Formula E. We hold him in high regard as a driver and on his own merits as a person. He’s a positive guy who is a great fit for us and the Porsche Motorsport family. I’m confident that we’ll fight for victories and titles together for years to come.
Thomas Laudenbach, Vice President Porsche Motorsport.
We’re very much looking forward to working with Antonio. I know him from various racing series and I have a lot of respect for him on a personal level. It’s incredible what he has already achieved in Formula E. We’ll do our utmost to give him a competitive Gen3 car so that he can fight for wins and titles. The team is very much looking forward to welcoming him.
Florian Modlinger, Director Factory Motorsport Formula E.
Mahindra Racing has signed the 2016/17 Formula E title winner, Lucas di Grassi to partner Oliver Rowland from next season.
Di Grassi replaces Alexander Sims who leaves to pursue other opportunities after four seasons in the series and two of those with the Indian outfit. Together, Di Grassi and Rowland will continue on with testing the Mahindra Racing’s Gen3 in their programme.
From winning the first ever Formula E race on the streets of Beijing back in 2014, to standing on the precipice of his 100th race this weekend, di Grassi has proven a competitive force throughout all 8 seasons.
The Brazilian has racked up 13 race wins, a record breaking 39 podiums and three Julius Baer Pole Positions which totals to an unrivalled 994 points. In 2016/17 his title winning year, he won it with Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler – with ABT Sportsline set to return from Season 9 and will use Mahindra powertrains.
Joining Mahindra represents a new challenge in my career and the timing could not be better: with the introduction of Gen3 in season nine of the FIA Formula E World Championship, everyone is starting from scratch. Having a seven-year relationship with ABT Sportsline, in which we won the world championship together, will give us a good springboard – the team will use the Mahindra Racing powered by ZF powertrain and this additional data and my close connection to the engineers will stand us in good stead. The short-term target is to win races and long-term is to help Mahindra Racing to win the world championship and become an icon in electric racing worldwide. We will build an exciting and sustainable future together.
Di Grassi on his move.
There’s no doubt that Lucas [Di Grassi] is one of the greatest Formula E drivers in the history of the sport – the stats and the silverware do the talking – but, for us, his appeal is much wider than that. We are the only team that has been net carbon zero since inception, earning us the title of ‘The Greenest Team in Motorsport’, and it is fundamental to our existence that we are driving forward technological developments in electric mobility with passion and knowledge both on- and off-track. We believe Lucas is perfectly positioned to do this and we are ready to get him bedded into our ground-breaking Gen3 programme within the coming weeks. Our ambition is for Mahindra Racing to become FIA Formula E World Champions and Lucas’s experience and drive will be instrumental in achieving this
Edoardo Mortara headed the way in the final practice session ahead of the Hana Bank Seoul E-Prix Round 16 with the fastest time of the weekend – a 1m 21.019s.
Mortara’s title charge ended in disappointment with a puncture in Round 15 but the Venturi driver is looking to support the team’s bid to outstrip Mercedes-EQ in the teams standings. The Swiss driver pipped Antonio Felix da Costa and Jake Dennis.
Sacha Fenestraz made his bow in Formula E as he stepped in for Antonio Giovinazzi at Dragon / Penske Autosport with the Italian driver suffering a hand injury in Saturday’s race.
Qualifying-
Antonio Felix da Costa fired to an unstoppable Julius Baer Pole Position for Round 16, leaving Edo Mortara no scraps to feed on through a perfect lap. No driver had made more appearances on the front row this season more than Mortara.
There was just one hundredth between them in the knockouts prior and da Costa piled the pressure on over the lap to secure pole by two tenths come the final couple of corners. Millimetre perfect – with no mistakes from the DS driver for his eighth pole position. He was the first and last Gen2 pole sitter…
Venturi still looked well placed for their Teams’ scrap with Mercedes, Drivers table topper, Stoffel Vandoorne was behind in fourth. Mitch Evans has it all to do as he starts in the mid-pack after failing to progress to the Duels.
The full top 10 are- P1: Da Costa, P2: Mortara, P3: Dennis, P4: Vandoorne, P5: Frijns, P6: Di Grassi, P7: Ticktum, P8: Vergne, P9: Guenther and P10: Sette Camara.
Round 16-
Stoffel Vandoorne steered his way to silverware with a second place finish in the Seoul E-Prix to make more than sure of sealing the 2021/22 ABB FIA Formula E Drivers’ World Championship as well as the Teams’ World Championship for Mercedes-EQ.
Mortara checked out once he hit the front via a stunning dummy saw him complete a successful switchback on Julius Baer Polesitter, Antonio Felix da Costa on Lap 3. From there onwards, he managed the gap and used his energy perfectly to sign off his and Venturi’s campaign in style.
The full top 10 are- P1: Mortara, P2: Vandoorne, P3: Dennis, P4: Frijns, P5: Askew, P6: Vergne, P7: Evans, P8: Cassidy, P9: Buemi and P10: Da Costa.
World Champions; wow. It’s just the best feeling ever. Just look at the season we’ve had – the consistency and the car has been amazing and the team has done an incredible job – I think every single one of us deserves it. What we’ve accomplished is something special.
Vandoorne on his Championship wins.
This is huge. I’m just about holding it together at the moment. I’m so pleased for Stoffel – there isn’t anybody that deserves it more than him. He has been so consistent this year – everything he’s put into the building and team development – he’s been such an instrumental part of our success and to see him achieve this is a dream come true for him – it’s phenomenal. And then to do it in Mercedes-EQ’s final year as well. This is a very special moment.
Team Principal Ian James.
Thats the 21/2022 Formula E World Championship complete! A massive congratulations to Vandoorne and Mercedes on an incredible season.
But when one season ends another one is coming… We are expecting a lot of driver news now the season has ended, but where will the World Champ go? There is a few possibilities… Keep your eyes peeled for more!
Stoffel Vandoorne headed the way in Free Practice 1 ahead of the Hana Bank Seoul E-Prix Round 15, pipping Edoardo Mortara to the top spot by 0.13 seconds.
The pair were a tenth clear of Nick Cassidy, as the drivers got themselves accustomed to the all new Seoul circuit, weaving into and around the Olympic Stadium in Jamsil.
The full top 10 are- P1: Vandoorne, P2: Mortara, P3: Cassidy, P4: Di Grassi, P5: Vergne, P6: De Vries, P7: Dennis, P8: Wehrlein, P9: Gunther and P10: Nato.
Free Practice 2-
Jean-Eric Vergne set the pace in FP2 ahead of Round 15, with a 1m 21.233s enough to edge out Mortara and Wehrlein by three thousandths of a second.
Vergne and Mortara will be pleased with their pace as they look to keep their championship alive. The Championship leader, Vandoorne had set the 16th quickest time – not the performance the Mercedes driver would have been hoping for after topping FP1.
Alexander Sims had fount the wall with his left rear, stranding his car at the pit-entry. Cassidy then came to a crawling a halt with a technical issue that forced the race director to throw a red flag and bring the session to an end.
The full top 10 are- P1: Vergne, P2: Mortara, P3: Wehrlein, P4: Di Grassi, P5: Askew, P6: Cassidy, P7: Turvey, P8: Sette Camara, P9: Da Costa and P10: Dennis.
Qualifying-
Oliver Rowland steered to a fifth Julius Baer Pole Position in Formula E, outstripping Lucas di Grassi by more than half a second in tricky conditions as the heavens opened again Seoul.
The future teammates faced off on a rain-soaked Seoul circuit, and both were ultra-committed and fighting at the wheel to keep everything together and that he did.
Mitch Evans did his bit in the title fight to line up third, beaten to the final by di Grassi and Vandoorne starts seventh in the Mercedes-EQ.
The full top 10 are- P1: Rowland, P2: Di Grassi, P3: Evans, P4: Wehrlein, P5: Dennis, P6: Mortara, P7: Vandoorne, P8: Sette Camara, P9: Vergne and P10: Buemi.
Round 15-
Mitch Evans, produced an excellent race under pressure to keep his title chances alive and slice into Vandoorne’s point advantage as the Kiwi jumped from third to the grid to the race win.
The Jaguar driver dispatched Julius Baer Polesitter, Oliver Rowland off the line as the Brit struggled to get away cleanly over the greasy road markings.
A hefty multi-car shunt at the penultimate corner of the first lap, caused a 45 minute red flag stoppage. Sebastian Buemi, Oliver Askew, Andre Lotterer, Dan Ticktum, Oliver Turvey, Nick Cassidy, Norman Nato and Nyck de Vries were all involved as they got caught out on standing water. Thankfully all drivers are okay, as it looked rather nasty and the halo being useful once again!
From there after, it was relatively serene for Evans who managed a comfortable three-second gap for most of the race to Rowland.
The full top 10 are- P1: Evans, P2: Rowland, P3: Di Grassi, P4: Dennis, P5: Vandoorne, P6: Vergne, P7: Wehrlein, P8: Frijns, P9: Da Costa and P10: Cassidy.
We are back again tomorrow for the final round, and where we will see who will be crowned the Champion of Season 8. The teams championship will also be decided tomorrow aswell.
It’s our final race weekend of the year for Formula E! And it’s a special one as Formula E reaches 100 races. We are racing in Seoul for the finale at the Hana Bank Seoul E-Prix for Rounds 15 and 16.
This weekend there will be a new champion crowned… But who will it be? Theoretically there is four drivers going for the Championship, but Vergne needs a perfect score in both races this weekend and Vandoorne not to score.
But looking at the other title contenders, we have Vandoorne on the top spot at the moment, and his been rather consistent this season as well as his team Mercedes-EQ, but the last time we went to a new circuit (Jakarta) they struggled so this weekend in Seoul could prove rather tricky for them.
Evans and Mortara, our other two title contenders, will be hoping for a bit of luck which they haven’t been given in the recent races, most notably with Evans retiring from the race in London in the closing stages, whilst running ahead of Vandoorne.
It seems difficult to envisage a weekend where Vandoorne and Mercedes simply under-perform. So whilst I’m sure Evans and Mortara won’t be wishing bad luck upon the Belgian, it seems the only way of stopping the Mercedes driver from taking his first Formula E crown.
The Circuit-
The lap starts with a tight and technical run before entering the Jamsil Olympic stadium as the 22 racers put on a show for the grandstand audience.
As they then leave the stadium, a batch of sweeping turns leading into a long straight connected by 90 degree turns follow as the circuit wraps around the Olympic park as the drivers jostle position around the fast 2.6km, 22 turn circuit.
Mclaren racing, have reportedly told Daniel Ricciardo will be replaced in the team by Oscar Piastri for the 2023 season.
The news comes as we had a very dramatic first week of Summer break and silly season has officially commenced which began with the announcement that Fernando Alonso is to replace Sebastian Vettel at Aston Martin.
But the drama did not stop their, Alpine issued a press release stating that their academy driver, Oscar Piastri would take Alonso’s seat alongside Esteban Ocon, only for the young Aussie, to knock that down withing a couple of hours by tweeting that was “wrong” and he would not be driving for the French team in 2023.
Recently, speculation has been swirling that Piastri was targeting McLaren for a move – and now Motorsport.com are reporting that even though Ricciardo has a contract until the end of 2023, but will be moved aside to make way for his younger compatriot.
The report suggests that Piastri has signed as a reserve driver for 2023, but that once an agreement for Ricciardo’s departure has been agreed that the deal will be upgraded to a race seat alongside Lando Norris.
Looking back earlier this season, Piastri was first linked to McLaren in March when Ricciardo contracted COVID-19 and had to miss official pre-season testing in Bahrain. Alpine agreed to ‘loan’ out Piastri to McLaren for the opening race if Ricciardo has not recovered in time, but he did.
This was clearly not the end of the interest as it appears that Piastri has been on their radar for “several weeks” as they looked for someone to replace Ricciardo – who for the second consecutive campaign, has underwhelmed with his performances.
The deal between Piastri and Alpine was “never properly signed” and therefore the reigning Formula 2 champion was able to walk away from the team to which he has been affiliated with since the start of 2020.
As for Ricciardo, well team principle for Alpine, Otmar Szafnauer said earlier in the week he (Ricciardo) will be a good recommendation to return to the team and replace Alonso, insisting the face he had left the team – when known as Renault at the end of 2-2- to join McLaren was not necessarily a barrier to a reunion.
Formula E race winner and Jaguar TCS Racing reserve driver, Norman Nato will step into the Jaguar car at the Hana Bank Seoul E-Prix Rounds 15 & 16, as Sam Bird misses out through injury.
Bird was found to have broken his hand in a Lap 1 incident in the SABIC London E-Prix Round 14, following post race medical checks. The Brit tangled in the pack as its concertinaed around the tight Turns 1 and 2, with Bird later learning that the impact had fractured the metacarpal in his left hand, despite all this he climbed from 15th to eighth in the race.
Jaguar noted in a statement immediately after the London double-header that Bird would be assessed in the days to follow, but since has been determined that he would be unable to compete in Seoul.
It would mark the first races the 35 year old has failed to start in Formula E’s 98 race history as the championship approaches its centenary round to close out Season 8.
Nato capped a fine rookie 2020/21 campaign for ROKiT Venturi Racing with a collected race win in the Berlin finale. The Frenchman who impressed throughout Season 7, could have counted himself unfortunate to miss out on a race seat this time around, with Jaguar quick to secure his services in a test and reserve role.
I’m devastated not to be driving in the final two rounds of the season in Seoul, particularly as it would have been my 100th race in Formula E. I need to spend the next few weeks recovering from the operation on my left hand, so I am fully fit for testing and Season 9. I have confidence in Norman, he is a race winner and I’m sure he’ll bring some great points home for Jaguar TCS Racing.
Sam Bird on not racing next week.
We are hugely disappointed for Sam and that he won’t be competing next weekend in Seoul. It should have been his 100th Formula E race and I have to say his drive in London was nothing short of heroic, to drive through considerable pain and a slow puncture shows how much of a fighter he is. The priority now though is for his operation and focussing on a full recovery ahead of Gen3 testing and racing again in January. As a team we all have full faith in Norman to deliver valuable points for Jaguar TCS Racing. He won the season finale last year and is determined to help us fight for every place in the Teams’ standings.
James Barclay Team Principle of Jaguar TCS Racing.
Firstly I want to wish Sam the speediest of recoveries. As a reserve driver, I’ve been with the team every step of the way this season. Although I haven’t driven a Formula E car for over a year, when I get into the Jaguar I-TYPE 5 next weekend, I’ll be fighting for as many points as possible. I want to make the most of this opportunity.
Williams have announced that their academy driver, Logan Sargeant will be making his Formula 1 race weekend debut at this years United States Grand Prix with the Formula 2 racer set to drive in the first practice session at the Circuit of The Americas.
Sargeant, is currently competing in his first season of Formula 2 and has already impressed, notching up two wins and collecting a further two podiums to sit third in championship.
The American, will now get his second taste of Formula 1 machinery this time on home soil in Austin having first run in a Williams at last years post season test in Abu Dhabi. He will drive Nicholas Latifi’s FW44 for the 60 minute session and will be helping the team with set up preparations, as well as getting his first Grand Prix weekend action under his belt.
Logan joined the Williams Driver Academy,where they announced it at the last year at the US Grand Prix. The 21 year old is the first American to be on the grid.
I’m super excited to be given this opportunity to drive my first Free Practice in Austin. To be given the chance at the US Grand Prix is something extremely special to me. A massive thank you to Williams for putting the trust and belief in me to do a good job. The goal for me will be to learn as much as possible in the new generation of cars. I’m looking forward to making the most of this experience and really enjoying it.
Logan Sargeant on his FP1 session.
Logan has demonstrated a great level of ability and maturity so far this season through his accomplishments both on and off the track. He’s delivered race winning performances in Formula 2 matched by his hard work during simulator sessions. It felt only right to reward these achievements with the opportunity for him to take part in a Free Practice session at Austin. We’re looking forward to seeing him get behind the wheel of the FW44 and seeing how his performance and feedback help the team’s preparations for the race in Austin.
Williams have announced that Alex Albon will continue to race for the team for 2023 and beyond, as part of a multi-year agreement with the British team.
Albon joined Williams for this season as a replacement for George Russell, after Red Bull released the Thai driver from his contract – where he was fulfilling reserve driver duties.
He (Alex) has delivered a strong set of results and scored all the team’s points this season through a 10th place in Australia and ninth in Miami.
Before the ‘Silly’ Season had started, Albon refused to rule out a possible move to Aston Martin when Sebastian Vettel announced his retirement last week, before that seat was swiftly filled by Alonso.
Its not been confirmed yet, on who will be driving with Alex Albon in the other Williams seat. Latifi hasn’t put the performance in they wanted this year and has been out performed by Albon who had been out of the car for a year. Some say, Williams is looking at their junior driver, Logan Sargeant or reigning Formula E Champion, Nyck de Vries.
I am really excited to be staying with Williams Racing for 2023 and look forward to seeing what we can achieve as a team in the remainder of this season and next year. The team has made some strong gains this year and it’s exciting to continue this journey and further develop our learnings together.
Alex Albon on his future.
Alex is a tremendous driver and valued member of Williams Racing, so we’re thrilled to be able to confirm we will be working with him on a long-term basis. Alex brings a great blend of skill and insightful learnings that will help bring the team greater success in the future. He’s a fierce competitor, has proved a popular and loyal team member and we are delighted that he will provide a stable base for us to continue to develop in this new F1 car era.
Caio Collet, brought home his first win in Formula 3 in an impressive fassion mastering the wet to drying conditions in a race of attrition that caught several of the title contenders out.
Starting fourth, the MP Motorsport driver made his presence known, slicing his way through the field and up into the lead before driving off into the distance to finish 8.7s clear of second place Franco Colapinto.
The celebrations continued for MP, as Kush Maini made it at a double podium for the Dutch team having carved his way up from P7 to P3 at the chequered flag.
As the spray faded and the tyres waned, the race turn into survival of the fittest as the field attempted to conserve their wet Pirelli compounds to the chequered flag with five laps remaining. Nobody seemed to be immune – Leclerc’s moment of oversteer saw him take a hefty whack over the red and white kerbs at Turn 4.
The full top 10 are- P1: Collet, P2: Colapinto, P3: Maini, P4: Hadjar, P5: Bearman, P6: Martins, P7: Saucy, P8: Goethe, P9: Stanek and P10: Maloney.
Day 3-
Maloney got a great launch but was immediately covered off by pole sitter. The Trident driver tried a move around the outside at Turn 1 but was unsuccessful. It allowed Bearman to get a great driver on the corner exit to make it three-wide into Turn 2.
Behind that trio, Maini climbed up to fourth but was closely watched by Crawford after the pair had cleared Gregoire Saucy off the line. The red and white PREMA claimed P4 on the run to Turn 4 whilst Reece Ushijima was on the move too, rising up to ninth after Lap 1 from P19 on the grid.
Championship leader heading into the Feature Race, Isack Hadjar meanwhile was going backwards. He dropped down to 18th after being forced to take avoiding action at Turn 2 on the outside of the corner.
Towards the end of the race, Correa was flying on his slick tyres and lapping seconds quicker than the race leaders. Edgar displayed just how much quicker the dry tyres were by unlapping himself from Maloney, Bearman and Crawford as they fought for second.
O’Sullivan was another to have swapped the wets for dry tyres down in 17th and was 10 seconds quicker than race leader Smolyar on Lap 22. He passed the ART Grand Prix car of Correa to be the highest placed driver on the slick tyres.
The full top 10 are- P1: Smolyar, P2: Maloney, P3: Bearman, P4: O’Sullivan, P5: Crawford, P6: Correa, P7: Maini, P8: Leclerc, P9: Collet and P10: Martins.
Now we have the summer break, but when we are back we have a triple header, which means the Formula 3 2022 season is coming to an end!
Alpine announced on social media today, that Oscar Piastri will be racing for them in 2023, alongside Esteban Ocon to replace Fernando Alonso… but what on earth is going on?
Oscar Piastri then took to social media to say that he “will not be driving for Alpine next year” hours after the team announced they would be promoting him to a full time race seat in 2023.
Piastri, announced as Aston Martin-bound Fernando Alonso’s replacement for 2023 earlier on but the Austrialian driver then took to Twitter and Instagram to insist otherwise.
I understand that, without my agreement, Alpine F1 have put out a press release late this afternoon that I am driving for them next year. This is wrong and I have not signed a contract with Alpine for 2023. I will not be driving for Alpine next year.
Oscar Piastri on social media.
BWT Alpine F1 Team confirms 21-year-old reserve driver Oscar Piastri as Esteban Ocon’s teammate starting from 2023. In line with the commitments made by the team to the young Australian, Oscar will be promoted to race driver and step in Fernando Alonso’s seat from next year onwards.
Alpine earlier today.
Oscar is a bright and rare talent. We are proud to have nurtured and supported him through the difficult pathways of the junior formula. Through our collaboration over the past four years, we have seen him develop and mature into a driver who is more than capable of taking the step up to Formula 1. As our reserve driver he has been exposed to the team at the track, factory and testing where he has shown the maturity, promise and speed to ensure his promotion to our second seat alongside Esteban. Together, we believe the duo will give us the continuity we need to achieve our long-term goal of challenging for wins and championships.
Otmar Szafnauer, Alpine team principle.
What will Alpine do now? Who will drive for them?
There isn’t much for them to do apart from look for a new driver… but who is the question?
Daniel Ricciardo? Could Piastri take Ricciardo’s seat at McLaren and then Ricciardo go back to Alpine formally Renault?
Or possibly Zhou Gunayu? He was formally an Alpine junior until they let him go last year… but if push comes to shove would Zhou be happy to go and be apart of their family? If this did happen, this would then make way for Theo Pourchaire at Alfa Romeo.
If none of the above, Alpine could possibly go down the rookie route and look at F2, Felipe Drugovich, is currently leading the championship, plus he has no junior driver clause as he is not signed to an acadamey.
If not, Red Bull may push for one of their academy drivers to get that seat? They have a few juniors currently in F2 and looks like it would be their last year possibly.
It’s the first morning of summer break and silly season has officially started… Aston Martin have moved swiftly to announce a replacement for Sebastian Vettel, swapping one world champ for another. Fernando Alonso joins the team in 2023 on a multi-year deal.
Alonso returned to Formula 1 in 2021 with Alpine after a two year sabbatical and has delivered a string of impressive drives alongside Esteban Ocon, especially helping his teammate get his first win last year in Hungary!
When Vettel announced he was retiring last Thursaday, Alonso emerged as the favourite to replace him given his wealth of F1 experience as well as the two World Championships he has.
The news comes less than 24 hours after Alpine F1 boss, Otmar Szafnauer expressed confidence that Alonso would stay with the team for 2023 and beyond, predicting talks would be “very straightforward”.
Alpine were trying to find a seat for reserve driver Piastri and looked set to loan him out to Williams next year, but with Alonso’s exit it looks like the Aussie will step up and join Esteban Ocon at the team from 2023.
This Aston Martin team is clearly applying the energy and commitment to win, and it is therefore one of the most exciting teams in Formula 1 today. I have known Lawrence and Lance [Stroll] for many years and it is very obvious that they have the ambition and passion to succeed in Formula 1. I have watched as the team has systematically attracted great people with winning pedigrees, and I have become aware of the huge commitment to new facilities and resources at Silverstone. No one in Formula 1 today is demonstrating a greater vision and absolute commitment to winning, and that makes it a really exciting opportunity for me. I still have the hunger and ambition to fight to be at the front, and I want to be part of an organisation that is committed to learn, develop and succeed. We all appreciate that there is much to be done to get to the front, and that we must apply all our energies in working together to find performance. The passion and desire to perform that I have witnessed convince me to maintain my enjoyment and commitment to the sport. I intend to win again in this sport and therefore I have to take the opportunities that feel right to me.
Alonso on his move to AM.
I have known and admired Fernando for many years and it has always been clear that he is a committed winner like me. I have set out to bring together the best people and develop the right resources and organisation to succeed in this highly competitive sport, and those plans are now taking shape at Silverstone. It seemed natural therefore to invite Fernando to be part of the development of a winning team, and we very quickly established in our recent conversations that we have the same ambitions and values, and it was logical and easy to confirm our desire to work together.
Lawrence Stroll on signing the 2 times world champ.
The final race of the first half of the season has came to an end, and it was definitely an interesting one, a certain team getting their strategy very wrong and a spin half way through from the leader…
But through all of that Max Verstappen took the win after starting in P10, (who said you can’t overtake at the Hungaroring!) Lewis Hamilton finished second that makes it his 5th podium in a row and George Russell rounds out the podium, a second double podium in a row for the Silver Arrows.
The full top 10 are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Hamilton, P3: Russell, P4: Sainz, P5: Perez, P6: Leclerc, P7: Norris, P8: Alonso, P9: Ocon and P10: Vettel.
Not the way today was meant to go for Ferrari, another what was meant to be an ‘easy’ race for the Italian team didn’t turn out that way… they used the wrong strategy and put them on hards, which everyone (teams) knew that the window to get the hard tyres up to temperature was just not there…
Another good weekend for Alpine, double points finish once again, if they carry on like this McLaren might be in a bit of trouble…
Talking about McLaren, a good race for Lando Norris finish P7 a good amount of points for the Brit. But for Daniel a different story, finishing P15, not what the team expected and the collision with Stroll more than didn’t help the Aussie.
Aston Martin finishing in the points a second weekend in a row, but this time its Sebastian Vettel in 10th, rather than last weekend it being his teammate.
The Championship-
Max extends his lead to now 80 points between him and Charles, Perez has closed down the gap a little bit more to the Ferrari driver. George Russell has taken P4 of Carlos Sainz but only two points separate the two. Hamilton is joining in on the fight for P4 now, as his only 10 points away from Carlos.
Looking at the constructors, Red Bull almost have a 100 point gap to Ferrari but they have got bigger fish to fry as Mercedes are only 30 points away and if they carry on with their double podium finishes it wont take them long. Alpine are still in 4th but they haven’t pulled away from McLaren as expected, just four points seperate the two.
Now as were at the summer break our next race isn’t until the 26th to 28th August and for the Belgian Grand Prix! But that doesn’t mean I’ll stop posting so sign up for notifications when I do!
Envision Racing’s Nick Cassidy fired to the top of the timesheets in Free Practice 3, ahead of the SABIC London E-Prix Round 14 with a 1m 12.933s the weekends quickest time so far, pipping Antonio Felix da Costa and Robin Frijjns.
Cassidy had cut through the field to fourth yesterday before a penalty for Nyck de Vries for his defence towards the end of the race elevated the Envision driver to a spot on the podium. He would be encouraged by his pace to carry over today as will the team as Frijns was all but matching him by 0.093s back in third.
Track conditions were tricky out there, with both Venturi’s spinning – Mortara finding the Tecpro barriers at the chicane, the Swiss got away without any amjor damage but it was illustrative of the challenge offered up at the ExCeL.
Qualifying-
Jake Dennis sealed a second consecutive Julius Baer Pole Position in as many days in London, as the Brit set off in search of a SABIC London E-Prix Round 14 win and a potential Grand Slam.
Dennis steered to an astonishing 1m12.535s lap in the Final Duel with yet another amazing performance behind the wheel of his Avalanche Andretti. Lucas di Grassi was his opponent but the ROKiT Venturi Racing driver had made a mistake on his flying lap as well as struggling with Dennis’ pace.
Antonio Giovinazzi made his first ever duels appearance and will more than certainly be thrilled with the third fastest time of the session – by far his best this season.
Standings leader, Stoffel Vandoorne failed to make the cut in the Groups, though none of his closest rivals progressed to the duels either- leaving the title fight to play out via a battle from the midfield. Stoffel secured 13th, Mitch Evans his closest rival in one spot back, whilst Edoardo Mortara sits 17th and Jean-Eric Vergne is best placed out of the top four.
The full top 10 are- P1: Dennis, P2: Di Grassi, P3: Giovinazzi, P4: Da Costa, P5: De Vries, P6: Buemi, P7: Cassidy, P8: Askew, P9: Gunther and P10: Vergne.
Round 14-
Lucas di Grassi took his maiden win for ROKiT Venturi Racing in the SABIC London E-Prix Round 14, after overcoming home hero and pole sitter, Jake Dennis over a hard-fought and strategic 38 lap battle in the UK capital.
Di Grassi, emerged through his last of three mandatory Attack Mode activations with enough in hand to ensure he’d make it by Dennis, when the Brit jumped for his last 30kW boost. The Brazillian then stretched his advantage over the final few laps, and into added time to take the chequered flag first.
Nyck de Vries, came home third, whilst his Mercedes-EQ teammate and standings leader clambered to fourth from 13th on the grid. His closest title rival Mitch Evans had made his way as high as fourth from 14th at the start of the race, but a late technical problem put-paid to his Round 14 and deal a hammer blow to his title challenge, with retirement from proceedings and a non-score.
The full top 10 are- P1: Di Grassi, P2: Dennis, P3: De Vries, P4: Vandoorne, P5: Da Costa, P6: Buemi, P7: Frijns, P8: Bird, P9: Sette Camara and P10:
Jack Doohan ended Free Practice fastest of all ahead of Qualifying but there was almost nothing splitting him from Ayumu Iwasa, only 0.001s was the gap from the Virtuosi driver and the DAMS in P2. David Beckmann popped up into P3 for Van Amersfoort Racing, with the German driver being the only one to improve in the final 10 minutes.
Track temperatures were quickly rising as cars took to the track. A brief yellow flag was shown for a hare dashing across the circuit on the main straight but things remained as normal with 38 minutes left.
Birthday boy, Marcus Armstrong was the first to set a representative time to go fastest early on. That lasted until Theo Pourchaire and Frederik Vesti made it an ART Grand Prix 1-2.
Ayumu Iwasa left the rest of the Formula 2 in the dust as he stormed his way to his first pole position in the Championship. A blistering quick 1:27.930 set in the final few minutes of qualifying allowed him to better his nearest rival HiTech Grand Prix’s Marcus Armstrong, by an astonishing 0.381s, while Felipe Drugovich narrowly pipped Theo Pourchaire.
Few drivers improved on their second runs, as Logan Sargeant opted to peel into off into the pits rather than set a second time. Olli Caldwell was the sole driver to run in the gap. This seemed to be a smart strategy for the Campos driver who leapt up from P16 to P1.
However, it was Iwasa’s final run on his second set of softs that proved to be the making of his weekend. Whilst Armstrong failed to improve, the Japanese rookie turned the timing screens purple.
The full top 10 are- P1: Iwasa, P2: Armstrong, P3: Drugovich, P4: Pourchaire, P5: Sargeant, P6: Vips, P7: Vesti, P8: Hauger, P9: Fittipaldi and P10: Doohan.
Day 2-
Fittipaldi aced his launch from second to take the lead in the opening metres from Doohan. A huge lock up at Turn 2 though undid his hard work and allowed the Virtusoi Racing driver to snatch the lead back.
Meanwhile, Dennis Hauger endured a poor getaway and went three wide with Drugovich and Sargeant. Contact between the MP Motorsport and Carlin pair nudged the American into Hauger on the outside, tipping the Norwegian around and out of the race at Turn 1. Sargeant was also out of the race as a result of the contact, retiring from the pits.
The action resumed heading onto Lap 4, and Doohan bolted early to leave the rest behind. Theo Pourchaire had dropped down to 16th on the opening lap after having to avoid action from the Turn 1 melee around the outside of the corner.
Jehan Daruvala reported that his front tyres were already gone by lap 11, and the pressure from Marcus Armstrong behind was proof of that. The Hitech Grand Prix dirver shaped for a move into Turn 1, but the PREMA driver slammed the door shut to hold sixth for the time being.
The full top 10 are- P1: Doohan, P2: Vips, P3: Fittipaldi, P4: Drugovich, P5: Vesti, P6: Lawson, P7: Armstrong, P8: Iwasa, P9: Pourchaire and P10: Caldwell.
I think most of us expected a wet qualifying, and we didn’t have one but we definitely had a few shock surprises! A drivers first pole position, a Red Bull out in Q2 and much more…
It was George Russell who took pole position, his first in Formula 1 and the first for Mercedes this season! His followed closely by Carlos Sainz in 2nd and Charles Leclerc in 3rd!
The full top 10 are- P1: Russell, P2: Sainz, P3: Leclerc, P4: Norris, P5: Ocon, P6: Alonso, P7: Hamilton, P8: Bottas, P9: Ricciardo and P10: Verstappen.
What a day for Mr Saturday!! I think the Hungaroring may be one of Russell’s favourite tracks! Scored his first points here as a Williams driver last year and now his on pole position for Mercedes a year later!
A bad day for RB, Perez starts P11, he had a few lap times deleted and then he got knocked out of Q2. Now onto Max… he set a decent time in Q3 but when he went out for last few laps he was complaining of no power and wasn’t able to improve on his lap time which saw him be pushed down to 10th.
A good day for McLaren both cars in the top 10 and Lando having qualified P4! Infront of the two Alpine’s which is where the fight will be for the British driver. Ricciardo will be hoping to move up a few positions or count on others misfortune, but he has two Bull’s behind him…
This is what Ferrari needed! Both drivers basically starting next to each other, it gives the Italian team a big chance of points tomorrow, especially with the Bull’s a lot further down and its a track where overtaking isn’t the easiest.
Alfa Romeo seemed to have a good day, Bottas back in the top 10 and Zhou Guanyu starting P12, a chance of scoring points tomorrow for both drivers!
Predictions-
My top five predictions are- P1: Russell, P2: Leclerc, P3: Hamilton, P4: Sainz and P5: Alonso.
As I said above, it’s a hard track to overtake on, and there is meant to be some rain before the race starts and we all saw how last year went… Or we could get a ‘normal’ race but whats the fun in that!
Sergio Sette Camara topped the timesheets in the opening session of this weekend’s SABIC London E-Prix, with the fastest time in Free Practice 1 ahead of Round 13.
The Brazilian’s 1m14.487s was enough to pip top four title contender, Mitch Evans and Round 10 winner, Nick Cassidy. As Antonio Giovinazzi put on his best shwoing of the season in practice with the 4th quickest time, with reigning world champion Nyck de Vries in fifth.
Jean-Eric Vergne had work to do as he sat in 17th, but practice isn’t always pace alone, especially this weekend as teams try and get to grips with the unique indoor/outdoor circuit at the ExCel, with plenty of elevation changes and varying surfaces to contend with.
FP2-
Brit, Jake Dennis headed the way in Free Practice 2 ahead of the SABIC London E-Prix Round 13, setting a 1m13.661s lap time to [i[ Oliver Rowland by 0.082 seconds with Andre Lotterer in third.
Just 0.858 seconds split the top 20 runners in an ultra-close session, with Dennis a race winner here last season – able to squeak to the top of the pile. The first of the title contenders was Mitch Evans, the Kiwi posting the sixth quickest time of the morning. But standings leader, Stoffel Vandoorne was a couple of spots back in his Silver Arrow 02.
A couple of drivers fell foul of the tricky track surface with Sam Bird pushing his luck on the way into the ExCeL and Lotterer pirouetting at the complex.
Qualifying-
Jake Dennis, starts on Julius Baer Pole Position on home turf at the SABIC London E-Prix Round 13, having produced the goods in some style in front of a vocal home support.
Dennis was up on fellow finalist and standings leader Stoffel Vandoorne after the first couple of corners and had earlier flown to the fastest laps in each of the groups and knockout stages up to this point. By the middle of the lap, the Brit made big ground and had two tenths of a second on Vandoorne.
Vandoorne still holds the cards in the title fight, though, with his nearest rival Edo Mortara down in ninth having failed to progress from the groups, Jean-Eric Verge 13th and Mitch Evans a spot behind in 14th.
It’s amazing. That’s one of the best things about obviously racing In Formula E – if you do a good job, you can hear the crowd. I’ve had such a good day – first in practice, through to all the Qualifying Duels and then to go head to head with Stoffel in the end was tight. It was incredible and honestly, the cars been absolutely amazing today. We made a really good step forward from yesterday and to get the team that first pole this year is exceptional.
Jake Dennis, on securing pole position.
The full top 10 are- P1: Dennis, P2: Vandoorne, P3: De Vries, P4: Sette Camara, P5: Askew, P6: Gunther, P7: Cassidy, P8: Lotterer, P9: Mortara and P10: Frijns.
Round 13-
Jake Dennis, strode to a dominant lights-to-flag win in the London E-Prix for Round 13 to make it two wins in two years on home turf for the Brit at the ExCeL.
Dennis was able to cover off the early advances of standings leader, Stoffel Vandoorne with the Mercedes-EQ driver content to play it cool to come home second for a 17th Formula E podium, with his closest championship rivals marooned down the field. But, by the first lap both Evans and Mortara had been in the wars, with Mortara forced to pit and entirely out of the fight.
Reigning champ, Nyck de Vries played rear gunner for Vandoorne to occupy a racy Nick Cassidy as the Kiwi chased more silverware towards the end of the race but the Dutchman was able to hold fast for a podium. But it was meant to be for de Vries, as he got a 5 second penalty after the stewards found the Dutchman to change direction repeatedly under breaking.
The full top 10 are- P1: Dennis, P2: Vandoorne, P3: Cassidy, P4: Askew, P5: Evans, P6: De Vries, P7: Da Costa, P8: Gunther, P9: Di Grassi and P10: Wehrlein.
F3 action resumed bright and early this morning, and it was Jak Crawford who hit the ground running almost immediately. Entering the weekend off the back of his first victory in the Championship last time out in Spielberg, the PREMA Racing driver left it to the last second to knock Zane Maloney off the top spot by a tenth of a second.
Ideal conditions greeted the field of 30 at the Hungaroring. The session got underway with the field bolting on their sets of red-walled soft tyres, that they carried over form the previous round, and off the bat Josep Maria Marti got up to speed, laying down a 1:36.144.
Times continued to tumble as David Vidales, Juan Manuel Correa, Gregoire Saucy and Zak O’Sullivan all took turns at the top of the order before Alexander Smolyar followed by Kush Maini put MP Motorsport up into P1.
The full top 10 are- P1: Crawford, P2: Maloney, P3: Leclerc, P4: Hadjar, P5: Collet, P6: Smolyar, P7: Edgar, P8: Maini, P9: Stanek and P10: Villagomez.
Qualifying-
Alexander Smolyar secured pole position around the Hungaroring, avoiding a hectic conclusion to the session following a late red flag stoppage. Though time remained on the clock following a restart with three minutes to go, Zane Maloney was the closest anyone got to the MP Motorsport driver, ending the session second fastest 0.126s down.
The track fell quiet with 10 minutes gone, Collet leading from Isack Hadjar and Victor Martins. Debutant, Oliver Goethe climbed up to P6 on his second flying lap for Campos Racing but lost his time for exceeding track limits at Turn 4 dropping him down to P10.
None of the PREMA drivers had recorded a lap time in the opening half of the session due to deletions because of track limits violations. Purple sectors across the board from Arthur Leclerc which put him in P1 with a 1:32.912, whilst teammate Jak Crawford couldn’t quite match. Bearman meanwhile managed to go better than both to secure a PREMA 1-2-3.
The full top 10 are- P1: Smolyar, P2: Maloney, P3: Bearman, P4: Leclerc, P5: Saucy, P6: Maini, P7: Crawford, P8: Martins, P9: Collet and P10: Hadjar.
We are now onto the final stretch of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship with the 2022 SABIC London E-Prix taking place this weekend at the ExCeL in the city’s historic docklands.
Formula E made its first trip to the venue last season, and in a first for an international race series raced on an indoor/outdoor circuit layout which offered up a completely unique challenge for drivers and teams.
The top four, are only split by fewer points than are on offer in any single Formula E round, and with the two races in London followed by a double-header in Seoul still to come, the season may be heading towards its climax but there’s still time for it to change…
There will be a strong British presence both when the cars line up on the grid and in the garages supporting them. Six of the 22 drivers will be competing on home soil, with a full complement of fans in the grandstands for the first time after COVID restrictions affected the Season 7 event.
The Circuit-
We’re heading back to East London’s historic docklands and the ExCeL exhibition centre and circuit designed by British architect, Simon Gibbons in collaboration with the FIA and Motorsport UK.
The 2,141km, 22 turn track is tight and twisty with a slicker, less grippy surface indoors and asphalt outside, with plenty of elevation changes. Regen is high with the new for Season 8 chicane complex between Turns 10 and 13 replacing last year’s double hairpin, and there is plenty of opportunity for overtaking.
The day has arrived, and what a sad day it is! Four time world champion, Sebastian Vettel will retire from Formula 1 at the end of the 2022 season.
The German driver, who made his debut with BMW Sauber in the 2007 United States Grand Prix, revealed the news via his newly created Instagram account.
Vettel won all four of his championships with Red Bull between 2010 and 2013 and is third on the all-time list of Grand Prix winners with 53 victories. A six-year stint with Ferrari failed to yield a much-coveted fifth title. He has also scored one podium during one and a half years with Aston Martin where his contract expires at the end of 2022.
Formula 1 teams, and drivers as well as drivers from Formula E took to social media to wish the World Champ well in his retirement, and having enjoyed racing him in past 15 years.
Sebastian has used his platform in F1 to make a chnage, and in more recent years. Taking the knee with fellow drivers, raising awareness on the planet, and honestly just raising awareness in what’s going on in the world.
Seb will be missed, his made a big impact in the past 15 years, and for me personally I’ve watched him since I was young, he was apart of my childhood. But seeing that his made this decision by himself and to do it for his family, no-one can put any negativity on that.
I have had the privilege of working with many fantastic people in Formula 1 over the past 15 years – there are far too many to mention and thank. Over the past two years I have been an Aston Martin driver – and although our results have not been as good as we had hoped, it is very clear to me that everything is being put together that a team needs to race at the very highest level for years to come. I have really enjoyed working with such a great bunch of people. Everyone – Lawrence [Stroll], Lance [Stroll], Martin [Whitmarsh], Mike [Krack], the senior managers, the engineers, the mechanics and the rest of the team – is ambitious, capable, expert, committed and friendly, and I wish them all well. I hope that the work I did last year and am continuing to do this year will be helpful in the development of a team that will win in the future, and I will work as hard as I can between now and the end of the year with that goal in mind, giving as always my best in the last 10 races. The decision to retire has been a difficult one for me to take, and I have spent a lot of time thinking about it; at the end of the year I want to take some more time to reflect on what I will focus on next; it is very clear to me that, being a father, I want to spend more time with my family. But today is not about saying goodbye. Rather, it is about saying thank you – to everyone – not least to the fans, without whose passionate support Formula 1 could not exist.
Sebastian Vettel on him leaving Formula 1.
I want to thank Sebastian from the bottom of my heart for the great work that he has done for Aston Martin over the past year and a half. We made it clear to him that we wanted him to continue with us next year, but in the end he has done what he feels is right for himself and his family, and of course we respect that. He has driven some fantastic races for us, and, behind the scenes, his experience and expertise with our engineers have been extremely valuable. He is one of the all-time greats of Formula 1, and it has been a privilege to have been able to work with him. He will continue to race for us up to and including the 2022 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which will be his 300th Grand Prix entry. We will give him a fabulous send-off.
Lawrence Stroll on Vettel.
Sebastian is a superb driver – fast, intelligent and strategic – and of course we are going to miss those qualities. However, we have all learned from him, and the knowledge that we have gained from working with him will continue to benefit our team long after his departure. Aston Martin is a great project, with unlimited potential, and the groundwork that Sebastian has done last year, and is still doing this year, is crucial. When we become fully competitive – and we will – one of the architects of that future success will be Sebastian, and we will always be grateful to him for that.
Our last race week is here, and summer break is just round the corner… But we return to Hungary for Round 13, where last year we saw a crazy race with Esteban Ocon winning his first F1 race…
Could we see another crazy race this year? A first time win for a driver… George Russell… Kevin Magnussen.. Or could it be Lewis’ first win of the season? We will have to wait and find out on Sunday…
Who needs a good weekend?
Charles Leclerc, he potentially threw away a win last weekend, and I think he knows that… If he really wants to be in this championship fight I think he needs to just get his head down for this weekends race and then have time off and get back to it straight away.
The Haas team will be wanting a good weekend, no points finish last time out, after scoring in both Silverstone and Austria, but they will be oping to maximise this weekend, and maybe be there on others misfortune….
Alpha Tauri will be wanting a good weekend, Tsunoda last time out DNF’ed, and Gasly finished 12th, the Frenchman hasn’t scored points since Azerbaijan and Tsunoda since Spain…
Predictions for qualifying-
My top five are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Leclerc, P3: Sainz, P4: Hamilton and P5: Perez. I’m hoping for a McLaren, both Alpines and maybe a Hass if not both, in the top 10!
At the time of writing this, it looks like there might be rain for qualifying. I’m kind of hoping there will be, I want a crazy race on Sunday so a qualifying where a few people are out of position will definitely be interesting.
Details of Porsche’s Formula 1 entry have been revealed in legal documents, with an announcement expected early next month.
A document from the Conseil de la Concurrence in Morocco has set out Porsche’s intentions to purchase 50% of the Red Bull Formula 1 operation which would make them equal partners in a 10 year agreement, reported by Motorsport-total.
The document, reportedly submitted by Porsche AG and Red Bull GmbH, contains details of Porsche’s plans to buy half of Red Bull Technology. Antitrust regulations require authorities within the EU and 20 countries outside the EU must see the agreement, and details are reportedly set to be released by the Moroccan authorities as part of its legislative requirement to publish such agreements once they are agreed.
Only Red Bull Technology is mentioned in the document, although an agreement will in all likelihood include AlphaTauri in being supplied with Porshe power, with the sister Red Bull team, remaining fully in Red Bull’s hands.
The partnership between Red Bull and Porsche has long been rumoured to have been in the pipeline, with the German marque set to confirm their entry into Formula 1 once the 2026 engine regulations have been finalised and approved by the FIA World Motor Sport Council.
There had been lots of previous reports of an official announcement of the Red Bull-Porsche deal would come at the Austrian Grand Prix, but was delayed as the future engine formula was not fully agreed at the last World Motor Sport Council meeting at the end of June.
Meanwhile, reports of Audi lodging a bid to purchase a majority share of the Sauber Group persist, although Porsche’s fellow Volkswagen Group brand is not said to be as far along in finalising how their proposed involvement in Formula 1 will take shape.
Christian Mansell is racing for Charouz Racing System this weekend in Budapest. The Czech team confirmed that Mansell would be competing in both Rounds 6 & 7 of the season in Budapest and Spa in place of Zdenek Chovanec in the #15 car.
The 17 year old, has been racing in EuroFormula Open this year and is currently second in the Drivers’ standings. He has secured multiple wins and podium finishes already this season, including runner-up results at both Hungary and Spa.
The Australian driver, who is racing under a British license said that he was looking forward to the challenge of jumping into a Formula 3 car and his hoping his experience would bode well around both upcoming circuits.
I’m super excited to be joining FIA Formula 3 with Charouz Racing System. This is a fantastic opportunity for me to put myself against an incredibly talented grid of drivers and get my name out there racing on the Formula 1 weekends. It will be my first time in the car so there will be a lot to learn from the start, but I like both circuits so I will be able to hit the ground running with those. I’m mega excited and can’t wait to get started this weekend in Hungary.
Mansell on his opportunity this weekend.
I’m really happy to welcome Christian in the team and I’m looking forward to see him in the car. He’ll need all of our support to get confident with a single-seater different from the ones he already raced with, but I’m confident that it will happen very naturally and very quickly given how talented he is. The fact that he already had experiences at both Hungaroring and Spa-Francorchamps is definitely an optimum starting point for his debut. The team and I are really excited to have him on board, I’m sure that he’s excited too and he’ll show everybody what he’s capable of.
We are at our last race before the summer break, and Pirelli has chosen the tyres for this weekends Hungarian Grand Prix, we also have Formula 2 and Formula 3 with us aswell.
We have the middle of the range this weekend: C2 (Hard), C3 (Medium), C4 (Soft).
The Hungaroring has a reputation for being an extremely hot and dry track, last years track temperatures during a free practice session peaked at nearly 60 degrees.
But the reality is that it’s actually rained just before the race for the past two seasons in Hungry. Last year led to a somewhat crazy re-start following a first corner incident, when Lewis Hamilton was the only person to get going on intermediates from the grid whilst everyone went into the pit for the slicks.
The Hungaroring isn’t a particularly high energy circuit, with smooth asphalt that’s sometimes bumpy in places and the demands on tyres being more about traction rather than braking.
In the past, the Hungaroring has been known as a place where it’s difficult to overtake, but the new package of cars and tyres this year helps drivers get much closer to each other, which is why we have seen some great races with plenty of overtaking so far this season. Hopefully that’s going to be the case at the Hungaroring as well; a tight and twisty track where the cars are often grouped together. Hungary is also known for being very hot, but it’s also rained for the last two years there: so the moral of the story is never to jump to conclusions! We’ve seen some surprises at the Hungaroring before, and that could be the case even more this year.
Mario Isla, Motorsport Director
Formula 2
For Formula 2 this weekend, the medium and soft tyres have been nominated. It’s only the second time the combination has been used this season, after round two at Jeddah.
Formula 3
In Formula 3, the medium tyre will be nominated for the second time this season, with its previous appearance being in Imola for round 2.
The #Fit4F1 teams head to Budapest for the #HungarianGP this weekend, marking the halfway point of this season ahead of the summer break. 🇭🇺☀️
Campos Racing has announced that Oliver Goethe will replace Hunter Yeany for the sixth round of the 2022 FIA Formula 3 season in Budapest this weekend.
Yeany was forced to withdraw from the previous round in Spielberg after sustaining a broken wrist in the Sprint Race. The American rookie still managed to finish the race but pulled out of the Feature Race the following day.
Seizing the opportunity, Goethe is determined to gain lots of knowledge and an understanding about the car at a track he is fairly familiar with.
After beginning his single-seater career in Spanish F4 in 2019, Goethe made the step up to Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine in 2021. Earlier this year he competed in the Formula Regional Asian Championship and won on his debut in the 24H GT Series, taking victory in his GT4 class at the Dubai 24H.
Currently, the Danish-German driver, who is racing under a Monegasque licence, sits at the top of the Euroformula Open Championship standing, with eight wins and four podiums to his name across the first five rounds including a victory in the Hungarian capital earlier this month.
I’m extremely excited to make my FIA F3 debut this weekend with Campos! I can’t wait to try out the car and compete amongst the best! It’ll be a great learning experience and I will make the most of it.
Jordan's Track Talk 