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  • Leclerc to take 10 place grid penalty

    After much speculation, it has been confirmed that Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc will drop 10 places on the Canadian Grand Prix grid for taking new control electronics.

    With the Ferrari power unit that let go in Baku last week whilst Leclerc was leading got deemed ‘beyond repair’ the team and driver arrived this weekend and was surrounded by talk of potential grid penalities.

    Initially it appeared that this would not be the case, Leclerc having received a new Internal Combustion Engine, MGU-K, MGU-H and Control Electronics, though none of those components took him over the imits for the season.

    Obviously, we are not in the best situation possible. For the power unit change I think there are still ongoing discussions, we’ll try to push (back) as much as possible the decision. For now, no decisions are taken. But it’s not the best situation for me. It’s up to us to choose the best track where you want to get a penalty – if you get a penalty. And this is one of the tracks where it’s actually quite easy to overtake. But there are also some of the tracks in the next three or four races where it’s easier to overtake too. We’ll discuss and try and take the best decision from there.

    Charles Leclerc on the possible penalty

    But, the FIA confirmed another new Control Electronics for Leclerc, taking him to three for the season and thus pushing him over the permitted number of components. As such, he drops 10 places on the grid for the first Canadian GP to be held since 2019.

    A new Control Electronic has been fitted to Charles’ car prior to FP2. It is the third of these elements used so far this season – only two are permitted – therefore Charles takes a grid penalty.

    Ferrair’s statement.

    This now gives Red Bull’s Max Verstappen a major boost in the race for the 2022 Drivers title, the reigning world champ comes into this weekend with a 34 point buffer over Leclerc.

  • Canadian Grand Prix

    We are back in Canada, after not being here since 2019! It’s a new track to some of the drivers, as well as being the home Grand Prix of both Nicholas Latifi and Lance Stroll.

    Will Ferrari bounce back after their double DNF last weekend? Or will Red Bull continue on their run of race wins? Can Mercedes have another strong weekend? It’s all to play for this weekend…

    Who needs a good weekend?

    Ferrari for sure, they need to be worried about the power unit and what effect it could have on the championship. A big points haul is needed for the Italian team and in the past at Canadian GP, Ferrari does like it here so hopefully they can turn things around here?

    Alfa Romeo, need a good weekend for both of their drivers, Bottas was no where in Azerbaijan and Guanyu Zhou had to retire in the pits which is unlucky for him as it could of been a ‘what if he continued’ situation.

    Magnussen needs a good weekend, 3 DNFs in the last four races isn’t good for Haas. Hopefully this weekend will be a different story for the American team!

    Predictions for qualifying-

    My top five are- Pole: Leclerc, P2: Verstappen, P3: Perez, P4: Sainz and P5: Russell.

    At this moment in time, Charles is the best qualifier, only qualifying 1st and 2nd so far this season, he seems to put it all together when it counts. Where as for his teammate, he does a few little mistakes on his lap, which could and has knocked him down a few places.

    I could see a McLaren getting in the top 10, and possibly Bottas? If Alfa Romeo sort out their car in qualifying whilst on the soft tyre there will be no problem, but at the moment we don’t know what were going to get from them!

    Times for the weekend-

    Friday 17th-

    • FP1- 19:00pm – 20:00pm (BST)
    • FP2- 22:00pm – 23:00pm

    Saturday 18th-

    • FP3- 18:00pm – 19:00pm
    • Qualifying- 21:00pm – 22:00pm

    Sunday 19th-

    • Race – 19:00pm

  • F2 & F3 to race in Melbourne from 2023

    Following Formula One’s announcement that the Australian Grand Prix will stay in Melbourne until 2035, the FIA Formula 2 and FIA Formula 3 promoters have announced that from 2023 both championships will feature the Albert Park circuit on their calendars, subject to World Motor Sport Council approval.

    The surprise announcement was made as part of the new deal, since F1 has been racing at the Albert Park circuit in 1996, it has never been joined by its main support series.

    The trip to Melbourne will be the furthest either championship has ventured from their European heartlands.

    F2’s predecessor GP2, previously reached the Pacific region with rounds at Sepang in Malaysia and Singapore’s Marina Bay Circuit. F3 was scheduled to debut in the United States in 2021 but the event was cancelled because of logistical issues.

    This great news for Formula 2 and 3, as well as fans! I feel like both series’ are getting more and more fans, as they both race on the same weekends as F1 and it’s shown by them going further afield and securing their place in motorsport.

    I am extremely happy to add Melbourne to both F2 and F3 calendars from 2023. It further enhances the international aspect of both our championships, having them race on a new continent. It also shows that more and more circuits believe that F2 and F3 are an added value to the Formula 1 Grand Prix experience, showcasing the next generation of drivers.

    FIA Formula 2 and Formula 3 CEO, Bruno Michel.

  • Aus GP renewed till 2035

    The Australian Grand Prix will remain in Melbourne until 2035, following a deal to extend the race’s agreement beyond 2025 by a further 10 years.

    More than 419,000 fans visited Albert Park for the 2022 Australian Grand Prix in April, making it the largest ever crowd for a weekend sporting event in Australia.

    Albert Park has hosted the Australian GP since 1996, with significant investment made over the past two years in order to improve the circuit, fan experience and facilities – whilst there are further improvements, including the paddock and pit lane, are planned in order to continue the circuit’s modernisation.

    The date of next year’s Australian Grand Prix will be provided in due course and once the 2023 calendar is finalised, it will be subject to the World Motor Sport Council approval.

    I am delighted to confirm that Melbourne and the Albert Park circuit will continue to be on the Formula 1 calendar until 2035. The race has always been a favourite for the fans, drivers and the teams and Melbourne is an incredible and vibrant international city that is a perfect match for our sport. This year we saw huge crowds and passionate fans at the Grand Prix, and we are very excited by the future in Australia as our sport continues to grow. I want to thank the Victorian Government, Daniel Andrews, Premier of Victoria and Martin Pakula, Minister for Tourism, Sport & Major Events for their tireless support for the event in Melbourne, as well as Andrew Westacott and Paul Little from the AGPC for making this already long-term partnership secure for the future. We are all looking forward to being back in Melbourne next season with all our fans.

    Stefano Domenicali, President and CEO of F1.

    This is a sensational announcement that is simply great for Melbourne and Victoria. It builds on our rich motor sport history as well as Melbourne’s love of big sporting events and provides aspiration to the next generation of Aussie racing stars. We’re proud of our strong relationship with Formula 1 and together we will grow the sport in Australia and the broader Asia-Pacific region. Everyone at the Australian Grand Prix Corporation looks forward to taking the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix to new levels over the course of the next 13 years.

    Andrew Westacott, CEO of the Australian Grand Prix Corporation.

  • Canada Tyre Allocation

    After a two year absence, Canada is back on the calendar and we have the tyre allocation ready for us.

    Pirelli have chosen the softest tyres in the race, which was the same last time here in 2019, it is also the same as the past two races (Monaco and Azerbaijan.) C3 (Hard), C4 (Medium) and C5 (Soft). In 2019, the winning strategy was a one stopper, starting on mediums and finishing on the hard.

    Montreal has some similar elements of Baku, thanks to its heavy traction and braking demands, on a rapidly-evolving surface but with lower speeds and cooler weather.

    Talking about the weather, it often has been a major feature of the Canadian Grand Prix: the 2011 race is still the longest in F1 history. Which saw six safety car periods and a lengthy interruption that neutralised the action for several hours. It’s never easy to predict the conditions and there’s also a reasonable chance of rain.

    Canada will pose a number of question marks for the teams: the weather is often variable, all previous data is three years old, and we have a completely different range of tyres with new compounds and structures, on a track that is hardly ever used – which will lead to a very high degree of evolution. Compared to their last visit to Montreal, the drivers should find compounds that are more stable with a wider working range, enabling them to push harder throughout each stint with a much lower risk of overheating. One interesting aspect to Montreal is that it has one of the lowest pit lane time loss penalties on the calendar, meaning that a car can be in and out of the pit lane in less than 20 seconds. This could open up a few options in terms of strategy.

    Mario Isla, Motorsport Director.

  • Piastri closing in on deal for 2023

    Oscar Piastri is closing on a deal to drive for Williams in Formula 1 next season, with his debut potentially confirmed by the end of the month

    The Alpine test and reserve driver has been the talk of the paddock as he is one of F1’s most promising young drivers, and wont a hat-trick of titles across the Formula Renault Eurocup, Formula 3 and Formula 2 from 2019 to 2021.

    But, he missed out on an instant F1 graduation for 2022, as Alpine had no room and they could not find or agree a deal for Piastri to go on loan elsewhere. Piastri has spent 2022 so far testing last year’s Alpine alongside his role as the team’s reserve driver.

    The Aussie, is still under contract with Alpine for next year but is thought to have a release clause of some kind if he does not have a deal agreed for him to race in F1 by the end of June. Alpine is still not able to put Piastri in its own team as Esteban Ocon is contracted to the end of 2024, and two time world champion Fernando Alonso is all but confirmed for 2023.

    Alpine has made it clear that in the circumstances it is happy to let Piastri join another team but on a short term basis as they are not keen to lose such a highly rated driver permanently. Multiple sources have indicated the solution looks increasingly likely to be loaning Piastri to Williams.

    It’s to be rumoured, that Piastri’s move will be announced at the British Grand Prix, as that even begins at the end of June – the aforementioned contractual deadline for Alpine to secure Piastri’s future and the race at which Alpine’s team principal, Otmar Szafnauer hoped to be able to confirm its driver plans.

    Williams is clearly amenable to such an arrangement as for the 2022 season, the British team struck a similar deal with Red Bull to sign Alex Albon, whom Piastri is likely to partner when he makes his F1 debut. Albon has been extremely impressive in 2022, whilst his team-mate Nicholas Latifi has struggled, lacking pace and also suffering some expensive crashes.

    Latifi’s position at Williams has so far been guaranteed by the funding he brings and his father was also integral in helping the team manage some debts early in pandemic, that helped Latifi extend his stay till 2022, but its is not expected to last beyond a third season.

    But rumours continued to fly around at the Azerbaijan GP, that Piastri could replace Latifi from this year’s British GP onwards. Latifi has denied these claims and denied he would leave the team mid season and expects to stay until the end of the year…

  • F2 Driver given race ban & paddock altercations

    Formula 2 Driver, Amaury Cordeel has been banned from the next round at Silverstone after accruing 12 penalty points on his license.

    The Van Amersfoort driver has gained penalty points for many reasons, including ignoring track limits repeatedly at Imola, failing to respect yellow and red flags in Jeddah as well as failing to complete the formation lap in grid order at Barcelona last month.

    His various offences had combined to 11 penalty points heading into the Baku weekend, and he notched that point after colliding with Olli Caldwell in Sunday’s Feature Race.

    Having considered the matter extensively, the Stewards determined Car 14 (Caldwell) was behind Car 25 (Cordeel) between Turns 3 and 4. Car 14 chose an outside line and was alongside Car 25 on the straight approaching Turn 4. Car 25 was focused on the cars ahead and did not see Car 14 on the left. Car 25 moved across to the left, making contact with Car 14 and forcing them both into the wall. Both cars retired. Car 25 was deemed to be wholly at fault for causing the collision.

    The FIA’s ruling on the collision.

    Cordeel will miss Formula 2’s next race weekend at Silverstone as a result, becoming the first F2 driver to receive a race ban since Mahaveer Ranganathan in 2019.

    Not only this, a €5,000 fine has been given to Charouz driver, Cem Bolukbasi after his father was involved in a paddock altercation with Williams test driver and Dams driver, Roy Nissany and his trainer in the paddock.

    Nissany, called Bolukbasi an ‘idiot’ over team radio when the pair both retired after colliding with each other and the words continued as Bolukbasi’s father, Yavuz confronted him in the DAMs tent, which lead to a ‘heated verbal exchange’ between them and Nissany’s trainer, Francesco Martinez as he also got involved afterwards.

    Bolukbasi senior, has had his event credentials for Silverstone revoked as a result, whilst his son has to pay the €5,000.

    Mr Bolukbasi admitted he lost his temper when he thought Car 19 (Nissany) made a derogatory comment about his son. As the verbal exchange escalated, the trainer for Roy Nissany became involved and there was some pushing and physical contact between the father and trainer. No punches were exchanged and the unwanted guests were removed from the area. At no time will physical violence, nor the threat of such be tolerated.

    The FIA statement on the altercation.
  • Round 8- Azerbaijan GP

    Round 8- Azerbaijan GP

    Another Azerbaijan GP complete and we definitely had a few shock surprises along the way!

    Max Verstappen takes his 5th win of the season, with his team mate joining him making it Red Bull’s third 1-2 of the season also. George Russell’s keeping it consistent as he finished in P3!

    The full top 10 are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Perez, P3: Russell, P4: Hamilton, P5: Gasly, P6: Vettel, P7: Alonso, P8: Ricciardo, P9: Norris and P10: Ocon.

    What a weekend for the Bull’s! Both drivers are making it count at the moment and you can see that when there driving. Perez seems like his got so much more confidence in the car, since his win and signing a 2 year deal!

    This isn’t what Ferrari wanted or needed, Charles had a power unit issue and Carlos with a hydraulic issue – no points for either driver and it’s having some effects to the drivers and constructors standings…

    What a weekend for Mercedes! Being there when it matters is key and that’s what they keep on doing. Both drivers in top 5 and another podium to add George’s tally! A quick side note- I hope LH is okay considering he couldn’t barley move after the race and getting out of the car was a struggle!

    Gasly back in the top 5 is nice to see, and at a track he done well at last year makes it even better, let’s hope Baku is a turning point for Alpha Tauri now!

    Someone else who needs a mention is Seb! P6 finish after going straight on in one of the run off areas and then having to spin round (which was beautiful) and then climb his way back up to get those all important points.

    Now onto the Papaya team, I said they had an opportunity to score points, and they did – a double points finish for Lando and Daniel! Again maybe this is the start of turning things around, especially for Daniel.

    The Championship-

    Max Verstappen still leads the championship with 150 points, his teammate is close behind him in 2nd with 129 points and then its Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in third on 116 points. But, Leclerc needs to watch himself as Mr Consistency is making moves, Russell finds himself in fourth on 99 points – just 17 points between the pair. We then have Carlos Sainz in fifth on 83 points.

    Red Bull remain in the top spot and extend their lead as they sit comfortably on 279 points, then it’s Ferrari in 2nd of 199 points, with the Silver Arrows coming at them rather quickly, they are on 161 points. We then have a big gap to 4th, which is McLaren who are on 65 points and then Alpine are now in fifth on 47 points after a double points finish today.

  • F2 Baku- Day 2 & 3

    F2 Baku- Day 2 & 3

    Day 2-

    Speaking ahead of the Sprint Race, Mercedes junior Frederik Vesti believed it would be decided on the final lap around Baku, but I don’t think he even could predict what happened. Throwing caution to the wind late on, the ART Grand Prix driver charged his way to the front and to his first victory in Formula 2.

    Having led the majority of the race, Jehan Daurvala had to settle for second after three safety cars in the second half of the race wiped away his advantage. Whilst Liam Lawson, demonstrated Baku’s overtaking capabilities as he carved his way through from P9 to get the final podium spot.

    Hauger was the first to bring out the safety car as he tried to make a move past Pourchaire into Turn 3, but went straight into the barrier after locking up. Once we was racing again, it didn’t last long as Vips HiTech was cut off by Enzo Fittipaldi and was unable to turn left, sending the duo into the run off area at Turn 2.

    Leaving it late on the restart, Daruvala locked up leaving the door wide open for Vesti to storm past the PREMA and up into the lead. Lawson then made his way past Drugovich, and set his sights on Verschoor ahead for P3, unfortunately for the Trident driver he went in to deep at Turn 7 and planted himself in the barriers bringing out the Safety Car.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Vesti, P2: Daruvala, P3: Lawson, P4: Armstrong, P5: Drugovich, P6: Sargeant, P7: Pourchaire, P8: Iwasa, P9: Hughes and P10: Nissany.

    Day 3-

    Dennis Hauger claimed his first F2 Feature Race win after a tense battle with Juri Vips, which saw the Estonian driver crash out of the race. The pair were battling sector by sector in the closing stages and with just over five minuted remaining, the Hitech GP man clipped the wall in the castle section.

    Logan Sargeant completed a measured drive to take second, whilst our Championship leader, Felipe Drugovich extended his points advantage finishing third.

    Contact between Amaury Cordeel and Olli Caldwell at Turn 4 brought out the Safety Car early on. Racing then resumed on Lap 5, and Marcus Armstrong was immediately on the attack for P2.

    The Safety car was then back out on Lap 12 following an incident between Roy Nissany and Cem Bolukbasi – the Charouz Racing driver went into Turn 2 but on the exit the pair made wheel to wheel contact which saw both drivers go into the wall.

    Back to back fastest laps for Vips on Lap 19 and 20 but couldn’t quite break Hauger’s pursuit. Vips then clipped the wall with 5 minutes remaining and the frustration was clear on the Estonian’s face when he got out the car. The race finished under the Safety Car due to the HiTech car still being on track and debris.

    The top 10 were: P1: Hauger, P2: Sargeant, P3: Drugovich, P4: Daruvala, P5: Verschoor, P6: Fittipaldi, P7: Vesti, P8: Sato, P9: Boschung and P10: Hughes.

    We haven’t got that long to wait until we see F2 cars back on track, we have just under 3 weeks and we will be at Silverstone for Round 7 which marks the halfway mark in the championship!

  • Round 8- Azerbaijan Qualifying

    Round 8- Azerbaijan Qualifying

    The grid is all set for tomorrow’s Azerbaijan GP! With a mixed qualifying which saw a red flag, a stunning lap for a Ferrari driver and an Aston Martin driver in the top 10…

    But it was Charles Leclerc who took pole position once again, his 6th this year. He is joined by Sergio Perez who out qualifies his teammate for the second weekend in a row. Max rounds out the top 3.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Leclerc, P2: Perez, P3: Verstappen, P4: Sainz, P5: Russell, P6: Gasly, P7: Hamilton, P8: Tsunoda, P9: Vettel and P10: Alonso.

    I am actually quite surprised at the McLaren’s it looked like both drivers had pace to be in the top 10 but things don’t always work out that way – they are in the middle of the pack which isn’t always the best but they could benefit by any first lap incidents and starting from 11th and 12th you can still get into the points, especially because it’s Baku and anything can happen!

    The Alpha Tauri’s WOW! They needed a good result and they got it, Gasly starting P6 which we love to see and takes us back to his great qualifying form from last year. And Yuki Tsunoda starting 8th is like a dream for the team. Hopefully both drivers can keep out of trouble and score a good amount of points and make up for this season!

    A driver who I expected to be in the top 10 was Bottas, his starting P15, behind his teammate so it will be interesting to see how both Alfa Romeo’s can get through the field…

    It feels good, this one. Obviously all pole positions feels good, but this one I probably did not expect it, because I thought Red Bull were stronger, especially in Q1 and Q2, I really struggled to see that we were faster, but then in the last lap, everything came together and I managed to do a good lap, so extremely happy… I’m really excited for tomorrow.

    Charles Leclerc on pole position in Baku!

    Predictions-

    My top fie for the race tomorrow is – P1: Leclerc, P2: Verstappen, P3: Perez, P4: Sainz and P5: Russell.

    I feel like we will have a crazy race tomorrow, no doubt that there will be a safety car which the teams will have a strategy for as they know how this circuit can be, but who will get that strategy right and will we see a surprise podium? Or something we didn’t expect…

    Times for tomorrow-

    Feature Race F2 – 08:05am (BST)
    F1 Race – 12:00pm

  • F2 Baku- Day 1

    F2 Baku- Day 1

    Free Practice-

    Juri Vips was the fastest man in the free practice session today, he set a 1:55.924 to end practice ahead of Lawson and teammate Marcus Armstrong.

    Strong winds kept the trees that line the circuit blowing as the drivers took to track for their initial laps. A dusty surface meant times were unrepresentative in the early phases of the session.

    Enzo Fittipaldi was the first to have a brush with the wall, the Charouz racing driver nudged the exit wall at Turn 4 but was able to continue without any visible concerns. Clement Novalak found himself facing the wall soon after in the first sector, bringing out the red flag.

    The session was back to green with 20 minutes, but it didn’t stay that way as Boschung’s joy at the top was short-lived as he was the next to find the wall – the Campos Racing man lost the rear end of his car on downshift and spun backwards into the barrier at Turn 5, bringing out the red flags for the second time.

    The full top were- P1: Vips, P2: Lawson, P3: Armstrong, P4: Doohan, P5: Vesti, P6: Daruvala, P7: Drugovich, P8: Boschung, P9: Verschoor and P10: Hauger.

    Qualifying-

    Mr Juri Vips narrowly missed out on pole position last year, but made amends this year as he stormed to P1 in a highly competitive qualifying session in Baku. The HiTech driver had been stuck down in 10th following his opening run, but a surprise burst of pace was enough to put him 0.163s clear of Lawson as Dennis Hauger made it an all Red Bull junior top three.

    As drivers started to back out with 11 minutes remaining, and the flying laps started they was brought to a hault due to Ayumu Iwasa who was determined to push his car to the limits- he carried to much speed into Turn 4 and collided with the barrier – he looked untouchable earlier on in the session as he was sitting comfortably on provisional pole.

    The Japanese driver’s mistake blew the fight for pole wide open as Richard Verschoor and Hauger both clocked in personal bests. But it was the final minute of the session that showed who had mastered the streets of Baku.

    The full top 10 are: P1: Vips, P2: Lawson, P3: Hauger, P4: Armstrong, P5: Drugovich, P6: Verschoor, P7: Sargeant, P8: Daruvala, P9: Vesti and P10: Hughes.

  • Azerbaijan Grand Prix

    The Azerbaijan GP is here once again, and it hosts Round 8 out of 22! After an unexpected race here last year, what could happen this year and will Max settle his unfinished business here after last year’s retirement?

    Just like Monaco, the Baku City Circuit has areas where mistakes can’t be made, but unlike in Monaco there is more overtaking chances, especially down the straight.

    Who needs a good weekend?

    The Ferrari boys need a good weekend, the last 4 races a Red Bull has won, which has led them to lead both championships and have Perez close in on Charles in 2nd. Sainz needs to get a good amount of points on the board as he is 27 points away from Perez who is in 3rd. Either way a Ferrari needs to win this weekend to get back on form which we saw in the early few races.

    Both Haas’ will also be wanting to do well this weekend, as they look to try and score double points (fingers crossed). After having both cars DNF last time out, Haas will be wanting to score to get further up in the constructors, they currently sit in 8th just two points away from Alpha Tauri in 7th.

    Guanyu Zhou will be hoping for a good weekend, having scored a point in his first ever F1 race, it hasn’t all gone his way this year, finishing just outside the points in both Saudi Arabia and Australia, he then finished 15th in Imola and had two DNF’s in Miami and Spain, he then bounced back to finish 16th in Monaco. In F2 last year, he finished 3rd in Sprint Race 1 – hopefully he can put that to good use and get in the points this weekend!…

    Predictions for qualifying-

    My top five are- Pole: Verstappen, P2: Leclerc, P3: Perez, P4: Sainz and P5: Hamilton.

    I feel like the battle for 5th will be between both Mercs, Lando Norris and Valtteri Bottas – all have very good cars and it looks like McLaren and Alfa Romeo have unlocked a bit more than Mercedes at this moment in time.

    Times for the weekend-

    Friday 10th

    • Free Practice F2 – 09:35am – 10:20am (BST)
    • Free Practice 1 F1 – 12:00pm – 13:00pm
    • Qualifying F2 – 13:30pm – 14:00pm
    • Free Practice 2 F1 – 15:00pm – 16:00pm

    Saturday 11th

    • Sprint Race F2 – 10:30am – 11:15am (BST)
    • Free Practice 3 F1 – 12:0pm – 13:00pm
    • Qualifying F1 – 15:00pm – 16:00pm

    Sunday 12th

    • Feature Race F2 – 08:05am (BST)
    • F1 Race – 12:00pm

  • Williams fined for breach of financial regulations

    Williams racing have been fined $25,000 following a procedural breach of Formula 1’s financial regulations, the sports governing body the FIA announced yesterday.

    From 2021, the teams have been required to submit an interim account of their spending against the cost cap – which this year runs at $141.2 millions for the period between January and April by the end of June each year. Their annual spend must be reported by the end of the following March.

    Williams had failed to hit the second deadline of 31st March 2022, with the FIA informing the team of their procedural breach the following month.

    The British team accepted they had not obeyed the rules, with the FIA saying in a statement that the team explained the steps that they had taken in a bit to avert the breach.

    As the breach was voluntarily disclosed by the team in advance of the deadline and fully cooperated in seeking a remedy, the Cost Cap Administration – a body created to monitor compliance of the financial regulations – offered the team an Accepted Breach Agreement (ABA).

    This involved a commitment from Williams to remediate the breach by 7pm on 31st May 2022, pay a fine of $25,000 and bear the costs incurred by the Cost Cap Administration in connect with the preparation of the ABA. Williams accepted the offer and have since fulfilled the tree requirements.

    Why is there a cost cap?

    A cost cap was brought into F1 for specific reasons, to allow the small teams to spend the same amount as the big teams. It also looks like the cost cap will decrease each year until they (F1) are happy with how much teams are spending.

  • Azerbaijan tyre allocation

    After a weeks break, we are back racing once again as we have another double header, with our first destination being Azerbaijan this weekend.

    Pirelli have chosen the tyres for this weekend those being the softest tyres in the range, C3 (Hard), C4 (Medium), C5 (Soft). This is the same selection as last year’s Azerbaijan GP.

    Baku’s street circuit has a personality of its own, combining rapid straights with some narrow and technical sections, especially around Turn 9 in the old city centre. As a result, the high downforce setups which the teams used in Monaco won’t be used here, teams prefer to go for a low to medium downforce set up.

    The weather can be warm in Baku, with the track temperature in excess of 50 degrees, but the tight confines of the building around the circuit mean that there are areas around the track with light and shade, varying the track temperature quite a bit around the lap.

    The winning strategy last year was effectively a one-stopper (although the race was red flagged close to the end). The favoured strategy was soft to hard, with the soft tyre being fitted for the last three laps.

    Until Jeddah came along, Baku was the fastest street circuit of the year. But the demands of this city track are still relatively low, as none of the corners take a huge amount of energy out of the tyres due to the low levels of abrasion and contained lateral loads – which means that we can have the same nomination as Monaco. Having said that, the high speeds in Azerbaijan still place a certain demand on the tyres. The main point is all about traction, with finding the right balance between front and rear axles being the key challenge for all the teams: you need to have enough heat in the front tyres to generate grip, despite the long straights that cool them down, but not too much heat at the rear, otherwise it’s easy to overheat them in the traction zones. Track temperature is also inconsistent in Baku, so all in all it’s quite a specific track with a few different technical challenges, which are nonetheless the same for everyone.

    Mario Isla, Motorsport Director.

    Formula 2

    The Medium and Supersoft tyres have been chosen for this weekend in Baku for Formula 2. This is the same nomination as previous years, even though the supersoft is a new compound for 2022. But the same compounds have already been seen this season at Imola.

  • Round 9- Jakarta E-Prix

    Round 9- Jakarta E-Prix

    FP1-

    Mahindra’s Oliver Rowland fired to the top of the timesheets in the first Free Practice ahead of the inaugural Jakarta E-Prix, with a 1m 08.433s. But it wasn’t all glorious, as the drivers had to battle tricky, dusty conditions.

    The circuit has been designed with bumps, banking, camber and all the typical twists of a street circuit, with fast flowing sections where poise and balance are key.

    Rowland’s benchmark came late into the session, with Buemi firing in his lap right a the last minute. Lucas di Grassi had sat atop the timing screens for the latter part of FP1 before those final runs came through but wound up third, although just a tenth of a second back.

    The full top 10 were- P1: Rowland, P2: Buemi, P3: Di Grassi, P4: Dennis, P5: Vergne, P6: Evans, P7: Da Costa, P8: De Vries, P9: Wherelein and P10: Frijns.

    FP2-

    DS Techeetah’s Jean-Eric Vergne left it late to top the timesheet and when he did he was a huge four tenths of a second clear of his teammate, Antonio Felix da Costa. The Frenchman’s 1m 07.549s lap was almost a second quicker than Oliver Rowland’s in FP1.

    Da Costa set his lap late to pip Jake Dennis to second, with the Brit looking handy and haing been at the sharp end of the times in both practice sessions, as has Mitch Evans who made the top six again.

    The top 10 were- P1: Vergne, P2: Da Costa, P3: Dennis, P4: Evans, P5: Mortara, P6: Ticktum, P7: Turvey, P8: Wehrlein, P9: Giovinazzi and P10: Vandoorne.

    Qualifying-

    Jean Eric Vergne beat his teammate, Antonio Felix da Costa in the Final Duel in qualifying for the first Jakarta E-Prix with a 1m 08.523s, by eight tenths of a second.

    The DS Techteetah duo made it an all black an gold finale in the session – the first time two teammates had squared off against one another in the Final Duel and Vergne’s collected lap was more than enough for his 15th Julius Baer Pole Position – a new record.

    Da Costa’s lap was lost after he dropped a couple of tenths through Turn 3, despite managing to drag the car to the apex of Turn 4. His DS Techteetah looked more of a handful than his teammates.

    The top 10 were- P1: Vergne, P2: Da Costa, P3: Evans, P4: Mortara, P5: Dennis, P6: Wehrelin, P7: Buemi, P8: Vandoorne, P9: Lotterer and P10: De Vries.

    Round 9-

    Mitch Evans fended off the close attentions of Jean-Eric Vergne and Edoardo Mortara to take his third win of the season at the inaugural Jakarta E-Prix.

    The Jaguar driver made a late-race lunge that caught then leader Vergne off-guard at Turn 7 on Lap 31. From there, energy management became increasingly critical for the lead duo as they fought between themselves and against searing track temperatures.

    That allowed Mortara to join the party and look to pick up the pieces as Evans and Vergne squabbled. Evans had five minutes plus added time to hold the pair off, with the race anybody’s heading into the final turn and his rear tyres fading fast. The Kiwi held on though, to head Vergne home with Mortara right with both of them – all three drivers within a second of one another.

    The top 10 are- P1: Evans, P2: Vergne, P3: Mortara, P4: Da Costa, P5: Vandoorne, P6: Dennis, P7: Di Grassi, P8: Wehrelin, P9: Bird and P10: Buemi.

    We are back in just under a month for Round 10, where we will be going to Marrakesh on the 2nd of July!

  • A look into Jakarta

    Round 9 is here and we are in Jakarta, Indonesia, home to 273 million people and its the first taste of the leading electric racing series and a return to motorsport’s world stage.

    It’s uncharted territory for all the drivers and teams, just 16 points split the top three drivers as we are just over the halfway mark of the season – with only one victory up for grabs this weekend who could possibly take it?

    Eight rounds, and five different winners could we possibly see that number going to 6? Or will a previous driver take that win. Nyck de Vries won Round 8, and Edoardo Mortara Round 7, that Mercedes engine looks very powerful, will we see them take to the podium?

    The Circuit-

    With the Jakarta International E-Prix Circuit making its debut, the drivers will be facing a challenging 18 turn circuit with the back drop of Jakarta Bay.

    The circuit is a purpose built track pulling together all the best elements of street racing to the Ancol Beach City resort. The 2.37km circuit kicks off with a long run into the tight opening sector into a following series of turns and banked corners which then lead up to a tight complex to round out the lap with a long run down the fast start/finish straight.

    Jakarta

    Formula E has been a regular in Asia since the championship’s first campaign, with 16 races at five locations so far in the region. The circuit’s development is aimed at leaving a lasting legacy in the city.

    Timings-

    Saturday 4th June-

    • Free Practice 1- 01:15am – 01:45am (BST)
    • Free Practice 2- 03:00am – 03:30am
    • Qualifying- 04:40am – 05:55am
    • Round 9- 09:04am
  • Ricciardo’s future in doubt?

    Ricciardo’s future in doubt?

    Rumours are growing every race weekend at the moment, as there is uncertainty whether Daniel Ricciardo will be keeping his seat at McLaren…

    Ricciardo has accepted that his time at the Papaya team has not delivered the results he or his bosses would have liked, but he is committed for the full three years of his contract…

    Daniel has only scored points on two occasions this year, his home race in Australia, and the sprint race in Imola… His sat on 11 points in 11th, 4 places away from his teammate and 37 points.

    Zak Brown, spoke ahead of a trip to visit the Indianapolis 500, suggested that McLaren’s deal with Ricciardo was not completely watertight. He (Zak) also suggested that there were break clauses that could open the door for a parting of ways if things did not improve.

    I don’t want to get into the contract, but there are mechanisms in which we’re committed to each other, and mechanisms in which we’re not. I spoke with Daniel about it. We’re not getting the results that we both hoped for, but we’re both going to continue to push. I think he showed in Monza [last year] he can win races. We also need to develop our race car; it’s not capable of winning races. But we’d like to see him further up the grid.

    Zak Brown, on whether there was a get out clause for driver or team.

    But after last weekend in Monaco, there’s more rumours coming about. The statements from the McLaren team are something to take into consideration also but at the moment Danny Ric’s seat isn’t safe whether that’s this year or next…

    Who could possibly take his seat?

    I’ve seen a few possibilities which could potentially take his seat, they are- Colton Herta, Pierre Gasly and Oscar Piastri (if he didn’t get the Alpine seat).

  • Perez stays till 2024!

    Perez stays till 2024!

    Just after claiming his first Monaco victory, Sergio Perez is now celebrating more this week as Red Bull retain the Mexican for another two years!

    Perez, joined Red Bull Racing last season and took one victory in Azerbaijan and four more podiums to finish fourth in the drivers championship.

    Already this season, he has 3 second place finishes and his victory in Monaco last weekend, he currently sits in third in the drivers and is 15 points adrift of leader and teammate Max Verstappen.

    Since joining Oracle Red Bull Racing, Checo has done a fantastic job. Time and again he has proved himself to not only be a magnificent team player but as his level of comfort has grown he has become a real force to be reckoned with at the sharp end of the grid. This year he has taken another step and the gap to World Champion Max has closed significantly, evidenced by his superb pole position in Jeddah earlier this year and by his wonderful win in Monaco just last weekend. For us, holding onto his pace, race craft and experience was a no-brainer and we are delighted that Checo will continue to race for the team until 2024. In partnership with Max we believe we have a driver pairing that can bring us the biggest prizes in F1.

    Christian Horner on Sergio Perez.

    For me, this has been an incredible week, winning the Monaco Grand Prix is a dream for any driver and then to follow that with announcing I will continue with the Team until 2024 just makes me extremely happy. I am so proud to be a member of this Team and I feel completely at home here now. We are working very well together and my relationship with Max, on and off the track, is definitely helping drive us forward even more. We have built tremendous momentum as a Team and this season is showing that, I am excited to see where that can take us all in the future.

    Perez on his new contract.

    My Opinion-

    Ayyy!! We love to see it! I think we all knew this was coming after Sunday as Perez said ‘I think I signed to early’ after him winning Monaco! But it’s a good decision for him and the team, his helped the team massively last year and this year.

  • Mercedes want to cut one customer team

    Toto Wolff, has said Mercedes could drop one of their customer engine teams in the future due to the low profit margins.

    Mercedes currently supply to Aston Martin, McLaren and Williams with power units, which makes their engines the most used among the grid ahead of Ferrari whose power units are deployed by three teams.

    The budget cap in Formula 1 has begun to take hold of the teams and cost cutting measures have been taken or are starting to come into play as the affects are being felt.

    As a result of this, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff would prefer to keep their production costs down and letting a customer team go. But Wolff has not gave any indication on who he could be letting go…

    Unfortunately, the business of leasing engines is not compelling and interesting because the FIA have put in a certain limit you can charge to your customers in order to protect the smaller teams. I’d rather have six [customer cars], push the development further down the line and then make two engines fewer, because you need to produce two fewer plus two spares for every team. In an ideal world, I would maybe see us plus two [customers], so actually downsize a bit.

    Toto Wolff talking to Financial Times.

  • Round 7- Monaco GP

    Round 7- Monaco GP

    Did we just have a chaotic and interesting Monaco GP?? I think we did! There was a threat of rain for today’s race, going into the weekend and boy did we get it!

    Sergio Perez wins the Monaco GP, him now being the most successful Mexican F1 Driver as he took his third career win. Carlos Sainz finishes in 2nd, two years in a row! And Max Verstappen rounds out the podium, another great weekend for Red Bull!

    The full top 10 are- P1: Perez, P2: Sainz, P3: Verstappen, P4: Leclerc, P5: Russell, P6: Norris, P7: Alonso, P8: Hamilton, P9: Bottas and P10: Vettel.

    To start, we had a delayed race and wasn’t sure why at first but it turned out to be a power problem. But it had been raining, and whilst we was waiting for the race to start the rain got heavier… We saw the cars go round on formation laps but it was just too wet to start.

    Eventually we got racing, and without a safety car also, but it was all about strategy and who would get it right…

    Lap 27 came around, and it saw Mick Schumacher spun and crash at the swimming pool section which then brought a red flag, 3 laps later- the crash saw the gearbox and rear suspension detach from his Haas. His teammate also retired due to a system water pressure loss.

    A what could’ve been day for Charles, as he finally finishes a home race for the first time. He got told to pit, and then his team came on the radio to tell him not to pit but it was too late… This compromised the Monegasques race, but he bounced back from not scoring any points last week.

    Disappointing race for Haas, both drivers DNF, the first time this year and the team won’t be happy about it. Hopefully we see them bounce back in Baku next time out.

    A good race for one McLaren, Mr Lando Norris – he didn’t want it to rain, but he didn’t seem to mind it in the end after finishing 6th and looked like he was closing in on GR in the final few laps.

    Now onto the Silver Arrows, another good race for Russell, he maintains the top 5 finishes for this season! Now onto Hamilton, he got stuck behind a slow Fernando Alonso who looked like he settled for 7th, which compromised the 7 time world champions race as he had a lot more pace.

    The Championship-

    Max Verstappen is still leading the championship, but Charles Leclerc is sitting in 2nd only 9 points away, Perez is now closing in on the pair as he is 6 points away from the Ferrari driver. Russell remains in fourth, and Sainz is in fifth but there is one point between the two drivers.

    Looking at the teams, Red Bull lead the Constructors on 235 points, Ferrari are in 2nd on 199 points. We then have a big gap to third which is Mercedes on 134 and then another gap to fourth, which is McLaren on 59 points. Alfa Romeo are in fifth but Alpine is just one point behind them.

    We are back in two weeks and we have another double header! We go to Azerbaijan on the 10th to 12th June, and then we return to Canada a week later on the 17th to 19th June!

  • F2 Monaco- Day 3 & 4

    Day 3-

    PREMA’s, Dennis Hauger secured his first win in Formula 2 around the streets of Monte Carlo. Hauger, capitalised on a stall by reverse pole-man Jake Hughes at lights out to assume the lead of the race and he never looked back.

    Jehan Daruvala, made it a PREMA one-two, with Marcus Armstrong following closely behind and completing the podium. Lap 10 came along, when Clement Novalak hit the wall on the exit of La Rascasse, with the Safety Car being brought out, Ayumu Iwasa received a 10 second time penalty for the incident.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Hauger, P2: Daruvala, P3: Armstrong, P4: Fittipaldi, P5: Vips, P6: Pourchaire, P7: Doohan, P8: Lawson, P9: Nissany and P10: Sargeant.

    Day 4-

    Pole-sitter Felipe Drugovich made it three wins in four races to extend his lead at the top of the Drivers’ Championship. After a disappointing Sprint Race retirement, the MP Motorsport driver turned his fortunes around to hold off Theo Pourchaire in a race of attrition.

    A late gasp of pace from Juri Vips wasn’t enough to bring him into the fight as the Hitech Grand Prix driver settled for third.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Drugovich, P2: Pourchaire, P3: Vips, P4: Doohan, P5: Fittipaldi, P6: Armstrong, P7: Hauger, P8: Daruvala, P9: Sargeant and P10: Sato.

  • Round 7 – Monaco Qualifying

    Round 7 – Monaco Qualifying

    Well, another crazy qualifying in Monaco is complete, which saw a few surprise exits as well as a crash in Q3 which saw people not being able to complete their final laps.

    But it’s home boy hero, Charles Leclerc on pole position, with no-one being able to get close to him! Carlos Sainz makes it an all Ferrari front row. Sergio Perez, rounds out the top 3!

    The full top 10 are- P1: Leclerc, P2: Sainz, P3: Perez, P4: Verstappen, P5: Norris, P6: Russell, P7: Alonso, P8: Hamilton, P9: Vettel and P10: Ocon.

    A crash from Sergio Perez brought the final qualifying session to an end, as he lost the rear and went into the barrier, with Carlos Sainz doing the same- at the exact time aswell which caused there to be a traffic jam as drivers couldn’t get through.

    Gasly got knocked out in Q1 as he wasn’t able to get to the flag in time, he starts the race in P17, a what could’ve been today as it looked like he had really good pace so far but now onto tomorrow, what can he do from P17?

    Danny Ric out in Q2, and is starting P14- sandwiched between both Haas’ not a good day at all, which is a bit confusing as Lando Norris is starting P5!

    Someone I have to mention though, is Sebastian Vettel, starting P9! He done a mega lap in Q2 so he wouldn’t get knocked out, and he managed to get his Aston Martin into P9.

    A mixed day for Ferrari and Red Bull, for Ferrari its more of a good day obviously the pole for Leclerc, but the crash for Sainz once again has got to be hurting the team… Where as Red Bull more of a down day, Perez crashing which ruined his and his teammates lap, but as well as this it looks like Max isn’t comfortable in the car this weekend.

    Predictions-

    Well, these predictions I done before qualifying as I recorded my podcast- so I won’t change them (even though I want too!).

    My top five are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Sainz, P3: Hamilton, P4: Perez and P5: Russell.

    There is an 80% chance of rain during the race tomorrow, so this may add some chaos to the Monaco race. Strategy is key here, the teams will be wanting to get the pit stops right * Flashback to last years Monaco GP, VB *

    Times for tomorrow-

    Feature Race F2- 08:50am (BST)
    F1 Race- 14:00pm.

  • F2 Monaco – Day 1 & 2

    Day 1-

    Championship leader, Felipe Drugovich led the way in the Free Practice session in Monte Carlo, he clocked in a 1:21.589, Drugovich’s effort was just enough to hold off Campos Racing’s Ralph Boschung.

    It was HiTech’s Marcus Armstrong, who set the first representative lap of the 45 minute session. However times quickly began to tumble as Boschung topped the sheets with a 1:26.741.

    Traffic once again proved to be a thorn in several drivers’ sides, including Drugovich who was forced to abandon several fast laps after coming across a train of cars at Turn 19.

    Running was constant throughout the session, with only Juri Vips and Marino Sato bringing out yellow flags in Sector 1, with both drivers suffering near-identical front lockups and headed into the run off at Turn 1, before swiftly getting going again.

    Day 2-

    Liam Lawson set the fastest time in qualifying around the streets of Monte Carlo, narrowly beating out Ayumu Iwasa by 0.059s. Championship leader Felipe Drugovich hit the wall on his final effort but remained third quickest in group A. Meanwhile, Theo Pourchaire topped the Group B with a 1:25.535.

    A slow burn in Group B followed, but a red flag in the final minute prevented any last-gasp improvements. A crash for Van Amersfoort Racing’s Jake Hughes, at the swimming pool chicane ended the session prematurely. It meant that Pourchaire’s penultimate attempt was good enough for the top spot in the second group.

    But, things never stay the same in F2! Liam Lawson, Ayumu Iwasa and Olli Caldwell all got post qualifying penalties.

    Lawson, had been fount guilty of failing to reduce his speed under a single-waved yellow flag. As a result, Lawson’s best time got deleted and as well as receiving a five place grid drop, dropping him down to P11 for tomorrows Sprint Race.

    Iwasa, has been awarded a 10 place grid penalty, after failing to abandon his flying lap whilst under a double waved yellow flag at the end of qualifying. His best lap time has been deleted, demoting him from P2 of his group. Iwasa’s second-best time now sees him classified in P7, and with the penalty applied he’ll start the sprint race from P20.

    Last but not least, Olli Caldwell has been fount guilty of impeding Marino Sato at Turns 2, 3 and 4 during Group B’s qualifying session, the Campos driver failing to let Sato through who was on a fast lap. As a result, Caldwell has been handed a three-place grid drop for his next race.

    The full top 10 for tomorrows sprint race is: P1: Hughes, P2: Hauger, P3: Daruvala, P4: Armstrong, P5: Fittipaldi, P6: Vips, P7: Doohan, P8: Pourchaire, P9: Drugovich and P10: Boschung.

  • Monaco Grand Prix

    The most prestigious motor race is here, we are in Monaco for Round 7 of the 2022 F1 Season! It is also the home GP of Charles Leclerc, will he finally have a good race result here and make up for scoring no points last week? Or will Max Verstappen continue with his charge?

    With overtaking not really possible here, qualifying is everything, so will we see some good performances from drivers to get further up the grid?

    Who needs a good weekend?

    Charles, even before what happened last week, he needs a good home GP. Last year, he qualified on pole before crashing, but if he does the same again (without the crashing part), there’s no reason why he shouldn’t win this race.

    Daniel needs a good weekend, he qualified well last week, but he just went backwards in the race and ended up finishing outside the points, which McLaren wouldn’t have wanted.

    Pierre Gasly, he got out performed by his teammate last week, and he managed to get into the points also. Pierre will be hoping to have a good qualifying and then he can go from their and see what he can do.

    I think Aston Martin need a good weekend also, they brought basically a new car last week so it will be interesting to see how the car does around different tracks, but more importantly this week.

    Predictions for qualifying-

    My top five are- Pole: Leclerc, P2: Verstappen, P3: Sainz, P4: Hamilton and P5: Russell.

    As I said earlier, qualifying is everything, so everyone will be pushing to improve their laps, but no mistakes can be made, its Monaco after all and it’s can bite at any point and ruin the drivers’ lap.

    Times for the weekend-

    Friday 27th

    • F2 Qualifying Group A- 10:40am – 10:56am (BST)
    • F2 Qualifying Group B- 11:04am – 11:20am
    • Free Practice 1 F1- 13:00pm – 14:00pm
    • Free Practice 2 F1- 16:00pm – 17:00pm

    Saturday 28th

    • Free Practice 3 F1- 12:00pm – 13:00pm (BST)
    • Qualifying F1- 15:00pm – 16:00pm
    • Sprint Race F2- 16:40pm – 17:25pm

    Sunday 29th

    • Feature Race F2- 08:50am (BST)
    • F1 Race- 14:00pm.

  • Monaco tyre allocation

    It’s race week once again, and we are in Monaco for Round 7, and the most famous street circuit of all! Let’s take a look at the tyre allocation.

    The softest compounds have been selected for the Monaco GP, C3 (Hard), C4 (Medium), C5 (Soft).

    Like Barcelona, Monaco is extremely well-known to the teams, with it being just one of three circuits still on the calendar that originally appeared in the inaugural 1950 Formula 1 season. Unlike the other two (Spa and Silverstone), the track hasn’t changed shape significantly since then, which means that it has the lowest average speed of any track and very little run-off, making it hard to overtake.

    The slippery street asphalt, and slow speeds mean that the energy going through the tyres is low with minimal wear and degradation, but quite a high degree of track evolution each day.

    This means that a one-stopper is the normality, but there’s quite a wide pit stop window and the timing of the stops can be influenced by safety cars, which are very likely around the tight circuit.

    The cars run a special high-downforce configuration for Monaco in order to maximise grip at low speeds. This weekend is obviously the first time for the new 18 inch tyres have race at Monaco, so the teams will have a lot to learn about how they react in the conditions.

    Monaco is often described as one of the most unpredictable races of the year, but the truth is that qualifying takes on a particular significance as track position is key here. As a result of that, understanding how to maximise the softest C5 compound – which has only raced at one event so far this year, in Australia – will be a vital part of free practice. With the previous rule requiring drivers to start the race on their fastest Q2 tyre now abolished, we might see some different strategies this year, with some drivers picking harder compounds to begin the race to target running a long first stint, given the difficultly of overtaking. Others may choose a more traditional approach by starting on the softest compound, at a race where strategy can make a real difference.

    Mario Isla, Motorsport Director.

    Formula 2

    Formula 2 will also be racing in Monaco this weekend, with the softest available compounds: the Soft tyre and the Supersoft tyre. This is the same nomination from 2021 and prior years, although the supersoft is a revised compound for 2022.

  • F1 set to group races by region

    Formula 1 is planning to group races by region in 2023 in an effort to improve its sustainability credentials by reducing freight movements and personnel travel.

    The strategy was revealed by F1 boss, Stefano Domenicali during the Spanish GP weekend, with a meeting with the team principals.

    In 2019, Liberty announced a plan to make F1 carbon neutral by 2030, and rationalising the calendar is seen as a key part of that ongoing commitment. At the same time, a more efficient schedule will tackle the dramatic rise in freight costs that has impacted both the F1 organisation itself and the teams.

    Whilst some races have traditionally been grouped together, there are anomalies in the calendar in the way some flyaway races are placed. This season, Miami was a standalone race involving a North American trip for just one race weekend, whilst the upcoming races in Baku and Montreal in June are back to backs but far apart geographically.

    Although, Domenicali did not go into extensive detail in the meeting of what could change, its understood that Baku could be grouped in a run of races with Shanghai and Suzuka. One complication that F1 still faces is the COVID-19 situation in China still remains unclear, and moving it towards the end of the season creates some extra breathing space.

    Another option that could potentially happen, is to pair Miami and Montreal, which means that one or the other will have to move from its 2022 date by a month. Monaco’s traditional end of May date reduces F1’s flexibility at that time of year.

    The Middle Eastern races could also be paired together, with Bahrain and Saudi Arabia together at the start of the year, and Qatar and Abu Dhabi towards the end of the season.

    My Opinion-

    About time they did this, it doesn’t make sense for us to go from Italy to the US and then to Spain. As well as the cost, you’ve got to think of the teams, as F1 wants a big calendar grouping races together will make it easier for teams.

  • Round 6- Spanish GP

    Round 6- Spanish GP

    WOW! A chaotic race in Spain, saw us with a new championship leader… A race which is normally a two stop turned into a 3 stop, and there was a risk of a 4 stop also.

    Max Verstappen WINS the Spanish GP, he now moves into the lead of the Championship, his teammate comes home to make it a 1-2, with team orders taking a play which Perez wasn’t very happy about… But the final podium spot goes to George Russell, the new minister of defence!

    The full top 10 are: P1: Verstappen, P2: Perez, P3: Russell, P4: Sainz, P5: Hamilton, P6: Bottas, P7: Ocon, P8: Norris, P9: Alonso and P10: Tsunoda.

    A mixed day for Ferrari, Carlos spun and went into the gravel trap earlier on, which saw him drop down out of the top 10. But Leclerc looked like he wrapped up the race from early on, but it never stays that way in F1, as he lost power which saw his race come to an end as he retired in the pits.

    A great day for the Mercedes team, especially Lewis, he had contact on the first lap which saw him drop down to the bottom and then pit for new tyres as he had a slow puncture, he then fought his way up to the top five! Mr George Russell aswell, round of applause for him, mostly fought the Red Bulls today and held of Max for a long time! Safe to say the Mercedes upgrades have worked.

    What a drive from Fernando Alonso, started P20 and finished in P9, great damage limitation from him. And his teammate finishing in P7, a good points haul for Alpine.

    A mixed day again for Alfa Romeo, mechanical issues again for Guanyu Zhou, his race ending earlier than usual, but for VB a big points haul in P6.

    The Championship-

    Max, now leads the championship by 6 points! Everybody in the top 10, apart from Max and Charles, have stayed in the same position. Perez now has 85 points in third, Russell sat behind him in 74 points, and Carlos Sainz has 65 points and he rounds out the top 5.

    Red Bull lead the Constructors, with 195 points and Ferrari are in 2nd with 169 points. Mercedes sit comfortably in third with 120 points a 70 point gap between them and McLaren who are in 4th. Alfa Romeo are in fifth with 39 points, slowly catching the papaya tomorrow.

    We will be back next week for the second race of our double header, Round 7 in Monaco, the home Grand Prix of Charles Leclerc.

  • F2 Barcelona- Day 2 & 3

    F2 Barcelona- Day 2 & 3

    Day 2-

    Felipe Drugovich made up for the post-qualifying penalty by winning the Sprint Race. Demoted to fourth on the grid, he seized the lead at Turn 1.

    The MP Motorsport driver led every lap from that point and victory moved him to the top of Formula 2 Drivers Championship. Ayumu Iwasa and Logan Sargeant were able to secure their maiden F2 podiums, finishing second and third.

    The Sprint Race was not good for Juri Vips, as he spun at Turn 4 in which he beached himself in the grave and it saw the Safety Car come out.

    The full top 10 are: P1: Drugovich, P2: Iwasa, P3: Sargeant, P4: Daruvala, P5: Pourchaire, P6: Doohan, P7: Vesti, P8: Fittipaldi, P9: Lawson and P10: Armstrong.

    Day 3-

    Felipe Drugovich, made it two wins from two in Barcelona, winning the Feature Race after his Sprint Race success on Saturday. The MP Motorsport driver made it look simple from 10th on the grid, extending his stint on the soft tyres longer than anyone else before catching and passing Jack Doohan for the win.

    The Virtuosi Racing driver did everything right, but his early pit stop left him on tyres five laps older than the Brazilian’s. His first podium of the 2022 F2 season will offer some comfort heading into Monaco. Frederik Vesti made his best F2 qualifying result count and the ART Grand Prix driver completed the podium.

    The full top 10 are: P1: Drugovich, P2: Doohan, P3:Vesti, P4: Sargeant, P5: Novalak, P6: Fittipaldi, P7: Armstrong, P8: Pourchaire, P9: Lawson and P10: Nissany.

    The Championship-

    Drugovich’s dominance in Barcelona has helped him into a 26 point lead, as Pourchaire remains second with an okay weekend. Daruvala is narrowly ahead of Lawson and Armstrong who moved himself up into the top five.

    MP Motorsport made the tyres work fo rboth drivers, which has extended their points tally at the top of the Teams’ Standings to 108 points. ART remain in second with 85 and Carlin sit in third with 73 points.

    We don’t have long to wait till the next round, as we are back next week for Round 5, in Monaco!

  • F3 Barcelona – Day 2 & 3

    F3 Barcelona – Day 2 & 3

    Day 2-

    Campos Racing’s David Vidales, held his nerve to achieve his first victory in Formula 3 at both his and his team’s home race. The rookie coped under pressure from the start, getting a strong start from reverse-grid pole and managed to keep a charging Jak Crawford back, the PREMA driver had to settle for second.

    Meanwhile, there was a battle behind the top 2, for the final podium spot as Juan Manuel Correa fought hard on his return to F3 after an injury. However the ART driver’s tyres faded and he was overtaken by Caio Collet and Arthur Leclerc, to finish fifth.

    The full top 10 are: P1: Vidales, P2: Crawford, P3: Collet, P4: Leclerc, P5: Correa, P6: Smolyar, P7: Frederick, P8: Stanek, P9: Ushijima and P10: Hadjar.

    Day 3-

    Victor Martins put the disappointment of an early retirement in the Sprint Race behind him, after putting on a dominant display to secure his second win of the Formula 3 season. The ART Grand Prix driver, seized the lead into the opening corner and didn’t look back even with controlling the pace during two Safety Car restarts.

    Pole-sitter, Roman Stanek, put up a strong defence to keep Isack Hadjar at bay for second.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Martins, P2: Stanek, P3: Hadjar, P4: Smolyar, P5: Bearman, P6: Crawford, P7: Collet, P8: Colapinto, P9: Frederick and P10: Correa.

    The Championship-

    Victory promotes Victor Martins back into the lead of the Drivers’ Championship. Another solid weekend of results, moves Roman Stanek up into second, six points clear of Red Bull junior Jak Crawford. Isack Hadjar is in fourth, and Arthur Leclerc rounds out the top five.

    PREMA Racing, retain their hold at the top of the Teams’ Championship on 120 points, ART Grand Prix remain second ahead of Trident. Hitech Grand Prix are fourth and MP Motorsport sit in fifth.

    Formula 3 will be back in July, and we will have 3 rounds across the month, but the first round is Silverstone on the 1st to 3rd.

  • Round 6 – Spain Qualifying

    Round 6 – Spain Qualifying

    What a qualifying we have just witnessed, from a Ferrari spinning, to a home town hero being knocked out in Q1, a lap time deleted which promoted a Haas into Q3 and a Red Bull loosing power on the final flying lap!

    But, it was Charles Leclerc who took pole position for the Spanish Grand Prix, with a spin on his first flying lap in Q3 he only had the chance to do one lap which he made count, we then have Max Verstappen joining him on the front row, as he wasn’t able to improve his final lap as he lost power before he even started it. Carlos Sainz makes it a 1-3 for Ferrari on his home turf, hoping to get the jump on the Red Bull at the start of the race.

    The full top 10 are- Pole: Leclerc, P2: Verstappen, P3: Sainz, P4: Russell, P5: Perez, P6: Hamilton, P7: Bottas, P8: Magnussen, P9: Ricciardo and P10: Schumacher.

    A big well done to Haas, not only have they got both cars into Q3, but they had to take apart Micks cars in FP3 due to a fire, and they managed to get it ready for qualifying! Big day tomorrow for both cars, as they have brought no upgrades and will be hoping both cars can score points.

    McLaren, mixed day for the Woking based team, good to see Danny Ric starting in the top 10, hopefully with the right strategy he can score a good amount of points, but for Lando, he got into the top 10 for Q3, but got his laptime deleted which sees him start P11. Which is not that bad considering his just outside the top 10, he will be hoping to stay out of trouble at the start tomorrow.

    Not the day for Fernando Alonso, and Alpine as a whole, we didn’t really see that pace their like we have done in recent rounds. The Spaniard is starting 17th, a lot of work to do at a track where overtaking isn’t major.

    A good day for Bottas, in the top 10 once again, he will be hoping to score points in tomorrows race. His teammate, Guanyu Zhou starts P15.

    Predictions-

    My top five are- P1: Leclerc, P2: Sainz, P3: Verstappen, P4: Hamilton and P5: Russell. If Leclerc and Sainz can look after their tyres in the race and the Ferrari team perfect the strategy and pit stops then I don’t see why they won’t get a double podium.

    Bottas, Magnussen and Ricciardo could all be battling for that 6th position in the race, if things go their way and they stay out of trouble in the opening laps.

    Times for tomorrow-

    Feature Race F3- 09:05am (BST)
    Feature Race F2- 10:35am
    Round 6- 14:00pm