Mercedes have announced that their reserve driver, Nyck de Vries will be behind the wheel of the W13 during the first practice session of this weekend’s French Grand Prix in place of Lewis Hamilton.
The FP1 run for the 27 year old, is a part of the 2022 sporting regulations, that teams are obliged to run rookie drivers in two FP1 sessions across the season. Red Bull and Williams have already completed one session so far.
This will be the Dutchmans second FP1 outing of the season, he took the wheel of the Williams FW44 in place of Alex Albon at the Spanish Grand Prix earlier this season.
This isn’t the first time De Vries will be in a Mercedes car, he jumped in the Merc at last year’s post-season Abu Dhabi Grand Prix test as well as 2020. He is currently the reigning Formula E Champion, taking the title for Mercedes last year alongside fellow Mercedes reserve, Stoffel Vandoorne. Again, De Vries is driving in Formula E sitting eighth in the standings with four races left.
Nyck is replacing Lewis in first practice this weekend, as part of the allocated sessions for young drivers this year. So, we’re looking forward to seeing how he gets on. Our understanding of the W13 is growing with every lap and it’s encouraging to see that reflected in our development and results. While we were quicker in Austria, we still weren’t quick enough to challenge at the front. We need to keep chasing those final few tenths and bringing new developments to the cars, including this weekend in France. Paul Ricard is a very different track and challenge. It has smooth tarmac and a wide range of corner types, along with long straights. The aim will be to make further inroads on the gap to the front and hopefully be back on the podium.
Toto Wolff, Mercedes Team Principle.
This weekend @nyckdevries will be taking the wheel of W13 for FP1. 👊
Lewis has chosen this weekend to fulfil the first of two young driver sessions required by all teams this season. George has selected one later in the year. pic.twitter.com/aNimIvCClU
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) July 20, 2022
After a two week break we are back and the French GP has arrived. We have been given the tyre allocation for the weekend.
The following are the tyres nominated for the weekend: C2 (Hard), C3 (Medium), and C4 (Soft).
The Paul Ricard Circuit is quite well balanced where there is a bit of everything: fast corners and flat-out straights as well as slower and more technical sections. All of that is placing medium-severity energy loads on the tyres, which is why it makes a good test track.
The Mistral straight – named after the famous French wind, which can also disrupt the aerodynamic balance of the cars – it also has the potential to cool the front tyres down. This can than affect the turn-in at Signes immediately afterwards, which is the most demanding corner of the entire circuit.
Going off track is definitely a no no , the distinct red, white and blue tricolour markings contain a high-friction material which is designed to slow cars down quickly but with high risk to flat spot the tyres.
Last year’s winning strategy was a two-stopper from Verstappen. It was a gamble as he was the only front runner to stop twice, with those behind stopping once, but it paid off in the end.
This year’s French Grand Prix takes place nearly a month later than it did last year, when it rained on Sunday morning, so it’s fair to expect warmer temperatures. This year’s generation of tyres and compounds is different and more resistant to overheating than the 13-inch versions used last year, so we’ll have to see how that affects the strategy. A bit of history: Paul Ricard was actually where our 18-inch tyres for the current era made their debut, at a test with Renault and Sergey Sirotkin back in 2019.
Mario Isla, Motorsport Director
Formula 2-
F2 will be back racing in France this weekend, the first time since 2019. The hard and soft tyres have been nominated for this weekend. This combination has already been seen in four of the previous eight rounds, most recently at Silverstone.
Located in Le Castellet, the Paul Ricard Circuit is a well balanced track with flat out and technical sections that pose a challenge for the tyres!
As we are halfway through the 2022 season already, lets take a look at penalty points and see who is the closest to getting a race ban…
Formula 1’s penalty points system is designed to keep the drivers’ behaviour on track in check. The points are issued for driver transgressions, with the amount varying on the severity of the incident. 12 points over the course of a 12 month period will see the driver have one race ban.
Seven points-
Max Verstappen
Two points: Expires 12 September 2022. Collision with Lewis Hamilton during the 2021 Italian GP.
Two points: Expires 21st November 2022. Ignoring double yellow flag during qualifying at the 2021 Qatar GP.
One points: Expires 5th December 2022. Leaving the track and gaining an advantage during the 2021 Saudi Arabian GP.
Two points: Expires 5th December 2022. Causing a collision with Hamilton during the 2021 Saudi Arabian GP.
Pierre Gasly
Two points: Expires 12th September 2022. Causing a collision with Fernando Alonso during the 2021 Turkish GP.
Two points: Expires 22nd May 2023. Causing a collision with Stroll during the 2022 Spanish GP.
Two points: Expires 10th July 2023. Causing a collision with Vettel at the 2022 Austrian GP.
One point: Expires 10th July 2023. Track limits during the Austrian GP.
Lance Stroll
Two points: Expires 1st August 2022. Causing a collision at the 2021 Hungarian GP.
Two points: Expires 26th September 2022. Causing a collision with Pierre Gasly at the 2021 Russian GP.
Two points: Expires 10th April 2023. Causing a collision with Latifi at the Australian GP.
One point: Expires 10th April 2023. Weaving whilst defending during the 2022 Australian GP.
Six Points-
Fernando Alonso
Two points: Expires 10th October 2022. Causing a collision with Schumacher during the 2021 Turkish GP.
Two points: Expires 8th May 2023. Causing a collision with Gasly during the 2022 Miami GP.
One point: Expires 8th May 2023. Cutting the track and gaining an advantage at Miami GP.
One point: Expires 19th June 2023. Weaving whilst defending at the Canadian GP.
Alex Albon
Two points: Expires 6th March 2023. Causing a collision with Stroll during the 2022 Saudi Arabian GP.
One point: Expires 22nd May 2023. Exceeding track limits during Spanish GP.
One point: Expires 29th May 2023. Gaining a lasting advantage by leaving the track during the 2022 Monaco GP.
Two points: Expires 9th July 2023. For forcing Lando Norris off track at the 2022 Austrian GP.
Yuki Tsunoda
Two points: Expires 14th November 2022. Causing a collision with Stroll during the 2021 Brazilian GP.
Two points: Expires 5th December 2022. Causing a collision with Vettel during the 2021 Saudi Arabian GP.
Two points: Expires 3rd July 2023. Causing a collision with Pierre Gasly during the 2022 British GP.
Four points-
Esteban Ocon
One point: Expires 12th September 2022. Causing a collision with Vettel during the Italian GP 2021.
Two points: Expires 20th March 2023. Causing a collision with Schumacher during the 2022 Bahrain GP.
One point: Expires 29th May 2023. Causing a collision with Hamilton during the 2022 Monaco GP.
Three points-
Valtteri Bottas
Two points: Expires 1st August 2022. Causing a collision at the 2021 Hungarian GP.
One point: Expires 21st November 2022. Failing to slow for a yellow flag at the 2021 Qatar GP.
Two points-
George Russell
Two points: Expires 10th July 2023. Causing a collision with Sergio Perez during the 2022 Austrian GP.
Daniel Ricciardo
One point: Expires 25th March 2023. Impeding Esteban Ocon at the Saudi Arabian GP.
One point: Expires 8th May 2023. Gaining a lasting advantage by leaving the track during the Miami GP.
Kevin Magnussen
Two points: Expires 8th May 2023. Causing a collision with Stroll during the 2022 Miami GP.
Zhou Guanyu
One point: Expires 26th March 2023. Gaining a lasting advantage by leaving the track during the 2022 Saudi Arabian GP.
One point: Expires 10th July 2023. Exceeding track limits.
One point-
Sergio Perez
One point: Expires 12th September 2022. Overtaking by going off track at the 2021 Italian GP.
Lando Norris
One point: Expires 10th July 2023. Exceeding track limits during the 2022 Austrain GP.
Sebastian Vettel
One point: Expires 10th July 2023. Exceeding track limits at the 2022 Austrian GP.
Nicholas Latifi
One point: Expires 12th June 2023. Ignoring blue flags during the 2022 Azerbaijan GP.
Van Amersfoort Racing took to social media to announce that Jake Hughes will not be racing the next two rounds due to having a positive covid test. David Beckmann will be replacing him for the double header in France and Hungary.
As France and Hungary are consecutive race weekends, Hughes won’t be able to recover in time and will miss both rounds.
After finishing sixth in Formula 3 in 2020, Beckmann has yet to compete in a full season of Formula 2, budget issues saw him dropped by Charouz halfway through the 2021 season, despite taking two podiums for the team.
These rounds will be Beckmann’s third and fourth this season, having already been a stand-in already this season. In Imola, he replaced Cem Bolukbasi after his injury in the previous round. Then Beckmann took Amaury Cordeels spot, as he had to serve a race ban after acquiring 12 penalty points on his license.
Beckmann has managed to grab points already this season, but another four points could easily bump him up to 19th in the standings, which is very impressive considering he’ll have only competed in four out of ten rounds.
Also still driving as a substitute for the next two rounds in Roberto Merhi, who is replacing Ralph Boschung until he recovers from his neck injury.
Wishing Jake Hughes well and we will see him back on the grid soon!
Red Hook had received more rain overnight after yesterday afternoon’s weather-hit Round 11. The Brooklyn Street Circuit was wet-dry for much of the session but was mainly clear of standing water, with only damp patches on the asphalt.
Temperatures were cool but the track came to the drivers as they fired in their 250kW full power runs towards the end of the running, with Sam Bird firing in the quickest time of the session by some distance on a 1m 08.745s, until round 11 winner, Cassidy went within one tenth of a second after the team’s overnight rebuild job following the heavy shunt that occurred and ended Round 11 early.
The full top 10 are: P1: Bird, P2: Cassidy, P3: Di Grassi, P4: Da Costa, P5: Dennis, P6: Evans, P7: Frijns, P8: Lotterer, P9: Rowland and P10: Wehrelin.
Qualifying-
Nick Cassidy sealed a second Julius Baer Pole Position, with the New Zealender set to start from the front row for Round 12.
The last two polesitters squared off against each other and after the first corner alone Cassidy had almost fount two tenths of a second. As the pair wound their way around Red Hook’s docklands, da Costa did reel the Envision driver in. Cassidy was able to keep it neat and tidy through the final few turns though and da Costa found himself too much to do.
A brake-by-wire issue took standings leader Edo MOrtara out of the Groups and see him marooned right at the back in 21st. Jean-Eric Vergne, couldn’t capitalise to the fullest, clipping the wall on the way to the 13th quickest time.
But it wasn’t meant to be for Nick Cassidy as he was hit with a penalty, and stripped of his pole position for Round 12. The battery pack and the RESS radiator were changed following Round 11, and as it is the fifth RESS radiator used this year on Cassidy’s car, he has received a 30-place penalty.
In addition as Cassidy can only take a 21 place drop, he has been awarded a drive through penalty for the nine untaken grid places. Antonio Felix da Costa now takes pole position.
The full top 10 are- P1: Da Costa, P2: Sims, P3: Lotterer, P4: Sette Camara, P5: Vandoorne, P6: Evans, P7: De Vries, P8: Askew, P9: Dennis and P10: Frijns.
Round 12-
Antonio Felix da Costa led lights to flag in the New York City E-Prix Round 12 to bring home his and DS Techeetah’s maiden win of Season 8, with Stoffel Vandoorne following in second – eating away at Edo Mortara’s points advantage at the top of the driver standings.
The Portuguese sprinted away from Julius Baer Pole Position and fended off the attentions of Sims early on before Vandoorne applied the pressure later on in the race. However, the Mercedes-EQ driver could not find any way through, with da Costa measuring things to the flag.
Vandoorne’s 2nd place will likely be more than enough for one of Formula E’s most consistent scorers to leave the Big Apple- with a big smile on his face, especially with Drivers’ World Championship leader Mortara only managing a point and 10th spot.
We are back in two weeks for the London E-Prix and it is another double header and on the 30th to 31st of July! Who will be victorious in London?
Stoffel Vandoorne hit the ground running in New York City with the fastest time in Free Practice 1 at the Brooklyn Street Circuit in Red Hook.
The Mercedes-EQ driver set a 1m 09.836s, some three tenths quicker than Sergio Sette Camara. Vandoorne is looking to recover following a recovery drive to eighth position last time out in Marrakesh whilst the rest of the top four in the Drivers’ running scored well. Oliver Rowland (Mahindra Racing) rounded third in the practice session.
The full top 10 are- P1: Vandoorne, P2: Sette Camara, P3: Rowland, P4: Bird, P5: Mortara, P6: Wehrlein, P7: Da Costa, P8: De Vries, P9: Gunther and P10: Dennis.
Free Practice 2-
Antonio Felix da Costa was the one to set the pace in Free Practice 2 with a 1m 08.684s lap, two tenths up the road from Jaguar TCS Racing’s Mitch Evans and Jake Dennis.
The DS Techeetah driver made the most of improving track conditions after Friday’s dusty start to fire his car to the top. Evans was best of the Drivers’ World Championship top four with standings leader Edo Mortara down in ninth spot and fellow challenger Stoffel Vandoorne, one spot ahead in eighth.
The full top 10 are- P1: Costa, P2: Evans, P3: Dennis, P4: Wehrlein, P5: Frijns, P6: Vergne, P7: Lotterer, P8: Vandoorne, P9: Mortara and P10: Giovinazzi.
Qualifying-
Nick Cassidy, Envision Racing, sneaked Julius Baer Pole Position for the NYC E-Prix Round 11 by just 0.008s from Stoffel Vandoorne, with the race teed up to cause a stir in the title battle.
Cassidy danced the car around a drying track following the earlier rain during the Group B running. The New Zealender and Vandoorne couldn’t be spilt around the whole lap, with the advantage heading one way then the next over the final duel. But the Envision Racing driver did enough to seal his third pole position in Formula E.
Current standings leader, Edo Mortara had failed to make it through the Groups but his 11 point lead in the championship remains intact after Vandoorne failed to bag those three bonus points for pole. But it could have been worse for Mortara, were it not for the weather that arrived midway through Group B.
Fellow title challengers Jean-Eric Vergne and Mitch Evans were caught out by the conditions, having failed to set a banker lap of note before the drizzle became rain and a faster lap than those that had come before went out of the window.
The full top 10 are- P1: Cassidy, P2: Vandoorne, P3: Di Grassi, P4: Wehrelin, P5: Buemi, P6: Sims, P7: Frijns, P8: Bird, P9: Mortara and P10: Da Costa.
Round 11-
Nick Cassidy took a maiden Formula E race win in a rain-hit New York City fro Round 11, heading home Lucas di Grassi and teammate Robin Frijns.
Julius Baer Polesitter, Cassidy had produced the goods throughout to lead from the front through both Attack Mode activations, with di Grassi and Frijns applying the pressure behind as the race headed towards its conclusion – the pair having deposed Vandoorne from second on Lap 27 as the points race twisted and turned.
Standings leader Edo Mortara had also worked his way up to fifth with a late second Attack Mode – the ROKiT Venturi Racing driver having missed out on the Duels in qualifying, starting ninth.
Into the final 10 minutes plus one lap of the race and the heavens opened, with heavy rain buffeting the Brooklyn Street Circuit out of nowhere, leaving pools of standing water in the braking zone to Turn 6.
A full course yellow was called by Cassidy, di Grassi and Vandoorne – as well as Mortara couldn’t help but aquaplane straight on and into the wall. A number of other drivers fell foul in impossible conditions as the race was brought to an early conclusion with a red flag.
On count back, the results were taken as of the lap prior to the one in which the stoppage was called, as per article 41.9 of the regulations.
The full top 10 are- P1: Cassidy, P2: Di Grassi, P3: Frijns, P4: Vandoorne, P5: Buemi, P6: Wehrelin, P7: Bird, P8: De Vries, P9: Mortara and P10: Dennis.
Daniel Ricciardo has addressed speculation surrounding his future in Formula 1, confirming that he will be remaining on the grid until the end of 2023 and fulfilling the full duration of his McLaren contract.
Rumous have been flying around about whether or not his (Ricciardo) stay at McLaren would carry on beyond the end of the season with CEO Zak Brown, previously confirming there were mechanisms within his contract that could allow for an early exit from his deal.
The McLaren team, has most recently signed current IndyCar Champion, Alex Palou to its racing roster, with fellow young Indy talents Colton Herta and Pato O’Ward having also tested McLaren machinery since the end of last year.
Daniel, however has kept his mindset focused at the job at hand at McLaren, where he has struggled alongside Lando Norris so far this year – having scored 17 points compared to 64 for his team-mate and often being out performed by the young Briton, despite winning the Italian Grand Prix last year.
There have been a lot of rumours around my future in Formula 1, but I want you to hear it from me. I am committed to McLaren until the end of next year and am not walking away from the sport. Appreciate it hasn’t always been easy, but who wants easy! I’m working my ass off with the team to make improvements and get the car right and back to the front where it belongs. I still want this more than ever. See you in Le Castellet.
The ABB FIA Formula E World Championship makes a return to the Big Apple for the New York City E-Prix for Round 11 & 12 of Season 8.
The Championship is gearing up for its fifth visit to Brooklyn’s Red Hook neighbourhood and the Brooklyn street circuit for a fifth double-header in the city.
With only 3 race weekends left and six races, the championship is heating up. Mortara leads the Championship on 139 points, Vergne is sat in second 11 points behind. Vandoorne is in third, on 125 points, and going to be on the charge for the points he lost out on in Marrakesh.
Looking at the teams championship ROKIT Venturi Racing lead both championships on 205 points, DS Techeetah are in 2nd on 203 point and then Mercedes in 3rd on 198.
The Circuit-
This weekend’s track is a favourite of the drivers, teams and fans alike, and the 2.320km, 14 turn Red Hook racetrack remains unchanged from its familiar layout.
The circuit winds its way around the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal site in the heart of the Red Hook neighbourhood of Brooklyn. It’s a test; lined with miles of unforgiving concrete, with views across the Buttermilk Channel and over towards Lower Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty.
Britain’s Sam Bird, is the most successful racer around the Brooklyn Street Circuit, with three wins to his name – including a spectacular double win on Formula E’s first visit to the city.
Van Amersfoort Racing’s Jake Hughes set the pace in Free Practice, ending up fastest of all by four-tenths. The Briton’s 1:15.038 was a late effort that put him clear of the pack, followed by ART Grand Prix teammates, Theo Pourchaire and Frederik Vesti. Just 0.230s separated second position from 10th as the short layout of the circuit closed the gaps between all drivers.
Overnight rain had cleared by the time Free Practice got underway in Spielberg, but the task at hand was far from simple. With such a short lap around the Red Bull Ring, traffic was a challenge almost immediately.
Calan Williams stranded Trident brought out the Virtual Safety Car as he stopped on the side of the road beyond Turn 3.
Now onto Qualifying, Frederik Vesti put his qualifying issues that plagued his start to the season firmly to bed, claiming his first pole position in Formula 2. It all came down to his second run after a track limit violation saw his time deleted, plummeting the ART Grand Prix driver to the back of the order at the halfway point.
Juri Vips was unable to pip the Dane at the last minute and the two were separated by three-thousandths of a second. Logan Sargeant put himself firmly in the fight at the front with third, as Ayumu Iwasa blazed up to fourth with a last gasp attempt at the chequered flag.
Day 2-
As the sun beamed down on the Red Bull Ring, Marcus Armstrong was ready to shine lining up on reverse grid pole. Seizing the opportunity with both hands the New Zealander aced his start to keep Pourchaire behind. However, his getaway wasn’t a patch on Drugovich’s. The orange MP Motorsport car launched right inbetween Verschoor and Doohan when the lights went green, but the Brazilian had no room to squeeze through.
Whilst the rest of the field got away cleanly, elbows were already out in the fight for the podium. Banging wheels into Turn 1, Doohan managed to make his way past Verschoor and sent the Trident driver back into Drugovich’s clutches.
Track limit warnings were looming over several drivers heads as they fought to keep their cars within the white line. The arrival of DRS saw a four-car battle to form for fifth, as Verschoor, Vips, Sargeant and Iwasa formed a train along the Spielberg straights.
The full top 10 are: P1: Armstrong, P2: Pourchaire, P3: Doohan, P4: Drugovich, P5: Vips, P6: Verschoor, P7: Sargeant, P8: Fittipaldi, P9: Hauger and P10: Iwasa.
Day 3-
There was a mix of strategy on the grid, with half the grid starting on slicks and the other half on the full wets. A dry line was beginning to form on the track surface, but the rooster tails remained on the formation lap.
Vips soared into the lead at lights out as pole-sitter Frederick Vesti bogged down and lost second to Iwasa. At Turn 4 the ART GP driver took the place back, finding grip on the wet patches of track ahead of him while Iwasa was left to run over the dry line.
The sprint winner, Marcus Armstrong didn’t get close to repeating his victory from the previous day. He came to a halt at Turn 3, bringing out the Safety Car. Vips led comfortably at the restart, but Pourchaire was on the move, cleaning Doohan into Turn 3 at the first time of asking.
Meanwhile, Felipe Drugovich tumbled down the order, falling from within the top 10 to 18th on his overheating wet tyres. Those on slicks were comfortably quicker than on the wet tyres. Verschoor and Daruvala cleared Sargeant and Iwasa with ease in the space of one corner onto the seventh lap. The trident driver then secured the lead with Daruvala and Merhi close in tow.
Merhi was enjoying his deputising role and was up to second on Lap 11, sliding down the inside of Daruvala into Turn 3, up 19 positions from where he started the race.
It was Verschoor who crossed the line in P1, but he got disqualified from the Feature Race after the Trident team were unable to provide the required post-race fuel sample for scrutineering. Jehan Daruvala had also received a post-race driver through penalty, which has been converted to a 20-second penalty in the final classification. The stewards found that the PREMA racing team had attempted to dry the track surface at his grid slot ahead of the race commencing. It drops down the PREMA driver, down to 12th after corssing the line to finish 2nd.
The full top 10 after penalties are- P1: Sargeant, P2: Fittipaldi, P3: Merhi, P4: Hauger, P5: Hughes, P6: Caldwell, P7: Iwasa, P8: Vips, P9: Nissany and P10: Lawson.
Formula 2 is back next week for Round 9, on the 22nd to 24th July at Circuit Paul Ricard!
Madrid, has officially expressed an interest in hosting a Formula One race, the city’s regional government announced last month.
Although there are no Formula One-grade tracks in Madrid, and Spain already hosts a race in Barcelona which is contracted until 2026, the Spanish capital believes they can open talks with F1 organisers, Liberty Media about hosting a race.
I would like to confirm our commitment to you and to this project, as well as our willingness to sign the appropriate agreements to promote the race and offer a great sporting and entertainment spectacle.
Local government cabinet minister, Enrique Lopez.
Madrid hosted F1 Grand Prix’s between 1968 and 1981 at the Jarama Circuit, which is our dated and would need a major upgrade to be able to host a race again.
Last year, the local government of Morata de Tajuna, 36km south of Madrid, confirmed that it was seeking to build an FIA Grade 1 circuit with the ambition of hosting Formula 1 as well as Moto GP.
My Opinion-
Part of me would love a new track for Spain, but there is also a part of me that’s thinking we have a good track, and there’s probably other tracks which could do with updating before we go and get new ones when the one we have now is okay?
Showers overnight saw Practice commence around a slippery Red Bull Ring. Fortunately for the 30 drivers the rain held at bay for the whole session, as they took the time to make some exploratory laps on the wet tyres.
Immediately getting to grips with the challenging conditions, Trident’s Roman Stanek laid down a cautious but representative 1:30.622, before he and MP Motorsport’s Alexander Smolyar began to trade fastest times.
At the halfway point, it was clear the wet tyre had served their purpose as a dry line had started to form around the Red Bull Ring, taking a gamble, the first driver to switch over to slicks was Arthur Leclerc. Turning the timing screens purple, times tumbled as drivers began clocking in their best laps of the session, the change in conditions saw lap times over 10 seconds quicker than those at the start.
Arthur Leclerc finished the practice session on the top spot, with Smolyar finished 2nd and Jonny Edgar 3rd.
Now onto qualifying, HiTech’s Grand Prix, Isack Hadjar claimed his first Formula 3 pole position, going two-tenths clear of title rival and Championship leader Victor Martins who will join his fellow Frenchman on the front row.
Oliver Bearman bettered PREMA Racing teammate, Arthur Leclerc for P3, whilst Kaylen Frederick made it two Hitech’s in the top five.
There was no sign of the damp conditions that drivers dealt with in practice, but the wind had picked up from the morning session as Caio Collet was warned of a headwin into Turn 3.
Day 2-
Caio Collet covered off Correa to retain the lead into the first corner, whilst Franco Colapinto challenged Crawford for third. Further back it was as much as four wide entering Turn 3.
Correa got a run into Turn 4 and went around the outside of the MP Motorsport car to take the lead. Colapinto also managed to sneak through on Crawford in the same place before a Safety Car was deployed.
The Safety Car was withdrawn entering Lap 4, and it was three Tridents that were instantly wheel to wheel, as Zane Maloney and Roman Stanek scrapped, Jonny Edgar slipped up the inside of the pair of of them at Turn 4. Corrrea’s strong start was for nought as on Lap six he coasted to a halt front he race lead to leave Collet at the head of the field.
On the next lap, Oliver Bearman made a late dive down the inside of Stanek to steal sixth position, however his move opened the door for Leclerc at Turn 4 and both PREMA drivers were through on the Trident man.
But it was Jak Crawford who wins his first F3 race, Caio Collet in 2nd and Franco Colapinto finished 3rd rounding out the podium. The rest of the top 10 are: P4: Leclerc, P5: Stanek, P6: Frederick, P7: Edgar, P8: Martins, P9: Smolyar and P10: Hadjar.
Day 3-
A big challenge arrived for the grid for the Feature Race, as heavy rain at the Red Bull Ring saw the drivers face a contest of attrition on wet tyres, with standing water everywhere and spray creating a lack of visibility, it was up to maiden pole-sitter Hadjar to lead the field away in a rolling start.
Despite never started from the front row in Formula 3, Hadjar nailed his launch allowing him to hold off an attack from Championship leader Martins. However, an error saw the rookie run wide into Turns 1 and 9, allowing fellow Frenchman Martins to close in on him.
The pair’s duel wasn’t slowing them down, as they continued to pull a gap to the PREMA duo of Bearman and Leclerc behind. As predicted, conditions began to east and a drier line began to form along the circuit, with the field urgently searching for wet patches of tarmac in order to run the blue walled tyres to the end of the race.
Outside the points, the two Charouz Racing System drivers of Francisco Pizzi and Zdenek Chovanec made contact whilst Josep Maria Marti charge to try to claim his first points finish in F3 took a knock.
But it was Hadjar who took the win in Austria, Victor Martins finished 2nd and Oliver Bearman grabs another podium in the bag! The rest of the top 10 are: P4: Leclerc, P5: Maloney, P6: Stanek, P7: Colapinto, P8: Smolyar, P9: Alatalo and P10: Cohen.
We are back in less than 3 weeks for round 6 at Budapest, Hungary on the 29th to 31st July, where the championship is hotting up!
What a race. I honestly have no idea where to start… But one thing to say is the Orange Army did not disappoint and was great to see the sea of orange in the grandstands!
But it was Charles Leclerc who won the Austrian Grand Prix, his first win since Australia! Max Verstappen joined him on the podium in P2 and Lewis Hamilton rounds out the podium in P3!
The full top 10 are- P1: Leclerc, P2: Verstappen, P3: Hamilton, P4: Russell, P5: Ocon, P6: Schumacher, P7: Norris, P8: Magnussen, P9: Ricciardo and P10: Alonso.
What a race for Charles! His been saying he needs a win and he finally got one and it was very well deserved, he done lovely overtakes on Max and caught him out a few times. But the same couldn’t be said for his teammate… Carlos ended up retiring due to an power unit failure which saw quite a big fire when he pulled over to the side of the track.
A decent day for Max, he just didn’t have the pace compared to Leclerc and you could tell by the second overtake Leclerc done on him, as normally Max doesn’t let it happen and fights back straight away. Again, the same couldn’t be said for Perez as he retired aswell, which saw Leclerc now jump him in the constructors.
One team out of the top 3, had a brilliant day! Mercedes, wow… Lewis started P8 and finished on the podium, Russell started 4th, had a first lap tangle with Perez, which saw the Brit get a 5 second time penalty and then he pitted to serve his penalty and change his front wing. Naturally he dropped down the order, he then thought back to finish 4th, which I must say is very impressive!
I said Ocon could score big points, and he did, the Frenchman finished 5th and it really helps his championship out as he moves further up. Another team, who I said could score big, were Haas and they did! Mick finished 6th – his best ever finish and Magnussen finished 8th, double points finish two weekends in a row for the American team!
Finally McLaren!! Double points finish, Lando 7th and Daniel 9th. It’s no secret that Danny’s had some problems, but if your patient then the points do come eventually, hopefully this is the start of the continuous points finish…
We are back in two weeks! And for another double header before the summer break… First up we have the French GP on the 22nd to 24th July, who will come out on top the next race weekend, as we now have completed 11 rounds out of 22?
Our second sprint of the season is complete and what a race, drama from left right and centre, and even before we got racing…
The yellow flags, come out on the formation lap when Fernando Alonso’s Alpine failed to get off the grid, forcing him out of the Sprint, this was before Zhou Guanyu’s brief stoppage at the final corner approaching the grid, which the field then had to do another formation lap, as we saw the Alfa Romeo driver start from the pitlane.
But, Max Verstappen won the sprint as he dominated from lights out to the checkered flag. The two Ferrari’s follow him closely, with Leclerc in 2nd and Sainz in 3rd.
The full top 10 are: P1: Verstappen, P2: Leclerc, P3: Sainz, P4: Russell, P5: Perez, P6: Ocon, P7: Magnussen, P8: Hamilton, P9: Schumacher and P10: Bottas.
What a drive from Perez! Started P13 and to finish 5th is really good! Could we see him try and battle for a podium or maybe a win today?
Zhou Guanyu, done really well considering he started from the pitlane, he finished 14th, I’d say keep an eye on him today, he could score some points and do some very nice overtakes!
The McLaren boys made up a few places each Norris starting 11th today and Ricciardo 12th. I think there will be lots of battles throughout the race later!
One person I’d say you would have to really watch is Esteban Ocon, his been looking strong all weekend, so I won’t be surprised if we see him up there later today.
Predictions-
My top five are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Leclerc, P3: Hamilton, P4: Perez and P5: Russell.
I think we are going to have a bit of a crazy race today, there are plenty of overtaking spots but there is also track limits so drivers need to keep that in mind…
F1 really knows how to keep us on the edge of our seat, on a weekend where we have more drama than normal because of the Sprint, but to add to that we had an eventful qualifying session at the Red Bull Ring.
Qualifying set the grid for the Sprint later on today, which will then set the grid for tomorrow’s Grand Prix. The top eight from the sprint will score points, so it’s a good way to get up the field a bit more.
But it was Max Verstappen who took pole position infront of the Orange Army, but he was followed closely by the two Ferrari’s, Charles Leclerc in 2nd and our newest race winner, Carlos Sainz in third.
The full top 10 are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Leclerc, P3: Sainz, P4: Russell, P5: Ocon, P6: Magnussen, P7: Schumacher, P8: Alonso, P9: Hamilton and P10: Gasly.
Sergio Perez, actually qualified P4, but after qualifying, it came out that he breached track limits in his Q2 lap, the stewards deleted that time, alongside his Q3 laps so he will now be starting 13th! Not a good start to his weekend, but this is where the Sprint comes into play, it gives the drivers an opportunity to get a little further up the grid.
Oh Mercedes… it was looking like pole for Lewis Hamilton, as he was strong in Q1 and Q2. But once again, things just don’t go that way in F1. Hamilton went into the barriers at Turn 7 to bring out a red flag in the middle of the session, leaving him 10th. George then thought he would add to the mix, with a spin and then crash at the final corner, however he had already put down a banker lap. Not a good start for the Mercs, but they can still have a good fight.
Both Haas’ in the top 10!! Wow, the car so far seems to like the track, definitely big points on offer for them this weekend, and it will be interesting to see if they can get their strategy right and optimise on other peoples misfortune.
Mr Alex Albon, starting P11 today, he only has to make up 3 places and he’ll score points… This is why part of me likes the Sprint, its for the teams who are close to scoring points on a normal weekend, but add the sprint into their they have more of a chance to score on Sunday.
Predictions-
My top five are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Leclerc, P3: Russell, P4: Hamilton and P5: Ocon.
I feel like we are going to get a crazy sprint, later today and its going to cause carnage… But if it does happen, then we are in for a crazy race on Sunday.
We are on our second week of the double header, and we are heading to the Red Bull Ring, Austria for Round 11. Will Red Bull make it count on home turf, or will Ferrari fight back? The Sprint also returns for the second time this season!
What can Carlos Sainz do this weekend of the back of his first win? Will he be going for number two already? Will Charles’ strategy go right this weekend? Or will it be another winless or podiumless weekend for him? What can the Bulls do? What can Mercedes do?? So many questions about how the Silver Arrows will do, and I can’t wait to find out!
Who needs a good weekend?
Daniel needs a good weekend, it’s just getting repetitive putting him in here. But in all honestly and hopefullness, I hope he does click with the car well this weekend, and its the return of the sprint so a chance to get further up the grid…
Alpha Tauri needs a good weekend, another non-points finish. If the car struggles in high paced corners, then they will more than likely struggle this weekend, unless they find the right set up.
Alfa Romeo will be wanting to sort out their reliability sooner rather than later, VB had to retire last race again, and its going to start hurting their championship if this carries on…
Predictions for qualifying-
My top five are- P1: Leclerc, P2: Verstappen, P3: Sainz, P4: Perez and P5: Hamilton.
I feel like Leclerc will just be looking for revenge, so he will do an absolutely stonking lap to put it on pole, but I think Max will be close to him. But if it rains, its going to be another story and we can see the Mercs fight for pole aswell. With a few surprises added in there aswell…
Former Formula 1 driver, Roberto Merhi will be returning to the Formula 2 grid once more at the Red Bull Ring this weekend in place of Campos Racing’s injury-stricken Ralph Boschung.
Boschung has been plagued by neck pain over recent rounds, which have forced him to withdraw in the middle of three of the last four race weekends, including last week at Silverstone. He will now skip the upcoming events to allow his injury to heal.
His seat in Austria will be taken by Merhi, the 31 year old making his first F2 start since the end of 2018.
It’s been tough few last months, since after Imola the neck has dominated my every day and professional life, it’s very difficult to leave the team mid-season like this but I really need to recover from this injury and I thank my sponsors and the team for being fully supportive.
Ralph Boschung on not racing this weekend.
After racing in F1 with the Manor team in 2015, Roberto Mehri made his F2 debut with Campos at Barcelona in 2017 as team-mate to Boschung before making three further appearances with Rapax at the end of the season.
He then did the first eight rounds of the 2018 season with MP Motorsport, and raced for Campos for the final two rounds of the year. As well as this, he tested for Campos before the start of the 2019 season, and with HWA at the end of 2020, whilst his racing exploits have been focused on sportscars in Europe, Australia and most recently Japan.
I will try my best to achieve strong results to respond to the trust that Ralph, his sponsors and Campos Racing have placed in me. I drove a F2 car in 2018 for the very last time with Campos Racing, with whom stepped onto the podium at Yas Marina. I really like Spielberg circuit, a good place to come back.
Roberto Mehri, on making the return this weekend.
Unfortunately Ralph won’t be able to contest Spielberg as his season turned into a nightmare after Imola and we haven’t delivered our full potential yet. I feel very confident because he will work a lot to be back with us as soon as possible and at his 100 per cent. Besides, I would like to extend a warm welcome to Roberto, who will be temporarily replacing Ralph. We expect a quick adaptation and let’s complete a positive weekend together.
It’s another race week, and we have been given the tyre allocation from Pirelli for this weeks race in Austria.
The Red Bull Ring in Austria is a short and sharp rollercoaster with only 10 corners and constant elevation changes. Pirelli brings the three softest tyres in the range C3 (Hard), C4 (Medium), C5 (Soft).
Last year there were two races at the Red Bull Ring held back-to-back, this weekend is the same tyre nominations as the second race there. It’s designed to help put on a show by increasing degradation and creating more overtaking opportunities. On that occasion, the winning strategy was two-stopper, one opening stint on the medium and then two stints on the hard.
Austria is home to the second sprint of the season. Instead of the normal 13 set of tyres, this weekend they will 12, two sets of hard, four sets of medium and six sets of soft.
The asphalt at the Red Bull Ring offers reasonably low grip on a low-severity circuit, which makes it possible to bring the softest tyres in the range. This helps us in putting the focus on entertainment, at a venue that has often delivered exciting races in the past, thanks to a busy and compact lap that’s essentially a series of short corners. Traction and especially braking are key here: with a particular risk of lock-ups in some of the tricky downhill braking areas. Maintaining the performance of the rear tyres throughout the lap is also vital to ensure adequate traction. Our tyre nomination makes a variety of different potential strategies possible.
Mario Isla, Motorsport Director
Formula 2-
The medium and supersoft tyres have been nominated for Formula 2 in Austria. This is the third time that this combination with an extra step between compounds have been used this season.
Formula 3-
For the first time this season, the softest tyre in the Formula 3 range – the soft compound – will be the sole nominated tyre. This is one step softer than 2021, when the medium compound was available at the Red Bull Ring.
The second Sprint weekend of the season takes places this weekend at the #AustrianGP! 🇦🇹
It is safe to say, the British GP did not disappoint, once again! So much chaos happened I have no clue where to start, but one main thing is that the halo is once again doing the job it’s meant to do, very glad to see Zhou Guanyu okay after the first lap crash!
A first lap incident which saw Gasly touch Russell on the start saw him spin and hit Zhou when then saw Zhou flip round and then get flipped round again and hit the barrier, getting his car stuck between the two. Another incident on the same lap, was Alex Albon getting hit from behind by Vettel and going head on into the pit wall. Alex has since sent to the hospital for precautionary checks but is okay.
However, Carlos Sainz is an F1 WINNER!!!! Finally!! Sergio Perez comes home to make it P2, and Lewis Hamilton takes P3 on home turf!
The full top 10 are- P1: Sainz, P2: Perez, P3: Hamilton, P4: Leclerc, P5: Alonso, P6: Norris, P7: Verstappen, P8: Schumacher, P9: Vettel and P10: Magnussen.
Carlos Sainz, what a man, what a driver, he lost a position to Max at the start but got it back for the re-start and then his teammate was faster so they switched round. But Carlos got an opportunity with the safety car and got new softs, and it all just went right for him there, he overtook his teammate and just went into the lead and didn’t look back.
Sergio Perez aswell, getting hit on the first lap and had front wing damage which then saw him have to pit for a new front wing – which saw him drop down the order and then he fought his way back up, and then managed to grab a podium after it looked like it was going to Ferrari and Lewis.
What a day for the Haas pair, I didn’t think they would get points today because of where they qualified yesterday but, good things come to those who wait and boy was Mick Schumacher patient… His first points in F1 and it comes witha double points finish for Haas.
I kind of expected Daniel Ricciardo to do a bit more, he ended up finishing 13th… we only had 14 drivers finish the race… I really don’t know what to say about it, there was drivers who had damage and quite a bit of it who managed to score points so where was Daniel in all of this?
A really strong day for Lewis, the Mercedes definitely has some race pace so they just need to work on a few bits and straight line speed a bit more than they should consistently be fighting with Ferrari and Red Bull for the wins.
The Championship-
Max still leads, and he still has a decent gap between him and Perez who is in 2nd. Charles remains in third and only 9 points of Perez. Sainz now goes ahead of Russell after the Brit didn’t score, Sainz is only 11 points away from his teammate now. Hamilton has now also closed down the gap a little to his teammate, he sits on 93 and Russell 111.
Red Bull still have a comfortable lead with 328 points, Ferrari with a strong day today have closed it down a little but more points are need for the Italian team. Mercedes are now starting to get into the fight aswell, they remain in third on 204 points. McLaren remain fourth on 73 points and Alpine are starting to close on them with 67 points and in fifth.
Not long to wait until the next race week, as we return to Austria for Round 11 out of 22, we are almost at our halfway mark!
After two formation laps behind the Safety Car, it gave drivers a sight of the conditions they would be starting in. Jehan Daruvala led comfortably when the race did get going, as most drivers played it safe on the opening lap, apart from Jake Hughes who was the only one to capitalise and gain a place.
Vesti and Drugovich went into combat on lap 2 and the pair were side by side through Village, banging tyres through the loop onto the Wellington Straight. But into Brooklands, Vesti dived to the inside and claimed eighth place from the MP driver.
As the track continued to dry, some drivers started to complain of overheating wet tyres, but Doohan was finding a rhythm. He took from Juri Vips into Village on Lap Five, diving down the inside and claiming the place. Daruvala had already been complaining of graining rear tyres and Fittipaldi took full advantage.
Once more, Doohan was on the move through the Village – Loop section, this time taking the lead from Fittipaldi on lap seven after the Brazilian went deep at Village. Meanwhile, Liam Lawson was struggling massively having sustained front wing damage, he was soon passed by both ART GP along with Drugovich to drop him to 9th. Carlin then pitted him for repairs that dropped him down to last at the end of the lap.
But it was Jack Doohan who took his first F2 victory and the teams home win aswell. Iwasa came home to finish second and he was joined by Fittipaldi to round out the podium.
The full top 10 are- P1: Doohan, P2: Iwasa, P3: Fittipaldi, P4: Pourchaire, P5: Drugovich, P6: Vesti, P7: Sargeant, P8: Daruvala, P9: Armstrong and P10: Verschoor.
Day 3-
The first American on pole in Formula 2 history, Sargeant nailed a perfect getaway at the lights went out, but the same couldn’t be said for Vesti who joined the pole man on the front row. Meanwhile his ART teammate Pourchaire dived down the middle to leap up from fourth to second off the line…
There were changes up and down the top 10, as Lawson shot up into third from fifth, with fellow Red Bull junior, Iwasa slotting up into fourth having started sixth. Drugovich lost out to drop down to fifth, as Armstrong hopped up into the points-scoring places in P9.
Their momentum, was stopped on Lap 2, as contact between Dennis Hauger and Roy Nissany brought out the safety car. Going wide into the Club chicane, Nissany dived back on to track and into the path of the PREMA, cutting back the DAMS driver tagged Hauger, launching the Norwegian driver over the top of his car. Luckily, both drivers got out of the car okay, and that’s the main thing! The Halo is doing its job once again…
As the race drew towards its conclusion, time was of the essence to make moves stick. Vips got the better of his teammate for sixth. But on the cusp of his maiden victory, Sargeant’s work wasn’t over yet on the penultimate lap. Pourchaire was breathing down his neck as the ART had closed right within the one-second DRS window.
But it was Logan Sargeant who was victorious at Silverstone, Pourchaire finished 2nd a good amount of points for the championship, and to make it an even better day for Carlin, Liam Lawson finishes 3rd!
The full top 10 are- P1: Sargeant, P2: Pourchaire, P3: Lawson, P4: Drugovich, P5: Vesti, P6: Vips, P7: Daruvala, P8: Armstrong, P9: Doohan and P10: Hughes.
We are back next week, for round 8 in Austria, as we have now reached the halfway point of the season! Who will be victorious at the Red Bull Ring?…
Holding his nerve until the final few minutes of the race, Isack Hadjar took the victory out of Victor Martins hands, with a breath-taking lunge around the ART Grand Prix driver on the penultimate lap was enough to secure his second Formula 3 win in his rookie season.
Martins was forced to settle for second after sustaining pressure from rookie, Reece Ushijima in the final few laps, a brilliant effort from the Van Amersfoort Racing driver, who started on reverse grid pole, paid off to seal his maiden F3 podium in third.
12th placed qualifier, Reece Ushijima had a little bit longer to wait to get off the line in his highest ever starting position. Ushijima had to led the field for a second formation lap after an issue for a slow Brad Benavides led to an aborted start.
Determined to make up for a disappointing Fridays, Martins wasted no time driving up the inside of Ushijima to snatch the lead of the race and the VAR racer found himself under a bit of pressure from Maini going side-by-side in the opening sectors.
But the full top 10 are- P1: Hadjar, P2: Martins, P3: Ushijima, P4: Maini, P5: Frederick, P6: Stanek, P7: Maloney, P8: Leclerc, P9: Bearman and P10: Crawford.
Day 3-
Zak O’Sullivan covered off Arthur Leclerc to retain the lead in the opening corners. Jak Crawford fought with Zane Maloney for third but was squeezed out by the Trident driver, allowing PREMA teammater Ollie Bearman to gain a run onto the Wellington Straight. The Briton tried to hang it around the outside, but Maloney made his Trident as wide as possible, heading into Luffield, Bearman didn’t back out which resulted in contact which spun the Bajan off track and down the order.
Looking at the front of the gird, Leclerc had fought back and with a two down Hangar Straight, swept around the outside of O’Sullivan into Stowe. Just as the move happened the Safety Car was deployed and Leclerc relinquished the position to the Brit.
O’Sullivan got a good restart, but Leclerc had clung with him and with DRS enabled on Lap 6, the Monegasque made a move and led the race. Hadjar and Crawford were fighting for fifth and the pair came to blows on Lap 8. Side-by-side out of the final corner and down the main straight, the duo entered Abbey with Crawford on the outside but just ahead, Hadjar narrowly clipped the rear right tyre of the PREMA driver, sending him off track and down to P8.
A slight collision between Gregoire Saucy and Roman Stanek required both to pit at the end of lap 9 for repairs. The ART GP driver was able to re-join but the Trident driver was out of the race. Another Safety car was deployed, following a crash for Rafael Villagomez at Copse. Contact with Nazim Azmna resulted in the front wing becoming stuck underneath the VAR driver’s car, sending him straight into the barriers.
With just three laps remaining, the top five was separated by just 1.5s, Bearman had been shaping up a move on Collet for several laps and finally made a lunge into Brookland on the penultimate lap for third.
However, Leclerc was untroubled and secured his third victory in F3 and his first of the 2022 season! O’Sullivan came home to finish 2nd, his first podium in F3 and infront of his home crowd. And Ollie Bearman finished the podium places, in front of his home crowd aswell.
The full top 10 are- P1: Leclerc, P2: O’Sullivan, P3: Bearman, P4: Collet, P5: Hadjar, P6: Crawford, P7: Martins, P8: Edgar, P9: Vidales and P10: Ushijima.
We don’t have long to wait until we see F3 cars back on track, we are returning next week for Round 5 at Spielberg, Austria from the 8th to 10th July!
The UK is always unpredictable with weather, but you think July would be different? Well how wrong we are! We had a wet qualifying in Silverstone and it definitely brought out a few surprises, especially with a driver getting their first pole position!
Going into qualifying and even during qualifying it looked like it was a six way battle for pole position with the Mercs joining in on the fun here at Silverstone, it didn’t end up that way in Q3…
It was Carlos Sainz who finally took pole position, with it being his first one of his Formula 1 career! With Max Verstappen joining him on the front row, and Charles Leclerc making it a 1-3 for Ferrari.
The full top 10 are- P1: Sainz, P2: Verstappen, P3: Leclerc, P4: Perez, P5: Hamilton, P6: Norris, P7: Alonso, P8: Russell, P9: Zhou and P10: Latifi.
Can we just take a second, to appreciate, that Nicholas Latifi has got into the top 10 for the first time this year! The Williams driver was just putting in the lap times when it mattered and he finally got into Q3 let alone Q2!
Carlos Sainz FINALLY gets pole position, his been close before and its been taken away in the last moment, but today was unexpected for the Spaniard but he deserved it!
A good day for one of the McLaren’s this week its Lando in the top 10, throughout the weekend he has had lots of pace which has been good to see, especially in front of the home crowd.
Another Q3 appearance for Zhou Guanyu, he seems to like this track and it looks like he keeps on putting it all together when it matters, I can’t wait to see what he does tomorrow.
The Aston Martin struggles continue, both drivers out in Q1, Stroll P20 and Vettel P18. They’ve brought upgrades and at points during the past few weekends they look quite strong but when it matters they just don’t have it there as a package.
Esteban Ocon, what went wrong there? P15… A lot of work to do in the race tomorrow, and its looking like it should be an entertaining one!
Predictions-
My top five are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Leclerc, P3: Hamilton, P4: Russell and P5: Norris. I definitely feel like the Mercs have got something, especially with race pace as they looked strong yesterday.
There’s a few cars out of position for the start tomorrow, so will be interesting to see how they get through the field, and at the time of writing this there’s a 40% chance of rain at the start of tomorrow’s race aswell, so that could make for an interesting start…
Returning to the track where he secured back to back pole positions in Formula 3 in 2020, Logan Sargeant once again laid down the gauntlet for his rivals in the Free Practice session.
The Carlin driver narrowly leaped ahead of Championship leader Felipe Drugovich setting a 1:40.902 to go 0.037s clear. Jack Doohan was content with third position. However, executing the perfect lap at the British circuit proved to be easier said than done.
Dennis Hauger, had a few nervous moments of his own with a major spin at Abbey, one of the quickest corners on the track. The PREMA driver managed to save it and avoid the barriers.
Running ground to a halt with just under 16 minutes remaining of the 45 minute session, as Calan Williams found the barriers at the exit of Copse losing the Tridents rear-end at the mid-corner bringing out the red flag.
A queue of drivers were eager to get back out as soon as the lights went green with seven minutes to go. An improvement for Sargeant was enough for the American to hold onto the top spot as the session concluded under red flag conditions after Virtuosi’s Marino Sato came to a halt at Luffield with three minutes remaining.
Qualifying-
Logan Sargeant made it two from two on Friday, sealing pole position for the Feature Race after topping the earlier Free Practice session. Frederik Vesti outqualified his teammate and ended up P2 with Championship leader Felipe Drugovich securing third place ahead of Pourchaire.
Drugovich’s first attempt was over as quickly as it started, going deep at village after locking up and subsequently running wide off track. Vesti was quickest after the initial times filtered in a 1:39.611 was the time to beat by the Dane, three-tenths quicker than Jack Doohan in P2.
Jehan Daruvala had remained on track during the lull in action and lifted himself up to P2 and within two-tenths of Sargeant’s fastest effort. With 12 minutes remaining, drivers filtered back out onto track as the sun breached the cloud cover above the circuit.
A yellow flag for the stranded Van Amersfoort Racing car of David Beckmann prevented drivers from setting two consecutive fast laps and with under five minutes remaining of the session, there wasn’t enough time left on the clock to relaunch an attack on pole.
All three MP Motorsport cars were on track immediately to make the only practice session of the weekend. The track started to fill up slowly with just under half the field during the opening 10 minutes.
Barcelona Sprint Winner, David Vidales traded the top sport with Van Amersfoort Racing’s Franco Colapinto during the initial stages as representative times filtered through.
Championship leader, Victor Martins was pushing the limits at Copse corner, which saw him run wide and scraping the floor over the exit kerbs, loosing his laptime for exceeding track limits in the process.
Entering the final 10 minutes of the session, drivers started to search for a slipstream for the final fast laps. Despite almost dropping the car through several corners in the final sector, Hadjar wrestled his car across the line to post a 0.25s improvement to lover the benchmark to a 1:45.116.
But it was an MP Motorsport double punch as Kush Maini leading his teammate, Caio Collet first and second respectively. Kaylen Frederick managed to improve and push himself up in to 3rd.
Qualifying-
Zak O’Sullivan gave local fans an early celebration as he pushed it to the limit to secure his first pole position, as well as writing his name into Carlin history by securing the teams first pole in the championship. Meanwhile, Arthur Leclerc banished his qualifying woes to snatch second as Zane Maloney rounds out the top 3.
Collet was quick out of the box, becoming the first driver to set a flying lap, MP Motorsport were on the pace from the start as Collet’s 1:45.602 was momentarily bested by his teammate Maini before he regained P1.
Traffic and track limits coming in to play as Oliver Bearman set a blistering 1:44.873 which put him up in P1 before being deleted. Meanwhile, the Trident trio were on the charge as Maloney climbed up into third ahead of teammate Edgar, who was returning at his home race following a two-race absence.
As the clock ticked down to zero, a flurry of fast laps once again switched up the order as Leclerc jumped up to P1 but nothing could stop O’Sullivan from pipping the PREMA. Almost identical times in the opening sector mean that there was virtually nothing between the pair who ended the session separated by only 0.027s.
Lining up on reverse grid pole for Saturday’s Sprint Race, Maini has the perfect opportunity to secure a maiden rostrum finish in the opening race of the weekend.
We are back racing once again, with Formula E and we are in Marrakesh, Morocco for Round 10 of Season 8, where the championship is heating up as its a four way battle for the Drivers’ title.
Mercedes-EQ Stoffel Vandoorne, still leads the way in the drivers championship with a five point lead over nearest challenger and double champion, Jean-Eric Vergne. Edoardo Mortara sits in third and the winner last time out at the inaugural Jakarta E-Prix, Mitch Evans rounds out the top four, with him being 12 points away from the lead of the championship.
The Circuit-
The Atlas mountains provide a stunning back drop, with it being Formula E’s fifth trip to the city’s centuries-old Agdal district with Marrakesh first being featured in 2016.
The track follows the form the circuit International Automobile Moulay El Hassan – named after the Crown Price of Morocco – before spilling out onto the streets of Marrakesh’s hotel district.
Renowned for being an energy zapping circuit, the fast and highly technical track features 12 turns, three straights and a series of bends completing a track length of 2.971km.
Once again it’s race week, and we have another double header upon us, with our first stop being at Silverstone for Round 10! The question is how will the British boys do this weekend?
Can Max make it his seventh win of the season? Or will Ferrari have something up there sleeve? What can Mercedes do with their new upgrades, its going to be an interesting one for sure!
Who needs a good weekend?
The McLaren boys need a good weekend, Lando currently sits in 7th in the championship and Daniel in 13th. But I’d probably say Daniel more, as his only scored in 3 races this season… The Papaya team knows they can score good points this weekend if they qualify well, and hopefully put on a good show for all their fans attending and watching from home!
Alfa Romeo will be looking to get another double points finish this weekend as they try and close down the gap to Alpine, who are just 6 points ahead of them.
Ferrari’s Leclerc will be looking to take the win this weekend, and hopefully jump Perez in the standings, with the pair separated by three points. Leclerc, done well in Canada considering he started at the back of the grid and managed to finish 5th, what can he do this weekend…
Predictions for qualifying-
My top five for qualifying are- Pole: Leclerc, P2: Verstappen, P3: Sainz, P4: Perez and P5: Hamilton.
Charles still keeps it consistent in qualifying, but I do feel like it might be closer this weekend. You can also never count out Lewis, especially at Silverstone, but another person not to count out is Russell, his on top form at the moment and he will be wanting to make up for his mistake in Canada’s qualifying.
Hopefully we see a mixed top 10, with Alpine, McLaren, Alfa Romeo and maybe a Haas thrown in there to shake it all up and which will make for an interesting race on Sunday.
The ABB FIA Formula E World Championship will expand in Season 9 and the debut of the Gen3 race car to include more E-Prix races in more world cities with more race teams on the Formula E grid than ever before.
The season 9 provisional calendar was published yesterday by Formula E and the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) following ratification by the FIA World Motorsport Council and with the support of local ASNs (National Automobile Clubs) for each city.
The planned schedule for next season which currently features 18 races between January and July 2023 on street circuits in 13 world cities, beating the previous record of 16 races in 10 different cities.
Round
Country
Date
Pre Season Test
Valencia, Spain
Dec 11th – 14th
Round 1
Mexico City, Mexico
Jan 14th
Round 2
Diriyah, Saudi Arabia
Jan 27th
Round 3
Diriyah, Saudi Arabia
Jan 28th
Round 4
Hyderabad, India*
Feb 11th
Round 5
TBD
Feb 25th
Round 6
TBD
March 11th
Round 7
Sao Paulo, Brazil*
March 25th
Round 8
Berlin, Germany
April 22nd
Round 9
Monaco
May 6th
Round 10
Seoul, South Korea*
May 20th
Round 11
Seoul, South Korea*
May 21st
Round 12
Jakarta, Indonesia
June 3rd
Round 13
Jakarta, Indonesia
June 4th
Round 14
TBD
June 24th
Round 15
Rome, Italy
July 15th
Round 16
Rome, Italy
July 16th
Round 17
London, UK
July 29th
Round 18
London, UK
July 30th
* Subject to circuit homologation.
From Round 1 in Mexico City to the climax of Season 9 in London, the stage is set for the most successful Formula E season yet. Engineers and sustainability experts at the FIA and Formula E have worked together to build the Gen3, a race car that proves how high performance and sustainability can powerfully co-exist without compromise. We welcome Maserati back to motorsport for the first time in decades alongside McLaren Racing and the incredible roster of teams and manufacturers that makes Formula E unique. We expect Season 9 to continue our momentum of growing the global fanbase for the sport.
Jamie Reigle, Chief Executive Officer Formula E.
The Season 9 calendar of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship is our most expansive and dynamic racing schedule yet and I cannot wait to get started. We will continue to push the international boundaries of all-electric street racing with E-Prix in Hyderabad and São Paulo, while maintaining the hugely popular races in Diriyah, Mexico City, Berlin, Monaco, Rome and London with Jakarta and Seoul now established on the calendar. We are also working hard to include Cape Town and a race in the USA when the provisional calendar is updated later this year.
Alberto Longo, Co-Founder and Chief Championship Officer.
Red Bull have terminated the contract of their test and reserve driver, Juri Vips after he used a racist slur during a gaming stream.
The team suspended Vips last week, pending an investigation when the clip emerged online, but now have announced his contract has been terminated.
Following its investigation into an online incident involving Juri Vips, Oracle Red Bull Racing has terminated Juri’s contract as its test & reserve driver. The team do not condone any form of racism.
Red Bull’s statement.
The 21 year old, is racing for Hitech Grand Prix in Formula 2, for a second year. It is not confirmed at whether Vips will continue as a member of the Red Bull Junior Team.
Vips had served as Red Bull’s reserve driver at several events in 2020 before taking up the post more permanently for the 2022 season. He competed in one free practice session for the team at Spanish Grand Prix, and it looked like he was set for more appearances this season.
HiTech have spoken out on Juri Vips, and he will continue to compete with the team in F2 for the remainder of the season, with a chance to ‘redeem himself’.
I have made a decision for Juri to keep his F2 seat with Hitech for the remainder of the season, a decision we have seriously debated. Allowing him to complete his season with Hitech is an opportunity for him to demonstrate, through his actions, the type of person he is. I have made it clear that I think the language used was totally unacceptable, but I choose to give him the chance to redeem himself. Hitech GP employs an inclusive work force and has never condoned racism or offensive behaviour in any forms. That said, if we live in a society where no one can make a mistake, then genuinely apologise, have the chance for redemption and learn from it – what does it say about our society? I don’t know why he said what he said. I don’t know why he was streaming and playing COD [Call of Duty] at that time of day. Certainly, there are things which would have been far more beneficial for his career! What I do know is that having his contract terminated by Red Bull as a result of his actions is a crushing experience for him, a deservedly severe punishment. The reality is there will not be unanimous agreement whether that punishment is sufficient, and that is totally understandable.
Oliver Oakes, HiTech Boss
Where as, Formula 2 made an announcement after HiTech to see what the team was going to do…
Following the recent incident involving Juri Vips, F2 would like to reaffirm that the use of racist or discriminatory language cannot be tolerated in any environment. Hitech Grand Prix’s decision today is surprising and not one we would have taken. We will monitor the situation carefully with them to ensure that such behaviour is properly addressed.
It’s race week once again, and we have another double header! But this week we are going to Silverstone, the race which caused so much controversy last year…
But, we have the tyre allocation for this weekend, with Pirelli choosing the hardest in the range C1 (Hard), C2 (Medium) and C3 (Soft).
Ultra-rapid and high-energy corners such as Maggotts and Becketts complex aren’t the only challenge, as the weather can be extremely variable from bright sunshine to heavy rain.
Last year’s race was won with two tyre changes: one of them being taken under an early red flag period following the Max and Lewis collision. Nearly all the drivers competed two stints on the medium plus a final one on the hard.
This year, the compounds and structures are different, and there’s no sprint qualifying either – which was a factor in last year’s strategy.
The British Grand Prix was where the new show car for the 2022 season was displayed last year, to highlight the future direction of the sport that we have embarked on from this season. The latest aerodynamic regulations are designed to allow drivers to follow each other more closely for longer to give more chance of overtaking, as we saw in Canada, while the tyres are designed to provide less overheating, more stability, and increased driveability within a wider working window. All these aspects will be tested this weekend, on one of the most challenging tracks for tyres of the year.
Mario Isla, Motorsport Director
Formula 2-
The hard and Soft tyres are nominated for this weekend at Silverstone, a change from last year when the hard and medium were used. The extra step between the compounds will provide additional one-lap performance and more strategic variability in the races.
Formula 3-
The hard tyre is nominated as the single compound: the third appearance in four rounds. The nomination is the same as Formula 3’s previous visits to Silverstone in 2019 and 2020.
It’s race week, as @F1 heads to Silverstone for the #BritishGP! 🇬🇧
Nelson Piquet, who is the father of Max Verstappen’s partner, Kelly Piquet and a three time F1 world champion was on a podcast last November discussing the collision between Hamilton and Verstappen during the 2021 British GP, when he used a racially offensive expression in Portuguese.
The comments have only now came to light, and Piquet has been condemned by Formula 1, Hamilton’s Mercedes team and the FIA.
Let’s focus on changing the mindset. It’s more than language. These archaic mindsets need to change and have no place in our sport. I’ve been surrounded by these attitudes and targeted my whole life. There has been plenty of time to learn. Time has come for action.
Lewis took to social media.
This isn’t the first time Piquet has made unsavoury and unpleasant statements. During his driving career, he publicly questioned Ayrton Senna’s sexuality and called his rival “the Sao Paulo taxi driver”. As well as this, he made offensive comments about Nigel Mansell and the Briton’s wife when they were team mates at Williams.
Whether your an ex F1 driver, a junior of a F1 team or just a normal person, using racist language is never the way to go forward. I hope we see something done about this as Lewis shouldn’t be having to deal with this…
The future of the French GP is still uncertain, but Stefano Domenicali has revealed a shock bid from the city of Nice has come in to host a street race in coming years, should the sports relationship with Circuit Paul Ricard end…
Formula 1’s contract with Le Castellet expires at the end of this season, putting the French GP in doubt – with no deal currently agreed for Formula 1 to continue heading to France.
F1 CEO, Domenicali has previously spoken at length about his desire to expand to new markets for the sport, whilst also keeping a portion of its heritage in its traditional European heartland and he acknowledged France’s role in that.
Whilst nothing is decided for the country yet, he (Stefano) revealed that Nice has thrown its hat in the ring to hold a race around the streets of the French Riviera City and a decision on the future of the race will be taken by the end of July.
Historically, France has been an important nation in motorsport. You might not know this, but there is an amazing project with Nice, who wants a grand prix. It’s great, as it proves that other destinations in the country are interested in F1. We are going to look at the applications and study them carefully. Other things could come very soon. All I can tell you is, by late July, you will know more about the future of your grand prix.”
Nexr season’s calendar is still yet to be unveiled, but the likelihood is the number of races will increase given the arrival of Qatar and Las Vegas on a permanent basis. Austria, Belgium and Monaco are all also trying to keep their place on the schedule, with their own contracts expiring at the end of 2022.
Jordan's Track Talk 