Jordan's Track Talk

Category: Formula One

  • Belgian Grand Prix

    The final race before the summer break is here, and we are headed to Spa-Francorchamps for Round 13, which also involves another Sprint race!

    What can Red Bull do this weekend? Will they manage a clean sweep from Qualifying to the Sprint Shootout and Sprint to the Grand Prix on Sunday? It will be an interesting one!

    Could anyone stop Red Bull this weekend? Say the likes of McLaren? Or maybe Mercedes? With the Sprint in action aswell this gives the teams more of a possibility to get things right!

    Who needs to shine?

    Aston Martin, they’ve had a rough time at the moment, last time out in Hungary and only Alonso scored at Silverstone, so they will want a strong weekend but they now have McLaren and Mercedes to fight rather than just the one team.

    Alpine, another rubbish weekend last weekend with a double DNF. The team will be hoping that because there is a sprint this weekend they have more of an opportunity to score points, as McLaren has built up a big gap.

    Logan Sargeant, has had quite good form at the moment, and was having a good race last week until he had to retire in the pit, so he will be hoping to have another good weekend, maybe he will score some points?

    Times for the weekend-

    Friday 28th-

    • Free Practice F3- 08:55am – 09:40am (BST)
    • Free Practice F2- 10:05am – 10:50am
    • Free Practice 1 F1- 12:30pm – 13:30pm
    • Qualifying F3- 14:00pm – 14:30pm
    • Qualifying F2- 14:55pm – 15:25pm
    • Qualifying F1- 16:00pm – 17:00pm

    Saturday 29th-

    • Sprint Race F3- 09:00am – 09:45am
    • Sprint Shootout F1- 11:00am – 11:44am
    • Sprint Race F2- 12:45pm – 13:30pm
    • Sprint F1- 15:30pm – 16:30pm

    Sunday 30th-

    • Feature Race F3- 07:30am
    • Feature Race F2- 09:00am
    • F1 Race- 14:00pm

  • Spa Tyre Selection

    The tyres have been chosen for the final race before summer break and we head to Spa-Francorchamps for Round 13.

    The selected tyres are- C2 (Hard), C3 (Medium) and C4 (Soft), the same as the 2022 Belgian Grand Prix.

    Along with Silverstone and Suzuka, Spa-Francorchamps is a circuit where tyres are subjected to considerable forces.
    With the most challenging part is the compression at Eau Rouge followed by the climb up to Raidillon: consisting of a high speed left-hand turn, where the downforce squashes the car into the ground.

    Spa is the longest track on the Formula calendar at 7.004 kilometres with 44 laps scheduled for the Belgian Grand Prix. When the circuit was inaugurated back in 1921, it was around double the length at 14.9 kilometres.

    Looking back at last years race, nearly all the teams opted for a two-stop strategy using all three compounds. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen lined up 14th on the grid after a penalty but won the race with a great fightback, starting on the softs and then completing two stints on the medium.

    The circuit also had the biggest difference in elevation of any track all year. The highest point is at Malmedy (around 468 metres above seas level) while the lowest is Paul Frere (around 366 metres above sea level).

    After just a couple of days off, there’s another Formula 1 race this weekend: the last before the summer break. The Belgian Grand Prix is one of the most prestigious races on the calendar, held on a track that’s particularly challenging for drivers, cars, and tyres. We’ve nominated the same line-up of compounds as last year – C2, C3, and C4 – to offer a wide range of strategy options; at least if the rain holds off. Traditionally, the weather at Spa is a key factor throughout the weekend; the fact that the grand prix has moved dates – from the first race after the summer break to the last race before it – should make little difference, as the forecast is always variable anyway. The length of the track, with Spa being the longest lap of the year, and the variation in elevation – which is also the biggest of the whole season – means that it’s easy to find wet conditions on one part of the track while it’s completely dry elsewhere. New for this year is Spa becoming the third Sprint venue of the season, after Baku and Spielberg, with a Sprint Shootout on Saturday morning followed by a 100-kilometre race in the afternoon. With just an hour of free practice before qualifying on Friday (which, for now, seems to be the day most at risk of rain) there will be even less time than usual to set up the cars. At Spa, we tend to see some of the biggest differences in terms of aerodynamic setup between the teams: some prefer more downforce in order to push harder during the second sector while others prefer a looser car to have extra speed to attack and defend more down the straights. With two races this year, one of the most spectacular venues of the season is set to put on an even bigger show.

    Mario Isola, Motorsport Director.

  • F1 to race in Hungary till 2032

    Formula 1 announced that the Hungarian Grand Prix will remain on the calendar for an additional five years until 2032, extending the existing deal that run until 2027.

    The new agreement follows an announcement that the Hungaroring will undergo significant development and refurbishment in the coming years including a new pit building and a main grandstand.

    Located just 20km outside the historic city of Budapest, the iconic 4.38km Hungaroring has been part of the F1 calendar since 1986 with many legends of the sport claiming victory at the circuit.

    Five of the 2023 grid have been victorious at the Hungarian Grand Prix, with Lewis Hamilton holding a record eight wins, Fernando Alonso. Daniel Ricciardo won back in 2014, while Esteban Ocon claimed his maiden victory in 2021, and Max Verstappen made it back to back wins.

    The Hungarian Grand Prix took place last weekend, with 300,000 fans in attendance, an increase from 290,000 in 2022. The Grand Prix this year also marked a special moment for the country with it being 20 years since Zsolt Baumgartner, the only Hungarian to compete in the sport, made his F1 debut.

    It is great news to announce the extension of the Hungarian Grand Prix for an additional five years as we return for another action-packed weekend at the Hungaroring. It is a very special circuit next to the incredible city of Budapest and one all of the drivers and our fans look forward to on the calendar. To see the commitment from the promoter in Hungary to develop the facilities and further enhance the experience for fans is another important step and something we want to see all our events doing in order to continue to improve and make our races even better.

    Formula 1 President and CEO Stefano Domenicali.

  • RND 12 – Hungarian Grand Prix

    Round 12 is now complete, we had a dominant display from one driver in particular, and a bit of drama on the opening lap, let’s take a look at how it went…

    Max Verstappen claimed his seventh win in a row! Which now saw Red Bull break records with 12 consecutive wins in a row – which was held by McLaren. Talking of McLaren… Lando Norris brings home a second consecutive podium, with Sergio Perez returning to the podium in third.

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

    Lovely work from both Bulls in today’s race, Max taking the lead into turn 1 on lap 1 and Sergio Perez making his way through the field and back onto the podium! Hopefully this gives him the momentum next week aswell!

    Obviously another good result for McLaren, are they officially back now??!!! Two podiums on a trot for Lando and two good point finishes for Oscar, who will be hoping to get his first podium in F1 soon!

    Now Mercedes, obviously great pace in Quali for Lewis, but not the best of days today, finishing 4th is still good but I think the team was expecting a podium at least… But George worked his way through the field and managed to get up into 6th after starting 18th.

    Now onto the first lap drama… Both Alpine’s with a double DNF for the second week in a row. However this wasn’t their fault… Guanyu Zhou went into the back of Daniel Ricciardo who then went into Gasly and Gasly into Ocon… So they were kind of sitting ducks in that collision and was just really unlucky.

    Now onto Ricciardo, first race weekend back, obviously unlucky with the incident on lap 1 but he managed to fight his way back through the pack and finish 13th, two places ahead of his teammate Tsunoda in 15th…

    Now looking towards Round 13, we don’t have to wait too long as the next race weekend is only next week in Belgium the last race weekend before the summer break!

    Will 13 be unlucky for Max, and we have a different driver win? Or will it be the Bulls going for a 13th consecutive win in a row?! Find out next week!

  • RND 12 – Hungary Qualifying

    Qualifying this time was a bit different than normal, with Pirelli’s new ‘Alternative Tyre Allocation’ making its debut. Where Q1 drivers use hard tyre, Q2 the medium and Q3 soft.

    And this time, it was Max Verstappen or Red Bull taking pole position… It was in fact the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton who stormed to pole 104. Max was close behind in 2nd and Lando Norris rounded out the top three.

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

    A great result for Lewis managing to get pole, the only other team apart from Red Bull and Mercedes to get pole this season is Ferrari, so it’s good to see that teams are closing in on the Bulls.

    Obviously another great result for McLaren, starting P3 and P4, they’ll be looking at scoring big points this weekend and looking at the podium aswell.

    The star of qualifying, Zhou Guanyu and the whole Alfa Romeo team really as Zhou took 5th and Bottas 7th, they’ve had a rough season so far but they will be looking to optimise on others downfall tomorrow so they can score good points.

    An okay result for Perez, but he still isn’t where his meant to be, but at least he got into the top 10 this time. He has a bit of work to do during the race, and he will be hoping to stay out of trouble aswell.

    Now looking outside the top 10, Daniel Ricciardo on his return managed 13th for AlphaTauri, and outperformed his teammate Tsunoda in 17th.

    Predictions-

    My top five for the race are- P1: Hamilton, P2: Verstappen, P3: Piastri, P4: Alonso and P5: Perez.

    I feel like we might have a few surprises along the way in tomorrow’s race, maybe a strategy which hasn’t gone right or a bad pitstop or a badly timed safety car? Who knows what will happen, but one thing is for sure… Hamilton and Verstappen front row? Drama!!

  • Hungarian Grand Prix

    We are back! That’s right we have a double header coming up just before the summer break and we’ve had a little bit of a shake around…

    Danny Ricc is back!! All eyes on him this weekend, to see how he gets on in the AlphaTauri car and his first race weekend since last season.

    Will ANYONE stop Max? Or is he simply unstoppable at the moment? The last couple of races at Hungary have been entertaining, George’s pole last year and then Esteban Ocon winning in 2021, could we get some more drama this year?

    Who needs to shine?

    I think the most obvious one is Daniel, if he performs in the car and beats Tsunoda this weekend then I think his going to be a candidate for that Red Bull seat. But with so many people watching him will he be able to keep the pressure down?

    The Ferrari’s, they had a bit of a rough run last time out in Silverstone, with Leclerc 9th and Sainz 10th. If they want to be in the fight for the Constructors then they need to pull there finger out, Aston Martin are ahead of them by just 24 points!

    Alpine also need a good weekend, last time out aswell neither driver finished the race so no points scored, and then Gasly only managed just to get a point in Austria. With McLaren getting there best result of the season last time out, with a podium and P4 the British team has now pulled a gap to the French team.

    Times for the weekend-

    Friday 21st July-

    • Free Practice F3- 08:55am – 09:40am (BST)
    • Free Practice F2- 10:05am – 10:50am
    • Free Practice 1 F1- 12:30pm – 13:30pm
    • Qualifying F3- 14:05pm – 14:35pm
    • Qualifying F2- 15:00pm – 15:30pm
    • Free Practice 2 F1- 16:00pm – 17:00pm

    Saturday 22nd-

    • Sprint Race F3- 08:50am – 09:35am
    • Free Practice 3 F1- 11:30am – 12:30pm
    • Sprint Race F2- 13:15pm – 14:00pm
    • Qualifying F1- 15:00pm – 16:00pm

    Sunday 23rd-

    • Feature Race F3- 07:25am
    • Feature Race F2- 09:05am
    • F1 Race- 14:00pm

    Predictions for Qualifying-

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

    I think, we might have a few shock surprises in Qualifying, with a few getting knocked out in Q1. There isn’t going to be any rain at the point of writing this, but Hungary is unpredictable…

  • Madrid F1 race a step closer…

    A Formula 1 race in Madrid is a step closer to reality after the boss of the proposed venue insisted that he knows when a deal will be signed.

    The claim was made on Thursday the 13th by Jose Vicente de los Mozos, the president of the executive committee of the IFEMA fairgrounds and convention centre located to the northeast of the Spanish capital.

    Opened in 1991 IFEMA has become a major centre for conferences and conventions, and there is enough land in and around it to form the basis of a race circuit, with the existing buildings called into use.

    Since March it has been the host of the officially-sanctioned and well-received F1 Exhibition, which in effect has served to help the city to stake its claim for a race event.

    Barcelona currently has a deal to run the Spanish GP until 2026, and it’s not clear yet if the plan is for the new event to eventually take over the title, or if it will run as the Madrid GP.

    The Madrid area previously hosted F1 when the Spanish HP was held at Jarama, to the east of the city and not much further away from the centre than the new venue.

    The track first held the race in 1968, initially alternating with Montjuich Park in Barcelona, which co-incidentally like the proposed new venue was a street track adjacent to an exhibition facility.

    I know when we’re going to sign it and when we’re going to do it. We have followed the process indicated to us. The Spanish Automobile Federation has been informed from the first moment, we have signed exclusivity, and now we are advancing with the contract.

    De Los Mozos on a future race deal.

    It is true that Madrid wants to host a race in the future. And no decision has been taken so far. That’s another great sign of the state of the health of F1. And this is the right competition that will not involve at all any political discussion, only commercial and technical and sporting discussion we’ll be taking the next couple of months. And for the best of F1 we will take the right decision. I’m sure about it. But we need to remember that we still have years of contract with Barcelona, and we are really very, very happy with the way that Barcelona is handling the future because, of course, this has helped them to react, to push for the improvement that is needed at all levels, everywhere. And then this, of course, is in a moment where we have Fernando [Alonso] performing incredibly well, and we have Carlos Sainz in Ferrari. Both of them have a lot of fans. We see that the TV rating figure is growing incredibly well in Spain. So the market is very, very strong now. And so that’s great that we have these kinds of hopes for the future.

    Stefano Domencali speaking to F1’s own Beyond the Grid podcast.

  • Hungary Tyre Selection

    The tyres have been chosen by Pirelli ahead of this weekends Hungarian Grand Prix!

    The chosen compounds are- C3 (Hard), C4 (Medium) and C5 (Soft), which are softer than the compounds used last year.

    Budapest will be hosting the debut of the Alternative Tyre Allocation (ATA) with just one mandatory slick compound for each qualifying session.
    Teams must use the hard compound in Q1, medium in Q2, and soft in Q3. If the qualifying is wet they will have a free choice of compounds as usual.

    Under the ATA rules, the number of tyre sets available for each car is reduced to 11, instead of 13 available for a normal race weekend. Each driver will have three sets of hard, four sets of medium and four sets of soft. With the number of wet tyres staying the same.

    On Friday, one set of tyres must be returned at the end of each free practice session. A further two sets must be returned on Saturday after FP3. This then leaves seven sets of tyres for qualifying and the race, and out of those seven one set of hards and one set of mediums must be kept for the race.

    Hungary often features high ambient and track temperatures. With the race taking place at the end of July, and the circuit located in a natural bowl with little airflow, Budapest will be a challenge for both thermal management of the tyres and driver fatigue.

    The most common strategy at the Hungaroring is a two-stopper, with a one-stopper occasionally perfered. The choices made last year were heavily influenced by a Virtual Safety Car, and a Safety Car.

    Almost all drivers last year made three stops, using all three compounds available to them. At the start, half the grid was on softs and the other mediums, with the hard tyre normally being used for the second or third stint.

    The Hungarian Grand Prix has become a classic event of the Formula 1 summer season, and as such the air and asphalt temperatures, which are usually very high, are the main features. This puts the drivers, cars and tyres to the test, not least because the twisting nature of the track does not allow anyone or anything to catch their breath. There’s a fairly long pit straight, which provides the only real overtaking opportunity under braking into the first right-hand corner. Then there are 13 more corners – seven right-handers and six left-handers – on a circuit that is second only to Monte Carlo in terms of slowest average speed; to the extent that the cars use similar downforce settings to Monaco. With so many slow corners, traction is one of the key factors for good performance and the biggest risk is tyre overheating. Despite being a permanent track, the Hungaroring is not used very often and the asphalt conditions improve considerably during the weekend as the ideal racing line rubbers in.

    Usually, this race is all about strategy and tyre degradation. This year we have opted for a trio of softer compounds (C3, C4 and C5) compared to 2022, while a new tyre allocation for qualifying (known as ATA, or ‘Alternative Tyre Allocation’) will be tried out for the first time, with the obligation to use just the hard in Q1, medium in Q2 and soft in Q3 if conditions stay dry. Both these changes, at least on paper, should lead to a wider range of options, particularly in terms of strategy. The ATA also saves two sets of dry tyres compared to the traditional format (using 11 sets instead of 13) and it will be run again at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza. After that, the FIA, F1 and the teams will decide whether or not to adopt it for next season.

    Mario Isola, Motorsport Director.

  • Ricciardo replaces De Vries at Alpha Tauri

    Daniel Ricciardo will be making a return to the Formula 1 grid as he will be replacing Nyck de Vries at Alpha Tauri for the rest of the season.

    The Australian driver has been in action today at Silverstone, driving Red Bull’s current RB19 car in a Pirelli tyre test. But it’s now been announced that Ricciardo – currently Red Bull’s third driver will be on loan from Hungary for AT.

    Dutch driver De Vries, who stared in a one-off drive for Williams at Monza last year where he claimed ninth position on an impressive first outing, has endured a difficult first season of full time racing in F1 and is still yet to score any points.

    This has unfortunately led to him being replaced after 10 Grand Prix, with eight time race winner Daniel Ricciardo who lost his seat with McLaren at the end of 2022 season following two trouble seasons with the team stepping in.

    He is set to re-join the Faenza squad with whom he spent two seasons with in 2012 and 2013 in their Toro Rosso guise before his promotion to Red Bull in 2014.

    Ricciardo went one to net seven victories for Red Bull, before joining Renault for two seasons from 2019, then moving onto McLaren for 2021.

    My Opinion-

    Honestly, it’s great to see Daniel back in F1 but I have a feeling this is a test for him. Obviously he done the tyre test at Silverstone today and apparently the time was quick enough to be on the front row last Sunday… But this test I’m talking about, is if he performs well enough the last 12 races, could he possibly replace Sergio Perez at Red Bull next season?

    There’s also a part of me which is gutted for Nyck, no-one deserves to be treated this way whether you’ve been in F1 for months or years. I get he hasn’t scored any points this season, but we are only 10 races in, whereas other rookies for Alpha Tauri / Red Bull outfit have been given more than a season to prove themselves.

    I’m very pleased to welcome Daniel back into the team. There’s no doubt about his driving skills, and he already knows many of us, so his integration will be easy and straight forward. The team will also profit a lot from his experience, as he is an eight-time Formula 1 Grand Prix winner.

    Franz Tost on Daniel Returning.

  • RND 11 – Silverstone Qualifying

    What a qualifying session we had yesterday, with changing conditions adding a bit of drama to it, which brought out a few surprises… good and bad!

    Max Verstappen made it five pole positions in a row and seven for the 2023 season so far, as he beat the McLaren pair, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri to the top spot.

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

    Obviously first few drivers I have to mention are McLaren! WOW, honestly being a McLaren, Norris and Piastri fan I’m so happy. We all saw how Lando did last weekend with the updated car, and now Oscar has it, McLaren have made a huge step forward!

    Really good results for Ferrari, nice to see them both there together, so they can push for more points today.

    Now Sergio Perez… he is starting 15th, not the place he wants to be that’s for sure, especially when there’s both drivers from three teams in the top 10. It’s his 5th exit not being able to make Q3, I think something needs to change on his side of the garage, whether it’s just bad luck or not.

    Valtteri Bottas got disqualified from qualifying as he starts in the race in P20. Bottas ground to a halt at the end of Q1, after bagging himself a spot in Q2.

    The FIA were unable to extract the stipulated one-litre fuel sample from the C43 machine, which lead to him being disqualified.

    Predictions for Qualifying-

    P1: Verstappen, P2: Leclerc, P3: Hamilton, P4: Norris and P5: Russell.

    I think we might have an entertaining race, we have Sergio Perez coming through the field, and will the McLaren’s be able to turn the qualifying pace into race pace and keep up with the likes of Ferrari and Mercedes.

  • British Grand Prix

    The second race of the double header is here and we are at Silverstone for the British Grand Prix! The home Grand Prix of Lewis Hamilton, George Russell and Lando Norris, as well as some teams.

    Will one of the home hero’s make it on the podium? Or possibly two? All eyes look towards Sunday to find out!

    But could anyone stop Max Verstappen and Red Bull? The past few races here at Silverstone have had some drama, so should we expect some this time out?

    Who needs to shine?

    Alex Albon will be wanting to have a good weekend, he thinks that the team should’ve scored points in Austria, so will be hoping he does this time out.

    Nico Hulkenberg had a pretty okay weekend last week, I think if he didn’t have his DNF he might’ve scored some points, but looking at this weekend he will be wanting to grab those points to make up for what he missed.

    Yuki Tsunoda, his obviously the lead Alpha Tauri car but his had a few bad races recently where he hasn’t scored any points, the last time being back in Azerbaijan. With only scoring two points so far this season, he will be wanting to get the most out of this weekend he could possibly get.

    Times for the weekend-

    Friday 7th July-

    • Free Practice F3: 08:45am – 09:30am (BST)
    • Free Practice F2: 10:05am – 10:50am
    • Free Practice 1 F1: 12:30pm – 13:30pm
    • Qualifying F3: 14:10pm – 14:40pm
    • Qualifying F2: 15:05pm – 15:35pm
    • Free Practice 2 F1: 16:00pm – 17:00pm

    Saturday 8th July-

    • Sprint Race F3: 09:20am – 10:00am (BST)
    • Free Practice 3 F1: 11:30am – 12:30pm
    • Sprint Race F2: 13:15pm – 14:00pm
    • Qualifying: 15:00pm – 16:00pm

    Sunday 9th July-

    • Feature Race F3: 08:20am (BST)
    • Feature Race F2: 09:55am
    • Race: 15:00pm

  • F1 announces calendar for 2024

    Formula 1 has announced the calendar for the 2024 FIA Formula One World Championship, approved by the World Motor Sport Council.

    Formula 1 has made clear its intention to move towards greater calendar regionalisation, reducing logistical burdens and making the season more sustainable.

    The calendar features 24 race weekends and begins in Bahrain on March 2nd and finished in Abu Dhabi on December 8th.

    By moving Japan to April, Azerbaijan to September and Qatar back-to-back with Abu Dhabi, this calendar creates a better flow of races in certain regions, and this work will continue while being realistic to the fact that as a world championship, with climatic and contractual constraints, there will always be travel required that cannot be completely regionalised.

    For the opening two races of the season in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, the Grand Prix will take place on a Saturday, to accommodate Ramadan.

    RoundDateGrand PrixVenue
    129th February – 2nd MarchBahrainSakhir
    27th – 9th MarchSaudi ArabiaJeddah
    322nd – 24th MarchAustraliaMelbourne
    45th – 7th AprilJapanSuzuka
    519th – 21st AprilChinaShanghai
    63rd – 5th MayMiamiMiami
    717th – 19th MayEmilia RomagnaImola
    824th – 26th MayMonacoMonaco
    97th – 9th JuneCanadaMontreal
    1021st – 23rd JuneSpainBarcelona
    1128th – 30th JuneAustriaSpielberg
    125th – 7th JulyUnited KingdomSilverstone
    1319th – 21st JulyHungaryBudapest
    1426th – 28th JulyBelgiumSpa
    1523rd – 25th AugustNetherlandsZandvoort
    1630th August – September 1stItalyMonza
    1713th – 15th SeptemberAzerbaijanBaku
    1820th – 22nd SeptemberSingaporeSingapore
    1918th – 20th OctoberUSAAustin
    2025th – 27th OctoberMexicoMexico City
    211st – 3rd NovemberBrazilSao Paulo
    2221st – 23rd NovemberLas VegasLas Vegas
    2329th November – 1st DecemberQatarLusail
    246th – 8th DecemberAbu DhabiYas Marina

    I am delighted to announce the 2024 calendar with 24 races that will deliver an exciting season for our fans around the world. There is huge interest and continued demand for Formula 1, and I believe this calendar strikes the right balance between traditional races and new and existing venues. I want to thank all of the promoters and partners for their support and effort to achieve this great schedule. Our journey to a more sustainable calendar will continue in the coming years as we further streamline operations as part of our Net Zero 2030 commitment. We have plenty of racing to look forward to in 2023, including the inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix, and our fans can look forward to more excitement next season.

    Stefano Domenicali, President and CEO of Formula 1.

    The planned 2024 FIA Formula One World Championship calendar, that has been approved by the Motor Sport Council Members, demonstrates some important steps towards our shared goals. We want to make the global spectacle of Formula 1 more efficient in terms of environmental sustainability and more manageable for the travelling staff who dedicate so much of their time to our sport. Stefano Domenicali and his team have done a great job to both bring in new and exciting venues in emerging markets for Formula 1, and stay true to the sport’s long and remarkable heritage. Each race can only happen thanks to the collaboration between the FIA, FOM, the promoters, and the host ASNs who bring together the thousands of volunteer marshals and support personnel so that we can go racing, and as we forge ahead into the future we must ensure that our priorities grow and develop with the needs of society and what is best for our sport, our fans and our environment.

    Mohammed Ben Sulayem, President of the FIA.

  • Silverstone Tyre Selection

    The tyres for this weekend’s British Grand Prix have been chosen, with a debut of a new slick tyre construction.

    The chosen tyres are: C1 (Hard), C2 (Medium) and C3 (Soft), a choice dictated by the high energy loads that Silverstone puts through the tyres.

    The track is one of the most demanding of the whole season, especially for the front-left tyre that has to cope with heavy loadings throughout eight different corners.

    Some of the highest average cornering speeds of the year are seen at Silverstone (Maggotts, Becketts and Chapel are all taken flat out) while the drivers are subjected to lateral forces that can exceed 5g.

    A two-stopper was generally the most popular strategy in 2022. And all three compounds were seen during the race: including on the starting grid.

    After Monza, SIlverstone is one of the most historic permanent tracks on the F1 calendar, having hosted 57 Grand Prix. In 2020, the British Grand Prix was followed one weekend later by another grand prix to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the very first F1 race in history.

    The British Grand Prix will mark the debut of a new slick tyre construction, using materials that have been brought forward from their anticipated introduction next year. This change in specification was made necessary due to the increased performance of the cars seen since the start of the season – both in terms of outright speed and loadings – compared to the pre-season simulation data supplied to Pirelli by the teams last winter, and the fact that this trend is only set to increase as the championship goes on. We’ve worked very hard on simulation over the last few years in order to not only supply a product that meets the performance targets set by all the stakeholders but also to have the ability to anticipate any eventual issues and react to them promptly. The new specification gives the tyre extra resistance against fatigue but does not affect any technical parameters or its behaviour on track. All the teams already had the opportunity to try the new tyre construction out at the Spanish Grand Prix, when two sets were put at the disposal of each driver in free practice. Their comments were in line with our expectations, especially when it came to transparency in terms of performance. The new specification also allows us to keep front and rear tyre pressures largely unchanged compared to last year, despite a significant increase in average loads. This debut will come on a track that is traditionally one of the hardest on tyres; on our internal charts Silverstone is right at the top in terms of stress and lateral forces exerted on them: particularly the front-left. The track also takes a lot out of the drivers, who have to cope with lateral accelerations in excess of 5g throughout its rapid corners. The compound choices – which, unlike the structure, are not undergoing any change in specification – are identical to previous years at least in name: C1 is the hard, C2 is the medium, and C3 is the soft. However, the current C1 is in fact a brand new compound for this year, which fits in between the C2 and the C0: our new name for the hardest compound in the 2022 range.

    Mario Isola.

  • McLaren reveal chrome livery for British GP

    McLaren will be running a special chrome-inspired livery at their home race, the British Grand Prix this weekend, as they continue their year long 60th anniversary celebrations.

    The design is a nod to their fan favourite chrome livery, which they ran from 2006 – 2014 – an era which was defined by Lewis Hamilton’s drivers’ world championship in 2008.

    That was the last time McLaren tasted world championship success, with the British operation having since returned their livery to the team’s roots with the use of papaya.

    The special livery, which will adorn both MCL60 race cars at this weekend’s race at Silverstone, has been designed in conjunction with their partner Google.

    Lando Norris will run a special chrome helmet design and bespoke race boots whilst both he and his teammate Oscar Piastri will wear one-off design race suits.

    The livery follows their special ‘Triple Crown’ papaya, white and black livery which they ran in Monaco and Spain earlier this year in homage to their achievement of winning motorsport’s three most famous races, known as the Triple Crown, which includes F1’s Monaco races, IndyCar’s Indy 500 and the endurance showpiece – the Le Mans 24 Hours.

    It’s no secret that racing fans love McLaren’s classic chrome livery. Google Chrome wanted to bring back elements of this iconic livery to celebrate our team’s history at the British Grand Prix, and we’re excited to be able to give our fans what they want. I’m sure this livery will bring back great memories for many of our fans, and I can’t wait to see it out on track at our home race.

    Zak Brown, McLaren Racing CEO.

    It’s been a privilege for the Google Chrome team to work with McLaren on bringing back elements of an iconic livery to inspire this takeover. We were delighted with the fans’ reaction to the branded wheel covers that introduced our partnership, and now Google Chrome is putting chrome back on the McLaren for its home race. We’re looking forward to Silverstone and hope all McLaren fans enjoy what promises to be a really exciting weekend of racing.

    Nick Drake, Google VO Global Marketing.
    https://www.instagram.com/p/CuPhxWmoTMX/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

  • Austrian Grand Prix stays till 2030!

    Formula 1 has announced that the Austrian Grand Prix will remain on the calendar until 2030 after agreeing a new deal with promoter Projekt Spielberg GmbH & Co KG.

    Sunday’s announcement further reiterates F1’s long-term commitment to racing in the country, adding to the four year renewal – confirming the race from 2024 to 2027 – that was announced earlier this year.

    Set amongst the idyllic Styrian mountains, the Red Bull Ring’s 4.318 kilometre track layout has become famous for action-packed events with its three long straights and the famous Rindt right-hander.

    Spielberg first featured on the F1 Calendar with the original Osterreichring circuit from 1970-1987, before a stint as the A1-Ring from 1997 to 2003 and its current spell as the Red Bull Ring – having made a comeback in 2014 with support from Red Bull co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz.

    I am delighted to announce this news with our exceptional partners in Austria. The vision and passion of Dietrich Mateschitz, a man who loved this sport, made this all possible and it is a very special moment and a tribute to him that we can confirm we will be racing at this incredible venue until 2030. The race in Austria is a big favourite for the drivers and all our fans and we are looking forward to many years of excitement and action that are ahead of us.

    Stefano Domenicali, President and CEO of Formula 1.

    The Red Bull Ring is excited to announce that we will continue our special relationship with Formula 1 until 2030. This long-term deal represents Formula 1’s strong commitment to Austria and Styria. The fact that the Formula 1 keeps the home Grand Prix of Oracle Red Bull Racing is of great importance for the Murtal region and for the employees of the Red Bull Ring. With pride and joy we celebrate the tenth joint year at Spielberg. Our special thanks goes to the fans and all supporters.

    Erich Wolf, General Manager of the Red Bull Ring.

  • RND 10 – Austrian Grand Prix

    The Austrian Grand Prix is now complete, lets take a look at how race number 10 went!

    Max Verstappen make its 5 wins in a row, and a clean sweep of wins and poles across this jam-packed weekend as he showed a dominant display today, he led home Ferrari driver, Charles Leclerc and teammate Sergio Perez in third.

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

    Great results for Red Bull, finally Sergio Perez having a decent result! Only thing is to see if he can do the same next weekend including a good qualifying result too.

    Good result for Ferrari also, nice to see Leclerc back on the podium aswell. They needed a strong weekend as a whole for both drivers and they finally got it. So let’s hope this happens again and we see some closer battles.

    A really good result for Lando Norris too, the new upgrades clearly work so hopefully we can see both McLaren boys up in the points more often now!

    Not the best weekend for Mercedes, the car just did not like this track. Lewis struggled turning round corners which resulted in him getting a 5 second penalty for track limits. And then George, had to work his way through some of the pack because he didn’t have the best qualifying result on Friday.

    However, not everything stays the same. A new classification for the race has been released after the FIA handed out penalties to eight drivers following the conclusion of the race.

    Aston Martin had lodged a protest over the provisional classification shortly after the 71 lap encounter.

    The eight drivers are: Sainz, Hamilton, Gasly, Albon, Ocon, Sargeant, De Vries and Tsunoda all being hit with penalties.

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

    We haven’t got long to wait till the next race as it’s just around the corner, where we race at Silverstone for the British Grand Prix next weekend!

  • RND 10 – Austria Sprint

    Sprint Shootout-

    Max Verstappen secured pole position for the Sprint Shootout at the Austrian Grand Prix with a stunning display at the end of a damp-dry session.

    He headed Red Bull teammate, Sergio Perez and McLaren’s Lando Norris in third.

    The full top 10 are: P1: Verstappen, P2: Perez, P3: Norris, P4: Hulkenberg, P5: Sainz, P6: Leclerc, P7: Alonso, P8: Stroll, P9: Ocon and P10: Magnussen.

    A good result for the Red Bull team, finally seeing Perez up there with his teammate, but ideally it should be for the race on Sunday as theirs not much points on offer today.

    Big result from number 4, Lando Norris again, like I said yesterday he likes this track a lot.

    The Haas duo both done well both in the top 10, so they will be hoping to score some points this weekend.

    Not such a good result for Mercedes, neither driver in the top 10, Hamilton had a shock SQ1 exit, as the times just kept on improving which dropped him down and then he had traffic on his final lap so couldn’t improve.

    Whereas for George Russell he got into SQ2 but, he had a hydraulic problem and subsequently confirming that he would be taking no further part in the session.

    Sprint-

    Max Verstappen emerged victorious in an action packed Sprint race at the Austrian Grand Prix, where he survived some early drama to claim an ultimately dominated win on Red Bull’s home soil.

    He was followed by Perez in 2nd and Sainz rounding out the top three in third.

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

    Verstappen lost the lead to teammate Sergio Perez as the start but quickly fought back and settled into a rhythm up front, cruising away from the competition.

    A change in the starting order saw Charles Leclerc demoted from sixth to ninth – which then promoted the Aston Martin pair and Alpines, Esteban Ocon.

    Lando Norris was a big loser at Turn 3 of lap 1 as he got caught behind the squabbling Bull’s and then suffered a slow exit – where he fell from 4th to 10th.

    With eight laps, to go, Russell reported that conditions were not far off slicks and moments after making that call, he headed for the pits.

    The start was not ideal, a bit of wheelspin, but after that, after Lap 1, once we got back in the lead, it was good. We were just managing the tyres, knowing that if it wasn’t going to rain anymore, then you know 24 laps on an intermediate is quite a lot, but they were hanging in there. I think of course the last five laps the slicks were quite a bit faster, but I think for us, so far in the lead, it didn’t make sense to pit. We just hung in there with the inters which worked well.

    Verstappen on winning the Sprint.

  • RND 10 – Austria Qualifying

    Qualifying is now complete for the Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday, let’s take a look at what went down at the Red Bull Ring.

    Max Verstappen made it three pole positions in a row for the Austrian Grand Prix, getting the better of the Ferrari pair Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz in an action-packed session.

    Verstappen overcame deleted lap times in Q1 and Q2 – with plenty of drivers falling foul of the track limits – to make it into the top 10 shootout and deliver his pole-grabbing effort of 1m04.391s.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Leclerc, P3: Sainz, P4: Norris, P5: Hamilton, P6: Stroll, P7: Alonso, P8: Hulkenberg, P9: Gasly and P10: Albon.

    Perez was absent from the Q3 battle, as he dropped out in the second phase of qualifying with successive deleted times. Not a good start to the weekend for the Mexican driver, with him starting 15th on Sunday his got a bit of work to do which isn’t needed for the team or himself.

    A good result for Lando, P4 for number 4! Hopefully he can turn it into a better result on Sunday as we all know he likes this track and does well here.

    Brilliant result for the Ferrari’s! Is it too early to say their back? Hopefully they can get at least a podium/ possibly two on Sunday and grab some important points for the team in the Constructors!

    Also a good result for both Nico Hulkenberg and Alex Albon who make it into the top 10 for another race weekend in a row, hopefully they can grab points when it matters.

    Predictions for race-

    My top five predictions for Sunday’s race are: P1: Verstappen, P2: Leclerc, P3: Hamilton, P4: Sainz and P5: Alonso.

    With a few drivers not in the right position it will be interesting to see how they will do and how well they will come through the field. One thing we have to look out for though is track limits, some drivers might be pushing and then result in a time penalty…

  • Austrian Grand Prix

    We are back racing this week, as we have a jam packed month coming up and it starts off with a double header, where we head to Austria this weekend, where it’s Red Bull’s home race.

    Can Red Bull make it a 1-2 on home turf? Or will another team take the win and end RB’s streak?

    With the Sprint back this weekend, there’s more opportunity for our drivers to score more points, will some take risks? And will they work out?

    Who needs to shine?

    Sergio Perez, there has been some talk about if he doesn’t keep performing well, he may loose his seat, as we all know what Red Bull are like. His had a couple of rough races, from qualifying to the actual race, he just needs a clean weekend this weekend and get some good points so he can build a gap back to Alonso whose third in the drivers championship.

    Lance Stroll, with his teammate performing so well this season grabbing podiums and qualifying on the front row, it’s a bit bittersweet for the team if they have one driver starting 2nd and then the other in 7th for example, yes it’s still a good result but why can’t it be 2nd and 3rd? So Stroll has a bit more work to do as he needs to score points to get further up the standings also.

    The Alfa Romeo boys, they’ve had a bit of a rough start to the season so far this year, with Bottas only scoring in Bahrain and Canada and Guanyu Zhou in Australia and Spain, they’ve still got a lot of work to do.

    Times for the weekend-

    Friday 30th June-

    • Free Practice F3: 08:55am – 09:40am (BST)
    • Free Practice F2: 10:05am – 10:50am
    • Free Practice 1 F1: 12:30pm – 13:30pm
    • Qualifying F3: 14:00pm – 14:30pm
    • Qualifying F2: 14:55pm – 15:25pm
    • Qualifying F1: 16:00pm – 17:00pm

    Saturday 1st July-

    • Sprint Race F3: 09:00am – 09:40am
    • Sprint Shootout: 11:00am – 11:44am
    • Sprint Race F2: 12:45pm – 13:30pm
    • Sprint F1: 15:30pm – 16:00pm

    Sunday 2nd-

    • Feature Race F3: 07:25am
    • Feature Race F2: 08:55am
    • Race: 14:00pm

  • Austria Tyre Selection

    We are back racing this week and Pirelli have chosen the tyres for this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix, which is Round 10 of 23.

    The tyres which are available for the teams are: C3 (Hard), C4 (Medium) and C5 (Soft), just like last time out in Montreal.

    This weekend will be the second grand prix on the calendar featuring an F1 Sprint. With the Sprint Shootout deciding the grid for the Sprint, and only having three short sessions that make up the Shootout. Teams will have to fit new tyres and use the medium compound for Q1 and Q1 and only in Q3 the soft compound will be used.

    The Red Bull Ring has only 10 corners, with the shortest lap time of any track on the championship, with the lap record being held by Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, with a time of 1m05.619s in the 2020 Styrian Grand Prix.

    Most drivers made two stops last year, starting on the medium tyre ahead of two stints on the hard. There was plenty of overtaking, particularly in the midfield, with five cars competing for the places just off the podium.

    The elevation changes at the Red Bull Ring put it second only to Spa-Francorchamps in terms of variation. There’s a change of more than 60 metres between the lowest point on the track – just before Turn 1 – and the highest point, after Turn 2.

    The Red Bull Ring is a circuit where tyres get no rest. The cars race through the track’s 10 corners in a lap time of just over a minute, and the few straights mean that there is little reprieve for the tyres. The asphalt has a fairly high micro and macro roughness, due to the age of the surface, while grip is high at the start of the lap. Traction and braking are key elements, while particular attention will have to be paid to managing tyre overheating. Drivers who manage not to cool their tyres properly may find it difficult to defend against attacks from rivals, especially in the first and last sectors. An important factor in this will be ambient temperature, with weather conditions traditionally somewhat variable. Last year’s race was largely a two-stopper using the medium and hard compounds, but a one-stopper could also be an option this year if degradation is not too high.

    Mario Isola – Motorsport Director.

  • Alpine secure backing from investors, including Ryan Reynolds

    Alpine have secured a €200 cash injection from a group of investors, including Hollywood actor Ryan Reynolds, to support the French operation’s sporting ambitions in Formula 1.

    Alpine are currently fifth in the constructors’ championship – one place lower than they finished the last campaign – and have been searching for investment to help close the gap to F1’s leading teams.

    The Investor Group – formed of Otro Capital, RedBird Capital Partners and Maximum Effort Investments – have acquired a 24% stake in the F1 team.

    The group has worded with NFL side Dallas Cowboys, America’s National Football League (NFL), French football club Toulouse FC and Welsh football team Wrecham AFC.

    Reynolds brought Wrexham in November 2020 and along with fellow actor and co-owner Rob McElhenney, has overseen the club’s rejuvenation, which peaked with earning promotion back to the English Football League after 15 years.

    The investment centres around the F1 team only, with Renault’s engine division in Viry not part of the transaction and remaining entirely owned by the Renault Group.

    The news comes as part of a wider announcement from Alpine that sees them set a target of achieving €8 billion in revenue in 2030 and to break even in 2026.

    Formula 1 and Alpine are strategic assets for Renault Group. Over the past two years, we have re-ignited Alpine, capitalising on its iconic A110 sports coupe, boosting it by entering Formula 1, where it aims to become a championship contender. This partnership will accelerate Alpine F1 development by diversifying revenue drivers and increasing brand value.

    Renault Group CEO, Luca de Meo.

    This association is an important step to enhance our performance at all levels. First, Otro Capital, RedBird Capital Partners and Maximum Effort Investments, as international players with strong track record in the sports industry, will bring their recognised expertise to boost our media and marketing strategy, essential to support our sporting performance over the long term. Second, the incremental revenue generated will in turn be reinvested in the team, in order to further accelerate our Mountain Climber plan, aimed at catching up with top teams in terms of state-of-the-art facilities and equipment.

    Alpine CEO, Laurent Rossi.

  • RND 9 – Canadian Grand Prix

    Round 9 is now complete, with a few retirements in the 70 lap race, and a driver who showed a dominant drive.

    Max Verstappen made it six victories from eight races, with a dominant display, he lead home the Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso and Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton, as Red Bull maintain their 100% winning record for the season so far.

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

    Verstappen’s lights to flag triumph also gave Red Bull their 100th victory in the sport, 18 years on from the team’s debut, whilst the Dutchman made more history by drawing level with legend, Ayrton Senna on 41 wins.

    A good result for both Alonso and Hamilton, would’ve been interesting to see if Alonso could battle Max for the win if he didn’t have a rear brake issue which he was nursing, and if Lewis would’ve joint in to?

    Mr George Russell, he had a crash early on in the race which caused some damage to his car and dropped him to the bottom of the order, with the Safety Car coming out which lead to some split strategies.

    A good haul of points from Ferrari, I think we were all unsure on their strategy when they didn’t pit during the Safety Car but it worked out in the end, but I don’t know if not swapping Leclerc and Sainz around was the right idea, we might’ve seen Sainz show his pace he thought he had during the race.

    A good result for Alex Albon, he battled hard to keep his position and he deserves the points he got today! Whereas for his teammate it wasn’t meant to be, Sargeant had to retire as he was asked to park his car in the early stages of the race.

    Now, Round 10 isn’t for two weeks, so not too long to wait but it will be a double header. Our first stop will be in Austria on the 30th June to 2nd July.

  • RND 9 – Canada Qualifying

    We had a very wet qualifying session, which brought out a few shocks both being good and bad.

    Red Bull’s Max Verstappen took pole position for the Canadian Grand Prix, as the wet weather dominated the session. Nico Hulkenberg was a surprise second for Haas due to a well-time effort, only to loose the position later on. Alonso rounds out the top three.

    Before any penalties are applied the full top 10 are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Hulkenberg, P3: Alonso, P4: Hamilton, P5: Russell, P6: Ocon, P7: Norris, P8: Sainz, P9: Piastri and P10: Albon.

    With penalties applied, the grid for today’s race is: P1: Vertappen, P2: Alonso, P3: Hamilton, P4: Russell, P5: Hulkenberg, P6: Ocon, P7: Norris, P8: Piastri, P9: Albon and P10: Leclerc.

    A good result for the Mercedes duo, second row start for both drivers so they’ll be looking to see if they can get a double podium again this weekend, or possibly for the win?

    McLaren’s duo done well also, both cars in the top 10, hopefully they can get a couple places up the grid and score some decent points.

    Sainz, Tsunoda, Stroll and Hulkenberg all have 3 place grid penalties, the first 3 drivers all for impeding other driver’s during qualifying. Hulkenberg fora red-flag infringement during qualifying.

    Not a good result for the Ferrari’s, Charles starting 10th and Carlos 11th, they will be hoping to grab some points this weekend and hope to make up for a disappointing session yesterday.

    Sergio Perez starting in 12th isn’t what he or his team wanted, his got some ground to work up in today’s race. I also think that Red Bull maybe getting a little annoyed with the Mexican, as he isn’t where his meant to be on the grid, especially as he started the season of so well.

    Predictions-

    My top five for the race are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Hamilton, P3: Alonso, P4: Russell and P5: Ocon.

    I feel like we might have some drama this race, quite a few drivers out of position so there might be a few clashes and safety cars which could change some drivers strategies.

  • Canadian Grand Prix

    We are back racing this weekend after a week break, and we are heading to Canada, for Round 9 of 23, where it’s Lance Stroll’s home grand prix.

    Will it be another win for Max this weekend? Or can Sergio Perez make a mark on this weekend and get a win on the board after a few rough weekends for the Mexican driver.

    Or can Aston Martin and Mercedes get that win they’ve been looking for this season?

    Who needs to shine?

    Charles Leclerc will be wanting to get in the points this race 2 DNF’s and a finish outside the points, where as if you look at his teammate, the only time he hasn’t scored in in Australia…

    Even though Alonso is having a really really good season, last time out in Spain isn’t what he thought he’d get, he finished 7th and his now more determined not to have another race without a podium…

    With Guanyu Zhou scoring points back in Spain, this means now that Alfa Romeo and Haas are equal on 8 points each and considering both teams always start around each other, all four drivers will be wanting to push themselves even more so they can grab points for the Constructors and put them ahead.

    Times for this weekend-

    Friday 16th-

    • Free Practice 1: 18:30pm – 19:30pm (BST)
    • Free Practice 2: 22:00pm – 23:00pm

    Saturday 17th-

    • Free Practice 3: 17:30pm – 18:30pm
    • Qualifying: 21:00pm – 22:00pm

    Sunday 18th-

    • Race: 19:00pm

    Predictions for qualifying-

    My top five for qualifying are: Pole: Verstappen, P2: Alonso, P3: Hamilton, P4: Perez and P5: Russell.

    To be honest it could go any different way in Canada, but I reckon it will be close between Verstappen and Alonso for pole. There is rain forecasted for Qualifying tomorrow at the moment, so that could bring a few different possibilities into qualifying.

  • Canada Tyre Selection

    We’re back with another race week and the tyre compounds have been chosen by Pirelli for this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix. Those being: C3 (Hard), C4 (Medium) and C5 (Soft).

    The Gilles Villeneuve circuit is a 4.361-kilometre semi-permanent track built on the artificial Notre Dame island in the middle of the St. Lawrence River, close to Montreal. Outside of the grand prix its used as a leisure facility for cycling, roller skating and walking.

    The first Canadian Grand Prix held on this track was in 1978, with Gilles Villenuve emerging as the winner. The track was renamed in memory of the Canadian driver a few weeks after his tragic death in 1982.

    The race runs for 70 laps, consisting of six left turns and eight right turns with three straights. Average speed is relatively low, thanks to the frequent changes of direction caused by the close succession of corners, with continuous braking.

    The softer compound is usually seen only in qualifying, as was the case last year when just the medium and hard compounds were used in the race. The strategy preferred by most drivers was two-stop strategy but some opted for a one-stopper with a very long initial stint on hard.

  • Alfa Romeo announce James Key as Technical Director

    Alfa Romeo have made another change to their F1 organisation after announcing James Key as their new Technical Director, replacing Jan Monchaux.

    Key, who will officially start work on September 1st 2023, previously represented the Hinwil-based operation as Technical Director for the then Sauber team from 2010 to 2012.

    Marking Key’s first role since his exit from McLaren earlier this year, his appointment has been described as “a statement of intent” by the squad ahead of them becoming Audi’s works team in 2026.

    Key has represented several other teams, including Jordan Grand Prix, where he became F1’s youngest ever Technical Director at the age of 33 in 2005, the following guises of Midland, Spyker and Force India, as well as stints at Sauber, Toro Rosso and McLaren.

    I am delighted to be returning to Hinwil to work with old, and new, colleagues at Sauber; I have very fond memories of my time there before. I am looking forward to leading the technical side of the team at one of the most critical junctures of its long history as we head towards a new and exciting future. There is a huge amount of work ahead of us, but I am confident that every single member of our team working in Hinwil will have the commitment, determination and hunger to get us to the top. We know it will require time, effort and perseverance, and the dividends from this work will only arrive over the next two seasons and beyond, but we have a journey ahead of us and a roadmap to follow which I am eager to get started. I am grateful to Andreas [Seidl] for the confidence he has placed in me and look forward to repaying his trust and working closely with him on the challenges and ambitions ahead.

    Key on the new role.

    I am delighted to welcome James back home to Hinwil as he joins us to shape the future of this team. The operation he will find has changed a lot since his time here, but the same drive, the same commitment that contributed to making the team successful in his previous experience are still the same: I am sure that, together with this very talented and committed team, we will be able to continue on the path of growth on which we have embarked. James’ appointment is a crucial step on this journey: he has an outstanding amount of experience in the sport, not just as Technical Director, but also in various other roles within the technical organisation of a team. He will lead the transformation process of the technical side of the team, giving us the tools and direction we need to tackle the future. I also want to thank Jan for his precious contribution to taking Sauber to where it is now, following our most successful season in a decade, in which we climbed to sixth place in the Constructors’ Championship.

    Sauber Group CEO, Seidl.

  • McLaren sign Rob Marshall from RB

    McLaren have signed Rob Marshall as their new Technical Director, Engineering & Design, with the long-time Red Bull man set to join the Woking team on January 1st, 2024.

    Marshall’s role, which has been confirmed in the wake of James Key departing as Technical Director, will sit within the F1 Technical Executive team, alongside Peter Prodromou and David Sanchez, reporting directly into Team Principal, Andrea Stella.

    He will be supported by Neil Houldey in the newly-created role of Deputy Technical Director, Engineering & Design, to complete the senior technical structure, the pair due to “assess and establish the highest technical standards required to design winning F1 cars”.

    Marshall will make the move to McLaren after 17 years with Red Bull, most notably as Chief Engineering Officer, with McLaren describing his appointment as “one of the fundamental steps taken by the team to underpin their journey towards the front of the grid”.

    I am incredibly pleased that Rob will be joining McLaren. With over 25 years working in motorsport, Rob comes to us with a wealth of expertise and experience, elevated by his tenure and track record at Red Bull Racing. Rob’s appointment is one of the fundamental steps and a natural fit to aid the team’s journey to get back to our winning ways. We are a team with the ambition of fighting for championships, but over the last couple of seasons we have not shown a steady upward trend from an on-track competitiveness point of view. Over the last few months, we have worked towards inverting this trend. The approach we have adopted is comprehensive and is based on strengthening the team from a people and expertise point of view, along with the ongoing projects to upgrade technology and infrastructure that will shortly come to fruition. People and culture are our most important resource. We have recently invested and worked towards developing and empowering the internal talents available at McLaren, and we already perceive and measure the positive impact. In parallel, we have been strengthening our roster by bringing new talents on board. The list was already strong and encouraging, and the addition of a high-end and skilled individual like Rob will further consolidate our ability to establish the highest technical standards at McLaren and be in condition to design winning F1 cars. We look forward to welcoming Rob in the near future.

    Andrea Stella.

    In addition to McLaren’s press release, Red Bull released a communication of their own to confirm Marshall’s departure and pay tribute to him through team boss, Christian Horner.

    We would like to thank Rob for everything he has done for the team over the past 17 years. His work on the generation of cars that gave us four incredible championship doubles between 2010 and 2013 was truly outstanding. In the years since he has continued to be a key figure at the team and in 2016 took on the broader role of Chief Engineering Officer which has seen him involved in other projects across the business. His influence will be missed but once again we thank him for all he has done and wish him the very best in his new role.

    Christian Horner.
    https://www.instagram.com/p/Cs34rKbo0Xh/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

  • RND 8 – Spanish Grand Prix

    Round 8 is now complete, where we had quite a civilised race with no safety cars/ yellow flags or red flags and no retirements again!

    Max Verstappen was victorious once again, as he controlled the race from lights out to the chequered flag making it his fifth win of the season. He led home the Mercedes of both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell making it their first double podium of the season.

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

    A great drive from both Sergio Perez and George Russell, both starting from outside the top 10. Damage limitation that drive was and a good haul of points for both drivers.

    Not a good race for Leclerc, just an overall bad weekend for the Monegasque. Finishing 11th after starting 19th, which is a good move up but no points aren’t good, so hopefully he will have some good luck soon.

    Two points for Guanyu Zhou, which is fully deserved. He had a good race, some nice overtakes and his rewarded by getting points.

    Now, lets move on to Yuki Tsunoda, he was having a good race running in the points, making a few moves… And then it all went wrong, he got a 5 second time penalty for forcing Guanyu Zhou off track when he was overtaking. This dropped Yuki out of the points and finished 12th.

    With Round 8 now complete, we have to wait a little while till the next race, where we head to Canada for Round 9 on the 16th June to 18th June.

  • RND 8 – Barcelona Qualifying

    What a qualifying session, we have a very mixed up grid for the race but that’s what will make it all more exciting seeing a few driver’s battle their way through the field.

    Max Verstappen took his first pole position for the Spanish Grand Prix by comfortably getting the better of Ferrari rival Carlos Sainz and McLaren’s Lando Norris.

    The full top 10 are: P1: Verstappen, P2: Sainz, P3: Norris, P4: Gasly, P5: Hamilton, P6: Stroll, P7: Ocon, P8: Hulkenberg, P9: Alonso and P10: Piastri.

    Some bad news for Alpine, as Pierre Gasly may have qualified 4th but he won’t be starting 4th… He impeded both Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz where he was given 3 place grid penalty, twice, so he will be starting the race in 10th.

    Now looking a little further down the grid… Charles Leclerc is starting 19th as he dropped out of Q1 due to car complaints.

    Sergio Perez was another shock, as he got knocked out of Q2 due to taking a trip through the gravel, so he is due to start just outside the top 10 in 11th.

    We also have George Russell who is outside of the top 10, starting just behind Sergio Perez in 12th. During Q2 he had a bizarre incident with his teammate Lewis Hamilton, with the latter progressing on into the top 10.

    Predictions-

    My top five predictions are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Sainz, P3: Hamilton, P4: Ocon, P5: Alonso.

    I think the top five for tomorrow’s race will be mixed depending if there will be any safety cars/ red flags and who will optimise on others down fall.

  • Spanish Grand Prix

    It’s race week once again! And this time were at the Spanish Grand Prix for Round 8, the home Grand Prix of Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz.

    Will Mercedes upgrades really show what their made of this weekend or will it be another RB dominated weekend?

    Can Fernando Alonso get that win he keeps talking about at his home race? And can Sergio Perez make up for what he did last time out this weekend?

    Who needs to shine?

    The Ferrari boys need a good weekend, yes they were in the points last weekend at the Monaco GP but they need to work as a team if they want to be further up in the drivers/constructors championship.

    McLaren will be wanting to do better, especially now Alpine have a podium under there belt and means the gap between them and McLaren is now bigger…

    Lance Stroll will be needing a better weekend, a DNF in Monaco, Miami scored no points as he finished in 12th and then looking back to the second race it was a DNF in Saudi Arabia too. With Alonso qualifying on the front row and finishing on the podium, he ideally needs his teammate there with him so they can make an impact on the Championship standings.

    Predictions for Qualifying-

    My top five for qualifying are- Pole: Verstappen, P2: Alonso, P3: Perez, P4: Hamilton, P5: Russell.

    I don’t think it will be a mixed up qualifying session, only if someone crashes which means there out of Q1 or if someone gets knocked out of Q1, but I find that hard to believe.