The first date for a reveal of the 2022 car has been announced and that being by Aston Martin! They will show the world their challenger, AMR22 on the 10th February 2022.
The team finished 7th in the Constructors standing last year, where they saw new driver for the team Sebastian Vettel get their first ever trophy as Aston Martin.
AM, have had a lot of changes in recent years, with Lawerence Stroll becoming owner and wanting to take F1 by storm and has ‘grand plans’ for the British team!
The car reveal will be streamed online from Aston Martins headquarters, where drivers Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll be joined by key members of the team.
The AMR22 is the first Aston Martin F1 Car which is to be created to the new technical regulations and then represents the biggest design in decades, which makes a significant moment in Aston Martin history.
Today it got announced that Executive Director, Marcin Budkowski has left Alpine which brings a three-year stint at the team to an end.
Budkowski has been a part of Alpine since 2018 where he joined from the FIA- before that he started his F1 career in the aerodynamic department of a few teams first being Prost GP, then Ferrari from 2002 to 2007 where he saw the team win multiple championships.
He then decided to seek a new challenge and joined McLaren in 2007 where he worked in a variety of aerodynamic roles both at factory and on track- he became head of aerodynamics in 2012, however his 7 years at McLaren ended in 2014.
He then went on to the FIA as mentioned above, where he became F1’s technical and sporting coordinator for the FIA, he then became head of the Formula One technical department in 2017. He then joined Renault as executive technical director and in January 2021 he was made a director of Alpine.
Alpine have said that Laurent Rossi CEO will “temporarily” run the operation “to allow everyone to focus on next season’s preparations”. Rossi took over as CEO ahead of last season and since being in the team he has been conducting a review of it, which includes the management structure.
Rossi said: “I would like to thank Marcin Budkowski for his commitment and contribution to the team’s results over the last four years. The team is fully focused on getting the car ready for the first race in Bahrain and deliver a step beyond in performance.”
Budkowski added: “I truly enjoyed being part of the leadership team of Renault then Alpine F1 Team, working with such a talented and dedicated group of people. I will be watching the team’s progress fondly in the seasons to come.”
My Opinion-
I was shocked to hear this because I felt like he didn’t do anything to not deserve the position- but that being said, I feel like Alpine has some big problems in their management area seeing as Cyril Abiteboul left on the 11th January 2021, and now Marcin in January 2022…
Obviously the rumour mill is spinning more and more now since Marcin has now left, will we see an announcement in the next few weeks about a certain Otmar Szafnauer joining the french team? And could this be the same for Aston Martin with Marcin? It’s a wait and see game at the moment…
Lance Stroll, I feel like his not been spoke about much recently? Has he had just a quiet season and working behind the scenes to focus on this years car or has he just struggled? Lets take a look into his season…
Overall his season is okay, obviously not the best but not the worst either… 9 times he got in the points, making him finish 13th out of all 20 drivers on 34 points, his new team-mate Vettel was in 12th and scored 43 points. Stroll had 3 DNF’s across the season, one being the tyre blow out in Azerbaijian, and then the Hungarian race and the last one being Brazil where he had lasting damage from contact with Tsunoda.
His qualifying is where you can see the inconsistency, reaching Q3 six times and then its just a mixture from 12th to 20th… I don’t know if he felt like he had a better race car than one lap pace but it just looks like he has struggled so much compared to last year where he scored in 10 out of 17 races, and where he finished 11th in the drivers standings on 75 points.
Below, is a table of Lances’ qualifying position compared to his race position:
Grand Prix
Qualifying position
Race position
Bahrain
10th
10th
Emilia Romagna
10th
8th
Portugal
17th
14th
Spain
11th
11th
Monaco
13th
8th
Azerbaijan
DNF
DNF
France
NC
10th
Styria
10th
8th
Austria
10th
13th
Great Britain
15th
8th
Hungary
12th
DNF
Belgium
15th
20th
Netherlands
12th
12th
Italy
12th
7th
Russia
8th
11th
Turkey
9th
9th
United States
16th
12th
Mexico
20th
14th
Brazil
15th
DNF
Qatar
12th
6th
Saudi Arabia
18th
11th
Abu Dhabi
13th
13th
Obviously, I know the car has changed, but can it really change that much? Considering his team-mate got two podiums in his first year with the British team (one being DSQ) but it seemed like he pushed the car more than Stroll did?
But saying this, with things changing this year could we potentially see a Lance Stroll who is continuously making Q3 appearances or scoring points almost every race? If this does happen then I can’t wait to see it!
It has been announced by Aston Martin that Otmar Szafnauer has left the company and his role.
The team will be managed by the leadership team which is already in place until a replacement is appointed.
Szafnauer has been with the team since 2009, back in the Force India days. He played an integral role in the teams performance with the team going on an upward path.
His role in the team also saw him secure a long-term agreement with Mercedes to use the Powertrains from 2014 onwards.
Back in November there was speculation Otmar would be joining Alpine, as Laurent Rossi the CEO of Alpine revealed he was planning to undertake an assessment of his leadership team. However the rumours got shut down pretty quickly…
Aston Martin says: “We would like to thank him for the service provided to the team over the past 12 years and wish him well for the future as he will undoubtedly take on new challenges. Fortunately, we are led and managed by a strong group of individuals, and we are comfortable to take a little time to explore options before announcing a new team structure.”
My Opinion-
Well, I’m not shocked in the slightest but it does make you think, could Otmar be going to Alpine? I could see him going there and it really benefiting the team so for now it’s just a waiting game to see if he does go there…
During the season, we tend to look at the Championship contenders/ teams which are doing well more so than other teams/drivers. But seeing as the season has ended, now would be the perfect time to take a look back through the careers of some of the other F1 drivers on the grid. My main question being in this post is, is Esteban Ocon underrated?…
Lets take a look back…
The French man has had a good career so far, working his way through F3, GP3, DTM and the Formula 1, his first full season being in 2017 where he signed for a two year deal with Force India now called Aston Martin, his team-mate back then was Sergio Perez.
But during the 2018 season, it is said that Ocon had an “informal agreement” with Renault for the 2019 season, because Lance Stroll was moving to Force India. But, the bad news for Ocon was Renault signing Daniel Ricciardo instead of Esteban Ocon which left no room for the now 25 year old.
So Esteban became Mercedes reserve driver for the 2019 season- however he did not get the chance to fill in for a driver during the season but apparently became “very close” to replacing Valtteri Bottas, but they decided to stick with the Fin.
After a year out, the french driver came back into F1 in the 2020 season with Renault and then now the newly named Alpine. He then signed a new 3 year deal which takes him up to then of 2024.
Now looking onto this season. Overall he finished 11th, just 7 points away from his team-mate. We saw him get his first win in F1 in Hungary after he kept a cool-head knowing the fact Hamilton was on a war path to get higher up the gird, his team-mate Alonso, done some amazing defending helping the young driver to ensure on getting the win. As well as this, Ocon almost got on the podium in Saudi Arabia, as they crosed the line and Valtteri Bottas took it from him just!
My Opinion-
I personally, do think his underrated, if he had the right car underneath him I believe we would see a very good driver, I have a feeling he would be fighting for podiums etc. He is also very good at helping the team and him and Alonso get on well which we have all seen, if things go well for Alpine this year, we could see a few shock drives from Esteban.
So, its a new year but for penalty points that doesn’t mean its a fresh start… Last year I done a post in August during the break and I took a look at penalty points, now I’m looking to see how much it has changed since then.
As usual penalty points get taken of after being on the record for 12 months, with it currently being winter break no-one has any coming off until the season starts up again.
Driver
Points Currently
Difference from August
Yuki Tsunoda
8
+4
Max Verstappen
7
+7
Sergio Perez
7
-1
Sebastian Vettel
6
0
Nikita Mazepin
6
+1
Nicholas Latifi
6
0
Valtteri Bottas
5
+1
Lando Norris
5
-3
Lance Stroll
5
-1
Antonio Giovinazzi
3
-1
Pierre Gasly
3
+2
Lewis Hamilton
2
-2
Fernando Alonso
2
+2
Kimi Raikkonen
2
-3
Esteban Ocon
1
+1
George Russell
1
-3
Daniel Ricciardo
0
-1
Charles Leclerc
0
-2
Carlos Sainz
0
-1
Mick Schumacher
0
0
Updated Penalty Points January 2022
A driver who needs to be careful is the reigning champ, he got his penalty points in September onwards so if he doesn’t want a race ban then he needs to keep it clean from March to August which holds 14 races as his only 5 away from doing so.
Even though Yuki has more than Max, Yuki can start clearing his sooner from April to July he got 4 points so if he keeps it clean from the start of this season he should be half of what his got now by the Summer Break.
With Guanyu Zhou joining and Alex Albon returning both drivers will start of with 0 penalty points. But with the calendar being 23 races long and it being such a compacted season anything could happen!
We have had an amazing season and its only right that as the year is coming to the end I take a look back on the year and pick out some brilliant moments/races we have had this year.
Which 3 drivers were the best this season?
I am going to pick the two most obvious ones, Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton. Both drivers gave it their all this year and came back fighting after things which have happened on track. My third pick would be Carlos Sainz, I feel like his just beat his ex team-mate to the third place spot but only because of how well and quick he settled into Ferrari, he managed to grab four podiums in his first year, so it will be interesting to see how he can do in his second year!
Biggest shock of the season?
I would say the Esteban Ocon win in Hungary or Daniel Ricciardo’s in Monza. The Alpine win was quite surprising considering the car changed quite a bit from last year and obviously Alonso’s marvellous defending from Hamilton helped secure his team-mates win but Esteban was there when he needed to be and it was nice to see him rewarded for it! Danny Rics win in Monza wow, if someone asked me back in June if Ricciardo would of been one of the winners this year I would have said no! And I think thats what made the win so great, he and the whole McLaren team just deserved the 1-2 and they had no problems at all on the Sunday.
The best individual drive?
Lewis Hamilton, Brazil. Even if your not a Lewis fan you have to admit he done amazing that weekend! To be demoted down the field twice over the course of the weekend is just wow and to top it off he won. I definitely think that will be a race which will be talked about for a long time!
The best qualifying moment?
Hmmm, I had a few for this, but one of the best moments for me was Sochi, where the top 3 was Norris on pole, Sainz 2nd and Russell 3rd. It was like a little preview of what is to come and what made it better was that Russell was in a Williams!
A team I think thats improved…
Ferrari. Plain and simple! Partly because of the new team-mates Carlos & Charles, as they get on great on and off track, they seem to qualify together and finish quite close together to so it feels a lot more equal at Ferrari. Another part of the improvement would be the car, they’ve managed to figure out what went wrong in 2020 and switched it around so quickly and to pull of P3 in the Constructors.
Most heartbreaking moment?
I would say Lando Norris, loosing his win in Sochi after the whole switching/non switching tyre situation. I felt like he deserved a win this season and I’ve said it since the beginning! Sochi was a learning curve for him and the team and it will most likely give him the hunger to go for the win next year.
A team I thought would do better?
Aston Martin. They outshined in quite a few races last year, but obviously they just couldn’t get it right this year. They did have their podium in Baku and as well had one in Hungary but got disqualified, so they did have the pace at some places, I just thought they would’ve done a bit better and it felt like they didn’t try and upgrade their car during the season.
What driver and team need to do better in 2022?
For driver I would say Lance, I feel like this year he was just floating about I didn’t see something amazing from him, where as his team-mate who only joined the team this year down really well, hopefully AM come up with a good car next year which will suit Stroll and we will see more of what he can do.
For the teams I managed to nail it down to two! Williams and Haas. Even though Williams scored a good set of points this year, it can only go up from here, new regs for everyone so a clean slate and it will be interesting to see how the British team can cope with it all. Now Haas, obviously we have all seen whats been going on with them, but I feel with Schumacher in the car and again new regs next season they could possibly have a chance at scoring points hopefully frequently, these two teams I’m going to be keeping my eye on when the season starts up.
Now the 2021 season is over and all drivers have been announced for next season, lets take a look whose with who and what were expecting from drivers.
Mercedes-
Lewis Hamilton & George Russell. A 7 time world champ and a Mercedes Junior on the same team! This is what we have been waiting for (especially me!), I feel like they could both learn from each other but probably George more so than Lewis, but I’m mainly just looking forward to seeing GR in a competitive car (hopefully) and see him score points on the regular.
Red Bull-
Max Verstappen & Sergio Perez. RB have kept it the same which is understandable after a good first year for Perez in the team he helped Max/the team out on many occasions this year and it really is just good team-work.
Ferrari-
Charles Leclerc & Carlos Sainz. No change for the Italian team- good team work with from both sides of the garage especially in Carlos’ first year with the team.
McLaren-
Lando Norris & Daniel Ricciardo. Again no change, hopefully 2022 is a better year for Ricciardo and his more comfortable with the new car. And we’ve all seen what Lando has done this year!
Alpine-
Esteban Ocon & Fernando Alonso. No change for Alpine, which I think is justified after seeing Alonso defend Hamilton so his team-mate could win, then Alonso got back on the podium in his first year back.
Alpha Tauri-
Pierre Gasly & Yuki Tsunoda. Pierre has had such a consistent season so I think it would of been silly if he wasn’t there, and Yuki has had a good season as a rookie scored his best finish in Abu Dhabi so hopefully he gets more consistent in the new season.
Aston Martin-
Lance Stroll & Sebastian Vettel. I had no doubt about either, with Seb scoring podium this year, I felt like Stroll could’ve done better so hopefully a better season for the team next year!
Williams-
Nicholas Latifi & Alex Albon. Now this one I’m excited for! Quite a good season for Nicky for it being his 2nd in F1 but his with Alex next year and I’m glad to see him returning to the grid! Hopefully we see good things from the pair.
Alfa Romeo-
Valtteri Bottas & Guanyu Zhou. Alfa Romeo is the only team to have two new drivers in 2022, Bottas starting a new journey with them which I’m excited to see what he can do, it’s not unknown for drivers to go to a less rewarding team for a bit of a challenge. Guanyu Zhou, is moving up from F2 after he finished 3rd in the standings this year, it’ll be interesting to see how he can do next year. But I think the pair will work quite well together, and Bottas will help Zhou a lot to help him find his footing.
Haas-
Mick Schumacher & Nikita Mazepin. No change for Haas for 2022 which is probably a good thing, I’m hoping we see Haas be able to score points next year I wanna see what they can do in a more competitive car.
Ever since, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the rumours have been flying about left, right and centre. But the main topic being- Could Lewis Hamilton retire?
Nobody actually knows if he is going to or not except himself, after after everything which has gone on in the past week he may be possibly be thinking about it. Lewis led the majority of the Abu Dhabi GP and looked set to win, which meant he would get a record breaking 8th title, until the safety car and changes to lapped cars changed the top 2 around. Since then he has been quiet on social media- he didn’t do post season testing due to being knighted (not related to retirement), but the main thing people don’t understand is him not going to Paris for the FIA ceremony, he was then at Mercedes in the UK for Valtteri Bottas’ farewell the day after the ceremony.
Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff threw Hamilton’s career into doubt this week, hinting the Formula 1 icon could retire. He said: “I would very much hope Lewis continues racing because he is the greatest driver of all time. As a racer his heart will say I need to continue because he’s at the peak of his game. But we have to overcome the pain that was caused upon him on Sunday. He is a man with clear values.”
This isn’t the first time the Austrian has hinted at retirement for the Brit earlier this year they discussed it, he confirmed that before Lewis signed a new deal that they went over the topic.
Now with this all coming over social media the past week after whats happened, its understandable if he would want to retire, Lewis outs everything into F1/Mercedes, he makes a change even when his not racing on track and his so well-known of course these rumours would come about!
My Opinion-
One word. No. I don’t see him retiring for a few years yet, his signed a two year deal with Merc, and his a team person his been so committed even when he didn’t win the 2016 drivers championship he has still carried on and came back to win the championship the year after.
If anything I think this will fuel him, he will want to come back after the winter break jump straight back in the car and win both championships not just the Drivers, but the Constructors too. As for his social media break, its understandable its been such a tough season for all drivers and his no doubt upset what went down in the race so its fully justified.
The final track action of the year for F1 has come to an end now, with two days of testing in Abu Dhabi, where the new 18 inch tyres got tested with a few familiar names!
Day 1-
It was Nyck de Vries who topped the table with the fastest time which is a popular spot for the Mercedes crew, the reserve driver completed 77 laps in the W12 with a 1m 23.194s which put him clear of the field by 1.5s.
The young driver test runners, took the top seven positions with Red Bull junior Liam Lawson in the Alpha Tauri ending up 2nd, with the Formula 2 Champion Oscar Piastri in third with Alpine.
Pato O’Ward was testing for McLaren, managed 92 laps in his F1 debut, who managed 4th fastest, he was then followed by newbie Guanyu Zhou who ended up being half a second off O’Ward. We then had another Red Bull Junior, this time Juri Vips in the Red Bull. The F2 driver was responsible for one of three red flags during the day as he hit the barrier exiting Turn 14.
Aston Martin simulator driver Nick Yelloly was seventh overall, a little under 2.2s of Nyck. Alongside the young drivers in current cars, teams were also running mule cars to test the 18 inch tyres. Ricciardo was nearly a second slower Yelloly but 0.3s clear of Stroll in the adapted Aston- who caused the first red flag of the day around 90 minutes in due to a mechanical issue.
The final interruption of the day came from the Williams of Logan Sargeant where he had a power unit problem which ended his day earlier than expected, he ended up 15th overall.
Bottas managed 127 laps in his Alfa Romeo, as the Mercedes of George Russell managed 131- both starting work at their new teams ahead of the season. We then had our new world champion Max Verstappen completing 123 laps who was also giving advice to Vips in-between breaks.
Day 2-
On the final day of testing we saw Robert Shwartzman who was driving the Haas top the session the Russian’s best time being a 1m 25.348s put him half a second clear of Lando Norris who was using the adapted McLaren car which was carrying an LED panel display on the rear wheel covers.
Russell was fourth fastest with the Aston Martin of Sebastian Vettel in third by just 0.025 between the pair. Vettel was the only one to cause a red flag during today- he stopped on track with a technical issues but the action soon returned.
Gasly was fifth fastest just 0.047s off Russell’s best time, Sainz was in sixth who had the highest total of laps out of the Wednesday runners with 151 laps.
We then had Pietro Fittipaldi who is standing in for Nikita Mazepin due to him testing positive for Covid on Sunday. Fittipaldi was just 0.1s off team-mate Mick Schumacher on the same tyre compound.
The Young Drivers Test, allows an opportunity for teams to field junior drivers to gain experience in F1 machinery, this takes place once a year and always once the season has ended. Lets take a look at who is driving for which team!
Mercedes-
Nyck de Vries will be in the silver arrows. This is no surprise to me, as his took part in it last year. Not only this, but Nyck is a test and reserve driver for Mercedes. The dutchman has driven in Formula E since 2020 with the Mercedes EQ Formula E Team and this year he became the first ever World Champion in Formula E.
Red Bull-
We have Formula 2 driver, Juri Vips driving for Red Bull in the YDT. Juri is apart of the Red Bull Junior Team, once again this isn’t Vips first time in the YDT, he drove for Red Bull last year too. Vips hasn’t got anything lined up for next year he could become Red Bull’s Test and reserve driver, as Alex Albon is going to Williams next year.
Ferrari-
Ferrari have two drivers doing the test for them, Robert Shwartzman who is apart of the Ferrari Driver Academy, and finished 2nd this year in Formula 2 Championship. As well as Antonio Fuoco. Fuoco done his first test with the Italian team back in 2015 and was also part of the Ferrari Driver Academy up until 2019, he was then promoted to Ferrari’s F1 simulator team, this line up for Ferrari is the same as last year.
McLaren-
The papaya team have Pato O’Ward in the car. Pato is not a stranger to McLaren as he races in IndyCar with the McLaren Arrows, and Zak Brown made a deal with the Mexican if he won in IndyCar he will get a chance to test the F1 car, so here we are! Pato is doing another year in Indy Car next year and it is said if he wins the championship there could be a possible move for him to F1 for McLaren!
Alpine-
Now, Alpine has the 2021 Formula Two Champion in their car for the Young Drivers Test. Oscar Piastri is apart of the Alpine Academy and has had an amazing career winning 3 titles back to back. However that didn’t secure Oscar a seat in F1 this year… Instead he is now Alpines test and reserve driver.
Alpha Tauri-
Another Formula 2 driver is amongst us! This time we have Liam Lawson who is driving for Alpha Tauri. Lawson is apart of the Red Bull Junior Team, he took part in both DTM and Formula 2 this year. DTM he finished 2nd, and F2 finished 9th overall, there is no news yet to see what he is doing next year but speculation is he will do another season in F2 which will be his second year if he did.
Aston Martin-
Aston Martin have chosen Nick Yelloly for the test, Nick is no stranger to the Silverstone based team as he has been their simulator driver for a few years now, he now gets to test the Aston Martin.
Williams-
Williams have decided to put their new Academy driver into the hot seat for the young drivers test. Logan Sargeant will be making an appearance for the British team, he has confirmed he will be racing in F2 next year with Carlin, whilst also being on stand-by helping out Williams when he can.
Alfa Romeo-
Alfa Romeo will be putting their new driver, Guanyu Zhou in for the YDT, as well as testing the prototype car on Wednesday. Zhou, finished 3rd in the Formula 2 Championship this year, and now he is graduating to Formula One.
Haas-
Robert Shwartzman will also be in the car for Haas. This wasn’t meant to be his first time in a Haas car, he was actually meant to run in the first practice session of the 2020 Abu Dhabi GP but did not appear on the entry list.
To start firstly I just want to say what an amazing season we have had from all 20 drivers, lots of drama in all 22 races, and its been amazing to see! It’s truly one of the best seasons I have witnessed and I hope we can have more like this soon.
We do however have some drivers leaving F1 today, Kimi retiring and Antonio Giovinazzi going to Formula E. We also have some driver changes, Bottas to Alfa Romeo, George to Mercedes. We also have the returning Alex Albon who will be joining Williams and we also have Guaynu Zhou who will be making a step up from Formula 2 to join Alfa Romeo.
Wow, I have no clue what to say in the race we just watched… Just a note before hand I try and keep my blog neutral, so that I don’t favour a driver or a team and just go off pure predictions and how I feel at that time and whenever I state my opinion I make it clear, so thats what I am going to do now.
MY OPINION-
I don’t get how the FIA can make their own rules up during the race. Going against their own rule book is insane it doesn’t present itself well to Formula One fans in general. I think this is what Mercedes fans are most upset about, which I do get. The FIA states in the sporting regulations that:
48.12 If the clerk of the course considers it safe to do so, and the message “LAPPED CARS MAY NOW OVERTAKE” has been sent to all Competitors via the official messaging system, any cars that have been lapped by the leader will be required to pass the cars on the lead lap and the safety car. This will only apply to cars that were lapped at the time they crossed the Line at the end of the lap during which they crossed the first Safety Car line for the second time after the safety car was deployed. Having overtaken the cars on the lead lap and the safety car these cars should then proceed around the track at an appropriate speed, without overtaking, and make every effort to take up position at the back of the line of cars behind the safety car. Whilst they are overtaking, and in order to ensure this may be carried out safely, the cars on the lead lap must always stay on the racing line unless deviating from it is unavoidable. Unless the clerk of the course considers the presence of the safety car is still necessary, once the last lapped car has passed the leader the safety car will return to the pits at the end of the following lap. If the clerk of the course considers track conditions are unsuitable for overtaking the message “OVERTAKING WILL NOT BE PERMITTED” will be sent to all Competitors via the official messaging system.
In my opinion when cars are allowed to un-lap themselves its normally all the cars which are lapped and not the four in-between the two championship contenders. And I get why Mercedes are appealing it, because it clearly states above that lapped cars can overtake- but to make it even more confusing Masi decided that the lap cars would not over-take on the safety car and then decided a little while later they can!
No-one wanted the championship to go this way, with it being taken to get looked at by the FIA, but rules are rules at the end of the day and I feel like Lewis should’ve won this race.
The Race-
Congratulations to Max Verstappen for being Champion, a hard season for both contenders but neither gave up, it saw Lewis coming home in 2nd and Carlos Sainz grabbing one more podium to end the year, he finished P3.
The full top 10 are as follows: P1: Verstappen, P2: Hamilton, P3: Sainz, P4: Tsunoda, P5: Gasly, P6: Bottas, P7: Norris, P8: Alonso, P9: Ocon and P10: Leclerc.
We had 5 DNF’s, first one being Kimi we didn’t want to see him retire on his last race but some things are just out of his control, the next being Russell with a gearbox issue which isn’t the way he wanted his final race with Williams to go.
Giovinazzi was the next to DNF as he had a problem with his car too, Perez had to retire too due to a problem with his car. Then Latifi, crashed which caused the safety car to come out, thankfully Latifi was okay after the his crash.
Lewis Hamilton got off the line just superbly starting P2 on the mediums made it think that Mercedes picked wrong as everyone else around Lewis was on softs, but he took the lead on the first lap! And led the majority of the race, with having stopped quite early on people started to doubt the 7 time world champ with tyres and him struggling towards the end.
WOW, Yuki Tsunoda finishing P4! Making that his best ever finish!! What a way to finish his first year in F1, I cant wait to see how he does next year.
The Championship-
Sainz managed to grab P5 of both Norris and Leclerc, with him finishing on the podium which saw Ferrari clinch 3rd in the Constructors! Norris finished 6th ahead of Leclerc by ONE point.
Mercedes won the constructors by 28 points, it helped having both Mercedes finish and Red Bull only having one car finish the race. Ferrari obviously clinched P3 with McLaren in P4 and Alpine coming home in 5th.
It has been confirmed that Nikita Mazepin will not take part in the race today, as he has tested positive for Covid-19
Mazepin returned the result to an on-site test centre at Yas Marina, he then done a re-test which came back positive too.
Haas will not be putting Pietro Fittipaldi in the car as he has not took part in any practice sessions this weekend, so he is not eligible.
This means that they will only run Mick Schumacher today, who is starting P19.
A joint statement on Mazepin’s positive test said: “The FIA, Formula 1 and Haas F1 Team can today confirm that during onsite PCR testing for the 2021 FIA Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Nikita Mazepin has tested positive for COVID-19. In accordance with COVID-19 protocols he will take no further part in this Event. All contacts have been declared.
“There will be no replacement driver in accordance with article 31.1 of the 2021 FIA Formula 1 Sporting Regulations, which prohibits any driver from starting the race who has not taken part in at least one practice session. The procedures set out by the FIA and Formula 1 will ensure no wider impact on the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.”
Well! I don’t think anyone expected that result from qualifying…
We have Max Verstappen on pole here in Abu Dhabi for the second year running, with Lewis Hamilton joining him on the front row and Mr Lando Norris starting P3!
What a way to close off the final qualifying of 2021, the top 6 are just wow!
Lando Norris WHAT A LAP! I don’t think nobody expected him to put it on the 2nd row but clearly him having his family and friends with him in Abu Dhabi helps!
Brilliant lap from Max too, they used the tow brilliantly and it shows as his on pole. But the thing which gets me is why choose the Softs to start the race on for both drivers… was they forced into the decision? Will it work in their favour tomorrow, it’s all to play for.
The top 10 are as follows: P1: Verstappen, P2: Hamilton, P3: Norris, P4: Perez, P5: Sainz, P6: Bottas, P7: Leclerc, P8: Tsunoda, P9: Ocon and P19: Ricciardo.
Tomorrow is going to be absolutely insane, Max on softs, Lewis on mediums, throw Lando into the mix who is also on softs, we will definitely have an interesting opening lap tomorrow.
This is one of Lewis’ strongest circuits everybody knows that so Mercedes need to get there strategy absolutely perfect and they may even try and go for a one-stop as the medium goes longer than the soft.
Predictions-
Oh this is so tough, as whoever wins out of Lewis and Max tomorrow is going to be champion and either way they both deserve it, they both have had really good races but I will do my top 5…
I’m going to say P1 will go to Hamilton, P2: Verstappen , P3: Norris, P4: Bottas and P5: Perez. I think Verstappen will get fastest lap too!
Ahead of the season finale it got announced that Abu Dhabi will be remaining on our calendar until at least 2030.
The new agreement will keep Formula 1 coming here until the end of the decade, with the Yas Marina Circuit being reconfigured this year ahead of the race specifically in three areas; Turn 7, Turn 11 and Turn 17.
The circuit has become one of the most iconic venues since it came on the calendar in 2009, with the track having held some classic moments of F1 over the years.
This year is no different, with the 2021 Drivers Championship set to be decided on Sunday in either Verstappen’s or Hamilton’s favour.
Speaking of the contract renewal, Formula 1 CEO and President Stefano Domenicali said: “We are delighted to confirm that we will be racing in Abu Dhabi until 2030 under this new agreement. We are hugely looking forward to the season finale this weekend when more Formula 1 history will be made. The promoter, ADMM, always creates an incredible show for the final race of every F1 season and combined with the changes made to improve the racing on the Yas Marina Circuit we are excited for many years of racing in Abu Dhabi that is ahead of us.”
My Opinion-
I think this deal is good, I like the changes they have made to the track and the drivers do as-well so that’s a positive. Obviously we have had no racing yet too see what it’s like for overtaking if it’s possible or not but if we do that’s just another positive in my book!
Race week once again and the final one of the year, so lets take a look at everything you need to know, what I think will happen this weekend, and who needs a good weekend to finish this year on a high!
Both Lewis and Max are on equal points going into this weekend? But who will be victorious come Sunday night? Well its all to play for…
I think whatever happens this weekend, we are extremely grateful for the championship battle we have witnessed this year and not just Lewis/Max. Looking further into it, the battle between Perez/Bottas which one would qualify higher up would it be a Red Bull sandwich or a Mercedes?
But going a little bit further down the grid, the battle between McLaren and Ferrari, two great teams and all very good drivers, all in which have been on the podium this year!
Who needs a good weekend?
I feel both Red Bulls need a good weekend, Max has lost the lead in the championship to now be on equal points with Lewis, if he wants to win this on Sunday he will need to have a brilliant Saturday and then again a brilliant Sunday too as the Mercedes engine is very powerful and they have dominated Abu Dhabi a lot (apart from last year). Perez needs a good weekend, obviously he had a DNF last week in which made Mercedes have a bigger gap in the Constructors, so he will be hoping to get a good amount of points this weekend.
Lando needs a good weekend, he lost P5 to Charles last weekend so he will be hoping to be able to get that back, if that wasn’t the only thing he has his ex-team-mate just behind him by 4.5 points as i’m sure he wouldn’t want to loose out on another place in the constructors.
Predictions for Qualifying-
My top five are: Pole- Hamilton, P2: Verstappen, P3: Bottas, P4: Perez and P5: Leclerc. Both Mercedes and Red Bulls will be wanting to get the most out of their car this weekend and get the best position they can!
Gasly could possibly be up in the top 5, like I said last week you can’t count him out of a qualifying session, so it will be either him or Leclerc in top 5, or maybe both of them if a Merc or Bull has a bad qualifying?
McLaren and Vuse revealed their one-off livery design for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix earlier this week.
The design was designed by UAE-based artist Rabab Tantawy as part of the Given by Change campaign for the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Vuse, came up with a campaign called ‘Driven by Change’ this gives up and coming artists who are over 25 a chance to show off their work to gain more recognition and representation.
This is the second time this season McLaren have produced a one-off livery, the first one being in Monaco with their partner Gulf, which got a lot off good attention from the fans.
The livery still contains the popular papaya and blue colours, it features Tantawy’s distinctive Nubian Series all put together to make a masterpiece livery! The livery will be on both MCL35M’s in which they will be pushing for as many points on Sunday to end the year on a high.
“We are excited to bring the art and motorsport worlds together in a ground-breaking way, by sporting Rabab Tantawy’s artwork on our race cars at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Together with Vuse, Driven by Change is a unique opportunity to use our global stage to support rising talent, giving undiscovered creatives the platform they deserve. Rabab’s art is inspiring, and we are proud to take her papaya-influenced creation racing this weekend.”
My Opinion-
I love it, even more so that it comes from an up and coming artist, its definitely one way to get your name out there!
I think the campaign in itself is amazing, and the fact McLaren want it on their car too is something else, I can imagine Rabab Tantawy is having the time of her life right now!
Well for the final time for the 2021 season we take a look at which tyres have been picked!
Our selection is: C3 (Hard), C4 (Medium) and C5 (Soft), even though the track has been modified quite a bit this year, we have the same compound as we did in 2020.
The changes to the track were brought in to provide more overtaking opportunities, this will then increase speeds and loads through some corners.
The track itself-
We will now take a look at the said changes, the first being the chicane that formed Turn 5 and 6 will be bypassed with a straight. The following hairpin has been brought forward slightly and widened, which increases the speed carried into it.
A long and slightly banked turn has now been created to replace the technical complex of corners which were previously Turns 11 to 14. Towards the end of the lap, the four tight corners that route the track around the Yas Marina hotel Turns 17 to 20 have all opened up in which makes it faster.
The changes above have made the circuit shorter by 273 metres, which the race distance has been increased from 55 to 58 laps, and lap times are estimated to fall by 14 seconds.
Last years winning strategy with the same tyre nomination, was medium to hard one stopper, the same used for the top three finishers.
We also have Formula 2 with us this weekend, for the final round of the 2021 Championship, this will be our first time back here since 2019, and its the first time the 18-inch tyres will be used. The tyre nomination will be the same as it was in Jeddah which was the Medium and the Supersoft.
Where do I even start with the race, we all knew the race would feature a safety car during the race after seeing the 3 F2 races this weekend, but I don’t think we expected what we all just saw!
Lewis Hamilton takes win number 103, with Max Verstappen in P2 and Valtteri Bottas on a late charge to take the final podium place. Lewis also took fastest lap too.
The top 10 are: P1: Hamilton, P2: Verstappen, P3: Bottas, P4: Ocon, P5: Ricciardo, P6: Gasly, P7: Leclerc, P8: Sainz, P9: Giovinazzi and P10: Norris.
JEDDAH, SAUDI ARABIA – DECEMBER 05: Esteban Ocon of France driving the (31) Alpine A521 Renault during the F1 Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia at Jeddah Corniche Circuit on December 05, 2021 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)
The first of the accidents during the race was Mick Schumacher who spun and hit the barrier at Turn 23. This brought out a safety car which many of the drivers had pitted, however this then turned into a red-flag which then gave Verstappen a free pit stop.
We went onto a standing start which saw Lewis lead, but then Verstappen went wide and off track at the first chicane which saw him cutting across Hamilton who dropped to P3 behind Esteban Ocon. The racing didn’t last long as we had two separate incidents the first involving Charles Leclerc and Sergio Perez in which Perez’s race ended there with too much damage. The other incident involving Mazepin and Russell, which saw Nikita go into the back of the Williams car, this caused the second red flag of the race.
After many radio messages back and forth from Mercedes to FIA or Red Bull to FIA, the restart was Ocon 1st, Hamilton 2nd, Verstappen 3rd. But Verstappen made a good move on his shiny new mediums.
If you thought the drama was over after that, you are very wrong, we then had three VSC periods from Lap 28 to Lap 36. Lewis attempted a move on Lap 36 for the lead of the race but Max braked too late in which he run wide at Turn 2 and retained the lead. Max was instructed to give back P1 so on Lap 37 max slowed for Hamilton to get caught up in mixed messages and clip the rear of the Red Bull in which Lewis now had front wing damage.
Whilst the drama was going on with Mercedes-FIA-RedBull, Lewis wanted to keep the fight on track in which on Lap 42 he was looking to get past the Dutchman but Verstappen again went wide . At this point the stewards gave Max a fixe second time penalty.
Then the rest is history after Lewis managed to over take Max and build up a big enough gap so Max didn’t have chance to push and keep on fighting each other, but further down the field the drama was still going on.
Valtteri Bottas was keeping the pressure on Esteban Ocon during the race so much so that Bottas beat him by a tenth of a second, literally securing P3 on the checkered line! Obviously gutting for Ocon but for me he deserves driver of the day, he was there where it mattered and stayed out of trouble and he was rewarded with a P4.
A lovely race for Daniel Ricciardo today, after a disappointing number of races not scoring he managed to bring his car home in P5 and he fully deserved it! As well Gasly a nice strong finish in P6 brings a good set of points which he will be more than happy with.
The Championship-
Well, we all know what that has done to the championship now… Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen are equal in points going into the final race which hasn’t happened since 1974!
Leclerc now moves up to P5 with a 4 point gap from Lando Norris, so i’m sure we will see an entertaining race next week for the battle for 5th position in the standings!
Mercedes now have a gap of 28 points which separate them and Red Bull, this makes next weekend even more exciting with both Bottas and Perez needing to do there all so either of the teams can win the Constructors.
Now onto next week for the final round of the 2021 Formula 1 Championship, we are back in Abu Dhabi at the newly changed Yas Marina Circuit, all drivers will need to get used to what has changed on the track.
That is now qualifying over for today and what a qualifying it was! This circuit is something else and it shows with how close the cars get to the walls!
It is a 1-2 for the Mercedes boys in Saudi Arabia, get in there boys!!! Lewis Hamilton takes pole position, with his team-mate next to him in second. Max Verstappen joins the pair in third position.
The rest of the top 10 are: P4: Leclerc, P5: Perez, P6: Gasly, P7: Norris, P8: Tsunoda, P9: Ocon and P10: Giovinazzi.
JEDDAH, SAUDI ARABIA – DECEMBER 04: Valtteri Bottas of Finland driving the (77) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team Mercedes W12 during qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia at Jeddah Corniche Circuit on December 04, 2021 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)
Well lets start with the final lap from MV, he was doing an outstanding lap but he was very much pushing the limits and there was a couple of close calls with the wall during the lap until he got to the final corner… where he did indeed touch the wall quite harshly which ruined his chance of pole position. There could be a potential gearbox change which he already had a new one in this weekend but another new one means a penalty… So we will await and see if there is significant damage to his car.
It really is not Aston Martin’s weekend, they have been somewhat off there normal pace and that showed even more so during qualifying when both of the cars qualified 17th and 18th.
Yuki Tsunoda must really like new circuits, last time out in Qatar he qualified P8, and today it was again P8, either that or he is very happy with the car and puts it all together in qualifying for a good lap! His team-mate Pierre Gasly a good qualifying for him too, possibly a good race for both Alpha Tauri drivers tomorrow and score a good set amount of points?
Now Carlos Sainz… What didn’t happen with him in Q2! He had a big moment on his first flying lap which saw his rear wing touch the wall, so he dived straight into the pits afterwards so his team could assess the amount of damage. Then on his second flying lap he went wide which again ruined his lap… Hence him qualifying P15, this could have a big impact on the Constructors now.
Predictions-
I am going to say Hamilton for the win, with Bottas in P2, the final podium place going to Perez, P4: Leclerc, and P5: Verstappen. With fastest lap going to Bottas.
Hopefully we get a McLaren up there in the points, Norris seems to be enjoying this circuit quite a bit and he will more than likely be wanting to redeem himself after the awful triple header for him and the team.
Another weekend, another Grand Prix and this weekend we are in Saudi Arabia for the first ever Grand Prix here its round 21 out of 22 and it should be an exciting one!
With the points gap between Lewis and Max slowly come down, can Lewis win his third race in a row? Or will max want to try and go into the final race next week with a bigger point gap than 8 points…
Who needs a good weekend?
Obviously both title contenders, Max probably more so than Lewis as Lewis has been on top form the past couple of races, with it being a new track both drivers are at the same level this weekend.
Now moving onto the other Red Bull and Mercedes drivers, they will both be fighting each other on Sunday, to get more points for the Constructors, also both Perez and Bottas will be used to try and take the fastest point away depending on who has it and how the race is going.
Again McLaren, it seems that lots of people think this track will suit the papaya team because of how fast its meant to be, but no-one really knows until we hit the track on Friday. Both McLaren drivers will need to have a good weekend and have the strategy perfect if they want to try and close the gap and also help Lando secure P5 in the championship as Leclerc is getting closer to that spot.
Predictions for Qualifying-
My top five are: Pole- Hamilton, P2- Bottas, P3- Verstappen, P4- Perez and P5- Gasly. I don’t think you can count out Gasly from a good qualifying his been on such good form!
Two other drivers you cant count are the Ferrari boys, they seem to have such a good understanding of the car and they always qualify near each other which is beneficial when strategies come into play during the race.
The tyres for this weekends Grand Prix has been announced, just like Qatar no-one has any data from previous years, but this track is a little different to Qatar as this circuit has only just been built!
The three compounds which have been chosen are: C2 (Hard), C3 (Medium), C4 (Soft), this is the most common selection which has been picked this year.
Jeddah and Qatar are two very different circuits, both new to the F1 calendar, but the teams knew the Qatar circuit would put stress on the Pirelli tyres during the race. With only the simulations from the teams for Jeddah it is suggested that the middle compounds in the range are the best, it should be well suited to the fast and flowing street race with over 50 laps on Sunday.
The Track-
The track itself has been designed by well known circuit architect Hermann Tilke, he has designed circuits such as Bahrain International Circuit, Istanbul Park Racing Circuit, Shanghai International Circuit, Yas Marina Circuit and the Circuit of the Americas.
The track is a 6.174-kilometre track, its the longest street circuit on the calendar and the second longest of the year after Spa. It is also set to be one of the fastest with an average speed of 250kph, that is only just behind the Temple of Speed.
Now onto the most demanding turns, is Turn 13 a left hander which features a 12 degree banking that should place high g forces on the tyres. Jeddah has a total of 27 corners which will keep the tyres working hard throughout the race.
The track looks quite unforgiving in the sense that parts of the track are quite narrow and the walls close to the side of the track which could lead to a high possibility of seeing the safety car during the race which will affect teams strategy.
As its a new track, the track itself will be quite slippery to start off with on Friday but with Formula 2 and a Porsche competition throughout the weekend this will help with track evolution.
We also have Formula 2 this weekend, the tyres which have been chosen is the Medium and Super soft compound, which is the most common combination picked this year.
It is with great sadness that I announce that Sir Frank Williams has passed away at the age of 79.
Sir Frank was the longest ever serving team principal Formula 1 has ever seen, with him marking 50 years as a team boss in 2019.
During the 50 years in F1, he ran two teams and managed to win 7 drivers titles and 9 Constructors titles.
Creator: Charles Coates Copyright: 2019 Getty Images
Williams, sustained a spinal injury in a car crash in 1986 that unable him to walk, he began reducing his workload in 2012. Claire Williams daughter of Sir Frank took over as family representative and later on took on the role of Deputy Team Principal whilst Sir Frank was still the Team Principal.
What a sad day for Formula 1, Sir Frank is an inspirational to all even after his accident he carried on and still done what he loves and now he has left a wonderful legacy. Everyone knows about Williams Racing and will continue to do for many years, a true legend to all. Rest in peace Sir Frank Williams 1942-2021💙
Following the news of Sir Frank’s death, a statement from Williams said: “It is with great sadness that on behalf of the Williams family, the team can confirm the death of Sir Frank Williams CBE, Founder and Former Team Principal of Williams Racing, at the age of 79. After being admitted into hospital on Friday, Sir Frank, passed away peacefully this morning surrounded by his family. Today we pay tribute to our much loved and inspirational figurehead. Frank will be sorely missed. We request that all friends and colleagues respect the Williams family’s wishes for privacy at this time.”
F1 President and CEO Stefano Domenicali said: “This morning Claire Williams called to inform me of the very sad news that her beloved father, Sir Frank Williams, had passed away. He was a true giant of our sport that overcame the most difficult of challenges in life and battled every day to win on and off the track. We have lost a much loved and respected member of the F1 family and he will be hugely missed. His incredible achievements and personality will be etched on our sport forever. My thoughts are with all the Williams family and friends at this sad time.”
It has been announced that the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for the Spanish Grand Prix is renewed until 2026!
This will see improvements to the tracks and facilities, this will be ahead of the 2022 race in May.
The track was first used by Formula 1 in 1991 which was ahead of the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona!
F1 President and CEO Stefano Domenicali said: “We are delighted to announce this deal with Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. I want to thank the promoter and the authorities for their enthusiasm and commitment to keeping Formula 1 in Barcelona, with improvements that will be made to the track and facilities, and continuing our long history together. The teams and drivers always look forward to racing at the circuit and visiting Barcelona, and the Spanish fans will continue to see their national heroes, Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz up close.”
My Opinion-
I think this is good, especially with the improvements to come. We saw a good race here this year due to closer racing, so surely it can only get better? Also good news for Spanish drivers, Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz as there home GP will be firmly on the calendar!
Well, we have had another drama filled weekend, with Vertsappen being handed a 5 place grid penalty before the race as well as Bottas being handed a 3 place grid penalty.
Our top 3 finishers for the first Qatar GP were: P1: Hamilton, P2: Verstappen and P3: Alonso. Hamilton made it win 102 this weekend and being the first to ever win at Qatar in F1. But the main talking news is Alonso returning to the podium after 7 years and he fully deserves it!
DOHA, QATAR – NOVEMBER 21: Third placed Fernando Alonso of Spain and Alpine F1 Team celebrates in parc ferme during the F1 Grand Prix of Qatar at Losail International Circuit on November 21, 2021 in Doha, Qatar. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)
The full top 10 are- P1: Hamilton, P2: Verstappen, P3: ALonso, P4: Perez, P5: Ocon, P6: Stroll, P7: Sainz, P8: Leclerc, P9: Norris and P10: Vettel. With fastest lap going to Verstappen.
On lap 33, it saw Bottas have a puncture as he fell from P3, he managed to get it back to the pits and comes out in P14. Which brings us to lap 54… Where we saw Norris who was in P4 have a puncture, Russell with a puncture and his team-mate Latifi, with the same problem. Norris and Russell managed to pit for new tyres however, Latifi couldn’t make it back to the pits so had to park near an entrance road which brought out a VSC!
Amazing race for both Alpines! Obviously the main one being Fernando getting P3, this will help Alpine in the Constructor fight. Esteban done a really good drive too, which saw him start P9 and finish P5, good amount of points for him!
Gutting day for McLaren, Lando had such a good qualifying and obviously with the two penalties he moved up to the second row. It looked like he secured P4 near the end of the race and then the puncture happened… He hasn’t had it easy the past few races, but i’m hoping he will take away the fact the car is good and has got pace and hopefully he has a clear head going into Saudi!
Not quite sure what went on with Alpha Tauri, baring in mind Pierre started P2, they pitted him very early compared to everyone else and from then on he was no where, he finished 11th. Tsunoda finished P13, it looked quite promising for him to score points but obviously it didn’t go either Alpha Tauri’s way this weekend.
The Championship-
The gap just keeps on coming down now, 8 points between Verstappen and Hamilton. Making it an all very important two races left. Bottas’ P3 is under threat as Perez is only 13 points away, so that DNF for the Merc did not help at all!
Norris just holds on to P5 with 153 points, with Charles Leclerc in P6 with 152 points, so it will be interesting battle between these two in the final two rounds.
In the Constructors there is only a 5 point gap between Mercedes and Red Bull now, even more so now the fastest lap points are definitely going to come into play and there will be a lot of switching on who has it.
Alpine now have a 25 point gap between them and Alpha Tauri. So AT really need both cars scoring good points in these next two if they want to try and get 5th back!
Now we don’t have any racing next weekend but we will be back from the 3rd to 5th December and we will be in Saudi Arabia for the first ever Grand Prix there and go into round 21 out of 22.
Welll… Qualifying most definitely had some shock exits! Making this championship even more exciting…
Lewis Hamilton, takes the first pole position on the Losail Circuit, carrying on his form from last weekend in Brazil! Max Verstappen joins Lewis on the front row and Bottas makes P3, showing that Mercedes are on top form!
The full top 10 are- P1: Hamilton, P2: Verstappen, P3: Bottas, P4: Gasly, P5: Alonso, P6: Norris, P7: Sainz, P8: Tsunoda, P9: Ocon, P10: Vettel.
DOHA, QATAR – NOVEMBER 20: Lando Norris of Great Britain driving the (4) McLaren F1 Team MCL35M Mercedes during qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Qatar at Losail International Circuit on November 20, 2021 in Doha, Qatar. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)
Red Bull are most definitely on the back foot here, with both Mercedes sandwiching Max it could easily be a preview of the podium.
Talking about RB and them being on the back foot, part of that is because Perez was out in Q2! Not a good weekend so far for him, it’ll be interesting to see what the strategy is for Red Bull considering no-one knows how this race is going to go.
Charles Leclerc and Daniel Ricciardo also out in Q2, which most definitely shocked a few people. Leclerc has been having problems since yesterday, but it just seems like he isn’t comfortable in the car on this track.
Russell into Q2, Mr Saturday is back, starting P15, which means free choice of tyres and could potentially score some points tomorrow.
Both Alpha Tauri’s and Alpine in the top 10, the battles between the four cars will be interesting, especially with Alonso he always provides good and clean fights on track and Pierre being so consistent this year, who won’t give up a position.
Predictions for tomorrow-
I’m going to say for my top 5 are- P1: Hamilton, P2: Bottas, P3: Verstappen, P4: Gasly and P5: Sainz.
Tomorrow should be an exciting race, no-one knows whether it’s going to be a 1 stop or 2 stop so I can imagine teams will be keeping an eye out for tyre degradation.
This weekend we are in Qatar for the first ever Formula 1 Grand Prix, coming into this weekend, its an unknown track to all the teams, so they will be all starting off on the same foot.
Going into the final 3 races now the championship is hotting up, with only 14 point seperating Max and Lewis, could we see that gap come down again? Its all to play for!
Who needs a good weekend?
McLaren again need a good weekend, two races not scoring points for Ricciardo, and Norris only scoring two points in the last two races. At this moment in time McLaren are just giving P3 to Ferrari, but hopefully with a new track there luck will change this weekend.
Going in to the final 3 races, the second drivers will come into play which we saw last weekend, where Red Bull pitted Perez to take the fastest lap point away from Lewis and Mercedes. So Bottas and Perez will be putting there all in for the next 3 races so they can help their team-mates win the Championship, and their teams the Constructors.
I think Lance needs a good weekend, I feel like his struggling with the car the last few races, the last time he scored points was in Turkey. His currently sat in 13th in the Championship, with his team mate sat in 12th, but the points difference between the two is quite big.
Predictions for Qualifying-
My top five predictions are- P1: Hamilton, P2: Bottas, P3: Verstappen, P4: Gasly and P5: Norris.
Hopefully, we will see both the McLaren’s in top 10 they need a good start to the weekend, and that would be it, it would also give both drivers the confidence too.
Maybe a Q3 for Yuki? New track for him as the same for everyone else, but he feels good going into this weekend and he wants to show some people wrong after the last couple of weeks.
It has been announced today, that the appeal Mercedes put in on Tuesday has been rejected by the Stewards.
The stewards have heard from both Mercedes and Red Bull on Thursday in Qatar, then deliberated overnight before reaching a decision on Friday after the first free practice session.
Their denial of requests means the full race result on Sunday still stands, and Verstappen is not at any risk of a penalty.
After announcing their decision the stewards explained: “There will always be some angles of video footage, because of limits in both technology and bandwidth, that are unavailable at the time. Whether or not stewards’ decisions are considered to be right or wrong, and just as with referees’ decisions in soccer, it does not seem desirable to be able to review any or all such in‐race discretionary decisions up to two weeks after the fact and the stewards therefore seriously doubt that the intent of the Right of Review in the ISC [International Sporting Code] is to enable competitors to seek a review of such discretionary decisions that do not follow on from a formal inquiry by the stewards and do not result in a published document.”
The verdict was made public when Toto Wolff and Christian Horner was in a press conference together. The Mercedes boss says: “Completely expected,” he said. “I think we wanted to trigger a discussion around it, because probably it will be a theme in the next few races. I think our objective is achieved; we didn’t really think it would go any further.”
Horner added: “I think it’s obviously the right decision, because it would have opened Pandora’s Box regarding a whole bunch of other incidents that happened in that race. I think the most important thing now is to focus on this Grand Prix.”
The tyres for this weekend in Qatar have been chosen which are the following: C1 (Hard), C2 (Medium), C3 (Soft), this is the fifth and last time this year that the hardest of all the compounds in the range have been nominated.
With it being out first ever time here, we have no data from previous years which would normally help in picking the tyres. The circuit has very demanding corners similar to both Silverstone and Mugello, it also has quite aggressive asphalt.
The start/finish straight is just over a kilometre long, but also has 16 quick corners to make up the rest of the lap this will ensure that tyres will be working hard and could possibly lead to a reasonably high degradation. The track has still got its original surface from 2004 which offers high grip, but with the track being near the dessert the grass around the circuit doesn’t always keep the sand off the track, which could make it dusty and affect grip.
Turns 12 to 14 form a triple apex right-hander which makes up almost a single high-energy 5.2g corner that is slightly reminiscent of the famous Turn 8 in Turkey- only in the opposite direction.
Qatar is one of four races held in the evening under floodlights. This could means that the evloution of track temperature of the race could be quite different compared to a normal afternoon race.
There is no support races this weekend, and the circuit hasn’t been used a lot recently which will mean that there is no rubber laid down prior to the F1 cars. SO expect the drivers slipping around at first, the only way we will see this again is if sand blows onto the track which resets itself.
It has been announced that Oscar Piastri who is currently leading the Formula 2 Championship will be Alpines Reserve Driver in 2022.
Oscar has been apart of the Alpine Academy since January 2020 and after securing the Formula 3 Championship, he was rewarded with a young drivers test in Bahrain.
Oscar has had a brilliant year in F2 so far and still has two rounds remaining! His racked up 178 points which include, one sprint race win, two feature race wins, five podiums and three pole positions with two rounds left.
Last year saw Piastri take the Formula 3 title in his rookie season with two wins and six podiums. He is on course to emulate Leclerc and Russell by winning the title at the first time of asking, this would be Oscars third title in a row where he won the Formula Renault Eurocup in 2019.
Discussing the promotions Piastri says: “I’m super excited to be joining Alpine F1 Team as Reserve Driver. I’m looking forward to being much more involved with the team and contributing to its intended success next season. The Reserve Driver role is the next step towards my aim for a race seat in 2023, which is very exciting. I’ve proved myself in the junior formulas over the last couple of years and feel like I’m ready for Formula 1 now along with the trackside experience at race weekends, we will put together a substantial test programme in order to keep developing myself to grow even more prepared for a race seat. I’m very thankful to Alpine for their support.”
“We’ve enjoyed two very successful seasons together in the Academy and I’m grateful for the faith they’ve put in me for this next step with an eye on a bigger future. My focus now is finishing the Formula 2 Championship in the best possible way with Prema and I’m looking forward to being back in the car and pushing hard on track.”
Laurent Rossi said: “Oscar’s natural talent is clear to see, so we’re very proud and privileged to have him as part of our team as our Reserve Driver from next year. Not only does Oscar have the on-track skills, as demonstrated over the last couple of years in the junior categories, but also the maturity and composure that makes him really stand out from the rest. At Enstone, he has been a real asset to the team as he has aided the simulator and testing programme and I am certain he will continue to do so in his new role.”
“The next step will be to consistently attend Grands Prix to fully integrate with the race team, learn what is expected of an F1 driver and be ready for when the opportunity comes. In addition, we look forward to having Oscar’s input and expertise in driving the team forwards next year.”
My Opinion-
I think Oscar is a great driver, he is always so determined and you can see how much he wants a Formula 1 seat in 2023. He is happy to take this role on which I’m sure will benefit him in the future and the team too, it’s good he has something already planned for next season!
It is a bit gutting though thinking that he doesn’t have a seat next year, but I’m sure Alpine will be wanting to snap him up in 2023 before any other teams try to.
Jordan's Track Talk 