Jordan's Track Talk

Tag: Belgian Grand Prix

  • F3 – Belgium – Day 2 & 3

    Day 2-

    Slater aced his start to keep hold of the lead into Turn 1 ahead of Stromsted along the Kemmel Straight, the Hitech TGR driver defended into Les Combes, with Bruno del Pino and Wurz following in third and fourth behind them.

    Lap 2 and Wurz was able to pass the MP Motorsport driver to make it a Trident 2-3, though the leading pair had escaped out of DRS range to those behind.

    Across the line on the following lap, Stromsted had the gap to Slater down to 0.4s and along the Kemmel Straight, the Dane swept into the lead with DRS.

    Ugochukwu was on the move, having overtaken Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak and del Pino to get to P4 by Lap 3, he cleared Wurz around the outside into Les Combes to take third on Lap 4.

    Onto Lap 6 and Martinius Stenshorne put himself into fifth with a DRS pass on del Pino into Turn 5 and set his sights on Wurz, who was less than a second ahead.

    Having lost the lead earlier on, Slater fell out of DRS range to Stromsted and Ugochukwu moved himself into second with a DRS pass along the Kemmel Straight on Lap 7.

    Just behind them, Inthraphuvasak and del Pino went into battle at Turn 5, and the Campos Racing driver won their fight as the MP driver dipped a wheel into the gravel at Turn 6.
    That allowed Nikola Tsolov to sneak through for seventh as well.

    Wurz was able to take third from Slater on the following tour, while Championship rivals Rafael Camara and Mari Boya passed del Pino into Les Combes to take eighth and ninth places respectively.

    Entering Lap 9, Inthraphuvasak fell to eighth in a five-car battle as Stenshorne along with title rivals Tsolov, Camara and Boya fought by Slater.

    The Bulgarian passed Stenshorne for fourth place going into Lap 10 to put a car between himself and the Championship leader, but only briefly.
    Camara used DRS along the Kemmel Straight to break into the top five himself, going ahead of the Hitech driver at Turn 5.

    Crucially in the title picture, Boya was hit with a five-second time penatly on the pre-penultimate lap for exceeding track limits.
    The Spaniard was running in eighth position, but had several other drivers within that window going onto Lap 11 of 12.

    Onto the final lap and Inthraphuvasak passed Stenshorne to take sixth place, but teammate Boya couldn’t find a route past at Les Combes to follow.

    Up front, Stromsted went untroubled after taking the lead and dominated to earn his first F3 win by six seconds.

    The full top 10- P1: Stromsted, P2: Ugochukwu, P3: Wurz, P4: Tsolov, P5: Camara, P6: Inthraphuvasak, P7: Stenshorne, P8: Del Pino, P9: Badoer and P10: Slater.

    Day 3-

    The formation lap began behind the Safety Car, but still in torrential conditions. James Headley spun at Eau Rouge after aquaplaning off the road, while up ahead, Brando Badoer ran into the back of Tim Tramnitz.
    It left the PREMA Racing driver with race-ending damage and brought out the Red Flags.

    After waiting for conditions to improve, the race resumed under the Safety Car but there was more action as Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak spun in avoidance of his teammate Nikola Tsolov ahead of Turn 8.

    The Thai driver tried to rejoin but found himself beached on a kerb, requiring his car to be recovered.
    The race was then Red Flagged once again, and the announcement that it would not be resumed followed shortly afterwards.

    Due to no racing laps being completed before the final stoppage, no points were assigned.

  • R13 – Belgium

    Oscar Piastri claimed victory in the Belgian Grand Prix, holding off McLaren team mate and title rival Lando Norris in a wet-dry affair at Spa-Francorchamps to extend his Drivers’ Championship lead to 16 points.

    Heavy rain ahead of the 44 lap race delayed proceedings by almost 80 minutes but once racing got underway on Lap 5, the crucial moment came immediately as Piastri got a better run on his team mate and polesitter through Eau Rouge.

    The Australian’s run was so great he completed the pass along the Kemmel Straight well before the braking zone of Les Combes and thereafter managed a margin of roughly one second in the early running.

    With the circuit having substantially dried and with track position, Piastri pitted on Lap 12 for the medium tyres with Norris forced to compete another lap, and after making his own stop the following tour for hard rubber, the Briton found himself nine seconds adrift.

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

    What a result for Oscar Piastri, he set his sights on the win and grabbed with both hands and didn’t look back, was a superb race from him.
    As for Norris, P2 for the Brit, a good result but I think he would be gutted not to get the win, however his teammate had the pace.

    P3 for Leclerc, a lovely result from the Ferrari driver, felt like that podium was well deserved, he did have a bit of pressure from Verstappen but he kept him at bay.
    As for Lewis Hamilton, what a drive! Pitlane to P7 wow, he was on a mission, it was great to see and he got rewarded with some points.

    As for Verstappen P4 for the Dutchman, a decent result, a shame he couldn’t get on the podium, but still a decent points haul.

    P5 for Russell, nothing amazing from the Mercedes driver, apart from a little fight with Alex Albon over the position.
    As for Antonelli, a weekend to forget for him, P16 unfortunately, he seemed like he had no pace at all really which is a shame.

    Points for Bortoleto! P9 for the Brazilian driver, he done well this weekend as Spa is a tricky circuit, especially more so in the rain.

    Now not too long to wait until the next round as we have been treated to a double header, so this weekend we head to the Hungaroring for the Hungarian Grand Prix!

  • F3 – Belgium – Day 1

    Practice-

    Mari Boya got his weekend off to the best possible start by topping a rescheduled Free Practice session at 2:06.111.

    The Campos Racing driver was immediately out front on his first attempt as everyone looked to make the most of the shortened 30 minute session.

    Boya set the early pace on a 2:06.111, 0.4s ahead of teammate Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak in an early 1-2 for the Spanish team.

    Ugo Ugochukwu disrupted that on his second attempt, moving up to second, 0.3s down on the best effort, but there were plenty more improving behind him.

    Martinius Stenshorne went second soon after and to within 0.121s of Boya’s earlier effort, while MP Motorsport’s Bruno del Pino moved himself up to third just over a tenth adrift of the Spaniard.

    After a brief spell in the pit lane, the track got busy once again inside the final 10 minutes.
    There were several personal bests logged but nobody could dislodge Boya from the P1 spot.

    Stenshorne and del Pino finished second and third ahead of Ugochukwu, with Inthraphuvasak completing the top five.

    Qualifying-

    AIX Racing’s Brad Benavides earned his and the team’s maiden FIA Formula 3 Aramco Pole Position Award late on in a thrilling Qualifying session.

    The American found time on his final attempt to record a 2:04.253 and beat Championship leader and TRIDENT driver Rafael Camara to the to spot, with Rodin Motorsport’s Callum Voisin in third.

    With the first runs in the books, Camara hit the front with a 2:05.557 to set the pace ahead of Ugo Ugochukwu by 0.234s.

    Practice pace-setter Mari Boya had been in the top five but lost his opening effort to exceeding track limits after running over the white line at Pouhon.

    Drivers remained on circuit for another attempt on their first set of tyres and there were improvements in the top 10. Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak closed the gap to Camara in second, with Alessandro Giusti third on his next attempt for MP Motorsport.

    Everyone returned to the pit lane with half the session remaining for a fresh set of the Pirelli Medium tyres.

    One of the drivers to go early on the second run was Theophile Nael, who went fastest on a 2:05.508. Van Amersfoort Racing Teammate Santiago Ramos improved to third, 0.172s down on the Frenchman’s laptime.

    With the rest of the grid back out for their next set of laps, Boya led the train and put in a personal best, but track evolution was huge, leading to a massive improvement in times.

    Benavides delivered a 2:04.253 for the provisional top spot with three minutes to go. Camara also made an improvement but could not better the time of the American driver, settling 0.106s behind in second.

    A squabble for track position ended when Ugochukwu moved to the head of the queue for the final attempts with less than 30 seconds to go and with almost the entire grid looking to start their final lap as late as possible.

    However, nobody could find an improvement, leaving Benavides with pole for the Feature Race on Sunday, his and AIX’s first in the championship.

    The top 10 are- Pole: Benavides, P2: Camara, P3: Voisin, P4: Bilinski, P5: Stenshorne, P6: Ugochukwu, P7: Tsolov, P8: Inthraphuvasak, P9: Wurz and P10: Del Pino.

  • F1 announces multi-year extension of Belgian GP

    Formula 1 has agreed a multi-year extension with the Belgian Grand Prix that will see the sport race at the iconic Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in four of the next six years.

    The extension, which includes Grand Prix in the 2026, 2027, 2029 and 2031 seasons, follows significant investment at the circuit in recent year, including the addition of two new grandstands which increased capacity by 10,000 and enhancement of the off-track entertainment and fan experience.

    The Wallonian circuit is celebrated by fans and drivers alike for its mixture of long straights and challenging fast corners, including one of the most famous sections of racetrack in the world as drivers power through Eau Rouge and Raidillon, then on to the Kemmel straight.

    This year, the Belgian Grand Prix welcomed 380,000 fans across the race weekend in a gripping three days of action which saw Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton claim his second win of the season and his fifth at Spa.

    Built in 1921, Spa-Francorchamps was one of just seven circuits to be part of Formula 1’s maiden championship in 1950 and has since hosted 57 Grands Prix.
    Spanning 7.004km, it’s the longest circuit on the Formula 1 calendar and has seen some of the sport’s most decorated drivers, including Aryton Senna, Michael Schumacher, Niki Lauda and Sebastian Vettel win there.

    The Belgian Grand Prix was one of the races that made up our maiden Championship in 1950, so as we kick off our 75th anniversary year it is fitting that we can share the news of this important extension. Spa-Francorchamps is rightly lauded by drivers and fans alike as one of the finest racetracks in the world and it has played host to some incredible moments over its many seasons in Formula 1. In recent years it has undergone significant work to improve the facility and overall fan experience, and I would like to pay tribute to the promoter and the Government of Wallonia for their dedication and passionate support for Formula 1 in Belgium.
    Stefano Domenicali, President and CEO of Formula 1.

    I am delighted that the Belgian Grand Prix – a must-attend event for Wallonia – has been confirmed on the F1 calendar for several years. The circuit provides the Region with high-quality sports infrastructure capable of hosting exceptional events, and thanks to the FIA Formula 1 World Championship, Spa-Francorchamps, and through it, Wallonia, is placed at the centre of global attention. In addition to this international showcase, the event generates significant economic benefits for Wallonia, as well as for Belgium. The extension of this relationship over several years will also allow the circuit teams to plan for the future, which is hugely positive.
    Pierre-Yves Jeholet, Vice President of the Walloon Government and Minister of the Economy.

  • F3 – RND 9 Day 2 & 3

    Day 2-

    It was an all-PREMA front row with Beganovic on pole, though it was teammate Mini who made the better start to take the lead into Turn 1.

    Just behind them, Tim Tramnitz had gotten ahead of Santiago Ramos for P3, while Arvid Lindblad made a fast start from P27 and was already up to 16th by the end of Lap 1.

    But a Safety Car was required with Jenzer Motorsport’s Max Esterson having slowly spun into the barrier at Eau Rouge. The American driver was okay, and the field were back racing at the end of Lap 3.

    The battles were well and truly on as Beganovic got ahead of Mini at the end of the Kemmel Straight just after the restart, while Leon took back the P5 spot he had lost to Luke Browning.

    Lap 5 and Tramnitz was coming under pressure from Ramos and Leon and while he was able to hold on to P3, Browning was struggling and lost sixth position to Sebastian Montoya having ran wide at Turn 4.

    The top six from Beganovic to Montoya were covered by just two and a half seconds as they started lap 9 of 12, with Mini told by his race engineer to keep the pressure on his teammate.

    But making the moves was Leon as he got ahead of Ramos for P4 at the end of the Kemmel Straight, with Lindblad now up to 12th after getting past Rodin Motorsport’s Joseph Loake.

    DRS had now been made available, as Mini came under pressure from Tramnitz for second. He was able to hold off the MP driver but as they squabbled, it meant Beganovic was able to pull out a one second gap.

    As they started the penultimate lap of the race, Mini had closed back in on Beganovic while Tramnitz had fallen into the clutches of Leon.
    This was playing into the hands of Meguetounif, Browning and Leonardo Fornaroli in seventh, eighth and ninth place, as they close up to the top six.

    The final lap started, with Beganovic and Mini having pulled out a two second gap to the rest of the field. But in the battle for the final podium place Leon got ahead of Tramnitz at the Kemmel Straight.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Beganovic, P2: Mini, P3: Leon, P4: Tramnitz, P5: Ramos, P6: Browning P7: Montoya, P8: Fornaroli, P9: Goethe and P10: Voisin.

    Day 3-

    It was a great start from pole-sitter Voisin as he kept hold of the lead, but the big gainer was Montoya as he was up to second from fourth.

    Front row starter Alexander Dunne had a slow start and dropped to fourth while Fornaroli maintained third place.

    But behind them, there was a huge moment in the title race as Gabriele Mini fell to the back of the field following a collision with Oliver Goethe. The contact left the PREMA Racing driver turned around at the back of the field, while the Campos was forced to pit with a puncture.

    As they started lap 2, Voisin locked up heading into Turn 1, with both Montoya and Fornaroli right on the back of his Rodin car. He was able to keep the position, but Noel Leon could not do the same, losing P5 to Sami Meguetounif down the Kemmel Straight.

    The Safety Car was then required on Lap 3 when Martinius Stenshorne spun at Stavelot. ART Grand Pric debutant Tuukka Taponen was having his own separate incident coming into the corner as he collided with Joshua Dufek before spinning into the side of the Hitech.

    We were back racing on Lap 7 and Voisin had a great restart ahead of Montoya and Fornaroli, while Meguetounif’s charge continued as he overtook Dunne for fourth down the Kemmel Straight.
    But another Safety Car was soon deployed after Sophia Floersch and Joseph Loake collided and spun off at Turn 9.

    The race restarted on Lap 10 of 15 and once again Voisin had a good start, but Dunne was struggling once more, dropping from P5 to P10.

    A third Safety Car was needed after Christian Mansell hit the rear of Arvid Lindblad, sending the PREMA Racing driver into the gravel at Turn 9.

    At the same time, Charlie Wurz touched the rear right tyre of Mari Boya, giving the Campos Racing driver a puncture, before he went into the barrier at Turn 11. The Austrian was then forced to come into the pit lane to replace a damaged front wing.

    Voisin led the pack away on Lap 14 as we returned to green flag conditions, with Montoya and Fornaroli staying behind him. However, Leon dived down the inside of Meguetounif into Turn 7 to take back P4.

    Onto the final lap and Voisin had built up a lead of nearly one second as he crossed the line to take the victory, with Montoya in second, while Fornaroli finished third to take the lead of the Drivers’ Championship.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Voisin, P2: Montoya, P3: Fornaroli, P4: Leon, P5: Meguetounif, P6: Browning, P7: Esterson, P8: Ramos, P9: Tramnitz and P10: Dunne.

    Even without scoring, the result means PREMA Racing take an unassailable lead into the final round in Monza, making them the 2024 FIA Formula 3 Team Champions.

  • RW 14 – Belgium

    Lewis Hamilton has won the Belgian Grand Prix after team mate George Russell, who had originally come home in first, was disqualified following the race for an underweight car.

    The Mercedes duo had engaged in a thrilling late chase, with two-stopper Hamilton charging down his one-stopping team mate, but he was unable to pass on track for the victory, with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri finishing third.

    However, following the conclusion of the Grand Prix, a technical delegate’s report stated that Russell’s car had been found to be underweight, with the matter referred to the stewards.
    The Brit was subsequently disqualified from the results with Mercedes acknowledging a “genuine error” by the team.

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

    Obviously gutting for George Russell, he did a wonderful drive and made a very good call for the one-stop. But sometimes this is racing… So Lewis now inherits the win, which he did somewhat deserve, he led quite a bit of the race, it makes the Brit the second driver to win two races so far this season!

    A very good race for Piastri, he stuck with the Mercedes duo quite a bit during the race. He did overshoot his pitbox, which meant he lost a couple of seconds doing so, so it makes you think, what if he didn’t would the Australian be celebrating his second win?

    And Leclerc, a very good race for him, unlucky for the Monegasque not to get the win, but he and the team should be very happy with the 3rd place. Sainz, didn’t have the best race he finished 6th but he seemed like he lost time if anything as Leclerc had pace?

    An okay race for Verstappen, again he didn’t really make any massive steps forward apart from the start where he climbed a couple of places. The same also goes for his teammate, he finished P7 after starting P2, this isn’t good for the Mexican as he really needed to be on the podium this race to prove he should be in the Red Bull, so time will only tell what happens next…

    A decent race for Alonso, back in the points again, which is probably is exactly what the Spanish driver would want going into the summer break.

    Now, we have a bit of a wait for the next race, as it is the summer break which means we are not racing for quite a few weeks. But we are back on the 23rd to 25th August for Round 15 of 24 which is the Dutch Grand Prix.

  • RW 14 – Belgium Qualifying

    Max Verstappen set the fastest time in qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix, but the Dutchman has a 10 place grid penalty for making a power unit change, so Charles Leclerc will inherit pole position.

    Verstappen looked impressively quick as the qualifying session progressed and set an unbeatable lap of 1m53.159s in the Red Bull, half a second clear of Ferrari’s Leclerc.

    The full top 10 after penalties are- Pole: Leclerc, P2: Perez, P3: Hamilton, P4: Norris, P5: Piastri, P6: Russell, P7: Sainz, P8: Alonso, P9: Ocon and P10: Albon.

    A good result for both Red Bull cars! A pole is always what you want when you have a 10 place grid penalty looming over your head. Verstappen could quite easily get on the podium here, but I don’t think its going to be easy. His teammate Sergio Perez will be there to help him out if it comes to it, as he starts on second, which is a great qualifying from him!

    A really good qualifying result for Charles Leclerc, I even think he was surprised himself, he will want to win this race, he will now have the confidence with the car, the only trouble is the drivers behind him have also got very quick cars…

    Hamilton in P3! Again a good result for the 7 time world champion, he will be pushing everything to win here. It is going to be an interesting race as so many drivers will be wanting to go for the win.

    A good result for McLaren, P4 for Norris and P5 for Piastri, hopefully this race we see a bit more team work from the drivers and work together to get further up the grid and onto those podium places.

    A decent result for Esteban Ocon he will be starting 9th! The French driver will be wanting to score some valuable points, as Williams are only 5 behind them, and there’s still a long way to go this year.
    Gasly done quite well, he will be starting 12th, so improvements have been made with the car!

    Lance Stroll is starting in 15th, not the best result for the Canadian driver, especially when his teammate is starting in 8th. But Stroll was lucky to be in this qualifying session as he had quite a crash in Free Practice 3.

    That was a nice qualifying. Luckily the weather was ok – it was raining a little bit but at least we could do a decent qualifying. Everything worked well, every tyre set that we were on we could do good lap times and I was also of course thinking about Q3, not knowing if it was going to dry out so was trying to keep two new sets for Q3 and luckily we escaped Q1 and Q2. So, yeah, very happy. The car was working quite well in the wet so I could just do my laps and try to do clean lap times in the wet which is always quite tricky. But tomorrow I know it’s going to be quite a different day. It’s going to be warmer, normally no rain, so it’s all about tyre degradation and we just need to make sure we’re good on that. But of course I have to start 10 places back so this is the best I could do today and then go from there. I don’t know how quick we’re going to be, I hope we can be in the mix to try and move forward.
    Verstappen on going fastest in qualifying.

  • F2 – RND 10 Day 1

    Practice-

    Isack Hadjar started the Spa-Francorchamps weekend on the front foot for Campos Racing, narrowly heading up ART Grand Prix driver Victor Martins with a 1:58.730, just 0.010s quicker than his compatriot.
    PREMA Racing driver, Andrea Kimi Antonelli was able to improve to third late on in the practice session to complete the top three.

    There was no rush to get time on the board but once the first laps of the session were completed, Juan Manuel Correa led the way for DAMS Lucas Oil on a 2:02.634.

    A red flag arrived with just over 23 minutes to go as Rafael Villagomez hit the barrier out of Turn 9. He was ok but the Van Amersfoort Racing needed clearing up before the session was resumed.

    Practice got back underway with 14 minutes left, and this time there was a rush to get some running in compared to earlier in the session.
    Martins took over at the top for ART Grand Prix as the clock ticked into the final 10 minutes, setting a 2:00.773.

    The track continued to improve lap after lap and Dennis Hauger became the first driver below the two-minute mark with a 1:59.682 on his next effort.

    Martins restored himself at the top until Hadjar secured P1 for Campos Racing with a 1:58.761 to lead by 0.026s.
    The French duo could hardly be separated once again on their final laps, but it was Hadjar who recorded the fastest time of the session.

    Qualifying-

    It was Paul Aron that claimed an important pole position for Hitech Pulse-Eight around Spa-Francorchamps, his 1:56.959 putting him on top ahead of his title rivals.

    Gabriel Bortoleto was closest to the Estonian, 0.168s back in P2 while Championship leader Isack Hadjar wound up third on the grid, 0.2s down on his nearest rival.

    Before anyone could record a timed lap, there was a Red Flag as the ART Grand Prix car belonging to Victor Martins slowed to a half at the start of sector three.

    The session resumed with 24 minutes on the clock, and when the first time filtered through, Hadjar set the pace with a 1:57.803 just 0.102s ahead of title rival Aron in P2.

    Kush Maini and Franco Colapinto were one of the few that opted to put a second lap in on their first set of Soft tyres and the pair improved to fifth and sixth respectively.

    Drivers then returned to the track with 10 minutes left of the session on a fresh set of tyres for their next attempts and there were improvements everywhere.

    Aron improved his time to take provisional pole with three minutes to go on a 1:56.959. Hadjar couldn’t beat that and went second until Bortoleto went quicker still.

    The full top 10 are- Pole: Aron, P2: Bortoleto, P3: Hadjar, P4: Crawford, P5: Antonelli, P6: Maloney, P7: Colapinto, P8: Verschoor, P9: Hauger and P10: O’Sullivan who will be starting on reverse grid pole for Sprint Race.

  • F3 – RND 9 Day 1

    Practice-

    HiTech Pulse-Eight driver Luke Browning left it until the final moments of the session to top the Spa-Francorchamps Free Practice that started with rainy conditions before ending in the dry.

    Browning completed a lap of 2:15.570 with his last lap on the slick tyres to finish 0.030s ahead of Van Amersfoort Racing’s Noel Leon, with ART Grand Prix driver Christian Mansell in third.

    A wet Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps greeted the drivers with Browning the early pacestter on a 2:22.089, putting him 0.683s clear of his ART title rival Mansell in second.

    As the drivers rounded the track, they began to find more grip and pace, but no one could quite match Browning’s time with VAR’s Leon going closest.

    But the Hitech driver continued to be the benchmark, and later completed a lap of 2:21.310 to improve on his earlier effort, as AIX Racing’s Nikita Bedrin followed him across the line to finish 0.620s off the top time.

    With 20 minutes left, the sun had started to come through and the track was drying out. The teams then started sending their drivers out for some exploratory laps on the slicks.

    But it wasn’t until the final six minutes that a dry line began to appear with MP Motorsport’s Alexander Dunne using that to great effect to go fastest with 2:20.474.

    Times continued to tumble as the track conditions improved with Sebastian Montoya, Santiago Ramos, Leon, Arvid Lindblad, Leonardo Fornaroli and Tramnitz all topping the timesheets within the span of five minutes.

    The drivers running was then hampered by a yellow flag in the final sector following Ramos’ spin at the bus stop chicane, while his Trident teammate Sami Meguetounif would run wide at the same corner.

    Qualifying-

    Rodin Motorsport’s Callum Voisin took his first ever Formula 3 pole position after coming out on top in a frenetic Spa-Francorchamps qualifying session.

    The British driver completed a lap of 2:04.321 to beat MP Motorsport’s Alexander Dunne to pole by 0.123s, with Trident’s Leonardo Fornaroli taking third place.

    But after the first set of laps, it was the ART Grand Prix cars that set the pace, with Laurens van Hoepen completing the early benchmark time of 2:05.507 to lead Mansell by just 0.011s.

    Hitech Pulse-Eight chose a different strategy by sending their drivers out early on the second set of tyres, giving them an empty track. However, it did not work for Luke Browning as he ran wide at Pouhon after losing the rear, leaving him down in P18.

    His teammate Martinius Stenshorne was one of several to lose their first laps for exceeding track limits but on the latest attempt he went to P11, while Cian Shields jumped to P14.

    The Hitech trio ducked into the pitlane while the rest of the field emerged on to the track with 10 minutes to go.
    But then came the rest with first Sebastian Montoya, then Fornaroli and later Dunne going fastest before Voisin went to the top with a 2:04.321.

    However, as the drivers prepared for their final laps there was huge queue heading into the final chicane, meaning that the like of Fornaroli and Leon did not get to the line in time to set off another attempt.

    Some drivers did improve in the first sector, but they were so close to each other there were no improvements through the technical middle sector.

    The full top 10 are- Pole: Voisin, P2: Dunne, P3: Fornaroli, P4: Montoya, P5: Leon, P6: Esterson, P7: Browning, P8: Meguetounif, P9: Tramnitz and P10: Ramos.

  • Alpine to run Deadpool & Wolverine livery

    Alpine will be racing with a special red and black livery for this weekend’s Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix to celebrate the release of Deadpool & Wolverine.

    Alpine will drop its usual black, pink and blue livery for a one-off Deadpool vs Wolverine – inspired livery.

    The livery features the red and black of Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool character as well as yellow slashes as a nod to Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine. The team’s mechanics will also wear Deadpool red at Spa.

    Esteban Ocon will recreate the red Deadpool mask with his helmet, while Gasly will sport a yellow and black Wolverine design.
    Ocon first used a similar design as one-off at the Las Vegas Grand Prix last year.

    Reynolds was a part of the investment group that acquired a 24% stake in Alpine’s F1 team in June last year.

    This is far from the first film-inspired F1 livery and its fair to say there’s been mixed results over the years.
    The fact it was Red Bull’s first podium made its one-off Superman Returns livery at the 2006 Monaco Grand Prix and driver capes all the more iconic.

    But there hasn’t been a properly good film tie-up that’s fully committed to it in the way that Alpine has.
    To ditch its traditional Renault colours and go with red – about as un-Renault-like as you can get.

  • RW 14 – Tyre Selection

    The last Grand Prix before the summer break takes place at Spa-Francorchamps, one of the most awe-inspiring race tracks in the world.

    Eau Rouge, Raidilon, La Source, Kemmel, Stavelot and Malmedy are just some of the names that have made the venue for the Belgian Grand Prix famous around the world.

    There’s been racing in the Ardennes for over a century with the first race, for motorcycles, taking place in 1921. The first Belgian Grand Prix was held the following year on a road circuit making use of three sides of a triangle which joined the towns of Spa-Francorchamps, Malmedy and Stavelot.

    Pirelli has already been able to assess the new asphalt, a month ago during the 24 Hours of Spa, the classic GTWC race for which the Italian company is the sole tyre supplier.

    For this, the 14th round of the season, Pirelli has chosen the same trio of compounds as used for the last two years, C2 (Hard), C3 (Medium) and C4 (Soft).

    In terms of stress on the tyres, it is one of the tracks with the highest average levels, even if it does not reach the peaks seen at Silverstone and Suzuka.

    The track features all corner types, linked by very fast sections, which makes it difficult for the teams to identify the ideal aerodynamic compromise.
    In fact, it is not unusual to see cars that are very strong in the fastest first and third sectors, struggling in the second slower one or vice versa.

    If there is a single venue on the motor racing calendar, not just F1, where variable weather can play a role, it is this one.
    not only can conditions change from one day to the next, but also grip levels can be dramatically different at various points on the track at the same time.
    Furthermore, because it is such a long lap, the slightest little mistake in judging the right moment to switch from dry to wet tyres or vice versa can carry a severe penalty in the race and even more so in qualifying.

  • F1 to race in Belgium until 2025

    Formula 1 has announced that the Belgian Grand Prix will be remaining on the calendar until 2025 following a one year extension.

    The iconic Spa-Francorchamps circuit holds a rich history in F1, having hosted 56 Grand Prix since its first race in 1950, and comes in as the longest circuit on the calendar at 7.004km.

    In recent years, the track has undergone significant development of its infrastructure, including a 10,000 capacity increase due to two new grandstands, as well as offering a wider variety of entertainment for fans including the addition of live music.

    This year’s Belgian Grand Prix saw an attendance of 380,000 people across the weekend, an increase of 20,000 over the 2022 event.

    The race has long been considered as potentially vulnerable as more and more lucrative flyaway events being added to the F1 schedule, and with the Dutch GP which was first held in 2021 it can be seen as potentially impacting crowd figures.

    Not only this, the disaster of the 2021 event, when the race was red flagged after a few laps behind the safety car, also called the venue into question.
    However, with the interest created by Max Verstappen has continued to boost attendance at Spa, despite the huge success of the neighbouring event in his home country.

    Spa is synonymous with Formula 1 having been one of the circuits in our first ever season and is much-loved by fans and drivers alike, so I am delighted to extend our relationship with them until 2025. The promoter has taken big strides in the last few years to improve the fan experience and infrastructure, and work is ongoing between all the stakeholders with a clear focus on delivering safe and exciting racing. I would like to thank the promoter and the Government of Wallonia for their continued support.

    Stefano Domenicali, President and CEO of Formula 1.

    We are proud and excited to announce that the Formula 1 Grand Prix will take place in Wallonia in 2025. Our region will once again rise to the top of the international scene, thanks to its high-quality events and legendary sports infrastructure. Beyond the prestige, I would like to emphasise the considerable economic impact that this event brings to Wallonia and Belgium. According to a study carried out in 2021, the Grand Prix generates positive spin-offs of €41.8 million for our region, after deduction of public funding, which is steadily decreasing. These figures constitute a solid indication of the financial impact, and the positive outlook means that we can expect even more positive results this year. The Formula 1 Grand Prix thus embodies both an emblematic moment in motor sport and a powerful engine of economic growth for our region.

    Willy Borsus, VIce-President and Minister for the Economy of Wallonia.

  • RND 13 – Belgian Grand Prix

    The last race before summer break is officially over and we had a mid race shower with a few different strategies going on.

    Max Verstappen recovered from a five place grid penalty to claim his eighth successive victory in Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix with teammate Sergio Perez adding to the celebration as he completed a one-two result.
    Charles Leclerc held on to the final podium spot, denying seven-time world champion, Lewis Hamilton.

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

    Lando Norris had an up and down race, as initially he lost a host of positions after starting on medium tyres and then switched to hards, but a move to softs as spits of rain began to fall proved inspired and he gobbled up the competition and eventually managed seventh.

    A clash between Oscar Piastri and Carlos Sainz led to both drivers retiring – the McLaren driver clipping the inside wall at La Source as he had no where to go and Carlos went into him, which led to him having damage to his sidepod.

    Aston Martin secured another double points finish, with P5 for Alonso and P9 for Stroll, I think Aston would be happy with that considering past couple of races.

    Finally a good result for Perez, a podium! And it’s about time too, the last time he was on there was back in Miami, so he will be hoping to keep this good form going after we come back after summer break.

    Mercedes, had a pretty good race, double points again and George had to work his way through the field after dropping a few positions. They go into the break on a high and will be hoping for more good results next month.

    Round 14 isn’t until 25th to 27th August where we return to the Netherlands for Max’s home race, can he make it nine in a row?

  • RND 13 – Spa Sprint

    Sprint Shootout-

    Max Verstappen was at his best again, as the Red Bull driver narrowly beat the McLaren of Oscar Piastri and the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz to take pole for the Sprint Race.

    Verstappen left it late to put a time down as he took the chequered flag with four seconds to go, but he went straight to the top of the timesheet’s with a 1m 49.056s.

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

    The drivers were met with worse conditions yesterday, than the day before as the Shootout got postponed by 35 minutes. Once it got started, with each lap the times were beginning to drop as track conditions continued to improve.

    Aston Martin made a bold call during SQ2, as they put Lance Stroll on a set of medium tyres. However, the decision proved costly as Stroll ended up in the barrier at Turn 9 which saw a red flag.
    The session was unable to be restarted, Ricciardo narrowly missed out on a place in SQ3 along with the Williams duo and Aston Martin duo.

    It was good enough. Just tricky conditions, you don’t want to make big mistakes so I think the lap was okay – I just didn’t risk too much in the second sector where it was still a bit damp, and it was just enough for first so that’s good. If it’s going to be wet, dry, also if it’s wet, how you’re going to survive with the wet tyres or the intermediates. So a lot of question marks still but we’ll figure it out along the way.

    Verstappen on getting pole.

    Sprint Race-

    Red Bull’s, Max Verstappen converted pole position into victory during Saturday’s Sprint race at the Belgian Grand Prix, as he claimed back the lead from McLaren rival, Oscar Piastri after the two opted for different strategies.

    Amid plenty of action at Spa-Francorchamps circuit, Alpine’s Pierre Gasly made the most of the conditions to round out the podium. Lewis Hamilton was demoted from fourth to seventh after the Mercedes man clashed with Sergio Perez and picked up a penalty.

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

    With a rain theme of the weekend so far, the heavens opened up again just before the 17:05pm time scheduled start of the Sprint – officials decided to push it back by 30 minutes to allow the latest downpour to pass by.

    By the time the formation lap began on mandated full wet tyres and behind the Safety Car which became several laps.

    After a lot of near misses in the pit lane as drivers squabble for position after changing tyres to intermediates. Gasly found himself running third behind Piastri and Verstappen, with Perez up to fourth, Hamilton in fifth and Sainz rounding out the top six from Leclerc and Norris.

    As the race started to settle down, Verstappen took his chance to gain into Piastri’s lead which stood at just under two seconds after their stops.

    But on Lap 4, Fernando Alonso lost control of his Aston Martin at Pouhon and spun into the gravel which then triggered a Safety Car just before Verstappen was about to make a move on Piastri.

    Hamilton and Perez dramatically banged wheels through Blanchimont as they battled over fourth position the seven time world champion managing to work his way through around the outside of La Source a few moments later.

    I think [staying out on wets at the start] was just a safer call. I could come in first, but then I might be blocked by other cars. There might be a Safety Car and then you lose out massively. I didn’t to stay out, we lost one position, but we know that we are quick. I think you could see that when we put the inter tyres on we were flying, so it was OK!

    Verstappen on the Sprint.

  • RND 13 – Spa Qualifying

    Day one of the weekend is complete, let’s take a look at how qualifying went yesterday ahead of the Sprint today!

    Max Verstappen claimed pole position in a thrilling session, however he won’t be starting from pole due to having a five place grid penalty, which means Charles Leclerc is set to start from P1 tomorrow.

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

    A good result for both Ferrari’s, Charles starting P1 and Carlos P4, they haven’t had the best result recently so they will be wanting to capitalise on other’s misfortune during the race.

    Finally a good result from Perez where he starts in the top 3! With his teammate starting 6th, Perez will be relied on to take the lead at the start, will he be able to do it? Or will Max breeze his way through the field again?

    A great result from Piastri, out-qualifying Norris, and starting 5th on the grid. So far the rookie is having a great season, from being towards the back of the grid, to scoring big points almost every weekend as well as showing off his skills we all know he has. The Aussie will be hoping to get his first podium this season.

    Alpine is still having a rough time at the moment, they would of been hoping for a clean weekend, but that disappeared when Ocon damaged his front wing after crashing into the barrier at Turn 9.

  • 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.

  • SPA confirmed for 2023

    The Belgian Grand Prix is set to form part of the 2023 Formula 1 calendar, following an agreement to extend the race’s partnership.

    Full details of the 2023 Formula 1 calendar are yet to be revealed, but there is a new addition to the calendar next year that being Las Vegas.

    Spa first featured on the Formula 1 calendar in the sport’s inaugural season in 1950, with this seasons set to be the 55th to be held on the circuit.

    However, a statement from Formula 1 to the media ahead of last weekend’s race said: “Formula 1 can confirm that the Belgian Grand Prix will be on the 2023 calendar following an agreement to extend our partnership together. Further details on the 2023 calendar will be announced in due course.”

    We have to congratulate the job [the race organisers] did. You’ve seen the investment they did. You see the number of people that are coming here… Incredible crowd, incredible attention to the people, and this is great. Great I think for the sport. We always said that the race is a part of our tradition, and it has a very important space in our calendar, and this is a fact that we wanted to share in this moment.

    Formula 1 President & CEO, Stefano Domenicali.

    My Opinion-

    It was a bit touch and go whether we was going to get this announcement, but luckily we did! It is a historic track in F1 and it would feel a bit strange if it wasn’t on the calendar.

    The announcement tells us it is only a year contract, so we could very much be in the same boat next year… But I am glad it’s staying at least for another year!

  • F2 Spa- Day 2 & 3

    Day 2-

    Greeted by cold and dry conditions, the mist loomed high over the Belgian hills and there were plenty of unknowns heading into the first race of the weekend after a lack of race runs in a highly disrupted practice session.

    Whilst Ralph Boschung assumed his spot on reverse grid pole on his return to the the track after suffering an injury, Jehan Daruvala’s day was brought to an early end before the lights had even gone out as the PREMA Racing driver pulled over on the reconnaissance lap.

    Unfortunately for the Swiss driver, the Belgian circuit isn’t short of overtaking opportunities. All over the back of the race leader, the Red Bull liveried Carlin sailed up into P1 along the Kemmel Straight.

    The race made a turn on Lap 11, Logan Sargeant lost his rear end on the exit of Pouhom and skidded into the barriers, triggering the Safety Car.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Lawson, P2: Doohan, P3: Boschung, P4: Drugovich, P5: Verschoor, P6: Pourchaire, P7: Armstrong, P8: Beckmann, P9: Iwasa and P10: Hauger.

    Day 3-

    Drugovich surged off the line and Doohan cleared Enzo Fittipaldi to take second into La Source. David Beckmann followed through down the Kemmel Straight on the Charouz Racing System at Les Combes to take third.

    Theo Pourchaire’s title hopes took a major hit, as he slid down the order and out of the race with an issue. Richard Verschoor took fifth from the Charouz on the next lap, using DRS.

    Fittipaldi and Sargeant were the first to pit for mediums on Lap 8, feeding back out in 14th and 15th places respectively. Lawson responded on the following lap, but it was a slow stop for the Carlin driver.

    Juri Vips and Lirim Zendeli were the first of those on mediums to swap to softs on Lap 15 whilst Verschoor and Iwasa continued to extend their stints at the front.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Doohan, P2: Drugovich, P3: Lawson, P4: Verschoor, P5: Fittipaldi, P6: Sargeant, P7: Beckmann, P8: Iwasa, P9: Vips and P10: Novalak.

  • Round 14- Belgian GP

    Going into the race today, we was hoping for an interesting race seeing some of the field come through the grid, but was it too easy for some of them?

    But it was Max Verstappen who took the victory at his first home Grand Prix of the season, Sergio Perez comes home in 2nd to make it Red Bull’s fourth 1-2 of the season! Carlos Sainz finished in 3rd after starting on pole.

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

    What a drive from Max Verstappen! Starting P14, and finishing 1st is great! He flew through the field with no problems, Ferrari wasn’t a problem for the Dutchman and didn’t have anyone challenging him for the win.

    Not a good day for Hamilton, a DNF for the Brit his first of the season. A Lap 1 incident between Hamilton and Alonso saw the Mercedes driver go airborne and retire on track after the team telling him to stop…

    A good finish for Vettel, Gasly and Albon all in the points which they all needed this weekend, Gasly started from the pitlane so he made up quite a lot of ground to finish 9th.

    Now Ferrari, Carlos had a good race but Charles obviously had to start at the back of the grid, he done well getting himself up the field but Ferrari thought theyd pit him on the last lap to take away the fastest lap point from Max, we’ve seen it a lot of times over the year but this time it didn’t work out. Not only didn’t it work out, Charles got a 5 second penalty for speeding in the pitlane which dropped him down to P6.

    We now look towards the next race, next week which is the second out of the triple header and we will be heading to the Netherlands for Round 15! Can Max take another victory on home soil?

  • F3 Spa- Day 2 & 3

    F3 Spa- Day 2 & 3

    Day 2-

    Zak O’Sullivan retained the lead from pole into La Source with teammate Benavides attempting to wrestle second from Juan Manuel Correa. With the two on the Kemmel Straight, the ART driver turned defence into attack, taking the lead but only momentarily.

    Title rival, Victor Martins meanwhile had made his way up to 16th by the time the Safety Car was deployed but had jumped the start, he was handed a drive-through penalty as a result.

    A wide moment, from Oliver Goethe heading into Stavelot left the Campos driver under pressure from the Trident duo of Roman Stanek and Zane Maloney. Stanek was able to clear the Monegasque driver for fifth but contact on the exit of Blanchimont between Goethe and Maloney resulted in a big crash for the pair, but thankfully both drivers were able to walk away from their cars.

    Leclerc’s charge continued at the expense of Benavides, another DRS pass down the Kemmel Straight moved him up to fifth position and within range of Edgar as a result of the latter’s pending time penalty.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Bearman, P2: Stanek, P3: Smolyar, P4: Edgar, P5: Leclerc, P6: Alatalo, P7: Vidales, P8: Benavides, P9: Hadjar and P10: Collet.

    Day 3-

    Having become the seventh different driver to take pole this season, Collet lined up on the front row along side Maloney whilst four of the top five in the Championship found themselves starting P20 or lower.

    Maloney’s time out front didn’t last long as he was ordered to give the place back by his team. In the mean time, Goethe had gotten past Collet for P2, forcing the Trident to drop down to third behind the MP in order to return the position.

    Disaster soon struck for title contender, Martins. The ART Grand Prix driver found himself collected in chaos ahead as Kush Maini overshot the corner sending him into the side of Pizzi, tagging Ido Cohen and Martins.

    No sooner than the action resumed did the safety car return to the track after Gregoire Saucy and Josep Maria Marti touched wheels, resulting in the early retirement of a second ART car.

    Having been handed a five second penalty for rejoining the track unsafely, Collet knew it was time to be strategic as he battled with Stanek for second.

    As the penultimate lap began, it was Bearman’s time to strike as Goethe went too deep into Turn 1, the pair flew up side-by-side into Eau Rouge, but the Prema Racing driver cautiously decided to back out and go again one lap later.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Maloney, P2: Stanek, P3: Bearman, P4: Goethe, P5: Edgar, P6: Collet, P7: Vidales, P8: Alatalo, P9: Smolyar and P10: Ushijima.

    We don’t have long to wait till the next round, we are back next weekend and are in Zandvoort for Round 8, we only have two rounds left now…

  • F2 Spa – Day 1

    Free Practice-

    Ralph Boschung got his return to the Formula 2 season off to a positive start, as the Campos Racing driver topped Free Practice around Spa-Francorchamps.

    The weather proved to be a major headache with rainfall around the track, catching a few drivers out, but it was the Swiss driver who managed to clock in a 2:01.376 finish ahead of Amaury Cordeel and Ayumu Iwasa.

    Iwasa was the first driver to set a representative time. Flourishing in these conditions the DAMS driver set out to better his by 0.742s after the first two sectors, but it wasn’t to last, fighting the car through Stavelot ended in a huge spin across the gravel to bring out the Red Flag.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Boschung, P2: Cordeel, P3: Iwasa, P4: Armstrong, P5: Zendeli, P6: Sargeant, P7: Daruvala, P8: Beckmann, P9: Sato and P10: Vips.

    Qualifying-

    Championship leader, Felipe Drugovich put in a mighty lap to take pole position for the Spa-Francorchamps Feature Race ahead of Enzo Fittipaldi and Logan Sargeant.

    His closest rival in the Championship, Theo Pourchaire had to settle for eighth on the grid, meaning that the French driver will line up third on the grid for the Sprint Race.

    Juri Vips was the first to bring out a red flag due to a spin and not being able to keep his engine going. The session then resumed with 23 minutes to go and drivers got on track immediately.

    Ralph Boschung took provisional pole for Campos Racing but it was only for a moment. Jehan Daruvala and then Jack Doohan went quicker with track conditions ramping up in the closing stages.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Drugovich, P2: Fittipaldi, P3: Sargeant, P4: Doohan, P5: Beckmann, P6: Lawson, P7: Verschoor, P8: Pourchaire, P9: Daruvala and P10: Boschung.

  • Belgian Grand Prix

    We are back racing this weekend, and we are at Spa-Francorchamps for Round 14, where last year we saw a Williams stick it on the front row in qualifying, for the race then to be delayed and then cancelled due to the rain.

    Lets hope this year will be a step better than lasts… The weather could play a part in who qualifies where so could potentially mix the grid up. But will Ferrari get their strategy right? What can Mercedes do? They have been getting closer to get that race win, could that be this weekend?

    Who needs a good weekend?

    I think Ferrari as a whole need a really good weekend, they’ve thrown away a few race wins down to strategy and if they want to fight for this championship they need to up their game, whether that’s reliability or strategy.

    McLaren again as a whole need to sort themselves out this half of the season, Alpine have now overtook the papaya team in the standings. So both Norris and Ricciardo need to be on top of their game this weekend and the rest of the season to get further up the standings.

    Haas will be wanting to start off this second half with a bang, especially for a certain Mick Schumacher as his contract is not confirmed for next year and the only way contract talks will start are by “scoring more points”.

    Predictions for qualifying-

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

    The weather is never certain in Belgium so it can surprise at the most important times, so it could make an appearance during qualifying and through a few shock surprises in there and a mixed up grid.

    Times for the weekend-

    Friday 26th-

    • Free Practice F3- 09:25am – 10:10am (BST)
    • Free Practice F2- 10:35am – 11:20am
    • Free Practice 1 F1- 13:00pm – 14:00pm
    • Qualifying F3- 14:30pm – 15:00pm
    • Free Practice 2 F1- 16:00pm – 17:00pm
    • Qualifying F2- 17:30pm – 18:00pm

    Saturday 27th-

    • Sprint Race F3- 09:35am – 10:20am (BST)
    • Free Practice 3 F1- 12:00pm – 13:00pm
    • Qualifying F1- 15:00pm – 16:00pm
    • Sprint Race F2- 17:00pm – 17:45pm

    Sunday 28th-

    • Feature Race F3- 07:50am (BST)
    • Feature Race F2- 09:20am
    • F1 Race- 14:00pm

  • Lawson FP1 run

    Liam Lawson will be making his Formula 1 debut on Friday, as Alpha Tauri have announced that the Carlin driver will take over the reins of the AT03 for the opening Free Practice session at Spa-Francorchamps.

    The New Zealander will be getting behind the wheel of Pierre Gasly’s car, as part of the two young driver sessions, F1 teams are required to run this season.

    So far in his 2022 season, the 20 year old has two wins and six podiums to his name, and currently sits eight in the Drivers’ Championship.

    Part of their junior programme since 2019, the Red Bull and Alpha Tauri reserve driver got his first taste of F1 machinery with the Italian team last year during the post-season Young Drivers’ Test in Abu Dhabi and will now be taking the track following Formula 2’s Practice session.

    Super excited to say I’ll be doing my first FP1 this weekend in Spa. I honestly couldn’t think of a better place to do it, it’s going to be a very exciting feeling. It’s a historic track and a place that I’ve always enjoyed driving, so in a Formula 1 car it’s gonna be incredible. I’ve been doing a lot of sim work over the year as well leading up to this, so I think the prep has been really, really good. Obviously, I had my first outing last year in December and since then, honestly, I’ve been dying to get back in the car.

    Liam Lawson on his FP1 outing.

  • Spa Tyre Allocation

    We are back racing this week, and we are in Belgium! Pirelli have chosen the tyres for the Belgian Grand Prix, with Formula 2 and Formula 3 joining us aswell this weekend.

    The middle of the range has been chosen: C2 (Hard), C3 (Medium), C4 (Soft).

    The asphalt is new between Turns 2 and 4, and Turns 8 and 9, with the bumps removed as well as increased grip. Gravel traps have been added close to the track at Turns 1, 6, 7 and 9. The gravel features sharp stones as well as some sharp edges close to the concrete kerbing.

    Spa is one of the most demanding circuits for tyres on the calendar, featuring particularly high later loads. The famous Eau Rouge-Raidilon complex is just one of the places where the tyres are subjected to multiple forces.

    Variable weather is always a famous hallmark of Spa *flashback to last year*, making an outing for the Intermediate or full Wet tyres a distinct possibility.

    Formula 2-

    The medium and soft tyres have been nominated for this weekend, three medium and two soft. The sprint race lasts 18 laps and the Feature Race lasting 25 laps.

    Formula 3-

    Drivers have three new sets to use of the Medium tyres across the weekend, plus another set of mediums carried over from the previous round for use in free practice. The sprint race is 15 laps and the feature race 18 laps.