Our last race week is here, and summer break is just round the corner… But we return to Hungary for Round 13, where last year we saw a crazy race with Esteban Ocon winning his first F1 race…
Could we see another crazy race this year? A first time win for a driver… George Russell… Kevin Magnussen.. Or could it be Lewis’ first win of the season? We will have to wait and find out on Sunday…
Who needs a good weekend?
Charles Leclerc, he potentially threw away a win last weekend, and I think he knows that… If he really wants to be in this championship fight I think he needs to just get his head down for this weekends race and then have time off and get back to it straight away.
The Haas team will be wanting a good weekend, no points finish last time out, after scoring in both Silverstone and Austria, but they will be oping to maximise this weekend, and maybe be there on others misfortune….
Alpha Tauri will be wanting a good weekend, Tsunoda last time out DNF’ed, and Gasly finished 12th, the Frenchman hasn’t scored points since Azerbaijan and Tsunoda since Spain…
Predictions for qualifying-
My top five are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Leclerc, P3: Sainz, P4: Hamilton and P5: Perez. I’m hoping for a McLaren, both Alpines and maybe a Hass if not both, in the top 10!
At the time of writing this, it looks like there might be rain for qualifying. I’m kind of hoping there will be, I want a crazy race on Sunday so a qualifying where a few people are out of position will definitely be interesting.
Daruvala got a great start from pole position but Lawson lagged behind him, the Carlin driver fell down the order into Turn 1, losing second to Armstrong and third to Drugovich momentarily, but a wide moment on corner exit left the MP Motorsport driver in the hands of Pourchaire.
Lawson kept in touch with Armstrong ahead and made a late lunge into Turn 1 on lap 4. The pair battle through the first sector and somehow avoided contact, just millimetres apart at Turn 4. After making the move, the gap to race leader Daruvala stood at 2.2s but Lawson set about hunting him down, to cut it down by 1.6s by Lap 6 and by Lap 8 the Carlin driver broke into DRS range.
The Safety Car offered a brief pause in action, deployed on Lap 9 following contact between Robert Merhi and the recovering Enzo Fittipaldi. The pair had been fighting for 15th position but a slide and spin in the North Chicane on the Mistral Straight left the Charouz in the middle of the track. Amaury Cordeel behind couldn’t avoid him and made contact, putting both out of the race.
The full top 10 are- P1: Lawson, P2: Daruvala, P3: Drugovich, P4: Doohan, P5: Vesti, P6: Iwasa, P7: Pourchaire, P8: Sargeant, P9: Sato and P10: Beckmann.
Pourchaire, Vips, Armstrong and Fittipaldi have all been penalised, Pourchaire originally crossed the line in P3.
Day 3-
After warmer temperatures played havoc earlier on in weekend, the field would have been thankful to have been greeted by cooler morning conditions in Le Castellet – allowing the grid to split their strategies.
The top five opted to get things underway on the softer compound, but that didn’t help Logan Sargeant, who suffered wheel spin off the line and dropped down to third. There were contrasting fortunes at the front of the pack, as Doohan got a blistering start to streak into the lead in the opening two corners. However, the Australian driver had company in the form of Iwasa, who immediately put him under pressure.
The Safety Car was swiftly deployed as the marshals picked up both Armstrong, and the stricken Marino Sato, who’s race ended early in the run-off section. Firing up his tyres early, Iwasa streaked ahead of Doohan on the restart, as Lawson boldly dived to the inside of Drugovich to take seventh.
The pit stop was the undoing of Sargeant’s day as well on Lap 13. The Carlin driver was unable to pull away from his pit box and was forced to retire, having looked solidly in the fight for a podium spot.
But it was Ayumu Iwasa who took the win and his first Formula 2 win! Theo Pouchaire cmae home to finish 2nd, and his teammate Frederick Vesti rounded out the podium in P3, a double podium for the ART GP team.
The full top 10 are- P1: Iwasa, P2: Pourchaire, P3: Vesti, P4: Drugovich, P5: Doohan, P6: Lawson, P7: Daruvala, P8: Novalak, P9: Nissany and P10: Fittipaldi.
We are back next weekend and we are in Hungary for Round 10, our last before summer break!
Juri Vips became the driver to beat in the opening session in Le Castellet, clocking in a 1:46.501 to go over a tenth and a half clear of the pack in Free Practice. Ayumu Iwasa secured the second fastest time ahead of Frenchman, Theo Pourchaire.
Although there are 167 different configurations of the Circuit Paul Ricard, the 22 car field took to the track to find the limit of it. However, that task is easier said than done as thermal tyre degradation left their rear wheel squealing for traction.
Hauger got things underway with the first representative lap being laid down moments before Frederik Vesti brought a quick pause to proceedings. The ART GP driver, already experienced a delayed start to his running and shortly after getting out on track he came to a halt on the Mistral Straight.
With 20 minutes left of the crucial 45 minute session, Pourchaire set his eyes on beating Iwasa to the fastest time. Despite the grid utilising the hard compound, keeping the tyres in their performance window proved a challenge especially in the final sector which saw several moments of oversteer.
The full top 10 are- P1: Vips, P2: Iwasa, P3: Pourchaire, P4: Drugovich, P5: Daruvala, P6: Verschoor, P7: Armstrong, P8: Doohan, P9: Sargeant and P10: Fittipaldi.
Qualifying-
Logan Sargeant left it as late as possible to snatch pole position for the Feature Race in Le Castellet, narrowly edging out Ayumu Iwasa and Frederik Vesti by the slimmest of margins.
Iwasa held provisional pole entering the final laps and Vesti couldn’t quite match him, ending up 0.023s down on the DAMS driver’s effort. Sargeant pulled out the time though, just 0.006s of it, but that was good enough for pole position Sunday.
Drivers took extra care on their preparation laps to keep the soft compound as intact as possible for their flying laps with temperatures remaining high for the Qualifying session.
Drivers boxed with 15 minutes remaining for the customary change of tyres. Enzo FIttipaldi didn’t join them though and was out of the car unable to take part in the final 10 minutes due to an issue on his car. Hauger joined the Brazilian on the sidelines shortly afters, as he came to a halt on the track and bringing out the red flags with just over seven minutes left of qualifying.
The full top 10 are: P1: Sargeant, P2: Iwasa, P3: Vesti, P4: Doohan, P5: Pourchaire, P6: Drugovich, P7: Vips, P8: Armstrong, P9: Lawson and P10: Daruvala.
After a two week break we are back and the French GP has arrived. We have been given the tyre allocation for the weekend.
The following are the tyres nominated for the weekend: C2 (Hard), C3 (Medium), and C4 (Soft).
The Paul Ricard Circuit is quite well balanced where there is a bit of everything: fast corners and flat-out straights as well as slower and more technical sections. All of that is placing medium-severity energy loads on the tyres, which is why it makes a good test track.
The Mistral straight – named after the famous French wind, which can also disrupt the aerodynamic balance of the cars – it also has the potential to cool the front tyres down. This can than affect the turn-in at Signes immediately afterwards, which is the most demanding corner of the entire circuit.
Going off track is definitely a no no , the distinct red, white and blue tricolour markings contain a high-friction material which is designed to slow cars down quickly but with high risk to flat spot the tyres.
Last year’s winning strategy was a two-stopper from Verstappen. It was a gamble as he was the only front runner to stop twice, with those behind stopping once, but it paid off in the end.
This year’s French Grand Prix takes place nearly a month later than it did last year, when it rained on Sunday morning, so it’s fair to expect warmer temperatures. This year’s generation of tyres and compounds is different and more resistant to overheating than the 13-inch versions used last year, so we’ll have to see how that affects the strategy. A bit of history: Paul Ricard was actually where our 18-inch tyres for the current era made their debut, at a test with Renault and Sergey Sirotkin back in 2019.
Mario Isla, Motorsport Director
Formula 2-
F2 will be back racing in France this weekend, the first time since 2019. The hard and soft tyres have been nominated for this weekend. This combination has already been seen in four of the previous eight rounds, most recently at Silverstone.
Located in Le Castellet, the Paul Ricard Circuit is a well balanced track with flat out and technical sections that pose a challenge for the tyres!
Van Amersfoort Racing’s Jake Hughes set the pace in Free Practice, ending up fastest of all by four-tenths. The Briton’s 1:15.038 was a late effort that put him clear of the pack, followed by ART Grand Prix teammates, Theo Pourchaire and Frederik Vesti. Just 0.230s separated second position from 10th as the short layout of the circuit closed the gaps between all drivers.
Overnight rain had cleared by the time Free Practice got underway in Spielberg, but the task at hand was far from simple. With such a short lap around the Red Bull Ring, traffic was a challenge almost immediately.
Calan Williams stranded Trident brought out the Virtual Safety Car as he stopped on the side of the road beyond Turn 3.
Now onto Qualifying, Frederik Vesti put his qualifying issues that plagued his start to the season firmly to bed, claiming his first pole position in Formula 2. It all came down to his second run after a track limit violation saw his time deleted, plummeting the ART Grand Prix driver to the back of the order at the halfway point.
Juri Vips was unable to pip the Dane at the last minute and the two were separated by three-thousandths of a second. Logan Sargeant put himself firmly in the fight at the front with third, as Ayumu Iwasa blazed up to fourth with a last gasp attempt at the chequered flag.
Day 2-
As the sun beamed down on the Red Bull Ring, Marcus Armstrong was ready to shine lining up on reverse grid pole. Seizing the opportunity with both hands the New Zealander aced his start to keep Pourchaire behind. However, his getaway wasn’t a patch on Drugovich’s. The orange MP Motorsport car launched right inbetween Verschoor and Doohan when the lights went green, but the Brazilian had no room to squeeze through.
Whilst the rest of the field got away cleanly, elbows were already out in the fight for the podium. Banging wheels into Turn 1, Doohan managed to make his way past Verschoor and sent the Trident driver back into Drugovich’s clutches.
Track limit warnings were looming over several drivers heads as they fought to keep their cars within the white line. The arrival of DRS saw a four-car battle to form for fifth, as Verschoor, Vips, Sargeant and Iwasa formed a train along the Spielberg straights.
The full top 10 are: P1: Armstrong, P2: Pourchaire, P3: Doohan, P4: Drugovich, P5: Vips, P6: Verschoor, P7: Sargeant, P8: Fittipaldi, P9: Hauger and P10: Iwasa.
Day 3-
There was a mix of strategy on the grid, with half the grid starting on slicks and the other half on the full wets. A dry line was beginning to form on the track surface, but the rooster tails remained on the formation lap.
Vips soared into the lead at lights out as pole-sitter Frederick Vesti bogged down and lost second to Iwasa. At Turn 4 the ART GP driver took the place back, finding grip on the wet patches of track ahead of him while Iwasa was left to run over the dry line.
The sprint winner, Marcus Armstrong didn’t get close to repeating his victory from the previous day. He came to a halt at Turn 3, bringing out the Safety Car. Vips led comfortably at the restart, but Pourchaire was on the move, cleaning Doohan into Turn 3 at the first time of asking.
Meanwhile, Felipe Drugovich tumbled down the order, falling from within the top 10 to 18th on his overheating wet tyres. Those on slicks were comfortably quicker than on the wet tyres. Verschoor and Daruvala cleared Sargeant and Iwasa with ease in the space of one corner onto the seventh lap. The trident driver then secured the lead with Daruvala and Merhi close in tow.
Merhi was enjoying his deputising role and was up to second on Lap 11, sliding down the inside of Daruvala into Turn 3, up 19 positions from where he started the race.
It was Verschoor who crossed the line in P1, but he got disqualified from the Feature Race after the Trident team were unable to provide the required post-race fuel sample for scrutineering. Jehan Daruvala had also received a post-race driver through penalty, which has been converted to a 20-second penalty in the final classification. The stewards found that the PREMA racing team had attempted to dry the track surface at his grid slot ahead of the race commencing. It drops down the PREMA driver, down to 12th after corssing the line to finish 2nd.
The full top 10 after penalties are- P1: Sargeant, P2: Fittipaldi, P3: Merhi, P4: Hauger, P5: Hughes, P6: Caldwell, P7: Iwasa, P8: Vips, P9: Nissany and P10: Lawson.
Formula 2 is back next week for Round 9, on the 22nd to 24th July at Circuit Paul Ricard!
We are on our second week of the double header, and we are heading to the Red Bull Ring, Austria for Round 11. Will Red Bull make it count on home turf, or will Ferrari fight back? The Sprint also returns for the second time this season!
What can Carlos Sainz do this weekend of the back of his first win? Will he be going for number two already? Will Charles’ strategy go right this weekend? Or will it be another winless or podiumless weekend for him? What can the Bulls do? What can Mercedes do?? So many questions about how the Silver Arrows will do, and I can’t wait to find out!
Who needs a good weekend?
Daniel needs a good weekend, it’s just getting repetitive putting him in here. But in all honestly and hopefullness, I hope he does click with the car well this weekend, and its the return of the sprint so a chance to get further up the grid…
Alpha Tauri needs a good weekend, another non-points finish. If the car struggles in high paced corners, then they will more than likely struggle this weekend, unless they find the right set up.
Alfa Romeo will be wanting to sort out their reliability sooner rather than later, VB had to retire last race again, and its going to start hurting their championship if this carries on…
Predictions for qualifying-
My top five are- P1: Leclerc, P2: Verstappen, P3: Sainz, P4: Perez and P5: Hamilton.
I feel like Leclerc will just be looking for revenge, so he will do an absolutely stonking lap to put it on pole, but I think Max will be close to him. But if it rains, its going to be another story and we can see the Mercs fight for pole aswell. With a few surprises added in there aswell…
It’s another race week, and we have been given the tyre allocation from Pirelli for this weeks race in Austria.
The Red Bull Ring in Austria is a short and sharp rollercoaster with only 10 corners and constant elevation changes. Pirelli brings the three softest tyres in the range C3 (Hard), C4 (Medium), C5 (Soft).
Last year there were two races at the Red Bull Ring held back-to-back, this weekend is the same tyre nominations as the second race there. It’s designed to help put on a show by increasing degradation and creating more overtaking opportunities. On that occasion, the winning strategy was two-stopper, one opening stint on the medium and then two stints on the hard.
Austria is home to the second sprint of the season. Instead of the normal 13 set of tyres, this weekend they will 12, two sets of hard, four sets of medium and six sets of soft.
The asphalt at the Red Bull Ring offers reasonably low grip on a low-severity circuit, which makes it possible to bring the softest tyres in the range. This helps us in putting the focus on entertainment, at a venue that has often delivered exciting races in the past, thanks to a busy and compact lap that’s essentially a series of short corners. Traction and especially braking are key here: with a particular risk of lock-ups in some of the tricky downhill braking areas. Maintaining the performance of the rear tyres throughout the lap is also vital to ensure adequate traction. Our tyre nomination makes a variety of different potential strategies possible.
Mario Isla, Motorsport Director
Formula 2-
The medium and supersoft tyres have been nominated for Formula 2 in Austria. This is the third time that this combination with an extra step between compounds have been used this season.
Formula 3-
For the first time this season, the softest tyre in the Formula 3 range – the soft compound – will be the sole nominated tyre. This is one step softer than 2021, when the medium compound was available at the Red Bull Ring.
The second Sprint weekend of the season takes places this weekend at the #AustrianGP! 🇦🇹
Once again it’s race week, and we have another double header upon us, with our first stop being at Silverstone for Round 10! The question is how will the British boys do this weekend?
Can Max make it his seventh win of the season? Or will Ferrari have something up there sleeve? What can Mercedes do with their new upgrades, its going to be an interesting one for sure!
Who needs a good weekend?
The McLaren boys need a good weekend, Lando currently sits in 7th in the championship and Daniel in 13th. But I’d probably say Daniel more, as his only scored in 3 races this season… The Papaya team knows they can score good points this weekend if they qualify well, and hopefully put on a good show for all their fans attending and watching from home!
Alfa Romeo will be looking to get another double points finish this weekend as they try and close down the gap to Alpine, who are just 6 points ahead of them.
Ferrari’s Leclerc will be looking to take the win this weekend, and hopefully jump Perez in the standings, with the pair separated by three points. Leclerc, done well in Canada considering he started at the back of the grid and managed to finish 5th, what can he do this weekend…
Predictions for qualifying-
My top five for qualifying are- Pole: Leclerc, P2: Verstappen, P3: Sainz, P4: Perez and P5: Hamilton.
Charles still keeps it consistent in qualifying, but I do feel like it might be closer this weekend. You can also never count out Lewis, especially at Silverstone, but another person not to count out is Russell, his on top form at the moment and he will be wanting to make up for his mistake in Canada’s qualifying.
Hopefully we see a mixed top 10, with Alpine, McLaren, Alfa Romeo and maybe a Haas thrown in there to shake it all up and which will make for an interesting race on Sunday.
It’s race week once again, and we have another double header! But this week we are going to Silverstone, the race which caused so much controversy last year…
But, we have the tyre allocation for this weekend, with Pirelli choosing the hardest in the range C1 (Hard), C2 (Medium) and C3 (Soft).
Ultra-rapid and high-energy corners such as Maggotts and Becketts complex aren’t the only challenge, as the weather can be extremely variable from bright sunshine to heavy rain.
Last year’s race was won with two tyre changes: one of them being taken under an early red flag period following the Max and Lewis collision. Nearly all the drivers competed two stints on the medium plus a final one on the hard.
This year, the compounds and structures are different, and there’s no sprint qualifying either – which was a factor in last year’s strategy.
The British Grand Prix was where the new show car for the 2022 season was displayed last year, to highlight the future direction of the sport that we have embarked on from this season. The latest aerodynamic regulations are designed to allow drivers to follow each other more closely for longer to give more chance of overtaking, as we saw in Canada, while the tyres are designed to provide less overheating, more stability, and increased driveability within a wider working window. All these aspects will be tested this weekend, on one of the most challenging tracks for tyres of the year.
Mario Isla, Motorsport Director
Formula 2-
The hard and Soft tyres are nominated for this weekend at Silverstone, a change from last year when the hard and medium were used. The extra step between the compounds will provide additional one-lap performance and more strategic variability in the races.
Formula 3-
The hard tyre is nominated as the single compound: the third appearance in four rounds. The nomination is the same as Formula 3’s previous visits to Silverstone in 2019 and 2020.
It’s race week, as @F1 heads to Silverstone for the #BritishGP! 🇬🇧
Following Formula One’s announcement that the Australian Grand Prix will stay in Melbourne until 2035, the FIA Formula 2 and FIA Formula 3 promoters have announced that from 2023 both championships will feature the Albert Park circuit on their calendars, subject to World Motor Sport Council approval.
The surprise announcement was made as part of the new deal, since F1 has been racing at the Albert Park circuit in 1996, it has never been joined by its main support series.
The trip to Melbourne will be the furthest either championship has ventured from their European heartlands.
F2’s predecessor GP2, previously reached the Pacific region with rounds at Sepang in Malaysia and Singapore’s Marina Bay Circuit. F3 was scheduled to debut in the United States in 2021 but the event was cancelled because of logistical issues.
This great news for Formula 2 and 3, as well as fans! I feel like both series’ are getting more and more fans, as they both race on the same weekends as F1 and it’s shown by them going further afield and securing their place in motorsport.
I am extremely happy to add Melbourne to both F2 and F3 calendars from 2023. It further enhances the international aspect of both our championships, having them race on a new continent. It also shows that more and more circuits believe that F2 and F3 are an added value to the Formula 1 Grand Prix experience, showcasing the next generation of drivers.
Juri Vips was the fastest man in the free practice session today, he set a 1:55.924 to end practice ahead of Lawson and teammate Marcus Armstrong.
Strong winds kept the trees that line the circuit blowing as the drivers took to track for their initial laps. A dusty surface meant times were unrepresentative in the early phases of the session.
Enzo Fittipaldi was the first to have a brush with the wall, the Charouz racing driver nudged the exit wall at Turn 4 but was able to continue without any visible concerns. Clement Novalak found himself facing the wall soon after in the first sector, bringing out the red flag.
The session was back to green with 20 minutes, but it didn’t stay that way as Boschung’s joy at the top was short-lived as he was the next to find the wall – the Campos Racing man lost the rear end of his car on downshift and spun backwards into the barrier at Turn 5, bringing out the red flags for the second time.
The full top were- P1: Vips, P2: Lawson, P3: Armstrong, P4: Doohan, P5: Vesti, P6: Daruvala, P7: Drugovich, P8: Boschung, P9: Verschoor and P10: Hauger.
Qualifying-
Mr Juri Vips narrowly missed out on pole position last year, but made amends this year as he stormed to P1 in a highly competitive qualifying session in Baku. The HiTech driver had been stuck down in 10th following his opening run, but a surprise burst of pace was enough to put him 0.163s clear of Lawson as Dennis Hauger made it an all Red Bull junior top three.
As drivers started to back out with 11 minutes remaining, and the flying laps started they was brought to a hault due to Ayumu Iwasa who was determined to push his car to the limits- he carried to much speed into Turn 4 and collided with the barrier – he looked untouchable earlier on in the session as he was sitting comfortably on provisional pole.
The Japanese driver’s mistake blew the fight for pole wide open as Richard Verschoor and Hauger both clocked in personal bests. But it was the final minute of the session that showed who had mastered the streets of Baku.
The full top 10 are: P1: Vips, P2: Lawson, P3: Hauger, P4: Armstrong, P5: Drugovich, P6: Verschoor, P7: Sargeant, P8: Daruvala, P9: Vesti and P10: Hughes.
The Azerbaijan GP is here once again, and it hosts Round 8 out of 22! After an unexpected race here last year, what could happen this year and will Max settle his unfinished business here after last year’s retirement?
Just like Monaco, the Baku City Circuit has areas where mistakes can’t be made, but unlike in Monaco there is more overtaking chances, especially down the straight.
Who needs a good weekend?
The Ferrari boys need a good weekend, the last 4 races a Red Bull has won, which has led them to lead both championships and have Perez close in on Charles in 2nd. Sainz needs to get a good amount of points on the board as he is 27 points away from Perez who is in 3rd. Either way a Ferrari needs to win this weekend to get back on form which we saw in the early few races.
Both Haas’ will also be wanting to do well this weekend, as they look to try and score double points (fingers crossed). After having both cars DNF last time out, Haas will be wanting to score to get further up in the constructors, they currently sit in 8th just two points away from Alpha Tauri in 7th.
Guanyu Zhou will be hoping for a good weekend, having scored a point in his first ever F1 race, it hasn’t all gone his way this year, finishing just outside the points in both Saudi Arabia and Australia, he then finished 15th in Imola and had two DNF’s in Miami and Spain, he then bounced back to finish 16th in Monaco. In F2 last year, he finished 3rd in Sprint Race 1 – hopefully he can put that to good use and get in the points this weekend!…
Predictions for qualifying-
My top five are- Pole: Verstappen, P2: Leclerc, P3: Perez, P4: Sainz and P5: Hamilton.
I feel like the battle for 5th will be between both Mercs, Lando Norris and Valtteri Bottas – all have very good cars and it looks like McLaren and Alfa Romeo have unlocked a bit more than Mercedes at this moment in time.
After a weeks break, we are back racing once again as we have another double header, with our first destination being Azerbaijan this weekend.
Pirelli have chosen the tyres for this weekend those being the softest tyres in the range, C3 (Hard), C4 (Medium), C5 (Soft). This is the same selection as last year’s Azerbaijan GP.
Baku’s street circuit has a personality of its own, combining rapid straights with some narrow and technical sections, especially around Turn 9 in the old city centre. As a result, the high downforce setups which the teams used in Monaco won’t be used here, teams prefer to go for a low to medium downforce set up.
The weather can be warm in Baku, with the track temperature in excess of 50 degrees, but the tight confines of the building around the circuit mean that there are areas around the track with light and shade, varying the track temperature quite a bit around the lap.
The winning strategy last year was effectively a one-stopper (although the race was red flagged close to the end). The favoured strategy was soft to hard, with the soft tyre being fitted for the last three laps.
Until Jeddah came along, Baku was the fastest street circuit of the year. But the demands of this city track are still relatively low, as none of the corners take a huge amount of energy out of the tyres due to the low levels of abrasion and contained lateral loads – which means that we can have the same nomination as Monaco. Having said that, the high speeds in Azerbaijan still place a certain demand on the tyres. The main point is all about traction, with finding the right balance between front and rear axles being the key challenge for all the teams: you need to have enough heat in the front tyres to generate grip, despite the long straights that cool them down, but not too much heat at the rear, otherwise it’s easy to overheat them in the traction zones. Track temperature is also inconsistent in Baku, so all in all it’s quite a specific track with a few different technical challenges, which are nonetheless the same for everyone.
Mario Isla, Motorsport Director.
Formula 2
The Medium and Supersoft tyres have been chosen for this weekend in Baku for Formula 2. This is the same nomination as previous years, even though the supersoft is a new compound for 2022. But the same compounds have already been seen this season at Imola.
We head to Baku this weekend for the #AzerbaijanGP! A street circuit with its own personality, it combines rapid straights with narrow and technical sections.
PREMA’s, Dennis Hauger secured his first win in Formula 2 around the streets of Monte Carlo. Hauger, capitalised on a stall by reverse pole-man Jake Hughes at lights out to assume the lead of the race and he never looked back.
Jehan Daruvala, made it a PREMA one-two, with Marcus Armstrong following closely behind and completing the podium. Lap 10 came along, when Clement Novalak hit the wall on the exit of La Rascasse, with the Safety Car being brought out, Ayumu Iwasa received a 10 second time penalty for the incident.
The full top 10 are- P1: Hauger, P2: Daruvala, P3: Armstrong, P4: Fittipaldi, P5: Vips, P6: Pourchaire, P7: Doohan, P8: Lawson, P9: Nissany and P10: Sargeant.
Day 4-
Pole-sitter Felipe Drugovich made it three wins in four races to extend his lead at the top of the Drivers’ Championship. After a disappointing Sprint Race retirement, the MP Motorsport driver turned his fortunes around to hold off Theo Pourchaire in a race of attrition.
A late gasp of pace from Juri Vips wasn’t enough to bring him into the fight as the Hitech Grand Prix driver settled for third.
The full top 10 are- P1: Drugovich, P2: Pourchaire, P3: Vips, P4: Doohan, P5: Fittipaldi, P6: Armstrong, P7: Hauger, P8: Daruvala, P9: Sargeant and P10: Sato.
Championship leader, Felipe Drugovich led the way in the Free Practice session in Monte Carlo, he clocked in a 1:21.589, Drugovich’s effort was just enough to hold off Campos Racing’s Ralph Boschung.
It was HiTech’s Marcus Armstrong, who set the first representative lap of the 45 minute session. However times quickly began to tumble as Boschung topped the sheets with a 1:26.741.
Traffic once again proved to be a thorn in several drivers’ sides, including Drugovich who was forced to abandon several fast laps after coming across a train of cars at Turn 19.
Running was constant throughout the session, with only Juri Vips and Marino Sato bringing out yellow flags in Sector 1, with both drivers suffering near-identical front lockups and headed into the run off at Turn 1, before swiftly getting going again.
Day 2-
Liam Lawson set the fastest time in qualifying around the streets of Monte Carlo, narrowly beating out Ayumu Iwasa by 0.059s. Championship leader Felipe Drugovich hit the wall on his final effort but remained third quickest in group A. Meanwhile, Theo Pourchaire topped the Group B with a 1:25.535.
A slow burn in Group B followed, but a red flag in the final minute prevented any last-gasp improvements. A crash for Van Amersfoort Racing’s Jake Hughes, at the swimming pool chicane ended the session prematurely. It meant that Pourchaire’s penultimate attempt was good enough for the top spot in the second group.
But, things never stay the same in F2! Liam Lawson, Ayumu Iwasa and Olli Caldwell all got post qualifying penalties.
Lawson, had been fount guilty of failing to reduce his speed under a single-waved yellow flag. As a result, Lawson’s best time got deleted and as well as receiving a five place grid drop, dropping him down to P11 for tomorrows Sprint Race.
Iwasa, has been awarded a 10 place grid penalty, after failing to abandon his flying lap whilst under a double waved yellow flag at the end of qualifying. His best lap time has been deleted, demoting him from P2 of his group. Iwasa’s second-best time now sees him classified in P7, and with the penalty applied he’ll start the sprint race from P20.
Last but not least, Olli Caldwell has been fount guilty of impeding Marino Sato at Turns 2, 3 and 4 during Group B’s qualifying session, the Campos driver failing to let Sato through who was on a fast lap. As a result, Caldwell has been handed a three-place grid drop for his next race.
The full top 10 for tomorrows sprint race is: P1: Hughes, P2: Hauger, P3: Daruvala, P4: Armstrong, P5: Fittipaldi, P6: Vips, P7: Doohan, P8: Pourchaire, P9: Drugovich and P10: Boschung.
It’s race week once again, and we are in Monaco for Round 7, and the most famous street circuit of all! Let’s take a look at the tyre allocation.
The softest compounds have been selected for the Monaco GP, C3 (Hard), C4 (Medium), C5 (Soft).
Like Barcelona, Monaco is extremely well-known to the teams, with it being just one of three circuits still on the calendar that originally appeared in the inaugural 1950 Formula 1 season. Unlike the other two (Spa and Silverstone), the track hasn’t changed shape significantly since then, which means that it has the lowest average speed of any track and very little run-off, making it hard to overtake.
The slippery street asphalt, and slow speeds mean that the energy going through the tyres is low with minimal wear and degradation, but quite a high degree of track evolution each day.
This means that a one-stopper is the normality, but there’s quite a wide pit stop window and the timing of the stops can be influenced by safety cars, which are very likely around the tight circuit.
The cars run a special high-downforce configuration for Monaco in order to maximise grip at low speeds. This weekend is obviously the first time for the new 18 inch tyres have race at Monaco, so the teams will have a lot to learn about how they react in the conditions.
Monaco is often described as one of the most unpredictable races of the year, but the truth is that qualifying takes on a particular significance as track position is key here. As a result of that, understanding how to maximise the softest C5 compound – which has only raced at one event so far this year, in Australia – will be a vital part of free practice. With the previous rule requiring drivers to start the race on their fastest Q2 tyre now abolished, we might see some different strategies this year, with some drivers picking harder compounds to begin the race to target running a long first stint, given the difficultly of overtaking. Others may choose a more traditional approach by starting on the softest compound, at a race where strategy can make a real difference.
Mario Isla, Motorsport Director.
Formula 2
Formula 2 will also be racing in Monaco this weekend, with the softest available compounds: the Soft tyre and the Supersoft tyre. This is the same nomination from 2021 and prior years, although the supersoft is a revised compound for 2022.
It is race week once again, but this time it’s the start of a double header! We are in Barcelona for the Spanish Grand Prix which is Round 6 out of 22. It is also the home grand prix of Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso!
The drivers have a lot of knowledge of this track with it being one of the test tracks but how will the new cars/tyres and upgrades fair here? It is all to play for once again…
Who needs a good weekend?
Daniel Ricciardo, plain and simple, seems like since Australia his not that comfortable int he car compared to Lando, if McLaren are bringing upgrades this weekend could be his turning point and get a better grip of the car.
The Haas pair, I feel like I haven’t spoke about them together yet… But last time out in Imola it looked like they were both set for points but it didn’t end that way. So both drivers will be wanting to get points on the board this weekend and give the team a good result.
Alpha Tauri, need a good weekend not just for one driver either, they need it as a team. Last time we was racing, Pierre Gasly had the incident with Lando Norris so scored no points and Yuki finished just outside the points also too.
Predictions for qualifying-
My top 5 are: Pole: Verstappen, P2: Leclerc, P3: Sainz, P4: Perez and P5: Norris. We all know the battle for pole is going to be between Ferrari and Red Bull, but Ferrari are bringing big upgrades to this weekend grand prix.
But the battle for 4th/ 5th and 6th will be the most interesting though, as McLaren are said to brought upgrades as well as Mercedes and Alfa Romeo have a strong car. McLaren and Mercedes will be hoping to get both their drivers in the top 10.
Red Bull junior driver, Juri Vips will be making his Formula 1 race debut when he steps into the cockpit of the RB18 for the first practice session at this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix.
The Estonian driver will be behind the wheel of Sergio Perez’s car at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
Vips, who currently competes in Formula 2 and is sat in eighth in the championship has been apart of the Red Bull Junior Team since 2018, and previously drove an F1 car at last year’s post season test in Abu Dhabi.
The opportunity for Vips is Red Bull fulfilling one of their two mandated young driver sessions for the year.
My Opinion-
Ahh Juri! I love this new rule, it gives young drivers the opportunity to get a handle on an F1 car in a free practice session. I could see Juri being a contender for an F1 seat next year, he has said before that Red Bull haven’t said he needs to win the F2 championship, just show you want it, so it will definitely be interesting to see how he does!
I imagine as Juri is in the Red Bull, we will see Liam Lawson in the Alpha Tauri for the FP1 outing.
We are back in Europe this week, as we head to Spain for Round 6 for the F1 season. We also have Formula 2 and 3, joining us this weekend to carry on their season.
Pirelli has decided to bring the hardest tyres in the 2022 range, C1 (Hard), C2 (Medium), C3 (Soft). It’s a pretty straight forward choice, which is the same as last year albeit using a brand-new family of tyres.
The teams were at Barcelona as recently as February, for pre-season testing, however there are three big differences to consider since last being there:
The teams concentrated on testing compounds in the middle of the range, rather than the hard.
The weather conditions were much cooler.
The new cars were in their most basic launch specification, the cars have since moved on considerably since then.
With the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya being a very well-used circuit, there will not be much track evolution expected over the weekend, thanks to a busy schedule of support races also.
Last years winning strategy was a two stopper, the traditional approach to Barcelona, with Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton triumphing a pole to a win using a soft-medium-medium strategy. Soft-medium-soft was used by all the finishers from P2 to P8.
It’s hard to say much about Barcelona that hasn’t been said already, as it’s possibly the best-known circuit on the calendar for the drivers, with its wide-ranging layout making it a perfect testing venue. It has a bit of everything, with the very technical final sector being particularly important when it comes to looking after the tyres. As a result, the teams will have a good opportunity to assess the progress they have made with their cars since the start of the season, although the weather conditions will be much warmer and there will probably be a lot more running on the hard tyre than there was in testing, which will perhaps be the key to the race. In the past, Barcelona has traditionally been a two-stopper, so it will be interesting to see if the new generation of tyres this year leads anyone to target a one-stopper.
Mario Isola, Motorsport Director.
Formula 2
The Hard and Soft tyres have been nominated for Round 4 in Spain. This is the same nomination as the championship’s last raced at the circuit in 2020, and one which has already been seen this year at Bahrain and at the in-season test in Barcelona last month.
Formula 3
The Hard tyre is nominated for the third round of the season. Drivers will have three sets of the hard compound plus one set of Medium tyres which are carried over from the previous round in Imola, these are to be used in free practice only.
The Barcelona circuit is well-known to the #Fit4F1 teams from testing and previous races. A wide-ranging layout also demands the hardest compounds in the range!
We are back this weekend racing not just Formula 1 but Formula 2 and 3 also! We are now in Italy for the return of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. The Sprint returns this weekend also, for the first time in 2022.
Its both Ferrari and Alpha Tauri home race this weekend, can the teams provide a good weekend? Will Max have more reliability issues? Or will he conquer through? Carlos retired last race, can he get back on the podium on Sunday?
Could we see a wet qualifying? It’s definitely looking that way and a possibility of some rain across the weekend also. This could shake the order up quite a bit!
Who needs a good weekend?
Red Bull, or more likely Max. 2 DNF’s in 3 races isn’t a good start for defending his title. I know it isn’t his fault as they were things to do with the car and not himself but he will be wanting this weekend to go as smoothly as possible.
Aston Martin will be wanting a good weekend especially Seb, he DNF’ed in Australia and will be wanting to get through the whole Grand Prix this weekend.
Carlos will also be wanting a good weekend also, he has had a good start to the season apart from the DNF in Aus, but with his new contract being announced this week he will be wanting to perform even more than before.
Predictions for qualifying-
My top 5 are- Pole: Leclerc, P2: Verstappen, P3: Perez, P4: Sainz and P5: Hamilton. Apparently Red Bull are bringing upgrades this weekend, if they work well the fight could be on between both RB and Ferrari.
A part of me don’t want to count out Russell, we all saw what he could do in qualifying when it was raining and at the moment its predicted to rain whilst quali is going on, so we could see a masterclass from him again.
Hopefully we see at least one Haas in Q3, would be nice to see both in there as well as the McLaren’s. Lando likes driving in the wet as we all saw last year, so it may help him get further up the grid for the sprint on Saturday.
After a two week break we are back this week and we are in Imola for Round 4, along with Formula 2 and 3.
Pirelli have chosen the C2 (Hard), C3 (Medium), C4 (Soft) tyres for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. This is the same nomination which was made for Imola last year, although the compounds are of course different with the latest 18 inch tyres.
Imola, marks the first sprint of the year, with rules that are slightly revised compared to last year, including more points on offer. The tyre rules are the same as last years sprint events though, rather than 13 sets for a normal weekend, this weekend will see 12 sets.
The asphalt dates back to 2011, which makes the 11 year old surface reasonably abrasive, that’s why we don’t see the same double step between medium and soft tyres, like we did in Australia. The more mature surface at Imola, generates more grip and therefore more heat in the tyres.
The forces at work on the tyres are generally equal between lateral and longitudinal, making it a flowing track where drivers need to find a good rhythm.
Imola is an old-school, challenging track, where overtaking can be tricky, also because the circuit is quite narrow in places. So the strategy is likely to centre around avoiding traffic, and effectively the teams start from scratch here in terms of tyre knowledge – as the compounds are completely different this year, and last year’s race also began on the wet-weather tyres, before being interrupted by a lengthy red flag period. Generally speaking, Imola is a medium severity track for the tyres, and it’s a venue that is used quite frequently. This means that we might see a little less track evolution than we’ve been accustomed to at other circuits as the track is well rubbered-in already: the first round of the Pirelli-equipped GT World Challenge took place at Imola last month, which gave us some useful data. These are just some of the factors that the teams will have to take into account when establishing the tyre strategy for the opening sprint session of the year: another first for the 2022 season.
Mario Isla, Head of Pirelli Motorsport.
Formula 2
Formula 2 will support a Formula 1 grand prix at Imola for the first time in 16 years, when the championship was known as GP2. The Medium and Supersoft tyres have been nominated- this will be the debut for the revised supersoft tyre for 2022, featuring optimisations to improve resistance.
Formula 3
This weekend will be the first time that the modern Formula 3 championship has raced at Imola. The medium compound is the sole nominated tyre for the first time this season.
Formula 2 was back on track this week for their in-season testing at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Let’s take a look at how it went.
Day 1-
The first session of testing, saw a sprinkling of rain and a track temp of just 14 degrees, running was reduced on a quiet opening morning of testing, with only two drivers posting more than 30 laps. Championship leader, Drugovich picked up from where he left off at Round 2, with the Brazilian jumping to the top of the time sheets.
There were three stoppages during the morning, including Calan Williams who spun to a stop at Turn 2. Lawson’s Carlin came to a halt at Turn 10, before Cem Bolukbasi lost control of his Charouz at Turn 9 and went into the barrier.
The track temperature marginally increased in the afternoon, and this meant the grid was able to offer up a few push laps on the back of their race runs. After a benchmark time of 1:29.897 from Armstrong during the long-running, Boschung fired to the top of the field, dropping a 1:27.929.
There were two more Red Flags in the afternoon, firstly for Vips who clipped the barriers at Turn 3 and then later for Logan Sargeant whose Carlin came to a halt on the track at Turn 1. Despite the stoppages, there was significantly more running in the afternoon. Boschung and Williams completed the joint-most laps with 55 each.
Position
Driver
Team
Laptime
1
Ralph Boschung
Campos Racing
1:27.929
2
Marcus Armstrong
HiTech Grand Prix
1:28.170
3
Ayumu Iwasa
Dams
1:28.331
4
Marino Sato
Virtuosi Racing
1:28.436
5
Felipe Drugovich
MP Motorsport
1:29.131
Top 5 Afternoon Session.
Day 2-
A drop of rain and dark clouds threatened a wet session on the morning of Day 2, but apart from a brief spitting the track would remain relatively dry throughout the third outing of the test. Trident’s Richard Verschoor set the benchmark time at the start, posting a 1:29.328.
There were several interruptions throughout the morning session, beginning when Marino Sato’s stopped on the main straight in the opening hour. Iwasa lost control of his DAMS and clipped the wall at Turn 5. Turn 5 was proving tricky to master in the conditions as Hughes and Caldwell both ended up in the gravel shortly after. There were two further Red Flags as Vips spun to a stop at Turn 11 and before Caldwell came to a standstill at Turn 4.
Roy Nissany set the fastest time of the morning session with a 1:28.812, Richard Verschoor was second with a 1:29.328 and Iwasa in third with a 1:29.596.
After a stop-start morning session, rain proved to be the only real interrupting factor in the afternoon as a sprinkle lead to a spell stuck in the garages, with too little rain for wet tyres and too much for slicks. Vips set the benchmark at 1:30.148 in the opening half an hour, but the Red Bull reserve, was knocked down to third by his HiTech teammate as well as Felipe Drugovich.
There was a brief stoppage as Calan Williams came to a halt at the final corner and brought out the session’s only Red Flag. There wasn’t much improvement in the final half an hour, PREMA’s Dennis Hauger managed to break into the top 10.
Position
Driver
Team
Laptime
1
Marcus Armstrong
HiTech Grand Prix
1:29.752
2
Felipe Drugovich
MP Motorsport
1:29.960
3
Juri Vips
HiTech Grand Prix
1:30.148
4
Amaury Cordeel
Van Amersfoort Racing
1:30.169
5
Dennis Hauger
PREMA Racing
1:30.169
Top 5 Afternoon Session.
Day 3-
The sun made its appearance on the final day of the test, the teams wasted no time getting out on track for some representative qualifying simulations. Lawson put on a set of softs and set the baseline time of a 1:27.888, marking the quickest time of the test so far. The PREMAs had also gone on fresh softs but couldn’t quite match the Carlin’s pace, Hauger 0.057s off in second and Daruvala in 3rd a further 0.074s.
Novalak stopped at Turn 2, which brought out a red flag. Doohan set the most laps in the three hour stint, with 50 to his name. The top 3 were P1: Drugovich, P2: Lawson and P3: Doohan.
After a brief delay to the afternoon session due to track maintenance, the session began. The majority of the grid was focused on long runs and race simulations in the afternoon, with Vips setting the benchmark at 1:29.888.
Vips was one of three stoppages during the final session, with the driver coming to a halt at Turn 3 in the final five minutes. Vesti and Hauger had also both stopped during the afternoon with the ART car coming to a stop at Turn 15 and PREMA pulling up at Turn 5.
2021 podium finisher, David Beckmann subbed in for Cem Bolukbasi at Charouz on Thursday after the Turkish racer suffered a physical problem on the first day of testing.
Position
Driver
Team
Laptime
1
Juri Vips
HiTech Grand Prix
1:29.288
2
Jake Hughes
Van Amersfoort Racing
1:30.802
3
Enzo Fittipaldi
Charouz Racing System
1:31.541
4
David Beckmann
Charouz Racing System
1:31.633
5
Amaury Cordeel
Van Amersfoort Racing
1:31.801
Top 5 Afternoon Session.
Formula 2 will be back on track next weekend, in Imola for Round 3!
This weekend is the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix as-well F2’s second round, but should we even be racing their this weekend?
An oil depot- around 7 miles from the track and owned by F1 sponsor, Aramco- was set ablaze during the first free practice in Saudi and a large black smoke cloud could be seen from the circuit…
F1 drivers met for four hours yesterday, after practice on Friday- which included team bosses and F1 chiefs, it continued till 2.30am Saudi Arabia time.
It is to be understood that the drivers raised concerns over the safety of the event in the wake of the attacks. But while the lengthy meetings suggested some drivers may have wanted to boycott.
But the Saudi Arabian GP is still set to go ahead as planned and team bosses have insisted they will be racing this weekend.
The fire at the North Jeddah Bulk plant.
My Opinion-
Plain and simply I think no. Putting drivers and team members at risk for what? And marshals too, people who are offering their time to make sure the race goes ahead. It’s quite unbelievable we are going to see a race happen.
Round 2 in Saudi Arabia has started, let’s take a look at the first day.
Free Practice-
Felipe Drugovich set the pace in a disrupted practice session, he posted a 1:44.100 with Liam Lawson and Marcus Armstrong following the Brazilian driver.
It was Van Amersfoort first appearance at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit and they was the first team to get on track.
There was a lengthy stoppage due to Cem Bolukbasi went into the barriers, once it was cleared their was 13 minutes on the clock.
Lawson came close to taking the top spot but was still 0.150 of the benchmark.
The second red flag of the session stopped the running completely as there was 8 minutes to go. Theo Pourchaire lost control of his car at the exit of 22 and collided with the wall.
Qualifying-
A late showing from the fastest man from this morning, Felipe Drugovich, snatched pole position in the final minute of qualifying with a 1:40.422. The Brazilian finished ahead of Richard Verschoor and last weeks pole sitter, Jack Doohan.
Hughes broke the 1m 42s barrier for the first time, Hughes sat in P1 before Theo Pourchaire pulled to a stop on track and made the first red flag of the session as he had smoke coming from his ART Grand Prix.
The time to beat when the session resumed when 1:41.538, the resumption was short-lived though as Logan Sargeant crashed bringing out the second red flag.
It’s Jake Hughes who is on pole position for tomorrow’s Sprint Race as the top 10 switch round. Where as for Sunday it’s Felipe Drugovich!
For the first time this year, we get to take a look at the tyre allocation for the weekend ahead, not just for F1 but for Formula 2 and 3.
Pirelli has selected the three hardest compounds in the new 18 inch tyre range: C1 (Hard), C2 (Medium) and C3 (Soft). The nomination is one step harder than the selection which was made last year, as the new tyres are completely different in comparison to the old 13 inch tyres.
The choice has been made because of the layout of the track, asphalt characteristics and temperatures. Bahrain remains one of the most abrasive tracks on the calendar thanks to a high percentage of granite within the asphalt, which leads to higher levels of wear and degradation. Even though asphalt abrasion is high, the sand which blows in from the surrounding desert can cause a lot of sliding which automatically affects grip.
The rear tyres work the hardest at Bahrain due to lateral loads. There s a high degree of track evolution over over the weekend, and this year it will be even higher as normal as both Formula 2 and Formula 3 are support races.
The teams had the chance to get familiar with the 2022 18-inch tyre range, having spent a total of six days of testing with all the compounds, although not always in representative conditions. We know from the past that track temperatures can play an important role in Bahrain, affecting tyre degradation, and that’s something we noticed at the recent test as well. During the race temperatures should be milder compared to FP1 and FP3, so the teams will have to focus on their data from FP2 and qualifying. It’s still hard to predict the race strategy as, in the past, Bahrain has been a multi-stop race, but it will be interesting to see if anyone will try something different this year.
Mario Isla, Head of Pirelli Motorsport.
Formula 2
Formula 2 begins its season in Bahrain with the Hard compound and the Soft compound. The hard compound has been revised for this season to offer improved resistance increase the performance gap to the medium with the aim of challenging the drivers and increasing strategy options.
Formula 3
For the first time, Formula 3 will begin in Bahrain with the hard compound as the nominated tyre. Even though the compounds are the same before, the rear tyres have been designed to degrade faster which should shift the balances towards oversteer and make the car more challenging, with the aim of promoting greater driver involvement and showcasing talent.
It has been confirmed that Jake Hughes, will race in Formula Two for a full season with Van Amerfoort Racing.
The Dutch team are new for 2022, Hughes took part in post-season testing with the team, where he ran 2 out of three days and finished three out of four sessions in the top 10.
The Brit, is no stranger to Formula 2. He first made his debut in 2020 where he raced with HWA Racelab at Sochi where he finished 12th. Hughes then returned for a second outing with the team at Monza 2021 where he equaled his result.
Jake remained with the team at the following round Sochi where he scored their best finish F2 finish, taking fourth in the opening sprint race. Logan Sargeant then took his place at the penultimate round at Jeddah but Hughes returned for the season finale.
During his appearances for HWA, the 27 year old spent his time between roles, reserve driver for ROKiT Venturi Racing in Formula E and as a simulator driver for Mercedes’ Formula 1 and FE outfits.
“I’m overly excited to be racing with VAR in 2022,” said Hughes. “During the post-season test at Abu-Dhabi it became clear to me that VAR takes this new challenge extremely serious. We are very much on the same level when it comes to vision and drive for success, making it a very pleasant environment to work in. I’m just very thankful to the team for putting their trust in me and providing the opportunity to work together. The F2 car is incredible to drive, and I look very much forward to compete in it for the full season. It will be a long and tough stretch, but I am eager to kick off the season soon in Bahrain!”
“It is exciting to be able to make this first FIA F2 driver announcement!” said VAR CEO Rob Niessink. “We are extremely happy with Jake joining us for the FIA F2 Championship. We are standing on the brink of a great adventure for which we very much welcome the experience and maturity that Jake brings along. During the post-season test at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, Jake showed to be a highly motivated and professional team player. Jake’s accurate input and feedback already made an impact during testing, which helped the team to progress already in a very short time. His drive and dedication match ours, giving us great confidence for the season ahead!”
My Opinion-
Ah now Jake is the one person I wanted to get a seat this year! It didn’t matter what series but I personally thought he deserved a seat in a racing series. I think he has a lot of potential and its good to see that Van Amerfoort Racing see’s this too.
Red Bull junior, Ayumu Iwasa has joined DAMS for the 2022 season making the move from F3 to F2.
He made his debut with the team at post-season testing, he will be partnering up with Roy Nissany for the season ahead.
Iwasa, competed in Formula 3 last year for HiTech GP where he finished 12th overall with a podium and one win! In his first season of European racing in 2020 he took the French Formula 4 title with nine wins and 15 podiums.
“I’m very excited to take on my first year of F2 with DAMS,” said Iwasa. “We worked together at the test in December, and I learnt a lot about the car and the team. We collected plenty of data, which will be useful ahead of the pre-season test. I’ll be taking on some new tracks this year, which will be a challenge but I’m looking forward to developing my skills throughout the season. I used to live in Le Mans when I was racing in French F4 so it’s great to be competing in F2 with a team based in the area. I can’t wait to arrive in Bahrain and get back on track with DAMS for testing on 2-4 March.”
“We are extremely happy to welcome Ayumu to the team,” said Co-Team Owners Grégory and Olivier Driot. “Ayumu started his single-seater career in Europe very successfully by winning the Formula 4 French Championship which is an impressive feat. He also had a strong first season in F3, managing to take victory in Hungary in front of some very experienced competitors last July. This year is going to be a whole new challenge for him in F2, but Ayumu showed during the Abu Dhabi test that he has the potential to perform at this level. For DAMS it’s also very exciting to work with Red Bull, with who we have had some great success in the past, and we are proud to be starting a new partnership with Honda.”
My Opinion-
I’m a bit mixed feelings on this one, one part of me says he should do another year in F3 considering he only finished 12th, but then the other part of me says he clearly is talented as he won a championship in his first year in European racing but either way it will be interesting to see how he does.
Trident have signed their first driver for the 2022 season, that being Calan Williams after an impressive post-season test with the team in Abu Dhabi.
He managed to finish 6th in the afternoon session of Day 1, he also ran in top 12 throughout Day 2 and managed to complete 254 laps overall.
The Australian is taking the step up from F3 with Jenzer Motorsport, he finished the season as the teams highest point scorer in 2021 where he took his maiden podium.
Before moving to European racing, Williams finished second in the 2016 Western Australian Formula Ford series and won the 2017 Australian Formula 3 Premier Series.
“I am extremely happy to have secured the drive with Trident Motorsport,” said Williams. “They are an incredibly professional team and we have been working very well together over the past couple of months as well as during the Abu Dhabi Post Season tests. It’s such a unique chance that I have to step up into Formula 2. I’ll be working harder than ever to ensure that I perform to the best of my ability. I am very appreciative of Trident Motorsport for the opportunity and belief in me.”
Trident Team Manager Giacomo Ricci added: “The 2021 Abu Dhabi F2 Post Season Test session was very positive for Calan. He was able to adapt very quickly to the FIA F2 car and this allowed him to be competitive both in terms of performance and during the race simulation.
We were very impressed with his performance. He has a very high work ethic, and it is great to work with a Driver who dedicates his life every day to go faster. There is already a very strong working bond between Calan and the team. We are proud to have secured Calan with Trident Motorsport allowing us to face the FIA F2 2022 Championship together. I am confident of being able to achieve significant results during the 2022 season.”
My Opinion-
I think this is a good move, I’ll be looking at how he does with a new team after being with the same team for two years. With the right technique the Trident car can be up in the point regularly so it’ll be interesting to see how he does in the car.
Another seat has gone for the Formula Two 2022 season, and it is Théo Pourchaire who has took up a seat at ART Grand Prix.
It will be the Frenchman’s second year in Formula 2, and his third season with ART, the 2020 Formula 3 vice-champion made his Formula 2 debut last season, in which he finished 5th overall with 140 points.
The Sauber junior, became F2’s youngest pole-sitter and youngest race winner in Monaco, where he won the Feature Race from pole, he added two more podiums with one including a win in the first sprint race in Monza.
Pourchaire has been apart of the French Motor Sport Federation FFSA since 2017, he was then signed by the Sauber Driver Academy in 2019 and made his Formula 1 debut in a private test at the Hungaroring in August last year, where he ran the 2019 Alfa Romeo C38.
“I am proud to be continuing in F2 with ART Grand in 2022,” said Pourchaire. “It’s an honour for me to work with such a great team. This will be our third year together and it has become like family to me. To continue with them in the pre-cursor to F1 is very exciting. I would like to thank the Sauber Academy for accompanying me once again. It will be a busy year and I want to have fun and gain experience for my future. We are more determined than ever, and we will be aiming for the F2 title.”
ART Grand Prix Team Manager Sébastien Philippe added: “Continuing our adventure together makes sense! Théo has shown the range of his talents and there are many of them, both in individual terms and athletic ability. His motivation and determination are in tune with that of ART Grand Prix and winter preparation is going well. When you know that you have all the assets on your side, there is only one thing you can aim for, the title!”
My Opinion-
I had no doubt that Théo wouldn’t not sign, it cemented things the other day when he took to Twitter to say he signed, but didn’t announce what team until today! Pourchaire is very talented for his age, and I hope this year we can see him as a contender for the Championship.
With the season over and the year coming to an end let’s take a look back of the Formula 2 2021 Championship and see who were our winners across the weekend, how many retirements we had and my opinion on who is the driver of the weekend!
Sakhir–
Bahrain saw the rookies Liam Lawson win the first Sprint Race and Oscar Piastri win the second Sprint Race with Guanyu Zhou winning the Feature Race.
Lots of drama over the weekend which included some daring moves where people got away with where as others race ending early.
Over the course of the weekend my driver of the weekend is Liam Lawson, his first race weekend in F2, he qualified P8 then went to win the first Sprint, the second one wasn’t as good which saw him score no points and then the Feature Race he finished 3rd, after the weekend he walked away in P2 in the standings.
Monte Carlo-
The lovely Monaco saw Zhou win the first sprint race, Ticktum win the second and Pourchaire win the feature race.
Pourchaire didn’t just win the feature race, his weekend started when he got pole position. But the tight walls of Monaco wasn’t as kind to some we saw 4 retirements in the first Sprint Race. The second saw 7 retire. Then the Feature Race saw 4 retire.
My driver of the weekend is… Oscar, even though he didn’t win and he didn’t need to he still got on the podium twice and managed to put himself in a good position for the second sprint race.
Baku-
We went back to Baku for the third round of the season in which we saw, Shwartzman take the first Sprint Race win, and then Juri Vips take BOTH Sprint Race 2 and Feature Race wins.
Baku brought the drama for everyone but HiTech, the team managed to stay away from it all. There was 4 retirements in SR1. 6 in SR2 and 3 in the feature race.
My driver of the weekend got picked very quickly because he managed to win two races. Its Juri Vips, I feel like this was his best weekend in F2 this year and he fully deserved the wins he got.
Silverstone-
The 3 winners at Silverstone were: Robert Shwartzman SR1, Richard Verschoor SR2 and Guanyu Zhou for the Feature Race.
Silverstone managed to catch quite a few of the drivers out but not as many as the previous races we have had as we saw 5 retire in SR1. 3 in SR2 and none in the Feature Race.
Ah I feel like there is two drivers of the weekend, one being Richard Verschoor he deserved his win in the sprint race, and the other being Dan Ticktum he didn’t win but he did manage to get on the podium twice which Oscar done back in Monaco.
Monza-
Round 5 and our winners at Monza were: Théo Pourchaire SR1, Jehan Daruvala SR2 and Oscar Piastri Feature Race.
Monza wasn’t as kinda as Silverstone was we had 7 retire in SP1. Only 2 in SP2, and 6 in the Feature Race.
I think my driver of the weekend would be, Guanyu Zhou he finished 2nd in Sprint Race 1 and the feature race. And he still managed to grab a point in the second feature race.
Sochi-
Well, I think we will all remember Sochi for a very long time and not for the good reasons. When we finally did get racing we only had 2 out of the 3 races. The first and only sprint race won by Dan Ticktum and the Feature Race winner were we saw Oscar Piastri take back to back feature race wins.
Even though we had two races, we still had retirements 4 in Sprint Race 1 and 4 in the Feature Race.
Dan Ticktum would be my driver of the weekend being the first out of all the drivers, he obviously finished 1st in the first race and then 5th in the feature race so he managed a good lot of points considering the conditions they had to deal with on the Saturday.
Jeddah-
A new track for the drivers but it was Marcus Armstrong who took the first Sprint Race win, and Oscar Piastri taking both the second Sprint Race win and the Feature Race win.
With it being a new track to all drivers its to be expected that we have retirements over the weekend, 4 drivers retired in Sprint Race 1, 7 in Sprint Race 2 and 2 in the Feature Race.
This is probably the most easiest choice i’ve had to make in a while, Oscar Piastri would be my driver of the weekend, I think the Jeddah weekend showed people how talented he really is (if they already didn’t know). He won two races, the latter making it 3 back to back to back feature race wins, he stuck it on pole as usual and just done everything right this weekend.
Yas Island-
The weekend where we saw our 2021 Champion crowned! But the race winners were: Jehan Daruvala SR1, Guanyu Zhou SR2 and Oscar Piastri won the final Feature Race of the season.
The first Sprint Race was quite calm considering Formula 2! We only had two retirements. We then had a crazy second Sprint Race where we had four retire (one being the champ himself) and the Feature Race we had three retirements.
My driver of the weekend would be, Oscar again and not just cause he got crowned the champion, but because he deserved it, the first Sprint Race saw him battle his own team-mate for the championship in the race which decided it all and Shwartzman was not going to let him have it so easy.
Overall-
I mean what a year! So many rookies joining us and them winning/ being on the podium/ scoring points, but also the drivers who have been with us longer, we have definitely been blessed with a fantastic set of races this year. I already can’t wait for next season to start and we haven’t even had all the announcements yet! Hopefully next year will be just as good.
Jordan's Track Talk 