Jordan's Track Talk

Tag: Italian GP

  • F3 – RND 10 – Day 2 & 3

    Day 2, Sprint Race-

    Promoted to the reverse grid front row, Boya took full advantage with a lightning launch off the line to get the better off Colapinto for the lead.

    The slightest of contact between Caio Collet and Aron on the run down to Turn 1 left the PREMA driver with a puncture. The Estonian spun and collected both Edgar and Marti.

    In the battle for third, ART GP teammates Gregoire Saucy and Nikola Tsolov made contact, forcing the Bulgarian to defend from Taylor Barnard behind. The Jenzer driver managed to make it through to fourth as the Safety Car was deployed at the end of the opening lap.

    Having dispatched of Tsolov, Bartoleto made his own move on the Australian ahead. With the benefit of DRS, the Trident driver went down the inside into Ascari for sixth. Oliver Goethe was on a charge from P22, clearing teammate Leonardo Fornaroli and Tsolov in one corner for eighth.

    Colapinto took charge on lap 10, passing Boya for the lead into the first corner. Dueling over third, O’Sullivan and Saucy made contact out of Turn 1, leaving the Swiss driver with a puncture and falling down the order.

    Out front, Colapinto brought home back-to-back Sprint Race victories at Monza. Bortoleto’s patience behind Boya paid off, as the Brazilian claimed second with a move into Turn 4 on the last lap.

    Day 3, Feature Race-

    Drama had already began to unfold before the 21 laps of racing had even got underway. Pole sitter, Oliver Goethe pulled off the grid reporting a broken throttle, leading to an extra formation lap.

    Once the five lights went out, Collet covered off the inside to hold the lead, third-placed Paul Aron immediately tried to take advantage of the space in front but lost out to Edgar.

    The Safety Car was deployed on the opening lap after Sprint Race winner, Franco Colapinto stopped on track after contact at Turn 5.
    After racing had resumed on lap 4, Edgar was back on the attack diving past Collet at Turn 1. Three-wide with Aron and O’Sullivan in the battle for third, Bortoleto went too deep and was forced to go down the escape road dropping down to P6.

    Another off-track excursion for Brazilian at Turn 4 gave Nikola Tsolov the opportunity to attack, allowing Barnard and Mari Boya to also come through and demote Bortoleto to P9.
    Saucy tried the same but contact between the pair left the ART Grand Prix driver with a puncture sending him sailing off into the barriers.

    The leading battles were fierce as Collet slid past Edgar to regain the lead on lap 12, whilst Barnard lunged at O’Sullivan to claim third through the first chicane. Undeterred, Edgar made full use of the slipstream, carrying enough overspeed to breeze past the Brazilian back up to the front of the field one lap later.

    Another Safety Car interruption to running came after Sebastian Montoya got stuck in the gravel at Turn 5 having been tagged by Hitech Pulse-Eight teammate Gabriele Mini.

    With a last lap shootout to overcome, Edgar went early to break clear on the restart. O’Sullivan was slow to react. Collet tried the switchback out of the Della Roggia chicane to take second but it was Barnard who made his move stick, swooping through on the Brazilian to secure the final podium spot which made it three Brits on the podium.

  • RND 15 – Italian Grand Prix

    Round 15 is now over and so is the Italian Grand Prix so let’s take a look at how it went!

    Max Verstappen and Red Bull came out on top in a battle against the Italian team as they secured victory and make more F1 history – the Dutchman moving ahead of Sebastian Vettel with 10 wins in a row and the team stretching their winning run to 15 races.

    Sergio Perez came home to make it a 1-2 for the team and rounding on the podium is pole sitter, Carlos Sainz making the Tifosi proud!

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

    A great result for Ferrari, and a good haul of points aswell which makes them leap frog Aston Martin in the Constructors. It was great to see them battling together aswell, as teammates fighting each other doesn’t happen often.

    Alex Albon holding off the McLaren’s for the majority of the race and scoring some valuable points in P7, he is quite literally carrying Williams all by himself!

    Valtteri Bottas, back in the points! What we love to see, he will be wanting to score a few more points in the next coming races, which will help the team as they are now only one point away from Haas in 8th.

    We had a bit of drama before the race even started, Yuki Tsunoda reported an engine failure on the formation lap and had to pull over to the side, which resulted in a delayed start due to recovering the Alpha Tauri car.

    Now we only have less than two weeks until were back and it will be another double header, and our first stop will be Singapore from the 15th to 17th!

  • RND 15 – Monza Qualifying

    Qualifying is done, and we take a look to see who took pole around the Temple of Speed!

    Carlos Sainz came out on top at the end of a thrilling qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix as the Ferrari driver narrowly got the better of Max Verstappen and teammate Charles Leclerc to secure his first pole position of the season.

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

    What a lovely result for Ferrari! Pole in-front of the Tifosi after being strong all weekend! Could we possibly see Max’s streak end? Can Ferrari take their first win of the season? It’s all to play for on the Italian circuit.

    A great result from Russell, best of the rest in P4, he will be hoping to get back on the podium today and earn some big points for the team. A decent result for Hamilton, but he will be wanting more and finishing in top 3 or 5 aswell.

    Alex Albonnnn, what a driver! P6!! He honestly never surprises me anymore, a top 10 finish in qualifying is what we kind of expect and want from the Williams driver.

    Liam Lawson! His first full F1 weekend, and wow, I think he may be getting a few team bosses talking… He qualified 12th, just one position behind his teammate who sits in 11th. Great to see how quick the New Zealander has got up to speed with the car.

    A rubbish qualifying for Alpine, P17 for Gasly and P18 for Ocon, what an earth is going on with them? They had a great weekend last week with Gasly’s podium and then to be down the bottom of the grid for qualifying less than a week later is a bit shocking…

    Predictions-

    My top five for the race are- P1: Sainz, P2: Leclerc, P3: Russell, P4: Perez and P5: Hamilton.

    I think I’m being a bit hopeful and wanting Ferrari to win this weekend, especially because their on pole, but will it happen? It’d be a dream if they did win!
    I feel like we are going to have an interesting race, with different strategies and so.

  • F3 – RND 10 – Day 1

    Practice-

    Oliver Goethe was straight back into action at Monza, going fastest of all in Free Practice with a 1:38.677. The Trident driver secured his lap just moments before a second session ending Red Flag, finishing just over a tenth clear of PREMA’s Paul Aron and Gabriele Mini for Hitech.

    Rodin Carlin set the early benchmark with Oliver Gray putting in a 1:41.612 on his initial effort around the Temple of Speed.

    As the 30 minute mark approached, the track got busier as queues of cars formed, all eager to get that all important slipstream.
    Home hero, Leonardo Fornaroli took charge, dipping into the 1:39s before Jenzer’s Taylor Barnard went over two tenths clear of the Trident.

    The first Red Flag was brought out by Nikita Bedrin as the second Jenzer stopped on track. The clock continued to tick down and running resumed with 16 minutes left.

    Gregoire Saucy took ART up into the top spot on the restart, clocking in a 1:39.276 to go eight thousandths faster than Fornaroli. Piecing together a perfect lap was far from easy.

    Mini then broke into the 1:38s but the Hitech driver was immediately beaten by Goethe and Aron. The flurry proved to be the final attempts of the morning, as MP Motorsport’s Mari Boya spun off into the barriers at Turn 11 inside the final six minutes.

    Qualifying-

    Oliver Goethe secured his first pole position of the season at Monza for Trident confirming teammate Gabriel Bortoleto as the 2023 Formula 3 Drivers’ Champion in the process.

    Running in the gap as one of two drivers on track after the second of three red flag appearances, the German driver posted a 1:38.909 to go less than a tenth clear of Van Amersfooort Racing’s Caio Collet and Paul Aron in third.

    It was all about the waiting game in the early phase of running as everyone tried to avoid being the first to jump. Aron led a train of cars out on track at the green light but the field swiftly filtered back into the pits following installation laps.

    Queues immediately formed around the track at the 23 minute mark. Situated right in the middle of a train of cars out of the Lesmo chicane, Ido Cohen was sent spinning after Rodin Carlin teammate Oliver Gray hit the rear of the car bringing out the first Red Flag.

    Once running resumed, there was no time to waste. Hungry to keep his title hopes alive, Aron went fastest of all with a 1:39.043. The PREMA driver’s effort didn’t stay top for long, as Collet leapfrogged him into provisional pole but there was little to separate the top three with 0.054s covering Collet, Aron and Goethe.

    The session was Red Flagged again seconds later, after a spin for Joshua Dufek left the Campos Racing driver stuck in the gravel trap at Variante della Roggia.

    When the session resumed with 15 minutes left, Goethe and Bortoleto were the only two cars to gamble on a run without the benefit of a slipstream. It served well as Goethe managed to improve on his earlier effort to go top.

    Opting for another attempt, the Trident driver went off into the barriers at Turn 7 with a third and final red flag deployed, nobody got an opportunity to improve as the session was not resumed.
    As Championship contenders, Aron and Josep Maria Marti were unable to secure the two points awarded for pole, Bortoleto’s job was done to claim the title.

  • Round 14- Monza Race

    WOW… what didn’t happen in that race! Honestly where do I start…

    Daniel Ricciardo is a race winner again for the first time since 2018 and his first with McLaren and joining him is his team-mate, Lando Norris making it his best finish for the team and finally a 1-2 for the papaya team! Joining them on the final step of the podium goes to Bottas after starting P19!

    The rest of the top 10 are: P4: Leclerc, P5: Perez, P6: Sainz, P7: Stroll, P8: Alonso, P9: Russell and P10: Ocon.

    Max and Lewis collided which ended up with Max’s car on top off Lewis’s and Max’s rear tyre was sitting on Lewis’ helmet… So all i’ve got to say is thank god for the halo, because I wouldn’t of liked to seen what happened without it.. I’m very happy both drivers got away safely, it is set to go to the stewards after the race. This collision will be a big talking point for the next few weeks just like it was at Silverstone. *UPDATE* Max Verstappen has been given a 3 grid place penalty for the next race and two penalty points. In my opinion I think this is the right decision, Lewis gave enough space and everyone knows the sausage curbs make you go up in the air. Now Max has got to suffer the consequences which I can imagine he isn’t very happy about it.

    Daniel Ricciardo was on fire today, he took the lead from as soon as the lights went out and honestly he deserves this win so much, he also got the fastest lap too.

    George Russell turned into Mr Sunday today as he finished P9 and score some points! For the third time this season, if people didn’t realise before they do now that George is a very talented driver and serves his Mercedes seat next year!

    Perez, surprised me today, he was running in third position but he got a 5 second penalty due to passing Charles Leclerc off track. He then ended up fifth once the penalty was added on.

    I feel gutted for the AlphaTauri’s, I felt like they both could of been very strong today, Yuki didn’t even start the race due to a mechanical issue which was fount on the way to the grid and wasn’t able to be fixed, and Pierre had to retire due to a problem which is unknown at this time.

    That is the end of our triple header! But I think this break is needed for everyone (including us fans) after the drama of the past 3 race weekends. We will be back racing again in two weekends time and we will be in Sochi, Russia, where we will be joined by F2 and F3! See you all then.

  • F2 Monza- Day 2 & 3

    Day 2-

    Sprint Race 1-

    Theo Pourchaire took his second win of the season, he started in fourth and was on the charge from the get go. He was joined in P2 by title contender Guanyu Zhou who made up six places to finish on the podium and third goes to my driver of the sprint race 1, Christian Lundgaard. He started 19th to finish on the final podium spot.

    Juri Vips stole the lead from from reverse pole sitter, David Beckmann. However they struggled with tyre degradation and they both finished in eight and tenth.

    There was a lot of drama for the first race back after a two month break. Dan Ticktum locked up and missed his braking point. Then he was tagged by Felipe Drugovich and spun round which was meant he was the first one out of the race. Then the VSC made an appearance due to Drugovich he lost his Virtuosi car at Ascari and skidded into the gravel.

    Then Roy Nissany, spun to a stop on track which brought out the second safety car which then brings our tally off 3 out of the race. Zendeli’s race finished with three laps to go as he pulled his car over to a stop at the side of the road.

    Sprint Race 2-

    Carlin’s, Jehan Daruvala took the second sprint race win and his first victory of the season. He was joined by Bent Viscaal and Robert Shwartzman who took his fourth podium of the year.

    This race was quite quiet compared to the mornings race. A VSC was needed when HWA Racelab team-mates collided which left Jake Hughes’ car in the wall. Guilherme Samia also had to pull his car to a stop at the pit entry.

    Day 2-

    Feature Race-

    The feature race was quite chaotic, it saw Oscar Piastri win, with his title rival Guanyu Zhou coming in second and a late charge by Dan Ticktum saw him finished 3rd.

    We had a total of 7 drivers not finish the race… First up was Guilherme Samaia, who lost it our of Lesmo 2 which at first brought out a VSC then a full safety car. Once the racing resumed it was all going on with a slow stop for Boschung who dropped to the back off the pack.

    Then a full safety car was deployed due to contact between Ticktum and Vips at the second chicane, Vips was pulling over with a problem when Ticktum made contact with his left rear but somehow managed to escape without damage. This then led to most of the grid to pit.

    Sato was running in P2, when he was forced to retire on lap ten as their was a loss of electrical power. Deledda then suffered damage on lap 13 after banging wheels with Enzo Fittipaldi.

    The Safety car was then needed for Liam Lawson on lap 222 as he suffered a fault with his fire extinguisher and had to ground to a halt, which was a shame for him as he was looking very strong in the race.

    And finally the last safety car came on the final lap as there was contact between Beckmann and Viscaal at the first chicane which saw one car in the wall and the other stranded on track…

    What does this mean for the championship?

    So going into this weekend, Oscar Piastri was leading the championship and luckily for him, coming out of this weekend he will still be leading it. Guanyu Zhou will follow him closely behind not giving up on the title fight.

    Our next race is in two weeks and we are in Sochi, Russia from the 24th to the 26th of September, where the title fight will continue!

  • Round 14- Monza Sprint

    That was our second sprint of this year done, and honestly i’m quite surprised in what happened!

    Bottas got a lovely start away and honestly I don’t think he looked back, where as his team-mate who started second went all the way back to 5th after a slow start.

    The top 10 results are- P1: Bottas, P2: Verstappen, P3: Ricciardo, P4: Norris, P5: Hamilton, P6: Leclerc, P7: Sainz, P8: Giovinazzi, P9: Perez and P10: Stroll.

    So you would think Bottas gets pole as his finished first etc, but he does not as he is actually starting at the back of the grid because of a new engine, so he will be on a charge tomorrow to get in the points. So that means, all the drivers move up a place, we now have Max and Daniel on the front row, with Norris and Hamilton just behind and then both Ferrari’s making the third row.

    Pierre Gasly, crashed in the sprint as he made contact with a McLaren at Turn 1 his front wing went underneath his front wheels which saw him speed into the gravel and hitting the wall, this now will see him start P19 tomorrow. But I wouldn’t say Gasly’s out of contention for some points tomorrow, as last year he started P10 and then went on to win the race so anything could be possible…

    Who needs a good day tomorrow-

    I’d definitely say Gasly and Bottas, they both will want to be on the charge and make sure they get in the points, which is possible as anything can happen at Monza. If they both have good strategies I can’t see them not scoring…

    Hamilton, he has a bit of work to do tomorrow which I know people think his only in fourth, but if Max gets a good lead from the start he could be in a bit of trouble. Lewis knows Red Bull have a good car so I think his main objective tomorrow is to beat Verstappen.

    I’d also say Perez, he finished the Sprint in the same place he started, which isn’t ideal at all. I thought he would of done some risk overtakes to get higher up so he can be closer to his team-mate but obviously he didn’t want to risk starting at the back of the grid.

    Predictions-

    My top 5 predictions for tomorrow are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Hamilton, P3: Ricciardo, P4: Norris and P5: Sainz. I think fastest lap will go to Hamilton.

    I’d like to see both Aston Martins finish in the top 10, Stroll is already starting from P9 and Vettel P11. So again if they get their strategy right then hopefully we could see them finish in a good position.

    Times for tomorrow-

    The times for the race are: 14:00pm (BST) and 15:00pm (CEST). We also have F2 in the morning and that will be starting at 9:25am (BST) and 10:25am (CEST).

  • Round 14- Monza Quali

    We now have our grid set for the Sprint Qualifying for tomorrow and the tension is building on the grid…

    We have a Mercedes 1-2!! Bottas leads from Hamilton locking out the front row to get those all important points tomorrow. We then have Verstappen starting P3 just behind both of the Mercedes.

    The rest of the top 10 are- P4: Norris, P5: Ricciardo, P6: Gasly, P7: Sainz, P8: Leclerc, P9: Perez and P10: Giovinazzi.

    Bottas done an absolutely beautiful lap, all purple sectors and it’s fully deserved! I do feel like its a bit of a strategy for tomorrow as he is starting at the back of the grid on Sunday so he will want to grab some points tomorrow.

    The two McLarens are on fire! They both look so comfy and confident in their cars and they could potentially grab a couple of points tomorrow only if they stay out of trouble though!

    I’m quite shocked by Perez, starting P9 isnt the best and the middle of field is always the scrappiest when starting on the grid so I could potentially see him not doing so well tomorrow.

    Both Aston Martins and Alpines out of the top 10 which I didn’t expect at all, but with Monza everyone is trying to get a tow and it doesn’t always play out in peoples favour.

    Predictions for tomorrow-

    I think Lewis will get P1, P2: Bottas and P3: Norris. Honestly I could see tomorrow just go mad, we could see a very different order for Sunday and maybe some surprises for the result too.

    Times-

    Free Practice 2- 11:00am – 12:00pm (BST), 12:00pm – 13:00pm (CEST). Sprint- 15:30pm – 16:00pm (BST), 16:30pm – 17:00pm (CEST).

  • Italian GP

    This weekend, we will be in Monza for the Italian Grand Prix. Last year it saw Pierre Gasly take his first ever win in F1 and he was joined on the podium with Lance Stroll and Carlos Sainz.

    Could we see a very different outcome this year? Well who knows… We have the second sprint qualifying this weekend so we could possibly see a very different grid for Sundays race.

    Does Max have the edge over Lewis? Will Ferrari be successful? Or could McLaren beat Ferrari on home turf? It’s going to be an exciting one thats for sure!

    Who needs a good weekend?

    I’d love for Ferrari to do well this weekend, as its their home grand prix and we all know how much Charles Leclerc likes this track and the same for Carlos Sainz, he will be wanting to do well as its his first team home race at Monza.

    I also think Nicholas Latifi, he really needs to show Williams he can come back after a set back, even more so now his contract has been renewed. He needs to show the team he can take charge etc, if he wants to stay at Williams long term.

    I’d like to see the two McLaren’s do better as-well, they’ve been on a bit of a downward slope since Hungary, so i’m hoping they can pull something special out of the bag!

    I would also say Lewis, if he wants to take the championship lead this weekend, he will need to be on his A game. He has a chance to score some extra points on Saturday and the highest amount may only be 3 but with the championship being so close this year, they really do mean everything, even more so since thats what is only separating him and Max coming into this weekend…

    Predictions for Quali-

    My top five predictions for qualifying are- P1: Hamilton, P2: Verstappen, P3: Bottas, P4: Gasly and P5: Norris. I’d love to see Ricciardo up their with Norris especially with sprint qualifying on the Saturday, they may want to take the risk in getting further up the grid for the Sunday as-well. I want to see Williams up there in the top 10, if they keep pushing their car then they could hopefully make it a regular thing!

    Times for the weekend-

    Friday 10th- FP1: 13:30pm – 14:30pm (BST), 14:30pm – 15:30pm (CEST). Qualifying: 17:00pm – 18:00pm (BST), 18:00pm – 19:00pm (CEST).

    Saturday 11th- FP2: 11:00am – 12:00pm (BST), 12:00pm – 13:00pm (CEST). Sprint: 15:30pm – 16:30pm (BST), 16:30 – 17:30pm (CEST).

    Sunday 12th- Race: 14:00pm (BST), 15:00pm (CEST).