Jordan's Track Talk

Tag: Mercedes

  • Schumacher switches to endurance with Alpine

    Mick Schumacher has announced he will be racing for Alpine in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) next season – his first foray into racing outside of single seaters.

    Schumacher has been serving as Mercedes’ reserve driver during the 2023 campaign, having lost his place on the F1 grid after two seasons with the Haas team in 2021 and 2022.

    With Williams the only outfit year to confirm their full line-up for 2024, Schumacher has been weighing up his options outside F1, which included a recent test at the wheel of the A424 hypercar Alpine have been preparing.

    Having impressed the team, the 24 year old German has been named as part of Alpine’s line-up, which also includes French racers, Nicolas Lapierre, Matthieu Vaxiviere, Charles Milesi amd Paul-Loup Chatin, and Austrian Ferdinand Habsburg.

    Following Alpine’s announcement, Mercedes confirmed that Schumacher will continue as their F1 reserve driver for 2024, providing support to regular racers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell in a combined programme.

    A new chapter is beginning for me with Alpine in the FIA WEC hypercar category. The car is impressive, and I can’t wait to get started. I’ve grown up with single-seaters, so driving a car with a closed cockpit and covered wheels is a great opportunity to hone my driving skills. I sorely missed racing this year; it’s what I’ve loved to do since I was a kid, and it was sometimes difficult to watch the other drivers take to the track. Endurance racing is a new challenge for me, and I’m sure we will share great moments together next year with Alpine.

    Schumacher on the news.

    With [Team Principal] Philippe Sinault, we wanted drivers who are not only fast and reliable, but also showing a real team spirit and good racing acumen to best represent the Alpine colours in the premier category of the World Endurance Championship. It might be [Schumacher’s] first foray into endurance, but his enthusiasm for the project and his will to join us are palpable. I’m sure he will be a real asset.

    Bruno Famin, VP Alpine Motorsports.

  • Hamilton signs new deal and Russell extends

    Lewis Hamilton has put pen to paper on a new Mercedes contract that will keep the seven-time world champion onboard through the 2025 season, with George Russell also retained for the same period.

    Hamilton, was in his final year of his existing Silver Arrows deal and has been in talks with team boss Toto Wolff for several months, with those discussions eventually resulting in fresh terms.

    It comes halfway through Hamilton’s 11th season for Mercedes having joined the Brackley team back in 2013 and gone on to set a host of record, from championship wins to pole positions, race wins and so much more!

    Hamilton and Mercedes are currently working hard to return to the front of the F1 grid, their respective title winning runs having come to an end in 2021, but both sides are confident that the renewed partnership will yield further success.

    We dream every day of being the best and we have dedicated the past decade together to achieving that goal. Being at the top does not happen overnight or over a short period of time, it takes commitment, hard work and dedication and it’s been an honour to earn our way into the history books with this incredible team. We have never been hungrier to win. We have learnt from every success but also every setback. We continue to chase our dreams, we continue to fight no matter the challenge and we will win again. I’m grateful to the team who have supported me both on and off the track. Our story isn’t finished, we are determined to achieve more together and we won’t stop until we do.

    Hamilton on the new contract.

    I have grown up with this team ever since joining as part of the junior programme back in 2017. It’s my home and it feels fantastic to extend our special relationship through 2025. After stepping up to the Mercedes race seat last year, I wanted to reward the trust and belief that Toto and the rest of the team placed in me. Taking my first pole position and race win last year was an unforgettable feeling. More importantly though, it’s been great to work with everybody at Brackley and Brixworth to make progress with our car and push forward our development. Their loyalty, vision and hard work is inspiring. We have made some significant steps over the last 18 months and are only getting stronger as a team. I’m excited to help continue to build on that momentum as we progress into 2024 and 2025 as we continue to focus on returning to the very front of the pack

    Russell on extending his contract.

    Continuing with our current driver line-up was a straightforward decision. We have the strongest pairing on the grid and both drivers are playing a crucial role in the team to move us forward. The strength and stability they provide will be key building blocks for our future success. Our partnership with Lewis is one of the most successful in the sport’s history. It was always a formality that we would continue together – and it’s energising for us all to be confirming that publicly. His qualities as a pure racing driver are illustrated by his remarkable track record; but over our years together, he has grown to become a pillar and leader of our team. Those leadership qualities are crucial as we focus on fighting for world championships again. As F1’s biggest global star, he has also played a key role in shaping our commitments to diversity, inclusion and sustainability, that will be foundations for our success in the years ahead. George is a leading light of his generation. He has repaid the faith we showed in him when promoting him to a race seat in 2022. His maiden pole position in Hungary and first Grand Prix victory in São Paulo were standout moments last season. As a driver, he combines razor-sharp speed with the tenacity of a true fighter. But he brings, too, an intelligence and attention to detail that will help him to continue to grow, develop and improve further. He is a natural fit to the team and we are delighted to have extended the relationship for the coming years.

    Toto Wolff on the news.

  • Schumacher contender to replace Sargeant

    Mick Schumacher has been named as the ‘obvious contender’ for replacing Williams driver, Logan Sargeant if there is no improvement in his performances.

    Williams, currently hold seventh place in the Constructors Standings with Alex Albon accounting for all 11 points being scored this season.

    Sargeant hasn’t had the best start to his rookie season, and has failed to score points 10 races in, and struggled to match his teammates performances. This has now led to speculation of where his future lies.

    Earlier on in the season, there was speculation of a mid-season swap with Schumacher replacing Sargeant, however Williams chose to support their drivers development and provide him with an opportunity to improve his performance first.

    Schumacher, currently holds the position of Mercedes’ reserve driver, also recently testing for the team. Not only this he is also an active presence in the garage during grand prix weekends.

    With the strong partnership and share engine between Williams and Mercedes, the possibility of Schumacher taking over Sargeant’s seat for the 2024 season is certainly credible if the current conditions persist.

    Rookie Logan Sargeant has had a solid but unspectacular start to life in Formula 1, and knows he needs to up his game to stick around for another season. Williams have thrown their collective arm around the American’s shoulders and tried to keep the pressure off him in a bid to help him find a rhythm. They are backing him to succeed and earn a second campaign in blue – but he needs to not only find consistency but also close the gap to Albon, particularly in qualifying, and get himself on the scoreboard. If he doesn’t, his seat is under threat. Mick Schumacher would be an obvious contender, having briefly had talks with the team last year and having kept his hand in through his Mercedes reserve role, where he has earned public praise for his efforts from [Lewis] Hamilton and [George] Russell.

    Lawrence Barretto, F1 Correspondent in an article for Formula 1.
    Mick Schumacher of Germany, Reserve Driver of Mercedes walks in the Paddock prior to practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Miami at Miami...
    Photo by Clive Mason – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images

  • Vesti to make F1 debut for Mercedes

    Mercedes junior driver and F2 championship contender Frederik Vesti will take part in an official F1 session for the first time later this year, during Free Practice 1 in Mexico.

    Vesti, 21, sits second in the F2 standings – 12 points behind Sauber-backed Theo Pourchaire with three rounds remaining, having claimed four wins and seven podium finishes so far this season.

    Having made his F1 test debut with Mercedes at the end of 2022 season in Abu Dhabi, the Danish driver’s next step will be the opening 60 minute session at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

    Each Formula 1 team is required to run a rookie driver in two FP1 sessions across the season, defined as a racer with less than two grand prix of experience.

    Toto Wolff believes that with Vesti impressing in Formula 2, this FP1 outing will now serve as the next key step in his progression.

    I’m incredibly proud to be doing the FP1 session in Mexico City with the team – it’s a dream come true. To think in less than two months that I’ll be doing my first official Formula 1 session with Mercedes, who have won eight consecutive constructors’ championships, is amazing. This has been my dream since I was very young and something I’ve been fighting for through my whole junior career. It’s taken a lot of hard work, and this is a very important step for me on my journey. This has been my dream since I was very young and something I’ve been fighting for through my whole junior career. It’s taken a lot of hard work, and this is a very important step for me on my journey. I want to thank Mercedes for this incredible opportunity, as well as my sponsors and manager for always believing in me. I can’t wait to be driving W14 for the first time.

    Vesti on the test.

    Fred has executed an impressive Formula 2 campaign so far this season. Driving in an FP1 session is the next step in his development and we’re looking forward to giving him that opportunity. Fred has executed an impressive Formula 2 campaign so far this season. Driving in an FP1 session is the next step in his development and we’re looking forward to giving him that opportunity.

    Mercedes team boss, Toto Wolff.

  • RND 12 – Hungary Qualifying

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Predictions-

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

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

  • Schumacher joins McLaren’s reserve driver pool

    McLaren have announced that they have reached an agreement with Mercedes which will see them add Mick Schumacher to their pool of reserve drivers, for the 2023 season.

    Schumacher joined the silver arrows as a reserve driver in December last year – after two seasons racing at Haas – where he scored 12 points in 43 starts.

    This means, Schumacher joins IndyCar Champion, Alex Palou in McLaren’s list of reserve drivers for the 2023 season, with the German able to step in if one of Lando Norris or the team’s newest recruit, Oscar Piastri is unable to take part in a race weekend.

    McLaren shared an image of Schumacher getting accustomed to their cockpit and getting the seat moulded around him in Woking, so the German will be ready to step in if needed.

    Schumacher, will be on hand for the squad which is led by Team Principal Andrea Stella who was his father, Michael’s Performance Engineer at Ferrari from 2002 to 2006 – during which they won three drivers’ titles together.

  • W14

    Mercedes became the penultimate F1 team to launch their 2023 challenger – taking the covers off the W14 where they sport an all-black livery.

    A day after rivals, Ferrari presented their new challenger, Mercedes showcased the car in which they hope will move them back into regular race wins and title glory.

    Mercedes’ latest creation marks a return to black – a colour they ran in the 2020 and 2021 seasons – after they returned to their more traditional silver scheme.

    Merc-4.png

    Team boss, Toto Wolff, continuing drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell as well as new reserve Mick Schumacher were all present at the launch at Silverstone.

    One change inside the Mercedes camp for 2023, is the absence of James Vowles who recently left his strategy focused role to take the role of team boss at Williams.

    Our hopes and expectations are always to be capable of fighting for a World Championship. However, our competitors were very strong last year, and we are playing catch-up. Racing at the front requires resilience, teamwork, and determination. We face up to every challenge, we put the team first, and we will leave no stone unturned in the chase for every millisecond. This year, we are going all in to get back in front. We were overweight last year. This year we have tried to figure out where we can squeeze out every single gram. So now, history repeats itself. You will see that the car has some raw carbon bits, along with some that are painted matte black. Of course, when we changed the livery in 2020 the main driving factor was to support the diversity and equality causes which are always close to our heart. The colour black became part of our DNA at that point, so we are pleased to return to it.

    Toto Wolff speaking at the W14 launch.

  • Williams announce Merc strategy chief, James Vowles as TP

    Williams have revealed that Mercedes, strategist James Vowles will take the place of Jost Capito as their new team boss.

    Capito and Technical Director FX Demaison both left Williams in December, following a 2022 season in which the team placed at the bottom of the F1 constructors’ standings having scored just eight points.

    Vowles has enjoyed a 21-year career in F1, representing the Silver Arrows since 2010 and serving as their Motorsport Strategy Director over the last four years. He previously held key engineering and strategy roles at Mercedes, Brawn GP, Honda and BAR.

    Vowles, who also worked with Williams Brand Ambassador Jenson Button during their title-winning days at Brawn, will be joining the Grove operation on February 20th ahead of the 2023 season opener i Bahrain.

    I cannot wait to start with Williams Racing. It’s an honour to join a team with such an incredibly rich heritage. The team is an icon of our sport, one I greatly respect, and I am very much looking forward to the challenge. Williams Racing have placed their faith and trust in me, and I will do the same in return. The team has tremendous potential, and our journey together starts in a matter of weeks.

    Vowles on his new role.

    We are delighted to welcome James to Williams Racing. He is one of the most highly respected talents in Formula 1 and will bring performance. He has been a key part of some of the most impressive feats in the sport over the past 15 years. As we continue our relentless pursuit for results, we believe that the appointment of James reinforces our dedication to ensuring we have energetic, experienced, and strong leadership as we move into the next phase of transforming Williams Racing.

    Matthew Savage, Dorilton Capital Chairman.

  • 15.02.23

    Mercedes have confirmed when their 2023 F1 car will be launched, with the Silver Arrows pushing to return to their regular winning ways.

    Mercedes racked up seven drivers’ titles and eight constructors’ titles from 2014 to 2021, having initially mastered the turbo-hybrid regulations, but major changes to the 2022 technical rules, saw them struggle with a trouble W13 package.

    It took the team most of the season to get on top of porpoising, and to get on terms with rivals Red Bull and Ferrari, allowing George Russell to lead home Lewis Hamilton in a break through one-two at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

    After a busy winter, Mercedes will be hoping they can score consistent wins with the new W14, which will be launched on February 15th, one day after rivals Ferrari.

    Russell and Hamilton will continue as team mates for a second season in 2023, whilst Mick Schumacher takes up the reserve driver role.

    At the end, it comes back to the sentence, ‘The days we lose are the days our competitors will regret’, because we learn the most. Hopefully the future will be proof of that. With our learnings, the values in the team, the empowerment and the no blame culture, I think we will be back in a more potent form next year – hopefully winning races on merit and fighting for the championship. But is it a given? Certainly not.

    Toto Wolff, speaking on the Beyond The Grid podcast.

  • Schumacher joins Mercedes as Reserve

    Mercedes have confirmed that Mick Schumacher will be taking on the role of reserve driver for 2023, following his departure from Haas.

    2020 F2 Champion Schumacher, contested two seasons with Haas, but was moved aside in favour of Nico Hulkenberg for 2023 – the team preferring the 181 Grand Prix worth of experience of Schumacher’s compatriot to help them move further up the midfield.

    Following the news of Schumacher’s exit from Haas, Mercedes Boss Toto Wolff was open about wanting to “look after” the German as he pointed to his family’s links to Mercedes.

    With both of Mercedes reserve drivers, Nyck de Vries and Stoffel Vandoorne having found berths at Alpha Tauri in a race seat and Aston Martin as a reserve for next year, it was the given that the team would be needing a new reserve driver.

    It had been thought Daniel Ricciardo might take up the role, before it was confirmed in November that the Australian would return to the Red Bull team.

    Meanwhile, Ferrari announced that they are ending their collaboration with Schumacher after four years, having joined the driver academy of the team his father won five of his seven world titles for, back in 2019.

    Mick is a talented young driver and we’re delighted to have him join the team. He is a hard worker, has a calm and methodical approach and is still hungry to learn and improve as a driver. These are all important qualities, and we’re excited for him to help us develop the W14. We also know that with two years of experience racing in Formula 1 under his belt, he will be ready to step into the car at short notice to replace either Lewis [Hamilton] or George [Russell], should that need arise.

    Toto Wolff on signing Mick.

    I am thrilled to be part of the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team as their reserve driver for 2023, and I am committed to give it my all to contribute to their performance in this very competitive and professional environment. I take this as a new start, and I am just excited and grateful to Toto and everybody involved for putting their trust in me. F1 is such a fascinating world, and you never stop learning, so I look forward to absorbing more knowledge and putting in all my efforts for the benefit of the Mercedes team.

    Mick on his new role.

  • Round 21 – Sao Paulo GP

    What. A. Race. Where do I even start? I hoped for a crazy race and we definitely got part of that mixed into the race.

    But, we now have a new F1 race winner… GEORGE RUSSELL wins the Sao Paulo GP and takes home Mercedes first win of the season as well as his! Not only this but… Lewis Hamilton makes it a 1-2 for the Silver Arrows! Carlos Sainz rounds out the podium in P3.

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

    A great weekend for Mercedes, this is exactly what they needed, Hamilton did have a little battle which caused contact between himself and Verstappen but it wasn’t too much where his race was ruined.

    A decent race for the Ferrari team, Leclerc had a battle with Norris which saw the pair also make contact and it looked like Charles’ race was over but his spin into the wall wasn’t as bad as it looked. Norris was deemed at fault for the collision and got a 5 second time penalty.

    Carrying on with McLaren things went from bad to worse as Daniel Ricciardo was caught up in a first lap incident with Magnussen which saw both drivers retiring from the race. Later on in the race Lando then pulled over on the side of the track. A double DNF for McLaren which doesn’t help in their fight with Alpine.

    Now onto Red Bull, they haven’t been on the pace much this past weekend, Max has definitely struggled more than Perez. Now for Perez his battle for 2nd in the Championship is still alive so you would think Red Bull would do anything to help that… Well not according t Max Verstappen, towards the end of the race he was told to let Checo through if MV couldn’t pass Alonso. He couldn’t, but he didn’t let his teammate through which has compromised Perez quite a bit going into the last race now as the Mexican and the Monegasque go into Abu Dhabi level on points…

    A great race for Alpine, they definitely made up for Saturday’s Sprint with a double points finish on Sunday, one more race together as team-mates and then it will be a new driver pairing for both of the drivers, lets hope for no more teammate collisions between the pair of them.

    We haven’t got long to wait as we are back this weekend, for the final round in Abu Dhabi to see how the drivers will all finish in the standings!

  • Round 21- Sao Paulo Sprint

    Round 21- Sao Paulo Sprint

    WOW, we are being treated to such an amazing weekend so far! An amazing qualifying on Friday, and an exciting sprint yesterday what could this mean for the race??!

    But it was George Russell who won the Sprint after keeping it cool and collected once he passed Magnussen and Verstappen! Carlos Sainz finished 2nd and Lewis Hamilton makes it a 1-3 for the Silver Arrows.

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

    What a sprint for the Merc boys! George was absolutely on fire, overtaking Magnussen first and then holding on to Verstappen and not letting him get away, it took the Brit 3 tries to get past the Dutchman but once he did he was off. Lewis made up good ground aswell, with Carlos having a 5 place grid drop it makes it an all Mercedes front row lockout for the first time this season!!

    Not the best of days for RB, they didn’t show much pace, it was definitely the wrong decision for Max to be on the Mediums, but Checo did a few good overtakes to get further up the grid. So they have a bit of work to do in the race if they want to win.

    The same goes for the Ferrari boys, especially with Carlos having his penalty. With the Mercedes at the front, the Italian team will be wanting to grab as many points as possible to minimise the gap Mercedes may close in on them.

    Even though, K-Mag dropped down 7 positions he still earned a point and has the opportunity to score more in the race today. As for his teammate who started P20 in the sprint will start the race in P12 after doing some overtakes to get further up the grid, so will be interesting to see how Mick will do today.

    Predictions-

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

    I feel like we will get a bit of a crazy race today, only two more races left so the gloves will be off and all teams and drivers will be fighting for those all important points… It will be nice to see Mercedes win today, as they haven’t done this season yet.

  • Vesti, Young Driver Test with Mercedes

    Mercedes junior driver, Frederik Vesti will be getting his first Formula 1 opportunity at the post-season Abu Dhabi test, with the team confirming that the Dane will be at the wheel of the W13 on the rookie day of the session.

    Vesti, signed to the Mercedes young driver programme prior to the 2021 season, going on to finish fourth in the FIA Formula 3 Championship and graduated to Formula 2 with ART Grand Prix for the 2022 season.

    He took his maiden victory in the series in the Baku Sprint Race earlier in the season and has scored a further four podium finishes so far this year. The 20 year-old currently sits eighth in the F2 drivers’ standings on 117 points ahead of the final round in Abu Dhabi next week.

    The post-season test is set for November 22nd to 23rd following the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

    A childhood dream coming true! On the 22. of November I will complete my first ever running in a Mercedes Formula 1 car at the Young Driver Test in Abu Dhabi! It’s an incredible sign of trust from Mercedes which I like to thank them for! No words can describe the feeling of getting this opportunity. It’s something that will boost my career in the future and I can’t wait to be behind the wheel of W13! A lot of preparation is coming ahead of the test with seat fit, simulator and quite a few procedures to learn.

    Frederik Vesti took to social media.
  • Round 13- Hungary Qualifying

    Round 13- Hungary Qualifying

    I think most of us expected a wet qualifying, and we didn’t have one but we definitely had a few shock surprises! A drivers first pole position, a Red Bull out in Q2 and much more…

    It was George Russell who took pole position, his first in Formula 1 and the first for Mercedes this season! His followed closely by Carlos Sainz in 2nd and Charles Leclerc in 3rd!

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

    What a day for Mr Saturday!! I think the Hungaroring may be one of Russell’s favourite tracks! Scored his first points here as a Williams driver last year and now his on pole position for Mercedes a year later!

    A bad day for RB, Perez starts P11, he had a few lap times deleted and then he got knocked out of Q2. Now onto Max… he set a decent time in Q3 but when he went out for last few laps he was complaining of no power and wasn’t able to improve on his lap time which saw him be pushed down to 10th.

    A good day for McLaren both cars in the top 10 and Lando having qualified P4! Infront of the two Alpine’s which is where the fight will be for the British driver. Ricciardo will be hoping to move up a few positions or count on others misfortune, but he has two Bull’s behind him…

    This is what Ferrari needed! Both drivers basically starting next to each other, it gives the Italian team a big chance of points tomorrow, especially with the Bull’s a lot further down and its a track where overtaking isn’t the easiest.

    Alfa Romeo seemed to have a good day, Bottas back in the top 10 and Zhou Guanyu starting P12, a chance of scoring points tomorrow for both drivers!

    Predictions-

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

    As I said above, it’s a hard track to overtake on, and there is meant to be some rain before the race starts and we all saw how last year went… Or we could get a ‘normal’ race but whats the fun in that!

    Times for the weekend-

    Feature Race F3- 09:05am (BST)
    Feature Race F2- 10:35am
    F1 Race- 14:00pm

  • De Vries gets FP1 run

    Mercedes have announced that their reserve driver, Nyck de Vries will be behind the wheel of the W13 during the first practice session of this weekend’s French Grand Prix in place of Lewis Hamilton.

    The FP1 run for the 27 year old, is a part of the 2022 sporting regulations, that teams are obliged to run rookie drivers in two FP1 sessions across the season. Red Bull and Williams have already completed one session so far.

    This will be the Dutchmans second FP1 outing of the season, he took the wheel of the Williams FW44 in place of Alex Albon at the Spanish Grand Prix earlier this season.

    This isn’t the first time De Vries will be in a Mercedes car, he jumped in the Merc at last year’s post-season Abu Dhabi Grand Prix test as well as 2020. He is currently the reigning Formula E Champion, taking the title for Mercedes last year alongside fellow Mercedes reserve, Stoffel Vandoorne. Again, De Vries is driving in Formula E sitting eighth in the standings with four races left.

    Nyck is replacing Lewis in first practice this weekend, as part of the allocated sessions for young drivers this year. So, we’re looking forward to seeing how he gets on. Our understanding of the W13 is growing with every lap and it’s encouraging to see that reflected in our development and results. While we were quicker in Austria, we still weren’t quick enough to challenge at the front. We need to keep chasing those final few tenths and bringing new developments to the cars, including this weekend in France. Paul Ricard is a very different track and challenge. It has smooth tarmac and a wide range of corner types, along with long straights. The aim will be to make further inroads on the gap to the front and hopefully be back on the podium.

    Toto Wolff, Mercedes Team Principle.

  • Mercedes want to cut one customer team

    Toto Wolff, has said Mercedes could drop one of their customer engine teams in the future due to the low profit margins.

    Mercedes currently supply to Aston Martin, McLaren and Williams with power units, which makes their engines the most used among the grid ahead of Ferrari whose power units are deployed by three teams.

    The budget cap in Formula 1 has begun to take hold of the teams and cost cutting measures have been taken or are starting to come into play as the affects are being felt.

    As a result of this, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff would prefer to keep their production costs down and letting a customer team go. But Wolff has not gave any indication on who he could be letting go…

    Unfortunately, the business of leasing engines is not compelling and interesting because the FIA have put in a certain limit you can charge to your customers in order to protect the smaller teams. I’d rather have six [customer cars], push the development further down the line and then make two engines fewer, because you need to produce two fewer plus two spares for every team. In an ideal world, I would maybe see us plus two [customers], so actually downsize a bit.

    Toto Wolff talking to Financial Times.

  • W13

    W13

    The final car launch of the week is completed! The reigning world champions have revealed the car that Lewis Hamilton and George Russell will be driving this season- the W13.

    Mercedes have won the constructor’s title for eight successive seasons but didn’t manage the drivers title last year as it came down to a last lap battle.

    Mercedes junior, Russell has been promoted to a race seat, replacing Valtteri Bottas after three impressive seasons at Williams. He will be joining 7 time world champion, Lewis Hamilton where he enters his 16th season in F1.

    The launch, saw the team be joined by the Mercedes juniors (apart from Paul Aron), in which they were asked questions and as well them being allowed to ask Lewis, George & Toto questions too.

    “It just takes you back to being a kid,” said Hamilton at the launch. “I think it’s always exciting watching, I mean with this new era of car, we’ve never seen such a drastic change, right? So it’s such a huge change in so many ways, that it’s just been really interesting seeing the designers and everyone coming together to find the best ways of creating a masterpiece.”

    “It feels incredible, obviously Lewis and I have driven so many laps in the simulator of this. We’ve seen all the drawings, we’ve had so many meetings and presentations about it, but suddenly seeing it all come together, seeing all of the men and women who have put so much hard work and grit into making this, and coming together here, I think it looks incredible. And I think the silver [coming] back, we’ve had an incredible livery with the black in the past couple of years – but the silver back on track I think is going to look incredible,” said Russell.

    My Opinion-

    What a beast! We all had a feeling it would be silver and we were right! First of all the silver looks amazing, it is good to have the Silver Arrows back and I can’t wait to see it on track! The car looks clean, but again as I have said previously it may be this new design of the car.

    The actual launch itself was brilliant, I want to take my hat of to Mercedes and say what a brilliant idea to have the young drivers in their programme their and the fact they got to be asked questions and them themselves ask the drivers and Toto questions too is brilliantly thought out. It does show that the team is here to stay and their constantly thinking about the future!

  • Teams junior drivers part 1

    Being a team in Formula One they are not just battling it out on track they are also looking for the next best thing to hopefully find the next future world champion.

    Mercedes Juniors-

    Andrea Kimi Antonelli, has been with the German team since 2019 when he was only 12 years old but CEO Toto Wolff had been keeping an eye on him some time before he signed for the team. He is the 2020/2021 OK European Champion, this year already he has took part in F4 UAE, where he scored two wins and two more podiums! He is most definitely one to look out for in the future…

    Paul Aron competed in Formula Regional European Championship last year with Prema he finished 3rd overall. He also tested with Formula 3 at the post-season test with Prema, so could potentially see him in F3 soon!

    Alex Powell, born in Miami in 2007 but is a native of Jamaica. He made his karting debut in 2015 and his managed to make a name for himself already. Looking on the last couple of years, Alex has enjoyed a successful 2019 campaign, driving for Energy Corse, which included winning the ROK Cup Superfinal (Mini ROK) and 24° South Garda Winter Cup (Mini ROK), finishing third in the WSK Super Master Series (60 Mini), third in the Italian Championship (60 Mini), fifth in WSK Euro Series (60 Mini) and ninth in the WSK Champions Cup (60 Mini). 2020 saw Alex take on various OK Junior categories in the karting world, including the WSK Champions Cup and WSK Super Master Series.

    Frederik Vesti, new to the Mercedes junior programme but most definitely causing a scene. In 2016 he competed in both German and Danish F4 Championships. He missed two events in the Danish Championship but still managed to finish 2nd. Vesti competed in the Formula Regional European Championship where he won the championship ahead of Enzo Fittipaldi. Vesti then done two years in Formula 3 with him finishing 4th both year. He is now going to race in Formula 2 for the 2022 season with ART Grand Prix, the team he was with in Formula 3 last year!

    Lastly, Yuanpu Cui. First drove a go-kart at the age of six, and joined the team last year off a positive season in 2020. Yuanpu’s started racing professionally in 2014 and by 2016 he had finished second in the Chinese Rotax series. Over the next few seasons, he began to expand his racing outside of China, competing in events all around the world. This included podium finishes in Italian National events, WSK Open Cup, WSK Final Cup, the ROK Cup Superfinal and WSK Euro Series in the 60 Mini and Mini ROK classes, across the 2018 and 2019 seasons. In 2020, he picked up a P2 position in the 31° Andrea Margutti Trophy in OK Junior, picked up victories and podiums in the WSK Champions Cup in 60 Mini and scored podiums in the WSK Super Master Series in 60 Mini. He also achieved a podium in the 2020 Florida Winter Tour in Mini ROK.

    Sauber Junior Team-

    Théo Pourchaire, they youngest driver ever to win an F2/GP2 race last year with ART GP, he will be returning to Formula 2 this year with ART GP again in hopes to try and fight for the title. Since being with the Sauber academy, he has won the ADAC Formula 4 Championship beating Dennis Haugher by seven points. Could we see these two fighting for the title this year?

    Christian Ho, is a 13 year old go-kart driver, who was born in Singapore. His half Chinese and half Korean but he is living in Italy. His currently competing in the Junior category with Sauber Junior Karting team.

    Miguel Costa, was born in 2009, he first started karting when he was 3 years old, since then he hasn’t looked back. In 2016 he became the Rock Cup Vice Champion, in 2017 he then went on to be FWT Rok, FWT Rotax and Rok Cup USA Vice Champion. This year he is competing in many karting championships!

    Tiziano Monza, was born in Singapore in 2009 but lives in Italy so he can race around the world. In 2020 he became the WSK Open Cup Vice Champion. Again this year, he is set to be competing in karting championships.

    Gustaw Wiśniewski, another karter added to the juniors. Has taken part in WSK series in Italy, as well as Silver medalist of Poland in Rotax Junior Max, Bronze medalist of Poland in Junior Rok as well as 2nd place in Rotax Max Challenge series.

    Juan Manuel Correa, a name most of us know well! He first joined the academy back in 2019 but then re-joined last year again. He made his racing come back last year with ART GP, he is set to do his second year this year returning with ART GP.

    McLaren Young Driver Programme-

    McLaren has had many of drivers through its young drivers program, most successful being 7 time champion, Lewis Hamilton. The most recent driver who graduated from the program was Lando Norris, who now drives for the team this led the British team to be left with no drivers from 2019 to 2021.

    In March 2021, McLaren announced Ugo Ugochukwu as apart of their programme. The American was crowned the FIA European Karting Champion and he has managed to secure many titles in his career already! In December it got announced that Ugo, will be competing in British F4 in 2022 with Carlin- he will be turning 15 on the eve of the championship!

    I will be splitting this in to two posts due to some teams having more drivers than others…

  • 18.02.22

    The fourth car date has been revealed, this time it being Mercedes. They will show the world the W13 on the 18th February, in an online event from Silverstone.

    This year we are due to see a new line-up, with Lewis Hamilton sticking with the team but the change comes within his team-mate, this year he is partnered up with Mercedes Junior, George Russell.

    The pair will be seeking to help the team go for a record of a ninth consecutive title this season, whilst Hamilton will be going for a record breaking eight.

    George has been apart of the Mercedes junior programme since 2017, he got the opportunity to then stand in for Lewis Hamilton at the Sakhir Grand Prix in 2020 where he qualified in P2 just missing out on pole position by 26 milliseconds. He then led the majority of the race until 20 laps to go with a mix up of pitstops/punctures which resulted him in finishing 9th where he scored his first ever Formula One points.

    When the W13 has its covers taken off it will be given a shakedown run around the circuit later on in the day.

  • Could Hamilton retire?

    Ever since, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the rumours have been flying about left, right and centre. But the main topic being- Could Lewis Hamilton retire?

    Nobody actually knows if he is going to or not except himself, after after everything which has gone on in the past week he may be possibly be thinking about it. Lewis led the majority of the Abu Dhabi GP and looked set to win, which meant he would get a record breaking 8th title, until the safety car and changes to lapped cars changed the top 2 around. Since then he has been quiet on social media- he didn’t do post season testing due to being knighted (not related to retirement), but the main thing people don’t understand is him not going to Paris for the FIA ceremony, he was then at Mercedes in the UK for Valtteri Bottas’ farewell the day after the ceremony.

    Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff threw Hamilton’s career into doubt this week, hinting the Formula 1 icon could retire. He said: “I would very much hope Lewis continues racing because he is the greatest driver of all time. As a racer his heart will say I need to continue because he’s at the peak of his game. But we have to overcome the pain that was caused upon him on Sunday. He is a man with clear values.”

    This isn’t the first time the Austrian has hinted at retirement for the Brit earlier this year they discussed it, he confirmed that before Lewis signed a new deal that they went over the topic.

    Now with this all coming over social media the past week after whats happened, its understandable if he would want to retire, Lewis outs everything into F1/Mercedes, he makes a change even when his not racing on track and his so well-known of course these rumours would come about!

    My Opinion-

    One word. No. I don’t see him retiring for a few years yet, his signed a two year deal with Merc, and his a team person his been so committed even when he didn’t win the 2016 drivers championship he has still carried on and came back to win the championship the year after.

    If anything I think this will fuel him, he will want to come back after the winter break jump straight back in the car and win both championships not just the Drivers, but the Constructors too. As for his social media break, its understandable its been such a tough season for all drivers and his no doubt upset what went down in the race so its fully justified.

  • Young Drivers Test 2021

    The Young Drivers Test, allows an opportunity for teams to field junior drivers to gain experience in F1 machinery, this takes place once a year and always once the season has ended. Lets take a look at who is driving for which team!

    Mercedes-

    Nyck de Vries will be in the silver arrows. This is no surprise to me, as his took part in it last year. Not only this, but Nyck is a test and reserve driver for Mercedes. The dutchman has driven in Formula E since 2020 with the Mercedes EQ Formula E Team and this year he became the first ever World Champion in Formula E.

    Red Bull-

    We have Formula 2 driver, Juri Vips driving for Red Bull in the YDT. Juri is apart of the Red Bull Junior Team, once again this isn’t Vips first time in the YDT, he drove for Red Bull last year too. Vips hasn’t got anything lined up for next year he could become Red Bull’s Test and reserve driver, as Alex Albon is going to Williams next year.

    Ferrari-

    Ferrari have two drivers doing the test for them, Robert Shwartzman who is apart of the Ferrari Driver Academy, and finished 2nd this year in Formula 2 Championship. As well as Antonio Fuoco. Fuoco done his first test with the Italian team back in 2015 and was also part of the Ferrari Driver Academy up until 2019, he was then promoted to Ferrari’s F1 simulator team, this line up for Ferrari is the same as last year.

    McLaren-

    The papaya team have Pato O’Ward in the car. Pato is not a stranger to McLaren as he races in IndyCar with the McLaren Arrows, and Zak Brown made a deal with the Mexican if he won in IndyCar he will get a chance to test the F1 car, so here we are! Pato is doing another year in Indy Car next year and it is said if he wins the championship there could be a possible move for him to F1 for McLaren!

    Alpine-

    Now, Alpine has the 2021 Formula Two Champion in their car for the Young Drivers Test. Oscar Piastri is apart of the Alpine Academy and has had an amazing career winning 3 titles back to back. However that didn’t secure Oscar a seat in F1 this year… Instead he is now Alpines test and reserve driver.

    Alpha Tauri-

    Another Formula 2 driver is amongst us! This time we have Liam Lawson who is driving for Alpha Tauri. Lawson is apart of the Red Bull Junior Team, he took part in both DTM and Formula 2 this year. DTM he finished 2nd, and F2 finished 9th overall, there is no news yet to see what he is doing next year but speculation is he will do another season in F2 which will be his second year if he did.

    Aston Martin-

    Aston Martin have chosen Nick Yelloly for the test, Nick is no stranger to the Silverstone based team as he has been their simulator driver for a few years now, he now gets to test the Aston Martin.

    Williams-

    Williams have decided to put their new Academy driver into the hot seat for the young drivers test. Logan Sargeant will be making an appearance for the British team, he has confirmed he will be racing in F2 next year with Carlin, whilst also being on stand-by helping out Williams when he can.

    Alfa Romeo-

    Alfa Romeo will be putting their new driver, Guanyu Zhou in for the YDT, as well as testing the prototype car on Wednesday. Zhou, finished 3rd in the Formula 2 Championship this year, and now he is graduating to Formula One.

    Haas-

    Robert Shwartzman will also be in the car for Haas. This wasn’t meant to be his first time in a Haas car, he was actually meant to run in the first practice session of the 2020 Abu Dhabi GP but did not appear on the entry list.

  • Round 22- Abu Dhabi Race

    To start firstly I just want to say what an amazing season we have had from all 20 drivers, lots of drama in all 22 races, and its been amazing to see! It’s truly one of the best seasons I have witnessed and I hope we can have more like this soon.

    We do however have some drivers leaving F1 today, Kimi retiring and Antonio Giovinazzi going to Formula E. We also have some driver changes, Bottas to Alfa Romeo, George to Mercedes. We also have the returning Alex Albon who will be joining Williams and we also have Guaynu Zhou who will be making a step up from Formula 2 to join Alfa Romeo.

    Wow, I have no clue what to say in the race we just watched… Just a note before hand I try and keep my blog neutral, so that I don’t favour a driver or a team and just go off pure predictions and how I feel at that time and whenever I state my opinion I make it clear, so thats what I am going to do now.

    MY OPINION-

    I don’t get how the FIA can make their own rules up during the race. Going against their own rule book is insane it doesn’t present itself well to Formula One fans in general. I think this is what Mercedes fans are most upset about, which I do get. The FIA states in the sporting regulations that:

    48.12 If the clerk of the course considers it safe to do so, and the message “LAPPED CARS MAY NOW OVERTAKE” has been sent to all Competitors via the official messaging system, any cars that have been lapped by the leader will be required to pass the cars on the lead lap and the safety car.
    This will only apply to cars that were lapped at the time they crossed the Line at the end of the lap during which they crossed the first Safety Car line for the second time after the safety car was deployed. Having overtaken the cars on the lead lap and the safety car these cars should then proceed around the track at an appropriate speed, without overtaking, and make every effort to take up position at the back of the line of cars behind the safety car. Whilst they are overtaking, and in order to ensure this may be carried out safely, the cars on the lead lap must always stay on the racing line unless deviating from it is unavoidable. Unless the clerk of the course considers the
    presence of the safety car is still necessary, once the last lapped car has passed the leader the safety car will return to the pits at the end of the following lap.
    If the clerk of the course considers track conditions are unsuitable for overtaking the message “OVERTAKING WILL NOT BE PERMITTED” will be sent to all Competitors via the official messaging system.

    In my opinion when cars are allowed to un-lap themselves its normally all the cars which are lapped and not the four in-between the two championship contenders. And I get why Mercedes are appealing it, because it clearly states above that lapped cars can overtake- but to make it even more confusing Masi decided that the lap cars would not over-take on the safety car and then decided a little while later they can!

    No-one wanted the championship to go this way, with it being taken to get looked at by the FIA, but rules are rules at the end of the day and I feel like Lewis should’ve won this race.

    The Race-

    Congratulations to Max Verstappen for being Champion, a hard season for both contenders but neither gave up, it saw Lewis coming home in 2nd and Carlos Sainz grabbing one more podium to end the year, he finished P3.

    The full top 10 are as follows: P1: Verstappen, P2: Hamilton, P3: Sainz, P4: Tsunoda, P5: Gasly, P6: Bottas, P7: Norris, P8: Alonso, P9: Ocon and P10: Leclerc.

    We had 5 DNF’s, first one being Kimi we didn’t want to see him retire on his last race but some things are just out of his control, the next being Russell with a gearbox issue which isn’t the way he wanted his final race with Williams to go.

    Giovinazzi was the next to DNF as he had a problem with his car too, Perez had to retire too due to a problem with his car. Then Latifi, crashed which caused the safety car to come out, thankfully Latifi was okay after the his crash.

    Lewis Hamilton got off the line just superbly starting P2 on the mediums made it think that Mercedes picked wrong as everyone else around Lewis was on softs, but he took the lead on the first lap! And led the majority of the race, with having stopped quite early on people started to doubt the 7 time world champ with tyres and him struggling towards the end.

    WOW, Yuki Tsunoda finishing P4! Making that his best ever finish!! What a way to finish his first year in F1, I cant wait to see how he does next year.

    The Championship-

    Sainz managed to grab P5 of both Norris and Leclerc, with him finishing on the podium which saw Ferrari clinch 3rd in the Constructors! Norris finished 6th ahead of Leclerc by ONE point.

    Mercedes won the constructors by 28 points, it helped having both Mercedes finish and Red Bull only having one car finish the race. Ferrari obviously clinched P3 with McLaren in P4 and Alpine coming home in 5th.

  • Round 21- Jeddah Race

    EPIC. CHAOTIC. BWOAH.

    Where do I even start with the race, we all knew the race would feature a safety car during the race after seeing the 3 F2 races this weekend, but I don’t think we expected what we all just saw!

    Lewis Hamilton takes win number 103, with Max Verstappen in P2 and Valtteri Bottas on a late charge to take the final podium place. Lewis also took fastest lap too.

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

    Esteban Ocon of France driving the Alpine A521 Renault during the F1 Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia at Jeddah Corniche Circuit on December 05, 2021 in...
    JEDDAH, SAUDI ARABIA – DECEMBER 05: Esteban Ocon of France driving the (31) Alpine A521 Renault during the F1 Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia at Jeddah Corniche Circuit on December 05, 2021 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)

    The first of the accidents during the race was Mick Schumacher who spun and hit the barrier at Turn 23. This brought out a safety car which many of the drivers had pitted, however this then turned into a red-flag which then gave Verstappen a free pit stop.

    We went onto a standing start which saw Lewis lead, but then Verstappen went wide and off track at the first chicane which saw him cutting across Hamilton who dropped to P3 behind Esteban Ocon. The racing didn’t last long as we had two separate incidents the first involving Charles Leclerc and Sergio Perez in which Perez’s race ended there with too much damage. The other incident involving Mazepin and Russell, which saw Nikita go into the back of the Williams car, this caused the second red flag of the race.

    After many radio messages back and forth from Mercedes to FIA or Red Bull to FIA, the restart was Ocon 1st, Hamilton 2nd, Verstappen 3rd. But Verstappen made a good move on his shiny new mediums.

    If you thought the drama was over after that, you are very wrong, we then had three VSC periods from Lap 28 to Lap 36. Lewis attempted a move on Lap 36 for the lead of the race but Max braked too late in which he run wide at Turn 2 and retained the lead. Max was instructed to give back P1 so on Lap 37 max slowed for Hamilton to get caught up in mixed messages and clip the rear of the Red Bull in which Lewis now had front wing damage.

    Whilst the drama was going on with Mercedes-FIA-RedBull, Lewis wanted to keep the fight on track in which on Lap 42 he was looking to get past the Dutchman but Verstappen again went wide . At this point the stewards gave Max a fixe second time penalty.

    Then the rest is history after Lewis managed to over take Max and build up a big enough gap so Max didn’t have chance to push and keep on fighting each other, but further down the field the drama was still going on.

    Valtteri Bottas was keeping the pressure on Esteban Ocon during the race so much so that Bottas beat him by a tenth of a second, literally securing P3 on the checkered line! Obviously gutting for Ocon but for me he deserves driver of the day, he was there where it mattered and stayed out of trouble and he was rewarded with a P4.

    A lovely race for Daniel Ricciardo today, after a disappointing number of races not scoring he managed to bring his car home in P5 and he fully deserved it! As well Gasly a nice strong finish in P6 brings a good set of points which he will be more than happy with.

    The Championship-

    Well, we all know what that has done to the championship now… Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen are equal in points going into the final race which hasn’t happened since 1974!

    Leclerc now moves up to P5 with a 4 point gap from Lando Norris, so i’m sure we will see an entertaining race next week for the battle for 5th position in the standings!

    Mercedes now have a gap of 28 points which separate them and Red Bull, this makes next weekend even more exciting with both Bottas and Perez needing to do there all so either of the teams can win the Constructors.

    Now onto next week for the final round of the 2021 Formula 1 Championship, we are back in Abu Dhabi at the newly changed Yas Marina Circuit, all drivers will need to get used to what has changed on the track.

  • Round 21- Jeddah Quali

    That is now qualifying over for today and what a qualifying it was! This circuit is something else and it shows with how close the cars get to the walls!

    It is a 1-2 for the Mercedes boys in Saudi Arabia, get in there boys!!! Lewis Hamilton takes pole position, with his team-mate next to him in second. Max Verstappen joins the pair in third position.

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

    Valtteri Bottas of Finland driving the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team Mercedes W12 during qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia at...
    JEDDAH, SAUDI ARABIA – DECEMBER 04: Valtteri Bottas of Finland driving the (77) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team Mercedes W12 during qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia at Jeddah Corniche Circuit on December 04, 2021 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

    Well lets start with the final lap from MV, he was doing an outstanding lap but he was very much pushing the limits and there was a couple of close calls with the wall during the lap until he got to the final corner… where he did indeed touch the wall quite harshly which ruined his chance of pole position. There could be a potential gearbox change which he already had a new one in this weekend but another new one means a penalty… So we will await and see if there is significant damage to his car.

    It really is not Aston Martin’s weekend, they have been somewhat off there normal pace and that showed even more so during qualifying when both of the cars qualified 17th and 18th.

    Yuki Tsunoda must really like new circuits, last time out in Qatar he qualified P8, and today it was again P8, either that or he is very happy with the car and puts it all together in qualifying for a good lap! His team-mate Pierre Gasly a good qualifying for him too, possibly a good race for both Alpha Tauri drivers tomorrow and score a good set amount of points?

    Now Carlos Sainz… What didn’t happen with him in Q2! He had a big moment on his first flying lap which saw his rear wing touch the wall, so he dived straight into the pits afterwards so his team could assess the amount of damage. Then on his second flying lap he went wide which again ruined his lap… Hence him qualifying P15, this could have a big impact on the Constructors now.

    Predictions-

    I am going to say Hamilton for the win, with Bottas in P2, the final podium place going to Perez, P4: Leclerc, and P5: Verstappen. With fastest lap going to Bottas.

    Hopefully we get a McLaren up there in the points, Norris seems to be enjoying this circuit quite a bit and he will more than likely be wanting to redeem himself after the awful triple header for him and the team.

    Times for tomorrow-

    Sunday 5th- Race: 17:30pm (GMT), 18:30pm (CET).

  • Round 20- Qatar Race

    Well, we have had another drama filled weekend, with Vertsappen being handed a 5 place grid penalty before the race as well as Bottas being handed a 3 place grid penalty.

    Our top 3 finishers for the first Qatar GP were: P1: Hamilton, P2: Verstappen and P3: Alonso. Hamilton made it win 102 this weekend and being the first to ever win at Qatar in F1. But the main talking news is Alonso returning to the podium after 7 years and he fully deserves it!

    F1 Grand Prix of Qatar : News Photo
    DOHA, QATAR – NOVEMBER 21: Third placed Fernando Alonso of Spain and Alpine F1 Team celebrates in parc ferme during the F1 Grand Prix of Qatar at Losail International Circuit on November 21, 2021 in Doha, Qatar. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)

    The full top 10 are- P1: Hamilton, P2: Verstappen, P3: ALonso, P4: Perez, P5: Ocon, P6: Stroll, P7: Sainz, P8: Leclerc, P9: Norris and P10: Vettel. With fastest lap going to Verstappen.

    On lap 33, it saw Bottas have a puncture as he fell from P3, he managed to get it back to the pits and comes out in P14. Which brings us to lap 54… Where we saw Norris who was in P4 have a puncture, Russell with a puncture and his team-mate Latifi, with the same problem. Norris and Russell managed to pit for new tyres however, Latifi couldn’t make it back to the pits so had to park near an entrance road which brought out a VSC!

    Amazing race for both Alpines! Obviously the main one being Fernando getting P3, this will help Alpine in the Constructor fight. Esteban done a really good drive too, which saw him start P9 and finish P5, good amount of points for him!

    Gutting day for McLaren, Lando had such a good qualifying and obviously with the two penalties he moved up to the second row. It looked like he secured P4 near the end of the race and then the puncture happened… He hasn’t had it easy the past few races, but i’m hoping he will take away the fact the car is good and has got pace and hopefully he has a clear head going into Saudi!

    Not quite sure what went on with Alpha Tauri, baring in mind Pierre started P2, they pitted him very early compared to everyone else and from then on he was no where, he finished 11th. Tsunoda finished P13, it looked quite promising for him to score points but obviously it didn’t go either Alpha Tauri’s way this weekend.

    The Championship-

    The gap just keeps on coming down now, 8 points between Verstappen and Hamilton. Making it an all very important two races left. Bottas’ P3 is under threat as Perez is only 13 points away, so that DNF for the Merc did not help at all!

    Norris just holds on to P5 with 153 points, with Charles Leclerc in P6 with 152 points, so it will be interesting battle between these two in the final two rounds.

    In the Constructors there is only a 5 point gap between Mercedes and Red Bull now, even more so now the fastest lap points are definitely going to come into play and there will be a lot of switching on who has it.

    Alpine now have a 25 point gap between them and Alpha Tauri. So AT really need both cars scoring good points in these next two if they want to try and get 5th back!

    Now we don’t have any racing next weekend but we will be back from the 3rd to 5th December and we will be in Saudi Arabia for the first ever Grand Prix there and go into round 21 out of 22.

  • Round 20- Qatar Quali

    Welll… Qualifying most definitely had some shock exits! Making this championship even more exciting…

    Lewis Hamilton, takes the first pole position on the Losail Circuit, carrying on his form from last weekend in Brazil! Max Verstappen joins Lewis on the front row and Bottas makes P3, showing that Mercedes are on top form!

    The full top 10 are- P1: Hamilton, P2: Verstappen, P3: Bottas, P4: Gasly, P5: Alonso, P6: Norris, P7: Sainz, P8: Tsunoda, P9: Ocon, P10: Vettel.

    DOHA, QATAR – NOVEMBER 20: Lando Norris of Great Britain driving the (4) McLaren F1 Team MCL35M Mercedes during qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Qatar at Losail International Circuit on November 20, 2021 in Doha, Qatar. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)

    Red Bull are most definitely on the back foot here, with both Mercedes sandwiching Max it could easily be a preview of the podium.

    Talking about RB and them being on the back foot, part of that is because Perez was out in Q2! Not a good weekend so far for him, it’ll be interesting to see what the strategy is for Red Bull considering no-one knows how this race is going to go.

    Charles Leclerc and Daniel Ricciardo also out in Q2, which most definitely shocked a few people. Leclerc has been having problems since yesterday, but it just seems like he isn’t comfortable in the car on this track.

    Russell into Q2, Mr Saturday is back, starting P15, which means free choice of tyres and could potentially score some points tomorrow.

    Both Alpha Tauri’s and Alpine in the top 10, the battles between the four cars will be interesting, especially with Alonso he always provides good and clean fights on track and Pierre being so consistent this year, who won’t give up a position.

    Predictions for tomorrow-

    I’m going to say for my top 5 are- P1: Hamilton, P2: Bottas, P3: Verstappen, P4: Gasly and P5: Sainz.

    Tomorrow should be an exciting race, no-one knows whether it’s going to be a 1 stop or 2 stop so I can imagine teams will be keeping an eye out for tyre degradation.

  • Mercedes appeal rejected

    It has been announced today, that the appeal Mercedes put in on Tuesday has been rejected by the Stewards.

    The stewards have heard from both Mercedes and Red Bull on Thursday in Qatar, then deliberated overnight before reaching a decision on Friday after the first free practice session.

    Their denial of requests means the full race result on Sunday still stands, and Verstappen is not at any risk of a penalty.

    After announcing their decision the stewards explained: “There will always be some angles of video footage, because of limits in both technology and bandwidth, that are unavailable at the time. Whether or not stewards’ decisions are considered to be right or wrong, and just as with referees’ decisions in soccer, it does not seem desirable to be able to review any or all such in‐race discretionary decisions up to two weeks after the fact and the stewards therefore seriously doubt that the intent of the Right of Review in the ISC [International Sporting Code] is to enable competitors to seek a review of such discretionary decisions that do not follow on from a formal inquiry by the stewards and do not result in a published document.”

    The verdict was made public when Toto Wolff and Christian Horner was in a press conference together. The Mercedes boss says: “Completely expected,” he said. “I think we wanted to trigger a discussion around it, because probably it will be a theme in the next few races. I think our objective is achieved; we didn’t really think it would go any further.”

    Horner added: “I think it’s obviously the right decision, because it would have opened Pandora’s Box regarding a whole bunch of other incidents that happened in that race. I think the most important thing now is to focus on this Grand Prix.”

  • Mercedes request review

    Mercedes have announced that they are seeking a ‘Right of Review’ of the incident which occured during the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, which saw Max Verstappen defend Lewis Hamilton and see both drivers run wide.

    But yesterday, the onboard footage of Max Verstappen got released, and Mercedes felt like with the new evidence which was unavailable to the stewards at the time of decision feel that it is enough for a right of review.

    The onboard of Max Verstappen.

    Hamilton started P10 on Sunday, and had been closing on Max for quite some time and finally he attepmted a pass on Lap 48 at Turn 4 but both drivers run wide when rejoining Max was still in the lead.

    The stewards noted the incident but decided soon afterward that no investigation was necessary, 11 laps later and Lewis went on to take the win. But with Mercedes taking to social media, yesterday afternoon they want to review the Turn 4 incident. The stewards will meet with representatives from the team to assess the new evidence.

    My Opinion-

    I’m not surprised by Mercedes wanting to do this, as a key video wasn’t available at the time of the incident they let it slide but now its come to surface they want to see if they can get something out of it. Which I think is fair enough considering that Lewis did get pushed of the track more than necessary.

    Let me know in the poll below if you think this is the right decision by Mercedes!

  • Round 19- Brazil Race

    Lewis Hamilton WINS the Sao Paulo Grand Prix and to take his 101 win! To think he started in P20 in the sprint race to finish 5th and then have a five place grid penalty to start 10th in todays race and go on to win, it for sure shows this championship is far from over and with only 3 races left now!

    Max Verstappen finishes in second place not giving up just yet, but its a good day for Mercedes as Valtteri Bottas finishes in 3rd place on the podium!

    The full top 10 are- P1: Hamilton, P2: Verstappen, P3: Bottas, P4: Perez, P5: Leclerc, P6: Sainz, P7: Gasly, P8: Ocon, P9: Alonso, P10: Norris. Perez took the fastest lap point away from Lewis and Mercedes on the last lap.

    Mercedes' British driver Lewis Hamilton , Red Bull's Dutch driver Max Verstappen and Mercedes' Finnish driver Valtteri Bottas celebrate with Mercedes...
    Mercedes’ British driver Lewis Hamilton (2-L), Red Bull’s Dutch driver Max Verstappen (L) and Mercedes’ Finnish driver Valtteri Bottas (R) celebrate with Mercedes strategic chief on the podium after obtaining the first, second and third positions respectively, in Brazil’s Formula One Sao Paulo Grand Prix at the Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace, or Interlagos racetrack, in Sao Paulo, on November 14, 2021. (Photo by NELSON ALMEIDA / AFP) (Photo by NELSON ALMEIDA/AFP via Getty Images)

    To start, what a race we had! We are so lucky to be witnessing such a close and exciting season, not just between Mercedes and Red Bull but also between the other teams on the track.

    First up, gutting day for McLaren in general, Lando had contact with Sainz on lap 1 which saw him drop all the way down to P20 as he had a puncture, he managed to scrape his way to 10th and finish there, as for Daniel he was having a good race until a PU problem which saw him having to retire… This is the second race in a row where McLaren have scored 1 point, can next week bring them something new?

    Ferrari then have had another strong weekend, both drivers finishing in top 10, looking more and more likely if they keep going this way they will have no problem securing P3 in the constructors!

    There was a collision between Tsunoda and Stroll which brought out a Safety Car, and also saw Tsunoda given a 10 second time penalty… Not a good weekend for him, hopefully next week will be a different story.

    The Championship-

    Now looking at the drivers standings, there is now only an 14 point gap between Max and Lewis… with 3 races to go, who will come out on top? Looking a little further down, Leclerc who is currently sitting in P6 is only 3 points away from P5 which Lando is currently sat at, these two brilliant drivers will want to give it everything now.

    Looking at the constructors, Mercedes now have an 11 point lead over Red Bull, both teams with two talented drivers its going to be a close one for sure! Ferrari have a hefty gap now in P3 making it 31.5 points between them and McLaren, the british based team will be needing something special to happen in the next 3 races if Ferrari carry on like this… Alpine and Alpha Tauri are sat on the same points 112, with Alpine ahead in 5th this is going to be a tight battle!

    Onto the next! We are racing at a completely new circuit next week to finish of our triple header and we are in Qatar for its first ever F1 World Championship race!

  • Round 19- Brazil Sprint

    Valtteri Bottas is on POLE position for the Sáo Paulo GP! He beats Max Verstappen to it after taking the lead on the first lap!

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

    We all knew Hamilton would be on a charge today, but to get up 15 places in 24 laps, the reigning world champion is on fire! It makes you think, what could he do with 71 laps tomorrow starting P10? Maybe a win is on the cards…

    Not a good start for Ricciardo or Gasly, Ricciardo finished out of the top 10 so he will most definitely be on the charge tomorrow to claw some points. Pierre started the Sprint in 4th and finished in 8th, even thought he will be starting the race in P7 he will be hoping to get a better start tomorrow.

    Amazing start for Sainz, finished P3 after starting 5th, he managed to hold of Perez too both of them starting on the 2nd row tomorrow so that will be entertaining to see the battle between the two.

    Predictions-

    I think Lewis will take the win, I think his hungry for it and he knows he can get it too. He wants to show everyone his still in this title fight by the moves he does on track!

    The rest of my top 5 predictions are- P2: Bottas, P3: Verstappen, P4: Norris and P5: Perez.

    Tomorrow will be a very entertaining race, 71 laps of overtaking and strategies taking place. If you wasn’t planning on watching the race I’d change your plans!

    5PM (GMT) lights go out, come back for all the details after the race!