Jordan's Track Talk

Tag: Qatar Grand Prix

  • F2 – Qatar – Round-Up

    Practice-

    Leonardo Fornaroli kicked off his Lusail weekend in strong form, setting the fastest time of the free practice session with a 1:38.656.
    The Invicta Racing driver completed that time with his final lap of the 45 minute outing, with Hitech TGR’s Dino Beganovic in second and Rodin Motorsport’s Alexander Dunne in third.

    After the first set of laps though, it was MP Motorsport’s Richard Verschoor who topped the timesheets with a 1:41.163, with Fornaroli in second, over two-tenths behind.

    Fornaroli then led the way with a 1:40.342, but it was close at the top, as Verschoor and Victor Martins went to within 0.080s off the Italian’s leading time.

    Luke Browning then took over at the top on a 1:39.701, while Verschoor made things even closer, going to within 0.009s of his title rival, as Fornaroli settled into P3.

    Browning lowered the time to beat on his next attempt with a 1:39.285, and this time he was followed by the Invicta pairing of Fornaroli and Roman Stanek.
    The Hitech TGR driver then ducked into the pitlane after that lap but the Championship leader continued on and went fastest on a 1:39.064.

    Browning had then been on a quicker lap but ran wide in the final sector. However, his teammate Beganovic continued to fly the Hitech flag going to P2, 0.044s off Fornaroli’s time.

    As the session entered its final stages, the drivers were still finding time on their hard tyres, with Dunne jumping up to third.
    Fornaroli continued to set the standard and improved to a 1:38.656 on his final lap, although Beganovic closed to the gap to 0.102s moment later.

    Qualifying-

    Oliver Goethe claimed his maiden FIA Formula 2 Aramco Pole Position Award, logging a 1:36.115 for MP Motorsport.

    Championship leader, Leonardo Fornaroli had been fastest for much of the qualifying session but was bested by just 0.040s to wind up second, ahead of ART Grand Prix’s Victor Martins in third.

    PREMA Racing’s Sebastian Montoya set the early pace before the Invicta Racing duo of Roman Stanek and then Fornaroli went quicker still. The pair were split by Jak Crawford, but it was the Championship leader that went P1 on a 1:37.850 after the first laps.

    Martins delivered a 1:37.512 to go to the top on his second attempt, until MP Motorsport teammates Oliver Goethe and Richard Verschoor went 1-2.

    Stanek put Invicta back on top with a 1:37.189, but teammate Fornaroli once again went quickest of all, this time laying down on a 1:36.996.
    Several drivers began to peel into the pitlane to bring their first run to a close, but Goethe went to within 0.075s of Fornaroli on his third flying lap, improving to P2.

    Into the final 10 minutes and everyone returned to the track with fresh Soft tyres and Dino Beganovic delivered a time good enough for provisional pole on a 1:36.826.

    Fornaroli was flying behind though, and he went back to P1 on a 1:36.307. Stanek cut the gap down to 0.214s in P2, while Goethe delivered the third-quickest time to go ahead of Beganovic.

    Goethe though found enough time to go in front of Fornaroli as both drivers improved on their final attempts, just 0.040s between them in favour of the MP driver as he set a 1:36.115.

    However, Goethe was handed a grid penalty following the conclusion of qualifying, as he impeded Martinius Stenshorne at Turn 6. It then promotes Leonardo Fornaroli for pole position in the feature race.

    Sprint Race-

    Duerksen got the best launch from the front row to take the lead from Verschoor, while Nikola Tsolov slotted into third place on the run to Turn 1.

    Championship leader, Leonardo Fornaroli went wheel-to-wheel with teammate Roman Stanek on the opening lap and attempted a move on the second tour, though was unable to clear his teammate as the Invicta Racing pair fought over seventh place.

    Onto Lap 4, and with DRS enabled, Verschoor had clawed his way back to within a second of Duerksen and he swept back into the lead at Turn 1.

    The MP title-hopeful was comfortably the fastest driver on track in the following laps, extending his advantage over the pack to two seconds.

    Further back, a wide moment at Turn 4 on Lap 12 lost Victory Martins P11 to Dino Beganovic and on the following tour he was passed by Gabriele Mini, dropping him to 13th.

    Lap 14 and a collision between TRIDENT teammate Laurens van Hoepen and James Wharton left the latter beached in the gravel at Turn 1. It brought out the Safety Car and wiped out race leader Verschoor’s four-second advantage.

    Stanek opted to pit, the only driver from inside the top 10 to fit the softs, while Arvid Lindblad, Oliver Goethe, John Bennett, Luke Browning, Cian Shields and Kush Maini also fitted the red-marked tyres. The DAMS Lucas Oil driver did however come to a halt before racing resumed, extending the Safety Car period.

    Racing resumed entering Lap 17 with Verschoor retaining his lead over Duerksen with seven laps to go. By Lap 20, the advantage was back out to 2.4s with Tsolov trailing by a further second in P3.

    A spin for Shields on the exit of Turn 5 brought out the Safety Car once more, bringing the pack back together and setting up a final lap shootout.
    Verschoor got things back underway and the fight for the podium places heading into Turn 1 was on.

    Tsolov was rounded by Villagomez, who ran wide ahead of Turn 2 but claimed the place, whilst the Bulgarian driver went wide himself and fell from third to 10th.

    The Dutch driver was untroubled though, taking the Lusail Sprint Race victory ahead of Duerksen and Villagomez after his final lap pass on Tsolov.

    Feature Race-

    It was a great start from Martins, taking the lead from Fornaroli going into Turn 1, while Dunne took P4 for Oliver Goethe at Turn 3.

    The Rodin driver was chasing Roman Stanek for third, but ran wide at the final corner. It allowed Goethe and Nikola Tsolov to close in, although Dunne was able to hold off the chasing pair.

    Martins then set the fastest lap and by the start of lap 3, he had built up a 1.7s gap to Fornaroli, with the Italian coming on the radio to complain of his soft tyres to his Invicta tam.

    Further behind them, Sebastian Montoya used the DRS to good effect to get ahead of Tsolov for P6 into Turn 1.
    Martins was 4.1s clear of Fornaroli by the start of Lap 5, and it looked like Invicta were struggling on the soft tyres, as Dunne overtook Stanek for P3 into Turn 1.

    The pit window opened up at the end of Lap 6 and Fornaroli, Dunne, Montoya, Verschoor and Duerksen came in to swap to the Hard tyres.

    The race leader was in on the next lap, joined in the pitlane by Goethe and Stanek. It was a slow stop for Martins, but he was still able to come back out ahead of Fornaroli and Dunne.

    At the front of the field, Dino Beganovic was the lead driver on the alternative strategy and by the end of Lap 10, he had built a 7.1s lead to Arvid Lindblad.

    But in the battle for the net race lead, Fornaroli and Dunne were closing in on Martins, the Championship leader 1.4s behind by the start of Lap 11.
    Verschoor was looking to fight his way through the field and having overtaken Villagomez, he bided his time before overtaking Stanek, putting him in a net P7.

    The Safety Car was then deployed on Lap 15, with Oliver Goethe having stopped on track, just as Dunne and Tsolov were given five-second time penalties for an unsafe release in the pitlane.

    Racing resumed on Lap 17 of 32, and Beganovic once again was showing good pace, and had built a 1.7s lead to teammate Luke Browning by the start of the next lap.

    Martins was now up to fifth, leading the drivers who had pitted, but he was struggling to overtake Laurens van Hoepen, allowing Fornaroli to close in on the Frenchman.

    Beganovic was 4.2s clear of Browning at the start of Lap 22, while Fornaroli was now 1.1s behind Martins, just as Lindblad on his Soft tyres, continued to reduce the gap.

    But by Lap 25, the option tyre runners were starting to struggle, as Dunne closed in on Lindblad for seventh on the road. However, the Campos Racing driver held him off at Turn 1.

    In the battle for the net race lead, Fornaroli was now within DRS range of Martins, while Dunne went to the inside of Lindblad at Turn 1 to take seventh place.

    After a superb stint, Beganovic was called in to fit the softs at the end of Lap 27, coming back out in P12. Browning and Bennett then pitted on Lap 29, leaving Martins and Fornaroli to fight for the race win.

    However the ART driver was 1.1s clear of Fornaroli, as Dunne closed in, looking to build the five second gap he needed to keep third ahead of Lindblad. But out in front, Martins had done enough to win the Feature Race, but the day belonged to Fornaroli, as he claimed the 2025 FIA Formula 2 title by finishing second.

  • R23 – Qatar

    Max Verstappen claimed a crucial victory in the Qatar Grand Prix from Oscar Piastri, with the title battle set to go down to the final round as Championship leader Lando Norris could only finish fourth.

    Verstappen’s unlikely win was courtesy of McLaren’s alternative strategy which came as a consequence of an early Safety car intervention and an enforced 25 lap maximum stint level on all Pirelli tyre sets.

    The Red Bull driver jumped Norris on the run to the first turn from P3 on the grid and shadowed poleman Piastri in the opening laps before a clash between Nico Hulkenberg and Pierre Gasly at Turn 1 several laps later turned the race on its head.

    While all drivers pitted for the first of two mandatory pit stops in the 57 lap race, both Piastri and Norris remained out on track, which ultimately put them behind Verstappen in the final order.

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

    What a result for Verstappen! This is what he needed to continue the championship fight and that he has done so, with a perfect strategy he absolutely stole the show and now the fight continues until the final race weekend!

    A disappointing result, for Piastri, a weekend where he had everything together but got done over in the race by strategy, horrible weekend for him, and now his behind in the championship fight.
    As for Norris, another bad result for McLaren, he lost out to Verstappen at the start and then a bad strategy aswell meant he could only do the best finish of P4.

    What a result for Carlos Sainz! P3 for the Williams driver, this confirmed their fifth place in the Constructors’ after a strong season so far! A brilliant drive from Sainz after qualifying really well.

    A decent result for Mercedes, P5 for Antonelli and P6 for Russell, not the best result for them but still very good points in the bag for them!

    P7 for Alonso, a decent points finish for the Spaniard, a pretty good weekend overall for the Aston Martin driver, it will be interesting to see how he does in the last race of the year!

    Another disappointing weekend for Ferrari, P8 for Leclerc and P12 for Hamilton after making up quite a few spots since his qualifying position. This isn’t the end of the season the Italian team would’ve wanted.

    This was an incredible race for us. We made the right call as a team to box under the Safety Car. That was smart. Of course, I’m super happy to win here and stay in the fight until the end. Incredible. I think [the pace] was a little bit offset because of it all, but for us I think it was a very strong race on a weekend where it was a little bit tough. We still won the race and that was the most important thing.
    Verstappen on the win.

  • R23 – Qatar Sprint Qualifying

    Oscar Piastri claimed a crucial pole position for the Qatar Sprint, beating George Russell and McLaren team mate Lando Norris to the top spot.

    The Australian set the pace when it mattered most in Friday’s SQ3, sitting at the top of the times after both his flying laps, with his final benchmark of 1m 20.055s leaving him just 0.032s clear of Mercedes’ Russell.

    Norris who holds a 24 point lead over Piastri and Max Verstappen ahead of the Qatar Grand Prix, which means he can claim a maiden Formula 1 title this weekend, finished two-tenths further back after running wide at the last corner on his final effort.

    The full top 10 are – Pole: Piastri, P2: Russell, P3: Norris, P4: Alosno, P5: Tsunoda, P6: Verstappen, P7: Antonelli, P8: Sainz, P9: Leclerc and P10: Albon.

    What a result for Piastri! Exactly what he would’ve wanted going into this weekend, this will give him the momentum to continue the weekend strongly.
    A very good result for his teammate, Norris in P3, they both did well to beat Verstappen.

    As for the Dutchman, he had been out-qualified by Tsunoda. The four time world champion qualified 6th and Tsunoda finished 5th. A decent result, but still a lot of work to do for Verstappen.

    A great result for Russell, P2 for the Mercedes man, as for his team mate 7th for Antonelli, not the best result for the Italian but still a good enough result to get some good points!

    P4 for Alonso! A great result for the Aston Martin driver, some good performances from Aston Martin over the past few race weekends!

    A day to forget for Ferrari, Leclerc qualified 9th and Hamilton 18th. A horrible result for Hamilton, a lot of work for the Brit to do, whereas for Leclerc still in a good position to make some moves and be rewarded with points.

    It’s been a good day, which is nice for a change. It’s been a day where things have clicked from the start and I think the Sprint Qualifying session went really well. I had a pretty big moment on my lap but it was just enough in the end so thanks to the team – it’s a great car and it’s looked really good this weekend so far. I’m pretty happy with that.
    Piastri on pole position.

  • R23 – Tyre Selection

    The Qatar Grand Prix is the penultimate race of the season and the last to be run to the Sprint format. It comes just one week on from Las Vegas, 13,000 kilometres as the crow flies from this week’s venue in Lusail.
    Both races and indeed the final one in Abu Dhabi, take place at night, but the weather could not be more different.

    Conditions were cold on track in the Nevadan desert, but in Qatar drivers will have to deal with heat and humidity similar to that experienced in Singapore.
    The Middle Eastern track is particularly demanding for the tyres and that has led to the introduction of an exceptional measure.

    The three hardest compounds in the Pirelli range have been selected for Doha. The C1 (Hard), C2 (Medium) and C3 (Soft) are the obvious choice at a track where tyres are subjected to energy levels similar to those experienced in Suzuka and indeed, these are the only compounds that have ever been run at the this Grand Prix.

    The majority of the corners at the Lusail track are high speed, which means the tyres have little time to recover and the section which works them the hardest is from turns 12 and 14. The track surface which is quite smooth has usually led to graining which contributes to producing a high wear rate on the tyres.

    The Lusail circuit was originally conceived as a motorcycle racing track, which is clear from its rather unique layout; fast and twisty with a straight that is over a kilometre in length.
    The circuit on the outskirts of Doha, presents the drivers, cars and tyres with some unusual challenges. It boasts 16 corners, ten of them right handers while its desert location means that sand often gets blown onto the track, inevitably influencing track evolution. In an effort to prevent this, there are several areas of artificial grass around the circuit.

    All drivers started the Qatar Grand Prix on the Medium tyre with the exception of Nico Hulkenberg who opted for Hards. The one-stop strategy proved the most popular, with drivers looking to extend the first stint on the yellow-banded tyre, managing to make it last well past the half race distance.

    23-QT25-Preview-EN

  • F2 – RND 13 Day 2 & 3

    Day 2-

    Pole sitter Bearman covered off Hadjar at light out as the Championship challenger settled into P2 ahead of compatriot Victor Martins, who launched his way into the top three from seventh on the grid.

    With the medium compound fitted, Hadjar was hustling Bearman around the opening two laps and he seized the lead at Turn 10 to take top spot on the second lap.

    The Campos driver set off into the distance, leading by 3.5s over Bearman by Lap 5 while Martins followed a further two seconds adrift on the Brit and with a DRS train in his mirrors.

    Gabriel Bortoleto moved himself up to seventh with a pass on Oliver Goethe just before the MP driver was forced into retirement with an issue.
    With his car stationary in the second sector, a Virtual Safety Car was called upon to recover the stricken MP.

    The VSC was withdrawn on lap 7, and the battle for third was incredibly close. With Martins also running the Medium tyres, he came under pressure from Crawford as the yellow marked rubber began to fade.

    Bearman took four tenths out of Hadjar on Lap 9 as the race leader also began to struggle with his tyres despite running in clear air.

    Behind them, Martins and Crawford’s fight for third continued and the American looked to have the move done, but the ART driver defended hard and held onto the place.
    Their squabbling allowed Richard Verschoor, Paul Aron, Gabriel Bortoleto and Dino Beganovic to join their fight in the points positions.

    Bearman continued to work away at Hadjar’s advantage and broke into DRS range on lap 17 while Crawford finally got a move done on Martins.
    Verschoor was through on the ART car to take fourth place, while Bortoleto attempted to round Aron at Turn 1, but he ran out of road and had to run through the gravel.

    After getting to within half a second in the final sector, Bearman had the sliptsream he needed to attempt a pass and he dived to the inside of Hadjar to take the lead on Lap 21.

    The Frenchman’s night was made worse immediately, as he dropped to fourth with a spin at Turn 4.
    Contact between Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Kush Maini brought out a late race Safety Car as both were left stricken on the side of the track.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Bearman, P2: Crawford, P3: Verschoor, P4: Hadjar, P5: Bortoleto, P6: Maloney, P7: Aron, P8: Durksen, P9: Martins and P10: Beganovic.

    Day 3-

    It was a great start from Bortoleto who got ahead of pole-sitter Aron off the line, while debutant Dino Beganovic came out on top in the Turn 1 battle for third with Victor Martins.

    The race settled down early on until Kush Maini had a difficult start to Lap 4, dropping from P7 to P11 in the space of a few corners.

    Back at the front the top two were separated by 1.2s at the start of Lap 6. They had created a gap of over three seconds to Beganovic in third.

    But Beganovic’s teammate Jak Crawford was the first of the option tyre runners to pit from sixth. The Swede followed him in a lap later as did Aron, Martins, Verschoor and Antonelli.

    However, a VSC was soon deployed with Antonelli in the gravel in the first sector. The Italian driver complained of a broken steering wheel after having collided with Verschoor in the pitlane.
    With his car stranded, a full Safety Car was deployed, allowing Bortoleto to pit and retain the net race lead on Lap 9, but was soon given a five second penalty for failing to follow the Race Director’s instructions relating to crossing the line at pit entry.

    Racing returned on Lap 13 of 32, as Duerksen challenged Bearman for the lead, although the Brit was able to keep the position.

    However, the Safety Car was back out after Crawford and Rafael Villagomez collided at Turn 6. The former was forced to retire with a suspension issue, while the latter was stationary on track.

    The drama resumed on lap 17 as Bearman went wide at the final corner to give Duerksen the lead. The PREMA driver managed to stay within track limits, making Duerksen’s overtake before the start/finish line against the rules.

    After the Safety Car interventions, the race was run to time, and with less than 13 minutes to go, Bearman was now over four second clear out in front.

    Duerksen was now back up to second ahead of Maini, who pitted at the end of the lap, allowing Bortoleto to move up to third on the road.
    The Brazilian then got ahead of Duerksen after a multi-lap battle with just over five minutes left in the race, as Aron followed him through a lap later and Hadjar closed in.

    With under three minutes to go, Bearman and Duerksen pitted, giving Bortoleto the lead on track with four seconds separating him and his closest title rival Hadjar in third,

    Despite pushing on the last lap, Bortoleto could not create the gap needed across the line, giving Aron the victory and Hadjar second as the Brazilian dropped third.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Aron, P2: Hadjar, P3: Bortoleto, P4: Goethe, P5: Beganovic, P6: Mansell, P7: Cordeel, P8: Bennett, P9: Maloney and P10: Miyata.

  • F1 Academy – RND 6 Day 2 & 3

    Day 2-
    Qualifying-

    Mercedes backed Doriane Pin secured double pole in qualifying, meaning she will start first in both races across the penultimate 2024 F1 Academy weekend.

    Alongside her on both front rows will be her PREMA Racing teammate, Ferrari’s Maya Weug, with Alpine’s Abbi Pulling have to settle for third across the two events as she chases down the Drivers’ title.

    After a delayed start to the session due to barrier repairs from an earlier event, Qualifying got underway with just 23 minutes available.

    Pin who was quickest in both Free Practice sessions on Friday, set the first representative time of the session to go top of the timesheets with a 1:55.998.
    However, it didn’t take long for Weug to beat that with a 1:55.779 with the two PREMA teammates going back and forth with the fastest times.

    As Pin found herself quickest once again, Standings’ leader Pulling tried to add to her tally of seven pole positions this season.

    Several drivers found themselves testing the limits of the circuit layout, with the likes of Haas’ Chloe Chambers driving through the gravel traps, Bianca Bustamante losing the rear of her McLaren into Turns 13 and 14 and Block experienced a spin.

    However in the end it was Pin who finished on top as she set a blistering final lap of 1:55.267, going purple in the first sector and improving on her own best time.

    Race 1-

    Abbi Pulling has secured the 2024 F1 Academy title in Qatar, despite Mercedes’ Doriane Pin claiming a dominant victory from pole position in Race 1.

    Pin had been unstoppable so far this weekend, topping every session before delivering a brilliant win in the desert in an attempt to keep her own title hopes alive.
    However, it wasn’t enough to stop Pulling from claiming the Drivers’ title with the Briton’s second place putting it out of mathematical reach.

    Pole-sitter Pin managed to hold her lead over the pack behind on the approach into Turn 1. Behind her, there was a brilliant battle for second place unfolding between Maya Weug and Pulling, as the Alpine racer managed to find a space past.

    Hamda Al Qubaisi was also on a charge at the start and made up a position from fifth, while F1 Academy Wild Card Alisha Palmowski also moved up a spot on her race debut.

    By the start of the third lap, Pin had pulled out a 1.5s gap to Pulling and continued to extend her lead lap by lap, whilst Weug dropped further off the Brit’s tail in third.

    Bustamante had an eventful outing with the McLaren driver finding the gravel on multiple occasions during the race, including at Turn 12 at the start with two big snaps of oversteer.
    She would also bring out some brief yellow flags during the final few laps as she spun out after getting her wheels in the gravel between Turn 4 and 5.

    Meanwhile attentions turned to the front as the race entered its final laps. “You have a four second gap behind so just bring it home” Pulling was told by her Rodin Motorsport team, as Pin drove off into the distance.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Pin, P2: Pulling, P3: Weug, P4: H Al Qubaisi, P5: Palmowski, P6: Block, P7: Edgar, P8: Marti, P9: Nobels and P10: De Heus.

    Day 3-

    Due to extended barrier repairs at the Lusail International Circuit, the race was cancelled.

    As a result, no points will be awarded for the race. However, Doriane Pin will receive the two points for pole position.

  • RW 23 – Qatar

    Max Verstappen took a masterful victory in a hugely eventful Qatar Grand Prix, a race which featured three Safety car appearances, numerous incidents and a few penalties…

    Having lost pole position following a one-place grid penalty for an incident in qualifying, Verstappen looked to be in fighting mode from the start, the Dutchman won the battle for the lead against Russell and Norris into Turn 1.

    It was not a straightforward drive from there, with the Safety Car appearing on the first lap after Franco Colapinto and Esteban Ocon were both casualties in an incident with Nico Hulkenberg.

    This proved to be the first of three Safety Car outings during the 57 lap encounter – and while the second restart saw Norris run close to Verstappen in a fight for the lead, the world champion ultimately held on and remained in the position through to the chequered flag.

    Norris meanwhile, saw what looked to be a certain podium result slip away after being handed a 10 second stop/go penalty for failing to slow under yellow flags, dropping him down the field and leaving him with a battle on his hands to grab some points.

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

    What a lovely result for Max! Especially after his penalty which saw him loose pole position which he did seem like it was unfair, but he soon stopped people talking with a great drive to the flag.
    However for his teammate, Sergio Perez, found himself out of the running after suffering a spin he done all on his own…

    A really good result for Leclerc, P2! This will help with his battle for second in the Drivers’ championship and 2nd in the Constructors’. Carlos done quite well as well, considering he was one of the drivers who had a puncture due to debris on track. The Constructors’ will be decided next race as Ferrari can still catch up.

    A decent race for Piastri! P3 is good, exactly what the team would’ve wanted from him at the weekend.
    A bit of a downer for Norris, who looked like he was going to bring a really good battle for the win if not the podium at least until he had the stop/go penalty for failing to slow under yellow flags. But he managed to claw it somewhat back for a point.

    A decent result for Russell, he didn’t have the best start as he lost a few positions and then after that he was put on the Hard tyre and it just wasn’t the best tyre for the Mercedes (which we have seen before) however he managed to pull it back to P4.
    Not the best race for Hamilton, a puncture, a penalty and then just a bad strategy with tyres. He will be ready to move on to the last race of the season which is his last race as a Mercedes driver.

    A very good result for Gasly!! P5 wow, this has helped Alpine hop back up the Constructors’ which will make this last race weekend a good one!
    Ocon was in the collision in the first lap, which saw him DNF, which is a shame as it seemed like the track actually suited the Alpine car, so he could’ve been on for some points.

    A little mention for Zhou Guanyu for scoring his first points of the season and Kick Saubers! Which they waited for quite a while to get this season.
    Also a little mention for Alonso back in the points for the Spanish driver, and also points for Magnussen who finished P9!

    Now, we head to the last race of the season which is of course Abu Dhabi where the Constructors will be decided and P2 in the Drivers’ Championship!

  • F2 – RND 13 Day 1

    Free Practice 1-

    Paul Aron was in impressive form in Formula 2’s first session at the Lusail International Circuit after finishing at the top of the Practice leaderboard.

    The Hitech Pulse-Eight driver was in eye catching form throughout as he ended up 0.642s clear of Invicta Racing’s Gabriel Bortoleto. MP Motorsport’s Richard Verschoor rounded out the top three.

    However, it was ART Grand Prix driver, Victor Martins that led the way early on, going to the top of the leaderbaord on a 1:43.018.

    But as the first set of laps were being completed, the Virtual Safety Car was signalled after DAMS’ debutant Dino Beganovic stopped on track with an issue.

    Action then resumed with 33 minutes left on the clock as the drivers started to return to track for their second flying laps it was Championship leader, Bortoleto that went fastest with a 1:40.366.

    The times continued to drop as the track ramped up but this time it was Aron who was quickest with a 1:39.236 putting him three-tenths clear of Bortoleto as Martins once again ended up in P3.

    Aron went even quicker on his next two attempts, first moving to a 1:38.926 before going over nine tenths fastest on his next lap to drop the benchmark to 1:38.024.

    However, there was 17 minutes left on the clock when the drivers were forced to return to the pit lane after ART’s Luke Browning beached his car in the gravel at Turn 9 bringing out the Red Flags.

    The green flag was waved with under nine minutes left leading to a flurry of activity in the pit lane as the drivers came out for their final laps of the sessions.

    Qualifying-

    Paul Aron made it a Friday weep, topping Qualifying for Hitech Pulse-Eight in impressive fashion. The Estonian driver went to the top with his first flying lap and couldn’t be dethroned.

    Championship leader, Bortoleto wounded up second, 0.3s down on the 1:35.115 of Aron, while Victor Martins rounded out the top three.

    With the early laps of the session, PREMA Racing’s Oliver Bearman put himself to the top with a 1:38.065, 0.125s quicker than familiar foe Martins.

    The track evolution continued to be rapid and on the next go around, Bortoleto set the time to beat with a 1:36.914. Bearman, Martins and then Aron bettered his time, the Hitech driver quickest again on a 1:36.614.

    While Bearman and Aron opted to pit, Bortoleto continued to do a third push lap, and he set a 1:36.586 to take over at the halfway stage with direct title rival Hadjar in 13th.

    With 12 minutes to go, drivers returned to the track with fresh Mediums fitted, but the first of the final attempts came with seven minutes left on the clock.

    Aron lowered the time to beat a 1:36.088 with an impressive final sector, while Bortoleto filtered through 0.3s down on that effort in P2.

    Inside the final five minutes and the track ramped up once more, and Richard Verschoor lifted himself into P1, but Aron had yet another answer for his rivals.
    Bortoleto responded and closed the gap down once more but was 0.023s down in second position.

    The full top 10 are- Pole: Aron, P2: Bortoleto, P3: Martins, P4: Beganovic, P5: Verschoor, P6: Crawford, P7: Maini, P8: Goethe, P9: Hadjar and P10: Bearman.

  • F1 Academy – RND 6 Day 1

    Free Practice 1-

    Doriane Pin’s dream of keeping her title hopes alive got off to an ideal start as the PREMA Racing star topped the first practice session around Lusail.

    Abbi Pulling of Rodin Motorsport was close behind in second, as the Alpine driver tries to secure the Drivers’ title this race weekend.

    Aurelia Nobels in her ART Grand Prix machine was the first to hit the track, but it wasn’t long before she was joined on track by the MP Motorsport duo of Emely De Heus and Amna Al Qubaisi.

    It was a slow start to the session for Standings’ leader Pulling, who had an issue with her car’s starter motor. The Brit spent the first part of the session in the pit lane but got out on track with just under 20 minutes of the session to go.

    Rodin Motorsport’s Jess Edgar looked comfortable around the Lusail circuit as she went top of the timesheets early and continued to improve over the practice session.
    Hamda Al Qubaisi tried her best to knock her off the top spot, but despite going purple in the first and second sectors, was unable to beat the 1:57.592s benchmark set by Edgar.

    With the track improving, Doriane Pin of PREMA Racing put her Mercedes to the top with a time of 1:56.654s. This would be he quickest time of the session with Pulling getting close to her title rival.

    Free Practice 2-

    Doriane Pin made it two-for-two in the second Free Practice in Lusail, edging ahead of title rival Abbi Pulling at the chequered flag.

    It was a closely-fought session, with the top three separated by only 0.142s as Wild Card driver Alisha Palmowski made her mark in third.

    Driving under the floodlights around the Lusail International Circuit, the field had their eyes on preparing for both tomorrow afternoon’s Qualifying and their first-ever night race.

    Hamda Al Qubaisi was the first to get a time on the board, clocking a 1:58.348 as the initial benchmark. Setting the field’s quickest time yet in Qatar, Standings leader Pulling went top on a 1:56.453, whilst Chloe Chambers slotted into second in the Haas-liveried car.

    The Brit continued to lower the time to beat to a 1:56.038, before Maya Weug eclipsed her effort by 0.019s. Pulling quickly regained the top spot on a 1:55.785, going two tenths clear of the Ferrari driver as Palmowski climbed into the top three.

    Less than seven minutes were left on the clock as the fight for P1 ramped up. Block seized the top spot on a 1:55.517, only for the Williams driver to be immediately beaten by Palmowski’s 1:55.477.

    Pin then went fastest of all on a 1:55.043, whilst Pulling kept in close range of the Mercedes driver, sitting in just six hundredths adrift.
    Entering their final attempts, Palmowski staked her claim on the quickest effort of the day, becoming the first driver to break into the 1:54s and putting her 0.107s ahead of Pin.

    The top spot then shifted into Pin’s hands on a 1:54.914 until Pulling wrestled it away by 0.019s. It appeared to be job done, but Pin wasn’t finished just yet and snatched the fastest lap away from the Alpine driver with a 1:54.794.

  • RW 23 – Tyre Selection

    Formula 1 now heads to Qatar after Max Verstappen won the Drivers’ title in Las Vegas for a fourth consecutive year, however three teams are still in with a chance to claim the Constructors’ title as there is still 103 points on the table.

    The last back-to-back of the longest ever Formula 1 season gets underway in Qatar, the sixth Grand Prix weekend to run the Sprint format this season.

    An eleven hour time difference separate Doha from Las Vegas. They are both night races, held on the edge of large deserts, but that’s where the similarities end.

    When it comes to the tyres to be used Pirelli have picked C3 (Soft), C2 (Medium), C1 (Hard). With the Lusail track, the tyres are subjected to energy levels comparable to those at Suzuka and Silverstone so the hardest of compounds will be used.

    This is the third edition of the Qatar Grand Prix, the two previous events having been held in 2021 and 2023.
    Last year the weekend was affected by a decision taken by the FIA, imposing a maximum of 18 on the number of laps that one set of tyres could complete in the race, which led to all the driver making three pit stops.

    Over the past few months, the FIA and Pirelli have worked together to prepare for this Grand Prix to ensure that what happened last year will not be repeated.
    The pyramid-shaped kerbs have had their tips rounded off at seven of the track’s 16 corners.

    It’s hard to avoid the high temperature emanating from the Lusail track which was resurfaced in time for last year’s Grand Prix, to the extent that graining could be a feature.
    This could have a significant impact on race strategy with the tyres possibly suffering from significant thermal degradation.

  • AIX Racing confirm Shields for rest of season

    AIX Racing have confirmed that Cian Shields will see out the rest of the Formula 2 season with the team, replacing Niels Koolen for the Lusail and Yas Marina rounds.

    Shields steps up to F2 after a single season in Formula 3 where he achieved a best result of 14th at the Barcelona Sprint Race.

    Prior to that, the 19 year old finished as the runner up in the 2023 Euroformula Open Championship thanks to 10 podiums which included four wins.

    He is now set to step up to Formula 2 for the final two rounds of the season with AIX, an opportunity he is delighted to be getting.

    I’m super excited to be joining AIX Racing for the final two rounds of the FIA Formula 2 Championship in Qatar and Abu Dhabi. I’m looking forward to this fantastic opportunity and ready to make an impact with the team, giving it everything in these last races.
    Shields on the news.

  • Alisha Palmowski confirmed as Wild Card

    Alisha Palmowski will line up on the F1 Academy grid as the Wild Card entry for Round 6 of the 2024 season in Qatar.

    The British racer will take to the track at the Lusail International Circuit off the back of a successful debut season in single-seaters.

    Competing in the 2024 GB4 Championship, the 18 year old clinched the Vice Champion honours with three wins, two pole positions and 11 podiums – more than any other driver in the field.

    Palmowski will be in action in the number 6 F1 Academy Discover Your Drive – liveried car, operated by PREMA Racing, to highlight the success of the global programme which aims to increase the talent pool of young women entering motorsport.

    So far, four Wild Cards have featured on an F1 Academy grid – Reema Juffali, Courtney Crone, Nina Gademan and Ella Lloyd, with the drivers gaining valuable experience and exposure from the series’ global platform.

    I’m very excited to be the Wild Card Entry in Qatar, it’s an incredible opportunity and one I never could have dreamt of 12 months ago. This will be my first race outside of the UK, and for it be on the F1 ACADEMY grid as a support series to Formula 1 is a dream come true. I’d like to say a huge thank you to the team at F1 ACADEMY, and of course Susie Wolff, for giving me this opportunity to learn and hopefully secure a seat on the grid for next year.
    Palmowski on her F1 Academy debut.

    Our global F1 ACADEMY DISCOVER YOUR DRIVE programme identifies, supports and nurtures future talent, both on and off track. On track, the programme provides opportunities for talented young drivers to develop their skills and performance, as well as a platform to showcase their potential on an international stage. We’re delighted to welcome Alisha as our Round 6 Wild Card, and we look forward to seeing her in action in the F1 ACADEMY DISCOVER YOUR DRIVE livery.
    Katie Denver, F1 Academy Driver Development Lead.

  • RND 18 – Qatar Grand Prix

    Before the race had even started we had drama, it was decided in plenty of time that the tyres had a mandatory limit of 18 laps per set due to safety reasons which were spotted on Friday during practice.

    Not only this we also saw Sergio Perez having to start at the pit lane, due to Red Bull changing several power unit components and making significant repairs.
    Just under an hour before lights out, there was more drama as Carlos Sainz was confirmed not to be taking part in the race due to a fuel system issue developing on his car.

    Now, onto the race, Max Verstappen made it another win, his first of being a triple world champion! Oscar Piastri claimed P2 making it his second podium in a row, and teammate, Lando Norris grabbed the final podium spot.

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

    Now first of all a big congratulations to Max and Red Bull for another championship in the bag! I think today was the perfect out come for Max to just win the race and control it!
    As for his teammate, he had another shocker due to getting time penalties after track limits violations.

    Another great result for McLaren! Wow, if you said to me at the beginning of the season that they will be getting double podiums now, I’d be laughing but they are which is great news for the team.

    Now onto the Mercedes duo, well they gave us a bit of entertainment at the beginning of the race, Lewis was overtaking George and Max on Lap 1 but as he was going past his teammate they touched which saw Lewis get stuck in the gravel and could not continue and George went down to the bottom of the grid.

    A good result for Bottas and Zhou, a double points finish just what the team needed! We also so Zhou do some lovely defending from Perez early on in the race which was crucial to him getting these points.

    Logan Sargeant also retired from the race but not due to the car/ crashing it was actually because he felt so unwell he had to retire, to be honest I take my hat off to him and the rest of the drivers, so many were feeling unwell and driving in that heat saw them struggle to get out of the car and were feeling faint afterwards.

    Now we have a little wait till the next Grand Prix, which is the weekend of 20th – 22nd October, where we head to the United States, which is another Sprint weekend and we could possibly see Daniel Ricciardo return…

  • RND 18 – Qatar Qualifying

    Well, qualifying wasn’t as easy for some drivers, with two drivers from two top teams out in Q2 and lap times being deleted effecting the top 10 results also!

    Max Verstappen took his 10th pole position of the season, with George Russell joining him on the front row and his teammate, Lewis Hamilton rounding out the top three.

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

    Amazing result from both Mercedes, and right next to each other aswell, I can see them wanting to go for a double podium on Sunday, but they have Fernando Alonso right on their tails so they’ve got to be wary.

    Not a very good result for Perez who is starting 13th, unable to get into Q3 again and joining him is Carlos Sainz who starts just ahead in 12th, not a good day for either driver, they’ve both got some work to do tomorrow.

    Both Alpines have done well to get into the top 10, I know they did well here two years ago, but a lot can change in two years as we know. Hopefully they can get some big points in the bag and see if they can bring the fight to the McLaren’s!

    Talking of McLaren’s, not the best qualifying session due to both drivers having lap times deleted, Lando was due to start P2 but now starts P10 and Oscar was due to start 3rd and now starts 6th. Its not that big of a deal, and with the car they’ve got they should hopefully be able to get through the grid easier.

    Also a little shout out to Valtteri Bottas, P9. Just what he needed, and he will be hoping for a points finish as he is only on 6 points so far this season and his team is on 10 points, just two away from Haas in P8.

    Predictions for Sprint-

    My top five for the Sprint race is: P1: Verstappen, P2: Hamilton, P3: Norris, P4: Alonso and P5: Piastri.

    I feel like we will get a little bit of a crazy race this weekend especially in the sprint, as for some drivers this is the perfect place to score some points.

  • Qatar Grand Prix

    We are back in Qatar this weekend after a break and the Sprint is also back in action this weekend!

    This weekend Max Verstappen can take his 3rd World Championship. But only if Perez finishes fourth or lower in the sprint race, regardless of where the Dutchman finishes.

    Seeing as the Constructor’s have been sorted already, we look towards the fight for P2 in the championship, where four teams fight for the spot.
    Mercedes is currently in 2nd on 305 points, Ferrari is in third on 285 points, Aston Martin in fourth with 221 points and McLaren in fifth on 172 points…

    Who needs to shine?

    Sergio Perez will be wanting a better weekend, as last time out in Japan he had a DNF due to damage on is Red Bull from causing collisions, the Mexican will be hoping for a better weekend this time out in Qatar especially because there is a Sprint aswell.

    The Williams duo will be wanting a better weekend too, both having DNF’s last time out, they will want to improve so they can get some more points in the Constructor’s and make a bigger gap.

    Lance Stroll will be hoping to get some more points on the board, especially because he is in 10th in the drivers standings, and his being closely followed with Gasly in 11th and Ocon in 12th.

    Times for the weekend-

    Friday 6th-

    • Free Practice 1 – 14:30pm – 15:30pm (BST)
    • Qualifying – 18:00pm – 19:00pm

    Saturday 7th-

    • Sprint Shootout – 14:00pm – 14:44pm
    • Sprint – 18:30pm – 19:30pm

    Sunday 8th-

    • Race – 18:00pm

    Qualifying Predictions-

    My top five predictions are- Pole: Verstappen, P2: Norris, P3: Hamilton, P4: Russell and P5: Perez.

    As we have only had one race here a few years ago back in 2021, so teams will be looking at getting a lot of work done in the first and only free practice session of the weekend plus we have rookie drivers who have never driven here before also.

    So it could make for an interesting weekend, especially as we are getting closer to the end of the season which means we start seeing engine penalties taking an effect…

  • Qatar Tyre Selection

    The tyres for this weekend’s Grand Prix has been chosen, ahead of the Qatar Grand Prix where qualifying returns to Friday!

    The chosen compounds are: C1 (Hard), C2 (Medium), C3 (Soft), this is the same as the previous race in Japan.

    As well as new asphalt, there is also new infrastructure at Losail. The pit garages, originally designed for MotoGP have been enlarged and increased in number. There is also a new race control facility and media centre.

    The only Qatar Grand Prix held so far was won by Lewis Hamilton. The Mercedes driver, who started from pole won ahead of Max Verstappen (who set the fastest lap) and Fernando Alonso who was driving for Alpine at the time.

    A wide range of strategies was seen two years ago. Half the drivers started on Softs with the other half on Mediums, while the number of pit stops varied from one to three. Hamilton won with a two-stopper, completing two initial stints on the medium tyre before a final stint on the Hard tyre.

    Although some green spaces were specifically built around the circuit, sand often blows onto the surface from the surrounding desert. This makes track evolution another key factor, which will be accentuated by the new asphalt.

    Ambient temperatures are high in Qatar at this time of year, peaking beyond 40°C during the week leading up to the race. But the later time of the sessions compared to 2021 should lead to a wider temperature range than was seen two years ago.

    Formula 1 now returns to Qatar, two years after its debut there in 2021. But in many ways, it’s another new beginning, as the cars are now very different to the ones we saw a couple of years ago and the Losail circuit has been completely resurfaced, with modified kerbs as well. On paper, the track’s main features remain the same – with a main straight just over a kilometre long and 16 corners – but it’s clear that the changes made over the last two years mean that the data collected from the first grand prix is only relatively useful.

    In terms of severity, Losail is a very challenging circuit for tyres, similar to Silverstone and Suzuka. So it’s no coincidence that the compounds chosen are the same: C1, C2, and C3. There’s quite a variety of corners, most of them medium speed and high speed. The series of corners between Turns 12 and 14 is quite reminiscent of the famous Turn 8 at Istanbul: one of the most demanding corners for tyres in the recent history of Formula 1. This sequence is also one of the most influential factors to a good lap time. The fact that 11 of the 16 corners are right-handers puts particular stress on the left of the car, especially at the front, but the energy levels seen going through the tyres in 2021 were still quite well-balanced between the two axles.

    Another factor making the Qatar Grand Prix even more challenging for us as well as the drivers and the teams is the return of the Sprint format. Just one hour of free practice will be available on Friday to determine the set-up and assess tyre behaviour over long runs; furthermore that session happens in the heat of the day – which will warm up the asphalt – as opposed to qualifying and the two races, which take place at night. So everything is in place for an interesting weekend as well as perhaps a few surprises; the ability to adapt quickly and well to the track could deliver a significant advantage.

    Mario Isola – Pirelli, Head of Motorsport.
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