Red Bull have confirmed that there will be a change on Sergio Perez’s side of the garage for the foreseeable future, with long-time Race Engineer Hugh Bird going on paternity leave.
Bird has been Perez’s Race Engineer since the Mexican’s first season with Red Bull in 2021 but that responsibility will move to performance engineer Richard Wood from this weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix.
In Red Bull’s official pre-event preview, Perez commented that “everyone will notice a change on the radio” when the action gets underway at Zandvoort.
Hugh my Race Engineer is expecting a baby very soon so will be spending some time at home and I wish him and his family the best of luck with their new arrival! Woody, my Performance Engineer, will step up in the meantime. Perez said.
Perez also added that he is returning from the summer break feeling “refreshed and ready to go” after a challenging runs of Grands Prix – featuring Q1 and Q2 exits and minor points finishes – led to plenty of speculation over his Red Bull future.
Red Bull team boss Christian Horner recently described Perez’s form as unsustainable with the squad looking to fend off the likes of McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes in the constructors’ championship.
However, fresh from Red Bull stating that they are standing by the six-time Grand Prix winner. Perez commented “I am looking forward to getting back in the car this weekend. The summer break was very important for everyone in the team and the whole sport, with so many races now everyone needs the rest and reset time more than ever. I spent my time in Mexico with family and I feel refreshed and ready to go for the second half of the season. I know all my team feel the same, I have been in Milton Keynes this week with them. I know what we can extract from the car in the coming weeks and we will do our best to maximise the second half of 2024.”
Day one of the weekend is complete, let’s take a look at how qualifying went yesterday ahead of the Sprint today!
Max Verstappen claimed pole position in a thrilling session, however he won’t be starting from pole due to having a five place grid penalty, which means Charles Leclerc is set to start from P1 tomorrow.
The full top 10 from qualifying are – P1: Verstappen, P2: Leclerc, P3: Perez, P4: Hamilton, P5: Sainz, P6: Piastri, P7: Norris, P8: Russell, P9: Alonso and P10: Stroll.
A good result for both Ferrari’s, Charles starting P1 and Carlos P4, they haven’t had the best result recently so they will be wanting to capitalise on other’s misfortune during the race.
Finally a good result from Perez where he starts in the top 3! With his teammate starting 6th, Perez will be relied on to take the lead at the start, will he be able to do it? Or will Max breeze his way through the field again?
A great result from Piastri, out-qualifying Norris, and starting 5th on the grid. So far the rookie is having a great season, from being towards the back of the grid, to scoring big points almost every weekend as well as showing off his skills we all know he has. The Aussie will be hoping to get his first podium this season.
Alpine is still having a rough time at the moment, they would of been hoping for a clean weekend, but that disappeared when Ocon damaged his front wing after crashing into the barrier at Turn 9.
Round 9 is now complete, with a few retirements in the 70 lap race, and a driver who showed a dominant drive.
Max Verstappen made it six victories from eight races, with a dominant display, he lead home the Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso and Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton, as Red Bull maintain their 100% winning record for the season so far.
The full top 10 are: P1: Verstappen, P2: Alonso, P3: Hamilton, P4: Leclerc, P5: Sainz, P6: Perez, P7: Albon, P8: Ocon, P9: Stroll and P10: Bottas.
Verstappen’s lights to flag triumph also gave Red Bull their 100th victory in the sport, 18 years on from the team’s debut, whilst the Dutchman made more history by drawing level with legend, Ayrton Senna on 41 wins.
A good result for both Alonso and Hamilton, would’ve been interesting to see if Alonso could battle Max for the win if he didn’t have a rear brake issue which he was nursing, and if Lewis would’ve joint in to?
Mr George Russell, he had a crash early on in the race which caused some damage to his car and dropped him to the bottom of the order, with the Safety Car coming out which lead to some split strategies.
A good haul of points from Ferrari, I think we were all unsure on their strategy when they didn’t pit during the Safety Car but it worked out in the end, but I don’t know if not swapping Leclerc and Sainz around was the right idea, we might’ve seen Sainz show his pace he thought he had during the race.
A good result for Alex Albon, he battled hard to keep his position and he deserves the points he got today! Whereas for his teammate it wasn’t meant to be, Sargeant had to retire as he was asked to park his car in the early stages of the race.
Now, Round 10 isn’t for two weeks, so not too long to wait but it will be a double header. Our first stop will be in Austria on the 30th June to 2nd July.
The second qualifying session of the season is now complete, with a few shocks along the way, not forgetting that going into Qualifying it’s already confirmed Charles Leclerc has a 10 place grid penalty…
It was Sergio Perez who took his second pole position of his F1 career, at the same place he took his first! Charles Leclerc managed to grab second, but after his penalty is applied will be starting 12th. And to round out the top three is Fernando Alonso.
The full top 10 are: P1: Perez, P2: Leclerc, P3: Alonso, P4: Russell, P5: Sainz, P6: Stroll, P7: Ocon, P8: Hamilton, P9: Piastri and P10: Gasly.
Lando Norris is not having a good time at the moment, qualified P19… this however was not due to a reliability issue. He hit the wall on the last corner and it damaged the car. However, his teammate was on another level, Oscar managed to get into Q3 for the first time in only just two races, a much better place than they were last time out in Bahrain. But a big well done, to the Aussie.
Now onto the bigger shock of qualifying, Max Verstappen out in Q2, and starting 15th. During Q2, Max had a driveshaft problem and that consequently ended his qualifying session, as there was only 5 minutes left and Red Bull were not able to fix/figure out the problem so quick.
A better qualifying for the Alpine’s, Gasly starting 9th and Ocon 6th, hopefully they can capitalise on this and grab points, especially Ocon after not grabbing any in Bahrain.
Predictions-
My top five for the race are: P1: Perez, P2: Alonso, P3: Sainz, P4: Russell, P5: Stroll.
It will be interesting to see how both Max and Charles will do going through the field working their way up, but will they both manage to stay out of trouble? And grab some points so its not as damaging for the later part of the season.
I can see some safety cars happening this race as well as VSC, this may shake some things up depending on when they are in the race, so it could shake things up a little…
Qualifying is complete for the Mexico Grand Prix and it was a close call, as one team gets closer to the top team and another aren’t as close as previous weekends.
It was Max Verstappen who took pole position, with George Russell lining up on the front row in P2, and Lewis Hamilton rounding out the top 3!!
The full top 10 are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Russell, P3: Hamilton, P4: Perez, P5: Sainz, P6: Bottas, P7: Leclerc, P8: Norris, P9: Alonso and P10: Ocon.
A great qualifying result for Mercedes – there best this season and they have a great shot at the win tomorrow. We all know what they say about starting 3rd here in Mexico, even 2nd might be worth it, but the most important thing is that long run down to turn 1.
A great qualifying for Bottas, splitting the two Ferrari’s. He will be hoping for a good points finish, as he hasn’t scored since Canada!
Only two drivers have penalties for tomorrow’s race those being Lance Stroll for causing a collision at the previous round and Magnussen 5 places for use of additional power unit elements.
Predictions-
My top five predictions for the race are – P1: Hamilton, P2: Verstappen, P3: Perez, P4: Russell and P5: Sainz.
Going off the fact that for quite a few years now the person who takes pole position doesn’t win the race here… We saw last year Max starting P3 and he took the lead at Turn 1 so it could be a repeat again…
The Japanese Grand Prix finally comes to an end after it looking like it almost didn’t happen due to the rain. Lights went out at 6am (BST) and we got half a lap of racing before there was a safety car and then on lap 3, the race then got red flagged.
But it was Max Verstappen who took the win in Japan, and secured himself a second world title! Sergio Perez comes home in 2nd making it a 1-2 for Red Bull and Charles Leclerc finishes 3rd after being penalised for cutting the chicane…
The full top 10 are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Perez, P3: Leclerc, P4: Ocon, P5: Hamilton, P6: Vettel, P7: Alonso, P8: Russell, P9: Latifi and P10: Norris.
First lap incident was Carlos Sainz, who spun round and then hit the barriers. As well as this Alex Albon couldn’t move from 2nd and had to pull to one side of the track.
It was a very weird race, obviously having the race red flagged for over 2 hours so we only ended up with around 40 minutes of racing! But not only that there was a recovery vehicle on track whilst Pierre was also on the track.
Completely unacceptable that they allowed this to happen, even more so at a track where a driver collided with a vehicle back in 2014 at the Japanese GP and then died in 2015. Jules Bianchi lost control of his car in very wet conditions and collided with a recovery vehicle.
Honestly im so shocked, but I am also glad to see that drivers and team principles agree that the recovery vehicle shouldn’t of been on the track. But the FIA have announced that they have launched an investigation into by releasing a statement of the following- “While it is normal practice to recover cars under Safety Car and Red Flag conditions, due to the particular circumstances and also taking into account feedback from of a number of drivers, the FIA has launched a thorough review of the events involving the deployment of recovery vehicles during the Japanese Grand Prix. This is part of the common practice of analysis of all race incidents to ensure continual improvements of processes and procedures.”
But on another note, Max Verstappen is world champion for the second time in a row, after an absolute stellar of a season and winning it with 4 races to the end! He now has to focus on the Constructors as Red Bull haven’t won it yet, but it can be won in Austin.
Now we have to wait until the 21st to 23rd of October for Round 19 but it is the first of a double header and we are heading to the States!
Round 16 is now complete, and so is the Italian Grand Prix, where we had a very mixed up grid for the start of the race but the Tifosi came out in full force!
But for the fifth time in the row and for the first time in Monza, Max Verstappen wins, Charles Leclerc comes home for Ferrari in 2nd and Mr George Russell grabs another podium finishing P3.
The full top 10 are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Leclerc, P3: Russell, P4: Sainz, P5: Hamilton, P6: Perez, P7: Norris, P8: Gasly, P9: De Vries and P10: Guanyu.
Can we just take a moment for Nyck de Vries, drives in an Aston Martin in FP1 on Friday, gets the call up 45 minutes before FP3 to jump in Albon’s car, debut F1 race weekend and gets into Q2, then with the penalties he moves up into the top 10! But today is where it mattered, he scored his first F1 points on his debut (get this man a seat!!!!)
Another great drive from Max! Now onto his 30th win of his F1 career and its not going to be the last, the Dutchman can actually clinch the title at the next race in Singapore.
A good result for Lando today, but the Monza curse strikes again as Daniel DNF’ed due to a possible oil leak which caused him to loose the engine, hopefully better luck soon!
After qualifying, I thought the Alpine’s would’ve been a bit more further up the grid but it just wasn’t meant to be. Alonso retired in the pits, and Ocon finished 11th, so close to the points.
The Championship-
Max increases his gap in the Championship, Leclerc has managed to pull a little bit of a gap out between himself and Perez. Russell is now catching up to Perez in the Drivers, as the British driver has pulled a 16 point gap to Sainz.
Not much has changed in the Constructors, just the gap between RB and Ferrari increased, Mercedes are only 35 points away from Ferrari. Alpine remains in 4th on 125 points and McLaren in 5th.
We now have a bit of a wait until the next race, and its returning for the first time since 2019! The weekend of the 30th September to 2nd October is the Singapore Grand Prix and is round 17!
Recently, Pierre Gasly has been rumoured he could be leaving Alpha Tauri and partnering up with Esteban Ocon at Alpine for the 2023 season.
Originally, it was Alpine’s reserve driver Oscar Piastri whom the team intended to step up to a race seat, although he sensationally denied that wouldn’t be the case after Alpine announced his promotion in a press release.
It’s now been confirmed that Piastri will be driving for McLaren for 2023, so essentially Alpine are 100% looking at other drivers now.
It has led to various other drivers being linked with the seat. One of those is Gasly, who despite being under contract with Alpha Tauri until the end of 2023, has had the door closed in his face in terms of a future opportunity to return to Red Bull.
If Gasly did go to Alpine next year, this means he would have to leave the Red Bull programme (a bit like Albon when he went to Williams). This would then leave Alpha Tauri the job of finding two drivers, as Yuki Tsunoda has not been re-signed yet.
Red Bull have been looking into Colton Herta joining their sister team. Herta currently races in Indycar, but does not have enough points on his superlicence to compete in F1.
The FIA is reportedly looking into Colton Herta’s credentials for a superlicence. He currently sits on 32 points, but drivers need 40 points to gain a superlicence.
Silly Season is still going on as Red Bull are now eyeing up IndyCar driver, Colton Herta to replace Pierre Gasly at Alpha Tauri for 2023.
Red Bull are wanting to sign Herta to replace Gasly, and could possibly confirm a deal before this weekends Italian GP.
Gasly, who has been part of the Red Bull stable since his F1 debut, five years ago is Alpine’s preferred candidate to fill the vacant seat left by Fernando Alonso, which Oscar Piastri turned down to join McLaren.
Herta, the talented 22 year old American, has emerged as the front runner but he would require an exemption from F1’s governing body to be able to compete.
Astonishingly enough, all of the parties and teams involved, we found an agreement. First we have to get a definite answer [from the FIA] and I think it should be by Monza.
Red Bull advisor, Helmut Marko.
To obtain a superlicense to compete in F1, drivers need to accumulate 40 points. But despite strong performances in IndyCar with seven race wins, Herta is currently eight points short as the American series, which isn’t governed by the FIA and does not rate highly in the licensing system.
Red Bull are hopefuly of getting a dispensation, whilst McLaren boss Zak Brown has also backed getting Herta into F1. Herta tested for McLaren in July this year and is highly rated by the team.
The Orange army was in full force yesterday to support their Dutchman where it was all about where you qualify for the Dutch GP today!
But it was the World Champion, Max Verstappen who snatched pole position from the Ferarri’s! Leclerc is in 2nd, and an amazing day for the Italian team as Carlos Sainz making it a 2-3.
The full top 10 are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Leclerc, P3: Sainz, P4: Hamilton, P5: Perez, P6: Norris, P8: Schumacher, P9: Tsunoda and P10: Stroll.
A good result for Mercedes, they are showing some pace this weekend so I can definitely see at least one of them going for a podium, they could also benefit of others in front of them.
Landoooo, what a weekend so far for the Brit! His shown unreal pace, and to be ‘best of the rest’ is exactly what McLaren need, hopefully he can turn it into a good result later on.
I definitely expected the Alpine’s higher up, Ocon qualifying P12 and Alonson P13, it will be interesting to see how they go today because they are ‘out of position’ in a way.
A good qualifying for Mick! A Q3 appearance, so we could possibly see the German driver getting some points. Unfortunately his teammate is no where near him down in P18.
Predictions-
My top five predictions are- P1: Hamilton, P2: Sainz, P3: Russell, P4: Leclerc and P5: Norris.
I just have a feeling Red Bull’s race pace wont be as good as their qualifying pace, they struggled on the first day with both drivers but for different reasons.
Going into the race today, we was hoping for an interesting race seeing some of the field come through the grid, but was it too easy for some of them?
But it was Max Verstappen who took the victory at his first home Grand Prix of the season, Sergio Perez comes home in 2nd to make it Red Bull’s fourth 1-2 of the season! Carlos Sainz finished in 3rd after starting on pole.
The full top 10 are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Perez, P3: Sainz, P4: Russell, P5: Alonso, P6: Leclerc, P7: Ocon, P8: Vettel, P9: Gasly and P10: Albon.
What a drive from Max Verstappen! Starting P14, and finishing 1st is great! He flew through the field with no problems, Ferrari wasn’t a problem for the Dutchman and didn’t have anyone challenging him for the win.
Not a good day for Hamilton, a DNF for the Brit his first of the season. A Lap 1 incident between Hamilton and Alonso saw the Mercedes driver go airborne and retire on track after the team telling him to stop…
A good finish for Vettel, Gasly and Albon all in the points which they all needed this weekend, Gasly started from the pitlane so he made up quite a lot of ground to finish 9th.
Now Ferrari, Carlos had a good race but Charles obviously had to start at the back of the grid, he done well getting himself up the field but Ferrari thought theyd pit him on the last lap to take away the fastest lap point from Max, we’ve seen it a lot of times over the year but this time it didn’t work out. Not only didn’t it work out, Charles got a 5 second penalty for speeding in the pitlane which dropped him down to P6.
We now look towards the next race, next week which is the second out of the triple header and we will be heading to the Netherlands for Round 15! Can Max take another victory on home soil?
Well, well, well… With this possibly being the last French GP for a while (nothing confirmed yet…) it was most definitely an exciting one, from Safety Car’s to VSC, spins and the all important debate… 1 stop or 2!
For a second year in a row, Max Verstappen wins the French Grand Prix with Lewis Hamilton finishing 2nd in his 300th GP, and Mercedes make it a double podium for the first time this year, with George Russell finishing 3rd.
The full top 10 are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Hamilton, P3: Russell, P4: Perez, P5: Sainz, P6: Alonso, P7: Norris, P8: Ocon, P9: Ricciardo and P10: Stroll.
Another mixed weekend for Ferrari, Carlos starting at the back of the grid due to penalties and had to make his way through the grid and to end up P5 is very good. On the other hand Charles… In the lead of the race and he crashes, not the first time the Monegasque has done that this season, but these costly mistakes are going to cost him the championship if he carries on.
What a weekend for RB, taking home the win, and having Perez in P4, quite shocked he didn’t get a podium but he was caught sleeping when we went racing again after the VSC period by Russell, but on another note, the Mexican just has not looked comfortable in the car all weekend…
Now onto Mercedes, WOW who would’ve thought they would walk away from the weekend with a double podium! Not me… but I feel like the win is coming soon for the Silver Arrows. Mercedes are now starting to close in on Ferrari in the Constructors, especially if things keep going wrong for the Italian team.
Now onto, Alpine, the teams home GP and double points! I don’t think they could’ve asked for much more really, Alonso best of the rest in 6th and Ocon in 8th, a decent amount of points for them. Interested to see how the team will do in the next round!
The Championship-
Max has a healthy lead in front, with Leclerc remaining in 2nd but Sergio Perez has closed down the gap and is only 7 points away from the Ferrari driver in third. Sainz remains in fourth, but George Russell is coming back fighting for that fourth position and is only one point separating the pair. Hamilton remains in 6th, but slowly catching up his teammate.
Red Bull builds on their lead with 394 points, Ferrari are in 2nd on 314 but Mercedes are only 44 points away from them in 3rd position. Alpine have now jumped McLaren and sit in fourth, with the British team sitting in 5th and four points away from Alpine.
We don’t have long to wait, as we are returning next weekend for the Hungarian Grand Prix, the last race before summer break!
What a race! The Canadian Grand Prix has come back with a bang, and I can honestly say it’s good to have it back!
Max Verstappen stormed his way to victory making it Red Bull’s sixth in a row, can they get past Vettel’s 9 with the team? Carlos Sainz comes home to finish 2nd after he had a last minute battle for the win but it wasn’t meant to be this time. Lewis Hamilton joins them on the podium in P3, his second of the season!
The full top 10 are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Sainz, P3: Hamilton, P4: Russell, P5: Leclerc, P6: Ocon, P7: Alonso, P8: Bottas, P9: Zhou and P10: Stroll.
Red Bull, now I was excited to see what Perez could do and see some nice overtakes from him but this weekend really wasn’t his, he ended up DNF’ing quite early into the race and I think there are some question marks coming up about RB’s reliability after they had seemed to sort it quite early on.
A good weekend for Ferrari overall, especially Charles, him starting P19 after his penalties for him to finish 5th is good, and it’s even better for them that only one Red Bull finished…
Now onto Merc, very different pace compared to Friday, maybe a sign of things to come? A great drive from both drivers, obviously George had a bit of work to do after qualifying 8th but he kept it consistent and finished in the top 5 once again. Lewis, seemed a lot happier this race, less bouncing and he just loves this track which makes this podium even better!
Now Alpine, I kind of expected a bit more from Alonso, we’ve seen before in the past he defends like a lion but today I didn’t see that much and heard that there fight wasn’t with the Bulls or Ferrari but both Alpines ended up behind the Mercs?
Alfa Romeo! Double points finish, they had good pace throughout and done some nice overtakes, happy for Zhou though as he has had it rough with mechanical DNF’s so this weekend as a whole should boost his confidence going into the next round!
Now Haas, I think we expected at least one car to finish in the top 10… but they didn’t. Mick suffered a PU issue, after doing well to stay in the top 10 at the beginning of the race. Where as for Magnussen, had a bit of contact on lap 1 and then got shown the black and orange flag to pit for a new front wing, which saw him tumble to the bottom…
McLaren, wasn’t really anywhere today which is a shame as they looked promising with their pace yesterday, Ricciardo finished 11th and Norris 15th…
The Championship-
Theres no change at the top, as Max Verstappen still leads and extending his lead now on 175 points. His teammate is still in 2nd but that gap between them grew due to the DNF. Charles Leclerc is sat in third on 126 points, closing in on Perez as there is just 3 points between the pair. Russell stays in 4th on 111 points and Carlos is on 102 points now and in fifth, so it’s getting closer as the races keep on coming.
Red Bull lead the Constructors still, with 304 points, Ferrari closed down the gap a little but they are sat on 228 points, 76 points between the two teams… Mercedes sit comfortably in third and with their big points haul over the past two weekends are starting to close in on Ferrari as they sit on 188 points.
McLaren are still sat in 4th on 65 points, but points are needed soon as Alpine are coming to hunt them down. They are currently sat in 5th and are on 61 points…
We are back in two weeks for the British Grand Prix! Round 10 of 22 and we all remember what happened last year at Silverstone? Will Max get the victory this year? Or can Charles get the win? Where will Mercedes be, and will their new upgrades see them fighting with the front two teams? It’s all to play for!
Well well well, I think Canada thought they would make their comeback a rather good one, and so far it has been! We saw a wet qualifying today and it did not disappoint!
Charles Leclerc and Yuki Tsunoda are starting at the back of the grid due to taking penalties for new power unit elements.
But, Max Verstappen clawed his way to pole position as he made his way round the track without any costly mistakes. He is joined on the front row by Alpine’s, Fernando Alonso for the first time since the 2012 German Grand Prix. And Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz rounds out the top 3, making it count for the Italian team as his teammate has a penalty.
The full top 10 are: P1: Verstappen, P2: Alonso, P3: Sainz, P4: Hamilton, P5: Magnussen, P6: Schumacher, P7: Ocon, P8: Russell, P9: Ricciardo and P10: Zhou.
Lets just take a moment to appreciate, Fernando Alonso, what a man and what a driver. I could see him battling for the win today and I honestly can’t wait, is this El Plan really coming to life now?…
Haas deserve a round of applause what a qualifying session for them! Both drivers in the top 10 and also Mick’s best qualifying session ever! Big points on offer for the pair of them today, and a certain German driver needs to make it count…
Ohhhhh Daniel Ricciardo! Top 10, that is what we like to see, and so far he has had a good weekend, and looks to be enjoying himself, could this be the comeback for him now? His teammate starts down in 14th due to an issue with the car, so Norris will be trying to get through the field.
Zhou Guanyu, in Q3 and I am sure he is happy with that one! Things haven’t exactly gone his way in the past few races so his been quite unlucky, but with a good qualifying and starting ahead of his teammate he will have an extra boost of confidence for today.
Predictions-
My top five are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Alonso, P3: Hamilton, P4: Sainz, P5: Russell. I could see todays race be taken over by the more experienced drivers, Alonso, Hamilton, Ricciardo and Vettel, it looked like they were doing that yesterday during FP3 and Qualifying.
I think seeing Charles Leclerc come through the field will be good, we get a feel for how that Ferrari actually is and lets hope we get to see some killer moves.
Another Azerbaijan GP complete and we definitely had a few shock surprises along the way!
Max Verstappen takes his 5th win of the season, with his team mate joining him making it Red Bull’s third 1-2 of the season also. George Russell’s keeping it consistent as he finished in P3!
The full top 10 are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Perez, P3: Russell, P4: Hamilton, P5: Gasly, P6: Vettel, P7: Alonso, P8: Ricciardo, P9: Norris and P10: Ocon.
What a weekend for the Bull’s! Both drivers are making it count at the moment and you can see that when there driving. Perez seems like his got so much more confidence in the car, since his win and signing a 2 year deal!
This isn’t what Ferrari wanted or needed, Charles had a power unit issue and Carlos with a hydraulic issue – no points for either driver and it’s having some effects to the drivers and constructors standings…
What a weekend for Mercedes! Being there when it matters is key and that’s what they keep on doing. Both drivers in top 5 and another podium to add George’s tally! A quick side note- I hope LH is okay considering he couldn’t barley move after the race and getting out of the car was a struggle!
Gasly back in the top 5 is nice to see, and at a track he done well at last year makes it even better, let’s hope Baku is a turning point for Alpha Tauri now!
Someone else who needs a mention is Seb! P6 finish after going straight on in one of the run off areas and then having to spin round (which was beautiful) and then climb his way back up to get those all important points.
Now onto the Papaya team, I said they had an opportunity to score points, and they did – a double points finish for Lando and Daniel! Again maybe this is the start of turning things around, especially for Daniel.
The Championship-
Max Verstappen still leads the championship with 150 points, his teammate is close behind him in 2nd with 129 points and then its Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in third on 116 points. But, Leclerc needs to watch himself as Mr Consistency is making moves, Russell finds himself in fourth on 99 points – just 17 points between the pair. We then have Carlos Sainz in fifth on 83 points.
Red Bull remain in the top spot and extend their lead as they sit comfortably on 279 points, then it’s Ferrari in 2nd of 199 points, with the Silver Arrows coming at them rather quickly, they are on 161 points. We then have a big gap to 4th, which is McLaren who are on 65 points and then Alpine are now in fifth on 47 points after a double points finish today.
Just after claiming his first Monaco victory, Sergio Perez is now celebrating more this week as Red Bull retain the Mexican for another two years!
Perez, joined Red Bull Racing last season and took one victory in Azerbaijan and four more podiums to finish fourth in the drivers championship.
Already this season, he has 3 second place finishes and his victory in Monaco last weekend, he currently sits in third in the drivers and is 15 points adrift of leader and teammate Max Verstappen.
Since joining Oracle Red Bull Racing, Checo has done a fantastic job. Time and again he has proved himself to not only be a magnificent team player but as his level of comfort has grown he has become a real force to be reckoned with at the sharp end of the grid. This year he has taken another step and the gap to World Champion Max has closed significantly, evidenced by his superb pole position in Jeddah earlier this year and by his wonderful win in Monaco just last weekend. For us, holding onto his pace, race craft and experience was a no-brainer and we are delighted that Checo will continue to race for the team until 2024. In partnership with Max we believe we have a driver pairing that can bring us the biggest prizes in F1.
Christian Horner on Sergio Perez.
For me, this has been an incredible week, winning the Monaco Grand Prix is a dream for any driver and then to follow that with announcing I will continue with the Team until 2024 just makes me extremely happy. I am so proud to be a member of this Team and I feel completely at home here now. We are working very well together and my relationship with Max, on and off the track, is definitely helping drive us forward even more. We have built tremendous momentum as a Team and this season is showing that, I am excited to see where that can take us all in the future.
Perez on his new contract.
My Opinion-
Ayyy!! We love to see it! I think we all knew this was coming after Sunday as Perez said ‘I think I signed to early’ after him winning Monaco! But it’s a good decision for him and the team, his helped the team massively last year and this year.
Did we just have a chaotic and interesting Monaco GP?? I think we did! There was a threat of rain for today’s race, going into the weekend and boy did we get it!
Sergio Perez wins the Monaco GP, him now being the most successful Mexican F1 Driver as he took his third career win. Carlos Sainz finishes in 2nd, two years in a row! And Max Verstappen rounds out the podium, another great weekend for Red Bull!
The full top 10 are- P1: Perez, P2: Sainz, P3: Verstappen, P4: Leclerc, P5: Russell, P6: Norris, P7: Alonso, P8: Hamilton, P9: Bottas and P10: Vettel.
To start, we had a delayed race and wasn’t sure why at first but it turned out to be a power problem. But it had been raining, and whilst we was waiting for the race to start the rain got heavier… We saw the cars go round on formation laps but it was just too wet to start.
Eventually we got racing, and without a safety car also, but it was all about strategy and who would get it right…
Lap 27 came around, and it saw Mick Schumacher spun and crash at the swimming pool section which then brought a red flag, 3 laps later- the crash saw the gearbox and rear suspension detach from his Haas. His teammate also retired due to a system water pressure loss.
A what could’ve been day for Charles, as he finally finishes a home race for the first time. He got told to pit, and then his team came on the radio to tell him not to pit but it was too late… This compromised the Monegasques race, but he bounced back from not scoring any points last week.
Disappointing race for Haas, both drivers DNF, the first time this year and the team won’t be happy about it. Hopefully we see them bounce back in Baku next time out.
A good race for one McLaren, Mr Lando Norris – he didn’t want it to rain, but he didn’t seem to mind it in the end after finishing 6th and looked like he was closing in on GR in the final few laps.
Now onto the Silver Arrows, another good race for Russell, he maintains the top 5 finishes for this season! Now onto Hamilton, he got stuck behind a slow Fernando Alonso who looked like he settled for 7th, which compromised the 7 time world champions race as he had a lot more pace.
The Championship-
Max Verstappen is still leading the championship, but Charles Leclerc is sitting in 2nd only 9 points away, Perez is now closing in on the pair as he is 6 points away from the Ferrari driver. Russell remains in fourth, and Sainz is in fifth but there is one point between the two drivers.
Looking at the teams, Red Bull lead the Constructors on 235 points, Ferrari are in 2nd on 199 points. We then have a big gap to third which is Mercedes on 134 and then another gap to fourth, which is McLaren on 59 points. Alfa Romeo are in fifth but Alpine is just one point behind them.
We are back in two weeks and we have another double header! We go to Azerbaijan on the 10th to 12th June, and then we return to Canada a week later on the 17th to 19th June!
WOW! A chaotic race in Spain, saw us with a new championship leader… A race which is normally a two stop turned into a 3 stop, and there was a risk of a 4 stop also.
Max Verstappen WINS the Spanish GP, he now moves into the lead of the Championship, his teammate comes home to make it a 1-2, with team orders taking a play which Perez wasn’t very happy about… But the final podium spot goes to George Russell, the new minister of defence!
The full top 10 are: P1: Verstappen, P2: Perez, P3: Russell, P4: Sainz, P5: Hamilton, P6: Bottas, P7: Ocon, P8: Norris, P9: Alonso and P10: Tsunoda.
A mixed day for Ferrari, Carlos spun and went into the gravel trap earlier on, which saw him drop down out of the top 10. But Leclerc looked like he wrapped up the race from early on, but it never stays that way in F1, as he lost power which saw his race come to an end as he retired in the pits.
A great day for the Mercedes team, especially Lewis, he had contact on the first lap which saw him drop down to the bottom and then pit for new tyres as he had a slow puncture, he then fought his way up to the top five! Mr George Russell aswell, round of applause for him, mostly fought the Red Bulls today and held of Max for a long time! Safe to say the Mercedes upgrades have worked.
What a drive from Fernando Alonso, started P20 and finished in P9, great damage limitation from him. And his teammate finishing in P7, a good points haul for Alpine.
A mixed day again for Alfa Romeo, mechanical issues again for Guanyu Zhou, his race ending earlier than usual, but for VB a big points haul in P6.
The Championship-
Max, now leads the championship by 6 points! Everybody in the top 10, apart from Max and Charles, have stayed in the same position. Perez now has 85 points in third, Russell sat behind him in 74 points, and Carlos Sainz has 65 points and he rounds out the top 5.
Red Bull lead the Constructors, with 195 points and Ferrari are in 2nd with 169 points. Mercedes sit comfortably in third with 120 points a 70 point gap between them and McLaren who are in 4th. Alfa Romeo are in fifth with 39 points, slowly catching the papaya tomorrow.
We will be back next week for the second race of our double header, Round 7 in Monaco, the home Grand Prix of Charles Leclerc.
Red Bull junior driver, Juri Vips will be making his Formula 1 race debut when he steps into the cockpit of the RB18 for the first practice session at this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix.
The Estonian driver will be behind the wheel of Sergio Perez’s car at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
Vips, who currently competes in Formula 2 and is sat in eighth in the championship has been apart of the Red Bull Junior Team since 2018, and previously drove an F1 car at last year’s post season test in Abu Dhabi.
The opportunity for Vips is Red Bull fulfilling one of their two mandated young driver sessions for the year.
My Opinion-
Ahh Juri! I love this new rule, it gives young drivers the opportunity to get a handle on an F1 car in a free practice session. I could see Juri being a contender for an F1 seat next year, he has said before that Red Bull haven’t said he needs to win the F2 championship, just show you want it, so it will definitely be interesting to see how he does!
I imagine as Juri is in the Red Bull, we will see Liam Lawson in the Alpha Tauri for the FP1 outing.
The first Miami Grand Prix is officially over, and what a race it was! No-one really knew how it was going to go from tyres/pitstops to weather to VSC and Safety Cars, it was all unknown.
But, Max Verstappen wins the Miami Grand Prix after getting the lead from Charles Leclerc early on in the race. 2nd place went to Charles Leclerc and the final podium spot going to Carlos Sainz, a good haul of points for Ferrari.
The full top 10 are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Leclerc, P3: Sainz, P4: Perez, P5: Russell, P6: Hamilton, P7: Bottas, P8: Ocon, P9: Alonso and P10: Albon.
There was quite a lot of overtakes throughout the race, but Mr Russell, seemed to make them stick as he was charging up the field after starting 12th! He took full advantage of going long and waiting for a VSC/Safety Car, and it ended up paying off.
There was a few DRS trains during the race, but one which caused some drama, was where Pierre Gasly went wide, which allowed some cars to go through, but Lando Norris and Gasly made contact as Norris went to over take the Alpha Tauri driver. Lando’s race was therefore over, which caused a VSC and then a full safety car, Gasly retired into the pits just as the Safety Car went in.
Another bit of contact late on in the race, was between Mick and Seb, both running in the points but as they made contact it saw the pair fall down the order, Seb retiring in the pitlane and Mick having to get a new front wing…
An okay day for Alfa Romeo, they had Bottas score some points, and it could’ve been more if he didn’t go wide and have both Mercedes sat right behind him. But Guanyu Zhou had a technical issue which saw his race come to an end rather early.
McLaren and Ricciardo are not having a good time at the moment, second race in a row, finishing outside the top 10. The Woking team now have time to the next race to understand a few things out about the car, as I’m sure they are not the only team who will be doing so.
The Championship-
Leclerc still leads the Championship by 19 points, the gap just keeps on coming down now… Max still in 2nd on 85 points, his teammate in third on 66 points. we then have Russell in 4th on 59 points and then Sainz rounding out the top 5 on 53 points.
The gap between the top two teams are closing, Ferrari still leads with 157 points but Red Bull are just 6 points away from them. Mercedes sat comfortably in third on 95 points, with McLaren in 4th after not scoring any this weekend, and Alfa Romeo in 5th on 31 points.
We are back again in two weeks, but this time we have a double header. Our first stop being to Barcelona, Spain on the 20th to 22nd May, the home Grand Prix of Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz!
After months of speculation, Volkswagen’s chief executive, Herbert Diess has confirmed that Audi and Porsche will be entering Formula 1 in 2026.
It seems that Porsche’s plans are a little more certain at this early stage- which may see them link up with Red Bull for an engine programme.
Since last summer when both became involved in talks over F1’s next generation of engines from 2026, Audi and Porsche who are both apart of the Volkswagen group have been linked with joining the grid quite a lot.
Unofficial confirmation occurred in early April, as reported by Reuters, who are now attributing the official word to chief executive Diess in a Youtube video. There were not however any specific details although Reuters reported that Porsche “intends to establish a long-term partnership”.
Reuters are also sticking to their story from March that Audi have out a bid of 500 million euros for the McLaren team, which if accepted would enable them to enter Formula 1 as a constructor rather than an engine manufacturer. But Zak Brown shut down the not for sale talks but that ‘vert preliminary’ talks with VW had taken place.
McLaren aren’t the only potential option for Audi, Sauber operators of the Alfa Romeo branded team were close to selling to Andretti Autosport last year and already have a connection to Audi whose Le Mans cars were developed in the wind tunnel at Hinwil. It is also feasible that Williams’ owners Dorilton Capital could be interested in a deal.
It was a mixed conditions type race today, and it’s safe to say its one for Red Bull to remember but one to forget for Ferrari!
Max Verstappen wins the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, with his teammate, Sergio Perez coming home in second to make it Red Bull’s first 1-2 of the year! Lando Norris took the final podium spot, for a second year running, a first for the young Brit!
The full top 10 are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Perez, P3: Norris, P4: Russell, P5: Bottas, P6: Leclerc, P7: Tsunoda, P8: Vettel, P9: Magnussen and P10: Stroll.
Lets start with Ferrari, another DNF for Carlos, 2 in 2 races not good for him or the team… Himself and Ricciardo made contact on the first lap which saw Carlos not being able to move out of the gravel trap (again). Maybe Miami will be good for him? Now onto the Championship leader… he looked set to take P3, he pitted on lap 50 to try and get the fastest lap point and once he did this, both Bulls followed suit… Lap 54 was where it went wrong though as he went into the barriers at the chicane and dropped down to P9.
Now onto McLaren, another up and down day! After the collision, Ricciardo just couldn’t get back up anywhere. But for Norris, what a day! Sometimes keeping out of trouble and not pushing tyres is good (like how we saw with Russell in Aus), the podium was well deserved for all at McLaren from where they started to where they are now!
Mercedes, well a good race by Russell and some amazing defending by him to stop Bottas getting past, but for Hamilton I think his race was done when Ocon got released early in the pitlane and pushed Hamilton… A regroup needed for the Silver Arrows for Miami.
Aston Martin! All the teams have now scored points after AM had both drivers score points today which I didn’t expect to see especially after Australia. But it was good to see and quite a mixed top 10.
Points for Tsunoda, a very good weekend for him, he started P16 yesterday for the sprint and finished P7 today! Hopefully we see this happening more often throughout the year now.
The Championship-
Leclerc is still on the top spot and leading with 86 points, but its now the reigning world champion in second and now with 59 points! His teammate is close behind, Perez has 54 points. We then have Russell in that battle aswell in 4th i’d say, his consistent race finishes are helping with the fight.
We then have Carlos rounding out the top 5 with 38 points, 11 away from Russell. Norris moves up to P6 with 35 points.
Now looking at the Constructors, Ferrari still lead with 124 points, but Red Bull have closed in massively with 113 points. Then there is quite a gap between RB and Merc, the silver arrows are sat in third with 77 points. McLaren are 33 points of Mercedes so another gap and then Alfa Romeo are fifth with 25 points so its quite spaced out…
We are back in two weeks, for the first ever Miami Grand Prix and the round number 5, on the weekend of 6th to 8th May, where the battle between RB and Ferrari continues!
The first sprint race of the season is complete and what a race it was! Max Verstappen beat Charles Leclerc to the checkered flag. But it wasn’t all smooth sailing as Charles got the better start and led for 19 laps.
With the top 8 now scoring points in the sprint, we wasn’t sure if there would be much on track action, but it is safe to say we were not disappointed.
The top 10 are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Leclerc, P3: Perez, P4: Sainz, P5: Norris, P6: Ricciardo, P7: Bottas, P8: Magnussen, P9: Alonso and P10: Schumacher.
First up, Mr Zhou Guanyu was our only DNF, he made contact with Pierre Gasly which saw Zhou go off at Turn 9. Pierre also picked up damage and needed to pit for a new front wing and tyres. Zhou will be starting from the pitlane as his pitcrew needed to work on the car during parc fermme conditions.
Both Perez and Sainz had a lot of making up to do before the Sprint even started and I think its safe to say that they both put in the work to do damage limitation in the sprint, ready for the main event tomorrow.
Yuki was the saving grace for Alpha Tauri as he made up 4 places, giving him that advantage tomorrow for the race.
Disappointing sprint for the king of sprint, Alonso. He lost 4 positions during the sprint and that may be to his tyres not heating up enough and he was just a sitting duck. Hopefully we see more from him tomorrow.
Predictions-
Top five for tomorrows race is- P1: Leclerc, P2: Verstappen, P3: Sainz, P4: Norris, and P5: Ricciardo.
Now, seeing as Mick has the perfect opportunity to score points as he starts in the top 10, I am hoping this happens. It does look like he is comfortable in the car on this track so lets hope he can do it.
A possible chance for points for Russell, Tsunoda and Vettel. There could be a chance of rain tomorrow so that could shake up the order quite some what and then that would give the 3 drivers I just mentioned to move up a few spots.
A very mixed qualifying is now complete from a dry track to a red flag and then a wet track. Safe to say the Imola cat will be keeping dry in paddock.
But with his first pole position of the year for the current world champion, Max Verstappen!
The full top 10 are: P1: Verstappen, P2: Leclerc, P3: Norris, P4: Magnussen, P5: Alonso, P6: Ricciardo, P7: Perez, P8: Bottas, P9: Vettel and P10: Sainz.
Not a good day for the home heros, both Alpha Tauri’s out in Q1 as they couldn’t manage to get through the next stage of qualifying. Lots of work for them to do in the sprint and the race if they want to score some points this weekend.
Due to a red flag in Q2, caused by Carlos Sainz, the running stopped in qualifying completely even after the red flag went as the rain started to come down and the drivers had already set some laps so none of them were going to change.
Mercedes did not have a good qualifying, you could put it down to Carlos’ crash as well as they are just having problems with the car also. Both drivers out in Q2 the first time a Mercedes car hasn’t been in Q3 since Japan 2012
Williams having more and more problems as the weekends go on, this time for Albon as his breaks set a light whilst in Q1 and cause a stop to the session as there were debris from the brakes being on fire.
A total of 5 red flags throughout qualifying. A lot for teams to work on. Disappointing that Perez could’ve been higher up and benefit on the fact that Ferrari only have one car at the top.
A good showing from McLaren, hopefully we see some more good work from the pair throughout the rest of the weekend as well as Haas’ Kevin Magnussen!
Predictions-
My top 5 for the sprint is- P1: Verstappen, P2: Leclerc, P3: Norris, P4: Alonso and P5: Magnussen.
If it is a dry sprint tomorrow, like expected then I can’t really see much happening. A couple of positions switch around in the top 10 but nothing major unless it’s mechanical issues…
What a great race, these new cars are definitely providing such closer racing which we have been waiting to see!
The battle between Leclerc and Verstappen does not seem to be slowing down any time soon and I think we are all looking forward to seeing how it goes between the two great drivers.
But it was Max Verstappen who took the win in Saudi Arabia, with Charles Leclerc finishing 2nd and Ferrari having another great weekend with Carlos Sainz taking the final podium spot.
The full top 10 are: P1: Verstappen, P2: Leclerc, P3: Sainz, P4: Perez, P5: Russell, P6: Ocon, P7: Norris, P8: Gasly, P9: Magnussen and P10: Hamilton.
An okay weekend for Alpha Tauri, Pierre Gasly managed to get some points after his disapointing race last weekend, but unfortunatley it was Yuki Tsunoda who had the bad luck this week as he didn’t even start the race as he stopped on track on the way to the grid.
Not a good weekend for Williams, as Nicholas Latifi crashed during the early stages of the race which brought out safety car. Towards the end of the race, Stroll and Albon made contact which brought Alex’s race to an end.
Ricciardo looked like he had an engine problem at the end as he stopped at the pit entry, the same with Alonso but it looking like an overheating issue instead.
Another good race for Russell, another good amount of points helping the Mercedes team, great way to start the season. Also a great race for Norris too, starting P11 and finishing 7th, which makes it the first points for McLaren this year.
The Championship-
Leclerc leads from his teammate by 12 points, with Max 8 points behind Sainz and George in 4th with 22 points. Ferrari leads the constructors by 40 points from Mercedes with Red Bull just 1 point behind them.
We are back in less than two weeks and we are returning to Australia for the first time since 2019, for round 3!
What on earth happened today in qualifying! But it’s Sergio Perez taking his first ever pole position in F1! With Leclerc in second and Carlos Sainz on third.
The full top 10 are: P1: Perez, P2: Leclerc, P3: Sainz, P4: Verstappen, P5: Ocon, P6: Russell, P7: Alonso, P8: Bottas, P9: Gasly and P10: Magnuessen.
You’ve probably noticed Hamilton who isn’t in the top 10, well, he got knocked out in Q1 and qualified 16th. His first time since 2017.
Mick had a nasty crash in Q2, which stopped the running for a while whilst checking he is okay and clearing up the track. Thankfully he got out of the car okay and is going to hospital for check ups to make sure!
McLaren had a better weekend than last weeks already, both drivers making Q2 and starting P11 and P12. Hopefully some points for the team tomorrow!
So far a good weekend for Alpine, both drivers starting in the top 10. They had a good weekend last weekend so let’s see what they can do!
Predictions for tomorrow-
P1: Leclerc, P2: Perez, P3: Verstappen, P4: Sainz and P5: Russell. I think the Ferrari’s are that just bit in front of the Red Bull’s and if the pit stops go okay for the Italian team, I can see them winning the race.
Hopefully McLaren in the points, that will boost the team massively before a break, and they have clearly made a step forward too!
Times for tomorrow-
Feature Race F2: 13:35pm (GMT). Saudi Arabian GP: 18:00pm (GMT).
The RB18 is officially launched! The four-time world champions are the second team to launch their car, the RB18 will be the car Max Verstappen will drive to defend his maiden World Championship title.
Verstappen will run the number one on his car for his defence, with his team mate Sergio Perez returning for a second season with the team.
The car looks good, nice and clean- not too much has changed which is a known for Red Bull. I don’t know if it is because of the new car but both of the cars which have launched so far look really clean. Obviously, Honda is no longer on the car now and where it was placed on the rear wing has been replaced by ‘Red Bull’
But one thing which stands out the most is the new title partner- Oracle. The team based in Milton Keynes, will now be officially Oracle Red Bull Racing. Building on last year’s success the team’s 2022 season will feature expanded use of Oracle Cloud across its most significant areas of operation which includes analytics-based race strategy, optimized engine development, AI and machine learning-powered driver training and a tailored fan experience.
Speaking ahead of the new season, which he enters as the defending World Champion, Max said: “I’m feeling recharged and ready to get driving again, I feel good and it’s important that you prepare yourself in the best way possible physically, particularly when things are changing with the shakeup in regulations. In terms of the car, we don’t know what to fully expect so I’m excited to see how the car behaves on the track for the first time. The biggest adaptation this season will be the new regulations, we’ll need some time to get used to the car, it is not like you just jump in and it’s an upgrade from last year. The rest is pretty straightforward, I don’t feel any extra pressure this season, I will just do what I do all the time because I don’t think there is any reason to be different. Now I just I can’t wait for that first moment when I drive out of the pit lane in the RB18.”
Ready to take on his second year with the team, Checo said: “I am so excited to start the new season and I cannot wait to be on track with the new RB18. All of us on the grid are starting from zero this season so it is set to be an exciting year. Last year, we gave it our all until the very last lap and we are ready to do the same in 2022. The new regulations are said to improve the competition on track, so I hope that for us as drivers we can compete more, race more and follow each other more closely. There will be a lot of things we need to learn and adapt to but these new regulations are set to make everything very interesting. One thing I can’t wait for this season is to see more fans back at the track, Formula One is growing so much all over the world so I can’t wait to feel that atmosphere again. I hope that we can give the fans great entertainment and great racing.”
Red Bull have announced when they will be realising their car for this season, the RB18 which is on the 9th February, nine days before rivals Mercedes launch their W13.
Max Verstappen will be hoping the new car will be worthy of defending for the world title- in hopes of going for a second. Sergio Perez will be wanting to fight for the title too, but will also be wanting to help RB get the Constructors title.
Honda, decided to leave the sport at the end of 2021, so the newly established Red Bull Powertrains will oversee the RB18’s power unit for 2022- although following a deal made towards the end of the last season, that power unit will use the Honda intellectual property.
We now only have one more date remaining and that being the team of Williams.
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.
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.
Jordan's Track Talk 