Lando Norris returned to winning ways at the Austrian Grand Prix after getting the better of McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri in a head-to-head scrap for victory.
Norris converted pole position into the lead at Turn 1 but soon came under intense pressure from championship leader Piastri, who launched several attacks and at one point muscled his way past, only for the positions to be swiftly reversed.
After a particularly close call under braking for Turn 4, which saw Piastri lock up and almost run into the back of Norris, the Australian went slightly longer on his starting set of tyres in attempt to build an advantage for the remainder of the race.
While Piastri lit up the timesheets in phases across the second and third stints, Norris had just enough pace in hand to hold onto P1 and take the chequered flag – marking his third win of the season and first victory since last month’s Monaco Grand Prix.
The full top 10 are- P1: Norris, P2: Piastri, P3: Leclerc, P4: Hamilton, P5: Russell, P6: Lawson, P7: Alonso, P8: Bortoleto, P9: Hulkenberg and P10: Ocon.
What a result for McLaren! P1 for Norris and P2 for Piastri, their pace was unmatched and no-one got anywhere near the two drivers, however, I think they need to set boundaries between the two drivers, as much as we love seeing them battle it out for the lead, one of the moves Oscar done almost ended Lando’s race, just doesn’t seem to be any boundaries set…
A lovely result for Ferrari, a podium for Leclerc and 4th for Hamilton, a decent amount of points for the Italian team, seems like they had a strong weekend and things are starting to look up for the team.
P5 for Russell, he was kind of in no mans land, the pace just didn’t seem to be there to battle with the Ferrari’s which is a shame but still a decent points haul for the Brit. As for his teammate, Antonelli’s race was over on the first lap as the young driver carried too much speed into Turn 3 and took out Max Verstappen which saw both of the drivers out.
P6 for Liam Lawson, a lovely result for the New Zealander, his best career finish so far! A very good points haul for the Racing Bulls, this will all help for the midfield battle.
A double points finish for Kick Sauber, which means first career points for Gabriel Bortoleto! This will be the same as above, and really help in the midfield battle towards the end of the season.
A weekend to forget for Williams, a DNS for Sainz as his rear brakes were on the fire in the pitlane as he struggled to get started on the grid for the first formation lap. Not only this, Albon retired in the pit lane to an unknown issue at the time.
Now next up, we have Silverstone this weekend for Round 12 of 24!
Lando Norris has sealed a commanding pole position in Qualifying at the Austrian Grand Prix, the McLaren driver recording a time that was half a second clear of nearest challenger Charles Leclerc to mark the biggest pole margin of the season so far.
After setting the pace in Q1 and Q2, Norris continued that theme by claiming provisional pole during the initial runs of Q3 – but the McLaren man went even better on his next effort, pumping in a 1m 03.971s.
The full top 10 are- Pole: Norris, P2: Leclerc, P3: Piastri, P4: Hamilton, P5: Russell, P6: Lawson, P7: Verstappen, P8: Bortoleto, P9: Antonelli and P10: Gasly.
What a lovely result for Lando, exactly what the Brit would have wanted! Last time he was on pole, it was the Monaco Grand Prix, which he went on to win… However, the Red Bull Ring is a very different track compared to Monte Carlo, there’s lots of overtaking spots here so McLaren’s strategy has to be perfect. As for his teammate, Piastri qualified 3rd, unfortunate for him as his last flying lap got ruined due to a spin from Pierre Gasly, but still a good position for today’s race.
A lovely result from Ferrari! P2 for Charles Leclerc and P4 for Lewis Hamilton, the whole team will be happy with that result, hopefully they can turn it into a potential win/podiums!
A decent result for Russell, P5 for the Mercedes driver, it seems like the Silver Arrows have got some pace underneath them this weekend, so it will be interesting to see where they finish. As for Russell’s teammate, Antonelli qualified 9th, not the best result for the rookie driver but he can still make up decent positions.
A little shout out for Liam Lawson, P6! The best result out of all the Red Bull cars! A lovely result for the Racing Bulls driver, hopefully he can score some points this weekend.
As for Verstappen, he qualified 7th, not the best result at all for the Dutchman, he also got hindered by the late yellow flag in the session, he has a lot of work to do if he wants to get on the podium at least.
Another little shout out for Gabriel Bortoleto! P8 for the Kick Sauber driver, his best qualifying result so far, he will be hoping to score some points aswell.
Zane Maloney made a strong start to his Monza weekend, finishing the practice session fastest of all, thanks to Rodin Motorsport driver’s time of a 1:32.285.
The Bajan driver was in strong form throughout and ended the session over a tenth clear of Invicta Racing’s Gabriel Bortoleto, as Zak O’Sullivan rounded out the top three for ART Grand Prix.
However it was O’Sullivan who was fastest of all after the first set of laps on a 1:34.577 beating Oliver Bearman to the top time by 0.174s.
But after rounding the track for the second time, Maloney went to the top of the leaderboard with a 1:34.060 only for Trident’s Richard Verschoor to eclipse him by 0.048s.
The Rodin driver later set a time of 1:33.664 to return to P1 with Hitech Pulse-Eight’s Paul Aron now his nearest rival, 0.076s behind. The fastest time changed hands again, as Maloney went fastest once more. Moments later though, Dennis Hauger’s lap of 1:33.209 put him on top for the first time in the session.
The majority of the grid opted to pit with 20 minutes but returned to the track a few minutes later with Joshua Duersken now fastest on a 1:32.953, two-tenths clear of Verschoor in second.
Rodin were showing good pace and while Maloney jumped to second, he was pushed down to third by his teammate Ritomo Miyata who went fastest on a 1:32.946.
As we headed into the final 10 minutes of the session, times began to tumble as both Bearman and Bortoleto went quickest. However it was Maloney again who ended up on top thanks to a 1:32.532.
As we entered the final couple of minutes, the red flags were waved as Roman Stanek collided into the barrier at Serraglio. The session was not restarted leaving Maloney on top ahead of Bortoleto and O’Sullivan.
Qualifying-
Zane Maloney left it late in the day to seal pole position at a dramatic Monza qualifying. The Rodin Motorsport driver completed a lap of 1: 32.160 to win out in a battle with fellow title contenders Isack Hadjar and Paul Aron.
It was a slow start to the session as while the rest of the field chose to stay in the pit lane, Roman Stanek decided to go out on track, The Trident driver completed a lap of 1:34.992 just as most of the grid made their way out on the circuit.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli was next to set a lap, and he lowered the benchmark to 1:32.941 with Enzo Fittipaldi going closest to the PREMA Racing driver’s time in second, 0.256s off top spot.
Practice pace setter Maloney had been on a good lap and was about to cross the line but the red flags were waved with the marshals needing to clear a polystyrene board from the track.
The session resumed with 16 minutes left on the clock, but as the times started to pour in once more, the red flags were out for a second time.
This time it was Gabriel Bortoleto stuck in the gravel at the second Lesmo. The Invicta Racing driver had not set a lap and will now start both races from the back of the grid, a blow to his title challenge.
The action resumed with only seven minutes left to go as the drivers poured out of the pitlane with just eight out of 22 having set a representative lap time.
A flurry of laps followed soon after with Hadjar going to the top of the timesheets on a 1:32.249 while Aron followed him across the line to go second.
But Maloney was on a charge and went fastest in the middle sector before beating the Campos Racing driver to the top spot 0.089s.
The drivers pushed on for a second set of laps and while there were some improvements, no-one could match Maloney’s time giving him his first pole position.
The full top 10 are- Pole: Maloeny, P2: Hadjar, P3: Aron, P4: Hauger, P5: Martins, P6: Antonelli, P7: Marti, P8: Bearman, P9: Cordeel and P10: Fittipaldi.
Day 2-
It was a fast start for pole-sitter Enzo Fittipaldi but a slow getaway for fellow front row starter, Amaury Cordeel dropped down to fourth before reaching Turn 1.
However, Fittipaldi went wide at Turn 1, giving Josep Maria Marti the chance to take the lead from the Van Amersfoort Racing driver at the Curva Grande with Martins watching on in third.
But there was drama at the back of the field as Zak O’Sullivan made contact with debutant Oliver Goethe on the run to Turn 1.
The ART driver was then involved in another collision moments later as he and Andrea Kimi Antonelli collided heading into the first chicane. O’Sullivan was out of the race while the PREMA Racing driver pitted with a puncture and front wing damage.
Marti led the pack away as we resumed racing on Lap 4, following a Safety Car, but Fittipaldi was able to use the tow to get ahead on the main straight.
Fittipaldi struggled for the rest of the lap as Martins and Bearman got ahead of him, demoting him to P4.
On to Lap 5 and the battle for P2 commenced, as Bearman got ahead of Martins into the Roggia chicane. Bearman was showing great pace and was right on the back of Marti heading to Turn 1 at the start of Lap 7.
A few laps on Martins overtook Marti for P2 heading to Turn 1. Marti though was not giving up on the position and made a late lunge on the Frenchman heading into Turn 1. Both drivers ran wide but kept the position, as Fittipaldi and Duerksen closed in as Lap 9 got underway.
Bearman’s lead was over two seconds as we started Lap 10, but the fight for the podium was heating up. Marti was now being attacked by Fittipaldi, and the VAR driver took P3 into the first corner.
Campos were struggling as Isack Hadjar lost out to a charging Gabriel Bortoleto, who after starting from last, claimed P12 down the main straight.
The battle for the points was incredibly tight and Aron shut the door on Crawford into the first chicane, allowing Hauger to take P8 from the DAMS Lucas Oil driver at the Curva Grande.
On to Lap 17, Fittipaldi ran wide at the exit of the Roggia chicane, giving Marti and Maloney the chance to close right in on him. He held them off until Turn 1 on the following lap before Marti dived down the inside to take P4.
As the same time, Maloney and Aron made contact at the same corner forcing the Hitech driver to pit with front wing damage.
Back at the front, the top three had separated themselves from the rest of the field as Bearman crossed the line to take his second consecutive victory at Monza.
The full top 10 are- P1: Bearman, P2: Martins, P3: Duerksen, P4: Marti, P5: Maloney, P6: Crawford, P7: Fittipaldi, P8: Bortoleto, P8: Hauger and P10: Hadjar.
Day 3-
It was a brilliant start from pole for Maloney, likewise for third-placed Paul Aron, although it was a slow getaway for Championship leader Isack Hadjar.
However, there was drama at Turn 1 as Josep Maria Marti locked up into the corner following his fast start, sending him into the back of Aron, who was out of the race following the contact.
The Safety Car was called upon and with the track cleared, racing resumed on Lap 3 as Maloney led Oliver Bearman and Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
Just behind them, Hadjar, who had dropped to fifth, made up one position after getting ahead of the fast-starting AIX Racing car of Joshua Duerksen only for the AIX driver to retake the position down the main straight on lap 5.
As Lap 6 got underway, Maloney had a lead of over a second a half to Bearman, while Duerksen was on the charge, getting ahead of Antonelli heading into Turn 1.
Just as some of the drivers came out of the pit lane, the Safety Car was called upon with Dennis Hauger having spun at Turn 1 following contact with Ritomo Miyata.
Significantly, Bortoleto was now the net race leader having started in P22 with Verschoor behind and Maloney third in the queue of those to have made their mandatory pit stop.
We returned to racing on lap 11 of 30 with the MP Motorsport debutant Oliver Goethe leading Invicta’s Kush Maini.
As the drivers got ready to start Lap 13, Maloney made a significant move as he got ahead of Verschoor heading to parabolica. This then put him right on the back of Bortoleto, but only briefly as the Brazilian got ahead of Juan Manuel Correa heading to Turn 1.
Bortoleto and Maloney were picking their way through the filed as the former got ahead of Goethe for P2, while the latter pulled off another move at the Parabolica on Correa.
On to Lap 19 and Maloney was losing time to Bortoleto in the battle for the race win as he struggled to get past Goethe. He eventually made the move heading into the Ascari chicane later in the lap, but he was now over four seconds behind Bortoleto.
The two PREMA drivers went wheel to wheel into Turn 1 with Antonelli getting ahead at the exit of Turn 2. Bearman tried to stay on the outside but dipped a tyre in the gravel, giving Duerksen the chance to go around him.
The Italian was on the charge and got ahead of Martins down the main straight to get up to P5, with Goethe having finally pitted and dropped to P16. Martins then lost another place a lap later with Duersken getting ahead under braking into Turn 1.
Maini came in on Lap 29, leaving Bortoleto out front by himself for the final two laps before crossing the line to take his second victory of the season.
The full top 10 are- P1: Bortoleto, P2: Maloney, P3: Verschoor, P4: Antonelli, P5: Duerksen, P6: Martins, P7: Bearman, P8: Villagomez, P9: Crawford and P10: Fittipaldi.
Wow! What a race we had in Austria, it all looked plain sailing for most of the race until a collision took place and it all changed…
Mercedes’ George Russell claimed a somewhat unexpected victory in the Austrian Grand Prix after a dramatic end to the race which saw Max Verstappen and Lando Norris collide in the battle for the lead, which dropped Verstappen down the order and forced Norris to retire.
Verstappen originally made a strong start from pole position to hold P1 for much of the race, a thrilling duel with McLaren driver Norris unfolded when both made their final pit stops on lap 52, where RB suffered a rare slower stop due to an issue with the rear left wheel.
Norris was then hot on the tail of his rival and made more than one attempt to snatch P1. But it all came to an end of lap 64 when the pair made contact, causing the pair to limp back to the pits.
The full top 10 are- P1: Russell, P2: Piastri, P3: Sainz, P4: Hamilton, P5: Verstappen, P6: Hulkenberg, P7: Perez, P8: Magnussen, P9: Ricciardo and P10: Gasly.
Russell’s second victory in F1! This just shows that Mercedes have made a step forward, I know he didn’t battle for the win, but this is a part of racing, if the top 2 crash into each other the driver in third 9 times out of 10 will take the lead and go on to win the race especially so late on in the race. A very good result, for Mercedes, Hamilton finished 4th aswell a very good points haul for the team!
Piastriii, McLaren’s last man standing, the Australian made up good ground after qualifying and having his lap time deleted. It makes you think if that didn’t happen and he started P3, would he have won the race?
Podium for Carlos Sainz! A good result for Ferrari, just what the team needs. However for Charles Leclerc it is a different story, he had contact on the first lap which saw him have to pit for a new front wing and that was basically his race over he finished P11 out of the points.
A very good result for Nico Hulkenberg P6 for him! And the same goes to Magnussen he finished P8, just what the team needs. And I do have to say their team work between them is great, we have seen it quite a few times this year and they just capitalise on other’s misfortune or go through the field together.
Ricciardo in the points, it was what he needed, and probably wanted aswell. But he will be needing more than one good performance to get a seat for next year and his only bet really is going to be sticking with VCARB.
Gasly in the points aswell! The French driver, is on a run of points at the moment with it being his fourth consecutive race with points, so a good drive from him.
Now we don’t have to wait too long for the next race, as it is only next week! And it is the home race of 7 time world champion, Lewis Hamilton, as well as race winners, George Russell and Lando Norris!
Max Verstappen secured pole position for the Austrian Grand Prix after a commanding performance in Saturday’s qualifying, beating closest challenger Lando Norris by four tenths of a second.
Having set an impressive early benchmark in the initial laps of Q3, Verstappen bettered his time on his second effort to record a lap of 1m 04.314s in the Red Bull.
The full top 10 are – Pole: Verstappen, P2: Norris, P3: Russell, P4: Sainz, P5: Hamilton, P6: Leclerc, P7: Piastri, P8: Perez, P9: Hulkenberg and P10: Ocon.
Pole again for Verstappen! He will definitely be wanting to turn it into a victory, but I don’t think he will be able to sail away with it, he has Norris and Russell right behind him and we have seen the battles those three drivers have had recently…
A wonderful result for the remaining top 3, I have no doubt that they would of been up there, it is all eyes onto the race now…
Another decent qualifying by Carlos Sainz! His teammate Charles Leclerc also had a lot better qualifying that the sprint qualifying. Now the drivers will need to work as a team and score some big points, especially because of McLaren catching them in the constructors standings.
Not the best result from Piastri, he was P3 however he had the lap time deleted due track limits so he got bumped down to P7, he will have a bit of work to do in the race.
A decent result for Nico Hulkenberg! P9 for the Haas driver, he will be wanting to capitalise on this result for the race and score as many points as he can.
Ricciardo just missed out on the top 10, the Australian will be wanting to score some points this weekend, especially because his seat is under threat so will be wanting to prove that he possibly deserves a seat.
Again not the best result for Aston Martin, P15 for Alonso and P17 for Stroll. They really are struggling at the moment and they have gone backwards to where they were last year…
Max Verstappen will be lining up in pole position for the Sprint in Austria, after he stormed to the top of the timesheets ahead of McLaren teammates Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
With every driver in SQ3 posting just one flying lap in the final minutes, the pressure was on to deliver a decent time. And that’s what Verstappen did, pumping in a time of 1.04.686s.
The full top 10 are- Pole: Verstappen, P2: Norris, P3: Piastri, P4: Russelll, P5: Sainz, P6: Hamilton, P7: Perez, P8: Ocon, P9: Gasly and P10: Leclerc.
A lovely result for Max Verstappen, it would be just what he wanted and he will want to turn this into victory.
A very good result for McLaren P2 and P3, both drivers will be wanting to try and win the sprint as well as get on the podium and get a good points haul before the race.
Ferrari had a semi decent result with Carlos Sainz in P5, however not the best result with Charles Leclerc. He failed to set a time after he stopped in the pitlane before being unable to cross the line before the chequered flag, leaving him in 10th. He has a lot of work to do in the race, especially as he is in the middle of the pack and will want to stay out of trouble.
A decent result from Mercedes, P4 and P6, not the worst for the Silver Arrows but also not the best from the team. They still have a bit of work to do if they want to consistently be battling with the McLaren’s etc…
Not the best result from Perez, but at least he qualified in the top 10, I really cant work out how he has these bad qualifying’s and then go on to the race and not really make a massive difference…
Sprint Race-
Red Bull driver, Max Verstappen converted pole position into victory in the Sprint Race at the Austrian Grand Prix, overcoming the McLaren’s of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.
While Verstappen held his lead at the start, Norris soon closed in and briefly moved in P1 with a bold overtake, only for the reigning world champion to reclaim the position moments later in a squabble that enabled Piastri to pass his team mate.
The full top 10 are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Piastri, P3: Norris, P4: Russell, P5: Sainz, P6: Hamilton, P7: Leclerc, P8: Perez, P9: Magnussen and P10: Stroll.
A wonderful result from Max, turning sprint pole into sprint victory! That makes it 3 sprint victories out of 3 so far this year. His team mate, Sergio Perez, finished in the final points paying position in 8th which isn’t the best result the Mexican driver has had.
A lovely little result from McLaren, both cars finishing the podium in P2 for Piastri and P3 from Norris, just what the team expects from their drivers. They also had quite a good battle with Max at the beginning and it was good to see how close the top 3 was at times.
Russell finished P4 which isn’t bad and Hamilton P6 so where they both started. To be honest most drivers don’t really risk it too much in the sprint as they have qualifying later on and don’t want to risk damaging their cars.
Leclerc moved up a few spots which is good, the Ferrari’s clearly have a bit of pace under their cars this weekend, so they will be wanting a better qualifying session for the race.
Magnussen finished P9! Just outside the points unfortunately but all he needs to do is repeat the same again tomorrow for the race.
Gasly and Ocon didn’t have the best race, they started in the top 10 and finished 11th and 12th…
The second race of the first triple header of the season is here, as we have the Austrian Grand Prix this weekend.
Several unusual features make this a unique track on the championship calendar. First of all, it boasts the lowest numbers of corners (10) and the shortest time, even if its 4.318 kilometre length makes it the fifth shortest track.
The circuit which is owned by Red Bull is second on the list of tracks with the biggest change in altitude with a difference of 63.5 metres between its highest and lowest points.
As usual for this race, Pirelli have chosen the three softest compounds from the 2024 range the C3 (Hard), C4 (Medium) and C5 (Soft).
The Spielberg track surface is quite old and therefore is highly abrasive but the lateral forces exerted on the tyres are decidedly lower than average for the season, resulting in very limited wear overall.
Traction out of the slow corners and stability under braking are key contributors to being competitive at this track. It is important to manage the tyres in such a way as to avoid overtaking, especially if they run at high temperatures: those drivers who don’t manage to keep them cool enough could find it hard to fend off attacks from other cars.
For the past two editions of this race, the two-stop strategy proved quickest, running the Medium and Hard tyres and last year, no driver gambled on the softs.
For the #AustrianGP Pirelli has chosen the three softest compounds from the 2024 range, namely the C3 as Hard, the C4 as Medium and the C5 as Soft. Here you can find all the numbers of this race 👇#F1pic.twitter.com/Ga7DSsDbor
Jaguar TCS Racing’s Mitch Evans was the quickest person on track during the first free practice session in Shanghai, as the grid was separated by just over half a second.
The Jaguar team looked strong throughout the session, which was disrupted by a technical problem for several cars.
Just behind Evans, was the Andretti of Norman Nato, with his championship winning teammate Jake Dennis down in 14th. DS Penske’s Jean-Eric Vergne found himself rounding out the top three in third.
No sooner we had the 30 minute session got going it was brought under red flag conditions after several cars stopped on track. Both the Porsche and ERT’s as well as Nyck de Vries all had to be recovered from the Shanghai circuit for the technical problem.
FP2-
Andretti’s Norman Nato and DS PENSKE’s Jean-Eric Vergne both set an identical time to top the running in Free Practice 2 ahead of the Shanghai E-Prix Round 11.
Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein’s second in the standings and just 0.013s back in third.
The fast sweeping corners in Shanghai made things difficult for the drivers, with plenty of correction on the steering wheel to keep things in order. Engineers will be busy getting the setup right for their drivers, and making sure all the simulator work tallies with how things felt for real on track.
Qualifying-
DS PENSKE’s Jean-Eric Vergne will be starting the inaugural Shanghai E-Prix from the front of the grid as he secured the Julius Baer Pole Position in China.
The close qualifying battle saw all the drivers fight their was around the popular Shanghai International Circuit to sort the starting grid for the race.
Going up against Oliver Rowland in the Nissan, this pole position now sees Vergne equal the Formula E record for the most pole positions – 16 – which ties him with Sebastien Buemi.
The full top 10 are- Pole: Vergne, P2: Rowland, P3: Evans, P4: Wehrlein, P5: Hughes, P6: Da Costa, P7: Nato, P8: Vandoorne, P9: Frijns and P10: Cassidy.
Round 11-
Polesitter Vergne launched cleanly and into Turn 1 while Rowland bogged down from second passed immediately by Wehrlein and Evans.
Wehrlein was the first driver to take his first mandatory Attack Mode power boost – only he and Rowland jumping for it of the top 10 runners on lap 3. Robin Frijns briefly found himself in P1, before he took an initial two-minute Attack Mode boost, handing the lead back to Wehrlein.
The Porsche’s teamwork continued as da Costa hit the front at the start of lap 5, before taking his attack mode activation, and dropping behind teammate Wehrlein.
Jaguar’s Evans fired himself into the top three on lap 7, splitting the Porsches with a move through Turn 1 and a lap later, the Kiwi then took the lead.
The top six looked the place to be with the pack jostling to hit that front quarter of the field, steering clear of the mid-pack melee and positioning themselves for a potential podium push.
Evans led once again on lap 13, with the Porsches and Vergne still in that top four biding their time and waiting for their moment. The top 10 runners at the half-way stage had all used boosts, except reigning champion Dennis.
Berlin winner, Cassidy found himself in the top six and two percent of usable energy to the good. The Porsche pair, Wehrlein from da Costa, swept back to the lead on lap 16, by Evans – the Jaguar driver their closest company, though absolutely nothing split the field.
However, on lap 19, Evans had a percent of energy in-hand and managed to slice by da Costa through Sector 1, while the sister Jaguar TCS Racing of Cassidy had two percent energy over the leaders.
Wehrlein outbraked himself into the hairpin, allowing Evans to pounce and bolt into the lead, while Dennis finally went for Attack mode and made it into third.
Wehrlein had it all on to hold P1, with all of the defensive moves in the book on show but into Turn 1 of the final lap, Evans broke the German’s resistance right around the outside of Turn 1.
The full top 10 are- P1: Evans, P2: Wehrlein, P3: Cassidy, P4: Rowland, P5: Dennis, P6: Vergne, P7: De Vries, P8: Buemi, P9: Vandoorne and P10: Di Grassi.
Round 11 is now complete, let’s take a look at how it went down at an action-packed British Grand Prix weekend!
Max Verstappen extended his current winning streak to six races and a first at Silverstone. With Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton rounding out the podium putting on a show for the British crowd.
The full top 10 are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Norris, P3: Hamilton, P4: Piastri, P5: Russell, P6: Perez, P7: Alonso, P8: Albon, P9: Leclerc and P10: Sainz.
Norris jumped Verstappen for the lead at the start, with teammate Oscar Piastri almost following him through, meaning it was a Red Bull sandwich over the first few laps – but the reigning double world champion fought back.
We had a late Safety Car period as Kevin Magnussen’s Haas was smoking which saw the leading group come into the pits.
Great result for McLaren!! Wow, so glad we saw Lando on the podium at his home race, as it’s fully deserved! Obviously gutting for Piastri for him to miss out on his maiden F1 podium but either way its a career best finish for him in 4th!
Obviously a great result for the Mercedes team too, I think we had no doubt that Lewis will get on the podium here, but to have George in the top five too, just rounds out the weekend for them.
Not the best result for Ferrari, 9th and 10th is a bit shocking considering their pace in qualifying, but these things happen, they still scored points!
Another great weekend from Albon, so happy to see him doing well at the moment, it’s like his fount something and it just clicks, so more points in the bag for himself and the team! As for Logan Sargeant, he was just missing out on points in P11! But I have a feeling they’ll come soon enough.
A decent result for Perez considering his starting position, I think we all know it could’ve been a better result. I think it’s time he needs to re-group and start fresh as I think RB might get the hump soon if they haven’t already with the Mexican…
We are back racing for Round 12, in just under 2 weeks! And we head to Hungary on the 21st to 23rd July!
What a qualifying session we had yesterday, with changing conditions adding a bit of drama to it, which brought out a few surprises… good and bad!
Max Verstappen made it five pole positions in a row and seven for the 2023 season so far, as he beat the McLaren pair, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri to the top spot.
The full top 10 are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Norris, P3: Piastri, P4: Leclerc, P5: Sainz, P6: Russell, P7: Hamilton, P8: Albon, P9: Alonso and P10: Gasly.
Obviously first few drivers I have to mention are McLaren! WOW, honestly being a McLaren, Norris and Piastri fan I’m so happy. We all saw how Lando did last weekend with the updated car, and now Oscar has it, McLaren have made a huge step forward!
Really good results for Ferrari, nice to see them both there together, so they can push for more points today.
Now Sergio Perez… he is starting 15th, not the place he wants to be that’s for sure, especially when there’s both drivers from three teams in the top 10. It’s his 5th exit not being able to make Q3, I think something needs to change on his side of the garage, whether it’s just bad luck or not.
Valtteri Bottas got disqualified from qualifying as he starts in the race in P20. Bottas ground to a halt at the end of Q1, after bagging himself a spot in Q2.
The FIA were unable to extract the stipulated one-litre fuel sample from the C43 machine, which lead to him being disqualified.
I think we might have an entertaining race, we have Sergio Perez coming through the field, and will the McLaren’s be able to turn the qualifying pace into race pace and keep up with the likes of Ferrari and Mercedes.
The second race of the double header is here and we are at Silverstone for the British Grand Prix! The home Grand Prix of Lewis Hamilton, George Russell and Lando Norris, as well as some teams.
Will one of the home hero’s make it on the podium? Or possibly two? All eyes look towards Sunday to find out!
But could anyone stop Max Verstappen and Red Bull? The past few races here at Silverstone have had some drama, so should we expect some this time out?
Who needs to shine?
Alex Albon will be wanting to have a good weekend, he thinks that the team should’ve scored points in Austria, so will be hoping he does this time out.
Nico Hulkenberg had a pretty okay weekend last week, I think if he didn’t have his DNF he might’ve scored some points, but looking at this weekend he will be wanting to grab those points to make up for what he missed.
Yuki Tsunoda, his obviously the lead Alpha Tauri car but his had a few bad races recently where he hasn’t scored any points, the last time being back in Azerbaijan. With only scoring two points so far this season, he will be wanting to get the most out of this weekend he could possibly get.
The tyres for this weekend’s British Grand Prix have been chosen, with a debut of a new slick tyre construction.
The chosen tyres are: C1 (Hard), C2 (Medium) and C3 (Soft), a choice dictated by the high energy loads that Silverstone puts through the tyres.
The track is one of the most demanding of the whole season, especially for the front-left tyre that has to cope with heavy loadings throughout eight different corners.
Some of the highest average cornering speeds of the year are seen at Silverstone (Maggotts, Becketts and Chapel are all taken flat out) while the drivers are subjected to lateral forces that can exceed 5g.
A two-stopper was generally the most popular strategy in 2022. And all three compounds were seen during the race: including on the starting grid.
After Monza, SIlverstone is one of the most historic permanent tracks on the F1 calendar, having hosted 57 Grand Prix. In 2020, the British Grand Prix was followed one weekend later by another grand prix to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the very first F1 race in history.
The British Grand Prix will mark the debut of a new slick tyre construction, using materials that have been brought forward from their anticipated introduction next year. This change in specification was made necessary due to the increased performance of the cars seen since the start of the season – both in terms of outright speed and loadings – compared to the pre-season simulation data supplied to Pirelli by the teams last winter, and the fact that this trend is only set to increase as the championship goes on. We’ve worked very hard on simulation over the last few years in order to not only supply a product that meets the performance targets set by all the stakeholders but also to have the ability to anticipate any eventual issues and react to them promptly.The new specification gives the tyre extra resistance against fatigue but does not affect any technical parameters or its behaviour on track. All the teams already had the opportunity to try the new tyre construction out at the Spanish Grand Prix, when two sets were put at the disposal of each driver in free practice. Their comments were in line with our expectations, especially when it came to transparency in terms of performance. The new specification also allows us to keep front and rear tyre pressures largely unchanged compared to last year, despite a significant increase in average loads. This debut will come on a track that is traditionally one of the hardest on tyres; on our internal charts Silverstone is right at the top in terms of stress and lateral forces exerted on them: particularly the front-left. The track also takes a lot out of the drivers, who have to cope with lateral accelerations in excess of 5g throughout its rapid corners. The compound choices – which, unlike the structure, are not undergoing any change in specification – are identical to previous years at least in name: C1 is the hard, C2 is the medium, and C3 is the soft. However, the current C1 is in fact a brand new compound for this year, which fits in between the C2 and the C0: our new name for the hardest compound in the 2022 range.
The ABB FIA Formula E World Championship turns to Asia and Jakarta, Indonesia this weekend for the 2023 Gulavit Jakarta E-Prix rounds 10 & 11.
The trip to Jakarta marks Formula E’s second outing in Indonesia, home to 273 million people – a huge contingent of motorsport fanatics eager for another taste of the leading electric racing series as the city centre once again plays host on motorsport’s world stage after a more than memorable first visit to the nation in 2022.
Last time out in Jakarta, it was uncharted territory for the championship’s grid of 22 drivers. Mitch Evans fended off the close attentions of Jean-Eric Vergne and Edoardo Mortara to take his third win of Season 8.
The Circuit-
The 2.37km, 18 turn circuit kicks off with a tight opening sector after a long run down the start/finish straight. There’ll be plenty of room for manoeuvre into the right hander at Turn 1 before drivers head into a flowing series of turns that swoop by Ancol Beach City.
The final sector is a tricky complex following a fast right-hander at Turn 12 and another long straight into what will no doubt be a busy turn 13 hairpin come the race. An awkward left-hander at Turn 18 rounds out the lap with a strong slingshot required down that long home straight.
Greeted by cold and dry conditions, the mist loomed high over the Belgian hills and there were plenty of unknowns heading into the first race of the weekend after a lack of race runs in a highly disrupted practice session.
Whilst Ralph Boschung assumed his spot on reverse grid pole on his return to the the track after suffering an injury, Jehan Daruvala’s day was brought to an early end before the lights had even gone out as the PREMA Racing driver pulled over on the reconnaissance lap.
Unfortunately for the Swiss driver, the Belgian circuit isn’t short of overtaking opportunities. All over the back of the race leader, the Red Bull liveried Carlin sailed up into P1 along the Kemmel Straight.
The race made a turn on Lap 11, Logan Sargeant lost his rear end on the exit of Pouhom and skidded into the barriers, triggering the Safety Car.
The full top 10 are- P1: Lawson, P2: Doohan, P3: Boschung, P4: Drugovich, P5: Verschoor, P6: Pourchaire, P7: Armstrong, P8: Beckmann, P9: Iwasa and P10: Hauger.
Day 3-
Drugovich surged off the line and Doohan cleared Enzo Fittipaldi to take second into La Source. David Beckmann followed through down the Kemmel Straight on the Charouz Racing System at Les Combes to take third.
Theo Pourchaire’s title hopes took a major hit, as he slid down the order and out of the race with an issue. Richard Verschoor took fifth from the Charouz on the next lap, using DRS.
Fittipaldi and Sargeant were the first to pit for mediums on Lap 8, feeding back out in 14th and 15th places respectively. Lawson responded on the following lap, but it was a slow stop for the Carlin driver.
Juri Vips and Lirim Zendeli were the first of those on mediums to swap to softs on Lap 15 whilst Verschoor and Iwasa continued to extend their stints at the front.
The full top 10 are- P1: Doohan, P2: Drugovich, P3: Lawson, P4: Verschoor, P5: Fittipaldi, P6: Sargeant, P7: Beckmann, P8: Iwasa, P9: Vips and P10: Novalak.
Lirim Zendeli will be returning to the Formula 2 grid this weekend at Spa-Francorchamps as he takes the place of banned, Olli Caldwell at Campos Racing.
Caldwell, managed to rack up 12 penalty points this season which has prevented Caldwell from being allowed to take part in this weekend’s races.
Since loosing his seat halfway through his rookie F2 season in 2021 due to budget issues, Zendeli has only raced cars once as he made a FIA Formula 3 Championship appearance with Charouz Racing System earlier this year.
His 2021 F2 campaign featured four points finishes in 17 races, and before that he won once across two seasons in FIA F3 and also claimed podiums in the Toyota Racing Series.
I’m very excited and happy to be racing a F2 car again. It’s been a year now since my last time in F2 and I’m looking forward to this experience. Spa has been good to me, last time I drove there in F3 [I won]. Taking over the keys from Olli will be a big challenge but I will try my best to find the limits again as soon as possible. I also want to thank Olli and Campos for their trust in me and I’ll give it my all to return it in good results.
Lirim Zendelli on racing in F2 again.
After the last sanction imposed by the FIA, unfortunately, we cannot have Olli with us in this race. Zendeli comes in his place and I wish him a very good weekend, we know he has been out for a year but we hope he will have a quick adaptation to the car and I think that with all the support of the team we can have a good weekend.
Stoffel Vandoorne hit the ground running in New York City with the fastest time in Free Practice 1 at the Brooklyn Street Circuit in Red Hook.
The Mercedes-EQ driver set a 1m 09.836s, some three tenths quicker than Sergio Sette Camara. Vandoorne is looking to recover following a recovery drive to eighth position last time out in Marrakesh whilst the rest of the top four in the Drivers’ running scored well. Oliver Rowland (Mahindra Racing) rounded third in the practice session.
The full top 10 are- P1: Vandoorne, P2: Sette Camara, P3: Rowland, P4: Bird, P5: Mortara, P6: Wehrlein, P7: Da Costa, P8: De Vries, P9: Gunther and P10: Dennis.
Free Practice 2-
Antonio Felix da Costa was the one to set the pace in Free Practice 2 with a 1m 08.684s lap, two tenths up the road from Jaguar TCS Racing’s Mitch Evans and Jake Dennis.
The DS Techeetah driver made the most of improving track conditions after Friday’s dusty start to fire his car to the top. Evans was best of the Drivers’ World Championship top four with standings leader Edo Mortara down in ninth spot and fellow challenger Stoffel Vandoorne, one spot ahead in eighth.
The full top 10 are- P1: Costa, P2: Evans, P3: Dennis, P4: Wehrlein, P5: Frijns, P6: Vergne, P7: Lotterer, P8: Vandoorne, P9: Mortara and P10: Giovinazzi.
Qualifying-
Nick Cassidy, Envision Racing, sneaked Julius Baer Pole Position for the NYC E-Prix Round 11 by just 0.008s from Stoffel Vandoorne, with the race teed up to cause a stir in the title battle.
Cassidy danced the car around a drying track following the earlier rain during the Group B running. The New Zealender and Vandoorne couldn’t be spilt around the whole lap, with the advantage heading one way then the next over the final duel. But the Envision Racing driver did enough to seal his third pole position in Formula E.
Current standings leader, Edo Mortara had failed to make it through the Groups but his 11 point lead in the championship remains intact after Vandoorne failed to bag those three bonus points for pole. But it could have been worse for Mortara, were it not for the weather that arrived midway through Group B.
Fellow title challengers Jean-Eric Vergne and Mitch Evans were caught out by the conditions, having failed to set a banker lap of note before the drizzle became rain and a faster lap than those that had come before went out of the window.
The full top 10 are- P1: Cassidy, P2: Vandoorne, P3: Di Grassi, P4: Wehrelin, P5: Buemi, P6: Sims, P7: Frijns, P8: Bird, P9: Mortara and P10: Da Costa.
Round 11-
Nick Cassidy took a maiden Formula E race win in a rain-hit New York City fro Round 11, heading home Lucas di Grassi and teammate Robin Frijns.
Julius Baer Polesitter, Cassidy had produced the goods throughout to lead from the front through both Attack Mode activations, with di Grassi and Frijns applying the pressure behind as the race headed towards its conclusion – the pair having deposed Vandoorne from second on Lap 27 as the points race twisted and turned.
Standings leader Edo Mortara had also worked his way up to fifth with a late second Attack Mode – the ROKiT Venturi Racing driver having missed out on the Duels in qualifying, starting ninth.
Into the final 10 minutes plus one lap of the race and the heavens opened, with heavy rain buffeting the Brooklyn Street Circuit out of nowhere, leaving pools of standing water in the braking zone to Turn 6.
A full course yellow was called by Cassidy, di Grassi and Vandoorne – as well as Mortara couldn’t help but aquaplane straight on and into the wall. A number of other drivers fell foul in impossible conditions as the race was brought to an early conclusion with a red flag.
On count back, the results were taken as of the lap prior to the one in which the stoppage was called, as per article 41.9 of the regulations.
The full top 10 are- P1: Cassidy, P2: Di Grassi, P3: Frijns, P4: Vandoorne, P5: Buemi, P6: Wehrelin, P7: Bird, P8: De Vries, P9: Mortara and P10: Dennis.
The ABB FIA Formula E World Championship makes a return to the Big Apple for the New York City E-Prix for Round 11 & 12 of Season 8.
The Championship is gearing up for its fifth visit to Brooklyn’s Red Hook neighbourhood and the Brooklyn street circuit for a fifth double-header in the city.
With only 3 race weekends left and six races, the championship is heating up. Mortara leads the Championship on 139 points, Vergne is sat in second 11 points behind. Vandoorne is in third, on 125 points, and going to be on the charge for the points he lost out on in Marrakesh.
Looking at the teams championship ROKIT Venturi Racing lead both championships on 205 points, DS Techeetah are in 2nd on 203 point and then Mercedes in 3rd on 198.
The Circuit-
This weekend’s track is a favourite of the drivers, teams and fans alike, and the 2.320km, 14 turn Red Hook racetrack remains unchanged from its familiar layout.
The circuit winds its way around the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal site in the heart of the Red Hook neighbourhood of Brooklyn. It’s a test; lined with miles of unforgiving concrete, with views across the Buttermilk Channel and over towards Lower Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty.
Britain’s Sam Bird, is the most successful racer around the Brooklyn Street Circuit, with three wins to his name – including a spectacular double win on Formula E’s first visit to the city.
What a race. I honestly have no idea where to start… But one thing to say is the Orange Army did not disappoint and was great to see the sea of orange in the grandstands!
But it was Charles Leclerc who won the Austrian Grand Prix, his first win since Australia! Max Verstappen joined him on the podium in P2 and Lewis Hamilton rounds out the podium in P3!
The full top 10 are- P1: Leclerc, P2: Verstappen, P3: Hamilton, P4: Russell, P5: Ocon, P6: Schumacher, P7: Norris, P8: Magnussen, P9: Ricciardo and P10: Alonso.
What a race for Charles! His been saying he needs a win and he finally got one and it was very well deserved, he done lovely overtakes on Max and caught him out a few times. But the same couldn’t be said for his teammate… Carlos ended up retiring due to an power unit failure which saw quite a big fire when he pulled over to the side of the track.
A decent day for Max, he just didn’t have the pace compared to Leclerc and you could tell by the second overtake Leclerc done on him, as normally Max doesn’t let it happen and fights back straight away. Again, the same couldn’t be said for Perez as he retired aswell, which saw Leclerc now jump him in the constructors.
One team out of the top 3, had a brilliant day! Mercedes, wow… Lewis started P8 and finished on the podium, Russell started 4th, had a first lap tangle with Perez, which saw the Brit get a 5 second time penalty and then he pitted to serve his penalty and change his front wing. Naturally he dropped down the order, he then thought back to finish 4th, which I must say is very impressive!
I said Ocon could score big points, and he did, the Frenchman finished 5th and it really helps his championship out as he moves further up. Another team, who I said could score big, were Haas and they did! Mick finished 6th – his best ever finish and Magnussen finished 8th, double points finish two weekends in a row for the American team!
Finally McLaren!! Double points finish, Lando 7th and Daniel 9th. It’s no secret that Danny’s had some problems, but if your patient then the points do come eventually, hopefully this is the start of the continuous points finish…
We are back in two weeks! And for another double header before the summer break… First up we have the French GP on the 22nd to 24th July, who will come out on top the next race weekend, as we now have completed 11 rounds out of 22?
Our second sprint of the season is complete and what a race, drama from left right and centre, and even before we got racing…
The yellow flags, come out on the formation lap when Fernando Alonso’s Alpine failed to get off the grid, forcing him out of the Sprint, this was before Zhou Guanyu’s brief stoppage at the final corner approaching the grid, which the field then had to do another formation lap, as we saw the Alfa Romeo driver start from the pitlane.
But, Max Verstappen won the sprint as he dominated from lights out to the checkered flag. The two Ferrari’s follow him closely, with Leclerc in 2nd and Sainz in 3rd.
The full top 10 are: P1: Verstappen, P2: Leclerc, P3: Sainz, P4: Russell, P5: Perez, P6: Ocon, P7: Magnussen, P8: Hamilton, P9: Schumacher and P10: Bottas.
What a drive from Perez! Started P13 and to finish 5th is really good! Could we see him try and battle for a podium or maybe a win today?
Zhou Guanyu, done really well considering he started from the pitlane, he finished 14th, I’d say keep an eye on him today, he could score some points and do some very nice overtakes!
The McLaren boys made up a few places each Norris starting 11th today and Ricciardo 12th. I think there will be lots of battles throughout the race later!
One person I’d say you would have to really watch is Esteban Ocon, his been looking strong all weekend, so I won’t be surprised if we see him up there later today.
Predictions-
My top five are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Leclerc, P3: Hamilton, P4: Perez and P5: Russell.
I think we are going to have a bit of a crazy race today, there are plenty of overtaking spots but there is also track limits so drivers need to keep that in mind…
F1 really knows how to keep us on the edge of our seat, on a weekend where we have more drama than normal because of the Sprint, but to add to that we had an eventful qualifying session at the Red Bull Ring.
Qualifying set the grid for the Sprint later on today, which will then set the grid for tomorrow’s Grand Prix. The top eight from the sprint will score points, so it’s a good way to get up the field a bit more.
But it was Max Verstappen who took pole position infront of the Orange Army, but he was followed closely by the two Ferrari’s, Charles Leclerc in 2nd and our newest race winner, Carlos Sainz in third.
The full top 10 are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Leclerc, P3: Sainz, P4: Russell, P5: Ocon, P6: Magnussen, P7: Schumacher, P8: Alonso, P9: Hamilton and P10: Gasly.
Sergio Perez, actually qualified P4, but after qualifying, it came out that he breached track limits in his Q2 lap, the stewards deleted that time, alongside his Q3 laps so he will now be starting 13th! Not a good start to his weekend, but this is where the Sprint comes into play, it gives the drivers an opportunity to get a little further up the grid.
Oh Mercedes… it was looking like pole for Lewis Hamilton, as he was strong in Q1 and Q2. But once again, things just don’t go that way in F1. Hamilton went into the barriers at Turn 7 to bring out a red flag in the middle of the session, leaving him 10th. George then thought he would add to the mix, with a spin and then crash at the final corner, however he had already put down a banker lap. Not a good start for the Mercs, but they can still have a good fight.
Both Haas’ in the top 10!! Wow, the car so far seems to like the track, definitely big points on offer for them this weekend, and it will be interesting to see if they can get their strategy right and optimise on other peoples misfortune.
Mr Alex Albon, starting P11 today, he only has to make up 3 places and he’ll score points… This is why part of me likes the Sprint, its for the teams who are close to scoring points on a normal weekend, but add the sprint into their they have more of a chance to score on Sunday.
Predictions-
My top five are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Leclerc, P3: Russell, P4: Hamilton and P5: Ocon.
I feel like we are going to get a crazy sprint, later today and its going to cause carnage… But if it does happen, then we are in for a crazy race on Sunday.
We are on our second week of the double header, and we are heading to the Red Bull Ring, Austria for Round 11. Will Red Bull make it count on home turf, or will Ferrari fight back? The Sprint also returns for the second time this season!
What can Carlos Sainz do this weekend of the back of his first win? Will he be going for number two already? Will Charles’ strategy go right this weekend? Or will it be another winless or podiumless weekend for him? What can the Bulls do? What can Mercedes do?? So many questions about how the Silver Arrows will do, and I can’t wait to find out!
Who needs a good weekend?
Daniel needs a good weekend, it’s just getting repetitive putting him in here. But in all honestly and hopefullness, I hope he does click with the car well this weekend, and its the return of the sprint so a chance to get further up the grid…
Alpha Tauri needs a good weekend, another non-points finish. If the car struggles in high paced corners, then they will more than likely struggle this weekend, unless they find the right set up.
Alfa Romeo will be wanting to sort out their reliability sooner rather than later, VB had to retire last race again, and its going to start hurting their championship if this carries on…
Predictions for qualifying-
My top five are- P1: Leclerc, P2: Verstappen, P3: Sainz, P4: Perez and P5: Hamilton.
I feel like Leclerc will just be looking for revenge, so he will do an absolutely stonking lap to put it on pole, but I think Max will be close to him. But if it rains, its going to be another story and we can see the Mercs fight for pole aswell. With a few surprises added in there aswell…
It’s another race week, and we have been given the tyre allocation from Pirelli for this weeks race in Austria.
The Red Bull Ring in Austria is a short and sharp rollercoaster with only 10 corners and constant elevation changes. Pirelli brings the three softest tyres in the range C3 (Hard), C4 (Medium), C5 (Soft).
Last year there were two races at the Red Bull Ring held back-to-back, this weekend is the same tyre nominations as the second race there. It’s designed to help put on a show by increasing degradation and creating more overtaking opportunities. On that occasion, the winning strategy was two-stopper, one opening stint on the medium and then two stints on the hard.
Austria is home to the second sprint of the season. Instead of the normal 13 set of tyres, this weekend they will 12, two sets of hard, four sets of medium and six sets of soft.
The asphalt at the Red Bull Ring offers reasonably low grip on a low-severity circuit, which makes it possible to bring the softest tyres in the range. This helps us in putting the focus on entertainment, at a venue that has often delivered exciting races in the past, thanks to a busy and compact lap that’s essentially a series of short corners. Traction and especially braking are key here: with a particular risk of lock-ups in some of the tricky downhill braking areas. Maintaining the performance of the rear tyres throughout the lap is also vital to ensure adequate traction. Our tyre nomination makes a variety of different potential strategies possible.
Mario Isla, Motorsport Director
Formula 2-
The medium and supersoft tyres have been nominated for Formula 2 in Austria. This is the third time that this combination with an extra step between compounds have been used this season.
Formula 3-
For the first time this season, the softest tyre in the Formula 3 range – the soft compound – will be the sole nominated tyre. This is one step softer than 2021, when the medium compound was available at the Red Bull Ring.
The second Sprint weekend of the season takes places this weekend at the #AustrianGP! 🇦🇹
WHAT. A. RACE…. WOW, I did not expect this!! We’ve had chaos from the first lap and a very different outcome than expected!
We had a big collision on first lap which led to Bottas, Perez, Leclerc, Stroll and Norris to be out! Bottas has been given a 5 place gird penalty for the collision… Mazepin also got hit by Raikkonen in the pit lane meaning Mazepins race was over…
Esteban Ocon is finally a F1 Race Winner he done very well to hold of Sebastian Vettel who finished P2 and P3 goes to Lewis Hamilton after Mercedes messed up in the tyre situation at the restart he climbed up from P14 to P3!!
The rest of the top 10 are: P4- Sainz, P5- Alonso, P6- Gasly, P7- Tsunoda, P8- Latifi, P9- Russell and P10- Verstappen. Fastest lap goes to Pierre Gasly as he took it from Hamilton on the last lap! A big well done to everyone!
*UPDATE AS OF 9:15pm (BST)* Sebastian Vettel has been disqualified due to the race officials not been able to take the required fuel sample after the race. This means Hamilton goes to P2, with Carlos Sainz in P3, Hamilton’s lead in the championship is now 8 points… All drivers move up a place…
Can we take a minute to recognise the fact that BOTH Williams drivers scored points!! FINALLY George Russell and Nicholas Latifi score points! I’m so happy for both of them and the team!
It wasn’t Red Bulls day today, a bad strategy cost Max places and yes he was driving with a damaged car but he did managed to overtake people with it earlier on in the race so it’s another race which is down to Red Bulls poor strategy…
Gutted for Daniel Ricciardo, after getting hit on the first lap it just went down hill after that…
We now have a 4 week break and Lewis Hamilton leads the championship by 6 points, Max Verstappen is second with 186 points and Lando Norris is in third. Mercedes are now first in the Constructors with 300 points, Red Bull are second with 290 and McLaren maintaining their spot in P3!
We are back on the weekend off the 27th to 29th of August, for the Belgium Grand Prix!
What a Quali! 1-2 for the Mercedes boys with Max Verstappen joining them in P3… The rest of the top 10 are: P4- Perez, P5- Gasly, P6- Norris, P7- Leclerc, P8- Ocon, P9- Alonso and P10- Vettel
This is what the Mercedes boys needed, it shows the upgrades they got at Silverstone are working a lot!
Disappointing day for Ricciardo, only managed P11 after being knocked out of the top 10 by Vettel. It seems like something isn’t their with the car today, so hopefully they figure out for the race tomorrow and the fact they have free tyre choice plays into their hand.
Aswell a disappointing day for Carlos Sainz, he crashed out in Q2 meaning he will start P15 after not being able to set a time. Hopefully he has a better day tomorrow…
I’m not to sure if Red Bull can do much tomorrow… Verstappen is starting on the softs which won’t last long in the heat and with the race being 70 laps long it’s looking like they will do a two stop which won’t be good if Mercedes are on a one stop.
Very disappointed for Russell, got knocked out in Q1 which is a shame but like the Brit said you can’t get it right every time!
Predictions-
My top five predictions for tomorrow are: P1- Hamilton, P2- Bottas, P3- Verstappen, P4- Gasly and P5- Norris. I think fastest lap will go to Verstappen, Red Bull are going to want to stop Hamilton and Mercedes from getting extra points…
I’d love to see Ricciardo finish in the points, he has a good chance tomorrow so it’s all eyes onto tomorrow now!
We are back this week after a two week break and we are at the Hungaroring for round 11, it’s our last race before the summer break!
Could we see a different championship leader after Sunday? Or will Max Verstappen be aiming to extend his lead after Silverstone? I for one am very much looking forward to this weekend, it’s all to play for once again!
Who needs a good weekend?
I think that both Red Bull drivers need a good weekend, considering the fact neither of them had a good weekend at Silverstone the gap has now closed between Max and Lewis and Red Bull and Mercedes. It will be interesting to see what strategy they go for here…
A good weekend for Pierre and Yuki is needed, it seemed to all go wrong for Gasly at Silverstone, so hopefully he will have a stronger weekend and hopefully the same for Yuki even though he managed to score a point at Silverstone!
Predictions for Quali-
My top five for qualifying are: P1- Hamilton, P2- Verstappen, P3- Bottas, P4- Norris and P5- Ricciardo.
I’d want to see at least one of the Alpine’s in the top 10 and Russell as well, his been really strong in qualifying as always and his put his Williams in the top 10 a few times this year!
We are back racing this weekend and the tyres for Hungary have been announced.
The middle of the range have been chosen and they are C2 (Hard), C3 (Medium) and C4 (Soft). This is the same as what Hungary had last year. The circuit doesn’t place any heavy demands on the tyres, meaning these compounds are well suited to the track, especially if the weather is warm.
Hungary is a very different track compared to the last round at Silverstone, overtaking is tricky on the track so planning race strategy and track position is key. Last years strategy was the wet and intermediate tyres were run at the start of the race because of the rain. But in 2019 (the same compound as 2021) both one and two stop strategies with Hamilton using a two stopper who won the race.
We have 70 laps of this track, the circuit length being 4.381 km and with only one DRS zone thinks can change very quickly…
We also have Formula 3 at Hungary this weekend too, they use the one tyre compound and that is the medium compound.
Jordan's Track Talk 