Jordan's Track Talk

Tag: Round 12

  • R12 – Silverstone

    Lando Norris has taken victory in an eventful wet-dry British Grand Prix, the McLaren driver leading home team mate Oscar Piastri on an action-packed afternoon that also saw Nico Hulkenberg finally clinch his maiden F1 podium.

    With the race starting in dry conditions, polesitter Max Verstappen initially led away from Piastri- but the Australian soon got ahead just as the rain started to fall heavily.

    While the McLaren quickly built a strong lead, this was neutralised when the Safety Car was deployed, marking the first appearance for the vehicle during the event.

    An action-packed event ensued from there, with Piastri receiving a 10 second time penalty for slowing too much when preparing to lead the pack away following another Safety Car restart, while a spin for Verstappen moments later saw the Dutchman drop back.

    As conditions changed and drivers started to switch to slick tyres on, Piastri served his penalty during his pit stop and Norris took over the lead of the race – and from there Norris maintained his advantage to seal the win in front of a cheering crowd, crossing the line 6.812s ahead of Piastri.

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

    What a result for McLaren! Lando Norris has won his home Grand Prix!!! This is the one he really wanted, and he absolutely smashed it out of the park.
    As for Piastri, a good result for him too, unfortunate for the 10 second time penalty but sometimes it is just racing…

    Nicoooo Hulkenbergggggg!!! P3! He finally got his podium!!! What a result for the Stake driver, he and the team will be ecstatic, and it is fully deserved, they smashed it out of the park with strategy.

    P4 for Lewis Hamilton, a good result for the Ferrari driver! It’s a shame he wasn’t on the podium at his home race, but still a very good result! As for his teammate, Leclerc took the gamble and pitted before lights out (like some of the other drivers) and put the slicks on and it just didn’t work in his favour he ended up a shocking 14th…

    An okay result for Verstappen, obviously not what he would’ve wanted starting on pole, but still in the points which is good, it didn’t help that he had a spin on the safety car restart which did not help at all.
    As for Tsunoda he finished a disappointing 15th, the last of the runners.

    A lovely P6 result for Pierre Gaslyyy! He kept out of trouble and kept it on track and was rewarded with another lovely points finish.

    Double points for Aston Martin at their home Grand Prix! P7 for Stroll and P9 for Alonso, a great result for the team!

    A disappointing result for George Russell who finished in P10, again he took a gamble and pitted and it just didn’t work at all. As for his teammate, Antonelli was one of five DNF’s, a few bad weekends to forget for the young driver.

    Now we have a little break before the next round, it is on the 25th-27th July and we head to Spa-Francorchamps for the Belgian Grand Prix!

  • R12 – Silverstone Qualifying

    Max Verstappen has clinched pole position at the British Grand Prix, the Red Bull driver storming through with a stunning lap to put himself at the front of the grid ahead of the McLarens of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.

    While Piastri had secured provisional pole during the first runs of Q3, the Australian made a mistake on his final effort and could not improve.
    But Verstappen put his lap together perfectly to go fastest on an effort of 1m 24.892s, putting himself 0.103s clear of Piastri’s McLaren.

    The full top 10 are- Pole: Verstappen, P2: Piastri, P3: Norris, P4: Russell, P5: Hamilton, P6: Leclerc, P7: Antonelli, P8: Bearman, P9: Alonso and P10: Gasly.
    However, this isn’t the starting grid as Ollie Bearman has a 10 place grid penalty meaning he will start 18th and Antonelli has a 3 place grid penalty which means he will start from 10th, which promotes Alonso to 7th, Gasly 8th, and Sainz 9th.

    A lovely result for Verstappen, I was quite surprised he got pole as he was complaining a lot about the car in Q1 and Q2, but this is the result he would’ve wanted and needed too.
    As for Tsunoda he has had a decent result! P11 for the Japanese driver, just outside of the top 10 however he is in the middle of the pack so he has to be very careful at the start.

    A good result for McLaren P2 for Piastri and P3 for Norris, they are in a very good position for winning this race! Could Lando bring it home for the first time ever? I think his going to have a bit of competition for this win today…

    A good result for George Russell, I feel like he went a bit under the radar with his P4 result, but I think that’s more because of his pace which hasn’t been as good as other weekend. Obviously his teammate starts P10, still a good position to score some decent points for the Silver Arrows.

    A decent result for Ferrari, P5 for Hamilton and P6 for Lelcerc, it could’ve been a bit better of a result, especially as both cars have the pace. But, and key word being but, can you ever count Lewis Hamilton out of a British GP win or podium? It will definitely be an interesting race later, especially if we have some rain…

    A good result for Alonso, P7 for the Aston Martin driver, he will be looking to score some good points this weekend.

  • R12 – Tyre Selection

    The midpoint of the 2025 season sees Formula 1 return to where it all began 75 years ago. The first Grand Prix to count towards the Drivers’ World Championship was held on 13th May 1950 at Silverstone.

    Silverstone has hosted 59 Grands Prix, more world Championship events than any other circuit with the except of Monza (74).
    It’s layout has remained more or less unchanged throughout the years.

    At 5.861 kilometres, it is one of the longest tracks on the calendar, with 18 corners, 10 to the right and 8 to the left.
    The circuit is in almost year round use with four and two-wheeled racing categories and so it provides good grip right from Friday’s first free practice session.

    Despite taking place at the height of summer, the English weather can often be unpredictable with very changeable temperatures and wind and rain suddenly putting in an appearance.

    The compounds for this year are- C2 (Hard), C3 (Medium), C4 (Soft), which is a step softer than last year.
    The aim is to create a wider range of strategy options for the race. In 2024, when the C3 was the Soft, it was used by just a few drivers in the closing stages of the race following the rain.

    All dry compounds and the intermediates were used during the 2024 British Grand Prix. 17 drivers opted to line up on the starting grid on the medium, the only exceptions being Ocon and Zhou on the Soft and Perez on the Hard tyres.

  • RW 12 – Silverstone

    Lewis Hamilton has claimed a long-awaited and record-breaking ninth British Grand Prix victory in a thrilling race at Silverstone!

    While pole sitter, George Russell had led away from Hamilton as the event got underway, an exciting battle soon unfolded between the two Mercedes cars and the McLaren pair of Norris and Oscar Piastri amid changing weather conditions.

    The lead changed hands as the field began to switch to intermediate tyres after the opening phase of the race, before the skies later became dry and Hamilton capitalised from pitting for slicks on lap earlier than Norris – who also face a slow pit stop.

    While Russell retired with a water system issue, and Max Verstappen snatched P2 from Norris in the latter stages – Hamilton held his position to clinch an emotional victory, a record ninth win in a single Grand Prix and his first P1 since the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

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

    WOWWW! What a result from Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes! His first win of the season, and he done it in style, this really does show you how much Mercedes have put so much into getting their car into a race winning way again and it hasn’t been easy but they’ve done it!
    Obviously unfortunate for Russell, as he could’ve easily been on the podium if he didn’t have to retire but I’m sure he will bounce back next race.

    A great result for Max Verstappen, it wasn’t the easiest of races for the world champion and that showed a few times as even himself wasn’t sure where he would finish the race, but it was a good recovery back to P2. However his teammate didn’t make massive moves in the race… He finished 17th… and was two laps down aswell. Not good at all, when is it time for Red Bull to rethink the second seat?

    A decent result for McLaren, P3 for Norris and P4 for Piastri. I think the team threw away a victory here, they definitely left Oscar out for too long when it was raining as they could’ve double stacked like Mercedes did and giving Norris options for slick tyres instead of picking him a certain set. I think the team has to iron out a few little problems as this won’t win them more races…

    Ferrari, P5 for Carlos Sainz, a decent drive for him, didn’t really see much from the Spanish driver but a decent point haul from him. As for the other Ferrari, Charles Leclerc didn’t have the best race either it was a disappointing outcome for him after he made places up at the beginning of the race and then slipped backwards after making an early switch to intermediate tyres.

    Another great result for Hulkenberg! P6, he is on fire at the moment, Haas really have pulled it out of the bag recently and it just seems to be working at the moment!

    A decent result for Aston Martin, a double points finish for the team which is good to see after their recent struggles.

    Albon in the points aswell for the teams home grand prix which is good! His teammate, Logan Sargeant just missed out on points in P11, unfortunate for the American but a decent drive by him.

    Alpine didn’t have the best of weekends, Pierre Gasly didn’t even get to start the race he went into the pits on the formation lap due to a gearbox problem and that was him done for the day. As for his teammate, Esteban Ocon, finished 16th.

    Now the triple header is over, and we have a little break before a double header which starts on the 19th to 21st July and its the Hungarian Grand Prix

  • RW 12 – Silverstone Qualifying

    George Russell clinched an impressive pole position in qualifying for the British Grand Prix, with the Mercedes team locking out the front row after Lewis Hamilton claimed second place.

    Having set the initial pace during the first runs of Q3, Russell improved further on his final effort by pumping in a time of 1m 25.819s, putting him 0.171s clear of Hamilton, while Lando Norris followed in third for McLaren to complete an all British top three.

    The full top 10 are – Pole: Russell, P2: Hamilton, P3: Norris, P4: Verstappen, P5: Piastri, P6: Hulkenberg, P7: Sainz, P8: Stroll, P9: Albon and P10: Alonso.

    What a result for the Mercedes duo! Honestly I was hoping for a Brit to be on pole and I really didn’t mind who, but it just makes it even more special that Mercedes have managed to qualify P1 and P2 at their drivers home grand prix! They will be pushing for a double podium, so it’s going to be an interesting race!

    Lando in the top three aswell, making it 3 Brits in the top 3 which we love to see! But he will be bringing the battle to the Mercedes drivers, as he will want this home win more than anything. His teammate, Oscar Piastri starts P5 which isn’t too bad, he will have the hard job of overtaking Max Verstappen.

    A really good result for Hulkenberg, P6! He will be hoping for a good result in the race and grab some more points for the team.

    Verstappen didn’t have the best of qualifying, it just didn’t seem to be all hooked up for the Dutch driver. But starting P4 isn’t all too bad, he can easily make up places. However, his teammate starting all the way down in 19th… not a good day for the Mexican driver, he got beached in the gravel and that was his session over in Q1.

    Not the best result for Ferrari, Carlos Sainz had the better qualifying session finishing in 7th, whereas his teammate Charles Leclerc is starting P11 after he got pushed into the elimination zone of Q2, so a lot of work to do for the Monegasque driver.

  • Hadjar to make FP1 appearance for Red Bull

    F2 racer Isack Hadjar will turn out for Red Bull in FP1 at the British Grand Prix weekend, taking over Sergio Perez’s RB20.

    The Red Bull junior currently sits second in the 2024 F2 standings in what has been an impressive campaign so far for the 19 year old, with feature race victories in Melbourne and Imola particular highlights.

    The French driver’s upcoming appearance in first practice at Silverstone is his latest outing with F1 machinery, having made two FP1 appearances in 2023 – one for AlphaTauri in Mexico and one for Red Bull in Abu Dhabi.

    He will be joining some of his other F2 colleagues in FP1 with Franco Colapinto turning out for Williams, while Ollie Bearman will also be making another practice appearance for Haas.
    Alpine reserve driver, Jack Doohan, who race in F2 last year and finished third, will also be getting behind the wheel of Pierre Gasly’s car as he pushes for a seat on the 2025 grid.

    With a packed schedule over the British Grand Prix weekend, Hadjar will have to dovetail FP1 duties with Red Bull alongside his F2 duties for Campos Racing but it’s a chance he will surely relish.

    Under F1’s current regulations, each team must run a rookie in two FP1 sessions each campaign.

  • RW 12 – Tyre Selection

    The British Grand Prix marks the midpoint of the 2024 FIA Formula 1 World Championship and round 12 of 24 takes place where it all began 74 years ago.

    5.861 kilometres long, the track is the fifth longest on the Calendar after Spa-Francorchamps, Jeddah, Las Vegas and Baku.
    It features 18 corners and is one of the most exciting and also one of the most demanding for the car-tyre package.

    Some corner combinations, such as those from 10 to 14 – Maggotts, Becketts and Chapel – are taken at high speed and generate lateral forces on the tyres and drivers of over 5g.
    This along with other technical aspects, mean that as is always the case at Silverstone the chosen compounds are: C1 (Hard), C2 (Medium), C3 (Soft).

    The weather in England in the summer can be changeable, a further factor which is to be taken into consideration, especially as conditions can change very rapidly.

    Last year the entire race was run in the dry, with the soft somewhat a surprising protagonist, with only two teams not using it.
    However, the most used compound was the medium, which was used to complete half the overall mileage.
    The great majority of drivers went for a one-stop strategy, even if in the past, a two-stop had been the popular choice.

  • Alpine confirm Doohan for FP1

    Alpine have confirmed that Jack Doohan will make his second FP1 outing of the Formula 1 season at the British Grand Prix weekend.

    Doohan previously drove Esteban Ocon’s A524 in FP1 in Canada, but was only able to complete three laps – without setting a time – due to the wet weather seen in Montreal that day.
    But the Australian will get a second chance behind the wheel – this time Pierre Gasly’s car – during FP1 at Silverstone.

    A former FIA Formula 3 runner-up and the third-placed driver in last year’s F2 standings, with the 21 year old continuing to push for a drive with Alpine on next year’s F1 grid.

    The team currently have one seat vacant for 2025 following the confirmation, in the run-up to the Austrian Grand Prix that Pierre Gasly has committed his future to the team with a new multi-year extension.
    With Ferrari driver, Carlos Sainz still to decide on his future, and Alpine reported to be interested in securing his services, Doohan’s Silverstone opportunity gives him another chance show his talent.

    In addition to his FP1 outings and simulator duties at Enstone, Doohan – son of former 500cc motorcycle world champion Mick – has also completed several test sessions with Alpine over the last couple of years in his quest to become a full time member of the F1 grid.

  • RND 12 – Shanghai E-Prix

    FP3-

    Half a second split the top 17 runners as Nick Cassidy topped the times for Jaguar TCS Racing in Free Practice 3 ahead of the Shanghai E-Prix Round 12.

    A warm, steamy morning saw 27 degree air temperatures early on in Shanghai, and times matching free practice 2’s.

    Cassidy ran to a 1m13.500s late on and said he’d found something in himself to get there, while praising the team’s work over the weekend so far.

    Dan Ticktum, on home soil for ERT followed just 0.089s back with Porsche’s Antonio Felix da Costa rounding in third.

    Qualifying-

    NEOM McLaren’s Jake Hughes achieved his second Julius Baer Pole Position of the season around the Shanghai International Circuit.

    In a very intense qualifying battle, NEOM McLaren’s Jake Hughes managed to beat DS PENSKE’s Stoffel Vandoorne by just 0.001s!

    The insane margin between the two in the final of the duels ties the record set by Lucas di Grassi in Berlin back in 2017.
    And it’s the second time we’ve seen a pole decided by such a small gap this season, with Wehrlein of TAG Heuer Porsche putting it on pole by only 0.002s in Sao Paulo.

    Several of the big names were knocked out early on including reigning world champion, Jake Dennis who will start 16th. Yesterday’s pole sitter Jean-Eric Vergne couldn’t replicate his success a second consecutive day and will line up ninth.

    Mahindra’s Nyck de Vries managed his best qualifying performance of the year to start fourth after making his first Duels appearance of the year.

    The full top 10 are- Pole: Hughes, P2: Vandoorne, P3: Da Costa, P4: De Vries, P5: Cassidy, P6: Evans, P7: Nato, P8: Rowland, P9: Vergne and P10: Guenther.

    Round 12-

    A good start from Vandoorne saw the DS driver beat Hughes to Turn 1 with da Costa in tow. The Portuguese driver took Hughes’ second spot at Turn 10 a lap later, aiming to drag himself up to leader Vandoorne in the slipstream on lap 2.

    Hughes, Nato, de Vries and Cassidy – third to seventh – all jumped for Attack Mode on lap 3, though could stick with the lead pair with the race pace as it was early on.

    The Jaguars running sixth and seventh, Evans from Cassidy once again looked to play the team game, though the latter exclaimed over team radio at his unhappiness at the change of tactics for round 12.

    Norman Nato led Vandoorne, da Costa, Hughes, de Vries, Cassidy, Evans, Guenther, Bird and Vergne – with da Costa a percent to the good on energy on those around him.
    Sure enough, the Portuguese’ progress started in earnest as he caught Vandoorne unawares with a dive around the outside into the final chicane complex to set about leader Nato.

    On lap 9, da Costa jumped to the front, beating Nato to Turn 1’s apex before ceding P1 again to take his first Attack mode boost – a contrasting strategy for the Porsche driver.

    Drama on lap 12, saw title contender Pascal Wehrlein forced into pitting to have his left-rear tyre replaced, punctured following contact with NEOM McLaren’s Sam Bird.

    Da Costa looked to be the man to beat given the energy he had in-hand on the rest 0 some three percent of usable energy to the good on the leaders, enabling him to jump to the front again on lap 16 and looked to dictate.

    Hughes in third got the call to use more energy to move forward and set about Nato in second and da Costa in first on lap 18.
    A lap later, Cassidy tried to make a move on Hughes into Turn 1 and clipped his front wing in the process.
    Then at Turn 6, Hughes then it out around the outside of Nato to make it by the Frenchman for P2.

    The battling in-behind da Costa was playing into the Porsche driver’s hands, despite being the car punching through the air first.
    From lap 16 to the end, da Costa had the energy, pace and temperature margin to hold fast and dictate to the end, despite severe pressure from podium debutant Hughes.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Da Costa, P2: Hughes, P3: Nato, P4: Cassidy, P5: Evans, P6: Vandoorne, P7: Vergne, P8: Gunther, P9: Frijns and P10: Rowland.

  • F2 – RND 12 – Round-up

    Day 1, Free Practice-

    Oliver Bearman returned from the summer break and hit the ground running at Zandvoort, topping Free Practice for PREMA Racing with a 1:22.715.
    The Brit ended up 0.396s clear of MP Motorsport’s Dennis Hauger in second, and his teammate Frederik Vesti in third, just 0.073s further back.

    Looking to get some dry laps under his belt after a wet Spa-Francorchamps debut, PHM Racing by Charouz’s Joshua Mason got some laps in early.

    The track continued to rubber in quickly, with Jak Crawford going half a second clear in P1 on his next lap. His Hitech Pluse-Eight teammate Isack Hadjar displaced him before Bearman, Ayumu Iwasa and then Martins took over.

    Vesti was next to set the quickest time, going one tenth clear with 20 minutes to go until Hauger put home team MP Motorsport on top with a 1:23.111.
    Martins had another minor off after running deep at Turn 11 but carried on without issue.

    Qualifying-

    Jak Crawford proved to the other drivers, how you start the session matters as much as how you finish, as the Hitech Pulse-Eight driver secured his maiden Formula 2 pole position.

    As the American driver laid down a 1:21.210 on his second attempt of the Circuit, as three red flags denied the field a chance to improve.

    Dennis Hauger looked to have the pace but couldn’t complete his final two runs and was forced to settle for second by just 0.034s. Frederik Vesti bounced back after his disappointing weekend in Spa before the summer break by securing third.

    After the field pitted for their second sets of softs, disaster stuck for provisional pole sitter Crawford, the Hitech driver was forced to pit as he had a damaged front wing after contact with Novalak.

    Jehan Daruvala brought running to a halt with seven minutes remaining, spinning off on the exit of Turn 3 to trigger the Red Flag.

    After another red flag, it was a one lap shootout with less than four minutes left and Hauger continued to improved, but nobody could record a final time, as Novalak brought a red flag where he hit the barriers at Turn 3.

    Day 2, Sprint Race-

    Drama already began to unfold before lights out, as the expected rain fell on the Circuit Zandvoort. Championship leader, Pourchaire wasn’t able to take the start from reverse grid pole after a mechanical issue, forced the ART driver to being from the pit lane.

    Hadjar left it late on the rolling start, bolting off down the main straight to fend off Martin’s advances. Bearman pounced on Juan Manuel Correa, sliding past the Van Amersfoort Racing driver sliding past at Turn 1 for third.

    At the end of the top 10, contact between Kush Maini and Jake Crawford sent both cars spinning off at Turn 5, with Ralph Boschung unable to avoid colliding with his Campos Racing teammate. The Safety Car was deployed before being switch out for a Red Flag on Lap 3, as all three drivers clambered out of their cars.

    Following the lengthy break due to barrier repairs, the race was expected to resume with 22 minutes left on the clock, but the heavy downpours returned as Hadjar led the field back out behind the Safety Car.

    Given the torrential conditions, the Red Flag was waved for a second time, and it was swiftly confirmed that the race will not be restarted.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Hadjar, P2: Martins, P3: Bearman, P4: Correa, P5: Maloney, P6: Doohan, P7: Vesti, P8: Novalak, P9: Hauger and P10: Daruvala.
    However, no points were awarded due to the lack of racing and not going past the halfway mark.

    Day 3, Feature Race-

    Racing got underway with a rolling start in slipper conditions and Crawford got a perfect launch to retain the lead.
    Behind him, Championship contender Vesti suffered a spin at Turn 1 to fall from third to 19th position, while PREMA Racing teammate Oliver Bearman was tagged by Juan Manuel Correa and ran wide into the gravel at Turn 1.

    Victor Martins followed him off the track and both resumed in 14th and 15th respectively. Jack Doohan was another driver to hit trouble early, spinning in the last corner to bring out a Safety Car before the completion of Lap 1.

    Maloney was the first of the leading pack to make their mandatory pitstop from fourth position, switching from softs to mediums on lap 8. That pulled in leader Crawford, Dennis Hauger from P2 and Correa in third on the following lap.

    Championship leader, Pourchaire spun off the circuit whilst on his outlap after pitting, which caused him to crash out of the race at Turn 7.
    It then brought out the Safety Car but not before PREMA double-stacked their drivers. Vesti’s hope of retaking the lead of the Championship were dashed almost immediately though, losing both rear tyres on his outlap and he was too out of the running.

    After all the drama, Novalak led the pack having stopped just prior to the Safety Car intervention. Crawford followed ahead of Maloney, Verschoor, Martins, Bearman, Hauger, Fittipaldi and Cordeel in the top 10.

    Maloney had the momentum into Turn 1 and passed Crawford around the outside to take second. Behind them, Bearman looked to have a move done on Martins for fifth but the pair made contact on the exit of Turn 3, sending the PREMA driver into the barriers.

    With the Safety Car interventions, the race ran to time rather than the original 40 scheduled laps. With under 10 minutes to go, Maloney began to hunt down Novalak, closing to within two seconds and bringing Crawford in third along with him.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Novalak, P2: Maloney, P3: Crawford, P4: Verschoor, P5: Hauger, P6: Hadjar, P7: Fittipaldi, P8: Cordeel, P9: Martins and P10: Correa.

  • RND 12 – Hungarian Grand Prix

    Round 12 is now complete, we had a dominant display from one driver in particular, and a bit of drama on the opening lap, let’s take a look at how it went…

    Max Verstappen claimed his seventh win in a row! Which now saw Red Bull break records with 12 consecutive wins in a row – which was held by McLaren. Talking of McLaren… Lando Norris brings home a second consecutive podium, with Sergio Perez returning to the podium in third.

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

    Lovely work from both Bulls in today’s race, Max taking the lead into turn 1 on lap 1 and Sergio Perez making his way through the field and back onto the podium! Hopefully this gives him the momentum next week aswell!

    Obviously another good result for McLaren, are they officially back now??!!! Two podiums on a trot for Lando and two good point finishes for Oscar, who will be hoping to get his first podium in F1 soon!

    Now Mercedes, obviously great pace in Quali for Lewis, but not the best of days today, finishing 4th is still good but I think the team was expecting a podium at least… But George worked his way through the field and managed to get up into 6th after starting 18th.

    Now onto the first lap drama… Both Alpine’s with a double DNF for the second week in a row. However this wasn’t their fault… Guanyu Zhou went into the back of Daniel Ricciardo who then went into Gasly and Gasly into Ocon… So they were kind of sitting ducks in that collision and was just really unlucky.

    Now onto Ricciardo, first race weekend back, obviously unlucky with the incident on lap 1 but he managed to fight his way back through the pack and finish 13th, two places ahead of his teammate Tsunoda in 15th…

    Now looking towards Round 13, we don’t have to wait too long as the next race weekend is only next week in Belgium the last race weekend before the summer break!

    Will 13 be unlucky for Max, and we have a different driver win? Or will it be the Bulls going for a 13th consecutive win in a row?! Find out next week!

  • RND 12 – Hungary Qualifying

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Predictions-

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

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

  • Hungarian Grand Prix

    We are back! That’s right we have a double header coming up just before the summer break and we’ve had a little bit of a shake around…

    Danny Ricc is back!! All eyes on him this weekend, to see how he gets on in the AlphaTauri car and his first race weekend since last season.

    Will ANYONE stop Max? Or is he simply unstoppable at the moment? The last couple of races at Hungary have been entertaining, George’s pole last year and then Esteban Ocon winning in 2021, could we get some more drama this year?

    Who needs to shine?

    I think the most obvious one is Daniel, if he performs in the car and beats Tsunoda this weekend then I think his going to be a candidate for that Red Bull seat. But with so many people watching him will he be able to keep the pressure down?

    The Ferrari’s, they had a bit of a rough run last time out in Silverstone, with Leclerc 9th and Sainz 10th. If they want to be in the fight for the Constructors then they need to pull there finger out, Aston Martin are ahead of them by just 24 points!

    Alpine also need a good weekend, last time out aswell neither driver finished the race so no points scored, and then Gasly only managed just to get a point in Austria. With McLaren getting there best result of the season last time out, with a podium and P4 the British team has now pulled a gap to the French team.

    Times for the weekend-

    Friday 21st July-

    • Free Practice F3- 08:55am – 09:40am (BST)
    • Free Practice F2- 10:05am – 10:50am
    • Free Practice 1 F1- 12:30pm – 13:30pm
    • Qualifying F3- 14:05pm – 14:35pm
    • Qualifying F2- 15:00pm – 15:30pm
    • Free Practice 2 F1- 16:00pm – 17:00pm

    Saturday 22nd-

    • Sprint Race F3- 08:50am – 09:35am
    • Free Practice 3 F1- 11:30am – 12:30pm
    • Sprint Race F2- 13:15pm – 14:00pm
    • Qualifying F1- 15:00pm – 16:00pm

    Sunday 23rd-

    • Feature Race F3- 07:25am
    • Feature Race F2- 09:05am
    • F1 Race- 14:00pm

    Predictions for Qualifying-

    My top five are- Pole: Verstappen, P2: Leclerc, P3: Hamilton, P4: Alonso and P5: Russell.

    I think, we might have a few shock surprises in Qualifying, with a few getting knocked out in Q1. There isn’t going to be any rain at the point of writing this, but Hungary is unpredictable…

  • Hungary Tyre Selection

    The tyres have been chosen by Pirelli ahead of this weekends Hungarian Grand Prix!

    The chosen compounds are- C3 (Hard), C4 (Medium) and C5 (Soft), which are softer than the compounds used last year.

    Budapest will be hosting the debut of the Alternative Tyre Allocation (ATA) with just one mandatory slick compound for each qualifying session.
    Teams must use the hard compound in Q1, medium in Q2, and soft in Q3. If the qualifying is wet they will have a free choice of compounds as usual.

    Under the ATA rules, the number of tyre sets available for each car is reduced to 11, instead of 13 available for a normal race weekend. Each driver will have three sets of hard, four sets of medium and four sets of soft. With the number of wet tyres staying the same.

    On Friday, one set of tyres must be returned at the end of each free practice session. A further two sets must be returned on Saturday after FP3. This then leaves seven sets of tyres for qualifying and the race, and out of those seven one set of hards and one set of mediums must be kept for the race.

    Hungary often features high ambient and track temperatures. With the race taking place at the end of July, and the circuit located in a natural bowl with little airflow, Budapest will be a challenge for both thermal management of the tyres and driver fatigue.

    The most common strategy at the Hungaroring is a two-stopper, with a one-stopper occasionally perfered. The choices made last year were heavily influenced by a Virtual Safety Car, and a Safety Car.

    Almost all drivers last year made three stops, using all three compounds available to them. At the start, half the grid was on softs and the other mediums, with the hard tyre normally being used for the second or third stint.

    The Hungarian Grand Prix has become a classic event of the Formula 1 summer season, and as such the air and asphalt temperatures, which are usually very high, are the main features. This puts the drivers, cars and tyres to the test, not least because the twisting nature of the track does not allow anyone or anything to catch their breath. There’s a fairly long pit straight, which provides the only real overtaking opportunity under braking into the first right-hand corner. Then there are 13 more corners – seven right-handers and six left-handers – on a circuit that is second only to Monte Carlo in terms of slowest average speed; to the extent that the cars use similar downforce settings to Monaco. With so many slow corners, traction is one of the key factors for good performance and the biggest risk is tyre overheating. Despite being a permanent track, the Hungaroring is not used very often and the asphalt conditions improve considerably during the weekend as the ideal racing line rubbers in.

    Usually, this race is all about strategy and tyre degradation. This year we have opted for a trio of softer compounds (C3, C4 and C5) compared to 2022, while a new tyre allocation for qualifying (known as ATA, or ‘Alternative Tyre Allocation’) will be tried out for the first time, with the obligation to use just the hard in Q1, medium in Q2 and soft in Q3 if conditions stay dry. Both these changes, at least on paper, should lead to a wider range of options, particularly in terms of strategy. The ATA also saves two sets of dry tyres compared to the traditional format (using 11 sets instead of 13) and it will be run again at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza. After that, the FIA, F1 and the teams will decide whether or not to adopt it for next season.

    Mario Isola, Motorsport Director.

  • Ricciardo replaces De Vries at Alpha Tauri

    Daniel Ricciardo will be making a return to the Formula 1 grid as he will be replacing Nyck de Vries at Alpha Tauri for the rest of the season.

    The Australian driver has been in action today at Silverstone, driving Red Bull’s current RB19 car in a Pirelli tyre test. But it’s now been announced that Ricciardo – currently Red Bull’s third driver will be on loan from Hungary for AT.

    Dutch driver De Vries, who stared in a one-off drive for Williams at Monza last year where he claimed ninth position on an impressive first outing, has endured a difficult first season of full time racing in F1 and is still yet to score any points.

    This has unfortunately led to him being replaced after 10 Grand Prix, with eight time race winner Daniel Ricciardo who lost his seat with McLaren at the end of 2022 season following two trouble seasons with the team stepping in.

    He is set to re-join the Faenza squad with whom he spent two seasons with in 2012 and 2013 in their Toro Rosso guise before his promotion to Red Bull in 2014.

    Ricciardo went one to net seven victories for Red Bull, before joining Renault for two seasons from 2019, then moving onto McLaren for 2021.

    My Opinion-

    Honestly, it’s great to see Daniel back in F1 but I have a feeling this is a test for him. Obviously he done the tyre test at Silverstone today and apparently the time was quick enough to be on the front row last Sunday… But this test I’m talking about, is if he performs well enough the last 12 races, could he possibly replace Sergio Perez at Red Bull next season?

    There’s also a part of me which is gutted for Nyck, no-one deserves to be treated this way whether you’ve been in F1 for months or years. I get he hasn’t scored any points this season, but we are only 10 races in, whereas other rookies for Alpha Tauri / Red Bull outfit have been given more than a season to prove themselves.

    I’m very pleased to welcome Daniel back into the team. There’s no doubt about his driving skills, and he already knows many of us, so his integration will be easy and straight forward. The team will also profit a lot from his experience, as he is an eight-time Formula 1 Grand Prix winner.

    Franz Tost on Daniel Returning.

  • Round 12 – Portland E-Prix

    FP1-

    NEOM McLaren’s Rene Rast finished the first free practice session of the Southwire Portland E-Prix fastest, as the Championship broke several records around the new stateside circuit.

    Rast who has not been in the top five in any practice session this season, set a time of 1m09.054s which put him quickest of the grid. The DS PENSKE of Jean-Eric Vergne was just 0.172s behind him to finish second, with the NIO 333 of Dan Ticktum completing the top three.

    As the grid got to grips with the 3.221km circuit, the times tumbled. Seconds were being taken off each lap, and just minutes into the session the McLaren of Rast become the first driver to break Sacha Fenestraz’s all time Formula E average speed record.

    Several drivers found the limits and exceeded them in this first practice, with the like of DS PENSKE’s Jean-Eric Vergne and NIO 333’s Dan Ticktum each taking a journey off the circuit over the 30 minute session.

    FP2-

    Nissan’s Norman Nato finished the final practice session before qualifying at the top of the timesheets, as the Frenchman set a time of 1m09.101s. The Nissan powertrain seems to be very happy in these hot conditions and on a traditional track.

    Maserati MSG Racing’s Maximilian Guenther finished FP2 in second with the young driver keen to replicate his victory last time out in Jakarta. Jaguar TCS Racing’s Sam Bird had a late start to the session but ended up third.

    Vergne had an unusual off at Turn 1 during the session, as he bailed on the corner and instead decided to venture down the escape road. He later did the same, kicking up dust in the DS PENSKE when finding the limits of the 3.221km circuit.

    He wasn’t alone as in the session the NIO 333 of Dan Ticktum had an identical incident and went on the grass, with Robin Frijns treating his ABT CUPRA like a lawnmower across the runoff.

    Qualifying-

    Avalanche Andretti’s Jake Dennis took Julius Baer Pole Position and the driver’s World Championship lead ahead of the Portland E-Prix Round 12, beating a flying Sacha Fenestraz in the final.

    Going up against the Nissan of Sacha Fenestraz was going to be tough, with the rapid French-Argentine a three-time Formula E record breaker. In addition, Dennis had lost all three final appearances this season, with this being his third consecutive final in a row, and finally managed to bag the all important P1.

    Despite learning that he was starting in the pit lane, as DS PENSKE had installed RFID scanning equipment at pit entry this morning that was able to collect live data from all cars, Vergne still took part in his quarters duel with Nato.

    In the Semi’s it was the battle of the Nissans, and there not strangers to a duel against one another, and the last time this happened was in Monaco when the French-Argentinean Fenestraz won, leaving Nato settling for third on the grid.

    Round 12-

    Envision Racing’s Nick Cassidy clambered from 10th to the top step of the podium in an enthralling inaugural Southwire Portland E-Prix Round 12, heading home the TAG Heuer Porsche of Antonio Felix da Costa and Jake Dennis. Just seven seconds split the first 17 runners, while the race produced some 403 overtakes.

    Cassidy measured his race to perfection from P10 on the grid as the 22-strong field jostled for superiority over the 32 lap encounter/

    Polesitter Jake Dennis led the opening stages but wouldn’t time his late-race charge as previsely as Cassidy managed to. The Avalanche Andretti driver would settle for second, though, as that proved to be enough for the Drivers’ World Championship lead as things stand.

    On his birthday, Mitch Evans recovered from 20th on the grid to fourth – ensuring his still in the fight for the title with four races left in Season 9.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Cassidy, P2: Dennis, P3: da Costa, P4: Evans, P5: Buemi, P6: Gunther, P7: Bird, P8: di Grassi, P9: Wehrlein and P10: Nato.

    We now have a few weeks break, as we head to Rome, Italy for Round 13 & 14 on the 14th to 16th of July.

  • F2 Zandvoort – Day 1

    Free Practice-

    Jack Doohan picked up from where he left off just under a week ago, leading the way in P1 for Virtuosi Racing. The Australian was ahead of Ayumu Iwasa by 0.323s whilst Championship leader, Felipe Drugovich followed in third 0.402s down on the best time.

    The opening minutes were taken up by installation laps around what was quite a green track. Before any real representative times could be posted, Beckmann spun into the gravel out of Turn 13 to bring out the red flags.

    As the drivers logged the laps, the track conditions rapidly evolved and the times tumbled as a result. Amaury Cordeel was briefly quickest before Ayumu Iwasa then Frederik Vesti went fastest. Doohan restored himself back to P1 with a 1:23.133s with just under 20 minutes left.

    As the track evolution enticced the drivers to push but for Vesti, it resulted in a spin and contact with the barriers. His stranded ART Grand Prix car at Turn 2 brought out the red flags once more.

    Qualifying-

    Felipe Drugovich put himself within touching distance of the 2022 Formula 2 Drivers’ Championship by claiming his second consecutive pole position, over two tenths clear of Jack Doohan and Logan Sargeant.

    Felipe Drugovich set the initial time to beat on a 1:21.915 until the fastest man in practice, Doohan restored his name to the top of the timing screens on a 1:21.760.

    Red flags with 21 minutes left were down to Pourchaire finding the barriers at Turn 3, a snap of oversteer on the corner entry sent him directly into the outside wall and required a repositioning of the barrier before getting underway again.

    Doohan’s next attempt was good but not good enough to stop the Championship leader. A second red flag with under four minutes due to Jehan Daurvala a spin between Turns 7 and 8 left the PREMA driver stuck on the sidelines.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Drugovich, P2: Doohan, P3: Sargeant, P4: Verschoor, P5: Iwasa, P6: Lawson, P7: Hauger, P8: Vips, P9: Armstrong and P10: Novalak.

  • Round 12- French GP

    Round 12- French GP

    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!

  • Round 12- France Qualifying

    Round 12- France Qualifying

    Qualifying at Circuit Paul Ricard is now complete, and it was confirmed that Carlos Sainz and Kevin Magnussen will be both starting at the back of the grid due to taking extra power unit components.

    But it was Charles Leclerc who took pole position at Circuit Paul Ricard! Max Verstappen lines up on the front row with him in P2 and Sergio Perez rounds out the top 3 in P3.

    The full top 10 are: P1: Leclerc, P2: Verstappen, P3: Perez, P4: Hamilton, P5: Norris, P6: Russell, P7: Alonso, P8: Tsunoda, P9: Sainz and P10: Magnussen. But with the last two and them starting at the back Ricciardo and Ocon move up into the top 10.

    What a day for Leclerc! This is what he needed, and his teammate played the team game and gave Charles a tow and ensured him that he got pole position! But for Carlos he has a lot of work to do and I’m looking forward to seeing himself and Magnussen make their way up the field!

    Lando Norris, what a lap!! McLaren brought a lot of upgrades for this weekend and they are clearly paying off so far. It will be interesting to see if the car has the race pace tomorrow as if he wants to fight for a good amount of points he will be up against the Mercedes pair.

    Ahh so nice to see an Alpha Tauri in Q3, again they brought a few upgrades this weekend, not as many as McLaren but enough to get them further up the grid. Definitley be interesting to see how Tsunoda does and if he can capitalize on his qualifying position and score points tomorrow.

    Gutted for Mick, he was set for Q2, but he got his laptime deleted by the slightest of margins and he could of easily been in the top 10 with the pace he had. Be interesting to see how far he can get up the grid.

    Predictions-

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

    I don’t think there is going to be much change from the starting grid, but I feel like it will be a crazy and close race. If RB and Mercedes perfect their strategy Leclerc is going to struggle, especially being on his own and his teammate being no where near him…

    Timings for tomorrow-

    Feature Race F2- 08:35am (BST)
    Race- 14:00pm

  • Sainz, 10 place grid penalty

    Carlos Sainz is set to take a 10 place grid penalty for the French Grand Prix as he has exceeded his allocation of control electronics.

    Sainz’s Ferrari came to a fiery halt in Austria, as the Ferrari driver was challenging Max Verstappen for P2 and ahead of this weekend’s action in France he said that Ferrari were considering changing his power unit.

    Taking a 10-place grid penalty as the Scuderia have fitted a third control electronics (CE), exceeding his allocation of two for the season. He has also taken his second of two allowed energy stores.

    But speaking after heading FP2 at a baking-hot Paul Ricard track, Sainz strongly hinted that the 10 place drop was unlikely to be the end of his penalties this weekend, with more power unit changes seemingly coming his way.

    It was definitely a positive Friday. I didn’t do many laps on the short run on low fuel, but every lap that I did was very competitive, which shows the steps that we’re taking and the direction we’re taking is going in the right direction. I’m focusing more in the long run because I’m not going to be in that fight for pole position given the amount of penalties [I have]. We will see. I mean I took 10, so you can expect what’s coming next.

    Carlos Sainz on his penalty.

  • French Grand Prix

    Another week, another race! We are on our final double header before summer break and our first stop is France. The home Grand Prix of Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon as well as Alpine.

    Will Ferrari’s reliability hold up? Or will it take a hit once again? What can Red Bull do and will Perez be looking for that win after last time out? And Mercedes… big upgrades are coming this weekend, will we see them fight for pole and the win?

    Who needs a good weekend?

    Carlos Sainz, after having mechanical issues last time out, he needs a good weekend in France as it looked like he was getting P2, which would’ve been an easy 1-2 for the Italian team.

    Sergio Perez, not a good weekend for him last time out. It’s going to be crucial for the Mexican and Red Bull to score good points this weekend, especially if he wants to be in this title fight.

    Pierre Gasly will be wanting a good weekend in front of his home crowd. This season isn’t going like last for the Frenchman, and his admitted the car is slow and possibly one of the slowest…

    Predictions for qualifying-

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

    I think the Mercedes are going to close the gap to Ferrari and Red Bull. I think it will be top 6 fighting it out for pole and be quite close. Leclerc’s pace on one lap is definitely a stand out this year and hopefully it can be carried out.

    Times for weekend-

    Friday 22nd-

    • Free Practice F2- 10:35am – 11:20am (BST)
    • Free Practice 1 F1- 13:00pm -14:00pm
    • Free Practice 2 F1- 16:00pm – 17:00pm
    • Qualifying F2- 17:30pm – 18:00pm

    Saturday 23rd-

    • Free Practice 3 F1- 12:00pm – 13:00pm (BST)
    • Qualifying F1- 15:00pm – 16:00pm
    • Sprint Race F2- 17:00pm – 17:45pm

    Sunday 24th-

    • Feature Race F2- 08:35am (BST)
    • Race- 14:00pm

  • De Vries gets FP1 run

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

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

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

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

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

    Toto Wolff, Mercedes Team Principle.

  • France Tyre Allocation

    After a two week break we are back and the French GP has arrived. We have been given the tyre allocation for the weekend.

    The following are the tyres nominated for the weekend: C2 (Hard), C3 (Medium), and C4 (Soft).

    The Paul Ricard Circuit is quite well balanced where there is a bit of everything: fast corners and flat-out straights as well as slower and more technical sections. All of that is placing medium-severity energy loads on the tyres, which is why it makes a good test track.

    The Mistral straight – named after the famous French wind, which can also disrupt the aerodynamic balance of the cars – it also has the potential to cool the front tyres down. This can than affect the turn-in at Signes immediately afterwards, which is the most demanding corner of the entire circuit.

    Going off track is definitely a no no , the distinct red, white and blue tricolour markings contain a high-friction material which is designed to slow cars down quickly but with high risk to flat spot the tyres.

    Last year’s winning strategy was a two-stopper from Verstappen. It was a gamble as he was the only front runner to stop twice, with those behind stopping once, but it paid off in the end.

    This year’s French Grand Prix takes place nearly a month later than it did last year, when it rained on Sunday morning, so it’s fair to expect warmer temperatures. This year’s generation of tyres and compounds is different and more resistant to overheating than the 13-inch versions used last year, so we’ll have to see how that affects the strategy. A bit of history: Paul Ricard was actually where our 18-inch tyres for the current era made their debut, at a test with Renault and Sergey Sirotkin back in 2019.

    Mario Isla, Motorsport Director

    Formula 2-

    F2 will be back racing in France this weekend, the first time since 2019. The hard and soft tyres have been nominated for this weekend. This combination has already been seen in four of the previous eight rounds, most recently at Silverstone.

  • Round 12- NYC E-Prix

    Free Practice 3-

    Red Hook had received more rain overnight after yesterday afternoon’s weather-hit Round 11. The Brooklyn Street Circuit was wet-dry for much of the session but was mainly clear of standing water, with only damp patches on the asphalt.

    Temperatures were cool but the track came to the drivers as they fired in their 250kW full power runs towards the end of the running, with Sam Bird firing in the quickest time of the session by some distance on a 1m 08.745s, until round 11 winner, Cassidy went within one tenth of a second after the team’s overnight rebuild job following the heavy shunt that occurred and ended Round 11 early.

    The full top 10 are: P1: Bird, P2: Cassidy, P3: Di Grassi, P4: Da Costa, P5: Dennis, P6: Evans, P7: Frijns, P8: Lotterer, P9: Rowland and P10: Wehrelin.

    Qualifying-

    Nick Cassidy sealed a second Julius Baer Pole Position, with the New Zealender set to start from the front row for Round 12.

    The last two polesitters squared off against each other and after the first corner alone Cassidy had almost fount two tenths of a second. As the pair wound their way around Red Hook’s docklands, da Costa did reel the Envision driver in. Cassidy was able to keep it neat and tidy through the final few turns though and da Costa found himself too much to do.

    A brake-by-wire issue took standings leader Edo MOrtara out of the Groups and see him marooned right at the back in 21st. Jean-Eric Vergne, couldn’t capitalise to the fullest, clipping the wall on the way to the 13th quickest time.

    But it wasn’t meant to be for Nick Cassidy as he was hit with a penalty, and stripped of his pole position for Round 12. The battery pack and the RESS radiator were changed following Round 11, and as it is the fifth RESS radiator used this year on Cassidy’s car, he has received a 30-place penalty.

    In addition as Cassidy can only take a 21 place drop, he has been awarded a drive through penalty for the nine untaken grid places. Antonio Felix da Costa now takes pole position.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Da Costa, P2: Sims, P3: Lotterer, P4: Sette Camara, P5: Vandoorne, P6: Evans, P7: De Vries, P8: Askew, P9: Dennis and P10: Frijns.

    Round 12-

    Antonio Felix da Costa led lights to flag in the New York City E-Prix Round 12 to bring home his and DS Techeetah’s maiden win of Season 8, with Stoffel Vandoorne following in second – eating away at Edo Mortara’s points advantage at the top of the driver standings.

    The Portuguese sprinted away from Julius Baer Pole Position and fended off the attentions of Sims early on before Vandoorne applied the pressure later on in the race. However, the Mercedes-EQ driver could not find any way through, with da Costa measuring things to the flag.

    Vandoorne’s 2nd place will likely be more than enough for one of Formula E’s most consistent scorers to leave the Big Apple- with a big smile on his face, especially with Drivers’ World Championship leader Mortara only managing a point and 10th spot.

    We are back in two weeks for the London E-Prix and it is another double header and on the 30th to 31st of July! Who will be victorious in London?

  • A look into NYC

    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.

    circuit-map-new-york-city

    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.

    Times for the weekend-

    Friday 15th July-

    • Free Practice 1: 21:00pm (BST)

    Saturday 16th-

    • Free Practice 2: 12:00pm (BST)
    • Qualifying: 13:40pm
    • Round 11: 18:00pm

    Sunday 17th-

    • Free Practice 3: 12:00pm (BST)
    • Qualifying: 13:40pm
    • Round 12: 18:00pm

  • Round 12- Spa Race

    Well… I don’t think anyone expected it to go the way it did today…

    First of all I just want to say a big well done to the fans at Spa, I admire every single one of you for for sticking it out in the rain all day to see some racing however, the rain wasn’t holding off today.

    As we done two laps behind the safety car, half points are awarded to drivers in top 10 and I think some teams and drivers will be happy that there is at least some points awarded this weekend!

    George Russell got his first podium in F1 today and some may think its not deserved etc but in my opinion I believe it is, the way he pulls out everything from the Williams is something else. He managed to get it to start on the front row of the grid which I cant imagine isn’t easy but he very much deserves these points, trophy and a better seat…

    Big shame for Red Bull today, when Perez was going to the grid for the start of the race he crashed, and we didn’t think he was going to be able to race due to damage but the FIA said yes but only if they could get all four tyres on in time and to be honest they did it in plenty of time, however because we didn’t have any overtakes etc because of the safety car being out Perez didn’t score any points. They had a chance at free points and close down the gap in the constructors too, but it just wasn’t there day.

    The top 10 are as following: P1- Verstappen, P2- Russell, P3- Hamilton, P4- Ricciardo, P5- Vettel, P6- Gasly, P7- Ocon, P8- Leclerc, P9- Latifi and P10- Sainz.

    Hamilton now leads the championship by only 3 points, so these next two races will mean a lot to both Hamilton and Verstappen. Norris, Bottas and Perez do not move any where in the drivers championship as none of them scored points today…

    One bonus is the fact we don’t have to wait too long for the next race, we’re back next week at Zandvoort!!

  • Round 12- Spa Quali

    WOW! What a quali… I don’t think anyone expected the results we got!

    Max takes another pole position! And next to him on grid will be Mr Saturday himself, George Russell and yes I know! No-one expected that but he had the pace their all qualifying! Hamilton will be starting P3! The rest of the top 10 are: P4- Ricciardo, P5- Vettel, P6- Gasly, P7- Perez, P8- Bottas, P9- Ocon and P10- Norris. Bottas has a 5 place grid penalty which sees him start 13th.

    The rest of the grid look like this (before penalties are added) P11- Leclerc, P12- Latifi, P13- Sainz, P14- Alonso, P15- Stroll, P16- Giovinazzi, P17- Tsunoda, P18- Schumacher, P19- Raikkonen, P20- Mazepin. Stroll also has a 5 place grid penalty which means he will start P20.

    Norris was so quick in Q1 and Q2, unfortunately in Q3 he had a big shunt which ended his qualifying and chance of pole. But the main thing is seeing him get out of the car okay! His being checked over as precautionary measures as usual, updates on him and his car will come as and when there is some. *UPDATE AS OF 22:00pm (BST) Lando has been given the all clear to race tomorrow which is good news, however he does get a 5 place grid penalty because for gearbox change so he will be starting P14*

    Bottas, didn’t have the birthday he was hoping for… qualifying in P8, I expected him to be up there in top 3 at least which is a shame but at the end of the day the points are awarded tomorrow and he has a lot of work to do in the race if he wants to score a decent amount. It does make me think now that George has got himself on the front row in a Williams, will this mean George gets the seat at Mercedes? The announcement should come soon!!

    Daniel Ricciardo starting P4 tomorrow which is amazing for him and the team, definitely shows his starting to get comfortable in the car which is brilliant for the constructors fight against Ferrari, lets hope Daniel gets a good amount of points tomorrow!

    Now I definitely didn’t see both Ferrari drivers starting out of the top 10. I think the team has a lot of work to do over night and figure out a good strategy so both drivers can score points.

    Predictions-

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

    I think Latifi has a good chance at points again tomorrow, especially if Williams nail their strategy for him. Hopefully we see Bottas finish in the top 10 and not have an incident in the rain like Hungary and Imola.

    I’m very much looking forward to tommorrow, we should see some hard racing and maybe a surprise result!

    Times for tomorrow-

    The race starts at 14:00pm (BST) and 15:00pm (CEST). Don’t forget we also have an F3 race tomorrow as well.

  • Belgian GP

    We have been blessed with a triple header after the summer break and our first stop is the Belgian Grand Prix and I think this is a fan favourite for most including myself!

    Will Hamilton extend his championship lead? Or will Verstappen be ready to claw back some points after the last two races? And finally will it be Ferrari or McLaren come out on top this weekend in the fight for 3rd in the constructors?

    Who needs a good weekend back?

    First of all i’d say the most obvious one is Max, if he wants to get the second half of the season started in the right way he needs to be cool, calm and collected for this weekend. If he doesn’t I can see the following few weeks going Hamiltons way.

    Next up I would say is Valtteri, we all know the rumour mill on whether he should keep his seat at Mercedes and that decision will come soon… But if i’m being completely honest, Valtteri isn’t where he was last year and it shows in his previous performances this season, so I think he needs to prove too many that he deserve a seat in F1 whether that is with Mercedes or another team.

    Another one is Danny Ric, it’s been a tough one for him with getting used to a new car but I feel like his last race was ruined and we didn’t get to see what he has, as the race before Hungary was Silverstone and he had a good result their, so i’m hoping he will have some more good results in this second half including this weekend as its his 200th Grand Prix so a special one!

    Predictions for Quali-

    My top five for qualifying are- P1: Hamilton, P2: Perez, P3: Verstappen, P4: Norris and P5: Gasly. I’d like to see Ricciardo in top 10 and the same with Russell, his on a good streak at the moment and with him scoring points the last race, there will be no doubt he will be wanting to get some more so by getting a good quali position is always helpful!

    The reason Bottas isn’t in my top 5 is because he has a 5 place grid penalty so the highest he can start is P6. Lance Stroll also has a 5 place grid penalty from the last race too but I see him being out of the top 10.

    Times for the weekend are-

    Friday 27th- FP1: 10.30am – 11.30am (BST), 11.30am – 12.30pm (CEST). FP2: 14.00pm – 15.00pm (BST), 15.00pm – 16.00pm (CEST).

    Saturday 28th- FP3: 11.00am – 12.00pm (BST), 12.00pm – 13.00pm (CEST). Qualifying: 14.00pm – 15.00pm (BST), 15.00pm – 16.00pm (CEST).

    Sunday 29th- Race: 14.00pm (BST), 15.00pm (CEST).

  • Tyres for Spa

    Finally, we are back this weekend racing! Pirelli have announced the tyre choices for this weekend.

    We have the compounds in the middle of the range. C2 (Hard), C3 (Medium), C4 (Soft). This is the same as last years, which was a step softer than the tyres used in 2019.

    Last years race was won with a one-stop medium to hard strategy, all three podium finishers used this. They switched the tyres during a long Safety Car period which influenced this strategy. So this years strategy may be very different to last years depending on what happens at the beginning of the race.

    Spa is one of the most exciting tracks on the calendar and it contains a wide range of demands over the lap. As Spa is located in the foothills of the Ardennes- theres always a high chance of rain making an appearance over the weekend.

    This weekend we also have Formula Three joining F1, they are going into their fifth round of their season. The medium tyre will be used this weekend for them. This compound offers the most out of the three compounds, especially around the demanding and challenging track.