Jordan's Track Talk

Tag: Round 13

  • F2 – Qatar – Round-Up

    Practice-

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Qualifying-

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Sprint Race-

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Feature Race-

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • R13 – Belgium

    Oscar Piastri claimed victory in the Belgian Grand Prix, holding off McLaren team mate and title rival Lando Norris in a wet-dry affair at Spa-Francorchamps to extend his Drivers’ Championship lead to 16 points.

    Heavy rain ahead of the 44 lap race delayed proceedings by almost 80 minutes but once racing got underway on Lap 5, the crucial moment came immediately as Piastri got a better run on his team mate and polesitter through Eau Rouge.

    The Australian’s run was so great he completed the pass along the Kemmel Straight well before the braking zone of Les Combes and thereafter managed a margin of roughly one second in the early running.

    With the circuit having substantially dried and with track position, Piastri pitted on Lap 12 for the medium tyres with Norris forced to compete another lap, and after making his own stop the following tour for hard rubber, the Briton found himself nine seconds adrift.

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

    What a result for Oscar Piastri, he set his sights on the win and grabbed with both hands and didn’t look back, was a superb race from him.
    As for Norris, P2 for the Brit, a good result but I think he would be gutted not to get the win, however his teammate had the pace.

    P3 for Leclerc, a lovely result from the Ferrari driver, felt like that podium was well deserved, he did have a bit of pressure from Verstappen but he kept him at bay.
    As for Lewis Hamilton, what a drive! Pitlane to P7 wow, he was on a mission, it was great to see and he got rewarded with some points.

    As for Verstappen P4 for the Dutchman, a decent result, a shame he couldn’t get on the podium, but still a decent points haul.

    P5 for Russell, nothing amazing from the Mercedes driver, apart from a little fight with Alex Albon over the position.
    As for Antonelli, a weekend to forget for him, P16 unfortunately, he seemed like he had no pace at all really which is a shame.

    Points for Bortoleto! P9 for the Brazilian driver, he done well this weekend as Spa is a tricky circuit, especially more so in the rain.

    Now not too long to wait until the next round as we have been treated to a double header, so this weekend we head to the Hungaroring for the Hungarian Grand Prix!

  • F2 – RND 13 Day 2 & 3

    Day 2-

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Day 3-

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • F2 – RND 13 Day 1

    Free Practice 1-

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Qualifying-

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • RW 13 – Hungary

    Oscar Piastri has taken his debut Grand Prix victory in Hungary after team drama played out, with Norris belatedly responding to an order to hand back the lead to the Australian…

    After the duo went three wide with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen off the line, it was Piastri who emerged as the leader into Turn 1 and from there led much of the Grand Prix.
    However, when Norris was pitted first during the second round of stops – seemingly to cover off Hamilton – the Brit was the one to emerge ahead.

    This then prompted the team to make several calls to Norris to give the position back but it took until lap 68 of 70 for Norris to comply.

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

    Obviously a great result for Piastri, his first win in F1! And it was well deserved in my opinion, and a good result for Norris too, with a 1-2 finish which obviously helps with the constructors. But I do think Piastri’s win has been downplayed a little just because of the situation on the radio with Norris and not wanting to let his teammate pass etc.
    As everyone knows if it was roles reversed Piastri would do it for Norris, so I have no doubt it will be an awkward debrief for the team.

    A very good result for Hamilton, another podium which makes it 200 career podiums for the seven time world champion. He had a bit of drama with Verstappen in the closing stages of the race where they collided and the Dutchman went up in the air and leaving the track which then dropped him down to fifth.
    Hamilton will be looking towards the next race now, seeing what they can improve on in qualifying to get closer to the McLaren’s and Verstappen and then the race too.

    Charles Leclerc had a good race, finished in P4, a step in the right direction for the team, hopefully they will get back on the podium some time soon… His teammate Carlos Sainz finished 6th which isn’t too bad but from starting P4 he would’ve preferred to finish higher but sometimes it doesn’t always go your way.

    Obviously we have spoke about Verstappen, but I want to touch on him a little bit more. He was having a good race, not the best but he was struggling a little before the collision with Hamilton, he couldn’t quite catch up to the McLaren’s, so those upgrades Red Bull brought so far aren’t working… And the radio fights with his team, they were quite shocking and he just didn’t want to drop it.
    Whilst we are talking about Red Bull, Sergio Perez, obviously started 16th but he finished 7th which is a decent recovery drive from him, but the Mexican still has a lot of work to do if he wants to keep his seat for the remainder of this season and next…

    Things keep going from bad to worse for Alpine, Pierre Gasly retired after suffering a hydraulic leak, his 2nd retirement in two races and Ocon finished P18…

    Not long to wait until the next race as we head to Spa-Francorchamps this weekend!

  • RW 13 – Hungary Qualifying

    Lando Norris has taken pole position for the Hungarian Grand Prix after a bit of a dramatic qualifying which featured wet-dry conditions, two red flags and a frantic dash to the line.

    After the McLaren driver set an impressive provisional pole time of 1m 15.227s during the opening runs of Q3, the on track action was brought to a halt when Yuki Tsunoda suffered a heavy crash in the RB. As such, the session resumed with just over two minutes remaining.

    Given the changing weather, most of the field were unable to improve and Norris retained P1, ahead of team mate Oscar Piastri by just 0.22s. Max Verstappen who opted not to go for another lap in the final moments finished P3.

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

    A lovely result for McLaren, really can’t get better than a 1-2! Both Norris and Piastri will be wanting to go for the win tomorrow, and for the Australian will be wanting to grab his first win in Formula 1, but will Norris allow him to pass?

    A decent result for Verstappen P3, not the worst position to be in for the Dutchman, no doubt he will enjoy himself doing some overtakes.
    However for his teammate, again it wasn’t the best qualifying session where he was out in Q1 where he crashed out and hit the barriers and was unable to continue…

    A good result for Sainz! I feel like he has slipped under the radar in P4, the Spaniard will be aiming for the podium or even try and challenge for the win. His teammate Charles Leclerc had a decent qualifying session to in P6.

    Lewis Hamilton will be starting 5th, and he will be wanting to go for that win again wanting to make it two in a row, will it be in his favour? He won’t have his team mate near him to help out as Russell qualified in P17, who has a lot of work to do to get into the points…

    A decent result for Aston Martin and VCARB, both drivers in the top 10, Ricciardo will be wanting to grab some points this weekend, as he is yet to have a contract for next season…

    I’m very, very happy. Not an easy qualifying, difficult conditions like you said, but always ending up on top is the best part of it also. Happy, especially for the team, a one-two is even better to see, so congrats to the team. It does give us confidence, but we’ve already got confidence so it’s not like we need a lot more of it, or we’re searching for it. We’ve come into this weekend and the last few happy and confident we can do a good job, and we’ve got a good car to fight for pole and that’s exactly what we did today, so like I said a great job by the team; we’ve been improving every weekend, so to end up on pole today is sweet.
    Pole-sitter Norris.

  • RW 13 – Tyre Selection

    It’s one last push before Formula 1’s summer break, with a double-header on two tracks that could not be more different from one another, the Hungaroring and Spa-Francorchamps.

    Cars must run with a high level of aerodynamic downforce this weekend, which is almost on par with Monaco.
    The Hungaroring is very twisty with only one real straight that includes the start-finish line. It provides the most likely if not the only overtaking opportunity.

    There are 14 corners, six to the left and eight to the right, some of them being 180 degree turns. The track climbs and drops its 4.381 kilometres make it one of the shortest on the calendar.

    In terms of the forces exerted on the tyres, the Hungaroring is not particularly severe. Pirelli has chosen the same three softest compounds as last year, with them picking the C3 (Hard), C4 (Medium), C5 (Soft).

    Traction is one of the most important factors, especially across the rear axle. Degradation can be high, especially when it is very hot and the forecast for this weekend is definitely not favourable in this regard.

    The Hungaroring is a permanent race track, but it does not get that much use, which is why grip levels increase significantly the more it gets rubbered-in. That will be even more likely this year as there was no track activity for a longer time than usual while the facility was modernised.

    Max Verstappen won here last year at the end of the race when the entire field opted for a two-stop strategy.
    Medium and Hard were the most popular choices for the start, although four drivers opted for the soft, intending to make use of the extra grip off the line.

  • RND 13 – Belgian Grand Prix

    The last race before summer break is officially over and we had a mid race shower with a few different strategies going on.

    Max Verstappen recovered from a five place grid penalty to claim his eighth successive victory in Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix with teammate Sergio Perez adding to the celebration as he completed a one-two result.
    Charles Leclerc held on to the final podium spot, denying seven-time world champion, Lewis Hamilton.

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

    Lando Norris had an up and down race, as initially he lost a host of positions after starting on medium tyres and then switched to hards, but a move to softs as spits of rain began to fall proved inspired and he gobbled up the competition and eventually managed seventh.

    A clash between Oscar Piastri and Carlos Sainz led to both drivers retiring – the McLaren driver clipping the inside wall at La Source as he had no where to go and Carlos went into him, which led to him having damage to his sidepod.

    Aston Martin secured another double points finish, with P5 for Alonso and P9 for Stroll, I think Aston would be happy with that considering past couple of races.

    Finally a good result for Perez, a podium! And it’s about time too, the last time he was on there was back in Miami, so he will be hoping to keep this good form going after we come back after summer break.

    Mercedes, had a pretty good race, double points again and George had to work his way through the field after dropping a few positions. They go into the break on a high and will be hoping for more good results next month.

    Round 14 isn’t until 25th to 27th August where we return to the Netherlands for Max’s home race, can he make it nine in a row?

  • RND 13 – Spa Sprint

    Sprint Shootout-

    Max Verstappen was at his best again, as the Red Bull driver narrowly beat the McLaren of Oscar Piastri and the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz to take pole for the Sprint Race.

    Verstappen left it late to put a time down as he took the chequered flag with four seconds to go, but he went straight to the top of the timesheet’s with a 1m 49.056s.

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

    The drivers were met with worse conditions yesterday, than the day before as the Shootout got postponed by 35 minutes. Once it got started, with each lap the times were beginning to drop as track conditions continued to improve.

    Aston Martin made a bold call during SQ2, as they put Lance Stroll on a set of medium tyres. However, the decision proved costly as Stroll ended up in the barrier at Turn 9 which saw a red flag.
    The session was unable to be restarted, Ricciardo narrowly missed out on a place in SQ3 along with the Williams duo and Aston Martin duo.

    It was good enough. Just tricky conditions, you don’t want to make big mistakes so I think the lap was okay – I just didn’t risk too much in the second sector where it was still a bit damp, and it was just enough for first so that’s good. If it’s going to be wet, dry, also if it’s wet, how you’re going to survive with the wet tyres or the intermediates. So a lot of question marks still but we’ll figure it out along the way.

    Verstappen on getting pole.

    Sprint Race-

    Red Bull’s, Max Verstappen converted pole position into victory during Saturday’s Sprint race at the Belgian Grand Prix, as he claimed back the lead from McLaren rival, Oscar Piastri after the two opted for different strategies.

    Amid plenty of action at Spa-Francorchamps circuit, Alpine’s Pierre Gasly made the most of the conditions to round out the podium. Lewis Hamilton was demoted from fourth to seventh after the Mercedes man clashed with Sergio Perez and picked up a penalty.

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

    With a rain theme of the weekend so far, the heavens opened up again just before the 17:05pm time scheduled start of the Sprint – officials decided to push it back by 30 minutes to allow the latest downpour to pass by.

    By the time the formation lap began on mandated full wet tyres and behind the Safety Car which became several laps.

    After a lot of near misses in the pit lane as drivers squabble for position after changing tyres to intermediates. Gasly found himself running third behind Piastri and Verstappen, with Perez up to fourth, Hamilton in fifth and Sainz rounding out the top six from Leclerc and Norris.

    As the race started to settle down, Verstappen took his chance to gain into Piastri’s lead which stood at just under two seconds after their stops.

    But on Lap 4, Fernando Alonso lost control of his Aston Martin at Pouhon and spun into the gravel which then triggered a Safety Car just before Verstappen was about to make a move on Piastri.

    Hamilton and Perez dramatically banged wheels through Blanchimont as they battled over fourth position the seven time world champion managing to work his way through around the outside of La Source a few moments later.

    I think [staying out on wets at the start] was just a safer call. I could come in first, but then I might be blocked by other cars. There might be a Safety Car and then you lose out massively. I didn’t to stay out, we lost one position, but we know that we are quick. I think you could see that when we put the inter tyres on we were flying, so it was OK!

    Verstappen on the Sprint.

  • RND 13 – Spa Qualifying

    Day one of the weekend is complete, let’s take a look at how qualifying went yesterday ahead of the Sprint today!

    Max Verstappen claimed pole position in a thrilling session, however he won’t be starting from pole due to having a five place grid penalty, which means Charles Leclerc is set to start from P1 tomorrow.

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

    A good result for both Ferrari’s, Charles starting P1 and Carlos P4, they haven’t had the best result recently so they will be wanting to capitalise on other’s misfortune during the race.

    Finally a good result from Perez where he starts in the top 3! With his teammate starting 6th, Perez will be relied on to take the lead at the start, will he be able to do it? Or will Max breeze his way through the field again?

    A great result from Piastri, out-qualifying Norris, and starting 5th on the grid. So far the rookie is having a great season, from being towards the back of the grid, to scoring big points almost every weekend as well as showing off his skills we all know he has. The Aussie will be hoping to get his first podium this season.

    Alpine is still having a rough time at the moment, they would of been hoping for a clean weekend, but that disappeared when Ocon damaged his front wing after crashing into the barrier at Turn 9.

  • Belgian Grand Prix

    The final race before the summer break is here, and we are headed to Spa-Francorchamps for Round 13, which also involves another Sprint race!

    What can Red Bull do this weekend? Will they manage a clean sweep from Qualifying to the Sprint Shootout and Sprint to the Grand Prix on Sunday? It will be an interesting one!

    Could anyone stop Red Bull this weekend? Say the likes of McLaren? Or maybe Mercedes? With the Sprint in action aswell this gives the teams more of a possibility to get things right!

    Who needs to shine?

    Aston Martin, they’ve had a rough time at the moment, last time out in Hungary and only Alonso scored at Silverstone, so they will want a strong weekend but they now have McLaren and Mercedes to fight rather than just the one team.

    Alpine, another rubbish weekend last weekend with a double DNF. The team will be hoping that because there is a sprint this weekend they have more of an opportunity to score points, as McLaren has built up a big gap.

    Logan Sargeant, has had quite good form at the moment, and was having a good race last week until he had to retire in the pit, so he will be hoping to have another good weekend, maybe he will score some points?

    Times for the weekend-

    Friday 28th-

    • 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- 14:00pm – 14:30pm
    • Qualifying F2- 14:55pm – 15:25pm
    • Qualifying F1- 16:00pm – 17:00pm

    Saturday 29th-

    • Sprint Race F3- 09:00am – 09:45am
    • Sprint Shootout F1- 11:00am – 11:44am
    • Sprint Race F2- 12:45pm – 13:30pm
    • Sprint F1- 15:30pm – 16:30pm

    Sunday 30th-

    • Feature Race F3- 07:30am
    • Feature Race F2- 09:00am
    • F1 Race- 14:00pm

  • Spa Tyre Selection

    The tyres have been chosen for the final race before summer break and we head to Spa-Francorchamps for Round 13.

    The selected tyres are- C2 (Hard), C3 (Medium) and C4 (Soft), the same as the 2022 Belgian Grand Prix.

    Along with Silverstone and Suzuka, Spa-Francorchamps is a circuit where tyres are subjected to considerable forces.
    With the most challenging part is the compression at Eau Rouge followed by the climb up to Raidillon: consisting of a high speed left-hand turn, where the downforce squashes the car into the ground.

    Spa is the longest track on the Formula calendar at 7.004 kilometres with 44 laps scheduled for the Belgian Grand Prix. When the circuit was inaugurated back in 1921, it was around double the length at 14.9 kilometres.

    Looking back at last years race, nearly all the teams opted for a two-stop strategy using all three compounds. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen lined up 14th on the grid after a penalty but won the race with a great fightback, starting on the softs and then completing two stints on the medium.

    The circuit also had the biggest difference in elevation of any track all year. The highest point is at Malmedy (around 468 metres above seas level) while the lowest is Paul Frere (around 366 metres above sea level).

    After just a couple of days off, there’s another Formula 1 race this weekend: the last before the summer break. The Belgian Grand Prix is one of the most prestigious races on the calendar, held on a track that’s particularly challenging for drivers, cars, and tyres. We’ve nominated the same line-up of compounds as last year – C2, C3, and C4 – to offer a wide range of strategy options; at least if the rain holds off. Traditionally, the weather at Spa is a key factor throughout the weekend; the fact that the grand prix has moved dates – from the first race after the summer break to the last race before it – should make little difference, as the forecast is always variable anyway. The length of the track, with Spa being the longest lap of the year, and the variation in elevation – which is also the biggest of the whole season – means that it’s easy to find wet conditions on one part of the track while it’s completely dry elsewhere. New for this year is Spa becoming the third Sprint venue of the season, after Baku and Spielberg, with a Sprint Shootout on Saturday morning followed by a 100-kilometre race in the afternoon. With just an hour of free practice before qualifying on Friday (which, for now, seems to be the day most at risk of rain) there will be even less time than usual to set up the cars. At Spa, we tend to see some of the biggest differences in terms of aerodynamic setup between the teams: some prefer more downforce in order to push harder during the second sector while others prefer a looser car to have extra speed to attack and defend more down the straights. With two races this year, one of the most spectacular venues of the season is set to put on an even bigger show.

    Mario Isola, Motorsport Director.

  • Round 13 – Rome E-Prix

    FP1-

    With the sun beating down on the Rome circuit, the TAG Heuer Porsche of Pascal Wehrlein went quickest in the first free practice session of the double header.

    The Jaguar TCS Racing driver, Sam Bird rounded out FP1 in second, with the Maserati MSG Racing of Edoardo Mortara completing the top three.

    Championship leader, Jake Dennis had some early concerns about his steering column. As a result of this, the Brit spent most of the valuable session in the garage, as his Andretti squad tried their best to fix his X99 Electric Gen3 – with the Brit complaining of poor confidence in the rear axel.

    The last team out of their garages was Mahindra Racing. Mahindra and customer ABT CUPRA cars both had a small software issue in the rookie test and continued into FP1, with all four drivers with Mahindra power units spending time in their pit boxes at points.

    Antonio Felix da Costa (TAG Heuer Porsche) spun at Turn 7, bringing out a brief yellow flag. A little later on, his old teammate Jean-Eric Vergne also found the limits of the street circuit as he pirouetted at Turn 14 whilst on a push lap.

    FP2-

    Three time Rome race winner, Mitch Evans closed out Free Practice 2 with a meteoric 1m37.881s firing him to the top of the timesheets, and almost half a second inside last year’s pole time.

    Several drivers were using the 30 minute session to explore the limits of the circuit with a few early yellow flags for offs at Turn 7. The likes of Mitch Evans and both NIO 333 drivers found themselves doing a 180 degree spin down the escape road.

    Evans had already gone quickest before he embarked on his final lap as the timer expired in the session. He went another four-tenths quicker than his previous best.

    Portland winner, Nick Cassidy found himself with work to do in 15th, following up on just 12th in FP1. The Kiwi is just a point behind Dennis in the standings.

    Qualifying-

    Jaguar TCS Racing’s Mitch Evans strolled to Julius Baer Pole Position making it his second of the season – heading a front row lockout for the team.

    Evans and Bird headed into the Final knowing they’d achieved their second front-row lockout in Formula E. Evans had been 0.6 seconds quicker than the rest in FP2, but there was nothing between the two over the opening sector of the lap until Bird made a mistake dropped him well over a second back from his teammte.

    Standings leader, Jake Dennis said he didn’t feel quite at one with the car in qualifying, he made the Duels but only managed seventh.
    That said, he’s ahead of his closest title rival Nick Cassidy – the Envision driver down in ninth and third-placed Pascal Wehrlein also failed to make the Duels – knocked out of Group A.

    Fenestraz faced Bird in the first Semi. The Nissan looked rapid throughout but with the track temperature hitting over 50 celsius, it looked liked it’d be Bird in the final as Fenestraz slipped up and made a costly error.

    Evans faced Buemi. As the Jaguar driver started promosingly, taking a slender advantage of less than a tenth of a second over the first half of the lap. More than a second split the two, Buemi would nevertheless be happy with fourth.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Evans, P2: Bird, P3: Fenestraz, P4: Buemi, P5: Rast, P6: Mortara, P7: Dennis, P8: Guenther, P9: Cassidy and P10: Wehrelein.

    Round 13-

    Mitch Evans became the first polesitter to stride to victory in Rome int he Hankook Rome E-Prix Round 13, besting the rest in a race of two halves, split by a massive multi-car shunt involving his teammate Sam Bird and several other drivers.

    Evans was jumped by Bird off the line, with Jaguar looking like playing it tactically, ensuring the Kiwi could conserve energy in the slipstream behind the sister I-TYPE 6.

    The pair then swapped positions again after the opening of the race before Sacha Fenestraz made it by Bird first and then Evans for the lead through the first round of Attack Mode activations and a brief break in the action for a Safety Car while Andre Lotterer’s car was recovered – the German finding the wall.

    High drama on Lap 9 saw multiple cars caught up in a massive shunt at the quickest part of the track with Bird losing the rear of his Jaguar over the tricky, rapid and undulating section between Turns 6 and 7.

    Sebastien Buemi, clipped back end of the Jaguar on his way through – the Swiss narrowly missing a square-on impact. Edoardo Mortara flew into the side of Bird’s car as it sat stricken in the middle of the circuit while several other drivers picked their way through and escaped with minor damage.
    That meant big ramifications for the teams and drivers – who all thankfully escaped unharmed in testament to Gen3 resilience.

    Fourteen cars made the restart, with Fenestraz heading the pack away with Evans in tow. From there, Dennis seized the initiative, passing Evans with a sweeping move around the outside of the Jaguar through Turn 5.

    It was comfortable for Evans to the flag, as headed home Cassidy while Maximilian Guenther also dispatching Dennis for third at the flag.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Evans, P2: Cassidy, P3: Guenther, P4: Dennis, P5: Vergne, P6: Mortara, P7: Nato, P8: Sette, P9: Wehrlein and P10: Fenestraz.

  • Rome Preview

    The ABB FIA Formula E World Championship is back this weekend as we return to Rome for Round 13 & 14, it’s also the penultimate race weekend of Season 9 with the standings top four all sat within striking distance.

    Formula E makes its way back to the Eternal City for the fifth season and its seventh race in the Italian capital city at the Circuito Cittadino dell-EUR.

    Four drivers representing four teams two marques, Jaguar and Porsche are split by just 32 points – well inside the total on offer over the two races in Rome.

    Last time here in 2022, we had a double winner, Mitch Evans who has been the most successful here in Rome with three wins to his name. He looks like he will be one of the strongest drivers this weekend due to his speed this year and the Rome record.

    The Circuit-

    As one of the longest tracks on the calendar, the Circuito Cittadino dell’EUR races around the Obelisco di Marconi, against the backdrop of the iconic Colosseo Quadrato.

    The Rome circuit features plenty of challenges for the drivers with undulations, lots of elevation changes, uneven surface and that jump – it’s a technical and fast track with long straights and a host of passing opportunities in the Eternal City.

    The 19 turn 3.385km Circuito Cittadino Dell’EUR is among Formula E’s longest and takes in the city’s Palazzo dei Congressi, Piazzale Marconi and the iconic Palazzo della Civilta Italiana, also known as the “Square Coliseum” while Ninfeo Park skirts the track.

    It’s a perfect mix of high speed runs and tight, complex sections and undulations with plenty of opportunities for overtaking at the hair pin and some 90 degree bends – peak Formula E and a big favourite of the drivers.

    rome-track-map-details

  • Round 13- Hungarian GP

    The final race of the first half of the season has came to an end, and it was definitely an interesting one, a certain team getting their strategy very wrong and a spin half way through from the leader…

    But through all of that Max Verstappen took the win after starting in P10, (who said you can’t overtake at the Hungaroring!) Lewis Hamilton finished second that makes it his 5th podium in a row and George Russell rounds out the podium, a second double podium in a row for the Silver Arrows.

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

    Not the way today was meant to go for Ferrari, another what was meant to be an ‘easy’ race for the Italian team didn’t turn out that way… they used the wrong strategy and put them on hards, which everyone (teams) knew that the window to get the hard tyres up to temperature was just not there…

    Another good weekend for Alpine, double points finish once again, if they carry on like this McLaren might be in a bit of trouble…

    Talking about McLaren, a good race for Lando Norris finish P7 a good amount of points for the Brit. But for Daniel a different story, finishing P15, not what the team expected and the collision with Stroll more than didn’t help the Aussie.

    Aston Martin finishing in the points a second weekend in a row, but this time its Sebastian Vettel in 10th, rather than last weekend it being his teammate.

    The Championship-

    Max extends his lead to now 80 points between him and Charles, Perez has closed down the gap a little bit more to the Ferrari driver. George Russell has taken P4 of Carlos Sainz but only two points separate the two. Hamilton is joining in on the fight for P4 now, as his only 10 points away from Carlos.

    Looking at the constructors, Red Bull almost have a 100 point gap to Ferrari but they have got bigger fish to fry as Mercedes are only 30 points away and if they carry on with their double podium finishes it wont take them long. Alpine are still in 4th but they haven’t pulled away from McLaren as expected, just four points seperate the two.

    Now as were at the summer break our next race isn’t until the 26th to 28th August and for the Belgian Grand Prix! But that doesn’t mean I’ll stop posting so sign up for notifications when I do!

  • Round 13- Hungary Qualifying

    Round 13- Hungary Qualifying

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Predictions-

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

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

    Times for the weekend-

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

  • Round 13- London E-Prix

    Round 13- London E-Prix

    FP1-

    Sergio Sette Camara topped the timesheets in the opening session of this weekend’s SABIC London E-Prix, with the fastest time in Free Practice 1 ahead of Round 13.

    The Brazilian’s 1m14.487s was enough to pip top four title contender, Mitch Evans and Round 10 winner, Nick Cassidy. As Antonio Giovinazzi put on his best shwoing of the season in practice with the 4th quickest time, with reigning world champion Nyck de Vries in fifth.

    Jean-Eric Vergne had work to do as he sat in 17th, but practice isn’t always pace alone, especially this weekend as teams try and get to grips with the unique indoor/outdoor circuit at the ExCel, with plenty of elevation changes and varying surfaces to contend with.

    FP2-

    Brit, Jake Dennis headed the way in Free Practice 2 ahead of the SABIC London E-Prix Round 13, setting a 1m13.661s lap time to [i[ Oliver Rowland by 0.082 seconds with Andre Lotterer in third.

    Just 0.858 seconds split the top 20 runners in an ultra-close session, with Dennis a race winner here last season – able to squeak to the top of the pile. The first of the title contenders was Mitch Evans, the Kiwi posting the sixth quickest time of the morning. But standings leader, Stoffel Vandoorne was a couple of spots back in his Silver Arrow 02.

    A couple of drivers fell foul of the tricky track surface with Sam Bird pushing his luck on the way into the ExCeL and Lotterer pirouetting at the complex.

    Qualifying-

    Jake Dennis, starts on Julius Baer Pole Position on home turf at the SABIC London E-Prix Round 13, having produced the goods in some style in front of a vocal home support.

    Dennis was up on fellow finalist and standings leader Stoffel Vandoorne after the first couple of corners and had earlier flown to the fastest laps in each of the groups and knockout stages up to this point. By the middle of the lap, the Brit made big ground and had two tenths of a second on Vandoorne.

    Vandoorne still holds the cards in the title fight, though, with his nearest rival Edo Mortara down in ninth having failed to progress from the groups, Jean-Eric Verge 13th and Mitch Evans a spot behind in 14th.

    It’s amazing. That’s one of the best things about obviously racing In Formula E – if you do a good job, you can hear the crowd. I’ve had such a good day – first in practice, through to all the Qualifying Duels and then to go head to head with Stoffel in the end was tight. It was incredible and honestly, the cars been absolutely amazing today. We made a really good step forward from yesterday and to get the team that first pole this year is exceptional.

    Jake Dennis, on securing pole position.

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

    Round 13-

    Jake Dennis, strode to a dominant lights-to-flag win in the London E-Prix for Round 13 to make it two wins in two years on home turf for the Brit at the ExCeL.

    Dennis was able to cover off the early advances of standings leader, Stoffel Vandoorne with the Mercedes-EQ driver content to play it cool to come home second for a 17th Formula E podium, with his closest championship rivals marooned down the field. But, by the first lap both Evans and Mortara had been in the wars, with Mortara forced to pit and entirely out of the fight.

    Reigning champ, Nyck de Vries played rear gunner for Vandoorne to occupy a racy Nick Cassidy as the Kiwi chased more silverware towards the end of the race but the Dutchman was able to hold fast for a podium. But it was meant to be for de Vries, as he got a 5 second penalty after the stewards found the Dutchman to change direction repeatedly under breaking.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Dennis, P2: Vandoorne, P3: Cassidy, P4: Askew, P5: Evans, P6: De Vries, P7: Da Costa, P8: Gunther, P9: Di Grassi and P10: Wehrlein.

  • A look into London

    We are now onto the final stretch of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship with the 2022 SABIC London E-Prix taking place this weekend at the ExCeL in the city’s historic docklands.

    Formula E made its first trip to the venue last season, and in a first for an international race series raced on an indoor/outdoor circuit layout which offered up a completely unique challenge for drivers and teams.

    The top four, are only split by fewer points than are on offer in any single Formula E round, and with the two races in London followed by a double-header in Seoul still to come, the season may be heading towards its climax but there’s still time for it to change…

    There will be a strong British presence both when the cars line up on the grid and in the garages supporting them. Six of the 22 drivers will be competing on home soil, with a full complement of fans in the grandstands for the first time after COVID restrictions affected the Season 7 event.

    The Circuit-

    We’re heading back to East London’s historic docklands and the ExCeL exhibition centre and circuit designed by British architect, Simon Gibbons in collaboration with the FIA and Motorsport UK.

    The 2,141km, 22 turn track is tight and twisty with a slicker, less grippy surface indoors and asphalt outside, with plenty of elevation changes. Regen is high with the new for Season 8 chicane complex between Turns 10 and 13 replacing last year’s double hairpin, and there is plenty of opportunity for overtaking.

    16x9-01

    Times for the weekend-

    Friday 29th July-

    • Free Practice 1: 17:15pm (BST)

    Saturday 30th July-

    • Free Practice 2: 09:00am (BST)
    • Qualifying: 10:40am
    • Round 13: 15:00pm

    Sunday 31st July-

    • Free Practice 3: 08:30am (BST)
    • Qualifying: 10:40am
    • Round 14: 15:00pm.

  • Vettel retiring end of season

    The day has arrived, and what a sad day it is! Four time world champion, Sebastian Vettel will retire from Formula 1 at the end of the 2022 season.

    The German driver, who made his debut with BMW Sauber in the 2007 United States Grand Prix, revealed the news via his newly created Instagram account.

    Vettel won all four of his championships with Red Bull between 2010 and 2013 and is third on the all-time list of Grand Prix winners with 53 victories. A six-year stint with Ferrari failed to yield a much-coveted fifth title. He has also scored one podium during one and a half years with Aston Martin where his contract expires at the end of 2022.

    Formula 1 teams, and drivers as well as drivers from Formula E took to social media to wish the World Champ well in his retirement, and having enjoyed racing him in past 15 years.

    Sebastian has used his platform in F1 to make a chnage, and in more recent years. Taking the knee with fellow drivers, raising awareness on the planet, and honestly just raising awareness in what’s going on in the world.

    Seb will be missed, his made a big impact in the past 15 years, and for me personally I’ve watched him since I was young, he was apart of my childhood. But seeing that his made this decision by himself and to do it for his family, no-one can put any negativity on that.

    I have had the privilege of working with many fantastic people in Formula 1 over the past 15 years – there are far too many to mention and thank. Over the past two years I have been an Aston Martin driver – and although our results have not been as good as we had hoped, it is very clear to me that everything is being put together that a team needs to race at the very highest level for years to come. I have really enjoyed working with such a great bunch of people. Everyone – Lawrence [Stroll], Lance [Stroll], Martin [Whitmarsh], Mike [Krack], the senior managers, the engineers, the mechanics and the rest of the team – is ambitious, capable, expert, committed and friendly, and I wish them all well. I hope that the work I did last year and am continuing to do this year will be helpful in the development of a team that will win in the future, and I will work as hard as I can between now and the end of the year with that goal in mind, giving as always my best in the last 10 races. The decision to retire has been a difficult one for me to take, and I have spent a lot of time thinking about it; at the end of the year I want to take some more time to reflect on what I will focus on next; it is very clear to me that, being a father, I want to spend more time with my family. But today is not about saying goodbye. Rather, it is about saying thank you – to everyone – not least to the fans, without whose passionate support Formula 1 could not exist.

    Sebastian Vettel on him leaving Formula 1.

    I want to thank Sebastian from the bottom of my heart for the great work that he has done for Aston Martin over the past year and a half. We made it clear to him that we wanted him to continue with us next year, but in the end he has done what he feels is right for himself and his family, and of course we respect that. He has driven some fantastic races for us, and, behind the scenes, his experience and expertise with our engineers have been extremely valuable. He is one of the all-time greats of Formula 1, and it has been a privilege to have been able to work with him. He will continue to race for us up to and including the 2022 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which will be his 300th Grand Prix entry. We will give him a fabulous send-off.

    Lawrence Stroll on Vettel.

    Sebastian is a superb driver – fast, intelligent and strategic – and of course we are going to miss those qualities. However, we have all learned from him, and the knowledge that we have gained from working with him will continue to benefit our team long after his departure. Aston Martin is a great project, with unlimited potential, and the groundwork that Sebastian has done last year, and is still doing this year, is crucial. When we become fully competitive – and we will – one of the architects of that future success will be Sebastian, and we will always be grateful to him for that.

    Mike Krack, on Seb.

  • Hungarian Grand Prix

    Our last race week is here, and summer break is just round the corner… But we return to Hungary for Round 13, where last year we saw a crazy race with Esteban Ocon winning his first F1 race…

    Could we see another crazy race this year? A first time win for a driver… George Russell… Kevin Magnussen.. Or could it be Lewis’ first win of the season? We will have to wait and find out on Sunday…

    Who needs a good weekend?

    Charles Leclerc, he potentially threw away a win last weekend, and I think he knows that… If he really wants to be in this championship fight I think he needs to just get his head down for this weekends race and then have time off and get back to it straight away.

    The Haas team will be wanting a good weekend, no points finish last time out, after scoring in both Silverstone and Austria, but they will be oping to maximise this weekend, and maybe be there on others misfortune….

    Alpha Tauri will be wanting a good weekend, Tsunoda last time out DNF’ed, and Gasly finished 12th, the Frenchman hasn’t scored points since Azerbaijan and Tsunoda since Spain…

    Predictions for qualifying-

    My top five are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Leclerc, P3: Sainz, P4: Hamilton and P5: Perez. I’m hoping for a McLaren, both Alpines and maybe a Hass if not both, in the top 10!

    At the time of writing this, it looks like there might be rain for qualifying. I’m kind of hoping there will be, I want a crazy race on Sunday so a qualifying where a few people are out of position will definitely be interesting.

    Times for weekend-

    Friday 29th-

    • Free Practice F3- 08:30am – 9:15am (BST)
    • Free Practice F2- 09:40am – 10:25am
    • Free Practice 1 F1- 13:00pm – 14:00pm
    • Qualifying F3- 14:30pm – 15:00pm
    • Free Practice 2 F1- 16:00pm – 17:00pm
    • Qualifying F2- 17:30pm – 18:00pm

    Saturday 30th-

    • Sprint Race F3- 10:00am – 10:45am (BST)
    • Free Practice 3 F1- 12:00pm – 13:00pm
    • Qualifying F1- 15:00pm – 16:00pm
    • Sprint Race F2- 17:00pm – 17:45pm

    Sunday 31st-

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

  • Hungary Tyre Allocation

    We are at our last race before the summer break, and Pirelli has chosen the tyres for this weekends Hungarian Grand Prix, we also have Formula 2 and Formula 3 with us aswell.

    We have the middle of the range this weekend: C2 (Hard), C3 (Medium), C4 (Soft).

    The Hungaroring has a reputation for being an extremely hot and dry track, last years track temperatures during a free practice session peaked at nearly 60 degrees.

    But the reality is that it’s actually rained just before the race for the past two seasons in Hungry. Last year led to a somewhat crazy re-start following a first corner incident, when Lewis Hamilton was the only person to get going on intermediates from the grid whilst everyone went into the pit for the slicks.

    The Hungaroring isn’t a particularly high energy circuit, with smooth asphalt that’s sometimes bumpy in places and the demands on tyres being more about traction rather than braking.

    In the past, the Hungaroring has been known as a place where it’s difficult to overtake, but the new package of cars and tyres this year helps drivers get much closer to each other, which is why we have seen some great races with plenty of overtaking so far this season. Hopefully that’s going to be the case at the Hungaroring as well; a tight and twisty track where the cars are often grouped together. Hungary is also known for being very hot, but it’s also rained for the last two years there: so the moral of the story is never to jump to conclusions! We’ve seen some surprises at the Hungaroring before, and that could be the case even more this year.

    Mario Isla, Motorsport Director

    Formula 2

    For Formula 2 this weekend, the medium and soft tyres have been nominated. It’s only the second time the combination has been used this season, after round two at Jeddah.

    Formula 3

    In Formula 3, the medium tyre will be nominated for the second time this season, with its previous appearance being in Imola for round 2.

  • Round 13- Zandvoort Race

    Well… Max Verstappen wins on his home turf and now leads the championship again, he drove a superb race!

    Hamilton finished in P2 with fastest lap as-well which we all know is major in the championship this year as its so close and then Bottas in P3 which now makes Mercedes have a 12 point advantage over Red Bull in the championship!

    The rest of the top 10 are- P4: Gasly, P5: Leclerc, P6: Alonso, P7: Sainz, P8: Perez, P9: Ocon and P10: Norris. We knew the order wouldn’t of changed too much so I honestly am not surprised by this order at all!

    It does make some changes to the Championship though, which is what we like to see and makes the future races more exciting! Norris is down to P4 as Bottas’ podium means he move us to P3, but I can imagine they will keep swapping round.

    Alonso done very well today, from starting in P9 and finishing in P6 which is a good points haul for the Alpine and Alonso! Gasly, done absolutley mega today, kept his P4 which went un-noticed yesterday but he made it count today and this is where it counts.

    Ferrari had a very good day today, which means a good lot of points for the Italian team, and they will want to excel on their performance this week going into the Italian Grand Prix next weekend!

    We had 3 DNF’s and they were Mazepin, Tsunoda and Russell. All cars retired to pit lane, the reasons are unknown at this time but will be updated later on.

    Now onto the second Red Bull, I don’t think Perez has had the best weekend, he obviously qualified P16 and then Red Bull done a very clever move and changed his power unit which meant he starts from the pit-lane but even then it didn’t exactly go the way they wanted it to. He started on hard tyres and then had to pit on the 10th lap to change to mediums as there was flat-spots. They did however manage to claw some points for Perez. It did make me think imagine if he was on the mediums to start what would of happened? Could we off seen him top 5?

    Now all eyes onto next weekend as we have our second sprint race of the season and we are back at Monza for the Italian Grand Prix!

  • Round 13- Zandvoort Quali

    Well, well, well what a quali that was, at one point I didn’t know who would be where at one point!

    But Max Verstappen manages to get his first pole position of his home grand prix, with Lewis joining him on the front row and it was only 0.38s between the pair. Valtteri takes P3, which makes Max under pressure from both of the Mercedes, especially because of the strategy, Mercedes have both drivers in top 3, where as Max is on his own and his team-mate is no where to be seen…

    The rest of the grid are as follows- P4: Gasly, P5: Leclerc, P6: Sainz, P7: Giovinazzi, P8: Ocon, P9: Alonso, P10: Ricciardo, P11: Russell, P12: Stroll, P13: Norris, P14: Latifi, P15: Tsunoda, P16: Perez, P17: Vettel, P18: Kubica, P19: Schumacher and finally P20: Mazepin.

    I feel like the grid is a bit of a mix match this weekend, there some good results for some teams where as other teams its been quite disappointing…

    I said both Ferrari drivers need a good weekend and they’ve started it of good, but tomorrow is where it counts as thats where the points are dished out.

    Not a good day for Lando, his been a bit of the pace today, whether thats due to having under-estimated the track or just simply being caught out by the red flags in Q2. We all know what he can do, so i’m sure we will see him doing some brave over takes tomorrow to get some points!

    Not the best qualifying for Williams either, having both cars bring out two red flags isn’t the best but lucky for them they have free tyre choice with both cars and hopefully they can play a good strategy to get some points!

    Now onto Perez, who actually quite shocked me. Starting P16, on a track which isn’t known for over-taking but if you want to take risks which we saw some Formula Three drivers do earlier on in the day, they do pay off.

    Now onto the one who impressed me the most… It’s Antonio Giovinazzi starting P7, where did that pace come from in the Alfa Romeo!! You always want to do well on race weekends but even more so when a reserve driver stands in for your team-mate, but he has just excelled today! Could he possibly have a point to prove that maybe he deserves to stay in F1? All I know is that one performance like this isn’t going to cut it, but if he has now fount a good way with the car and use it tomorrow he could be in contention for some points!

    Predictions-

    My top five predictions for tomorrow are: P1- Hamilton, P2: Bottas, P3: Verstappen, P4: Gasly and P5: Alonso. Fastest lap I think will go to Bottas.

    I’d like to see the likes of Norris, Russell, Latifi in the top 10 and get some points but it’s all about the risk in overtaking here, are they willing to do it? I think tomorrow will be a very good race, no-one knows how these 72 laps are going to go but I am very excited!

    Times for tomorrow-

    The race starts at §4:00pm (BST), and 15:00pm (CEST). As well as Formula Three in the morning at 9:45am (BST) and 10:45am (CEST)

  • Kimi out of Dutch GP

    Kimi Raikkonen won’t take part in the rest of the Dutch Grand Prix this weekend due to having a positive covid-19 test!

    Alfa Romeo took to social media telling their followers that Kimi has tested positive with Covid and that “Kimi is displaying no symptoms and is in good spirits. He has immediately entered isolation in his hotel.’’

    However, Robert Kubica is back! As one of Alfa Romeos reserve drivers his stepped in place for Kimi. It will Kubica’s first Grand Prix start since 2019 and his first for the Alfa Romeo team.

    Raikkonen will need a negative test before being allowed into the paddock and it remains unclear if he will be able to race next weekends Italian Grand Prix at Monza

    Wishing Kimi a speedy recovery and hopefully see him back on track soon!❤️

  • Dutch GP

    After 36 years we are back for the Dutch Grand Prix, and its set to be a special one! It’s the home Grand Prix of Max Verstappen and i’m sure he will be wanting to come out on top to give the fans a real show. But could we see Hamilton wanting to give something back on his home turf?

    The fight for P3 in the constructors is still very much on, even more so with the gap down to only 3.5 points… but who will come out on top this weekend? McLaren or Ferrari? It’s all too play for and I can’t wait!

    Who needs a good weekend?

    I think both Ferrari drivers do, they got it wrong last weekend which is a shame but hopefully we see both of them in the top 10 throughout the weekend…

    I’d possibly say Stroll as well, his currently sitting 14th in the championship. His not had the best season compared to his team-mate. His had two DNFs and four other races where his been out of the top 10 so six races in total with no points. I’m not entirely sure why he isn’t performing as well as Seb, as you’d think Stroll’s been in the car and the team a lot longer than Seb so he should be comfortable in it and know roughly what he needs to work on, but were now onto the second half of the season and it doesn’t seem to be improving, so hopefully a good weekend for him.

    Predictions for Quali-

    My top five predictions for this weekend are- Pole: Hamilton, P2: Verstappen, P3: Norris, P4: Bottas and P5: Ocon. I’m hoping Russell will qualifying top 10 again, but obviously after coming from qualifying P2 last weekend his confidence is high but we need to be realistic with the predictions for him this weekend as theres no rain forecasted yet…

    This track is so hard to do predictions on as we haven’t got no previous data on it, so we don’t know whether it suits a certain team more or less!

    Times for the weekend-

    Saturday 4th- FP3: 11:00am – 12:00pm(BST), 12:00pm – 13:00pm (CEST). Qualifying: 14:00pm – 15:00pm (BST), 15:00pm – 16:00pm (CEST).

    Sunday 5th- Race: 14:00pm (BST), 15:00pm (CEST).

  • Tyres for Zandvoort

    We are back racing this weekend and we are at Zandvoort and Pirelli have announced their tyres for this weekend.

    We’ve got the hardest of the compounds which is the fourth time they’ve been chosen this season. C1 (Hard), C2 (Medium) and C3 (Soft). With no previous relevant data the hardest tyres are the most suitable choice.

    The track looks quite different than when it did at its last Grand Prix in 1985. In particular, turns 3 and 14 they are both now banked at 19 degrees. As well turn 14 is taken flat-out which generates forces in excess of 4g, while there are two corners which have heavy breaking of around 5g: the entries into Turn 1 and 11.

    As expected from an old circuit, Zandvoort has a distinctly old-school feel to it, with fast and narrows turns with a number of different elevation changes. Zandvoort is located in an area of sand dunes near the beach, with the wind sometimes blowing sand onto the track which can affect grip; which is normally an issue in places like Bahrain. So we could possibly expect some drivers being caught out by the lick of grip.

    We have Formula Three with us again this weekend, and they will also be using the hard tyre. Zandvoort has big demands and banked corners which will take a lot of energy out of the tyres.