Jordan's Track Talk

Tag: Round 15

  • R15 – Zandvoort

    Oscar Piastri has taken a victory in a hugely dramatic Dutch Grand Prix that saw McLaren teammate Lando Norris retire from the race due to a mechanical failure in the closing stages, marking a potentially seismic moment in the championship battle.

    Piastri had made a good start from pole when the race got underway, the Australian going on to build a lead from Max Verstappen after the Red Bull had overtaken Norris early on in Lap 1. Norris, however, went on to retake the position and the pair settled into a 1-2 formation.

    The race then faced a potential turn when the Safety Car was deployed after Lewis Hamilton hit the barriers on Lap 23, leading to a flurry of action in the pits. McLaren double-stacked their drivers and despite a slight delay for Norris, both cars maintained position.

    Norris continued his chase of his team mate from there and – despite a second Safety Car after a collision between Charles Leclerc and Kimi Antonelli that put the Ferrari out of the race – the fight looked to still be open as the race entered into its final stages.

    However, everything changed when smoke started to emerge from Norris’ McLaren with just a few laps to go, forcing him to retire at the side of the track.
    A Safety Car phase played out which saw Piastri hold onto P1 from Verstappen in P2, and rounding out the top three is a first time podium sitter, Isack Hadjar!

    The full top 10 are- P1: Piastri, P2: Verstappen, P3: Hadjar, P4: Russell, P5: Albon, P6: Bearman, P7: Stroll, P8: Alonso, P9: Tsunoda and P10: Ocon.

    What a result for Piastri! His first grand slam aswell and he done it in a mighty fashion! This is exactly how he would want his second half of the season to start!
    As for Norris, very gutting as he was edging closer to catching Piastri, he will be wanting to move onto the next race weekend.

    A good result for Verstappen! P2 at his home Grand Prix, I think that was the best he was going to get, but he will be happy with that result.
    As for Tsunoda, he managed to get in the points in P9, so a semi decent result.

    Now the star of the show, Isack Hadjar, he started P4 and finished P3, the Frenchmans very first podium in his rookie season! Thoroughly deserved, if I do say so myself. He should be very proud of how far his come this season already.

    A good result for Russell, P4 for him, not a bad result, shame he couldn’t get on the podium, but still a very good result. As for Antonelli it was a race to forget after he tangled with Leclerc and his race was basically over from there as he finished 16th.

    P5 for Albon! A great result for Williams, a good chunk of points for the team which was needed as the mid-field battle is heating up!

    Double points for Haas! P6 for Bearman which is his career best finish and Ocon finished in P10, a great result for the team.

    Double points for Aston Martin too! P7 for Stroll, and P8 for Alonso, quite a good weekend for the team, they’ve had some good pace this weekend will be interesting to see if they can carry it on.

    A weekend to forget for Ferrari, a double DNF which is unfortunate as they looked like they had pace this weekend too, they will be looking forward to the weekend as its their home Grand Prix.

  • R15 – Tyre Selection

    This weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix marks a milestone in Pirelli’s time in Formula 1, as this race will be the five hundredth world championship round of motorsport’s blue riband category in which the Italian marque has had an official presence.

    A lap of Zandvoort track is 4.259 kilometres in length, running through the dunes on the North Sea coast, just under 40 kilometres from the capital of the Netherlands.

    It boasts 14 low to medium speed corners – four to the left and ten to the right – of which the third and last are banked at angles of 19 and 18 degrees respectively, must steeper than the turns at Indianapolis.
    These corners generate very high vertical and lateral loads on the tyres, which requires the teams to pay close attention to set-up and management of the car-tyre package.

    The aerodynamic downforce level required is very high, similar to that seen in Budapest. The track usually offers low levels of grip and this can be greatly exacerbated by sand blown onto the surface by the coastal winds.

    For the race in the Netherlands, Pirelli has gone a step softer in terms of compounds than last year. The teams will have a choice of the C2 (Hard), C3 (Medium), C4 (Soft).

    The decision, taken in conjunction with the FIA, has the aim of increasing the likelihood of a strategy based on two stops, rather than just the one-stop, which has been the predominant choice since this race returned to the calendar in 2022.

    In 2024, 16 drivers lined up on the gird on the Medium tyre, while three drivers went for the Soft tyre, with one driver starting from the pit lane on the Hard tyre.
    Three quarter of the field made just one stop during the race, taking on the Hard tyre as the second set.

  • R15 – London E-Prix

    Polesitter Evans led the pack away and through the opening left-right after a strong start with de Vries chopping across to defend from Wehrlein.

    Edo Mortara and Maximilian Guenther came to blows as the cars made their exit out of the Excel beneath the Docklands Light Railway, with the latter coming off worse with suspension damage to his front-right corner – enforcing a spell under the Safety Car for the recovery of his car.

    Lap 4 and we were green again, with Evans heading de Vries, Wehrlein, Cassidy, Ticktum and Mortara.

    The PIT BOOST window opened around lap 17 with Nick Cassidy able to make up ground from P5 at the outside to a net lead on Lap 20 as the stops began to shake the field up.

    De Vries and Wehrlein aimed to overcut Cassidy and the rest with an early Attack Mode deployments and late stops on Lap 25 – which proved a strong call as de Vries emerged from the pitlane ahead of the Jaguar driver and Wehrlein filtered into third.

    Lap 28 saw Nick Cassidy make use of his second ATTACK to retake P1 from de Vries out of the final turn on Lap 27.

    Contact saw Ticktum clip Mitch Evans into a spin and slipping out of the points on Lap 29 before the CUPRA Kiro driver found himself in trouble with an overambitious move at Turn 9 saw the Brit in the wall and out of the race.
    A Safety Car was required for the recovery of Ticktum’s car.

    Lap 35 saw the race go green once again with Cassidy leading the pack away, from there he was able to seal the deal and get things done.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Cassidy, P2: De Vries, P3: Wehrlein, P4: Vandoorne, P5: Vergne, P6: Mortara, P7: Frijns, P8: Dennis, P9: Nato and P10: Evans.

  • RW 15 – Netherlands

    Round 15 is officially complete, and it was McLaren’s Lando Norris who charged to a statement victory during the Dutch Grand Prix, overhauling Max Verstappen denying the Dutchman what would have been a fourth-straight home triumph.

    Norris lined up on pole position for Sunday’s race but his hopes of converting it into the win took a hit when Verstappen jumped off the line and slotted ahead at the first corner, before moving clear and breaking free of the DRS window.

    However, Norris gathered himself to mount a fight back as the race developed, finding another level of pace to close back in on the three time world champion and reclaim a lead he would not relinquish.

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

    A lovely result for McLaren, P1 for Lando, another win for the Brit! The upgrades McLaren brought to Zandvoort clearly worked as they dominated that race.
    Piastri finished P4, he will probably be a little disappointed with it as he could’ve got on the podium, but he was close, and gave a good fight to Charles Leclerc during the race.

    A good result for Max, P2, I think he was slightly gutted he couldn’t win his own Grand Prix (like anyone would be), but I think from the beginning of the weekend and how they struggled to how they finished it they need to be walking away happy, and look at what is needed to improve on.
    Perez finished in P6, an okay result from the Mexican, I think it could’ve been better but still a good amount of points.

    What a result for Leclerc! Another podium to add to his tally, apparently for the team it was quite unexpected but sometimes that is the best podiums as you know you’ve put a lot of hard work into it.
    Sainz finished P5 which is a very good result for the whole team.

    Now onto Mercedes, a decent drive from Lewis Hamilton after he started P14 and then went onto finish P8, so for him it was probably damage limitation, get into the points and see how many he can get.
    As for Russell, I feel like he kind of got swallowed up by the field, he had a great start to the race getting into P3 but by the time pit stops went around etc he ended up finishing the race in P7…

    A good result for our final points positions, P9 for Gasly which is good to see and P10 for Alonso, probably not the points he wanted after his qualifying position but being realistic with the cars around him it was probably going to end up this way anyway!

    Now, we don’t have to wait too long until the next race as it is this week! We head to Italy for Round 16 where it is the Italian Grand Prix – Ferrari’s home race.

  • RW 15 – Netherlands Qualifying

    Lando Norris has secured pole position for the Dutch Grand Prix in triumphant style, with the Briton pumping in a time over three tenths of a second clear of nearest challenger Max Verstappen.

    After he put himself on provisional pole during the initial runs in Q3, Norris bettered that effort by setting a sensational lap of 1m09.673s in the McLaren.

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

    A good result for McLaren, pole for Lando and P3 for Piastri, just what the team would of wanted coming back from the summer break, they will be wanting to go for the win today.

    A good result for Max Verstappen, he would of wanted to get pole position as it is his home race this weekend, but Norris has now broken that chain. Perez has had a good qualifying too! P5 for the Mexican will be interesting if he can improve on that position.

    A very good result for Aston Martin, P7 and P8 for the team, which is very good as before the summer break they were struggling or pretty much all season have been struggling compared to last season…

    A somewhat of a decent result for Ferrari, P6 for Leclerc, however for Sainz he failed to get into Q3 and ended up in 11th but he will start 10th due to a disqualification.

    A good result for George Russell, P4! He will be wanting to get on the podium today, so watch out for that battle. Hamilton didn’t have a very good qualifying, out in Q2 in 12th and to makes matters worse, he has been given a three place grid penalty for impeding Perez.

    Alex Albon has been disqualified from qualifying after being P8, due to a breach of the technical regulations, the stewards’ conclusion read: The floor body of Car 23 was found to lie outside the regulatory volume mentioned in Article 3.5.1 a) of the FIA Formula One Technical Regulations. The team did not dispute the calibration of the FIA measuring system and the measurement of the car, but stated that their own measurements have produced different results. The Stewards determine that the result of the measurement conducted with the FIA system in Parc Ferme is the relevant one and the due process prescribed by the regulations has been followed. Therefore the standard penalty for such an infringement is applied.

    And to makes matters worse, Logan Sargeant didn’t participate in the qualifying session at all, due to a heavy crash in FP3, despite the best efforts of the crew trying to fix the car.

    An amazing day. It’s nice to be back and start with a pole. It was a nice lap, honestly. The qualifying was always pretty smooth and I put in some good laps, especially the one at the end, which is always the most important. A great job by the team and I’m happy with today. I’m excited for tomorrow. I’m sure it’s going to be tough. Max has been quick all weekend. I know we got him today, but he’s still second and he’s going to be putting up a good fight, specially at his home race. I’m looking forward to it.
    Norris on claiming pole position.

  • RW 15 – Tyre Selection

    Formula 1 is back in action at a track that presents one of the most complicated challenges of the season.
    The Dutch Grand Prix takes place at the classic Zandvoort circuit, nestled in the dunes on the North Sea coast.

    Banked corners are not that common in Formula 1 and therefore present an unusual challenge for both car and driver. It has an effect on the tyres, because the higher speeds of the banked turns compared to the normal ones subjects them to even greater forces.

    That explains why the dry weather compounds chosen for Zandvoort are the three hardest in the 2024 race: C1 (Hard), C2 (Medium), C3 (Soft).

    On paper, thermal degradation is a very significant factor, but it will depend on the weather in late August. The Netherlands borders Belgium and we saw before the break how climatic conditions at these latitudes can change from one day to the next and even within the space of a day.

    Conditions changed so much during last year’s race that all five types of available tyre were used. The most popular slick was the Soft, chosen for the start by 19 of 20 drivers, with Hamilton being the only driver to opt for the Mediums.

    In stable dry conditions, pre-event simulations point to a one-stop as the quickest strategy, especially in theory, overtaking is a rare event, because the track is very narrow and there are few straights.

  • Perez set for race engineer switch

    Red Bull have confirmed that there will be a change on Sergio Perez’s side of the garage for the foreseeable future, with long-time Race Engineer Hugh Bird going on paternity leave.

    Bird has been Perez’s Race Engineer since the Mexican’s first season with Red Bull in 2021 but that responsibility will move to performance engineer Richard Wood from this weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix.

    In Red Bull’s official pre-event preview, Perez commented that “everyone will notice a change on the radio” when the action gets underway at Zandvoort.

    Hugh my Race Engineer is expecting a baby very soon so will be spending some time at home and I wish him and his family the best of luck with their new arrival! Woody, my Performance Engineer, will step up in the meantime.
    Perez said.

    Perez also added that he is returning from the summer break feeling “refreshed and ready to go” after a challenging runs of Grands Prix – featuring Q1 and Q2 exits and minor points finishes – led to plenty of speculation over his Red Bull future.

    Red Bull team boss Christian Horner recently described Perez’s form as unsustainable with the squad looking to fend off the likes of McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes in the constructors’ championship.

    However, fresh from Red Bull stating that they are standing by the six-time Grand Prix winner.
    Perez commented “I am looking forward to getting back in the car this weekend. The summer break was very important for everyone in the team and the whole sport, with so many races now everyone needs the rest and reset time more than ever. I spent my time in Mexico with family and I feel refreshed and ready to go for the second half of the season. I know all my team feel the same, I have been in Milton Keynes this week with them. I know what we can extract from the car in the coming weeks and we will do our best to maximise the second half of 2024.”

  • Shwartzman in for FP1 at the Dutch GP

    Kick Sauber have confirmed that Robert Shwartzman will get behind the wheel of Valtteri Bottas’ car to participate in Free Practice 1 at the Dutch Grand Prix.

    Shwartzman – who acts as a reserve driver for Ferrari – is set to jump in the C44 when the second half of the 2024 season kicks off at Zandvoort on August 23rd.

    This isn’t Shwartzman’s first FP1 appearance, with the 24 year old previously taking part in sessions for Ferrari during the 2022 and 2023 seasons.

    After winning the Formula 3 championship with PREMA Racing in 2019, Shwartzman went on to drive for the squad in Formula 2 from 2020 to 2021, finishing in fourth and second place of the drivers’ standings respectively.

    Since then the Russo-Israeli driver has competed in sports cars as well as racing in the World Endurance Championship with Ferrari.

    Under Formula 1’s current regulations, each team must run a rookie in two FP1 sessions each campaign, and Shwartzman’s appearance will mark Kick Sauber’s first young driver outing of 2024.

    After announcing the news, Kick Sauber stated: “As in previous occasions, we work in partnership with Scuderia Ferrari to give young talent an opportunity in practice sessions. Good Luck, Robert!”

  • RND 15 – London E-Prix

    FP1-

    The half hour session at the unique indoor-outdoor ExCeL Circuit in the afternoon heat in London saw all 22 drivers take to the track to prep ahead of the all-important finale double-header.

    Of the title contenders, Evans placed best with the fourth fastest time, just 0.065s shy of Vergne’s session benchmark. The Kiwi’s compatriot, teammate and standings leader Nick Cassidy wound up almost four-tenths back from the ultimate pace and 11th.

    Form man and reigning champion Jake Dennis – the man with by far the best record in London – find himself down in 15th with plenty to work through to get his Andretti up the grid come qualifying.

    FP2-

    Robin Frijns in his Envision Racing machine was at the top of the times for Free Practice 2, as the Jaguar TCS Racing powertrain looks strong.
    Fresh from his back-to-back podiums in Portland, Frijns will be hoping to make it three in a row.

    Brit, Oliver Rowland was second, with Sebastien Buemi in third. The Envision team claimed the Teams’ Championship at this race last year and look strong around this circuit.

    The session saw all the drivers pushing their cars to the limit, with drivers coming so close to the walls and riding over the kerbs.

    The last 10 minutes to the practice session saw Nissan’s Oliver Rowland, have a spin on entry into the ExCel building, but was able to get back on track in style.

    Qualifying-

    Jaguar TCS Racing’s Mitch Evans achieved the Julius Baer Pole Position and closes the championship gap to his teammate Nick Cassidy to nine points.

    The championship fight has got even closer, as the Jaguar of Mitch Evans managed to achieve pole and the three additional points whilst his teammate Nick Cassidy, struggled and will line up in 17th on the grid.

    As well as a shocking result for Cassidy who leads the Drivers’ World Championship with 167 points and two races to go, there was also big results up and down the grid.

    TAG Heuer Porsche’s Antonio Felix da Costa will be starting ninth, with Pascal Wehrlein in third at a circuit which can prove challenge to overtake on.

    The top 10 for qualifying are- Pole: Evans, P2: Buemi, P3: Wehrlein, P4: Nato, P5: Vergne, P6: Muller, P7: Rowland, P8: Frijns, P9: Da Costa and P10: Dennis.

    Round 15-

    Mitch Evans got off to a strong start with Buemi close behind, but it was Norman Nato who pushed his way into third after a cautious Pascal Wehrlein took things easy.

    However, there was drama further back as Jake Dennis squeezed out Robin Frijns which sent him into the wall and out of the race. The incident also picked up Sam Bird, and resulted in a Safety Car.

    Things got back underway by Lap 5, and saw the pack start to take their Attack Modes. One notable activation belonged to Nick Cassidy who missed one of the sensors and had to try again, losing crucial time.

    Oliver Rowland was getting his elbows out, fighting and trying to pass Jean-Eric Vergne but delivered a move up the inside.
    That wasn’t the only on-track battle for two-time champ JEV, as he also found himself getting tangled with Dennis and the two cars resting on top of each other for a brief moment.

    Fighting for position, ROwland ended up clashing with Antonio Felix da Costa at the final corner and causing the two to come to a stop. For Rowland he was able to get going again but it was game over for da Costa as he limped back to the pits.

    Buemi passed Evans for the lead on lap 10 in a lovely tidy move up the start-finish straight. Meanwhile, Dennis was out causing more trouble as he banged wheels with championship leader Cassidy.

    Cassidy was also smacked into the wall as he fought Stoffel Vandoorne, but was able to continue. He also complained of his beacons not working and missed Attack Mode again when he tried to take the mandatory power boost.

    Evans complained of energy issues, and was eventually passed by Maximilian Guenther for second place, yet disaster struck when his car suffered a problem and saw him drop down the order and eventually stop on track in the final stages of the race.

    Norman Nato and Sacha Fenestraz added to the accident damage as they came together in the last moments of the race.
    But Pascal Wehrlein kept his cool up in front to take his third victory of the season, with Evans behind in second and Sebastien Buemi in third.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Wehrlein, P2: Evans, P3: Buemi, P4: de Vries, P5: Mortara, P6: Muller, P7: Cassidy, P8: Bird, P9: Vandoorne and P10: Nato.

  • RND 15 – Italian Grand Prix

    Round 15 is now over and so is the Italian Grand Prix so let’s take a look at how it went!

    Max Verstappen and Red Bull came out on top in a battle against the Italian team as they secured victory and make more F1 history – the Dutchman moving ahead of Sebastian Vettel with 10 wins in a row and the team stretching their winning run to 15 races.

    Sergio Perez came home to make it a 1-2 for the team and rounding on the podium is pole sitter, Carlos Sainz making the Tifosi proud!

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

    A great result for Ferrari, and a good haul of points aswell which makes them leap frog Aston Martin in the Constructors. It was great to see them battling together aswell, as teammates fighting each other doesn’t happen often.

    Alex Albon holding off the McLaren’s for the majority of the race and scoring some valuable points in P7, he is quite literally carrying Williams all by himself!

    Valtteri Bottas, back in the points! What we love to see, he will be wanting to score a few more points in the next coming races, which will help the team as they are now only one point away from Haas in 8th.

    We had a bit of drama before the race even started, Yuki Tsunoda reported an engine failure on the formation lap and had to pull over to the side, which resulted in a delayed start due to recovering the Alpha Tauri car.

    Now we only have less than two weeks until were back and it will be another double header, and our first stop will be Singapore from the 15th to 17th!

  • RND 15 – Monza Qualifying

    Qualifying is done, and we take a look to see who took pole around the Temple of Speed!

    Carlos Sainz came out on top at the end of a thrilling qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix as the Ferrari driver narrowly got the better of Max Verstappen and teammate Charles Leclerc to secure his first pole position of the season.

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

    What a lovely result for Ferrari! Pole in-front of the Tifosi after being strong all weekend! Could we possibly see Max’s streak end? Can Ferrari take their first win of the season? It’s all to play for on the Italian circuit.

    A great result from Russell, best of the rest in P4, he will be hoping to get back on the podium today and earn some big points for the team. A decent result for Hamilton, but he will be wanting more and finishing in top 3 or 5 aswell.

    Alex Albonnnn, what a driver! P6!! He honestly never surprises me anymore, a top 10 finish in qualifying is what we kind of expect and want from the Williams driver.

    Liam Lawson! His first full F1 weekend, and wow, I think he may be getting a few team bosses talking… He qualified 12th, just one position behind his teammate who sits in 11th. Great to see how quick the New Zealander has got up to speed with the car.

    A rubbish qualifying for Alpine, P17 for Gasly and P18 for Ocon, what an earth is going on with them? They had a great weekend last week with Gasly’s podium and then to be down the bottom of the grid for qualifying less than a week later is a bit shocking…

    Predictions-

    My top five for the race are- P1: Sainz, P2: Leclerc, P3: Russell, P4: Perez and P5: Hamilton.

    I think I’m being a bit hopeful and wanting Ferrari to win this weekend, especially because their on pole, but will it happen? It’d be a dream if they did win!
    I feel like we are going to have an interesting race, with different strategies and so.

  • Ferrari reveal special livery for home race

    Ferrari have revealed a special, tweaked livery that will be on the cars of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz during this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix – the team’s home race.

    While the usual red colour scheme remains front and centre, it has been joined with flashes of yellow and black as seen on Ferrari’s 499P Hypercar which won the 24 Hours of Le Mans this year.

    Ex-F1 driver Antonio Giovinazzi, driving the #51 machine alongside Alessandro Pier Guodo and James Calado, emerged victorious in the June race after a scrap with the #8 Toyota driver by former Toro Rosso racers, Sebasiten Buemi and Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa.

    Ferrari doesn’t stop there as Leclerc and Sainz will wear special driver race suits with the red, yellow and black theme continuing in posts shared by Ferrari.
    Not only this, the drivers will also be having special helmets for the race too.

    But for the fans, there will be special caps and t-shirts on display, which the thousands of tifosi who make the annual trip to the ‘Temple of Speed’ are no doubt set to wear with pride.

  • Italian Grand Prix

    We are in Italy for Round 15 and our second race of the double header as we arrive at the Temple of Speed to see if the Monza curse continues…

    The Monza curse has continued every year, but seeing as Max won last year, will he be the driver to break it? Or could we potentially see a different team other than Red Bull win on Sunday?

    This weekend’s race is the home race of a couple of teams, Ferrari obviously, and AlphaTauri and Alfa Romeo!

    This weekend we also have Formula 2 and Formula 3 joining us on the Italian circuit, and not only that it is also the finale for F3 aswell!

    Who needs to shine?

    Charles Leclerc will be wanting a good weekend as it’s Ferrari’s home race, and after having a DNF last weekend he will be looking to score some big points in front of the home crowd.

    George Russell obviously he finished 17th last weekend, but this weekend he will be wanting to get back on the podium or even top 5.

    Going back to Ferrari they are only 14 points behind Aston Martin in the Constructors so this is a big opportunity for both drivers to close in on the Silverstone based team.

    With Williams scoring some more points last weekend they’ve managed to build a 4 point gap between themselves and Haas. But they will need a bigger gap to feel safe.

    Also, Liam Lawson! His back again this weekend subbing in for Ricciardo. He will be wanting to have another good race and hopefully with a bit more time in the car in the practice sessions he may get a better qualifying result also.

    Predictions for Qualifying-

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

    I think we may have a few shock surprises in qualifying again. Maybe someone from a top team out in Q1/Q2 and having to see them come through the field on Sunday!

  • Monza Tyre Selection

    The tyres have been selected for this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix.

    The chosen tyres are: C3 (Hard), C4 (Medium), C5 (Soft). They are the softest compounds in the Pirelli range.

    The Alternative Tyre Allocation will be tried again at Monza, after the first test in Hungary.
    Each driver will have just 11 sets of slick tyres (three hard, four medium and four softs) at their disposal this weekend. In qualifying, drivers can use only one type of compound per session.

    Last year, there were no fewer than eight different strategies deployed by the top 10 finishers. Max Verstappen and George Russell first and third respectively opted for a single stop, while Charles Leclerc who finished second had already made two stops before a safety car at the end of the race allowed all three drivers to stop again.

    Monza has produced different winners over the past five years. Lewis Hamilton in 2018, Charles Leclerc in 2019, Pierre Gasly in 2020, Daniel Ricciardo in 2021 and Max Verstappen in 2022.

    As usual, the European Formula 1 season draws to a close in Monza: which is also Pirelli’s home event as our headquarters are just a few kilometres away from this iconic circuit. Monza is synonymous with speed, as its nickname of the ‘Temple of Speed’ capably demonstrates. To this day, it’s where the fastest race in the history of Formula 1 was held, with Michael Schumacher setting an unbeaten average race speed of 247.585 kph back in 2003. As a result, teams use the lowest possible aerodynamic downforce levels to favour top speed by reducing drag. Stability under braking and traction coming out of the two chicanes are the two key factors that challenge tyres most on this track, as well as the lateral loads exerted in the fast corners such as Parabolica (named after Michele Alboreto) and Curva Grande. After Hungary, Monza will be the second time that the Alternative Tyre Allocation (ATA) is trialled, which uses two fewer sets of tyres than the standard format. This offers a benefit in terms of CO2 saved both during production and transport, as well as giving teams and drivers a wider range of strategic option. For this reason as well, we have chosen the trio of softest compounds for Monza – C3, C4, and C5 – which has already been nominated five times this season.

    Mario Isola, Pirelli Head of Motorsport.

  • Lawson confirmed until Ricciardo is ready to return

    AlphaTauri have confirmed that Liam Lawson will continue to race for the team until Daniel Ricciardo is ready to race again.

    Ricciardo broke his hand in a crash during second practice for the Dutch Grand Prix on Friday, with Red Bull junior, Liam Lawson drafted in as a last minute replacement.

    Lawson qualified 20th, but acquitted himself well in the Grand Prix, as he managed to stay out of trouble and finish 13th, despite wet weather, red flags, Safety Car restarts and a penalty making his F1 debut harder than others.

    Meanwhile, Ricciardo flew to Spain on Sunday to have surgery on his hand. Red Bull boss, Christian Horner confirmed after the race that the eight-time race winner would be out of action at least after this weekend.

    We are delighted that Daniel’s surgery went well and that he is now on the road to recovery. We hope to see him at the track again very soon, but until he is fully fit, we can confirm that Liam, who did a good job in difficult circumstances in Zandvoort, will continue to drive alongside Yuki, starting from our home race this weekend in Monza.

    The team on the news.

    It was good, it was a lot going on. When I was rolling up to the grid and it was starting to rain, it wasn’t the best feeling but the race was okay. I think the second half of the race was not so bad, once we got clean air and also on the inters at the end was not too bad. Just happy to survive.

    Lawson after the Dutch GP.
    https://www.instagram.com/p/CwfljkqKswC/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

  • Round 15 – London E-Prix

    FP1-

    The Formula E grid got their first taste of the indoor-outdoor London circuit in Gen3 as free practice got underway.

    Nissan’s Norman Nato set the quickest time with a 1m 10.765s in the first practice session of the season finale weekend in London. His teammate, Sacha Fenestraz joined him in the top three. Sandwiched between the two Nissans was Season 2 champion Sebastien Buemi and just 0.006s of the top spot.

    Teams were getting to grips with the newly-modified circuit, pushing their cars to the limits early on. Jake Hughes and Maximilian Guenther both explored the track limits with both of them going down the escape road at the chicane.

    The Envision Racing and Jaguar TCS Racing cars are expected to be strong this weekend and started well with Sebastien Buemi topping the timesheets for most of the first 15 minutes. Soon enough his teammate Nick Cassidy went faster.

    FP2-

    Envision Racing’s Nick Cassidy let his championship rivals know he means business, as he set the fastest time in the final free practice session before the London E-Prix qualifying.

    The Kiwi went over three tenths quicker than the next guy, NIO 333’s Dan Ticktum. All four championship contenders, Cassidy, Dennis, Evans and Wehrlein all finished in the top six.

    Typical British weather came and heavy rain made for a wet track for Free Practice 2. Even though we have had wet conditions in Gen3 before, with the ABT Cupra’s putting on a masterclass in Berlin. The London circuit is half indoor-outdoor design means drivers won’t have the same consistency throughout a lap which proves a challenge.

    Robin Frijns had a little moment, going down the run off at the chicane – something we have seen several times over the weekend so far. However, this unfortunately wasn’t his only off, as he brought out a red flag with a minute left on the clock.
    The Dutchman lost his car at the hairpin, clipping the wall and ending up in the barrier, also preventing any final flying laps from others on the grid.

    Two-time champ, Jean-Eric Vergen also ran off at Turn 1 during the session, but he managed to master a quick turn around to join the track without any issues.

    Qualifying-

    Mitch Evans and Jaguar TCS Racing sealed Julius Baer Pole Position in London in a square fight against title rival Nick Cassidy in a nail-biting Duels Final.
    But Cassidy will take to P1 on the gird after Evans was served with a five place grid penalty for a collision in Rome.

    Both drivers in the final, were pushing to the limit so much so Cassidy appeared to kiss the wall on his lap.
    Lining up alongside Cassidy will be Dennis, a copy of the Rome grid but in the opposite order.

    The Envision duo of Cassidy and Buemi, the first time that both Envision’s have reached the Semis in the same race this year. Nick was sent through as his teammate made a crucial mistake.

    There was a dramatic moment when championship leader, Dennis complained of a “huge power cut at Turn 9” whilst getting some laps in, in addition to mentioning that he’d hit the wall on a different lap.

    Recent podium finisher in Rome, Norman Nato suffered a massive lock up on one of his laps and then went down on a run off.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Evans, P2: Cassidy P3: Dennis, P4: Buemi, P5: Ticktum, P6: Rast P7: Wehrlein, P8: Vandoorne, P9: Bird and P10: Nato.

    Round 15-

    Jake Dennis navigated a crazy Hankook London E-Prix to come home second; enough to make sure of a sealing the 2022/23 ABB FIA Formula E World Drivers’ Championship, as Mitch Evans took the chequered flag first.

    Dennis survived two missed trips through the Attack Mode loop, heavy pressure from his closest rival and polesitter Nick Cassidy as well as two red flags to become Formula E’s first British World Champion and the first to take it on home soil.

    Cassidy led the early stages before ceding top spot to eventual winner and countryman Evans on lap 11 and second spot to teammate Sebasiten Buemi.
    Dennis had made it by Cassidy with an opportunistic move at the final corner just a couple of laps before, with Cassidy immediately fighting his way back by the Andretti car.

    However, with Cassidy running in formation, close behind the Swiss, the Envision drivers came into contact.
    Loose bodywork from that clash caused a brief spell under the Safety Car bunching the pack up. Dennis meanwhile was not impressed over the radio with Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein the German hanging onto fourth.

    Wehrlein’s challenge then also fell by the wayside in a shunt just before a red flag was flown for the recovery of Sacha Fenestraz’s Nissan. He and Jake Hughes tangled into Turn 1.

    On the restart Evans led away, with Dennis working his way into third – enough to seal the title as it stood. An over-optimistic move from Norman Nato at the penultimate turn on Lap 34 caused a chain reaction behind with several cars unable to avoid the mess enforcing another spell under the red flag conditions.

    It was a three lap sprint to the flag at the restart with Dennis having only to hold fast to ensure he’d take top honours.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Evans, P2: Dennis, P3: Buemi, P4: Bird, P5: Mortara, P6: Di Grassi, P7: Ticktum, P8: Nato, P9: Wehrlein and P10: Hughes.

  • London Preview

    The ABB FIA Formula E World Championship has reached it’s last race weekend of Season 9! As rounds 15 and 16 are held in London with home-hero Jake Dennis, the man with the target on his back.

    Our very own Brit, Jake Dennis is on the verge of claiming his first FIA World Championship title, as the Avalanche Andretti driver goes into the two final races of the season in which he has won twice before – including a grand slam of Julius Baer Pole Position, TAG Heuer Fastest Lap, the race win whilst leading from start to finish last season.

    A repeat of his supreme victory on the streets of Rome last time out – another Grand Slam, making him the only driver with more than one – would be enough to seal a first FIA World Championship title in the opening race on Saturday. 11 drivers have made it to the podium and 19 drivers have led a lap – beating Formula E’s Season 7 record.

    The Circuit-

    The ExCeL Circuit starts off indoors on a silky smooth surface offering bags of grip and after a quick succession of the corners the pack heads outside.
    Immediately on exit they will touch a strip of slippy metal, before heading down into the outdoor portion with the highly abrasive asphalt surround the exhibition centre.

    The outside features a flowing set of chicanes prime for passing opportunities, from there it’s a quick run down to twisty set of curves before heading back up into the main hall to finish a lap.

    With changes in surface, elevation and dealing with the shift in lighting, the field face a unique challenge with this indoor and outdoor circuit.

    We’ve had three home winners in London: Sam Bird (Jaguar TCS Racing) Season 1, Alex Lynn (Mahindra Racing) and two for Jake Dennis with Andretti. Only Nico Prost and Dennis have managed more than one win in the British capital.

    london-circuit-map-2023
  • Round 15- Dutch GP

    Round 15- Dutch GP

    Well, Round 15 is complete and what a race it was! From long pit-stops to running over wheel guns, to VSC’s and then a Safety Car, there was a lot of drama…

    It wasn’t easy for Max Verstappen, but he took the race win in his home grand prix. George Russell follows closely behind to finish 2nd, his highest finishing position so far this season and for Mercedes! Charles Leclerc rounds out the podium in third, it’s been a few races since we last saw him on their!

    But the full top were- P1: Verstappen, P2: Russell, P3: Leclerc, P4: Hamilton, P5: Perez, P6: Alonso, P7: Norris, P8: Sainz, P9: Ocon and P10: Stroll.

    It looked like Mercedes would be the one who was going to the the race win, when they done their first pit stops (the only team in top 3 to be doing 1 stop strategy), both Hamilton and Russell were flying on the hard tyres, so it is one of those ‘what if’ situations, if the VSC and Safety Car didn’t come out would it be a different story?

    A good day for Leclerc, he wasn’t really in contention for a podium until after the Safety Car so good work for him and to be on it when racing resumed and overtook Lewis for the final podium spot. The same couldn’t be said for his teammate though, a very long pitstop for the Spanish driver, he also got an unsafe release in the pitlane, which resulted in a 5 second penalty, he originally finished 5th, but dropped down to 8th.

    A very good day for Alpine, considering both drivers started out of the top 10, no-one knew how this race would go today but they made the most of it and got a double points finish.

    Not a good day for either Yuki Tsunoda or Valtteri Bottas, both pulling over on the side to the track but different reasons why. Tsunoda’s reason is still unknown, he thought his tyre’s weren’t fitted, so he managed to get back round to the pits and the team fitted a new set of tyres, and then started to do something with his seatbelt? For Bottas it sounded like it was a mechanical issue.

    The Championship-

    Verstappen now has over a 100 point lead in the driver championship, Leclerc remains second but he is level on points with Sergio Perez who is in third. Russell now goes to fourth, leap frogging Sainz who sits in fifth.

    Looking at the constructors, Red Bull are on 511 points, a 135 point lead. Ferrari are still in second on 376 but Mercedes have now closed that gap down to 30 points. Alpine are in 4th on 125 points and McLaren round out the top five on 101 points.

    We haven’t got long to wait, we are back racing next weekend and we are at the Temple of Speed, Monza for Round 16. The home Grand Prix of Scuderia Ferrari!

  • Round 15- Zandvoort Qualifying

    The Orange army was in full force yesterday to support their Dutchman where it was all about where you qualify for the Dutch GP today!

    But it was the World Champion, Max Verstappen who snatched pole position from the Ferarri’s! Leclerc is in 2nd, and an amazing day for the Italian team as Carlos Sainz making it a 2-3.

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

    A good result for Mercedes, they are showing some pace this weekend so I can definitely see at least one of them going for a podium, they could also benefit of others in front of them.

    Landoooo, what a weekend so far for the Brit! His shown unreal pace, and to be ‘best of the rest’ is exactly what McLaren need, hopefully he can turn it into a good result later on.

    I definitely expected the Alpine’s higher up, Ocon qualifying P12 and Alonson P13, it will be interesting to see how they go today because they are ‘out of position’ in a way.

    A good qualifying for Mick! A Q3 appearance, so we could possibly see the German driver getting some points. Unfortunately his teammate is no where near him down in P18.

    Predictions-

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

    I just have a feeling Red Bull’s race pace wont be as good as their qualifying pace, they struggled on the first day with both drivers but for different reasons.

  • Dutch Grand Prix

    Now that was a short break… we are back this week for the second race in our triple header, and we are heading to Zandvoort for Max Verstappen’s home Grand Prix.

    What can the Dutchman do this weekend? Will it be another win in the bag or will he have the Ferrari’s close behind him? Are Mercedes able to bounce back from last week and be up there in the fight again?…

    Who needs a good weekend-

    Charles Leclerc will be wanting a good weekend, he didn’t have the best race last weekend, so if he wants to either properly be in this title fight he will need to get a few wins under his belt, as well as this Mercedes are closing in on Ferrari in the Constructors so there is this also to think about.

    Lewis, will be wanting to bounce back from last weekend, there is not many times in the season you see him DNF/ crash, so he will be wanting to help his team make a step forward and make the most of these next 8 races.

    Lando will be hoping for a better weekend, obviously he had the engine penalty last week so he was towards the back of the grid, but with the Alpine’s having strong race weekends both of their drivers are closing in on the Brit in the drivers standings.

    Predictions for qualifying-

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

    I think it will be close for pole, but I also having yellow and red flags will play apart of this weekend’s qualifying session. At the time of writing this, there is rain to be expected on Saturday, with this possibly adding in to the mix we then could have a very mixed up grid.

    Times for the weekend-

    Friday 2nd-

    • Free Practice F3- 07:55am – 08:40am (BST)
    • Free Practice F2- 09:05am – 09:50am
    • Free Practice 1 F1 – 11:30am – 12:30pm
    • Qualifying F3- 13:00pm – 13:30pm
    • Qualifying F2- 14:00pm – 14:30pm
    • Free Practice 2 F1- 15:00pm – 16:00pm

    Saturday 3rd-

    • F3 Sprint Race- 09:25am – 10:10am (BST)
    • Free Practice 3 F1- 11:00am – 12:00pm
    • Qualifying F1- 14:00pm – 15:00pm
    • F2 Sprint Race- 16:00pm – 17:00pm

    Sunday 4th-

    • F3 Feature Race- 07:45am (BST)
    • F2 Feature Race- 09:20am
    • F1 Race- 14:00pm

  • Zandvoort Tyre Allocation

    Round 15 is here and this weekend we will be halfway through the triple header. Pirelli have chosen the tyres for this weekends Dutch Grand Prix, alongside Formula 2 and 3 aswell.

    The three hardest compounds have been chosen for Zandvoort, C1 (Hard), C2 (Medium), C3 (Soft).

    This year, there’s a bigger gap between the C1 and C2 compounds than there was previously: this could be a reason why teams might concentrate more on the two softer compounds this weekend.

    The banking on Turns 3 and 14 is around 18 degrees by way of comparison, the historic banking on the old circuit at Monza is roughly 30 degrees on average. Of other modern circuits, Indianapolis has nine degrees of banking and Jeddah has 12.

    Zandvoort generates some big g forces all around the 4.2-kilometre track: braking into Turns 1 and 11 is a deceleration of about 5g whilst turn 7 also provides lateral forces of around 5g.

    Zandvoort proved to be a spectacular addition to the calendar last year, and the most challenging parts for tyres are the banked Turns 3 and 14, which are taken at high speed and place sustained combined forces on the car: downforce as well as lateral demands. Along with the other overall demands of the circuit layout, this is why we have nominated the hardest three compounds in the range for only the fourth time in 2022, after Bahrain, Spain and Great Britain. The new car-tyre package this season should make overtaking easier on a track where it was hard to pass last year: the majority of drivers stopped just once to maintain track position, but this time there could be more of a focus on the softer compounds – which might lead to more two-stoppers and drivers pushing even harder.

    Mario Isola, Motorsport Director.

    Formula 2-

    The hard and soft tyres have been nominated for F2 this weekend. The Sprint Race will be lasting 29 laps and the Feature Race, 40 laps.

    Formula 3-

    F3 has three new sets of Medium tyres to use across the weekend, plus another set carried over from the previous round. On Saturday the sprint race is 21 laps, and then Sunday is 26 laps.

  • Round 15- Seoul E-Prix

    Free Practice 1-

    Stoffel Vandoorne headed the way in Free Practice 1 ahead of the Hana Bank Seoul E-Prix Round 15, pipping Edoardo Mortara to the top spot by 0.13 seconds.

    The pair were a tenth clear of Nick Cassidy, as the drivers got themselves accustomed to the all new Seoul circuit, weaving into and around the Olympic Stadium in Jamsil.

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

    Free Practice 2-

    Jean-Eric Vergne set the pace in FP2 ahead of Round 15, with a 1m 21.233s enough to edge out Mortara and Wehrlein by three thousandths of a second.

    Vergne and Mortara will be pleased with their pace as they look to keep their championship alive. The Championship leader, Vandoorne had set the 16th quickest time – not the performance the Mercedes driver would have been hoping for after topping FP1.

    Alexander Sims had fount the wall with his left rear, stranding his car at the pit-entry. Cassidy then came to a crawling a halt with a technical issue that forced the race director to throw a red flag and bring the session to an end.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Vergne, P2: Mortara, P3: Wehrlein, P4: Di Grassi, P5: Askew, P6: Cassidy, P7: Turvey, P8: Sette Camara, P9: Da Costa and P10: Dennis.

    Qualifying-

    Oliver Rowland steered to a fifth Julius Baer Pole Position in Formula E, outstripping Lucas di Grassi by more than half a second in tricky conditions as the heavens opened again Seoul.

    The future teammates faced off on a rain-soaked Seoul circuit, and both were ultra-committed and fighting at the wheel to keep everything together and that he did.

    Mitch Evans did his bit in the title fight to line up third, beaten to the final by di Grassi and Vandoorne starts seventh in the Mercedes-EQ.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Rowland, P2: Di Grassi, P3: Evans, P4: Wehrlein, P5: Dennis, P6: Mortara, P7: Vandoorne, P8: Sette Camara, P9: Vergne and P10: Buemi.

    Round 15-

    Mitch Evans, produced an excellent race under pressure to keep his title chances alive and slice into Vandoorne’s point advantage as the Kiwi jumped from third to the grid to the race win.

    The Jaguar driver dispatched Julius Baer Polesitter, Oliver Rowland off the line as the Brit struggled to get away cleanly over the greasy road markings.

    A hefty multi-car shunt at the penultimate corner of the first lap, caused a 45 minute red flag stoppage. Sebastian Buemi, Oliver Askew, Andre Lotterer, Dan Ticktum, Oliver Turvey, Nick Cassidy, Norman Nato and Nyck de Vries were all involved as they got caught out on standing water. Thankfully all drivers are okay, as it looked rather nasty and the halo being useful once again!

    From there after, it was relatively serene for Evans who managed a comfortable three-second gap for most of the race to Rowland.

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

    We are back again tomorrow for the final round, and where we will see who will be crowned the Champion of Season 8. The teams championship will also be decided tomorrow aswell.

  • A look into Seoul

    It’s our final race weekend of the year for Formula E! And it’s a special one as Formula E reaches 100 races. We are racing in Seoul for the finale at the Hana Bank Seoul E-Prix for Rounds 15 and 16.

    This weekend there will be a new champion crowned… But who will it be? Theoretically there is four drivers going for the Championship, but Vergne needs a perfect score in both races this weekend and Vandoorne not to score.

    But looking at the other title contenders, we have Vandoorne on the top spot at the moment, and his been rather consistent this season as well as his team Mercedes-EQ, but the last time we went to a new circuit (Jakarta) they struggled so this weekend in Seoul could prove rather tricky for them.

    Evans and Mortara, our other two title contenders, will be hoping for a bit of luck which they haven’t been given in the recent races, most notably with Evans retiring from the race in London in the closing stages, whilst running ahead of Vandoorne.

    It seems difficult to envisage a weekend where Vandoorne and Mercedes simply under-perform. So whilst I’m sure Evans and Mortara won’t be wishing bad luck upon the Belgian, it seems the only way of stopping the Mercedes driver from taking his first Formula E crown.

    The Circuit-

    The lap starts with a tight and technical run before entering the Jamsil Olympic stadium as the 22 racers put on a show for the grandstand audience.

    As they then leave the stadium, a batch of sweeping turns leading into a long straight connected by 90 degree turns follow as the circuit wraps around the Olympic park as the drivers jostle position around the fast 2.6km, 22 turn circuit.

    Seoul E-Prix street circuit

    Times for the weekend-

    Saturday 13th August-

    • Free Practice 1: 00:00am (BST)
    • Free Practice 2: 1:50am
    • Qualifying: 03:40am
    • Round 15: 08:00am

    Sunday 14th-

    • Free Practice 3: 01:30am (BST)
    • Qualifying: 03:40am
    • Round 16: 08:00am

  • Nato to step in for Bird

    Formula E race winner and Jaguar TCS Racing reserve driver, Norman Nato will step into the Jaguar car at the Hana Bank Seoul E-Prix Rounds 15 & 16, as Sam Bird misses out through injury.

    Bird was found to have broken his hand in a Lap 1 incident in the SABIC London E-Prix Round 14, following post race medical checks. The Brit tangled in the pack as its concertinaed around the tight Turns 1 and 2, with Bird later learning that the impact had fractured the metacarpal in his left hand, despite all this he climbed from 15th to eighth in the race.

    Jaguar noted in a statement immediately after the London double-header that Bird would be assessed in the days to follow, but since has been determined that he would be unable to compete in Seoul.

    It would mark the first races the 35 year old has failed to start in Formula E’s 98 race history as the championship approaches its centenary round to close out Season 8.

    Nato capped a fine rookie 2020/21 campaign for ROKiT Venturi Racing with a collected race win in the Berlin finale. The Frenchman who impressed throughout Season 7, could have counted himself unfortunate to miss out on a race seat this time around, with Jaguar quick to secure his services in a test and reserve role.

    I’m devastated not to be driving in the final two rounds of the season in Seoul, particularly as it would have been my 100th race in Formula E. I need to spend the next few weeks recovering from the operation on my left hand, so I am fully fit for testing and Season 9. I have confidence in Norman, he is a race winner and I’m sure he’ll bring some great points home for Jaguar TCS Racing.

    Sam Bird on not racing next week.

    We are hugely disappointed for Sam and that he won’t be competing next weekend in Seoul. It should have been his 100th Formula E race and I have to say his drive in London was nothing short of heroic, to drive through considerable pain and a slow puncture shows how much of a fighter he is. The priority now though is for his operation and focussing on a full recovery ahead of Gen3 testing and racing again in January. As a team we all have full faith in Norman to deliver valuable points for Jaguar TCS Racing. He won the season finale last year and is determined to help us fight for every place in the Teams’ standings.

    James Barclay Team Principle of Jaguar TCS Racing.

    Firstly I want to wish Sam the speediest of recoveries. As a reserve driver, I’ve been with the team every step of the way this season. Although I haven’t driven a Formula E car for over a year, when I get into the Jaguar I-TYPE 5 next weekend, I’ll be fighting for as many points as possible. I want to make the most of this opportunity.

    Norman Nato.
    https://www.instagram.com/p/Cg3uN_tMSkY/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
    https://www.instagram.com/p/Cg3xIHtMQM0/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

  • Round 15- Sochi Race

    GET IN THERE LEWIS! Lewis wins the Russian Grand Prix and its his 100th win! He re-takes the lead of the championship once again. Joining him on the podium is Max Verstappen in P2 and Carlos Sainz in P3.

    The rest of the top 10 are: P4: Ricciardo, P5: Bottas, P6: Alonso, P7: Norris, P8: Raikkonen, P9: Perez and P10: Russell. Fastest lap went to Lando Norris.

    Absolute heartbreak for Lando and McLaren, he led the majority of the race and done so well doing it. But when it started raining in the last few laps, he insisted on staying on his hard tyres rather than going to intermediates, he the dropped down the order after having to pit to change tyres. But I have no doubt for the fact that Lando will bounce back and get his first win this year, he has 7 more races to do it!

    Finally Lewis gets his 100th win! He has kept the Mercedes reign at Sochi alive after it being under threat by McLaren. This is fully deserved in my opinion! It wasn’t an easy race with him dropping down the order at the start and having to fight his way through, and Lewis said he wouldn’t of been able to over-take Lando if it stayed dry.

    Carlos Sainz, drove wonderful today started P2 and took the lead from Lando Norris in the first lap. And he done very well to end in P3, and its good amount of points for Ferrari in the Constructors.

    The rain definitely played into the hands of Max Verstappen and Valtteri Bottas. Max started P20 to finish P2 is amazing, and its all because of the rain he managed so! The same with Bottas he started P16 due to taking an new power unit, but before the rain hit and before he pitted he was out of the points and then he pitted and managed to finish in P5 as they expected earlier on in the race.

    Daniel finishing P4 gives McLaren extra points as well for the Constructors, two great races for him in a row and I am honestly quite looking forward to see what he does at the next race.

    Now the next race is on 10th of October and we are returning to Istanbul Park Circuit for round 16 and its where Lewis took his 7th Championship last year…

  • Round 15 – Sochi Quali

    WOW, what a day it has been for F1 today and what a qualifying it was… First up we didn’t even think we would have qualifying today because of the weather and having FP3 cancelled it was all just a waiting game…

    But now it all went in the way of Lando Norris as he is on pole position for tomorrow’s race, his first ever one in his F1 career! Joining him on the front row is his old team-mate Carlos Sainz and 3rd is Mr Saturday, George Russell, his second time getting into the top 3 this season!

    The rest of the top 10 are: P4: Hamilton, P5: Ricciardo, P6: Alonso, P7: Bottas, P8: Stroll, P9: Perez and P10: Ocon. We have Verstappen, Leclerc and Latifi all taking new power units this weekend so they will all be starting at the back of the grid…

    Honestly wow. I am in shock, I was watching with one eye open when George was the first to go onto the slicks but they honestly paid off for everyone apart from the Mercs and Red Bull.

    McLaren are on fire this season. Lando has been on top form and it’s so nice to see his finally getting rewarded for all his efforts. And Daniel qualifying in P5 after his win in Monza two weeks ago, he will definitely be one to watch tomorrow!

    The constructors leader, Mercedes didn’t get it right today, which is a shame but the points are awarded tomorrow and everyone knows how good they are at this track, and Lewis hasn’t got to worry about Max as his starting at the back…

    AlphaTauri had a really bad today, which is awful after what happened in Monza. It’s such a shame because Pierre always delivers week in and week out for the team, but I’m sure he can finish in the points tomorrow and it could go his way as he has free tyre choice.

    Predictions for tomorrow-

    My top five for tomorrow are: P1: Hamilton, P2: Norris, P3: Bottas, P4: Ricciardo and P5: Russell. I think fastest lap will go to Hamilton as-well…

    I do think that it will be very close between Norris and Hamilton, they both could win tomorrow. We all saw how difficult it is to get by the McLaren with their speed but I feel like strategy may come into play!

    Times for tomorrow-

    Race- 13:00pm (BST), 14:00pm (CEST). We also have F2 and F3 feature races tomorrow as-well!

  • Russian GP

    We are back racing this weekend and we could be in for a treat! Sochi, isn’t one of the most liked tracks of the season by us fans, but if the weather stays the same as what its predicted we could see Sochi in a very different way on Saturday or Sunday.

    Mercedes are the only team to win at the Russian GP, so could we potentially see them be dethroned? Or will they be victorious once again…

    Who needs a good weekend?

    The two title contenders need a good weekend, I was actually looking forward to what the outcome was going to be at the Italian GP but to have both of them crash out together I don’t think anyone saw it coming including themselves! Lewis will be wanting to get ahead of Max in the championship, and I think he knows that this could be the track to get ahead at. Where as Max, knows this isn’t one of his strongest track and with a 3 place grid penalty he will be putting the work in on Sunday to make sure Lewis doesn’t get ahead in the title fight.

    Ferrari, also need a good weekend once again. They obviously didn’t do too well at Monza compared to their closest rivals but I do see they are pulling everything out of the car so it’s just luck wasn’t on their side in Monza. But hopefully there will be some luck with them this weekend.

    Pierre Gasly needs a good weekend, he obviously had a disappointing Italian GP but hopefully this time off from the triple header has refreshed him and he will be back up fighting in P4 and can get AlphaTauri more points in the Constructors!

    Predictions for Quali-

    My top five predictions are: P1: Hamilton, P2: Norris, P3: Bottas, P4: Verstappen, P5: Ricciardo. I do think both McLaren’s might bring the fight this weekend, and will just excel for the rest of the season now! With Max’s grid penalty he can’t start no further up than 4th, hence the reason his fourth in my predictions.

    If it is a wet qualifying, I think we could see Mr Saturday, George Russell in the top 10. He knows what he can do in the Williams car in the wet in qualifying now, so he will be pushing to get higher up the grid.

    Times for the weekend-

    Friday 24th- FP1: 09:30am – 10:30am (BST), 10:30am – 11.30am (CEST). FP2: 13:00pm – 14:00pm (BST), 14:00pm – 15:00pm (CEST).

    Saturday 25th- FP3: 10:00am – 11:00am (BST), 11:00am – 12:00pm (CEST). Qualifying: 13:00pm – 14:00pm (BST), 14:00pm – 15:00pm (CEST).

    Sunday 26th- Race: 13:00pm (BST), 14:00pm (CEST).

  • Tyres for Sochi

    Its race week once again, after being off for a week we are returning to Sochi, Russia this weekend for Round 15.

    Pirelli have chosen their tyres and they are the softest of the compounds, C3 (Hard), C4 (Medium), C5 (Soft), this is the first time these have been picked since Austria, it is also the same nomination which was made last season.

    This circuit, is generally all about traction and breaking, the corners are mostly slow to medium speed but the most demanding corner is turn 3, which is a multi-apex left hander.

    Sochi, isn’t used much for the rest of the season so its often seen to be slippery towards the start of the weekend, this can then sometimes cause tyres to slide rather than grip especially during the two free practice sessions on the Friday.

    Russia is normally a one-stop race, last year the top two finishers used a medium to hard strategy but there was a variation down the rest of the grid.

    This weekend, we just don’t have Formula One, we are also joint by Formula Two for round six and by Formula Three for their last round of the season and its the first time they will be in Russia since 2019.

    F2 have been nominated, the Mediums and the Purples (Ultra-soft) which was the same as last year. F3 have been nominated the Hard tyre for their final 3 races of the 2021 season.