Jordan's Track Talk

Tag: Round 16

  • R16 – Italy

    Red Bull driver, Max Verstappen converted pole position into victory during Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix, leading home McLaren pair Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri after a dramatic start and end to proceedings at Monza.

    Verstappen and Norris went wheel to wheel almost immediately when the lights went out, getting close to each other down the start/finish straight before the Dutchman skipped the first chicane to keep the lead.

    Although Verstappen gave up the position to Norris at the start of the second lap to avoid a potential penalty, he was soon back on his rival’s tail and took only a couple more tours to reclaim P1 and surge clear.

    From there, Verstappen appeared to have everything under control, managing the gap back to both McLarens across their opening stints, pitting earlier than Norris and Piastri to strengthen that advantage and then cruising to the chequered flag.

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

    What a result for Max Verstappen, a lovely weekend for the Dutchman, pole and the race win plus the Red Bull had some pace this weekend, which makes up for a disappointing home race.

    Good result for McLaren, P2 for Norris and P3 for Piastri, unfortunate that they didn’t have the pace to battle Max, but also, the battle between themselves over the radio, I believe tensions are high now between the two drivers, which is not good at all.

    P4 for Leclerc and P6 for Hamilton, a decent day for the Ferrari team on home soil, a shame they couldn’t get on the podium, but a good result for Hamilton, as he managed to get higher up than what he started.

    P5 for Russell, nothing major from the Brit, but still a good amount of points in the bag, which is good as the team currently sits third in the Teams’ standings, and only 20 points away from Ferrari.

    A good result from Albon, he started P14 and finished P7, a great day for him as his weekend wasn’t the best but he made up for it.

    An unfortunate day for Nico Hulkenberg, he did not start, as he pilled into the pitlane on the formation lap as his car had a suspected hydraulic leak, big shame for him, he will be looking towards Baku.

    Now we have a little break before the next round, which is Azerbaijan on the 19th to 21st September!

  • R16 – Tyre Selection

    The Monza event is always special but this year, it is even more so. It will be the 75th time that the Autodromo has hosted a Formula 1 World Championship race, more than any other circuit in the history of motor racing’s blue riband category.

    The Monza track holds the record for the highest average race speed, courtesy of Michael Schumacher in a Ferrari with a figure of 247.586 km/h in 2003, as well as the fastest average speed of 264.362 km/h for a qualifying lap, set by Lewis Hamilton at the wheel of a Mercedes in 2020.

    Last year pole went to Lando Norris with an average speed of 263 km/h. Easy to understand therefore why the venue is universally known as the Temple of Speed.

    The 5.793 kilometre track has 11 corners and drivers spend 80% of the lap at full throttle, the cars running the lowest aero downforce level of the season with the aim of reducing drag to a minimum.
    In this context, stability under braking and traction out of the corners is key, especially at the chicanes such as the Prima Variante and the Variante Ascari, where the drivers need to scrub off speed very rapidly.
    Lateral forces come into play at the fastest corners, such as Biassono and the legendary Parabolica, now renamed in honour of Michele Alboreto.

    After the track was completely resurfaced in 2024, this year Monza has concentrated on improvements to the public areas.

    There is no change in compounds compared to last year, when the track had just been resurfaced for the Italian Grand Pri at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza.
    The C3 (Hard), C4 (Medium) and C5 (Soft).

    Twelve months on, inevitably the surface will have aged, but it is unlikely to have any significant effect on the range of possible strategies at this circuit, where cars run in the lowest aerodynamic downforce configuration of the season.

    It is likely that the most popular choices for the race itself will be the Hard and Medium. One can assume that the level of graining will be lower than last year as the track will now be bedded in.

    It is difficult to overtake at Monza, primarily because of the reduced effectiveness of the DRS, with the cars running minimum aero downforce levels. This too tends to swing the balance in favour of a one-stop strategy.

  • Ferrari reveal livery for Monza

    Ferrari have revealed the special livery that Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton’s SF-25s will wear at this year’s Italian Grand Prix – the first race at Monza for the seven-time World Champion Hamilton since joining the Scuderia.

    Featuring a more prominent white on the engine covers, alongside retro numbers and wheel covers, the car pays homage to the colourway of the Ferrari 312T that Niki Lauda took to the 1975 Drivers’ Championship, and which earned the team the Constructors’ title in the same year.

    At the time, a third place finish had been enough for the 26 year old Austrian to be crowned with one grand prix remaining, such was his advantage over McLaren’s Emerson Fittipaldi and Brabham’s Carlos Reutemann.
    Ferrari team-mate Clay Regazzoni gave the tifosi another reason to celebrate with victory on their turf.

    Ferrari head to Monza off the back of a tough outing at the Dutch Grand Prix, with both Hamilton and Leclerc retiring after crashes – although the drivers had been buoyed by the improved pace of their car as the weekend progressed.

  • RW 16 – Italy

    Round 16 is officially complete, and it was Charles Leclerc who took a stunning victory at the Italian Grand Prix after utilising a bold one-stop strategy to hold onto the lead.

    The Monegasque thrilled the Tifosi at their home grand prix as he clinched P1 ahead of the McLaren drivers.

    After making a decent start off the line from pole position, Lando Norris initially stayed in P1 before Oscar Piastri swept past into the second chicane later in the lap.
    From there, the Australian driver stayed out in front for much of the race.

    However, with much of the field opting for a two-stop strategy, Ferrari made the risky decision to try a one-stop for Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, resulting in the pair running at the front of the field in the latter stages of the race.

    Sainz was unable to hold on given his ageing tyres, with both Piastri and Norris overtaking him to move into second and third. But Leclerc held out to grab an emotional win on Ferrari’s home soil, crossing the line 2.6s ahead of Piastri.

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

    The best result ever for Charles Leclerc! P1 at Ferrari’s home Grand Prix. Going into the weekend they would’ve wanted this to happen but at some points it didn’t seem like it would. But their strategy this weekend was on point.
    Obviously unfortunate for Carlos Sainz as if he didn’t have his tyres go off it would’ve been an easy 1-2 for the Ferrari team.

    A good result for McLaren, 2nd and 3rd. Obviously its not what the team wanted as they are their to win but sometimes its the way it goes. But going home with two podiums is a good result either way.
    It does makes me think when will they bring team orders into play as Norris is obviously battling for the championship…

    A semi decent result for Mercedes, Lewis in P5 and George in 7th, unfortunate for George with the damage early on in the race, but he managed to achieve damage limitation and still scored points.

    Not the best result for Red Bull, they will be walking away from this weekend wanting to forget about it as a whole. Max finished 6th and Perez 8th so not too bad but it should’ve been better.
    I think the team will use this week off in the simulator seeing where to go from here and why it isn’t working, as if they carry on like this then it’s not going to end well with the championship…

    Albon back in the points! It’s what we like to see, fully deserved aswell as he got in the top 10 for qualifying. As for his new team mate, Franco Colapinto a very good first race finishing 12th, he stayed out of trouble which is a good sign of things to come.

    Now onto Magnussen finished P10, a point for Haas, which is really good for the team, but its unfortunate for both drivers as they both got time penalties for separate incidents, so it’s a what could of been for the team.

    Yuki Tsunoda was the sole retiree from the race, having retired his RB following a collision with Hukenberg.

    Now, next up is Round 17 and its the Azerbaijan Grand Prix which isn’t too far away its the 13th to 15th September!

  • RW 16 – Monza Qualifying

    Lando Norris has continued his promising run of form by taking a stunning pole position for the Italian Grand Prix with the Brit and McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri locking out the front row.

    After initially claiming P1 during the first runs of Q3, Norris secured his place by pumping in a time of 1m19.327s just 0.109s ahead of Piastri.

    While the Woking team came out on top, the first six cars were all covered by less than two tenths of a second, with George Russell the closest in P3.

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

    A lovely result for the McLaren team a 1-2 in qualifying, which is just what they wanted but now its all eyes to the race as they will want to copy and paste and take another victory this season.

    A good result from George, it was so close to pole but not close enough unfortunately, however he will be looking to fight for the win against Norris and Piastri and its not going to be easy.
    Lewis qualified 6th, it could’ve been better but he wasn’t that far away from pole, the top 6 are just so bunched up. He will be looking to

    A very good result for Ferrari at their home grand prix, P4 and P5 for Leclerc and Sainz, I know their not overly happy with it but when you’ve got six drivers fighting for pole you would be disappointed with 4th and 5th. Their aim today will be to get a podium at home, maybe fight for the win depending on their set ups against the other teams.

    Now onto Red Bull, it’s not looking good for the team this weekend. Verstappen qualified 7th and Perez 8th. There is something just not right, Verstappen is saying it, Horner is saying it and no one knows really where to go from here.
    It’s going to get to the point if they carry on like this and Norris / McLaren keeps on being consistent there championships will be under threat…

    A good result for Alex P9! He will be looking for some points this weekend. As well as Nico Hulkenberg who qualified P10, so far the Haas driver has been on fire this weekend his got so much pace!

    Fernando Alonso just missed out on Q3 by one hundredth of a second, which would be quite frustrating for the Spanish driver he will be starting 11th. His teammate Lance Stroll had a bit of shocker being out in Q1 where he will start P17.

    Now to talk about our newest F1 driver, Franco Colapinto, he will be starting his first F1 race 18th, but he did make a slight mistake which could of possibly seen him higher up but his done well so far, it will be interesting to see how he goes in the race!

  • RW 16 – Tyre Selection

    The Autodromo Nazionale di Monza is known as the Temple of Speed, an appropriate moniker given that, at the 2003 Italian Grand Prix, Michael Schumacher and his Ferrari set a record for the highest ever average speed over a race distance of 247.585km/h.

    One of the most important change for this year’s Italian Grand Prix concerns the asphalt. The circuit has embarked on a process of renovation and modernisation of its facility, aimed at ensuring its future and part of the first phase of this work has been the complete resurfacing of the entire track.

    As is usually the case with newly-laid asphalt, the surface is smoother than its predecessor and darker in colour. This latter factor will have an impact on track temperature, which if the sun is shining could see it get hotter than in the past. In theory the new surface should offer more grip, which will impact tyre performance and their operating temperature range.

    At Monza, cars usually run in the lowest aerodynamic configuration of the season to reduce drag, in order to favour top speed. Stability under braking and traction coming out of the two chicanes are the factors that most test the tyres.
    For this year’s event, the three dry compounds selected are the same as in 2023: C3 (Hard), C4 (Medium), C5 (Soft).

    This is a track where the time needed for a pit stop is one of the longest of the year so, on paper, a one-stop strategy is quickest.
    In free practice, it will be important to evaluate what effect the new surface might have on tyre behaviour over a long run, both in terms of performance and of degradation.

    Last year, the race was very linear, with the two hardest compounds being the clear choice. 17 of the 20 drivers chose to start on the C4, while only three – Hamilton, Bottas and Magnussen – preferred the C3.
    14 drivers pitted just the once, six pitted twice.

  • RND 16 – Singapore Grand Prix

    WHAT A RACE!!!!
    My lord we was treated with a blinder, and I can tell you Red Bull’s streak has now ended and we have a different winner this season!

    Carlos Sainz manages to hold off a McLaren and both Mercedes to win the Singapore Grand Prix!! Lando Norris comes home in P2! And Lewis Hamilton is back on the podium for Mercedes in P3!

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

    What a drive from Carlos! WOW, what a result for Ferrari aswell, and he had quite a bit of pressure put on him too, whilst also being very clever and keeping Norris in DRS at the end too.

    Verstappen done well to get in the top 5 obviously good points, but it doesn’t mean he get’s the championship just yet, the same with the team also!
    A good drive aswell for Perez, I do believe he is under investigation for causing a collision with Albon and I have a feeling it will be a penalty but I don’t think it’s going to affect the point scorers…

    A bit of a heartbreak for George, being P3 on the last lap and trying to push for the win, and he clipped the wall quite hard and it just meant he went straight on which saw him not score any points after having amazing pace!
    Obviously Lewis got on the podium due to that, but I think the team can be proud of that drive by both drivers due to strategy going for the second pit stop and the car has got faster!

    Now, Liam Lawson, what a drive from the New Zealander his first points in F1, got into Q3 yesterday… I believe this man is owed a seat, someone please…

    Our last point goes to Mr Kevin Magnussen. POINTS!! For Haas finally! A good drive for K-Mag he stayed out of trouble and just got his head down with some overtakes aswell.

    Ocon got unlucky, he was driving so well in the points, but he unfortunately suffered with a suspected gearbox problem and had to retire on track.
    Tsunoda was out on lap 1 due to being hit by Perez, so he went off into a run off area.

    Now, we don’t have long to wait till the next race, as it is infact next week! And we head to Japan for Round 17!
    Will Red Bull and Max come back fighting? Or could we see another entertaining race? Find out next week!

  • RND 16 – Singapore Qualifying

    What a qualifying session it was last night! We definitely had a few shock surprises last night, and we have a bit of a mixed starting grid…

    It was Carlos Sainz who took back to back pole positions, with George Russell joining in P2 and then the final spot was claimed by Charles Leclerc!

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

    What a result for Ferrari! They will be wanting to replicate these positions later on in the race!

    Not a good result for the Bulls, Max starts P11 and Perez P13 – not good at all, Max has struggled all weekend here and I think Perez was the same in Q2. I don’t think they will make massive positions up in the race due to just the track and not many overtaking spots.

    Liam Lawson, what a man! Third qualifying in F1 and his first time driving at this circuit, and he gets himself into the top 10 and out qualifies his teammate too! If that doesn’t get him a seat for next year, I don’t know what will!

    Not the best result for Piastri, but it wasn’t his fault. The track evolution was something else, so everyone was improving but the Australian got caught out by the red flag caused by Lance Stroll, meaning he couldn’t improve.

    Haas! Both drivers in the top 10!! What a result for them, considering they haven’t got the updated car yet, this will be good if they can turn it into a points finish!

    My Predictions-

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

    I think we may have a crazy race today and hopefully a different winner! Maybe an appearance from a safety car and so!

  • Singapore Grand Prix

    The Singapore Grand Prix is here where we are under the lights as we start another double header, is this another weekend where we see Max take another win?

    Most importantly, the track has changed, turns 16, 17, 18 and 19 have been removed from the final sector, so the track will no longer go under the grandstand towards the end of the lap.
    Instead there will be a straight from Turn 15 to the old Turn 20 and 21 chicane, which will now be the Turn 16 and 17 chicane. The approach to the new Turn 16 now offers up an additional overtaking opportunity as drivers now believe the races in Singapore will be enhanced.

    Who needs to shine?

    The rookies, Logan Sargeant, Oscar Piastri and Liam Lawson wouldn’t of driven on this track before, so they will be looking to impress, especially Logan and Liam, the former looking to re-sign with Williams and Liam looking to get into the sport on a full time basis.

    Alpine had a shocker last time out in Italy, Ocon with a DNF which no one knew about… And Gasly in P15. They need to get a wiggle on as McLaren have flown away in P5 and yes they have a gap to Williams in P7 but they won’t want to just stay in 6th.

    Stroll… oh my oh my, again last time out in Italy he got 16th, his had 8 races where his finished in the points this season, but there not big point finishes really compared to his teammate whose been a regular appearance on the podium and has scored points in every race weekend this season!

    Looking at the constructors, Mercedes is on 273 points in 2nd, Ferrari 228 in third, and Aston in fourth on 217, so the rest of the races, it will be interesting to see how many drivers score points as a team.

  • McLaren reveal livery for next two races

    McLaren will be using a new livery design at the upcoming back to back Grand Prix weekends in Singapore and Japan as the team continue to celebrate their 60th Birthday.

    Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri will contest the two races with what has been described as ‘Stealth Mode’ Scheme, switching McLaren’s usual colourway and augmenting black against their classic papaya trim.

    The livery has been co-designed by McLaren and OKX, a Web3 technology company and official partner of the Woking squad, representing how both brands “strive for excellence, while embracing change and innovation”.

    Alongside the livery, a limited edition t-shirt will be made available through the McLaren store, and a limited giveaway for attendees of Token2049, the Web3 conference taking place in Singapore prior to the race.

    OKX will also host a McLaren themed fan zone, OKX Race Club at Chijmes, Singapore from Thursday 14th September to Sunday 17th September, featuring a Stealth Mode show car, racing simulators, giveaways and special guests over the weekend.

    Our partnership with OKX goes from strength to strength, and it’s fantastic to celebrate it with this incredible livery. Stealth Mode flips our race car’s colours, bringing something exciting and different to these two great races in Singapore and Japan. We hope fans will love it as much as we do and get a chance to enjoy the fan zone to connect with our team.

    McLaren CEO, Zak Brown.
    https://www.instagram.com/p/CxIDuZNorv8/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

  • Singapore Tyre Selection

    We are back racing this weekend after a little break and we have a double header upon us, but our first stop is the Singapore Grand Prix!

    The tyres have been chosen for this weekend, which are the softest of all the compounds C3 (Hard), C4 (Medium) and C5 (Soft).

    The Singapore Grand Prix takes place at night, where it starts at 8pm local time. There are a number of aspects which make this a physically demanding race for the drivers which include, the intense humidity, high temperature and head retention due to the walls lining the track.

    The layout has been modified this year, with the section of the track between turn 16 and 19 now becoming a straight that is around 397 metres long. That means that the number of corners goes down from 23 to 10, while the total lap length is 4.940 kilometres.

    A one-stop strategy is the clear way to go, also because the pit stop loss time of around 28 seconds is the highest of the season, together with Imola.

    As with other street tracks, grid position is always crucial to get a good finish, given the limited overtaking opportunities.

    Last year, the race start was postponed by an hour due to a storm that hit Marina Bay just a few minutes before the grid formed.
    The cats began the race on intermediate tyres and then switched to Medium and Soft – with a Virtual Safety Car also influencing strategy.

    The closing stages of this long season, taking Formula 1 to three continents and 16 different time zones, kicks off in Singapore this weekend. This was the first race to take place under artificial light: an idea that was later followed, in varying degrees, by other venues. From a technical point of view, Marina Bay is a typical street circuit: very twisty (with 19 corners, many of them 90-degree) and little run off. As a result, even a small mistake can be costly, while the track layout also means that the cars run a high level of downforce. This year, the lap takes on a new look due to some building work in the Marina Bay area: the part of the track that was previously turns 16 to 19 is now just a single straight, which is nearly 400 metres long. This change will make the track faster; firstly because the total lap length is now less than five kilometres and secondly because the layout has become a lot more flowing. We’ll wait to see if this change has an effect on strategies, because in theory at least it could create an overtaking opportunity – with passing notoriously difficult unless you have a much faster car.

    This track doesn’t place particular stress on the tyres in terms of loading, but the rear tyres need to be carefully managed during the traction phase when exiting slow corners. Temperatures are usually consistently high, as Singapore is only about 150 kilometres from the equator. This increases the risk of overheating: not just for tyres but also everything else, including the mechanicals and of course the driver!

    Mario Isola, Pirelli Head of Motorsport.

    https://x.com/pirellisport/status/1701516298419589158?s=46&t=aXLQ2Py0qaT52rhG6u6Lig

  • Round 16 – London E-Prix

    FP3-

    The Drivers’ World Champion may have been crowned, but there was still lots to play for in the final round. All 22 drivers took to the track for the last Free Practice session of the weekend, with Jaguar TCS Racing’s Mitch Evans topping the timesheets.

    The dry session on the half indoor-outdoor circuit was the final chicane to get some laps in before qualifying and the race later on.

    Evans became the first man to set the fastest time of the weekend, locking in a 1m 10.152s lap which remained the best of the session.
    Sebastien Buemi and Nick Cassidy of Envision and Sam Bird also had their own moments as the quickest guys on track. By the time the chequered flag fell it was a Jaguar powertrain 1-2-3. As Evans led Bird in second and Buemi in third.

    Several drivers found themselves going down the run-off at the chicane, pushing their cars to the limit whilst they could and get away with it during practice.

    With 11 minutes on the clock, 21 drivers were all within a second of each other which shows just how close this field is in the new era.

    Qualifying-

    Envision Racing’s Nick Cassidy will start from the first place slot for a second consecutive race as he secured the Julius Baer Pole Position by just 0.010s in London.
    The Kiwi also picked up the important three points for pole to help Envision in their fight with Jaguar in the Teams Championship.

    As the rain started to fall during the final qualifying of the session, several of the championship’s big players fought for their places on the grid.

    Cassidy topped Group A with a time of 1m 10.521s, with Dennis a tenth behind in second, Buemi finished third and Bird also made it through.
    Mitch Evans topped Group B, at one point in the session, Nico Mueller set an identical lap time to the thousandth of a second. Norman Nato finished third with Season 8 Champ, Stoffel Vandoorne in the final spot.

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

    Round 16-

    Nick Cassidy led the charge from the front for Envision Racing amid ultra-tricky, wet conditions in a delay-hit London E-Prix Round 16 – leading lights to flag for a fourth win of the season to ensure his outfit secured maiden Teams’ World Championship honours.

    After delays for the wet weather to recede to allow a safe race, Cassidy composed himself to stride to a comfortable race win – where he headed home fellow New Zealander, Mitch Evans and new champion, Jake Dennis.

    The race started behind the Safety Car, with eight laps waiting for things to get started properly. Stoffel Vandoorne and Sam Bird immediately jumped for their first of two mandatory Attack Mode on Lap 9.

    On home soil, NIO 333’s Dan Ticktum made a move stick on Maserati MSG Racing’s Edoardo Mortara on Lap 15 as the Swiss-French-Italian got sideways out of Turns 4 & 5 opening the door for 10th and some points.

    On Lap 19, the best racing was between three champions between Vergne in 16th, di Grassi 17th and da Costa in 18th as the former got a nudge from di Grassi with the trio inseperable as they looked to climb the order – just 0.8s between all three of them.

    Four laps were added on for a 38 lap total but it wouldn’t change the result as Cassidy led Evans and Dennis home – with five seconds in hand.

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

  • 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 16- Italian GP

    Round 16 is now complete, and so is the Italian Grand Prix, where we had a very mixed up grid for the start of the race but the Tifosi came out in full force!

    But for the fifth time in the row and for the first time in Monza, Max Verstappen wins, Charles Leclerc comes home for Ferrari in 2nd and Mr George Russell grabs another podium finishing P3.

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

    Can we just take a moment for Nyck de Vries, drives in an Aston Martin in FP1 on Friday, gets the call up 45 minutes before FP3 to jump in Albon’s car, debut F1 race weekend and gets into Q2, then with the penalties he moves up into the top 10! But today is where it mattered, he scored his first F1 points on his debut (get this man a seat!!!!)

    Another great drive from Max! Now onto his 30th win of his F1 career and its not going to be the last, the Dutchman can actually clinch the title at the next race in Singapore.

    A good result for Lando today, but the Monza curse strikes again as Daniel DNF’ed due to a possible oil leak which caused him to loose the engine, hopefully better luck soon!

    After qualifying, I thought the Alpine’s would’ve been a bit more further up the grid but it just wasn’t meant to be. Alonso retired in the pits, and Ocon finished 11th, so close to the points.

    The Championship-

    Max increases his gap in the Championship, Leclerc has managed to pull a little bit of a gap out between himself and Perez. Russell is now catching up to Perez in the Drivers, as the British driver has pulled a 16 point gap to Sainz.

    Not much has changed in the Constructors, just the gap between RB and Ferrari increased, Mercedes are only 35 points away from Ferrari. Alpine remains in 4th on 125 points and McLaren in 5th.

    We now have a bit of a wait until the next race, and its returning for the first time since 2019! The weekend of the 30th September to 2nd October is the Singapore Grand Prix and is round 17!

  • Round 16- Monza Qualifying

    Once again we have another weekend where penalties take a part in setting the grid for the race on Sunday, those being: VER 5 places, OCO 5 places, PER 10 places, BOT 15 places, MAG 15 places, SCH 15 places, SAI back of the grid, HAM back of the grid, TSU back of grid.

    But it was Charles Leclerc who took pole position! Max Verstappen managed 2nd with Carlos Sainz in third, making it a wonderful weekend so far for Ferrari at home turf!

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

    The top three for the starting grid though is Leclerc, Russell and Norris, anything else we are unsure about until 14th!!!

    Let’s take a moment for Nyck de Vries, 45 minute warning before FP3 that his driving this weekend, gets into Q2 on his debut and will hopefully be starting in the top 10 due to the penalties! Very much looking forward to seeing how he does, could this be his chance to get an F1 seat?…

    Alpine aren’t where I thought they would be, Alonso 10th and Ocon 11th but does have a penalty. Their pace just doesn’t seem to be their in qualifying today, so maybe they’ve set up the car for the race?

    Predictions-

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

    I’d love nothing more to see Leclerc win at Monza again but I just have a gut feeling something is going to go wrong whether that be there strategy or their pitstops…

    But to see the likes of Hamilton, Perez and Sainz all come through the field and battle it out is going to be an interesting one!

    Times for tomorrow-

    • Feature Race F3- 07:35am (BST)
    • Feature Race F2- 09:05am
    • F1 Race- 14:00pm

  • Albon out of Italian GP, De Vries in

    Williams driver, Alex Albon will be missing the rest of this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix after being diagnosed with appendicitis, with former Formula 2 and Formula E champion Nyck de Vries standing in for him.

    In the free practice sessions yesterday, Albon finished a promising 10th in FP2 and 11th in FP1 as Williams’ straight-line speed appeared to put them in the fight for points in Monza.

    However, ahead of the final practice session today, Williams announced the Thai driver will not be taking part in the remainder of the weekend.

    De Vries ran for Williams in FP1 at the Spanish Grand Prix and was at the track in Italy this weekend to perform similar duties for Aston Martin. As a result, the 27 year old will be making his Grand Prix debut this weekend racing alongside Nicholas Latifi.

    Williams Racing can confirm that, after feeling unwell this morning and seeking medical advice from the FIA and local hospital, Alex Albon is now undergoing treatment for appendicitis. Following on from this, we can confirm that the team’s Reserve Driver Nyck de Vries will drive in place of Alex for the remainder of the Italian Grand Prix weekend. Alex is in good spirits and the team wishes him a speedy recovery.

    A statement from the team.

  • Italian Grand Prix

    Our third race in three weeks is here! And it’s one of the most prestigious races of the year! It’s the home Grand Prix of Ferrari, and I can’t wait to see the Tifosi in action once again!

    Last year, it was a McLaren 1-2, the year before Gasly won his first race, and the year before that Leclerc won at home for Ferrari. Can we expect a crazy race again this year, maybe a first win for someone? *cough Russell cough*

    Who needs a good weekend-

    I think Ferrari will be wanting a good weekend especially at home, but if Charles wants to win this weekend he will be wanting to close down the gap to Max, 8 races left and 109 points between the pair. Not only this Leclerc will be wanting to build a gap on Perez as they are sat on the same points.

    Bottas will be hoping to get some big points on the board, he is only 13 points behind Alonso in the Drivers standings so it isn’t that big of a gap if he scores every race weekend.

    The battle between 11th, 12th, 13th and 14th in the driver standings is heating up as they are separated by 4 points those being Kevin Magnussen, Sebastian Vettel, Daniel Ricciardo and Pierre Gasly.

    Times for the weekend-

    Friday 9th-

    • Free Practice F3- 08:15am – 09:00am (BST)
    • Free Practice F2- 09:25am – 10:10am
    • 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 10th-

    • Sprint Race F3- 09:35am – 10:20am (BST)
    • Free Practice 3 F1- 12:00pm – 13:00pm
    • Qualifying F1- 15:00pm – 16:00pm
    • Sprint Race F2- 17:00pm – 17:45pm

    Sunday 12th-

    • Feature Race F3- 07:35am (BST)
    • Feature Race F2- 09:05am
    • F1 Race- 14:00pm

  • Monza Tyre Allocation

    It’s a big weekend for both F1 and Pirelli as we are in Monza at the Temple of Speed. As well as Pirelli enjoy their 150 year anniversary at home.

    But, onto other matters, Pirelli have chosen the tyres for this weekend which are- C2 (Hard), C3 (Medium), C4 (Soft).

    Eliminating the natural understeer tendency of the current cars is a challenge at the slow corners in Monza, with a strong rear end needed to achieve a perfect balance through the fast sections.

    Traction is important to ensure a good drive into the flat out straights from the slower and more technical parts of the circuit: another well known characteristic of Monza.

    The low downforce settings with a specific low-drag package, means that the focus is more on mechanical grip from the tyres.

    t’s a big event for us as we enjoy our 150-year anniversary at home, where Monza also celebrates its first century! So we are looking forward to a big festival of motorsport in Italy, which we can rightly feel very proud of as we equip the most sophisticated and efficient cars in Formula 1 history with 18-inch tyres. Monza is well-known for its high speeds and some fast corners where it’s important to have a car with perfect balance. This year’s tyres should lead to less overheating at the rear on a track where the cars run low downforce and often use slipstreaming to gain a tow. With no sprint race in Monza this year, the teams will head into the grand prix with a bit less information than last time, which means that the strategic approach will be somewhat different.

    Mario Isla, Motorsport Director.

    Formula 2-

    The Medium and Soft tyres are nominated for Formula 2 this weekend. Each driver has five sets of slick tyres to use across the race weekend. The Sprint Race will be lasting 21 laps, and the Feature Race on Sunday is 30 laps.

    Formula 3-

    Drivers have three new sets of Soft tyres, plus another set of mediums carried over from the previous round. The Sprint Race is 18 laps and the Feature Race 22 laps.

  • Round 16- Seoul E-Prix

    Free Practice 3-

    Edoardo Mortara headed the way in the final practice session ahead of the Hana Bank Seoul E-Prix Round 16 with the fastest time of the weekend – a 1m 21.019s.

    Mortara’s title charge ended in disappointment with a puncture in Round 15 but the Venturi driver is looking to support the team’s bid to outstrip Mercedes-EQ in the teams standings. The Swiss driver pipped Antonio Felix da Costa and Jake Dennis.

    Sacha Fenestraz made his bow in Formula E as he stepped in for Antonio Giovinazzi at Dragon / Penske Autosport with the Italian driver suffering a hand injury in Saturday’s race.

    Qualifying-

    Antonio Felix da Costa fired to an unstoppable Julius Baer Pole Position for Round 16, leaving Edo Mortara no scraps to feed on through a perfect lap. No driver had made more appearances on the front row this season more than Mortara.

    There was just one hundredth between them in the knockouts prior and da Costa piled the pressure on over the lap to secure pole by two tenths come the final couple of corners. Millimetre perfect – with no mistakes from the DS driver for his eighth pole position. He was the first and last Gen2 pole sitter…

    Venturi still looked well placed for their Teams’ scrap with Mercedes, Drivers table topper, Stoffel Vandoorne was behind in fourth. Mitch Evans has it all to do as he starts in the mid-pack after failing to progress to the Duels.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Da Costa, P2: Mortara, P3: Dennis, P4: Vandoorne, P5: Frijns, P6: Di Grassi, P7: Ticktum, P8: Vergne, P9: Guenther and P10: Sette Camara.

    Round 16-

    Stoffel Vandoorne steered his way to silverware with a second place finish in the Seoul E-Prix to make more than sure of sealing the 2021/22 ABB FIA Formula E Drivers’ World Championship as well as the Teams’ World Championship for Mercedes-EQ.

    Mortara checked out once he hit the front via a stunning dummy saw him complete a successful switchback on Julius Baer Polesitter, Antonio Felix da Costa on Lap 3. From there onwards, he managed the gap and used his energy perfectly to sign off his and Venturi’s campaign in style.

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

    World Champions; wow. It’s just the best feeling ever. Just look at the season we’ve had – the consistency and the car has been amazing and the team has done an incredible job – I think every single one of us deserves it. What we’ve accomplished is something special.

    Vandoorne on his Championship wins.

    This is huge. I’m just about holding it together at the moment. I’m so pleased for Stoffel – there isn’t anybody that deserves it more than him. He has been so consistent this year – everything he’s put into the building and team development – he’s been such an instrumental part of our success and to see him achieve this is a dream come true for him – it’s phenomenal. And then to do it in Mercedes-EQ’s final year as well. This is a very special moment.

    Team Principal Ian James.

    Thats the 21/2022 Formula E World Championship complete! A massive congratulations to Vandoorne and Mercedes on an incredible season.

    But when one season ends another one is coming… We are expecting a lot of driver news now the season has ended, but where will the World Champ go? There is a few possibilities… Keep your eyes peeled for more!

  • 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 16- Turkey Race

    And Valtteri Bottas WINS the Turkish Grand Prix, making it his 10th win in his career and his first since Russia in 2020! Joining him on the podium is both Bulls, Verstappen in P2 and Perez in P3.

    The rest of the top 10 are: P4: Leclerc, P5: Hamilton, P6: Gasly, P7: Norris, P8: Sainz, P9: Stroll and P10: Ocon. Fastest lap goes to VB as well.

    This means that Max is now back in the lead for the Championship, having a 6 point gap between him and Lewis, neither driver has led the championship for two weekends in a row in 7 races… This is getting closer and closer as we get to the last few races!

    Lap 1 in the wet wasn’t as chaotic as Hungary, but we did have Alonso spin. He started P5 and then went down to P16. Gasly got a 5 second penalty for causing the spin… Hamilton managed to gain two places in the first lap which put him up to P9, that was the start of the classy overtakes.

    ISTANBUL, TURKEY – OCTOBER 10: Yuki Tsunoda of Japan driving the (22) Scuderia AlphaTauri AT02 Honda leads Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain driving the (44) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team Mercedes W12 during the F1 Grand Prix of Turkey at Intercity Istanbul Park on October 10, 2021 in Istanbul, Turkey. (Photo by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)

    I’ve got to say and acknowledge, Yuki Tsunoda. It seemed like he put up a really good fight against the 7 time world champ, which not many other people did, he wasn’t afraid to defend from him.

    I think Mercedes had a tough choice with the strategy today, you don’t have to have a mandatory pit when on intermediates and Hamilton was very happy to stay on them tyres. But Mercedes decided to pit him with only 7 laps to go when he was running in the podium places…

    The fight between Perez and Hamilton was something else! My heart was in my mouth at one point just how close it was, but both drivers have massive respect for each other and left enough space so they didn’t touch. It shows a lot of people what Perez can do in the Red Bull when he is in that situation.

    Carlos Sainz. Wow, what a drive, started P19, finished P8. I think some people will overlook this as he isn’t in the best car, which is true but to get the Ferrari in the points after being on the back row is amazing, fully deserves driver of the day!

    I think Aston Martin might have had a bit of the moment sending Sebastian Vettel out on the Mediums… He lasted a lap on them and it quickly sent him down the order and then he pitted for Inters.

    So now onto a closer look at the championship! We have Max now leading Lewis by 6 points, Bottas, Norris and Perez all stay in the same places. Sainz still in 6th position from Leclerc but there is only a gap of 0.5 between the pair…

    In the constructors Mercedes are still in the lead and by 36 points! McLaren have managed to hold onto P3 and by only 8 points as Ferrari are now starting to close in on them.

    So we now have a two week break till the next race, but we will be returning to the Circuit of The Americas after two years for round 17, in this thrilling championship battle!

  • Round 16- Turkey Quali

    Well what a qualifying that was, it could of been anyones going into it… But Mercedes once again dominated qualifying just like they have dominated the rest of the weekend.

    LH was fastest overall in qualifying but due to his 10 place grid penalty it means pole position goes to his team-mate Valtteri Bottas. The top 10 after penalties is the following: P1: Bottas, P2: Verstappen, P3: Leclerc, P4: Gasly, P5: Alonso, P6: Perez, P7: Norris, P8: Stroll, P9: Tsunoda and P10: Vettel, Lewis will be starting P11.

    I feel like the top 10 is quite mixed up with the top 5 being from 5 different teams, in which we haven’t seen that happen much, unlike last race weekend we saw it being 4 different teams in the top 4.

    One person who I have to mention after a BEAUTIFUL lap in Q1 is Mick Schumacher! He said he wanted it to rain today and it did, which left the track wet for Qualifying and it made him get into Q2 for the second time in his F1 career!

    ISTANBUL, TURKEY – OCTOBER 09: Mick Schumacher of Germany driving the (47) Haas F1 Team VF-21 Ferrari during qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Turkey at Intercity Istanbul Park on October 09, 2021 in Istanbul, Turkey. (Photo by Dan Istitene – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images)

    Pierre done very well today, after only qualifying P12 at the last race, he is back to being up near the top, where he has been for the majority of the year. It always seems like his in the right place at the right time, it’s just a shame to not see him in a top car and then we could see what he really does after having a confidence boost since being at AlphaTauri…

    Charles done well too! Being on the second row is just what him and Ferrari need, especially with his team-mate being at the back and one of the McLaren’s being near at the back too which will benefit Charles tomorrow. Another thing I have to mention is Ferrari’s strategy! First up they had Carlos push Daniel out of Q1 so he couldn’t get into Q2 and then Carlos went ahead of his team-mate in Q2 to give Charles a lovely slip-stream to boost him into getting into Q3.

    Bit of a down day for Russell and Ricciardo, obviously Ricciardo being knocked out of Q1 which is a shame but we know he can capitalise on other peoples mistakes tomorrow in the race! And for Russell he was set to get into Q3 with a really good time until he made a tiny error on his flying lap which didn’t see him improve and knocked out. But his in a good position to score some points tomorrow and he gets free tyre choice!

    Predictions for tomorrow-

    I’d say the win will go to Lewis! I have a feeling Mercedes will get his strategy just right! P2: Leclerc, P3: Bottas, P4: Norris and P5: Gasly. I think fastest lap will go to Bottas.

    You can’t count out Leclerc, Norris and Gasly tomorrow. I feel like these three will have a battle on track, even though Norris is a couple places behind them, he normally gets a good start either maintaining position or gains positions.

  • Turkish GP

    And we are back this weekend racing in Turkey for Round 16 out of 22. We return to the track for the second year as it fills in for Japan.

    Could we see an amazing drive from the 7 time champ? Or will Max take away a victory from him? Can McLaren make it 3 good race weekends in a row? It’s all to play for this weekend!

    Who needs a good weekend?

    I think that Pierre and Yuki need a good weekend in Turkey, they both haven’t had a couple of weekends recently. Not to sure if its just a team thing etc with the strategy going wrong or they are just going through a rough period. For the last two races Pierre hasn’t scored any points, he had a DNF in Italy and the finished 13th in Russia. With Yuki the last three races haven’t been good a DNF in Netherlands, Italy was a DNS and Russia he finished 17th. With grid penalties set to play a role in this weekend hopefully they can capitalise on it.

    I’d say both Aston Martins too, obviously we all saw Lance’s pole lap last year so we know he can do well here and also Seb ended on the podium last year here with Ferrari so he likes the track too. So hopefully they can be strong in the AM to get a good amount of points.

    I’d also say Perez too, I feel like he hasn’t been there to back up Max much recently apart from Italy. He done well here last year too, as he finished on the podium but I feel like his lost a bit of his drive.

    Predictions for Quali-

    My top five for predictions are (before penalties): P1: Hamilton, P2: Norris, P3: Ricciardo, P4: Bottas, P5: Verstappen. If its meant to be a wet qualifying like predicted I could see both McLaren’s doing well.

    As well I think Russell would do well as he likes qualifying in the wet as he normally gets quite high up! Hopefully Latifi will make an appearance into Q3… Hopefully Charles will do well this weekend, as I feel he needs some luck thrown his way!

    Times for the weekend-

    Saturday 9th- FP3: 10:00am – 11:00am (BST), 11:00am – 12:00pm (CEST). Qualifying: 13:00pm – 14:00pm (BST), 14:00pm – 15:00pm (CEST).

    Sunday 10th- Race: 13:00pm (BST), 14:00pm (CEST).

    ISTANBUL, TURKEY – OCTOBER 08: George Russell of Great Britain driving the (63) Williams Racing FW43B Mercedes during practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Turkey at Intercity Istanbul Park on October 08, 2021 in Istanbul, Turkey. (Photo by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)

  • Hamilton to take grid penalty

    Lewis Hamilton, who is currently leading the 2021 championship by only two points is receiving a 10 place grid penalty for Sundays Turkish Grand Prix.

    His W12 has been fitted with a new internal combustion engine (ICE) and exhaust but the driver has only exceeded his allocations of new ICEs.

    It was expected for this to happen before the weekend, as Turkey is a strong track for Mercedes and Lewis even though he has never been on pole here. There was lots of rumours going around that Mercedes would take a penalty in the next couple of races.

    His rival, Max Verstappen took a full new power unit at Sochi which saw him start 20th and then finish on the podium in 2nd.

    Last year, at the Turkish GP it saw Lewis starting sixth to then win the race, it wasn’t an easy race in the wet either.

    My Opinion-

    I didn’t really see them taking the penalty anywhere else to be honest, and its good the fact its not at the back of the grid either, so he does have some work to do but not as much as we expected. If Mercedes get there strategy right and the rain comes into play then this may be Mercedes and Lewis’ weekend…

  • Tyres for Turkey

    We are back racing this weekend and we are returning to Turkey for the second year in a row as this year it fills in for Japan.

    The tyres which have been chosen for this year is the middle of the range which are: C2 (Hard), C3 (Medium) and C4 (Soft). This is one step softer than last year when the Turkish GP was held in November.

    The decision to go one step softer was due to the data which was collected last year, the track demonstrated average levels of abrasion and low grip which resulted in an extremely slippery surface. The track was entirely re-asphalted just before the grand prix last year, since then the asphalt may have matured slightly as well its been completely cleaned with a high-pressure jet.

    The most well known corner at the Istanbul track is Turn 8, which is very long (640 metres) and it gets taken at high speed. We didn’t get to see full effect of Turn 8 last year due to the rain…

    Turkey, is quite a tough track for the tyres, with lots of force going through them, the cars run higher downforce here to help push the tyres ontp the ground. As well as this there are many corners which put demands on the tyres. Turn 1 is approached with a significant descent before heading uphill. The back straight also contains a swooping uphill kink which is nicknamed ‘Faux Rouge’.

    This years weather is a big question mark, the race is obviously being held a month earlier than last year, but with the rain dominating the weekend the teams don’t have much relevant tyre data.

    The winning tyre strategy last year which brought Lewis Hamiltons 7th title was one-stopped as he was on eight laps with the full wet tyres and then followed by 50 laps on the intermediate tyres. Lewis was one of only four drivers to pit once, the majority of the drivers stopped twice.