Jordan's Track Talk

Tag: Round 21

  • R21 – Sao Paulo

    Lando Norris has further extended his championship lead after claiming victory in a gripping Sao Paulo Grand Prix, with the McLarn driver leading Mercdes’ Kimi Antonelli home while Max Verstappen put in a remarkable comeback to finish on the podium after starting from the pit lane.

    After making a good start from pole position, Norris continued to lead amid a hectic first few laps, with a Safety Car being deployed following a crash into the barriers for Kick Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto at the Brazilian’s home race.

    A Virtual Safety Car was then deployed after the restart due to another incident in which Oscar Piastri locked up and hit Antonelli, sending the Mercedes into Charles Leclerc who was forced to retire his damaged Ferrari from the race.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Norris, P2: Antonelli, P3: Verstappen, P4: Russell, P5: Piastri, P6: Bearman, P7: Lawson, P8: Hadjar, P9: Hulkenberg and P10: Gasly.

    What a dominant weekend for Norris, P1 across all the sessions this weekend, no-one came close to challenging him. If he wins this championship it will be down to this weekend, as he excelled, whereas the other contenders had a lot of work to do.
    A bit of a meh result for Piastri, P5 not a great result at all, especially when his teammate done so well.

    What a result for Antonelli, his stepped up this weekend and as a result got his career best finish! He will be happy with this weekend and so will the team in the battle for P2 in the Constructors!
    As for his teammate, Russell finished 4th, a great result again this weekend, lots of points grabbed.

    P3 for Verstappen, what a drive for the Dutchman, from starting in the pitlane to finishing on the podium, a big championship drive and it could make all the difference in where he finishes at the end of the season.

    P6 for Bearman, a lovely drive from the Haas driver, two really good weekends in a row for the Brit. Very good for Haas in the constructors, they are two points away from Aston Martin and 12 points away from Racing Bulls in 6th.

    Talking of Racing Bulls, a double points finish for them! A really good showing from the team after a couple of rough race weekends in a row.

    A weekend to forget for Ferrari… Leclerc DNF as he got the repercussions from the Antonelli/Piastri fumble at the restart. Hamilton was a DNF too as he had some damage from early on in the race and retired in the pitlane.

    Now we only have three races left of the 2025 season and our next stop is Las Vegas! On the 20th to 22nd November…

  • R21 – Sao Paulo Sprint Qualifying

    Lando Norris put in an impressive lap to take pole position during Sprint Qualifying at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, the Brit beating Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli and the other McLaren of Oscar Piastri to seal P1.

    After setting a benchmark with his banker lap during SQ3, Norris went even quicker with his final effort of 1m 09.243, a time that proved unbeatable to his rivals. Antonelli was the closest challenger, the Silver Arrows racer 0.097s behind as he took the other spot on the front row.

    Despite showing good pace during Friday, Piastri had to settle for third, while George Russell added to a decent day for Mercedes in fourth.
    The full top 10 are- Pole: Norris, P2: Antonelli, P3: Piastri, P4: Russell, P5: Alonso, P6: Verstappen, P7: Stroll, P8: Leclerc, P9: Hadjar and P10: Hulkenberg.

    A lovely result for Norris! Just what he would’ve wanted going into this weekend and the best place to start considering the ever changing weather at São Paulo. As for Piastri, a decent result in P3 still lots to play for!

    P2 for Antonelli!! Love to see it! The Mercedes is known for being good around this track so it’s not that surprising but a great result for the Italian! George Russell added to their great result with a P4! They will be looking to score big points and a few podiums this weekend.

    P5 for Alonso! I didn’t expect that going into this weekend, but with the past few cars I’ve mentioned, they’ve all got one thing in common… Mercedes Powertrains. So clearly they are doing very well, and have good performance at the minute.

    Not the best result for Verstappen but still in the fight, P6 for the Dutchman a little bit further back than his title contenders but anything can happen at São Paulo!

    Not the best day for the Ferrari’s, Leclerc P8 and Hamilton P11. It was said that they have set their car up differently to more focus on overall performance and not just one lap.

  • R21 – Tyre Selection

    A fortnight on from the previous round, Formula 1 returns to the American continent for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix. The Brazilian weekend features the penultimate Sprint, prior to the final one of the season in Qatar.

    The circuit named in honour of Brazilian racer Jose Carlos Pace is 4.309 kilometres long.
    The layout at Interlagos is interesting, with hints of an anti-clockwise oval circuit, which the drivers deal with 71 times in the race.

    It boasts 15 corners with relatively balanced lateral and longitudinal forces that do not put any undue strain on the tyres, as they are subjected to loads distributed equally between the front and rear axles.

    The combination of several straights and much twistier sections offers plenty of overtaking opportunities, although it also means there’s a higher risk of Safety Cars and incidents.

    At this time of the year, the weather and temperature can be very variable, with a risk of frequent rain and the inevitable use of wet weather tyres.

    This year’s compound selection for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix harks back to 2023, with the C2 (Hard), C3 (Medium), C4 (Soft), therefore one step harder than the trio used last year.

    Last year, the dry weather tyres were not required for the race, but when used on Friday and Saturday, they showed high levels of wear, as well as graining, especially on the rear axle.

    The circuit had been completely resurfaced, thus leaving a very smooth surface, less abrasive than in previous years, although still with plenty of bumps around the track.

    Last year, qualifying and the race both took place on Sunday, with bad weather forecast, the race director decided to run qualifying at 07.30 as well as bringing the Grand Prix start time forward to 12.30.
    Dry weather tyres were never used at any time during the day.

  • RW 21 – Brazil

    Max Verstappen has stormed to a remarkable victory in a frenetic Sao Paulo Grand Prix, the Dutchman climbed through the field from an original starting position of P17 to score his first race win since June amid changing weather conditions and huge drama along the way – which saw Alpine score a double podium result.

    The chaos started before the event had even got under way after Lance Stroll spun off during the formation lap, leading to some confusion over the aborted start procedure as pole sitter Lando Norris led a number of cars away while others stayed on the grid.

    When the Grand Prix did begin, Russell enjoyed a stronger launch and led from Norris while Verstappen worked his way through the pack in the early stages.
    As the event unfolded amid changing levels of rainfall, a red flag was thrown on Lap 32 following a crash for Franco Colapinto in the Williams – shortly after Russell and Norris had lost out by pitting just as a Virtual Safety Car period ended.

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

    What a drive by Max Verstappen! P17 to First! The best result for the Dutchman, especially in him wanting to retain his title. He capitalised on the red flag whereas Norris and McLaren made the wrong strategy call… It was a proper champion drive from Max and this might be the race which changes it all!
    However, Perez finished P11 – so after all the red flags, yellow flags and safety cars he still didn’t get any points even though he started above Verstappen so he should’ve really got points…

    What a result for Alpine! P2 and P3 a double podium for the team, which is just wow they now have made a jump from ninth to sixth in the constructors’ standings! They now are in a fight for for P6 in the standings with Haas and RB.

    A good result for Russell, P4 for the Brit, obviously a podium would of been what they were aiming for but with everything which went on during the race they still finished a decent position.
    Not the best race for Hamilton, he finished P10, he really struggled with the car, which is a shame as I think everyone knows he loves the wet weather and Brazil in general.

    A bad result for McLaren, Lando finished sixth and lost a lot of ground to Verstappen in the Championship, he will now have a lot of work to do in these coming races to try and get the championship back in his court, but it’s not looking good…
    His teammate finished 8th after a penalty for causing a collision with Lawson, he crossed the line in 7th. This isn’t good for McLaren at all for the constructors’ they only have a 36 point lead from Ferrari and 49 to Red Bull in third. They need a couple of good races from both drivers to secure it.

    A double points finish for RB! Tsunoda 7th and Lawson 9th! Which is what they expected especially after their amazing qualifying session!

    Sainz and Colapinto both recorded retirements following their separate crashes, while Nico Hulkenberg was given a black flag just prior to the restart after the Haas driver received assistance from marshals when returning to the track following an earlier off.

    Now our next race is in a few weeks and it will be our final triple header of the 2024 season, we start of with Las Vegas on the 21st to 23rd for round 22!

    My emotions today have been a rollercoaster, with qualifying being really unlucky with that red flag. Starting P17, I knew that it was going to be a very tough race but we stayed out of trouble, we made the right calls, we stayed calm and we were fine. All of these things together of course made that result possible. I mean, unbelievable to win here from so far back.
    Verstappen on the win.

  • New start times for rescheduled Sao Paulo Grand Prix

    The FIA and Formula 1 have confirmed rescheduled timings for both qualifying and the Sao Paulo Grand Prix itself after Saturday’s qualifying session was postponed due to poor weather conditions.

    The session had been due to run at 1500 local time on Saturday afternoon at the Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace, but the start of Q1 was postponed when torrential rain – along with thunder and lightning – arrived, resulting in pools of water forming on the track.

    With the session unable to take place on Saturday, it has now been confirmed that qualifying will take place today at the new time of 7:30 local time (10:30am GMT) and the Sao Paulo Grand Prix itself brought forwards to 12:30 local time (15:30pm GMT).

    Following the conditions in São Paulo today the decision was taken not to proceed with Qualifying due to poor visibility, standing water on the track and fading light. Safety is always the paramount consideration in such circumstances and while as much time as possible was given to allow conditions to improve they sadly did not. We have huge appreciation for all the fans that stayed at the circuit in hope of seeing cars on track today. Therefore the decision has been taken, after consultation with the stewards, to schedule Qualifying for 07:30 local time on Sunday morning ahead of the Grand Prix at 12:30 local. This will ensure we maximise the chances of providing the fans with a day of racing action, given the ongoing weather forecast for tomorrow afternoon, and both the FIA and Formula 1 believe this time change is necessary and the right thing to do for all our passionate fans. We thank everyone for their patience today including the fans, drivers, teams, marshals, circuit staff and media and hope to give everyone an exciting event on Sunday.
    An FIA and Formula 1 statement.

  • Magnussen out, Bearman in for Sao Paulo

    Haas have announced that Kevin Magnussen will not be returning to action for the rest of the Sao Paulo Grand Prix weekend, meaning that Ollie Bearman will again race for the team.

    Prior to today’s action getting underway at the Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace, the news came that Magnussen would not participate in the day’s running after feeling unwell, with Bearman stepping in for free practice, Sprint Qualifying and Saturday’s Sprint.

    However, in the hours after Sprint Qualifying, a further announcement was made that Magnussen would not return to compete in Saturday’s qualifying or Sunday’s Grand Prix.
    Bearman will continue his substitute duties for the remainder of the weekend.

    Despite receiving a call just hours before jumping in the car today, the Brit put in an eye-catching performance as he made his third stand in appearance of the season, having previously raced for Ferrari in Saudi Arabia and then getting behind the wheel for Haas in Azerbaijan after Magnussen was hit was a one-race ban.

    Bearman progressed to SQ3 of Friday’s Sprint Qualifying – outperforming team mate Nico Hulkenberg who qualified in P12.

  • RW 21 – Tyre Selection

    The Sao Paulo Grand Prix brings the curtain down on Formula 1’s long trip in the Americas, as we head to our final stop on the triple header.

    There is a common thread, that links all three of the tracks together, namely new asphalt. However, while in Austin and Mexico City only sections of the tracks had been resurfaced, in Sao Paulo all 4.309 kilometres has been renewed including the pit lane.

    Therefore, the track surface will be a completely unknown factor for drivers and teams this weekend. Complicating the puzzle further is the fact Pirelli have chosen to bring a softer trio of compounds than last year, they are: C3 (Hard), C4 (Medium), C5 (Soft).

    On top of that it’s a Sprint weekend, so that there is only free practice session for teams to find the best set-up.

    At Interlagos, the lateral and longitudinal forces exerted on the tyres around the 15 corners of this anticlockwise track are medium to low intensity and well distributed across both axles.

    Usually the fastest strategy is a two-stop, favouring the use of the softer compounds. Last year, all bar one of the drivers chose to start on the Softs, but a red flag after the start allowed for a switch to Mediums.

    https://twitter.com/pirellisport/status/1851256011983630551?s=46&t=aXLQ2Py0qaT52rhG6u6Lig

  • RND 21 – Sao Paulo Grand Prix

    Wow, the Sao Paulo Grand Prix never disappoints, we had drama before the race even started and it continued on into the race!

    Max Verstappen grabbed his 17th win this season, ahead of Lando Norris in P2 and Fernando Alonso who returned to the podium in P3!

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

    Charles Leclerc went off on the formation lap, after he lost the hydraulics which then forced him to retire before it even began…

    When the lights went out, we had drama, there was a heavy collision between Alex Albon and Kevin Magnussen.
    Replays showed that Hulkenberg was squeezed and subsequently made contact with Albon, which ricocheted the Williams into the path of Magnussen. Piastri was also caught up in the incident, having suffered a broken rear wing. This then caused a red flag to be shown due to the extensive debris out on the track.

    A strong result from Aston Martin, from both drivers, this is what they needed for the fight in the Drivers’ and Teams’ Standings. Alonso had a great battle with Sergio Perez at the end of the race where they had a photo finish! The gap between the Spaniard and Mexican was less than a tenth of a second in the incredible finish.

    Talking about Perez, a really strong performance from him and a good haul of points aswell. This will help him in the fight with Hamilton as he only scored 4 points in the race.

    Talking of Hamilton, where did Mercedes pace go?? They certainly had pace in the first part of the race until Hamilton radioed his team about a steering issue with his front right tyre just after pitting. Russell was forced to retire his W14 from the race later on due to high and worsening oil temperature. The team won’t be happy with the result at all.

    Tsunoda points again! His loving life at the moment he currently has 13 points, he sits 14th in the Driver Standings. For the team themselves they grow a gap to Alfa Romeo in 9th with 5 points between them. But Alpha Tauri will be looking towards Williams who are only 7 points away in 7th.

    Next up for Round 22, we head to a brand new track for 2023 as it’s the Las Vegas Grand Prix!

  • RND 21 – Sao Paulo Sprint

    The last sprint race of the 2023 season is officially over, so let’s take a look at how it went.

    Max Verstappen charged ahead to another win after he took the lead from Lando Norris on Lap 1. Norris ended up second, and Sergio Perez rounded out the top three.

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

    Verstappen was on fire today, he knew what he wanted to do and got it done on lap one, which he then went on to be unchallenged even though Norris put a bit of pressure on at times.
    Perez also had a good result aswell finishing P3, this will add a few points to his tally for his fight against Hamilton.

    A great result from Norris aswell, which is needed for his fight in the Drivers’ Standings up against, Alonso and Leclerc. It also helps his team build a gap to Aston Martin’s as they failed to score in the sprint.

    More points for Tsunoda! AlphaTauri are on a roll lately, more points on the board, so they now have a 3 point gap to Alfa Romeo in 9th. They will hope to build on the points they’ve got so far as a 3 point gap won’t be enough with three races left…

    The Aston Martin’s had a shocker in sprint qualifying, which meant that they had to make up some ground in the Sprint race. Alonso worked his way from 15th to 11th and Stroll finished in 12th after starting 17th, it seems like they’ve got good pace in the race, so hopefully today we see them battling for podiums and get a big haul of points.

    Haas had a disappointing sprint, they started 11th and 12th, but they ended up finishing 16th and 18th, that’s not what the American team need, hopefully they have better luck today…

    Predictions-

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

    I feel like Aston Martin are finally back this weekend, so let’s hope they can turn it into a podium, but I have a feeling we will get a bit of a crazy race, maybe with a Safety Car appearance?

  • RND 21 – Sao Paulo Qualifying

    Another qualifying session done, where it ended early due to the weather rapidly changing and causing a red flag with no-one being able to improve their times.

    But Max Verstappen claimed pole position for Sunday’s race, he is joined on the front row by Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and rounding out the top three is Lance Stroll!

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

    But three drivers have been hit with grid penalties after impeding incidents in the pit lane during qualifying. George Russell, Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly have all been hit with two place grid penalties.

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

    A great result from both Aston Martin’s especially Stroll out qualifying Alonso, which doesn’t happen often but it was nice surprise! The team will be wanting to work on what they did today on Sunday and score some points this weekend.

    Hamilton out-qualifies Perez, which is a big step into their fight in P2 for the Drivers’ Championship. Perez will need to provide some good overtakes on Sunday and stay out of trouble as his in the middle of the pack in P9.

    Daniel Ricciardo struggled in qualifying as he was knocked out in Q1. Quite a shock compared to last weekend where he was in the top 5. He has a bit of work to do if he wants to get more points on the board.

    The Haas duo start 11th and 12th this gives them a good opportunity to score points as they are in that all important fight at the back of the grid where it involves 3 teams including themselves.

    Predictions for Sprint-

    My top five for the Sprint race are: P1: Verstappen, P2: Alonso, P3: Hamilton, P4: Leclerc and P5: Sainz.

    We may get a crazy race today, it’s not meant to rain so that won’t be a factor but its Interlagos so anything could possibly happen…

  • Sao Paulo Grand Prix

    Round 21 is here and it’s the Sao Paulo Grand Prix weekend, it is another sprint race this weekend, and we’ve had some great ones in previous years!

    Will Mercedes shine here again after taking the past two previous wins? Or can Max Verstappen make it another win and win number 17 this season?

    Or could we get a Ferrari winning? Or maybe a first time winner for McLaren? This weekend is all to play for!

    Who needs to shine?

    Sergio Perez, after crashing out on lap 1 of his home grand prix last week, he has a lot of work to do this weekend, as the gap between himself and Hamilton has lowered to 20 points, if Hamilton keeps going the way his going then he will earn P2 in the Drivers’ Championship. But Perez will not want that so he needs to get a wriggle on.

    Aston Martin, they’ve had a bit of a downfall from the beginning of the season. Now they sit 5th in the Constructors’, McLaren have managed to build a 20 point gap between the teams.
    Not only this, Alonso is among a group of drivers who could quite easily catch up to the Spanish driver as there isn’t much between each driver in the standings.

    Looking towards the back of the teams, Haas sit in 10th on 12 points, Alfa Romeo sit in 9th on 16 points and AlphaTauri sit in 8th on 16 points. This will be an interesting fight between six drivers all trying to get a few extra points.

    Predictions for Qualifying-

    My top five prediction for qualifying are- Pole: Verstappen, P2: Hamilton, P3: Leclerc, P4: Norris and P5: Russell.

    Obviously, we have a sprint this weekend and it’s always a crazy sprint and race here in Brazil so we could very much see a Safety Car or a Virtual Safety Car…

  • Sao Paulo Tyre Selection

    We are at our third race weekend of our triple header, and it’s also our last sprint weekend of the year as we are here in Brazil for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix!

    The tyres have been chosen for this weekend are: C2 (Hard), C3 (Medium), C4 (Soft).

    Mercedes has won the most races at Interlagos since the Brazilian Grand Prix adopted the name of it’s host city, with Lewis Hamilton and George Russell winning in 2021 and 2022 respectively.

    Interlagos has hosted 39 world championship grands prix in total, with Ferrari winning 10 times and Michael Schumacher being the most successful driver on four wins.

    Kevin Magnussen gave Haas its maiden pole position last year, making the most of his soft compound tyres in the rain at the start of Q3.
    It was also the Dane’s first pole, ahead of his eighth place in the sprint race the following day.

    The Interlagos circuit in the Brazilian city of São Paulo is well-known for providing thrilling races. The lap is only 4.309 kilometres long, making it one of the shortest of the year, with only Monaco and Mexico City being shorter. It’s also run anti-clockwise and situated on a hillside, which gives it a unique character. The drivers face a steep downhill section after the first corner, followed by a long climb uphill with several winding turns, and then a long straight leading back to the finish line. The track has 15 corners –  five right-handers and nine left-handers – with several direction changes. Interlagos has a bit of everything, featuring low as well as medium speed corners, and the cars running quite a high level of downforce. The forces acting on the tyres are reasonably balanced between lateral and longitudinal. The asphalt itself has a high level of roughness: typical of permanent tracks with a long history behind them. Degradation is mainly thermal, so the C2, C3, and C4 compounds have been chosen. A two-stopper is the most likely strategy, while a one-stopper would require plenty of tyre management; affecting race pace. The safety car has often featured during the grand prix, introducing another key variable, and we have also seen that weather conditions can vary rapidly and widely at this time of year as well. Interlagos will additionally host the final sprint round of the season, giving the teams and drivers another chance to assess tyre behaviour over long runs. Since sprint races came in for the 2021 season, Interlagos has always been one of them – a sure sign of how this track consistently delivers the sort of close racing that suits the sprint format.

    Mario Isola, Pirelli – Head of Motorsport.

  • Round 21 – Sao Paulo GP

    What. A. Race. Where do I even start? I hoped for a crazy race and we definitely got part of that mixed into the race.

    But, we now have a new F1 race winner… GEORGE RUSSELL wins the Sao Paulo GP and takes home Mercedes first win of the season as well as his! Not only this but… Lewis Hamilton makes it a 1-2 for the Silver Arrows! Carlos Sainz rounds out the podium in P3.

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

    A great weekend for Mercedes, this is exactly what they needed, Hamilton did have a little battle which caused contact between himself and Verstappen but it wasn’t too much where his race was ruined.

    A decent race for the Ferrari team, Leclerc had a battle with Norris which saw the pair also make contact and it looked like Charles’ race was over but his spin into the wall wasn’t as bad as it looked. Norris was deemed at fault for the collision and got a 5 second time penalty.

    Carrying on with McLaren things went from bad to worse as Daniel Ricciardo was caught up in a first lap incident with Magnussen which saw both drivers retiring from the race. Later on in the race Lando then pulled over on the side of the track. A double DNF for McLaren which doesn’t help in their fight with Alpine.

    Now onto Red Bull, they haven’t been on the pace much this past weekend, Max has definitely struggled more than Perez. Now for Perez his battle for 2nd in the Championship is still alive so you would think Red Bull would do anything to help that… Well not according t Max Verstappen, towards the end of the race he was told to let Checo through if MV couldn’t pass Alonso. He couldn’t, but he didn’t let his teammate through which has compromised Perez quite a bit going into the last race now as the Mexican and the Monegasque go into Abu Dhabi level on points…

    A great race for Alpine, they definitely made up for Saturday’s Sprint with a double points finish on Sunday, one more race together as team-mates and then it will be a new driver pairing for both of the drivers, lets hope for no more teammate collisions between the pair of them.

    We haven’t got long to wait as we are back this weekend, for the final round in Abu Dhabi to see how the drivers will all finish in the standings!

  • Round 21- Sao Paulo Sprint

    Round 21- Sao Paulo Sprint

    WOW, we are being treated to such an amazing weekend so far! An amazing qualifying on Friday, and an exciting sprint yesterday what could this mean for the race??!

    But it was George Russell who won the Sprint after keeping it cool and collected once he passed Magnussen and Verstappen! Carlos Sainz finished 2nd and Lewis Hamilton makes it a 1-3 for the Silver Arrows.

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

    What a sprint for the Merc boys! George was absolutely on fire, overtaking Magnussen first and then holding on to Verstappen and not letting him get away, it took the Brit 3 tries to get past the Dutchman but once he did he was off. Lewis made up good ground aswell, with Carlos having a 5 place grid drop it makes it an all Mercedes front row lockout for the first time this season!!

    Not the best of days for RB, they didn’t show much pace, it was definitely the wrong decision for Max to be on the Mediums, but Checo did a few good overtakes to get further up the grid. So they have a bit of work to do in the race if they want to win.

    The same goes for the Ferrari boys, especially with Carlos having his penalty. With the Mercedes at the front, the Italian team will be wanting to grab as many points as possible to minimise the gap Mercedes may close in on them.

    Even though, K-Mag dropped down 7 positions he still earned a point and has the opportunity to score more in the race today. As for his teammate who started P20 in the sprint will start the race in P12 after doing some overtakes to get further up the grid, so will be interesting to see how Mick will do today.

    Predictions-

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

    I feel like we will get a bit of a crazy race today, only two more races left so the gloves will be off and all teams and drivers will be fighting for those all important points… It will be nice to see Mercedes win today, as they haven’t done this season yet.

  • Round 21- Sao Paulo Qualifying

    What. A. Qualifying. It started off a wet qualifying but with the track soon drying out, drivers were at risk of a potential shock exit.

    But, for the first time ever!!! KEVIN MAGNUSSEN is on POLE for the São Paulo Sprint!! With Max Verstappen joining him on the front row, and George Russell rounding out the top 3.

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

    A very mixed top 10 for the sprint later today! Carlos Sainz has a 5 place grid penalty which will be added on after the Sprint.

    What a result for Haas! I don’t think anyone expected it at all and that’s what makes it so great! K-Mag had to wait 141 races to grab that all important pole position.

    Not the best qualifying for the top 3 teams, they all have one driver in the top 5 and then another driver at the back end of the top 10. Having the sprint today, will bring these drivers further up the grid especially if it’s wet…

    Alpine have a strong start for this weekend both drivers P6 & P7, which is needed as there battle with McLaren is still ongoing .

    Predictions-

    My top five for the sprint are: P1: Verstappen, P2: Russell, P3: Norris, P4: Magnussen and P5: Perez.

    If it rains and we have a wet track then it would most definitely be interesting and I can’t wait to see how K-Mag will do athletes the front!

    Timings-

    Saturday 12th-

    • Free Practice 2: 15:30pm – 16:30pm (GMT)
    • Sprint: 19:30pm – 20:30pm

    Sunday 13th-

    • Race: 18:00pm (GMT)

  • Sao Paulo Tyre Allocation

    Pirelli will be bringing the three compounds in the middle of the range to the Brazilian Grand Prix this weekend those being: C2 (Hard), C3 (Medium), C4 (Soft). The previous two races had the same selection.

    Interlagos will be hosting the third and final F1 Sprint race of the season, after Imola and Spielberg. As a result, the Pirelli Pole Position Award will be given out on Friday after qualifying.

    The Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace, runs anti-clockwise and contains 15 corners,which place medium lateral demands on the tyres.

    The Brazilian Grand Prix is known for plenty of overtaking and frequent appearances from the safety car. With the weather taking its part in it aswell, as it looms a big question mark over the weekend, could it be torrential rain as well as high temperatures and sunshine?

    The teams used various strategies in 2021 but the drivers on the podium all stopped twice. Hamilton who won, finished the race on the hard tyre ahead of Verstappen and Bottas on the same compound.

    Formula 1 heads to Interlagos next weekend: the shortest lap of the year after Monaco and Mexico. It’s a historic track run anti-clockwise, which alternates some quick sections as well as medium-speed sequences of corners, such as the famous ‘Senna esses’. There aren’t any big demands on the tyres in terms of traction and braking because it’s a very flowing layout, and the lack of slow corners means that the teams are able to control the degradation on the rear tyres. Brazil will host the “Sprint” also this year, the last of the season, and it will be particularly interesting with this car package to see what will happen on the track and, once again, the key role of the different strategies that can be used: in 2021 the grid on Saturday was equally split between drivers starting on the medium and the soft tyres. Despite the short length of the track, there’s normally plenty of overtaking. Just think of Lewis Hamilton who was the protagonist of a comeback that brought him to victory from 10th place, using a two-stop strategy. So the new generation of cars and tyres seems set to provide us with another thrilling race this year.

    Mario Isola, Motorsport director.

  • Round 21- Jeddah Race

    EPIC. CHAOTIC. BWOAH.

    Where do I even start with the race, we all knew the race would feature a safety car during the race after seeing the 3 F2 races this weekend, but I don’t think we expected what we all just saw!

    Lewis Hamilton takes win number 103, with Max Verstappen in P2 and Valtteri Bottas on a late charge to take the final podium place. Lewis also took fastest lap too.

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

    Esteban Ocon of France driving the Alpine A521 Renault during the F1 Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia at Jeddah Corniche Circuit on December 05, 2021 in...
    JEDDAH, SAUDI ARABIA – DECEMBER 05: Esteban Ocon of France driving the (31) Alpine A521 Renault during the F1 Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia at Jeddah Corniche Circuit on December 05, 2021 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)

    The first of the accidents during the race was Mick Schumacher who spun and hit the barrier at Turn 23. This brought out a safety car which many of the drivers had pitted, however this then turned into a red-flag which then gave Verstappen a free pit stop.

    We went onto a standing start which saw Lewis lead, but then Verstappen went wide and off track at the first chicane which saw him cutting across Hamilton who dropped to P3 behind Esteban Ocon. The racing didn’t last long as we had two separate incidents the first involving Charles Leclerc and Sergio Perez in which Perez’s race ended there with too much damage. The other incident involving Mazepin and Russell, which saw Nikita go into the back of the Williams car, this caused the second red flag of the race.

    After many radio messages back and forth from Mercedes to FIA or Red Bull to FIA, the restart was Ocon 1st, Hamilton 2nd, Verstappen 3rd. But Verstappen made a good move on his shiny new mediums.

    If you thought the drama was over after that, you are very wrong, we then had three VSC periods from Lap 28 to Lap 36. Lewis attempted a move on Lap 36 for the lead of the race but Max braked too late in which he run wide at Turn 2 and retained the lead. Max was instructed to give back P1 so on Lap 37 max slowed for Hamilton to get caught up in mixed messages and clip the rear of the Red Bull in which Lewis now had front wing damage.

    Whilst the drama was going on with Mercedes-FIA-RedBull, Lewis wanted to keep the fight on track in which on Lap 42 he was looking to get past the Dutchman but Verstappen again went wide . At this point the stewards gave Max a fixe second time penalty.

    Then the rest is history after Lewis managed to over take Max and build up a big enough gap so Max didn’t have chance to push and keep on fighting each other, but further down the field the drama was still going on.

    Valtteri Bottas was keeping the pressure on Esteban Ocon during the race so much so that Bottas beat him by a tenth of a second, literally securing P3 on the checkered line! Obviously gutting for Ocon but for me he deserves driver of the day, he was there where it mattered and stayed out of trouble and he was rewarded with a P4.

    A lovely race for Daniel Ricciardo today, after a disappointing number of races not scoring he managed to bring his car home in P5 and he fully deserved it! As well Gasly a nice strong finish in P6 brings a good set of points which he will be more than happy with.

    The Championship-

    Well, we all know what that has done to the championship now… Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen are equal in points going into the final race which hasn’t happened since 1974!

    Leclerc now moves up to P5 with a 4 point gap from Lando Norris, so i’m sure we will see an entertaining race next week for the battle for 5th position in the standings!

    Mercedes now have a gap of 28 points which separate them and Red Bull, this makes next weekend even more exciting with both Bottas and Perez needing to do there all so either of the teams can win the Constructors.

    Now onto next week for the final round of the 2021 Formula 1 Championship, we are back in Abu Dhabi at the newly changed Yas Marina Circuit, all drivers will need to get used to what has changed on the track.

  • Round 21- Jeddah Quali

    That is now qualifying over for today and what a qualifying it was! This circuit is something else and it shows with how close the cars get to the walls!

    It is a 1-2 for the Mercedes boys in Saudi Arabia, get in there boys!!! Lewis Hamilton takes pole position, with his team-mate next to him in second. Max Verstappen joins the pair in third position.

    The rest of the top 10 are: P4: Leclerc, P5: Perez, P6: Gasly, P7: Norris, P8: Tsunoda, P9: Ocon and P10: Giovinazzi.

    Valtteri Bottas of Finland driving the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team Mercedes W12 during qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia at...
    JEDDAH, SAUDI ARABIA – DECEMBER 04: Valtteri Bottas of Finland driving the (77) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team Mercedes W12 during qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia at Jeddah Corniche Circuit on December 04, 2021 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

    Well lets start with the final lap from MV, he was doing an outstanding lap but he was very much pushing the limits and there was a couple of close calls with the wall during the lap until he got to the final corner… where he did indeed touch the wall quite harshly which ruined his chance of pole position. There could be a potential gearbox change which he already had a new one in this weekend but another new one means a penalty… So we will await and see if there is significant damage to his car.

    It really is not Aston Martin’s weekend, they have been somewhat off there normal pace and that showed even more so during qualifying when both of the cars qualified 17th and 18th.

    Yuki Tsunoda must really like new circuits, last time out in Qatar he qualified P8, and today it was again P8, either that or he is very happy with the car and puts it all together in qualifying for a good lap! His team-mate Pierre Gasly a good qualifying for him too, possibly a good race for both Alpha Tauri drivers tomorrow and score a good set amount of points?

    Now Carlos Sainz… What didn’t happen with him in Q2! He had a big moment on his first flying lap which saw his rear wing touch the wall, so he dived straight into the pits afterwards so his team could assess the amount of damage. Then on his second flying lap he went wide which again ruined his lap… Hence him qualifying P15, this could have a big impact on the Constructors now.

    Predictions-

    I am going to say Hamilton for the win, with Bottas in P2, the final podium place going to Perez, P4: Leclerc, and P5: Verstappen. With fastest lap going to Bottas.

    Hopefully we get a McLaren up there in the points, Norris seems to be enjoying this circuit quite a bit and he will more than likely be wanting to redeem himself after the awful triple header for him and the team.

    Times for tomorrow-

    Sunday 5th- Race: 17:30pm (GMT), 18:30pm (CET).

  • Saudi Arabian GP

    Another weekend, another Grand Prix and this weekend we are in Saudi Arabia for the first ever Grand Prix here its round 21 out of 22 and it should be an exciting one!

    With the points gap between Lewis and Max slowly come down, can Lewis win his third race in a row? Or will max want to try and go into the final race next week with a bigger point gap than 8 points…

    Who needs a good weekend?

    Obviously both title contenders, Max probably more so than Lewis as Lewis has been on top form the past couple of races, with it being a new track both drivers are at the same level this weekend.

    Now moving onto the other Red Bull and Mercedes drivers, they will both be fighting each other on Sunday, to get more points for the Constructors, also both Perez and Bottas will be used to try and take the fastest point away depending on who has it and how the race is going.

    Again McLaren, it seems that lots of people think this track will suit the papaya team because of how fast its meant to be, but no-one really knows until we hit the track on Friday. Both McLaren drivers will need to have a good weekend and have the strategy perfect if they want to try and close the gap and also help Lando secure P5 in the championship as Leclerc is getting closer to that spot.

    Predictions for Qualifying-

    My top five are: Pole- Hamilton, P2- Bottas, P3- Verstappen, P4- Perez and P5- Gasly. I don’t think you can count out Gasly from a good qualifying his been on such good form!

    Two other drivers you cant count are the Ferrari boys, they seem to have such a good understanding of the car and they always qualify near each other which is beneficial when strategies come into play during the race.

    Times for the weekend-

    Formula 1- Friday 3rd- FP1: 13:30pm – 14:30pm (GMT), 14:30pm – 15:30pm (CET). FP2: 17:00pm – 18:00pm (GMT), 18:00pm – 19:00pm (CET).

    Saturday 4th- FP3: 14:00pm – 15:00pm (GMT), 15:00pm – 16:00pm (CET). Qualifying- 17:00pm – 18:00pm (GMT), 18:00pm – 19:00pm (CET).

    Sunday 5th- Race: 17:30pm (GMT), 18:30pm (CET).

    Formula 2- Friday 3rd- Free Practice: 11:10am – 11:55am (GMT), 12:10pm – 12:55pm (CET). Qualifying: 15:20pm – 15:50pm (GMT), 16:20pm – 16:50pm (CET).

    Saturday 4th- Sprint Race 1: 12:30pm – 13:15pm (GMT), 13:30pm – 14:15pm (CET). Sprint Race 2: 18:40pm – 19:25pm (GMT), 19:40pm – 20:25pm (CET).

    Sunday 5th- Feature Race: 14:25pm (GMT), 15:25pm (CET).