F1 Academy has announced Esmee Kosterman as the Wild Card entry for Round 5 of the season at Circuit Zandvoort, representing TeamViewer, the global leader in remote connectivity and digital workplace solutions.
The 20 year old Dutch driver will debut with F1 Academy in a special edition livery that highlights innovators and changemakers driving progress – on and off track.
Hailing for Wijk bij Duurstede in the Netherlands, Kosterman stepped up into car racing in 2021, cmpeting in the Ford Fiesta Sprint Cup Benelux. Two years later, she became the first woman to win in the series before going on to finish second in the Junior Cup and third in the overall standings.
Kosterman continued to broaden her racecraft in the Dutch Supercar Challenge, BMW M2 Cup and the Lamera Cup. After scoring points on her Indian F4 debut last year, this season has seen her race in British F4 with appearances at Silverstone, Snetterton and Zandvoort.
Our sport has the power to inspire change, and we are incredibly proud to be championing women both on and off track. We know that creating female role models in motorsport is already helping to improve participation at the junior level of racing, and working with TeamViewer, we are excited to take this further and inspire the next generation of women in STEM. Together our mission is to empower the next generation of female leaders and send a clear message: your presence matters, you are driving change. Karin Fink, Head of Commercial Operations, F1 Academy.
It is our ambition to drive meaningful change both on and off the track. The opportunity to support Esmee in her F1 ACADEMY debut while driving a car featuring role models is the next step in achieving this. Our research found that not being able to see someone like you in a senior role made it harder to see a career in your chosen field. This is why it was so important to showcase so many role models on the car. Working with the F1 ACADEMY to see this come to life has been a highlight of the partnership so far. We look forward to supporting Esmee in person at her home race. Faith Wheller, VP of Brand, Integrated Marketing and Sports Partnerships, Teamviewer.
Roman Bilinski immediately covered off Martinius Stenshorne from the front row, but the Hitech TGR driver dived to the inside at Turn 1, while Tim Tramnitz opted for the outside line. The MP Motorsport driver collided with Stenshorne, spinning the Norwegian into the path of Bilinski.
All three were out as a result of the contact, while a great start for Ivan Domingues from sixth on the grid left the rookie with the lead.
The Safety Car was deployed for various incidents on the opening lap, including a collision between Tuukka Taponen and Rafael Camara. The ART Grand Prix suffered a slow getaway and the Trident driver was left unsighted, and with nowhere to go the pair made race-ending contact.
The Safety Car was withdrawn and the Sprint resumed entering Lap 5, with Domingues getting a good restart to lead Noah Stromsted and Laurens van Hoepen in the top three.
Alessandro Giusti had to avoid contact with teammate Tramnitz on the opening lap but his recovery from P10 started with a move on the other MP driver Bruno del Pino at Turn 4.
Van Hoepen fell back from the top two after the restart, but Ramos was right with the ART car, and with DRS on lap 9, the Mexican driver secured P3 into Turn 1.
Lap 12 and Theophile Nael looked to pull off a pass on James Wharton at Turn 1, the pair going wheel to wheel at Turn 1 that left the VAR driver taking to the escape road.
Onto Lap 13 and Van Hoepen lost another spot, this time to Campos’ Tsolov as the Bulgarian driver rounded the ART into Turn 1.
Giusti moved himself into seventh on Lap 15, using DRS to pass Wharton down the main straight. A few corners later, an opportunistic dive to the inside of Turn 5 gave Mari Boya 10th position in a great pass on compatriot del Pino.
Boya’s charge continued at the expense of Leon the following lap, a DRS pass for ninth into the first corner on the PREMA Racing driver putting him in eighth.
With five laps to go, Stromsted began to close back in on the race leader, lapping 0.3s quicker than Domingues and the Trident rookie was on the cusp of gaining DRS once more. But as the pair were about to begin Lap 18, the Dane suddenly slowed, pulling into the pitlane retiring from the race.
It left Domingues to lead home a 1-2 for VAR with Ramos second on a great day for the team, Tsolov was third for Campos.
The full top 10 are- P1: Domignues, P2: Ramos, P3: Tsolov, P4: van Hoepen, P5: Nael, P6: Giusti, P7: Boya, P8: Wharton, P9: Inthraphuvasak and P10: Leon.
Day 3-
Camara aced his start but Nikola Tsolov didn’t, he was slow to get up to speed and fell to eighth by the time they made turn 1.
The Championship leader retained the lead ahead of Laurens van Hoepen and Nael in second and third respectively as the top three built a comfortable gap to Tuukka Taponen in fourth by the end of the first lap.
Contact between Roman Bilinski and Jose Garfias brought out the Safety Car on Lap 3, the pair tangling at Turn 4 and coming to a halt. With their cars cleared, racing resumed going onto Lap 8 and after a great start from P10 on the grid, Martinus Stenshorne claimed P4 from Taponen at the first corner.
The Finn’s day was made worse on the following lap as he slowed and dropped to the back of the field.
Alessandro Giusti moved up into the top five as a result and that soon became fourth, with a pass on Stenshorne into the first corner on Lap 11.
The top three continued to break away from the chasing pack and were two seconds clear by Lap 14, as van Hoepen and Nael remained within DRS range in the lead battle.
Further back, Tsolov moved himself back into the top five with a DRS pass on Stenshorne on Lap 17. Ivan Domingues repeated the move on the following lap to demote the Hitech TGR driver to seventh position.
Lap 18 and contact between Nicola Lacorte and Brando Badoer resulted in the PREMA Racing driver getting stuck in the gravel trap at Turn 1, bringing out the Safety Car once more.
Racing resumed on Lap 21 and van Hoepen was under pressure from Nael in the podium battle. The Frenchman pulled off a brave overtake on the outside of turn 1 to move up to second.
Their fighting allowed Camara to escape up the road and out of DRS range and he went on to claim win number three of 2025 for Trident.
The full top 10 are- P1: Camara, P2: Nael, P3: Giusti, P4: Van Hoepen, P5: Tsolov, P6: Domingues, P7: Tramnitz, P8: Stromsted, P9: Stenshorne and P10: Voisin.
Rafael Camara made a bright start to the Barcelona weekend, setting a 1:29.024 to finish up as the quickest driver in Free Practice for Trident.
The Brazilian logged his best effort on his attempt, and finished the session 0.3s quicker than closest challenger Alessandro Giusti of MP Motorsport. Home hero, Mari Boya was third for Campos Racing.
Teams looked to maximise their track time with relevant running in the only session ahead of Qualifying, so opted to wait before getting serious running underway.
With his first lap of the day, Camara set the time to beat with a 1:29.024 in the Trident, while Giusti slotted into second, 0.322s down on the Championship leader.
Boya made a strong start to his home weekend as he went third-quickest in his Campos, while Martinius Stenshorne and Tim Tramnitz rounded out the top five after the first round of laps.
Trident remained on track, while everyone returned to the pitlane with just over 10 minutes to go, and Charlie Wurz improved to go fourth on a 1:29.615.
With tyre life at a premium in hot conditions, there were very few improvements after the first set of laps in the closing minutes.
Qualifying-
Rafael Camara was in formidable form in Barcelona Qualifying, taking his fourth pole position in the opening five rounds of the 2025 season.
The Trident driver set a 1:28.761 for the top spot, 0.2s clear of Campos Racing’s Nikola Tsolov and ART Grand Prix driver Laurens van Hoepen in third.
The battle for track position started immediately as drivers sought the ideal place to gain a tow but avoid traffic ahead of them. Eventually Noah Stromsted won a place at the front of the queue with Trident teammate Rafael Camara right behind them.
The Trident pair completed their laps, but they were instantly beaten by Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak on a 1:29.433 who set the early benchmark.
Tuukka Taponen beat that on his first flying lap as ART Grand Prix opted to run their trio off sequence and later than the rest. The Finn pipped Inthraphuvasak by 0.042s, as teammate James Wharton slotted into third place.
Track limits became a big factor as drivers returned to the pitlane, with several drivers losing their original times for exceeding track limits. Tim Tramnitz was one of those along with Tsolov, leaving both without a lap going into the second runs.
Tsolov delivered a time good enough for P4 to kick off second round of laptimes, but Camara behind was flying.
A 1:28.671 put him on provisional pole ahead of the ART’s van Hoepen, while Alessandro Giusti and Tramnitz followed in third and fourth.
Into the final runs, Camara told his team he’d wait to head back out in order to get a clean track, while his rivals rejoined the circuit to try and dislodge him for P1.
But nobody could prevent Camara from sealing his fourth pole of the season. Tsolov and van Hoepen were his closest challengers in second and third after the Campos driver improved on his last attempt.
The full top 10 are- Pole: Camara, P2: Tsolov, P3: van Hoepen, P4: Nael, P5: Ramos, P6: Giusti, P7: Domingues, P8: Stromsted, P9: Taponen and P10: Tramnitz.
Victor Martins was in a class of one on the opening day of running in Monte Carlo, logging a 1:21.715 to lead the way for ART Grand Prix.
The Frenchman was the only driver in the 1:21s in Practice, as Luke Browning and Leonardo Fornaroli followed in second and third places for Hitech TGR and Invicta Racing respectively.
With the first round of laps on the board, Championship leader Alexander Dunne set the pace on 1:25.666 for Rodin Motorsport.
Sami Meguetounif settled into second less than a tenth behind in the #22 Trident, with Gabriele Mini third for PREMA with 10 minutes gone.
Jak Crawford and then Martins brought the time to beat down, the ART driver took over P1 with a 1:24.014. The Frenchman then improved to go six-tenths clear, putting in a 1:23.230 on his next attempt.
Martins continued to fly, with the Williams Racing Academy talent improving onto a 1:22.623, with fellow Williams junior Browning in P2.
There was a brief lull as drivers returned to the pitlane for a fresh set of tyres before the final 15 minute spell of on-track running.
With Supersoft tyres fitted, Mini looked set to go quickest but a Red Flag was thrown after Amaury Cordeel nosed his Rodin Motorsport car into the Turn 1 barriers.
He was out of the car and the Rodin was recovered , leaving seven minutes of Free Practice left to run as things went back to green flag conditions.
There were several late improvements, with Mini resuming from where he left off prior to the temporary stoppage as he went quickest of all.
That was until Martins completed his Supersoft lap to go 0.7s clear of the pack with the fastest time of time of the day.
Browning and Fornaroli found a late improvement to go second and third quickest, splitting Martins and dropping Mini to fourth.
Day 2-
The even numbered cars kicked off the first segment and with warm up laps completed, Martins picked up his pace immediately to put in a 1:21.792 for the top spot by over a second.
Arvid Lindblad cut that gap down to just under three-tenths on his first effort for Campos Racing, going to second.
Into the final five minutes and Lindblad became the first driver to displace Martins from the top spot, going to provisional pole momentarily until Richard Verschoor secured P1 with a 1:21.520.
Martins had to abandon his second attempt after cutting the Nouvelle Chicane, but he moved back to provisional pole after a cool down lap, setting a 1:21.145.
On to the final attempts, Martins couldn’t improve but he had done enough to retain the top sport in Group A, finishing up 0.375s ahead of Verschoor in P2.
With the target set, the odd numbered cars followed out of the pitlane, and just as the first flying laps were set to get underway, the red flags were waving.
Rafael Villagomez found the barriers at the final corner after a squabble for track position with Alexander Dunne.
Once the Van Amersfoort Racing car was recovered, the stewards confirmed the incident would be investigated after the session.
Preparation laps complete, Dunne set the pace with a 1:21.781 to go to P1 ahead of Leonardo Fornaroli of Invicta Racing.
As the session ticked into the final three minutes, the next set of laps arrived and the Championship leader improved onto a 1:21.437. Sebastian Montoya found more time also.
With less than a minute to go, Dunne found a session-best first and second sector time and a final sector good enough to set a 1:21.142.
Fornaroli improved to second position, but third placed driver Montoya spun to bring out the yellow flags in the final sector.
The full top 10 overall is- P1: Dunne, P2: Martins, P3: Fornaroli, P4: Verschoor, P5: Montoya, P6: Lindblad, P7: Crawford, P8: Mini, P9: Browning and P10: Maini.
Oscar Piastri has picked up his third win of the season with an assured drive to victory in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, the Australian driver becoming the new Drivers’ Championship leader in the process.
There was early drama as the race got underway, with pole sitter Max Verstappen and second-placed Piastri going wheel-to-wheel before Verstappen cut the apex into the first corner. While the Dutchman initially held the lead, a five second time penalty for the manoeuvre saw him drop behind the McLaren man after serving the penalty at his pit stop.
Lando Norris – embarked on a recovery drive from P10 – inherited the lead for some time as the frontrunners pitted, with the Briton having opted for a longer first stint by starting on the hard tyres. But Piastri took over P1 when his team mate stopped for medium rubber, the 24 year old going on to eke out an advantage at the front.
The full top 10 are- P1: Piastri, P2: Verstappen, P3: Leclerc, P4: Norris, P5: Russell, P6: Antonelli, P7: Hamilton, P8: Sainz, P9: Albon and P10: Hadjar.
What a result from Piastri! His third win of the season, and he did it in great style, cool, calm and collected! The Australian driver had such a strong weekend, he will be looking forward to the next race to continue this momentum. As for Lando Norris, P4, just narrowly missing out on a podium but a good recovery drive from the Brit.
A decent drive from Verstappen, a shame he couldn’t grab the win but going up against the McLaren it has got a lot more race pace than the Red Bull, plus he had a 5 second penalty from the incident with Piastri so that didn’t help his chances. As for his teammate, Yuki Tsunoda, it was a day to forget… On Lap 1 he collided with his former team mate Gasly as both drivers hit the wall. While Gasly was out of the running in the Alpine, Tsunoda managed to limp back to the pits but it was quickly confirmed that he was out of the race.
Now onto the final podium finisher, Charles Leclerc, what a race for him! The first podium of the year for Ferrari (apart from the Sprint) a lovely drive from the Monegasque. They seemed to have pace this weekend, more than the Mercedes team. As for Hamilton he finished 7th, not the best but not the worst and he still scored points. It seems when he switched to the hard tyres he struggled on them which is no surprise as he has had this problem before.
Now onto the Mercedes drivers, 5th for Russell and 6th for Antonelli, not amazing from the Silver Arrows but there pace this weekend just wasn’t their to battle for podiums.
Double points for Williams! 8th for Sainz, his best finish in the Williams car so far. And 9th for Albono, overall a good weekend for the team, which they will be hoping for more of.
And our final points scorer is Isack Hadjar in 10th, the rookie is flying so far, another points finish.
Now the next race we have a little wait now, which is the 4th May and were headed to Miami for Round 6!
The first triple-header of the 2025 season is coming to an end on the shores of the Red Sea.
The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix first appeared on the calendar in December 2021, with the next three events taking place in March and this year will be the first time it will run in April.
The track is 6.174 kilometres long and one of the fastest of the season with drivers spending around 80% of the lap with the accelerator buried to the floor, even though it is fair twisty and boasts a record number of corners, 27 in fact.
The track surface is not very abrasive, with an average level of roughness, but the lateral forces exerted on the tyres are considerable, although not at the level to be found at Suzuka or Barcelona for example.
Graining can put in an appearance, especially in the first free practice sessions as the track is very dirty to start with, because it is rarely used for motor racing. However, with several support categories also racing, track condition improves over the course of the weekend, so that this phenomenon diminishes.
The choice of compounds for the first four races of this season were the same as last year’s but for round five, Pirelli has taken a softer step. C3 (Hard), C4 (Medium) and the C5 (Soft) are the trio selected Jeddah.
In 2024, Bottas was the only driver to pit twice, with all the others going for the one-stop, with the vast majority starting on the Medium and then switching to the Hard tyre for the second stint.
The choice of compounds for the first four races of this season were the same as last year’s, but for round five, Pirelli has taken a softer step, with the C3 as Hard, the C4 as Medium and the C5 as Soft being the trio available in Jeddah. Read more 👉https://t.co/WRUyU8cYpo#F1pic.twitter.com/WSrH38VdkC
Alpine’s Abbi Pulling started as she means to go around the Marina Bay Street Circuit, ending Free Practice fastest of all. The only driver to set a time inside the 2:03s, the standings leader kept building a gap over the pack.
The 16 drivers made the most out of every second of the 30 minute session as they began acclimatising to both the track and humidity.
Doriane Pin set the early benchmark with a 2:11.332 whilst Wild Card Ella Lloyd brought out a brief yellow flag after stopping momentarily on track.
As the track rubbered in, times continued to tumble. Pin went fastest once more, but only momentarily as PREMA Racing teammate Maya Weug utilised the tow to pull out an advantage of over one second. The trio traded personal best efforts and Weug responded quickly.
Drivers were all finding the limit and discovering how the Singaporean streets punish mistakes. A spin from Jessica Edgar saw the American Express driver tap the barrier at Turn 8.
Inside the final 12 minutes, Pulling became the first driver to go below the 2:04s mark, going over four tenths faster than Weug.
Track evolution allowed the field to push until the end, as purple and green sectors littered the timing screens. As Pulling went fastest again on a 2:04.648, Marti climbed up into second.
Pin returned to the top spot in the final minute, but it would be Pulling who’d take the chequered flag first and leapfrog the Mercedes driver into P1, setting a 2:03.993.
Qualifying-
Abbi Pulling overcame a three-way fight with Maya Weug and Doriane Pin to seize both pole positions on offer around the Singaporean streets.
The trio traded personal bests throughout the session, but it was the Alpine driver who emerged triumphant, posting an unbeatable 2:03.631 with five minutes left on the clock.
Nerea Marti opened qualifying on a 2:06.806 but the Tommy Hilfiger driver’s initial exploration was swiftly beaten by Pulling.
The Brit’s pace continued to build, as her second flying lap of a 2:04.662 launched her almost five tenths clear. Weug and Pin each demoted her in turn, before Pulling responded with a 2:04.335 to go top by 0.040s.
As the Campos Racing and ART trio led the field peeling into the pits, there was a nervous moment for Amna Al Qubaisi as the RB driver span over the run-off in Sector 1.
Fining more grip on their second set of tyres, personal bests flooded in inside the final five minutes. Pulling re-emerged out in front posting a 2:03.631, whilst Weug became her nearest competitor.
Pulling couldn’t improve on her final attempts, but nobody could answer her previous attempt as Weug and Pin had to settle for second and third, 0.238s and 0.256s back, respectively.
A storming last gasp effort for Lia Block promoted her to fourth, her best qualifying result of the season so far!
The full top 10 are- Pole: Pulling, P2: Weug, P3: Pin, P4: Block, P5: H Al Qubaisi, P6: Chambers, P7: Marti, P8: Lloyd, P9: Bustamante and P10: Schreiner.
It was as you were at the start with Trident’s pole-sitter Santiago Ramos leading teammate Sami Megueounif away with the home favourite Boya in third.
But there was plenty of battling in the midfield with Christian Mansell, Gabriele Mini, Luke Browning and Nikola Tsolov going four-wide down the main straight, with the Australian driver taking 13th ahead of his rivals.
Ramos and Meguetounif were now squabbling for the lead at the start of Lap 3, but the Trident pair then collided at Turn 1. The Frenchman spun off while the former was forced to pit with a puncture.
This promoted Boya into the lead ahead of Dunne and Goethe, but the Safety Car was quickly called upon with Callum Voisin and Nikita Bedrin stopping on track after colliding at the same corner.
The action resumed on lap 7 and Van Amersfoort Racing’s Neol Leon was on the move again. The Mexican driver got past Arvid Lindblad at Turn 5, putting him sixth after starting in P13.
As lap 10 got underway, Dunne was now right on the back of Boya, with Goethe just behind. They had separated themselves from the field as Martinius Stenshorne made the move past Laurens van Hoepen for P4, with Leon later following him through to fifth.
On lap 14 of 21, a DRS train had now been formed from Boya in the lead to Sebastian Montoya in the final points paying position – the Colombian having gone from P27 on the grid to P12.
But it was soon to be bad news for the Campos driver after he made slight contact with Mini at the exit of Turn 4. The Prema driver sustained a puncture causing him to lose control of his car which sent him into Montoya, with both ending up in the gravel and the Safety Car was called upon once again.
However, with so few laps remaining, the Safety Car was withdrawn at the end of the final lap to leave Boya unchallenged to cross the line for his first victory in the championship.
The full top 10 are- P1: Boya, P2: Dunne, P3: Goethe, P4: Stenshorne, P5: Van Hoepen, P6: Leon, P7: Fornaroli, P8: Beganovic, P9: Lindblad and P10: Tramnitz.
Day 3-
It was as you were at the start with Mansell getting a strong launch from pole to lead Lindblad and his ART teammate Nikola Tsolov.
Oliver Goethe though was the one driver to lose out in the early exchanges as he dropped from fifth to eighth, promoting Luke Browning and Leonardo Fornaroli.
Mansell was coming under pressure from Lindblad for the lead and the PREMA Racing driver’s attack finally paid dividends on lap 5 as he went round the outside of Mansell at Turn 1 to take the first position.
Approaching the halfway stage of the race, Mansell was now over a second and a half behind Lindblad, with Browning being told to make the move past the ART driver.
Goethe was able to get past van Hoepen for P6, with the Dutchman now coming under pressure from Martinius Stenshorne.
On lap 17, Lindblad was now well over three seconds clear out front while Mansell had escaped from DRS range of Browning. The Hitech driver was now coming under pressure from Tsolov and Fornaroli as they battle for the final spot on the podium. The Trident driver then made his way past on lap 22, going round the outside of Tsolov at Turn 1.
Fornaroli now set his sights on Browning up ahead, the gap between the pair just a second. Tsolov though was beginning to struggle on his tyres, losing out to Goethe for P6 on the next lap.
Browning and Fornaroli went wheel-to-wheel for P3 on the penultimate lap and further behind, Stenshorne and van Hoepen were doing the same for P7. However, the McLaren junior and ART rookie collided at Turn 4, leaving both with punctures.
On to the final lap and Fornaroli went around the outside of Browning at Turn 2 to take P3, just as heavy rain hit the track.
The full top 10 are- P1: Lindblad, P2: Mansell, P3: Fornaroli, P4: Goethe, P5: Browning, P6: Tsolov, P7: Dunne, P8: Beganovic, P9: Leon and P10: Ramos.
Martinius Stenshorne led the way at the Barcelona free practice, as the Hitech Pulse-Eight driver completed a lap of 1:28.774 to top the timesheets ahead of Campos Racing’s Oliver Goethe and PREMA Racing’s Gabriele Mini.
After a quiet first half of the 45 minute session, the drivers head out on to the track for their flying laps of the day, and after the first efforts, it was Mini that went fastest.
The Championship leader completed a lap of 1:28.847 to go six-tenths clear at the front ahead of Van Amersfoort Racing’s Noel Leon in second.
Next to go to the top of the timesheets was Campos’ Goethe, who set a time of 1:28.810, while his teammate Sebastian Montoya moved up to third behind Mini.
While most of the gird came back into the pitlane with 10 minutes left, Hitech Pulse Eight’s trio of drivers stayed out on track. Stenshorne then went quickest with a 1:28.774 while Luke Browning was two-tenths back in fourth as Cian Shields went to P8.
As the session entered into the final five minutes, the red flags were waved with Campos’ Mari Boya in the barrier at Turn 1. The home favourite appeared to suffer an issue on the run down the main straight sending him through the gravel and then into the wall.
Qualifying-
Christian Mansell is set to start Formula 3’s 100th race from Pole Position after he beat PREMA Racing’s Arvid Lindblad to top spot in a dramatic qualifying.
The ART Grand Prix driver set a 1:28.463 on his final attempt in the session to take his maiden Pole in the category, with Lindblad ending up second just 0.036s off the pace, while Mansell’s teammate Nikola Tsolov was third.
After the first set of laps, it was the third ART driver Laurens van Hoepen who went fastest. The Dutchman’s time of 1:29.187 saw him beat Trident’s Leonardo Fornaroli to the top spot by less than a tenth.
The drivers then returned to the pitlane and strapped on a second set of Pirelli hard tyres in preparation for the next set of push laps. As they crossed the line to complete the second flying efforts it was Luke Browning that went fastest with a 1:28.888.
On the final runs, the fastest effort changed hands multiple times before Mansell eclipsed Lindblad’s time by just 0.036s with his lap of 1:28.463 giving him his first Formula 3 pole position.
The full top 10 are- Pole: Mansell, P2: Lindblad, P3: Tsolov, P4: Browning, P5: Goethe, P6: Fornaroli, P7: Stenshorne, P8: Van Hoepen, P9: Dunne and P10: Boya.
Despite a slower getaway than fellow front row starter Bortoleto, Barnard was able to keep a hold of the lead while Hauger tucked into third. However, a safety car was required after Victor Martins’ race ended early in the barriers at Turn 1.
The ART Grand Prix driver appeared to collide with DAMS Lucas Oil’s Jak Crawford and Campos Racing’s Josep Maria Marti, taking off his front wing and sending him into the wall.
At the restart, Barnard kept a hold of the lead, but the Safety Car was deployed again on lap 6 when Marti crashed into the wall at the swimming pool section. Racing then resumed on lap 8 and by the end of the next tour of the track, the top four from Barnard to Andrea Kimi Antonelli were separated by a second and a half.
The Virtual Safety Car was then deployed on lap 11 after Richard Verschoor sustained damage on his front wing after hitting the apex at Mirabeua. The Trident driver appeared to receive a tap from Joshua Duerksen causing him to lose control.
Out in front, Barnard’s lead over Bortoleto was now over two seconds by the start of lap 19, the Brazilian driver now coming under pressure from Hauger.
Bearman’s day was made worse when he a slow moment out of Portier following an issue which dropped him down a few places. This promoted Maloney to 11th, who was looking to dive down the inside of Zak O’Sullivan for P10.
The Championship leader’s day then came to an end at La Rascasse after he locked up into the corner before being sent into a spin by Juan Manuel Correa. This also left Maini without a place to go causing him to stop next to Maloney, with the track blocked it triggered a red flag.
Racing got back underway with a rolling start on lap 26 and Barnard was now nearly four seconds clear of Bortoleto as they rounded the track for the 28th time.
As they started the final lap, the gap out front was five seconds leaving Barnard to cross the line in first, giving him and AIX Racing their maiden Formula 2 victory. Boroleto finished in P2 while Hauger followed him across the line to take P3.
The full top 10 are- P1: Barnard, P2: Bortoleto, P3: Hauger, P4: Antonelli, P5: Colapinto, P6: Stanek, P7: Aron, P8: Hadjar, P9: Fittipaldi and P10: O’Sullivan.
Day 4-
Richard Verschoor made a fast start from pole in the Trident, but his fellow front row starter Victor Martins fell down the order. It allowed Hadjar and Aron to move up to second and third.
Further back, Gabriel Bortoleto was using his supersoft tyres well as he went round the outside of Dennis Hauger at the Turn 6 hairpin putting him up to eighth. He was right behind Oliver Bearman who made his way up from 12th to P7.
It was not good news however for DAMS Lucas Oil driver Jak Crawford, who stopped on track at Turn 7 after colliding with the Invicta Racing car of Kush Maini.
On lap 4 of 42, Verschoor was being put under pressure by Hadjar, while Aron was falling back in third. Just behind the top three, Colapinto was feeling the presence of PREMA’s Antonelli for P4.
The drivers then held station but by lap 10, Bortoleto was given the hurry up from his Invicta Racing team and told to catch berman ahead.
Trouble came for Trident and Verschoor, with the Dutch driver coming on the radio to report an issue. The Dutchman was able to keep things going but his three second lead to Hadjar was now gone.
At the halfway stage, Hitech and PREMA rolled the dice by pitting Aron and Antonelli for the supersoft tyres. The latter came out ahead his teammmate Bearman, though the two went wheel to wheel and the Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy talent claimed the position.
On lap 36, Hadjar came on the radio to say he had hit the wall but was able to continue, although he was still coming under attack from Aron. Elsewhere, Maloney and Barnard made contact at the Turn 6 hairpin, with the AIX racer losing a piece of his front wing.
Lap 40, Joshua Duerksen was next to pit but collided with Maloney at Turn 1. The AIX driver stopped on track while the Rodin Motorsport driver continued on.
This gave Zak O’Sullivan, the last remaining runner on the alternative strategy yet to pit, the chance to come in from the lead. Crucially, he was called in by ART moments before the VSC was deployed, making his stop under VSC legal.
The Brit re-joined ahead of Hadjar on the penultimate lap before holding him off on a tense final lap to take his maiden victory in Formula 2.
The full top 10 are- P1: O’Sullivan, P2: Hadjar, P3: Aron, P4: Bearman, P5: Correa, P6: Hauger, P7: Antonelli, P8: Bortoleto, P9: Martins and P10: Maloney.
Victor Martins made a quick start to the Monte Carlo weekend by setting the fastest time in a rain-affected practice session. The ART Grand Prix driver’s lap of 1:39.237 lead the field ahead of Richard Verschoor and Dennis Hauger.
Heavy rain hit the track just before the start of the session, meaning drivers headed out onto a damp circuit. This made for tricky running with Enzo Fittipaldi the first to have a close call with the barrier at the hairpin section.
As conditions improved and the drivers gained more confidence in the wet, the fastest time changed hands multiple times. But after 10 minutes of running, Martins led an ART 1-2, his time of 1:40.531 put him half a second clear of Zak O’Sullivan.
Martins continued to set the pace and once again lowered the benchmark time to a 1:39.237. Trident’s Verschoor followed him across the line to go to P2, albeit nine-tenths behind.
But red flags were waved with Franco Colapinto stationary in his MP Motorsport car after contact with the barrier at La Rascasse.
The action resumed with 20 minutes left, and Dennis Hauger was the next driver to improve, moving up to second. The rain began to worsen as the session entered into the final 10 minutes leading the teams to bring their cars back into the pitlane.
Day 2-
Group A-
The 11 even-numbered drivers headed out on to the track with 16 minutes on the clock looking to set their fastest times.
After crossing the line to complete their first flying laps, it was ART driver Zak O’Sullivan who was the one to beat with a 1:23.118 putting him P1. His time was over half a second quicker than his nearest rivan in Campos Racing’s Isack Hadjar.
The Briton continued to set the pace on his next effort, completing a lap of 1:22.202. On this occasion, the gap to second place Verschoor was just 0.113s.
As the first segment entered into the closing stages, green and purple colours lit up the timing screens as Verschoor went quickest with a 1:21.283 for Trident, a tenth ahead of Hadjar.
Gabriel Bortoleto was third for Invicta Racing, but he came on the radio to inform his team that he had hit the wall in the swimming pool section.
The drivers then set off on their final attempts, but despite their best efforts, no one could beat Verschoor’s time.
Group B-
The second set of 11 drivers headed out on to the track with Verschoor’s 1:21.283 their target time for pole.
As the drivers started their flying laps, the red flags were waved early after Rafael Villagomez lost the rear of his Van Amersfoort Racing car on the entry to Turn 1, sending him straight into the barrier.
With the track clear, drivers left the pitlane with nine minutes left in the segment. They wasted no time going for their push laps and it was Rodin’s Zane Maloney who went to the top of the leaderboard with a 1:21.941.
But Martins went back to the top of the leaderboard but not for long as Roman Stanek’s 1:21.466 to put him ahead of the Frenchman.
One final attempt was all there was time for, but Stanek’s hopes were dashed when he collided with the barrier in the second sector. Martins crossed the line to go fastest with a 1:21.310. This left Verschoor on pole position ahead of Martins for the feature race.
The full top overall are- P1: Verschoor, P2: Martins, P3: Hadjar, P4: Aron, P5: Colapinto, P6: Stanek, P7: Antonelli, P8: Hauger, P9: Bortoleto and P10: Barnard.
However, Bearman, Correa and Maini all have been given a three place grid penalty for impeeding.
Max Verstappen converted pole position into victory in a Chinese Grand Prix which was full of incidents and overtakes. Joining him in the top three is McLaren’s Lando Norris in P2 and teammate Sergio Perez in P3.
Verstappen led the vast majority of a strategic race at the Shanghai International Circuit which featured a Virtual Safety Car and two Safety Car periods, with the Dutchman sailing off into the sunset, leaving the drama behind him.
The full top 10 are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Norris, P3: Perez, P4: Leclerc, P5: Sainz, P6: Russell, P7: Alonso, P8: Piastri, P9: Hamilton and P10: Hulkenberg.
A great race for Red Bull P1 for Max and P3 for Perez, which extends their lead in the constructors, and they had four very good pitstops which they nailed perfectly.
Mr Lando Norris, bringing home a P2! And defending from Perez in P3, a great points haul for the Brit, his teammate grabbed P8 with damage aswell, so a decent race for him!
P4 and P5 for Ferrari, I don’t think they could’ve done much more to be honest, and it’s not a bad position. Hopefully next time out in Miami they can get back to being on the podium etc.
A decent result for Mercedes, could’ve been better if Hamilton placed higher in qualifying but he came through the pack to grab some points.
Valtteri Bottas was one of the retirements, as his Stake car ground to a halt at the exit of Turn 11, reporting that the “engine is gone” with yellow flags initially flown to cover the incident before the Virtual Safety Car was required. The VSC then turned into a full Safety Car due to Bottas’ car stuck in gear.
There was then drama a few moments later at the restart, as Tsunoda got tipped into a spin by Magnussen exiting Turn 6, leaving the RB with terminal rear-right damage and sending the Haas limping back to the pits with a puncture. Replays then showed a dramatic concertina effect as cars bunched up at the final hairpin just before the restart, with Stroll running into the back of Ricciardo and briefly sending the RB airborne while littering debris all over the track in the process, which then led the Safety Car to come out again.
We don’t have to wait too long till the next race, as we head to the US for the first of three Grand Prix this year, and its the Miami Grand Prix on the weekend of 3rd to 5th May!
The first sprint qualifying of the year is complete, and it was quite entertaining with both rain and fire, yes FIRE..
But it was Lando Norris who claimed pole during Sprint Qualifying at the Chinese Grand Prix, however it wasn’t easy for the Brit as originally he had his lap time deleted but it was reinstated. In the top three joining him, is another Brit, Mr Lewis Hamilton flew to P2, looking like he was going to get pole at one point. Finishing the top three is Fernando Alonso.
The full top 10 are- P1: Norris, P2: Hamilton, P3: Alonso, P4: Verstappen, P5: Sainz, P6: Perez, P7: Leclerc, P8: Piastri, P9: Bottas and P10: Zhou.
A great qualifying from Lando Norris, he excelled in the wet and put it on pole when he needed to. His teammate with a decent result aswell starting in P8.
Verstappen was struggling a little as he skidded off the track a few times too, but with starting P4 his still got plenty to give, and will no doubt make up positions in no time. His teammate also isn’t too far behind him in P6.
A great result for Kick Sauber! Especially for Zhou as it’s his first ever home grand prix and to have both drivers in the top 10 is a great result, they will want to score points in the Sprint to put towards the constructors championship.
There was quite a shock for Yuki Tusonda as he was eliminated in SQ1 where he will start down in 19th, his teammate had a decent qualifying in 14th even though he abandoned his final attempt amid the rainfall.
We also had George Russell who was forced to abort his flying lap in SQ2 with the rain starting to fall during the final moments which means he will be starting P11.
SprintRace-
Red Bull driver, Max Verstappen move back to the top of the pecking order during Saturday’s Sprint race at Shanghai International Circuit as he turned his low-key P4 into a commanding victory.
Verstappen slowly made moves up the order across the 19 lap race, benefitting from pole-sitter Lando Norris running off the track during the first lap and then set his eyes on Alonso and Hamilton.
The full top 10 are – P1: Verstappen, P2: Hamilton, P3: Perez, P4: Leclerc, P5: Sainz, P6: Norris, P7: Piastri, P8: Russell, P9: Zhou and P10: Magnussen.
A good result from Verstappen to claim the Sprint victory, I think there was no doubt about it from the Dutchman he was going from strength to strength. His teammate has got a good result aswell P3 for Perez.
A great result for Hamilton in P2, a lovely result from the Mercedes driver, a decent points haul aswell. Russell managed to grab the final points position in P8, a decent recovery drive from him.
Fernando Alonso was the only DNF in the sprint. Sainz attacked Alonso heading Turn 6, with a strong exit from Ferrari seeing them go through Turn 7, where the two Spaniards made contact. Alonso dropped back with a puncture from that contact, losing several places in the last sector.
A decent result for the Ferrari pair, they also had a very close fight at the final hair pin after the Alonso incident, which caused an angry message from the Monegasque.
Zhou was close to the points! P9 for the Chinese driver, it’s a shame he couldn’t get any at his home race but sometimes that’s just racing…
The Chinese Grand Prix is back on the calendar after a five year break, meaning that 2019 was the last year Formula 1 raced in Shanghai on that occasion hosting celebrations to mark the 1000th event in the history of motorsport’s most prestigious world championship.
All 16 editions have been run on the Shanghai International Circuit, designed by Hermann Tikle, with its outline loosely based on the Chinese “shang” character. The 5.451 kilometre-long track boasts 16 corners, many of them very slow for example section through turns 1 to 3 and 6 to 14, while others are high speed such as the esses through turns 7 and 8. There are two long straights, both used as a DRS zone.
Based on simulations and past data, the tyres are subjected to lateral and longitudinal forces here that fall into the medium category, with the outside of the tyre, especially on the left hand side of the car, wearing the most. The trio of tyres chosen back in the winter for Shanghai is in the midrange with the C2 as hard, C3 medium and C4 as soft. Nominally, that’s the same selection as in 2019 but the scenario is very different. Five years ago, the 13 inch tyres were in use and were fitted to the previous generation of car.
Complicating it further is the fact that the Chinese Grand Prix is the first of six events this season running to the Sprint format, which itself has been slightly modified for this year in terms of running order of the sessions. This now means there is only one practice session to find the right set-up for the cars, as well as figuring out the tyres.
Usually the Chinese Grand Prix is a two-stop race race, partly because there are several places to overtake such as braking into Turn 14 and then on the main straight as well as into turn 6. Just as Suzuka, the undercut is usually very effective on this track.
The #ChineseGP is back on the calendar after a five year break. It’s pretty much a matter of starting from scratch for the drivers, the teams an indeed for #Pirelli as in 2019 the 13 inch tyres were still in use, fitted to the previous generation of cars. #F1#Fit4F1pic.twitter.com/wD6aPj6AaB
Envision Racing’s Robin Frijns headed the way in an eventful FP1 session on Formula E’s first visit to Tokyo.
The top 15 runners were split by less than a second and six teams represented in the top six at the chequered flag, with the field getting their first taste of the Odaiba streets.
The sun shone down for the first Free Practice 1 session in Tokyo, a big contrast to the weather seen in the capital that morning. The heavy rain was still left around parts of the track which made it even more challenging for the drivers.
One area affected by the standing water was Turn 1 with drivers such as TAG Heuer Porsche’s Antonio Felix da Costa and ABT CUPRA’s Lucas di Grassi going wide just minutes into the session.
Red flags were shown eight minutes in when the DS Penske of Stoffel Vandoorne came to a halt at the entry into Turn 4. The Season 8 World Champion had a technical problem with his Gen3 machine.
Reigning Champion, Jake Dennis made a small but costly mistake as he nudged his Andretti into the barriers at Turn 16, with the front nose taking most of the impact.
There was also an unusual incident between Sam Bird and Sacha Fenestraz towards the end of practice. Fenestraz was whacked by Bird as they both entered the first turn and suffered significant damage to the front of his car.
FP2-
Jaguar TCS Racing’s Mitch Evans set the fastest time of Free Practice 2, a 1m19.339s as the grid got grips with the new circuit.
The track will still wet after the huge downpour yesterday morning with Turn 1 still being rather slippery with standing water, which isn’t ideal.
Both Envision Racing’s Sebastien Buemi and Robin Frijns set the pace early on, with Frijns going quickest overall in Free Practice 1. However timings were soon improved by the likes of Andretti’s Jake Dennis, TAG Heuer Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein and ERT’s Dan Ticktum the top three before a red flag brought a stop to running.
The red flag was issued due to Lucas di Grassi as he clipped the front of his car near turn 12 which caused a range of debris to litter the track.
Things got going again quickly and drivers were keen to get out again, Mahindra Racing’s Edoardo Mortara has been looking rapid. His teammate Nyck de Vries lost part of his front wing on a lap towards the end of the session, having to pull into the pit lane to have some repairs.
Qualifying-
Nissan and Oliver Rowland made history in Japan, as the home team achieved the Julius Baer Pole Position for the second time this season.
Rowland was just 0.021s ahead of the Maserati MSG Racing of Maximilian Gunther in the finals, as big names like Championship leader Nick Cassidy will start in 19th due to having his lap time deleted for a technical infraction.
In Group A, Oliver Rowland went quickest with a 1m19.658s. Edoardo Mortara was just behind him by 0.020s. Nick Cassidy got through in third, but his lap time was deleted. Jake Dennis got the final sport, and was promoted to third due to Cassidy, which meant his teammate Evans moved into fourth. However, Jake Hughes and Mitch Evans were also placed under investigation for impeding.
The drama didn’t stop there, as Group B also had some. ERT’s Sergio Sette Camara made contact with the wall early on, which sent debris scattering onto the track, but he still managed to find his way to the duels. He was beaten to the top spot by Maximilian Gunther who set a 1m19.391s. Joining him in the duels was Nico Mueller and championship favourite TAG Heuer Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein. There was also a close moment between the NEOM McLaren of Sam Bird and Mahindra Racing’s Nyck de Vries who both went down an escape road near Turn 16.
The Qualifying top 10 is- Pole: Rowland, P2: Gunther, P3: Mortara, P4: Sette Camara, P5: Dennis, P6: Evans, P7: Wehrlein, P8: Muller, P9: Da Costa and P10: Frijns.
Round 5-
Rowland held fast off the line to keep the lead with Mahindra’s Mortara clambering over the back of the Nissan as he gained ground on Gunther into second. Through the opening laps, less than 10 second split the 22 car field with the lead three separated by less than a second.
On lap 3, Ticktum, Fenestraz and Buemi were the first drivers to jump for the initial of two mandatory Attack Mode. Meanwhile, Wehrlein was looking raciest in the top 10 – making it by Sette Camara for fifth at Turn 1 on the same lap, and hassling Dennis for fourth.
Wehrlein was the first of the front runners to jump for Attack Mode on lap 8, with Da Costa holding off the chasing pack to make the German’s life easier. On lap 10, Rowland led Mortara and Gunther with again no more than a second between them. Rowland jumped for attack and held the lead while Mortara followed from second – dropping down to third with Gunther profiting in the process.
Da Costa had dispatched Dennis at Turn 15 on Lap 17, and made it by his teammate Wehrlein who was shuffled to sixth and some front wing damage. A lap later, Jaguar’s 100th celebrations came to a quick end with Mitch Evans out in contact with Frijns in an overambitious overtaking manoeuvre gone wrong.
The race fired into life from there, with Nato and Frijns sixth and seventh on Lap 18, jumping for Attack Mode. Dennis was just ahead of the pair, with the Brit able to help his teammate and vice versa with track position through their attack mode activations.
Rowland gave up track position to Gunther on lap 24, with the Brit happy to save energy in the slipstream, aware that the Maserati driver was yet to take his second Attack Mode which should allow the Nissan back ahead.
However, Rowland could only hang on some 1.7 second back which meant Gunther was able to take his Attack and hold the lead. Mortara was in third, and was holding off the close attention of da Costa, Dennis, Nato and Wehrlein.
Nato took his final 50kW boost on lap 31 and in the accordian effect, Frijns unfortunately got caught up in contact and span out in 10th spot.
Da Costa spied a chance to jump onto the podium around the outside of Turn 15 however Dennis was not having any of it. Rowland did his utmost to pressure Gunther for the lead with a look around the outside of Turn 1 and the inside of Turn 3 but Gunther’s Maserati looked really wide.
The full top 10 are- P1: Gunther, P2: Rowland, P3: Dennis, P4: Da Costa, P5: Wehrlein, P6: Nato, P7: Muller, P8: Cassidy, P9: Frijns and P10: Sette Camara.
Now we have less than two weeks until the next race weekend! As we head to Misano, Italy for Round 6 and 7!
Reverse pole sitter, O’Sullivan instantly defended the inside line, giving compatriot Browning a slip stream down into Tyrn 1. Despite that, Browning had to yield to his fellow Williams junior on the exit of Turn 2.
A fast starting Paul Aron rocketed up from P8 to P5 by the time the Safety Car was deployed at the end of the opening lap after Rodin Carlin’s Ido Cohen found the barriers at Turn 9.
Racing resumed on Lap 5 and O’Sullivan bolted away early through Turn 12, allowing him to pull clear from Browning. After qualifying down in P18, Gabriele Mini was on the charge, the Alpine junior was brave on the brakes, diving past Christian Mansell through Turn 7 for 12th.
Running in P4, Saucy ran wide out of the final corner, opening the door for Aron to get through. Unable to fight back out of Turn 1, the ART Grand Prix driver was left vulnerable to those behind and lost places to both Sebastian Montoya and Gabriel Bortoleto, dropping to seventh.
Mini and Mansell’s earlier battle reignited on Lap 16, but this time the pair made contact. It sent Mansell spinning off at Turn 2 to bring out a second Safety Car. Mini was then awarded a 10 second time penalty for the collision.
The full top 10 are- P1: O’Sullivan, P2: Browning, P3: Fornaroli, P4: Bortoleto, P5: Aron, P6: Colapinto, P7: Boya, P8: Marti, P9: Saucy and P10: Barnard.
Day 3-
Despite getting a strong launch from pole, Marti was forced to immediately dive to the inside to cover off Taylor Barnard. Making an impression on his first front row start and benefiting from the slip stream.
After scoring his maiden podium in the Sprint Race, Luke Browning’s race came to an early end on the opening lap. Contact with Leonardo Fornaroli down into Turn 4 left the Hitech Pulse-Eight pulling up with broken suspension to bring out the Safety Car.
Marti opten to make the jump early on Lap 7, trying to pull away from Barnard through Turn 12. The Briton was all over the Campos just after the restart but couldn’t sustain the pace and dropped out of DRS range by lap 10.
In the battle for the final points, Sprint Race winner Zak O’Sullivan made an ambitious overtake attempt on Oliver Goethe around the outside of Turn 13. It put the pair three-wide with Gregoire Saucy on the start of lap 19.
The full top 10 are- P1: Marti, P2: Colapinto, P3: Beganovic, P4: Bortoleto, P5: Aron, P6: Boya, P7: Montoya, P8: O’Sullivan, P9: Barnard and P10: Mansell.
Unfortunately Formula 3 is not back until July… we will be returning for Round 6 in Spielberg, Austria on the 30th June to 2nd July.
Taylor Barnard took the top spot in Free Practice in Barcelona. After most opted to remain in the pitlane early on, the Jenzer Motorsport driver set a 1:28.831 to lead the way before a late red flag disrupted his rivals attempts to improve.
With only a third of the running remaining, representative times began to be set. Luke Browning got his first attempt on the board with a 1:30.181, which was immediately bettered by teammate Sebastian Montoya with a 1:29.241.
Barnard then put Jenzer Motorsport to the top of the timing sheets, breaking into the 1:28s to lead Caio Collet by 0.020s and edge a tenth ahead of fellow rookie Dino Beganovic.
Turn 9’s fast nature proved to be a challenging point for several drivers. Piotr Wisnicki was the first Red Flag of the weekend, spinning off into the gravel at the top of the hill.
Qualifying-
Josep Maria Marti gave the Spanish fans plenty to celebrate already this weekend as he secured his maiden Formula 3 pole position on home soil.
The Campos Racing driver’s 1:27.587 beat Jenzer Motorsport’s Taylor Barnard and Franco Colapinto from MP Motorsport by two and a half tenths.
Keeping things neat and tidy, Leonardo Fornaroli briefly bagged the fastest lap, but Paul Aron quickly shot up into P1 with a 1:28.369 going over a tenth quicker than the Trident driver.
With banker laps in the bag, drivers peeled into pits to change on to a fresh set of hard tyres and returned to the track with 18 minutes remaining.
The full top 10 are: P1: Marti, P2: Barnard, P3: Colapinto, P4: Beganovic, P5: Aron, P6: Bortoleto, P7: Montoya, P8: Boya, P9: Fornaroli and P10: Saucy.
Well Round 5 is now complete, lets take a look on how it went in the States.
Max Verstappen charged his way from 9th to take the win for a second time at the Miami Grand Prix. Sergio Perez comes in 2nd making it a 4th one-two this season for Red Bull Racing. Fernando Alonso joins them on the podium in P3.
The full top 10 are: P1: Verstappen, P2: Perez, P3: Alonso, P4: Russell, P5: Sainz, P6: Hamilton, P7: Leclerc, P8: Gasly, P9: Ocon and P10: Magnussen.
Another good result for the Bull’s, I personally thought it would’ve been harder for Verstappen to get through the field and Perez would’ve been hoping so to.
A good result for the Mercedes considering how their Saturday went in qualifying, they’ve now closed the gap down to Aston Martin in the constructors with a decent points haul.
A turning point for Alpine yesterday as they managed to get a double point finish, they just need to consistently manage that as they’ll then move up further in the constructors.
A bad day for McLaren, both drivers having quiet races, with Norris getting hit from behind on lap 1 and then Piastri with brake issues it was just a disaster for the Woking team.
It was a good race. I stayed out of trouble at the beginning and then just had a clean race, picked the cars off one by one. Then I could stay out really long on the hard tyres and that’s where I think we made the difference today. I had a good little battle with Checo at the end. We kept it clean and that’s the most important – it’s a great win today. Yesterday was of course a bit of a setback, today we just kept it calm, kept it clean, and for sure winning a race from P9 is always very satisfying.
Verstappen on the win.
Now we have a little break before we have a triple header, we will be back on track from the 19th to 21st May for Round 6 at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix.
Well, what a qualifying session that was… a few shock surprises and a very mixed up grid for the Miami Grand Prix later today! The top 10 shoot out saw seven teams represented!
Sergio Perez took his third career F1 Pole Position for the 2023 Miami Grand Prix, as he avoided all the chaos behind him. Alonso will be joining him on the front row in P2, with Carlos Sainz rounding out the top three.
The full top 10 are: Pole: Perez, P2: Alonso, P3: Sainz, P4: Magnussen, P5: Gasly, P6: Russell, P7: Leclerc, P8: Ocon, P9: Verstappen and P10: Bottas.
A very mixed session for the Bull’s, it was no secret that Perez wasn’t happy with the car but they managed to do a few tweaks before qualifying which seemed to hook it up, where as Verstappen he had to abort his flying lap due to a snap of oversteer and was scrambling to set another lap…
A mixed day for Ferrari aswell, a good result for Sainz, he is in the perfect spot to be in the mix for the podium today. But Charles… Whilst Leclerc was on a quick lap, he lost his car at Turn 4 and spun into the barriers, which brought out a red flag and that ended qualifying. A big mistake from the Monegasque, which is happening quite a bit recently, he just needs to get his head in the game and concentrate a bit more.
Lewis Hamilton suffered his worst ever qualifying performance in the United States and first Q2 elimination since Monza last year with P13, having struggled with Sector 1 in the second segment of qualifying.
Q1 saw both McLaren’s eliminated with Lando Norris 16th and team mate Oscar Piastri 19th, a lot of work for the papaya boy’s to do today if they want to score some points, could it be possible?
Predictions-
My top five are: P1: Perez, P2: Alonso, P3: Russell, P4: Verstappen, P5: Hamilton.
I feel like it’s going to be a crazy race, a few safety cars and maybe even a red flag, and a possible shocks to come?
Round 5 is here and we are in Miami for the 2nd Grand Prix, not only this it will be Logan’s first home race!
Will it be another win for Red Bull this weekend? Or will the tension be rising between the Bulls? Will Ferrari, Aston Martin and Mercedes bring the fight this weekend?
Can Aston and Mercedes make it back on the podium? Will Charles get another pole position?
Who needs to shine?
Nyck de Vries has got some making up to do, last weekend at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix he crashed out and he knows it was his fault and took full blame, so he will be wanting to make up for it this weekend, whether that’s a good qualifying result or race result.
The Alfa Romeo’s are having a rough ride at the moment too, Zhou peeled into the pits during the last race and retired and Bottas finished 18th, hopefully this track this weekend will be a better fit for the team.
The Alpine’s are not where they want to be either, two races in a row where no points have been scored for either driver. So this weekend, going back to the normal race format the drivers will be wanting to optimise on other drivers miss fortune and score some points.
Predictions for Qualifying-
My top five for qualifying are- Pole: Verstappen, P2: Leclerc, P3: Perez, P4: Alonso and P5: Hamilton. I don’t believe there is any penalties to be taken this weekend.
We could possibly see a McLaren in the top 10 and maybe an Alpine aswell, with a stop and start qualifying session to come.
The tyres have been selected for the Miami Grand Prix, which will be the first of three grand prix to be held in the United States this year.
The chosen compounds are: C2 (Hard), C3 (Medium), C4 (Soft). The track with 19 predominantly slow corners and three straights, is moderately demanding on tyres. The choice of three compounds from the middle of the range, rather than softer sets, is mainly due to the usually high track temperatures which reached 59 degrees celsius last year.
The most used compounds in the 2022 race were medium and hard. Most of the drivers completed the grand prix with just one pit stop. With the race having been neutralised twice by a safety car and virtual safety car, which allowed some teams to make a second stop.
The organisers of the grand prix have had the 5.41 kilometres of track resurfaced for 2023. The previous surface, composed of limestone and granite, had been treated with powerful jets of water.
The weather on the coast of Miami is very changeable. In 2022, the race was spared by rain, which fell only when the starting grid was being assembled with the high temperatures meaning that the track died out before the race started. The possibility of downpours has to be taken into serious consideration.
This weekend, Formula 1 will race in Miami for the first of three rounds in the United States on this year’s calendar, along with the now-traditional event in Austin and the much-awaited race in Las Vegas. It is not the first time that the championship has had three grands prix take place in the US in the same year, but never before have we seen our sport make such an impact with the American public, and this is largely thanks to the commitment made by Liberty Media. In the first race held on the track around the Hard Rock Stadium last year, the tyres behaved as expected on asphalt which had rather particular characteristics, above all due to a very high “micro-roughness”. We know that the track has now been completely resurfaced and we will have to check during the usual inspection that precedes the start of the weekend if there will be any significant changes in its characteristics. The Miami track requires average downforce levels, as it features a wide variety of corners but also a very long straight. We have brought the middle tyres in the range (C2, C3, and C4), also due to the fact that we can expect very high temperatures: last year the asphalt reached almost 60°C.
Round 5 is here, and we are in Cape Town South Africa for a first time appearance, lets take a look at how the weekend went.
FP1-
Maserati’s MSG Racing’s Edoardo Mortara topped the timesheets with a time of 1m 09.700s.
It’s the first time in Season 9 that one of the Maserati cars have topped a session, despite the team looking strong in pre-season testing. Mortara’s teammate, Maximilian Guenther finished the session in seventh.
Fresh from a disappointing result last time out in Hyderabad, Jaguar’s Sam Bird was on a mission and finished the session in second, 0.158s off Mortara’s time. Sacha Fenestraz slotted into third on the timesheets to round out the top 3.
But minutes into the start of the session, Sebastian Buemi brought out the red flags after a heavy impact with the walls of the rapid street circuit between Turn 9 and 10.
FP2-
The final session before qualifying ahead of the Cape Town E-Prix, Envision Racing’s Nick Cassidy headed the pack with a 1m 08.118s.
Cassidy was 0.307s ahead of Maserati MSG Racing’s Edoardo Mortara and some 1.6 seconds faster than the pace set in Free Practice 1’s session.
Rounding out the top three was NIO 333’s Dan Ticktum with an impressive lap time. As well as the Jaguar cars looking rapid, Mitch Evans and Sam Bird were fourth and fifth.
Qualifying-
Nissan’s, Sacha Fenestraz sealed his first Julius Baer Pole Position for the inaugural Cape Town E-Prix, as well as setting the fastest-ever lap in the process.
Fenestraz managed to beat the Maserati of Maximilian Guenther by over four tenths of a second to set a stunning time of 1m 07.848s.
Disappointment came for all four Mahindra-powered cars as the quartet were withdrawn due to rear suspension safety concern. As well as a big shunt fro Edoardo Mortara and Sam Bird which brought out the red flag at the end of Group B.
Round 5-
Antonio Felix da Costa drove a storming race from 11th on the grid to his first win for TAG Heuer Porsche, after producing a copy of one of the best moves you’ll ever see for the lead, on two seperate occasions.
The season 6 champion returned to form last time out with third in Hyderabad but this was something else in a properly attritional race at another meg, all new track with only 13 drivers making it to the finish line.
With the quartet out front nose to tail thanks to Guenther clipping a wall and pulling the car over into retirement, throwing that caution, Cassidy headed Fenestraz by less than half a second with da Costa and Vergne for company.
On Lap 24, Da Costa produced an outrageous pass to steal the lead from Cassidy at the trickiest part of the track – the Turn 7,8 and 9 combo.
The Porsche driver then pulled enough gap to take his second mandatory ATTACK MODE and retake the lead but he missed the activation loop.
Meanwhile, Fenestraz had made it by Cassidy to take a potential podium but heartbreakingly, the Nissan driver hit the wall on the final lap.
The full top 10 are: P1: da Costa, P2: Vergne, P3: Cassidy, P4: Rast, P5: Buemi, P6: Ticktum, P7: Vandoorne, P8: Nato, P9: Lotterer and P10: Hughes.
The ABB FIA Formula E World Championship makes it two brand new events in a fortnight, with the series’ maiden visit to South Africa and Cape Town for Round 5.
The inaugural Cape Town E-Prix is Formula E’s first sub-Sahraran African event, with the spectacular Table Mountain providing the backdrop for the second of three consecutive events at new venues to the championship.
The Mother City’s Green Point district provides the location for the high-speed 2.921km circuit, snaking around the DHL Stadium and skirting the coastline.
It’s a fast-paced track, with bumpy braking zones, a tight chicane at Turns 4, 5 and 6 with a pacy, eye of the needle section midway around the lap.
The Championship-
With a quarter of the season complete, lets take a look at who is leading the championships.
It’s TAG Heuer Porsche leading the Teams’ Championship, and Pascal Wehrlein leading the Drivers’ Championship. A double-win for the German in Diriyah followed a podium in the season-opener in Mexico City.
Porsche didn’t have it their way in Hyderabad and neither did Jake Dennis in the Avalanche Andretti. The Brit was uncermoniously removed from a potential top three finish by an overenthusiastic move from Rene Rast.
The resulting 16th-placed finish proved costly for Dennis – who’d won Round 1 in Mexico and followed it up with two 2nd places in Diriyah – allowed Wehrlein to extend his advantage.
Jean-Eric Vergne kickstarted his and DS Penske’s season as they picked up the race win and silverware in Hyderabad with a vintage defensive drive.
Showers overnight saw Practice commence around a slippery Red Bull Ring. Fortunately for the 30 drivers the rain held at bay for the whole session, as they took the time to make some exploratory laps on the wet tyres.
Immediately getting to grips with the challenging conditions, Trident’s Roman Stanek laid down a cautious but representative 1:30.622, before he and MP Motorsport’s Alexander Smolyar began to trade fastest times.
At the halfway point, it was clear the wet tyre had served their purpose as a dry line had started to form around the Red Bull Ring, taking a gamble, the first driver to switch over to slicks was Arthur Leclerc. Turning the timing screens purple, times tumbled as drivers began clocking in their best laps of the session, the change in conditions saw lap times over 10 seconds quicker than those at the start.
Arthur Leclerc finished the practice session on the top spot, with Smolyar finished 2nd and Jonny Edgar 3rd.
Now onto qualifying, HiTech’s Grand Prix, Isack Hadjar claimed his first Formula 3 pole position, going two-tenths clear of title rival and Championship leader Victor Martins who will join his fellow Frenchman on the front row.
Oliver Bearman bettered PREMA Racing teammate, Arthur Leclerc for P3, whilst Kaylen Frederick made it two Hitech’s in the top five.
There was no sign of the damp conditions that drivers dealt with in practice, but the wind had picked up from the morning session as Caio Collet was warned of a headwin into Turn 3.
Day 2-
Caio Collet covered off Correa to retain the lead into the first corner, whilst Franco Colapinto challenged Crawford for third. Further back it was as much as four wide entering Turn 3.
Correa got a run into Turn 4 and went around the outside of the MP Motorsport car to take the lead. Colapinto also managed to sneak through on Crawford in the same place before a Safety Car was deployed.
The Safety Car was withdrawn entering Lap 4, and it was three Tridents that were instantly wheel to wheel, as Zane Maloney and Roman Stanek scrapped, Jonny Edgar slipped up the inside of the pair of of them at Turn 4. Corrrea’s strong start was for nought as on Lap six he coasted to a halt front he race lead to leave Collet at the head of the field.
On the next lap, Oliver Bearman made a late dive down the inside of Stanek to steal sixth position, however his move opened the door for Leclerc at Turn 4 and both PREMA drivers were through on the Trident man.
But it was Jak Crawford who wins his first F3 race, Caio Collet in 2nd and Franco Colapinto finished 3rd rounding out the podium. The rest of the top 10 are: P4: Leclerc, P5: Stanek, P6: Frederick, P7: Edgar, P8: Martins, P9: Smolyar and P10: Hadjar.
Day 3-
A big challenge arrived for the grid for the Feature Race, as heavy rain at the Red Bull Ring saw the drivers face a contest of attrition on wet tyres, with standing water everywhere and spray creating a lack of visibility, it was up to maiden pole-sitter Hadjar to lead the field away in a rolling start.
Despite never started from the front row in Formula 3, Hadjar nailed his launch allowing him to hold off an attack from Championship leader Martins. However, an error saw the rookie run wide into Turns 1 and 9, allowing fellow Frenchman Martins to close in on him.
The pair’s duel wasn’t slowing them down, as they continued to pull a gap to the PREMA duo of Bearman and Leclerc behind. As predicted, conditions began to east and a drier line began to form along the circuit, with the field urgently searching for wet patches of tarmac in order to run the blue walled tyres to the end of the race.
Outside the points, the two Charouz Racing System drivers of Francisco Pizzi and Zdenek Chovanec made contact whilst Josep Maria Marti charge to try to claim his first points finish in F3 took a knock.
But it was Hadjar who took the win in Austria, Victor Martins finished 2nd and Oliver Bearman grabs another podium in the bag! The rest of the top 10 are: P4: Leclerc, P5: Maloney, P6: Stanek, P7: Colapinto, P8: Smolyar, P9: Alatalo and P10: Cohen.
We are back in less than 3 weeks for round 6 at Budapest, Hungary on the 29th to 31st July, where the championship is hotting up!
The first Miami Grand Prix is officially over, and what a race it was! No-one really knew how it was going to go from tyres/pitstops to weather to VSC and Safety Cars, it was all unknown.
But, Max Verstappen wins the Miami Grand Prix after getting the lead from Charles Leclerc early on in the race. 2nd place went to Charles Leclerc and the final podium spot going to Carlos Sainz, a good haul of points for Ferrari.
The full top 10 are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Leclerc, P3: Sainz, P4: Perez, P5: Russell, P6: Hamilton, P7: Bottas, P8: Ocon, P9: Alonso and P10: Albon.
There was quite a lot of overtakes throughout the race, but Mr Russell, seemed to make them stick as he was charging up the field after starting 12th! He took full advantage of going long and waiting for a VSC/Safety Car, and it ended up paying off.
There was a few DRS trains during the race, but one which caused some drama, was where Pierre Gasly went wide, which allowed some cars to go through, but Lando Norris and Gasly made contact as Norris went to over take the Alpha Tauri driver. Lando’s race was therefore over, which caused a VSC and then a full safety car, Gasly retired into the pits just as the Safety Car went in.
Another bit of contact late on in the race, was between Mick and Seb, both running in the points but as they made contact it saw the pair fall down the order, Seb retiring in the pitlane and Mick having to get a new front wing…
An okay day for Alfa Romeo, they had Bottas score some points, and it could’ve been more if he didn’t go wide and have both Mercedes sat right behind him. But Guanyu Zhou had a technical issue which saw his race come to an end rather early.
McLaren and Ricciardo are not having a good time at the moment, second race in a row, finishing outside the top 10. The Woking team now have time to the next race to understand a few things out about the car, as I’m sure they are not the only team who will be doing so.
The Championship-
Leclerc still leads the Championship by 19 points, the gap just keeps on coming down now… Max still in 2nd on 85 points, his teammate in third on 66 points. we then have Russell in 4th on 59 points and then Sainz rounding out the top 5 on 53 points.
The gap between the top two teams are closing, Ferrari still leads with 157 points but Red Bull are just 6 points away from them. Mercedes sat comfortably in third on 95 points, with McLaren in 4th after not scoring any this weekend, and Alfa Romeo in 5th on 31 points.
We are back again in two weeks, but this time we have a double header. Our first stop being to Barcelona, Spain on the 20th to 22nd May, the home Grand Prix of Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz!
The craziness continues in Miami, we only had 19 drivers take part in qualifying as Esteban Ocon had a crash in FP3 where his chassis broke, and wouldn’t of been fixed in time.
But it was Ferrari who came out on top for the first ever Miami Qualifying, Charles Leclerc took pole position for the third time this season! With his teammate making it an all Ferrari front row lock out.
The full top 10 are- P1: Leclerc, P2: Sainz, P3: Verstappen, P4: Perez, P5: Bottas, P6: Hamilton, P7: Gasly, P8: Norris, P9: Tsunoda, P10: Stroll.
Bit of a mixed weekend for most teams really, some seem to improve a lot on Friday, but Saturday they went a little bit back down.
Mercedes looked very strong in the two free practice sessions, so for GR to qualify out of the top 10 was bit strange, starting in the middle of the pack may not be good here, but it will be interesting to see if he can work his way up the field. Onto LH, much better weekend for him here, back in the top 10, and in a good position if anything happens today to make the most of it.
Alpha Tauri, a big improvement for them as both drivers in the top 10, where as in Imola they were out in Q1! Lets see if they can keep it up today and score some good points for the team.
McLaren had an okay day, Norris in the top 10 again, whereas 14th for Ricciardo. The Aussie had an issue with starting the car up in Q2, this then compromised his out lap as he was pushing to get heat in his tyres.
Predictions-
My top 5 for the race are- P1: Leclerc, P2: Sainz, P3: Perez, P4: Hamilton and P5: Norris.
I feel like things aren’t going to go well for Max, his already had a few mechanical problems this weekend, so could this play apart?
I’d love to see Mick get points, but with the track really only having 2 overtaking spots, can he make up 4 places as well as having to pit and then make up those positions again?…
I could see a few DNF’s happening today, the track is so tight and there is no room for error, as we have seen from Ocon and Sainz both crashing.
The first Miami Grand Prix weekend is here! And what a crazy couple of days we’ve seen and there hasn’t even been any racing yet… A sign of things to come?
Being at a new track, it is a fresh start for everyone but going into the weekend there is a lot of unknown aswell. Who will come out on top this weekend, Ferrari or Red Bull? Or will Mercedes new upgrades put them further up the field…
Who needs a good weekend?
Mercedes, even though George has been having a consistent season so far, they will be wanting both drivers to be doing well. Once they unlock the problems on the W13, they should have a decent car…
Carlos will be wanting a good weekend, his been caught up in a few incidents which hasn’t been his fault. But it does seem like the pressure may be getting to him, he knows his got a car which can perform and he will want to get his first win and help the team get those points up for the Constructors.
Alonso as well will be wanting a good weekend, another DNF in Imola which wasn’t his fault meant he hasn’t scored points in 3 out of 4 races. The Alpine has got pace so it should be up in that top 10 fighting for points with the McLaren and Mercedes.
Mick, will he be getting his first points? It’s needed and the Haas does have pace, will be interesting to see how he handles the car on this track.
Predictions for qualifying-
My top 5 are- Pole: Verstappen, P2: Leclerc, P3: Perez, P4: Sainz and P5: Alonso. This track is a bit unknown on whose car it will suit, but we all know the battle will be between Ferrari and Red Bull for pole.
A battle i’m not sure on is Mercedes, McLaren, Alpine and probably Haas, they all have strong cars which could make that final top 5 place, but it should be a good battle between the teams.
We are back this week, but no longer in Europe, as we have headed to Miami for the first ever Miami Grand Prix which is round number 5 of the 2022 season!
Pirelli have chosen the middle of the range, C2 (Hard), C3 (Medium) and C4 (Soft), this combination is the most commonly used throughout the year as its the most versatile.
The 5.41 kilometre Miami International Autodrome is set in the Hard Rock Stadium Complex in Miami Gardens with 19 corners, three straights, elevation changes and a chicane. Top speeds are expected to be in the region of 320kph with an average of around 22kph and drivers on full throttle for around 58% of the lap.
The Miami track will be the 11th venue to host a grand prix in the USA, with it being brand new to everyone, Pirelli has had to rely on simulation data to come up with the tyre nominations.
The brand new asphalt is likely to lead to a high degree of track evolution, especially at the start of the weekend, with the Porsche Challenge and W series as support events.
The weather could be unpredictable aswell, with ambient temperatures of around 20 degrees and quite a high risk of rain and wind on the Florida coast at this time of year.
There’s been a huge buzz of excitement around the first Miami Grand Prix, where the track has some similarities to Jeddah, although there are some parts that are slower and more technical than Saudi Arabia: especially the section from Turns 11 to 16. The rest is a very quick layout, running anti-clockwise, which puts the emphasis on the tyres on the right hand side of the car. We’re expecting the usual rapid track evolution and a smooth surface with the new asphalt, but the track has been jet-washed at high pressure, which means that it should offer quite good grip from the beginning. Because it’s a fast track the cars are likely to run a low to medium downforce set-up, which could lead to a bit of sliding in the high-speed corners on the hard compounds in particular. For any new track our choice tends to be on the conservative side, so it will be interest to confront the simulations with real data.
Mario Isla, Head of Pirelli Motorsport.
We’ve chosen the three compounds in the middle of the range for the inaugural #MiamiGP! 🇺🇸
This week we are in Miami, as F1 keeps on growing in America. Last years US Grand Prix saw a record breaking 400,000 crowd which was unseen before at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.
Miami is now the second US Grand Prix on the calendar, with there being a new addition next year, the Las Vegas Grand Prix making it a third US event.
The Miami International Autodrome, is a temporary circuit but one designed to have a permanent feel. It’s set in the Hard Rock Stadium complex in Miami Gardens, which is home to the NFL’s famous Miami Dolphins franchise.
The track is culmination of a development process that stimulated no less than 36 different layouts before settling on the final one.
What is the circuit like?
The 5.41km layout, will feature 19 corners, three straights and potentially three DRS zones and an estimated top speed of 320km/h. The race will be 57 laps.
There are also elevation changes too, the main one being found between Turns 13 and 16, with the track heading over an exit ramp and under various flyovers across uneven ground. Whereas Turn 14 – 15 chicane has an uphill approach with crest in the middle, and then drops down on exit.
One thing for sure, is that the track is going to be fast, as after Turn 1 there are a number of long sweeping corners that eventually loop round into a massive straight. There is expected that there will roughly be 3 main overtaking spots, but I’m sure we will see some drivers risking it in other places on the track.
There is a very high speed and high lateral g section from Turns 4-8 where cars will likely struggle to pass and where vehicle performance on the exit of Turn 8 is critical to laptime, followed by two fast power-limited corners at Turn 9 and 10 where it is credible to imagine side-by side racing. In Sector 3, where we have the low-speed and grade-changing Turns 14-16 beneath the Turnpike flyovers, it is intentionally a very challenging technical sequence. We have engineered ‘mistake generators’ in the form of grade – and grip – change on corner apexes that could result in changes of position and where a team might choose a set up that optimises low-speed traction over high-speed grip. We’re seeking to challenge the race engineers and their vehicle setups as much as possible. It’s notionally a street track with some really challenging corners, so you’d expect high downforce, but we have some really long straights and some high-speed corner sequences too that would favour a lower drag setup. There will definitely be a compromise here between downforce levels, and it’ll be interesting to see the top speed differentials between the teams. We want to see a big mix to make the racing as exciting as possible.
Apex Circuit Design, talking about the Miami Circuit.
We were back on track for the final day of the Rome double header is here. Lets take a look at what went down.
FP3-
All 22 cars made it out for the final practice session of the double-header. Leading the way was former two-time champion DS Techeetah’s Jean-Eric Vergne, who set the pace with 1m 38.608s, followed by standings leader Edoardo Mortara and Jaguar TCS Racing’s Sam Bird.
Finishing fourth fastest, Dan Ticktum who posted a 1m 39.257s in his Nio 333. The rookie compared the Rome street circuit to the Macau Grand Prix circuit, of which his win twice in his career.
With 22 minutes left of practice, Andretti’s Oliver Askew clipped the chicane on Turns 12 and 14, resulting in a red flag whilst his stricken car was collected from track.
With rain overnight, the track was damp in some places, especially under the trees that line some of the circuit. The cooler conditions this morning caught out Nick Cassidy who spun going into Turn 4.
The top 10 were: P1: Vergne, P2: Mortara, P3: Bird, P4: Ticktum, P5: Wehrlein, P6: Lotterer, P7: Evans, P8: Da Costa, P9: Frijns and P10: Di Grassi.
Qualifying-
DS Techeetah’s Jean-Eric Vergne, leads the way into the final race of the Rome E-Pric as he defeated Andretti’s Jake Dennis in a blistering head to head on the streets of the Eternal City.
Vergne claimed his 14th pole in Rome ahead of Round 5 as the former champion posted a 1m 38.268. O.221s faster than Dennis. Both Mercedes-EQ drivers didn’t get into the Semi’s, Nycks qualifying ended in the groups not progressing onto the quarters. Where as Vandoorne got into the quarters and it stopped there not the best qualifying from the team.
The top 10 were: P1: Vergne, P2: Dennis, P3: Lotterer, P4: Evans, P5: Bird, P6: Frijns, P7: Wehrlein, P8: Vandoorne, P9: Da Costa and P10: de Vries.
Round 5 – Rome E-Prix
Jaguar TCS Racing’s, Mitch Evans stormed to victory once again in Rome, matching his win yesterday with another superb victory. Marking his third Rome victory, the driver led Poleman Vergne in 2nd and Robin Frijns in 3rd.
The action started, and Dennis lost second but at the top of the hill and Turn 7, Dennis managed to reclaim it with Lotterer back to third. There was a collision between Mahindra’s Alex Sims and Max Guenther, the German driver retired to the pits. For the home race hero, it wasn’t meant to be as he stopped on track between Turn 8 and 9.
After a short Safety car period after recovering Mahindra’s Sims car was recovered as he spun at Turn 14. There was 5 minutes and 15s of extra time added on to extend the race. Saving his Attack Mode until the end of the race, Evans took the boost with less than eight minutes of the race remaining, he went for Lotterer in front of him before taking the lead on the hill up Turn 7.
The top 10 were: P1: Evans, P2: Vergne, P3: Frijns, P4: Lotterer, P5: Vandoorne, P6: Wehrlein, P7: Turvey, P8: Di Grassi, P9: Buemi and P10: Ticktum.
We are back with Formula E in a few weeks time for the Monaco E-Prix on the 30th April.
Jordan's Track Talk 