Jordan's Track Talk

Tag: Round 5

  • Round 5- Miami GP

    Round 5- Miami GP

    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!

  • Round 5- Miami Qualifying

    Round 5- Miami Qualifying

    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 race starts at 20:30pm (BST).

  • Miami Grand Prix

    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.

    Times for the weekend-

    Friday 6th-

    • Free Practice 1- 19:30pm – 20:30pm (BST)
    • Free Practice 2- 22:30pm – 23:30pm (BST)

    Saturday 7th-

    • Free Practice 3- 18:00pm – 19:00pm (BST)
    • Qualifying- 21:00pm – 22:00pm (BST)

    Sunday 8th-

    • Race- 20:30pm (BST).

  • Miami tyre allocation

    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.

  • Miami Track Details

    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.
  • Round 5- Rome E-Prix

    Round 5- Rome E-Prix

    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.

  • A look into Rome

    Formula E is back this weekend and we are in Rome for Round 4 and 5 after a two month break! It’s also Antonio Giovinazzi’s home race too.

    Last time we were in Rome, Jean-Eric Vergne (DS TECHEETAH), picked his moments perfectly to drive from fifth to victory in the opening race of the Rome E-Prix double-header last season.

    We have had 3 different winners, in the past 3 rounds, will we see a 4th different winner or will one of our 3 be victorious again? Mortara sits at the top of the standings with 43 points, Nyck de Vries in second with 38 and Wehrlein in 3rd with 30.

    The Teams battle is very close with ROKiT Venturi Racing claiming the top spot with 68 points, Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team with 66 points and TAG Heuer Porsche has 60. There is then quite a big gap down to 4th is DS Techeetah with 39 points and Envision Racing with 39 and then Avalanche Andretti 3 points behind them.

    Circuito Cittadino dell’EUR-

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

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

    The fastest lap of the circuit goes to Stoffel Vandoorne, Mercedes-EQ (2021)- 1:41.820.

    Past Winners:

    • 2018, Sam Bird
    • 2019, Mitch Evans
    • 2021, Jean-Eric Vergne
    • 2021, Stoffel Vandoorne.
    Rome E-prix track map

    Times-

    Saturday 9th-

    Free Practice 1: 06:15am – 06:45am (BST), Free Practice 2: 08:00am – 08:45am (BST), Qualifying: 09:40am – 10:55am (BST), Round 4: 14:00pm – 15:00pm (BST).

    Sunday 10th-

    Free Practice 3: 07:30am – 08:00am (BST), Qualifying: 09:40am – 10:55am (BST), Round 5: 14:00pm – 15:00pm (BST).