Jordan's Track Talk

Tag: Round 6

  • Round 6 – Spain Qualifying

    Round 6 – Spain Qualifying

    What a qualifying we have just witnessed, from a Ferrari spinning, to a home town hero being knocked out in Q1, a lap time deleted which promoted a Haas into Q3 and a Red Bull loosing power on the final flying lap!

    But, it was Charles Leclerc who took pole position for the Spanish Grand Prix, with a spin on his first flying lap in Q3 he only had the chance to do one lap which he made count, we then have Max Verstappen joining him on the front row, as he wasn’t able to improve his final lap as he lost power before he even started it. Carlos Sainz makes it a 1-3 for Ferrari on his home turf, hoping to get the jump on the Red Bull at the start of the race.

    The full top 10 are- Pole: Leclerc, P2: Verstappen, P3: Sainz, P4: Russell, P5: Perez, P6: Hamilton, P7: Bottas, P8: Magnussen, P9: Ricciardo and P10: Schumacher.

    A big well done to Haas, not only have they got both cars into Q3, but they had to take apart Micks cars in FP3 due to a fire, and they managed to get it ready for qualifying! Big day tomorrow for both cars, as they have brought no upgrades and will be hoping both cars can score points.

    McLaren, mixed day for the Woking based team, good to see Danny Ric starting in the top 10, hopefully with the right strategy he can score a good amount of points, but for Lando, he got into the top 10 for Q3, but got his laptime deleted which sees him start P11. Which is not that bad considering his just outside the top 10, he will be hoping to stay out of trouble at the start tomorrow.

    Not the day for Fernando Alonso, and Alpine as a whole, we didn’t really see that pace their like we have done in recent rounds. The Spaniard is starting 17th, a lot of work to do at a track where overtaking isn’t major.

    A good day for Bottas, in the top 10 once again, he will be hoping to score points in tomorrows race. His teammate, Guanyu Zhou starts P15.

    Predictions-

    My top five are- P1: Leclerc, P2: Sainz, P3: Verstappen, P4: Hamilton and P5: Russell. If Leclerc and Sainz can look after their tyres in the race and the Ferrari team perfect the strategy and pit stops then I don’t see why they won’t get a double podium.

    Bottas, Magnussen and Ricciardo could all be battling for that 6th position in the race, if things go their way and they stay out of trouble in the opening laps.

    Times for tomorrow-

    Feature Race F3- 09:05am (BST)
    Feature Race F2- 10:35am
    Round 6- 14:00pm

  • Spanish Grand Prix

    It is race week once again, but this time it’s the start of a double header! We are in Barcelona for the Spanish Grand Prix which is Round 6 out of 22. It is also the home grand prix of Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso!

    The drivers have a lot of knowledge of this track with it being one of the test tracks but how will the new cars/tyres and upgrades fair here? It is all to play for once again…

    Who needs a good weekend?

    Daniel Ricciardo, plain and simple, seems like since Australia his not that comfortable int he car compared to Lando, if McLaren are bringing upgrades this weekend could be his turning point and get a better grip of the car.

    The Haas pair, I feel like I haven’t spoke about them together yet… But last time out in Imola it looked like they were both set for points but it didn’t end that way. So both drivers will be wanting to get points on the board this weekend and give the team a good result.

    Alpha Tauri, need a good weekend not just for one driver either, they need it as a team. Last time we was racing, Pierre Gasly had the incident with Lando Norris so scored no points and Yuki finished just outside the points also too.

    Predictions for qualifying-

    My top 5 are: Pole: Verstappen, P2: Leclerc, P3: Sainz, P4: Perez and P5: Norris. We all know the battle for pole is going to be between Ferrari and Red Bull, but Ferrari are bringing big upgrades to this weekend grand prix.

    But the battle for 4th/ 5th and 6th will be the most interesting though, as McLaren are said to brought upgrades as well as Mercedes and Alfa Romeo have a strong car. McLaren and Mercedes will be hoping to get both their drivers in the top 10.

    Times for the weekend-

    Friday 20th-

    • Free Practice 1 F1- 13:00pm – 14:00pm (BST)
    • Qualifying F3- 14:30pm – 15:00pm
    • Free Practice 2 F1- 16:00pm – 17:00pm
    • Qualifying F2- 17:30pm – 18:00pm

    Saturday 21st-

    • Sprint Race F3- 10:00am – 10:40am (BST)
    • Free Practice 3 F1- 12:00pm – 13:00pm
    • Qualifying F1- 15:00pm – 16:00pm
    • Sprint Race F2- 16:40pm – 17:25pm

    Sunday 22nd-

    • Feature Race F3- 09:05am (BST)
    • Feature Race F2- 10:35am
    • Round 6- 14:00pm

  • Juri Vips gets FP1 outing

    Red Bull junior driver, Juri Vips will be making his Formula 1 race debut when he steps into the cockpit of the RB18 for the first practice session at this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix.

    The Estonian driver will be behind the wheel of Sergio Perez’s car at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

    Vips, who currently competes in Formula 2 and is sat in eighth in the championship has been apart of the Red Bull Junior Team since 2018, and previously drove an F1 car at last year’s post season test in Abu Dhabi.

    The opportunity for Vips is Red Bull fulfilling one of their two mandated young driver sessions for the year.

    My Opinion-

    Ahh Juri! I love this new rule, it gives young drivers the opportunity to get a handle on an F1 car in a free practice session. I could see Juri being a contender for an F1 seat next year, he has said before that Red Bull haven’t said he needs to win the F2 championship, just show you want it, so it will definitely be interesting to see how he does!

    I imagine as Juri is in the Red Bull, we will see Liam Lawson in the Alpha Tauri for the FP1 outing.

  • Barcelona tyre allocation

    We are back in Europe this week, as we head to Spain for Round 6 for the F1 season. We also have Formula 2 and 3, joining us this weekend to carry on their season.

    Pirelli has decided to bring the hardest tyres in the 2022 range, C1 (Hard), C2 (Medium), C3 (Soft). It’s a pretty straight forward choice, which is the same as last year albeit using a brand-new family of tyres.

    The teams were at Barcelona as recently as February, for pre-season testing, however there are three big differences to consider since last being there:

    • The teams concentrated on testing compounds in the middle of the range, rather than the hard.
    • The weather conditions were much cooler.
    • The new cars were in their most basic launch specification, the cars have since moved on considerably since then.

    With the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya being a very well-used circuit, there will not be much track evolution expected over the weekend, thanks to a busy schedule of support races also.

    Last years winning strategy was a two stopper, the traditional approach to Barcelona, with Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton triumphing a pole to a win using a soft-medium-medium strategy. Soft-medium-soft was used by all the finishers from P2 to P8.

    It’s hard to say much about Barcelona that hasn’t been said already, as it’s possibly the best-known circuit on the calendar for the drivers, with its wide-ranging layout making it a perfect testing venue. It has a bit of everything, with the very technical final sector being particularly important when it comes to looking after the tyres. As a result, the teams will have a good opportunity to assess the progress they have made with their cars since the start of the season, although the weather conditions will be much warmer and there will probably be a lot more running on the hard tyre than there was in testing, which will perhaps be the key to the race. In the past, Barcelona has traditionally been a two-stopper, so it will be interesting to see if the new generation of tyres this year leads anyone to target a one-stopper.

    Mario Isola, Motorsport Director.

    Formula 2

    The Hard and Soft tyres have been nominated for Round 4 in Spain. This is the same nomination as the championship’s last raced at the circuit in 2020, and one which has already been seen this year at Bahrain and at the in-season test in Barcelona last month.

    Formula 3

    The Hard tyre is nominated for the third round of the season. Drivers will have three sets of the hard compound plus one set of Medium tyres which are carried over from the previous round in Imola, these are to be used in free practice only.

  • De Vries gets FP1 run with Williams

    Mercedes reserve driver, Nyck de Vries will be making his Formula 1 race weekend debut, this weekend in Spain as he carries out driving duties for Williams in the first practice session.

    The reigning Formula E World Champion, will be borrowing Alex Albon’s FW44 for the 60 minute session at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

    De Vries, shares the Mercedes reserve role with Stoffel Vandoorne, who is also his teammate in Formula E for Mercedes EQ. The Dutchman previously tested F1 machinery when he drove the Silver Arrows in last year’s post-season Abu Dhabi Grand Prix test.

    His appearance for Williams fulfils one of the British team’s two mandated young driver sessions, which is a new rule introduced for this season.

    We are looking forward to having Nyck de Vries in the car for FP1 as it is always good to work with a new driver and get a fresh opinion on the car’s strengths and weaknesses. Nyck’s experience and professionalism will be crucial on Friday as he will complete some of the key engineering tests in FP1 before he hands the car back to Alex for FP2.

    Dave Robson, Head of Vehicle Performance at Williams.

    Firstly, I’d really like to thank Williams for the opportunity to run in FP1. It’s great for me to get to know the team and drive the FW44, and also to get myself out on track during a Formula 1 weekend. Preparation for the test is going well so far and the team have been incredibly supportive of me. I’m very much looking forward to the whole experience in Spain now.

    Nyck de Vries, on the FP1 session for Williams.

    My Opinion-

    Well, one of the teams had to take the bullet and go first… All jokes aside, I’m glad that Nyck is getting a chance, he definitely deserves a seat in F1 and maybe this is his chance to get out there and impress Williams or maybe some other teams?

    Nyck has been rumoured to the Williams seat, not just last year but also this year, all eyes onto Friday now to see how he does!

  • Round 6- Monaco E-Prix

    Round 6- Monaco E-Prix

    Round 6 is here and we are in Monaco, lets take a look on how its gone!

    FP1-

    Reigning champion Nyck de Vries set the pace in the first session of the 2022 Monaco E-Prix, setting a 1m 31.154s, with Nick Cassidy doing well just a tenth of a second of the Dutchman’s laptime.

    Edoardo Mortara was next in the order but almost half a second back on home soil for ROKiT Venturi Racing, whilst the winner of the 2021 Monaco E-Prix rounded fourth.

    The full top 10 were: P1: de Vries, P2: Cassidy, P3: Mortara, P4: Da Costa, P5: Buemi, P6: Lotterer, P7: Bird, P8: Vergne, P9: Dennis and P10: Evans.

    FP2-

    Antonio Felix da Costa topped the timesheets in Free Practice 2 with a 1m 30.435s. The season 6 champion headed Jaguar TCS Racing’s double Rome winner, Mitch Evans by 0.2 seconds.

    A number of drivers were testing the limits before qualifying, with Dan Ticktum looks to steal every inch in the braking zones but firing his NIO 333 car long into the run off, outside Sainte Devote and Antonio Giovinazzi clipping the wall on the exit of the Swimming Pool- as did Jean-Eric Vergne who clouted the barrier, trying to improve on his fourth-fastest time.

    The session was red flagged half way through as Alexander Sims car stopped to halt with what looked like a technical issue. Robin Frijns had set the pace prior to the stoppage.

    The top 10 are: P1: Da Costa, P2: Evans, P3: Frijns, P4: Vergne, P5: Gunther, P6: de Vries, P7: Wehrlein , P8: Lotterer, P9: Mortara, P10: Dennis.

    Qualifying-

    Jaguar’s Mitch Evans, extended his hot streak as he got pole position blowing away Porsche Formula E Team’s Pascal Wehrlein by more than two tenths of a second.

    Wehrelin looked like he had it in the bag especially through Sainte Devote and up the hill, but Evans proved quicker than the German and extended his margin to 0.2 seconds by the tunnel. The Porsche driver then fell away and Evans flew to complete a 1m 29.839s the quickest time of the day.

    The full top 10 being- P1: Evans, P2: Wehrelin, P3: Vergne, P4: Vandoorne, P5: Di Grassi, P6: Lotterer, P7: Frijns, P8: De Vries, P9: Rowland and P10: Bird.

    Round 6-

    The Mercedes EQ of Stoffel Vandoorne mastered the streets of Monaco, with a tactical drive to win the 2022 Monaco E-Prix Round 6 and now lead the Drivers World Championship lead. The Belgian beat polesitter, Mitch Evans to the top step with Jean Eric-Vergne in third.

    Vandoorne emerged on the right side of a mid-race full course yellow and safety car which threw race strategies up in the air. Vandoorne had hit the front after then-leader Pascal Wehrlein retired from the lead with technical issues on lap 16.

    Evans couldn’t quite capitalise on the searing pace that saw him fly to Julius Baer Pole Position but 18 points and second spot after a Rome win-doubles sees the Jaguar driver’s hot-streak continues.

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

    We are back in two weeks for Round 7 & 8 for the Berlin E-Prix, on the 14th and 15th May.

  • A look into Monaco

    We are back this weekend for Round 6 of the 2022 Formula E Championship, and this week we are in Monaco.

    The field of all electric cars will once again race up the hill through Mirabeau and the famous Casino Square, round the Grand Hotel Hairpin ad through the inimitable Monaco tunnel ahead of the Nouvelle Chicane.

    Last time here it was, DS Techeetah’s Antonio Felix Da Costa who took the victory in an absolute classic- which is undoubtedly one of the most exciting races in the history of Formula E, capping a first outing on the full Monaco circuit with an audacious overtake at the exit of the tunnel on the final lap of the race for the win.

    The race itself, saw 28 overtakes between the top six alone, with the lead having changed six times. Could we see more of the same this year?

    Looking at the driver’s standings, Jean-Eric Vergne leads the championship with 60 points, with Robin Frijns following close behind in second with 58 points. We then have Mercedes, Stoffell Vandoorne in third with 56 points. The reigning world champion is down in 8th with 38 points, de Vries will be wanting a good weekend.

    Onto the teams, and its Mercedes EQ leading the championship with 94 points, we then have Tag Heuer Porsche in second with 85 points and DS Techeetah in 3rd with 80 points.

    The circuit-

    The 2022 Monaco E Prix, will see the amended Nouvelle chicane make way for the full, traditional circuit layout around the Principality’s harbour front.

    Stoffel Vandoorne currently hold the fastest lap of the circuit, 1:34.428 (2021).

    Past Winners:

    • 2015, Sebastien Buemi.
    • 2017, Sebastien Buemi.
    • 2019, Jean-Eric Vergne.
    • 2021, Antonio Felix da Costa.

    Timings-

    Saturday 30th April

    • Free Practice 1- 06:30am – 07:00am (BST)
    • Free Practice 2- 08:10am – 08:40am (BST)
    • Qualifying- 09:45am – 11:00am (BST)
    • Round 6- 14:00pm – 15:00pm (BST)