Jordan's Track Talk

Tag: Round 7

  • F3 – RND 7 – Day 2 & 3

    Sprint Race

    It was a great start from fourth place for Kanato Le, who took the lead before getting up to Turn 1. Le settled into second ahead of Nael with Ernesto Rivera in fourth.

    But the Safety Car was called upon following a collision at the front of the field. Jin Nakamura hit the rear of Xie heading into Turn 2 before going into the side of Maciej Gladysz.

    Nakamura and Gladysz were out of the race, while Xie continued on to the pitlane with a right rear puncture, before coming back out at the back of the field.

    Racing resumed on Lap 4 and Le led Nael away with Rivera in third ahead of Mattia Colnaghi, with Brando Badoer in fifth.

    In the battle for sixth, after multiple laps of pressure, Ugo Ugochukwu made his way past Nicola Lacorte with the help of DRS into Turn 1.

    On Lap 8, Ugochukwu was up to fifth with another move at the opening corner, this time on Brando Badoer.

    There was a change for the lead on the next lap with Nael, having been within DRS range for several laps, making an impressive late move on Le at Turn 1.

    On to Lap 11 and Le had managed to stay within DRS range of Nael, while Rivera had closed in on the top two.

    It was bad news for Ugochukwu however, as he was given a five=second time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage on the opening lap. At the same time, his pace was starting to fall off with Badoer right on his rear with DRS.

    Lap 14 of 19 and Le had managed to stay within DRS range of Nael, while Rivera dropped back, leaving the top two to fight for the lead.

    For Ugochukwu he was now two seconds behind Colnaghi, and Badoer dived to the inside of the Campos at Turn 1 to retake 5th.

    Lacorte tried to follow him through but with the gap closing, the DAMS driver and Ugochukwu made slight contact, this allowed Taponen to make a move past the Italian for seventh.

    The American driver was starting to fall through the field with Taponen now demoting him to P7 on Lap 17 at Turn 2, while Lacorte made his way past later in the lap.

    Back at the front, Le was coming under pressure from Rivera for P2, but Nael was in a world of his own, winning by 2.7s to earn his second victory of the season. Le held off Rivera to take his first F3 podium.

    Feature Race

    It was a clean start from pole for Taponen keeping the lead ahead of Slater, while Mattia Colnaghi retained P3 despite pressure from Badoer.

    Slater was keen to take the lead early on and looked to go the inside of Taponen at Turn 12. But the two made slight contact, leaving the Trident driver with front wing damage.

    The Safety Car was called upon moments later with Maciej Glaysz and Gerrard Xie in the barrier at the exit of Turn 13. The DAMS Lucas Oil driver collided with Jin Nakamura which sent him into the ART Grand Prix rookie, with all three out of the race.

    Taponen used the opportunity to come into the pitlane having suffered a right rear puncture, and with the other drivers following him in, he only dropped to P6.

    The incident between Slater and Taponen was under investigation as the Brit led the field away at the restart on Lap 6.

    But the Virtual Safety Car was signalled moments later with Salim Hanna having stopped on track at Turn 13.

    With the AIX Racing car cleared from the track, racing resumed on Lap 7 and Colnaghi was under pressure from Badoer and Ugochukwu.

    The Campos driver was showing great pace and went around the outside of both Badoer and Colnaghi at Turn 2 to get up to second with one of the moves of the season.

    At the same time, the Stewards ruled that there was No Further Action for the incident between Taponen and Slater.

    But the Briton had new problems with Ugochukwu right on his gearbox on Lap 12, and he went defensive into Turns 1 and 2 to keep his race lead.

    The Virtual Safety Car was called upon on the next lap with Kanato Le having stopped at Turn 12.

    Racing resumed on Lap 14 and Ugochukwu resumed his attack on Slater, but the top two were not alone, with Badoer, Colnaghi and Theophile Nael all right behind.

    The Safety Car was out on the next lap following a three-car collision at Turn 1 between the AIX cars of Fernando Barichello and Yevan David, as well as Enzo Deligny.

    Barichello was left on the side of the road with a broke rear left suspension, while David and Deligny continued on – although the Van Amersfoort Racing driver retired in the pitlane.

    Slater led the field to green on Lap 18 of 24 as Nael and Taponen went wheel-to-wheel at Turn 1. The MP driver was not pleased, believing he had been run off the track by his Campos rival.

    On Lap 19, the Briton extend his lead out front to 1.1s, breaking the DRS barrier to Ugochukwu. The American fought back on Lap 21 but was too far behind to make a move.

    Ugochukwu was closer to his title rival on the penultimate lap, even looking up the inside at Turn 9, but once again Slater held on.

    On to the final lap and Ugochukwu once again had DRS but was still not close enough to Slater to make a move.

    The British driver had done enough and took his first ever victory in FIA Formula 3 and with that the championship lead going into the summer break.

  • F3 – RND 7 – Day 1

    Practice

    Freddie Slater ended the Budapest Free Practice at the top of the timesheets with a 1:33.947.

    The Trident driver led the way by over a tenth from Bando Badoer, with his Rodin Motorsport teammate just behind in third.

    Woohyun Shin was the first driver out on track in the early stages. He completed a 1:36.471 but that time was deleted after he exceeded track limits at Turn 9.

    10 minutes into the session and the rest of the field – apart from the three Rodin Motorsport cars – made their way out of the pitlane.

    Ugo Ugochukwu set the pace with a 1:34.798 eclipsing title rival Slater in P2 by just 0.052s.

    With 26 minutes left, Rodin released their drivers out on track, while Matteo De Palo returned to the pitlane with damage after going off at the exit of Turn 7.

    Moments later, Salim Hanna found the barrier at Turn 5 bringing out the Red Flags.

    The session resumed with 12 minutes to go and once again Ugochukwu led the way with a 1:34.522, with Slater in P2, 0.180s behind.

    On his next lap, Hitech’s Jin Nakamura took over at the top with a 1:34.360.
    However, Slater went back to P1 with a 1:33.947, eclipsing Rodin’s Brando Bardoer time by 0.135s.

    It was not all good news for Trident however, as Noah Stromsted stopped on the run to Turn 12, bringing out the Red Flags.

    That brought the session to a close with Slater on top for a fourth consecutive practice session, ahead of Badoer and Pedro Clerot.

    Qualifying

    Tuukka Taponen left it late to take his first ever Aramco Pole Position Awards, sealing top spot with a 1:33.411.

    The MP Motorsport driver left it until the final lap of the day to take the top time by 0.042s over Slater, with teammate Mattia Colnaghi rounding out the top three – 0.072s away from Taponen.

    There was a mixture of strategies to start the session, with PREMA Racing, ART Grand Prix , DAMS Lucas Oil and Hitech all sending their drivers out later than the rest.

    But after the first set of times it was Theophile Nael on top after a 1:33.533, with Taponen his closest challenger 0.019s behind in second.

    In the battle between the top two drivers in the championship, Slater was seventh, while Ugo Ugochukwu was ninth after a huge lock up at Turn 1.

    The drivers returned to the track with 18 minutes to go on new Medium tyres.

    Slater then went quickest on a 1:33.451 with Nicola Lacorte just behind him in second, 0.064s behind, ahead of Brando Badoer in third. Critically in the title fight, Ugochukwu wad down in P12.

    The drivers returned to the pitlane to strap on another set of Mediums for their final laps of the day.

    On this occasion, Slater could not improve as Colnaghi went up to second, 0.024s off the top time.
    The Trident driver looked set for pole until Taponen snatched P1 with a 1:33.411, eclipsing Slater by just 0.040s.

  • Round 7 – Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix

    Lewis Hamilton secured a magnificent maiden Grand Prix victory for Ferrari in Barcelona to bring Mercedes’ 2026 winning streak to an end, beating George Russell and Lando Norris while Kimi Antonelli failed to finish the race.

    Although Ferrari’s initial choice to start the Briton on soft tyres didn’t help him take the lead on the opening lap, they gambled on a three-stop strategy which played out flawlessly as Hamilton gained a free stop under a Virtual Safety Car.

    He delivered a series of stunning laps to gradually increase his advantage over the Silver Arrows and claim his first win in nearly two years, cutting down Antonelli’s lead in the Standings at the same time.

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

    What a result for Hamilton! It was coming, I could feel him getting these good results and that the first win in Ferrari was coming and he had a superb race! He had an excellent drive, and everyone thought at first with being on the soft tyres and basically confirming a three stop it wasn’t going to work – but the VSC helped and it put all the pieces of the puzzle together!
    As for Leclerc, another weekend to forget, crashing out in the race due to going through the gravel as his power steering was broken.

    A decent result for Russell – but seeing as he started on pole I did think he’d run away with the win but he was too busy fighting Antonelli for position which then allowed Lewis to get involved and take that from them.
    As for Antonelli a weekend to forget for him – I think he would’ve taken the DNF hard as his done superb this season and was on a streak of 5 wins and then to not finish due to a mechanical issue it’s not nice – but what I will say is even if he did finish he wouldn’t of been on the top step!

    Back on the podium for Lando Norris – a great result for him in the end. Being there around the top four matters because incase of a retirement or a penalty being added, you need to be close enough and that’s what Lando did.
    5th for Piastri – a decent result, overall a good points haul for the team, which they have been missing.

    4th for Verstappen – a bit in no mans land this weekend, not really much pace compared to the Ferrari’s and Mercedes but a good damage limitation from the Dutch driver.
    As for his teammate, Hadjar finished in 6th – a good points haul for the team again.

    Double points for both Racing Bulls and Alpine! Quite a strong showing from both teams and drivers.

    Now we have a break for a week and then we have another double header but our first stop is the Red Bull Ring for the Austrian Grand Prix on the 26th – 28th June!

    First I have to start and say a huge grazia to everyone here, my team here at Ferrari, everyone back at the factory, Fred for believing in me and bringing me to this team. I started out a dream last year which seemed almost impossible during my time last year, but we never gave up hope and the team just continued to lift me up. We made so many changes and we made so many improvements, and on top of that I’ve got the greatest fanbase a sportsman could ever ask for. Thank you, thank you to everybody.
    Hamilton on the win.

  • Round 7 – Barcelona-Catalunya Qualifying

    George Russell has secured pole position for the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix in a close fought Qualifying hour, beating Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Antonelli after Charles Leclerc crashed out of the session.

    Bouncing back from a frustrating round in Monaco, the Mercedes driver was consistently one of the quickest throughout Qualifying and his spectacular effort of 1m 14.679s was unbeatable, earning him a third pole position of the season.

    Hamilton made his return to the front row in style with a last-gasp attempt, demoting Antonelli to third place to make the Italian’s lowest Grand Prix Qualifying result so far this season.

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

    What a result for Russell, back on pole position, he definitely needed that after the disaster of a weekend last week, now to get the win surely??!! As for his teammate, another great result in third! Antonelli is always lurking around ready to pounce.

    Another great result for Hamilton, for a minute it looked like he was going to get pole position! But still an excellent result for the Ferrari driver. As for his teammate, not a good qualifying session, Leclerc will be looking at staying out of trouble at the start of the race.

    A good result for Norris! Makes up for an awful weekend last weekend, hopefully he can turn it into a decent result and get those points he missed out on last weekend.

    5th and 6th for the Red Bull boys, a semi decent result – Verstappen was looking like he couldn’t really hook the car up when it mattered, will be interesting to see how they get on in the race and what there strategies are going to be.

    Another good result for Liam Lawson in 8th, he will be looking for another points finish.

    Hulkenbergggg in the top 10! We love to see it, hopefully the Audi driver can turn it into a decent points finish for the team.

    It’s been a great weekend so far – I kind of feel like my old self again, where every lap I’m doing my job and always fighting in those top positions. Obviously the last few races, for numerous reasons haven’t quite been on our side, but I came into this weekend with just a clean slate, felt good and, yeah, just good to be on pole.
    Russell on pole position.

  • Racing Bulls show off Football-Inspired livery

    Racing Bulls have unveiled a bold football-inspired livery that will adorn both their cars across the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix weekend.

    Drawing inspiration from the “visual language of football culture” the VCARB 03’s new look ties in with the start of the FIFA World Cup – while also honouring the city of Barcelona and its love of the sport.

    As well as the livery, Racing Bulls will also have accompanying teamwear on display this weekend, while a custom VCARB FC crest brings together the chequered flag and three stars, paying tribute to the World Cup’s three host nations – Mexico, Canada and United States.

    The campaign also feature three creatives from the Racing Bulls’ Creator Platform: fashion designer Hattie Crowther, graphic designer Florence Burns and photographer Ezra Alexander.

    Formula 1 and Football are two global sports with incredibly passionate communities, united by a shared sense of identity, creativity and culture. With VCARB FC, we’re celebrating that crossover, bringing together the energy of both sports. We’re also proud to give emerging talent the opportunity to help shape campaigns like this, bringing fresh perspectives that continue to push the boundaries in the world of F1.
    Peter Bayer, Racing Bulls CEO.

  • Rookies taking part in FP1

    After an intense start under the new regulations that made every lap in the new cars extra valuable for their full time drivers.
    Formula 1 teams have started to fulfil their required rookies outings at this weekend’s Barcelona Grand Prix.

    Here are the drivers who have already been announced as participating in FP1 in the seventh round.

    Leonardo Fornaroli – McLaren
    Replacing: Lando Norris

    Back-to-back Formula 3/ Formula 2 Champion, Fornaroli, was picked up by McLaren as its reserve this year – and is now getting his first practice outing.

    He could’ve hardly have done more in F3 and F2, but given he’s not racing this year, he faces the unenviable task of staying at the forefront of F1 teams’ minds, through impressing in practice will undeniably help.

    Frederik Vesti – Mercedes
    Replacing: Kimi Antonelli

    Vesti was the F2 runner-up three years ago, and his racing future now clearly lies in the endurance racing instead – where he has been forging a career with Cadillac.

    He has established himself as a significant player in Mercedes F1 programmed, described by Toto Wolff, as “an important part of our development work with the W17”.

    Ayumu Iwasa – Red Bull
    Replacing: Isack Hadjar

    The 24 year old is increasingly becoming Red Bull’s go to practice driver across its two teams having had considerable success racing in Red Bull colours in various category – but never truly entering the frame for an F1 call-up.

    He is the formal Racing Bulls test and reserve driver, and is currently working to defend his maiden title in the prestigious Super Formula category in Japan.

    Dino Beganovic – Ferrari
    Replacing: Lewis Hamilton

    Sixth – but only 20 points down on the standings leader – in F2 this year, 22 year old Beganovic will carry out his third practice outing with Ferrari in Barcelona.

    Ferrari has two juniors on the cusp of F1 readiness in Beganovic and Rafa Camara but it’s line-up doesn’t appear likely to change in the immediate future.

    Luke Browning – Williams
    Replacing: Alex Albon

    Williams reserve Browning, will be in Albon’s car at Barcelona and then in Carlos Sainz’s car at the Red Bull Ring.

    An outside F2 title contender last year in his rookie season, Browning has now switched to Super Formula this year and has been competitive.

    He is clearly the F1-readiest prospect on Williams’ books, but will need to make a big impression in FP1 sessions to be first in line for a future seat.

    Paul Aron – Audi
    Replacing: Nico Hulkenberg

    Aron, is an Alpine reserve – but was already loaned by the English-French team to what was then Sauber for a pair of practice outings last year.
    This arrangement will continue again, at the Red Bull Ring.

    After making waves as an F2 rookie in 2024, Aron didn’t race last year and has no full-time programme this year either – instead supporting Alpine’s efforts.

    His prospects of an Alpine seat look far from straightforward given this would likely require Alpine to move on from Franco Colapinto – who has been on a good run of form.

    Colton Herta – Cadillac
    Replacing: Sergio Perez

    Ex-Indycar star Herta, will dovetail a first F1 practice outing with the full F2 round at Barcelona.

    Cadillac and Herta have made no secret of their ambition to get him into an F1 seat, with the experience-gathering Indycar to F2 switch for this year aimed at no other goal but acquainting him with the tracks, the paddock and topping up his superlicence points tally.

    Adjusting to F2 has proven tough – not unexpectedly so given Herta had left the European single-seater scene in 2026 and he is only 13th in the Standings at present.

  • Round 7 – Berlin E-Prix

    Mortara led the pack down to the hairpin from pole, with Rowland jumping Wehrlein for P2 off the line.
    Energy looked to be critical, with temperatures also a push – drivers and engineers looking to conserve from the off.

    Zane Maloney hit the front on Lap 6 for the first time in his Formula E career, with the Lola Yamaha ABT driver keen to press on while others conserved – Lucas di Grassi found himself fifth from 19th on the grid at lights out.

    The lead changed hands by the turn early on, with Guenther cycling to P1 – the DS driver gaining 10 spots from his starting position.

    In the energy stake a third into the race, the Porsche pair had a percent or so in-hand on the leaders as Mortara headed Rowland, Maloney, Cassidy, Guenther, di Grassi, Barnard, Ticktum, Wehrlein and Mueller on Lap 9.

    Di Grassi then jumped four drivers in one move at Turn 1 to lead on Lap 11, with Maloney following his veteran teammate’s lead to take P2. The Brazilian approaching the halfway stage, sat among the best in terms of remaining energy.

    The Lola’s did cycle back into the pack while Cassidy and Rowland elbowed their way to the front.

    Ticktum, Da Costa, Drugovich and Wehrlein all pitted for their mandatory PIT BOOST stop – yielding 10% extra usable energy for the drivers to use. The Porsche driver’s stop, however, was enforced with what looked like a puncture leaving him at the back of the pack.

    Rowland was one of the last to pit, and the overcut handed him the race lead on Lap 26 by half a second over Cassidy as he made his exit from the pitlane.

    Mueller started his charge from sixth on Lap 28, with four percent energy in hand on those ahead and six minutes of his 50kW Attack Mode boost to use.
    Come Turn 1 on Lap 29, he’d sliced by Rowland, Mortara, Barnard and Maloney for P1 as it stood.

    Cassidy followed with his jump for Attack and mirrored Mueller’s progress to take second while the Porsche driver stretched a three second advantage out front.

    Lap times tumbled under the minute mark as the drivers teed up a sprint finish. Mueller headed Cassidy, Rowland, Mortara, Evans, Da Costa, Barnard, Marti, Maloney and Dennis the top 10 on Lap 31.

    Two missed Attack Mode activation attempts for Dennis ruined what looked like a shot at silverware – with the Brit having managed energy well.

    Mueller had four second on Cassidy while Rowland and Mortara in third and fourth held two more minutes of their 50kW, Attack Mode boosts remaining.

    The Porsche driver was able to make that advantage count in the run to the flag, heading Cassidy and Rowland home for his first Formula E victory.

  • F1 Academy – Las Vegas – Day 1

    Practice-

    Doriane Pin made her title intentions clear, topping the timesheets in practice ahead of rival Maya Weug on the series’ first appearance around the Las Vegas Strip Circuit.

    The Standings leader posted a 2:07.967 to go two tenths clear of the Ferrari driver after a late running red flag denied them a chance to improve in the last 10 minutes of running.

    Lia Block was the first to post a time around the 6.2km circuit, steadily lowering the initial benchmark from a 2:19.431 to a 2:15.321. Track temperatures continued to fall below 17.6˚C as the action heated up, with Pin breaking into the 2:12s, followed by Tommy Hilfiger’s Alba Larsen.

    The Mercedes driver pushed on, remaining quickest on a 2:10.117. Meanwhile, Weug began to slowly bring her tyres up to temperature, moving into second, seven tenths off Pin’s effort.

    As the rest of the field picked up the pace, Alisha Palmowski rocketed to the top with the first 2:09s time of the day, only to be quickly beaten by Pin. Weug briefly moved to the top of the order on a 2:09.045, while both Rafaela Ferreira and Lia Block took separate tips to the run-off.

    Personal bests for Palmowski and Chloe Chambers elevated the Campos Racing pair to the top two, but it wouldn’t be long before Pin moved back out front on a 2:08.606, with Weug closing to within 0.050s.

    Pin managed to put over two tenths between herself and her title rival with a 2:07.967. Chambers moved back inside the top three, but the Red Bull Ford driver’s session would be brought to a premature end.

    With less than 10 minutes remaining, the American found the barriers after her front right suspension broke on the approach to Turn 1, necessitating a red flag. The clock continued to tick down and with only a minute remaining once the session resumed, no further improvements were possible.

    Qualifying-

    Red Bull Ford driver, Chloe Chambers sailed above the rest to secure pole position on home soil, beating rookies Alisha Palmowski and Alba Larsen around the spectacular Las Vegas Strip Circuit.

    In a shock to the remarkably close title battle, Chambers took the top spot in dominant fashion, leaving contenders Doriane Pin and Maya Weug down in P4 and P5 respectively after the American set a time of 2:06.538.

    Following a small delay to the start of the session, it came down to McLaren driver Ella Lloyd to set the first flying lap on a busy track, with everyone working to warm their tyres up in the chilly conditions.
    Her initial effort of 2:10.951 was quickly knocked off the top by title challenger Weug, who put in a purple sector 1 before getting caught behind Larsen.

    There was a possibility that the Tommy Hilfiger driver was attempting to give her MP Motorsport teammate a tow to propel Weug to provisional pole, but Pin managed to go 0.420s clear with 18 minutes of the session remaining.

    Larsen and Weug momentarily returned to the pits with plenty of improvements still to come – Chambers demoted Mercedes frontrunner Pin to P2, beating the fastest time set in practice in the process.

    Lap times tumbled as Pin and Chambers continued to exchange P1 on the timesheets, leaving the battle for pole position wide open as the drivers headed into the tense final third of qualifying.

    Meanwhile, Weug lingered down in sixth position before team tactics came into play and a successful tow from Larsen pushed her up to P2, just 0.044s behind Chambers.

    With a lap around the dazzling Las Vegas track taking over two minutes to complete, everyone had to time their final attempts to perfection in order to maximise the tyre temperature.

    Pin had previously been informed by her engineer that she needed a tow for Sector 3, but her PREMA Racing team mate Tina Hausmann did not make it easy to pass at the critical moment, leaving the Mercedes driver down in P4.

  • F3 – Silverstone – Day 1

    Practice-

    Campos Racing’s Nikola Tsolov topped Free Practice at Silverstone on a 1:45.847 to start his weekend on the front foot.

    The Bulgarian was the only driver into the 1:45s, as Charlie Wurz followed in second for Trident ahead of Tim Tramnitz of MP Motorsport in third.

    Nicola Lacorte led the way in the very early stages on a 1:49.859, while tyre preparation laps got underway for the rest of the field.

    Campos went 1-2 with under half an hour to go, as Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak led teammate Mari Boya on a 1:46.379, 0.3s quicker than the Spaniard in P2.

    Tramnitz moved MP up to P2, 0.037s down on the best effort until Ugo Ugochukwu put PREMA Racing top of the pile on a 1:46.277.

    Martinius Stenshorne and Wurz set personal bests to go second and third respectively, and within a tenth of the McLaren Development Driver in P1.

    After drivers returned to the circuit for a second run in the final 10 minutes, further improvements began to flow in.

    Rafael Camara set a time to go quickest but lost it to exceeding track limits. Moments later, title rival Nikola Tsolov broke into the 1:45s to take the top spot, while Stenshorne and Ugochukwu posted improvements of their own that put them second and third.

    Tramnitz closed the gap down to 0.291s as he went to P2 in the final five minutes. Camara posted a time good enough for P4 as the chequered flag waved to bring an end to Free Practice, but teammate Wurz went up the order once again to P2, 0.289s off Tsolov’s session-topping time.

    Qualifying-

    Nikola Tsolov fired in a late lap to take his second Aramco Pole Position Award in a row.

    The Campos Racing driver had been bettered by title contender Rafael Camara going into the final attempts, but one last improvement put the Bulgarian back to P1. He finished ahead of Ugo Ugochukwu, who wound up second for PREMA Racing, with Camara having to settle for third.

    With the tyre preparation laps complete, TRIDENT set the early pace with Camara going to the top on a 1:46.318, 0.2s ahead of teammate Noah Stromsted in second. Ugochukwu split them on his attempt, going to within 0.023s of the Brazilian’s effort.

    Tim Tramnitz delivered his first time to go top of the pile, but only briefly, as Tsolov followed to smash the time to beat with a 1:45.655, some 0.3s quicker than the MP driver in second.

    Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak made it a Campos 1-3, slotting into third with his initial attempt.

    Everyone returned to the pitlane for a fresh set of Hard tyres and returned to the track with just over 15 minutes of the session remaining.
    Tramnitz cut the gap down to 0.2s to Tsolov, while teammate Bruno del Pino slotted into third for the Dutch team.

    Behind them though, Camara delivered a 1:45.176 to surge to the top of the times, 0.479s quicker than Tsolov’s initial benchmark time.
    Stromsted put in an improvement also to go third overall with just over 10 minutes to go, while Charlie Wurz followed a few minutes later to go fourth.

    With five minutes left, the circuit got busy once again. Theophile Nael moved Van Amersfoort Racing up to second to cut the deficit to provisional pole sitter Camara down to 0.3s.

    Tramnitz followed that up to go second for MP, 0.296s behind the TRIDENT, but Tsolov returned to P1 with a 1:45.043 with less than half a minute to go.

    Ugochukwu then went to P2 with his final attempt and just 0.023s off the top spot. Camara had a poor middle sector on his last lap and could only manage third in the end.

    The full top 10 are- Pole: Tsolov, P2: Ugochukwu, P3: Camara, P4: Boya, P5: Tramnitz, P6: Wurz, P7: Stenshorne, P8: Van Hoepen, P9: Nael and P10: Leon.

  • R7 – Imola

    Max Verstappen has surged to an impressive second victory of the season at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, the Dutchman having snatched P1 at the start before holding his position ahead of the McLaren pair in an eventful afternoon.

    The race got underway in an exciting fashion as polesitter, Oscar Piastri initially launched well off the line – only for Verstappen to make a stunning overtake through the Tamburello chicane, resulting in the World Champion going on to build a lead in the laps that followed.

    Piastri then joined a number of drivers who made an early pit stop, having stopped for the hard compound on Lap 14, but the call did not seem to work out the Australian.

    As questions persisted over whether a one-stop or two-stop strategy was the way forward – with around half of the field remaining out following that earlier flurry of action in the pits for the other half.

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

    What a result from Max Verstappen, a cool, calm and collected drive from the Dutchman. His strategy was spot on, and he didn’t fall for McLaren pitting Piastri early.
    As for his teammate, Tsunoda made up some good places from starting in the pit lane to finishing P10 and coming home with a point.

    A double podium for McLaren, P2 for Norris and P3 for Piastri. A lovely result for the team, it’s a shame it wasn’t a win for the Papaya team, but Verstappen just ran away with the lead and there was no chance of battling him for it. But still a very good points haul for the team.

    A lovely result from Hamilton! P4 for the Brit and it was his first Italian race as a Ferrari driver and he made up for a bad qualifying session.
    As for Leclerc his race wasn’t the best, he ran into quite a few problems along the road but he still managed to finish P6. Overall a decent points haul for the team.

    P5 for Albon! What a great result from him! At one point, it almost looked like he was nearing the podium. But the main thing to take from that great result is how much they have improved! Sainz finished P8 aswell, so a very good weekend for the team.

    P7 for Russell, not the best weekend for him, he was struggling a bit during the race. As well for his teammate, it went from bad to worse, Antonelli pulled over to the side as he had an issue and had to retire from his first home race. A big shame for the young rookie but he will bounce back.

    Now we don’t have to wait too long for the next race as we are at the second race weekend of a triple header and we are headed to Monaco!

  • RND 7 – Tyre Selection

    The first quarter of the season is now done and dusted, apart from a brief interlude in Canada in mid-June, the European season starts now, and goes on until the Italian Grand Prix on 7th September.

    The Emlia-Romagna e del made in Italy Grand Prix takes place at the Imola Circuit, named in memory of Enzo Ferrari and his son Dino.

    Imola’s Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari is one of the most iconic and technical tracks on the Formula 1 calendar.
    Situated in the heart of Italy’s Motor Valley, it is 4.909 kilometres long, with 19 corners – ten to the left and nine to the right – and runs anti-clockwise, which puts it in the minority of race tracks worldwide.

    It’s old school, rather narrow with high and aggressive kerbs, as well as several natural changes of elevation and corner sequences that alternate between requiring heavy braking and some flowing sections.

    Tyre management is affected by the many acceleration and braking points, with tyres subjected to a low average load and limited degradation.
    However, the high kerbs can increase mechanical stress, especially on the suspension and tyres.

    The new C6 compound is making its race debut in Imola, as Pirelli has chosen the softest trio of compounds in its 2025 range for this weekend, with the C4 (Hard), C5 (Medium) and C6 (Soft).

    Last year, the one-stop strategy proved the most competitive. 15 drivers started the race on the Medium (C4), three on the Hard (C3) and two on the Soft (C5).

    The harder compounds worked best, offering very consistent performance, with limited degradation. Those who started on the soft tyre had to make two stops.

  • RND 7 – Monaco E-Prix

    Envision Racing’s Sebastien Buemi strode to a comfortable win in the 2-25 Monaco E-Prix, after starting eighth on the grid.

    Rowland chopped over de Vries to lead up the hill towards Casino Square.
    Discipline was the watchword with the track still slick, and the pack made it around the opening lap cleanly.

    Buemi, Ticktum and Dennis were the first to jump for the initial of their mandatory two doses of that 50kW, four wheel drive Attack mode boosts – sensible going early given the slick conditions on Lap 2.

    Despite the pack behind taking Attack mode, Rowland managed to hold onto the lead until Lap 6.
    Vergne had found his way into P2 with Buemi following by de Vries, who had been running second.
    The DS PENSKE driver bypassed Rowland for the lead as it stood with that extra 50kW on tap, through the tunnel, and he steered to a four second advantage by Lap 6.

    Di Grassi was running well on the cusp of the points but found himself falling foul of the condition and was in the wall at Portier on lap 6, which forced a full course yellow.

    An overexuberent move for P8 from Ticktum on Cassidy saw the former down the escape road and shuffled down to 18th on Lap 10.
    Vergne led Rowland by three second on Lap 11, with De Vries, Guenther, Buemi, Da Costa, Vandoorne, Cassidy, Maloney and Dennis made the top 10.

    The Safety Car was called upon on lap 14, for the recovery of Nico Mueller’s stricken Andretti in Casino Square after he slipped wide into the wall.

    We were green once again on Lap 15 with Rowland sitting pretty, energy and two Attack Mode activations in-hand on leader Vergne.
    Buemi made two smart moves one around the outside of the hairpin and the other on the inside of the chicane on Da Costa then Guenther, respectively, to make up ground to P4 on Lap 16.

    Rowland went for Attack on Lap 18, only losing a single spot – to Mahindra’s de Vries. The Brit failed with a move on the Mahindra at the chicane but over the start/finish he made that second place back and set about Vergne on Lap 19.

    At the chicane Rowland pounced, but looked to have cut the chicane in try to pass JEV. In the ensuing melee and avoiding action, the double champion bogged down and cost himself a spot to de Vries, slipping from what was the race lead to third – although Rowland looked to be in trouble with the stewards.

    Rowland took his opportunity having jumped for Attack number two to give track position back to Vergne for that earlier infraction.
    The overlap on Attack saw Rowland outdrag Vergne on the run to Tabac on Lap 23 – third place back in the hands of the standings leader.
    Up Beau Rivage on the next lap, he sliced by de Vries for second, too, Buemi was three seconds up the road.

    Nick Cassidy in the Jaguar had brought himself into the reckoning with energy in hand up 11 spots from the start and now past de Vries into third.

    Buemi looked to have it in-hand with the laps ticking down – able to hold a four second lead to Rowland as the field began to string out in the sprint to the finish with the track drying out.
    Duly he made it stick and took the chequered flag – four seconds clear of Rowland, while Cassidy followed in third.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Buemi, P2: Rowland, P3: Cassidy, P4: Da Costa, P5: De Vries, P6: Vergne, P7: Wehrlein, P8: Guenther, P9: Dennis and P10: Vandoorne.

  • F3 – RND 7 Day 2 & 3

    Day 2-

    It was a great start for Lindblad, as the PREMA driver won out in a three way battle with pole-sitter Leon ans Zagazeta heading into Turn 1 to take the lead.

    Zagazeta initially got ahead of Leon, but the Van Amersfoort Racing driver fought back through at Maggotts and Becketts to move up to P2. The Jenzer Motorsport rookie them came under attack from Christian Mansell heading into Stowe but managed to stay ahead.

    Mansell though then lost a position on lap 3 as Rodin Motorsport’s Callum Voisin was showing strong pace to move past the ART Grand Prix driver for fourth at the entry to Luffield.

    The Virtual Safety Car was needed moments later after Santiago Ramos suffered a puncture following a slight collision with Tommy Smith, with a piece of his tyre needing to be cleared from the racing line near Copse.

    The action resumed on lap 5, but the safety car was almost immediately deployed after Max Esterson and Oliver Goethe collided on the entry to Copse, sending both through the gravel and into the barrier.
    Both drivers walked away from the incident, and they were back underway at the end of lap 7, however there was another collision as Tim Tramnitz and Luke Browning made contact going through the loop.

    Alex Dunne was on the move and got ahead of Charlie Wurz for P6 going down the inside at Stowe, before making his way past Mansell for fifth on lap 11.
    Onto the next lap, and Dunne had dropped back behind Mansell and Wurz to seventh and was looking to retake the position from the Jenzer rookie, but the collided on the Wellington Straight.

    Racing resumed on lap 14 with Lindblad two and a half seconds clear of Leon in the lead. Having resisted an earlier attack from Voision, Zagazeta was now outside DRS range of the British driver.

    Just behind in the battle for fifth, a DRS train had formed behind Mansell which included his ART teammate Nikola Tsolov, Gabriele Mini, Sami Meguetounif and Sebastian Montoya.
    Montoya though, having started P17, was on a mission and dived down the inside of Meguetounif for P8 at Turn 3.

    Onto the final lap, and Lindblad was now well over six seconds clear out in front as he crossed the line to win on home soil. Leon finished in second while Zagazeta achieved his first Formula 3 podium by finishing third.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Lindblad, P2: Leon, P3: Zagazeta, P4: Voisin, P5: Tsolov, P6: Mini, P7: Montoya, P8: Meguetounif, P9: Van Hoepen and P10: Fornaroli.

    Day 3-

    It was a dramatic start to the day as light rain prior to the race getting underway promoted 28 of the 30 drivers to switch to the wet tyres, with Rodin Motorsport’s Voisin and Piotr Wisnicki the only ones to stick to slicks.

    But as the cars rounded the track on the formation lap, the rain stopped causing several drivers to pit for Hards prior to lights out.

    Pole-sitter, Luke Browning made a strong start from pole on his wets, while Leonardo Fornaroli was on the charge as he made his way past Trident teammate Sami Meguetounif before going round the outside of Max Esterson at Maggots and Becketts for second.

    But a Safety Car was required as Cian Shields stopped by the side of the track at Turn 3, just as his HItech teammate Browning was told that more rain was expected.

    We were back racing on lap 3, as Voisin put his slick tyres to use, going round the outside of Esterson at Turn 3 before getting past Fornaroli down the Wellington Straight. He then took over the lead of the race from Browning on the run down to Copse corner.

    Voisin, who had a five second lead at one stage, was then handed a 10 second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage in his overtake on Esterson.

    But we were back racing on lap 8 and this time around it was the wet tyre runners making the moves with Browning and Fornaroli getting past Voisin in the first sector.
    Tramnitz was a major winner in this situation as having pitted for the wets he came from the back to P7 ahead of Hitech debutant James Wharton.

    Another Safety Car was required on lap 9 though after Joshua Dufek spun at the exit of Stowe, causing Alexander Dunne and Sebastian Montoya to crash into the barriers as they looked to avoid the AIX Racing car.

    We had now entered the final 15 minutes of the race and with the pack now bunched up together, PREMA came on the radio to tell Mini, now in P23, that the rain was stopping soon.

    As racing resumed, Browning extended his lead over Fornaroli to over one second, while Leon went round the outside of Esterson at Stowe to take P3.

    With 10 minutes to go, it looked like we had reached the crossover point with slick tyre runners Voisin, Lindblad and Mini slowly beginning to make their moves through the field.

    With seven minutes left, those on dry tyres started to make their moves with VAR telling Leon that they were quicker by one second a lap. Voisin was up to fourth, Lindblad was sixth and Mini was eighth.

    Entering the final five minutes, Voisin got past Browning down the Hangar Straight to take back the lead he had lost earlier. But with the penalty hanging over his head, Lindblad and Mini, who were fighting for P2 just behind him were effectively battling for the lead.

    The three drivers were flying at the front as Voisin crossed the line in P1, but with his penalty, he dropped to third. This promoted Lindblad to first giving him a clean sweep of wins, a Formula 3 first in which a driver has won every race during a single weekend with Mini in second.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Lindblad, P2: Mini, P3: Voisin, P4: Smith, P5: Wisnicki, P6: Goethe, P7: Fornaroli, P8: Browning, P9: Bedrin and P10: Leon.

  • F3 – RND 7 Day 1

    Free Practice-

    Jenzer Motorsport’s Max Esterson ended up with the fastest time in the Free Practice, leading HiTech Pulse-Eight Cian Shields in a rain-hit session.

    Esterson completed a lap of 2:00.153 to take top spot, eclipsing Shield’s previous benchmark time by just 0.114s as ART Grand Prix driver Nikola Tsolov ended up third.

    With the full wet tyres strapped on as rain continued to fall at Silverstone, MP Motorsport’s Tim Tramnitz was the early pacesetter thanks to his time of 2:02.391.

    However, the fastest time continued to change as home favourites Joseph Loake and then Arvid Lindblad went to P1 only for Campos Racing’s Mari Boya to go over a second quicker on a 2:00.873.

    Then came Tsolov in his ART car who then eclipsed Boya’s time by 0.323s while his teammate Christian Mansell went up to third, over half a second behind the Bulgarian driver.

    With 20 minutes left of practice, the teams brought their cars in and bolted on the slicks for the first time in the day, but just as they did the rain began to fall even harder.

    This meant that drivers did not improve on their best times, leaving Esterson fastest ahead of Shields, with Tsolov in third ahead of James Wharton, who has made a good start to his debut weekend with Hitech Pulse-Eight as Boya ended up fifth.

    Qualifying-

    Hitech Pulse Eight’s Luke Browning took a last gasp pole position at a rain-hampered qualifying in Silverstone ahead of Jenzer Motorsport’s Max Esterson and Trident’s Sami Meguetounif.

    The Championship leader left it late on a drying lap with a time of 1:44.992 to take top spot with Esterson following his P1 in practice to go within 0.045s off pole to seal a maiden front row start.

    Van Amersfoort Racing’s Noel Leon then set the initial time to beat with a lap of 1:45.475, Alexander Dunne moved up to second, just 0.070s off top spot, while Gabriele Mini settled into third for PREMA Racing.

    However, as most of the grid returned to the pitlane looking to strap on a new set of hards, the rain intensified. This left Dino Beganovic at the back after the Swede lost his initial time to a track limits violation, while Championship leader Luke Browning was demoted to P13 by Tim Tramnitz.

    But with all looking lost, the drivers ventured out on to the track aiming to do as much learning in mixed conditions before tomorrow’s sprint race.

    However, the track began to improve heading into the final minute, with Leonardo Fornaroli going fastest on a 1:45.265. This was bad news for the drivers in the pit lane like Leon and Dunne as the timing screens lit up with purple and green sectors.

    Browning then came across the line to complete a lap of 1:44.992 giving him pole position on home soil, as Esterson went second moments later.

    The full top 10 are- Pole: Browning, P2: Esterson, P3: Meguetounif, P4: Fornaroli, P5: Van Hoepen, P6: Wurz, P7: Mansell, P8: Tsolov, P9: Voisin and P10: Zagazeta.

  • F2 – RND 7 Round Up

    Day 1, Practice-

    Isack Hadjar was fastest of all in the Spielberg free practice session, after he completed a lap of 1:16.441 to set the pace ahead of qualifying.

    The Campos racing driver was over two-tenths clear out front of Hitech Pulse Eight’s Paul Aron in second and DAMS Lucas Oil’s Jak Crawford in third.

    It was PREMA Racing’s Oliver Bearman that led the way early on though thanks to a time of 1:17.011, putting him 0.076s clear of MP Motorsport’s Dennis Hauger in second.

    The fastest time continued to change hands and next to top the timesheets was Paul Aron. The Hitech driver’s time of 1:16.680 put him two-tenths in front of ART Grands Prix Victor Martins.

    Fresh from his Feature Race victory in Barcelona, Crawford looked to be continuing that fine form as he went up to second, 0.162s off Aron’s leading time.

    The Red flags were waved moments later after AIX Racing’s Taylor Barnard pulled over to the side of the road on the main straight.

    With the track then clear, the session resumed to green flag conditions and Crawford once again improved on his best effort.

    Campos’ Hadjar then took over at the top of the leaderboard on a 1:16.624 eclipsing Aron’s time by just 0.056s. The Frenchman then extended his lead out front on his next flying effort, this time setting a lap of 1:16.441.

    No one could improve late on, which left Hadjar with the fastest time ahead of Aron and Crawford.

    Qualifying-

    MP Motorsport’s Dennis Hauger sealed his second pole position of the season after a close battle with AIX Racing’s Joshua Duerksen in a dramatic Spielberg Qualifying.

    The Norwegian driver completed a lap of 1:15.487 to lead Duerksen by just 0.008s, as Invicta Racing’s Gabriel Bortoleto rounded out the top three.

    It was Campos Racing’s Isack Hadjar that led the way in the early stages though, an opening time of 1:15.828 put him over two-tenths clear of Hitech Pulse-Eight’s Paul Aron in second.

    While most went for cool down laps, others continued to push but no one could trouble the top two.
    Returning to the pitlane, Hadjar had smoke coming from the rear of his car, with the issue ruling him out the remained of the session.

    With five minutes left, the final few laps started and after leading the rest of the field around the track, Hauger went to the top of the timesheets with a 1:15.487.

    The Paraguayan improved further on his next flying lap to go within 0.008s of top spot, but in the end Hauger held on to pole position with Bortoleto in third.

    The full top 10 are- Pole: Hauger, P2: Duerksen, P3: Bortoelto, P4: Colapinto, P5: Aron, P6: Barnard, P7: Hadjar, P8: Marti, P9: Bearman and P10: Maini.

    Day 2-

    It was a superb start for Bearman as he took the lead from pole-sitter Kush Maini on the run up to Turn 1. The Invicta Racing driver then ost another place to Marti later in the lap.

    By the end of lap 3, Bearman was now over two seconds clear of Marti. The Spaniard was also out of DRS range of Maini in third who was coming under attack from Taylor Barnard, Paul Aron and his teammate Gabriel Bortoleto.

    At the start of lap 6, the gaps were starting to close, as Marti had moved to within a second a half of Bearman, while Maini was now within DRS range of the Campos rookie.

    Barnard though was beginning to loose touch with Maini in the battle for P3, and the AIX Racing driver then dropped down to fifth after Aron dived down his inside at Turn 3.
    Back at the front, Bearman’s margin had gone with Marti now within DRS range of the Briton, with Maini just behind as they started lap 9.

    At the halfway stage of the race, Joshua Duerksen made his way past his AIX Racing teammate Barnard after diving down his inside on the entry to turn 3.

    Maini was beginning to struggle on lap 20 and fell out of DRS range of Marti up ahead. The Invicta driver then lost his place on the podium to Aron at the exit of Turn 3 on the next lap, with teammate Bortoleto following the Estonian through at the next corner.

    But this allowed Bearman and Marti to escape on the road with Aron and Bortoleto now over a second away from the top two fighting for the final spot on the podium.
    The battles had also started further back as Duerksen lost P7 to Hauger on lap 24.

    By the end of lap 26, Bearman had extended his lead to over one second to Marti while Bortoleto was all over the back of Aron. Just behind them, Maini lost out to the two MP drivers Colapinto and Hauger and dropped to seventh.

    Onto the final lap, and Bearman extended his lead to nearly two seconds before crossing the line to take victory ahead of Marti, while Aron held off Bortoleto to take his seventh podium of the year.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Bearman, P2: Marti, P3: Aron, P4: Bortoleto, P5: Hauger, P6: Crawford, P7: Maini, P8: Duerksen, P9: O’Sullivan and P10: Martins.

    Day 3-

    There was drama before the lights even went out, as pole-sitter Dennis Hauger at the start of the formation lap, alongside Kush Maini and Jak Crawford, forcing the three drivers to start from the pitlane.

    This then left Duerksen as the lead car on the grid and he made a fast start ahead of Bortoleto with Colapinto in third and Championship leader Paul Aron in fourth.

    Colapinto was the lone driver in the top five to start on the softs and he was coming under pressure from Aron and Isack Hadjar who were on supersofts.
    Further up the road, Duerksen and Bortoleto were now battling for the lead with the Brazilian making the move down the inside at Turn 4 on Lap 4.

    On lap 6, Josep Maria Marti lost P6 to sprint race winner, Oliver Bearman, the Prema racer getting past at the exit of turn 3.
    Moments later, the Virtual Safety Car was deployed with Zane Maloney stopping on track. After his Rodin Motorsport car was cleared, racing resumed with a number of supersoft runners then pitting for the softs.

    That included Marti, Duerksen, Bortoleto, Taylor Barnard, Richard Verschoor and Andrea Kimi Antonelli – with the latter stalling in the pitlane dropping him to the back of the field.

    Onto lap 18 and Aron had now got past Duerksen, and further up the road, Bortoleto was now right on the back of Marti in the battle for what would turn out to be the lead of the race.
    The Brazilian driver dived down the inside of his fellow rookie at Turn 3 to take the position.

    Enzo Fittipaldi was having a strong day as he made his way past his Van Amersfoort Racing teammate Rafael Villagomez and Trident’s Roman Stanek with Duerksen his next target in P9.

    The battle between the two Campos drivers then resumed on lap 32, just as the leader Colapinto made his mandatory pit stop. The MP rookie came back out in P8 behind a squabbling Fittipaldi and Duerksen.
    But he quickly overtook both of them at Turns 3 and 4 on lap 35, putting him up to fifth and just under three seconds behind Aron.

    Out front, Bortoleto’s lead over Hadjar was over three and a half seconds, with the Frenchman coming under pressure from Marti, Aron and a flying Colapinto.

    The Argentine took P4 from Aron at Turn 4 on Lap 38, before moving past Marti on the next tour. Onto the final lap, he overtook Hadjar for second but there was no catching Bortoleto, who crossed the line to take his first Formula 2 victory.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Bortoleto, P2: Colapinto, P3: Hadjar, P4: Fittipaldi, P5: Aron, P6: Durksen, P7: Cordeel, P8: Barnard, P9: O’Sullivan and P10: Crawford.

  • RW 7 – Emilia-Romagna

    Max Verstappen has returned to winning ways by taking victory in the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, with the Dutchman holding off a late charge from McLaren’s Lando Norris.

    A thrilling end to the event ensued as Norris continued to cut into Verstappen’s advantage, but a snap of oversteer seemed to take further life out of the McLaren’s tyres, allowing the Red Bull to hold onto P1 by just 0.725s as the chequered flag was waved.

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

    What a result for McLaren, off the back of Lando’s win the other week in Miami, to then be challenging for another win and coming home with P2 is not bad at all! It makes you think if Piastri didn’t have the 3 place grid drop would he of got McLaren’s first double podium of the year?

    Obviously a very good result for Max after a tough weekend, even after qualifying the car wasn’t 100% where he would like it but he made the most of it.
    A bit of a poor race from Perez, obviously he started P11, and finished P8, it’s a hard track to over take on so he knew from the beginning of the race it wasn’t going to be easy.

    A good result for Ferrari on home turf, P3 and P5, I think we all expected much more from them in the race, but they didn’t have a terrible day so they will take it as a win two very good points positions with decent strategies aswell.

    A decent result for Mercedes! P6 for Lewis and P7 for Russell, as well as an extra point for fastest lap. Obviously the upgrades they’ve brought this weekend have improved the car a little bit but we will have to wait and see fully at another track!

    Points for Tsunoda!! His fourth time scoring points this season, the Japanese driver sits 10th in the Drivers’ standings so far.

    Not a good result for Aston Martin at all, especially for Fernando Alonso. He spent pretty much all afternoon at the back of the pack after a challenging qualifying. He then retired his Aston Martin in the latter stages of the race.

    Now we don’t have to wait too long for the next race, as it’s only next week and we head to one of the classics! The Monaco Grand Prix is Round 8, will it be Max Verstappen or can McLaren and Ferrari take home another win?

  • RW 7 – Emilia-Romagna Qualifying

    Max Vertappen added to his run of pole positions by claiming P1 on the grid for the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, with the Dutchman narrowly triumphing over his rivals with an unbeatable lap in Imola.

    Verstappen first set a strong benchmark during the initial runs of Q3 and then improved even further during his final effort, pumping in a time of 1m14.746s in the Red Bull.
    This put him 0.074s clear of Australian driver, Oscar Piastri – who has now been penalised with a 3 place grid drop for impeding the Haas of Kevin Magnussen – and McLaren teammate Lando Norris in third.

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

    A very good result for McLaren P2 and P3 effectively, but even with Oscar’s penalty it is still a very good result, and they will want this going into the race, and challenge for the win again and maybe get a podium too.

    Ferrari have some pace too, P4 and P5 for Leclerc and Sainz, all they need now is a good strategy in the race and they could be fighting for podiums.

    A decent result for Mercedes! P6 for Russell and P8 for Hamilton, which is roughly where they thought they would be. The team will be wanting to score some points today as they are trailing behind in the constructors compared to last year.

    A very good result for RB! Both Tsunoda and Ricciardo in the top 10 with there upgrades clearly working, now they will be wanting to capitalise on their performance and grab some all important points!

    A shock in qualifying was Sergio Perez, not making Q3! He didn’t manage to improve on his final lap in Q2, which means the Red Bull driver has a lot of work to do in the race…

    Another shock I’d say is Fernando Alonso out in Q1! He will be lining up P19, so far this weekend the Spaniard has had a shocker of a weekend! It will be interesting to see what he can do in the race.

  • RW 7 – Tyre Selection

    Formula 1 returns to Europe after eight months on from the previous Grand Prix to be held on the old continent and in the same country, Italy.

    This weekend’s race is only the fourth edition of the Gran Premio Del Made in Italy E dell’Emilia Romagna, previously held from 2020 to 2022 as last year’s event had to be cancelled because of floods that hit large parts of the region.

    For the seventh round of the season, Pirelli has decided to go with the softest trio of tyre compounds: C3 (Hard), C4 (Medium), C5 (Soft).
    It will be the first time this trio will be put to the test at the Emilian track, although it was to have been the choice for last year’s cancelled event.

    Imola is one of the oldest fixtures on the championship calendar, known for being a technical track which highlights the skills of the drivers who have to tackle quite complex combinations of corners and braking zones.

    The track is not particularly hard in terms of the forces exerted on the tyres, even if the asphalt is still relatively abrasive, despite the fact that the last time resurfacing work was carried out on 70% of its almost five kilometre length dates back to 2011.

    With 19 corners and a significant 30 metre elevation change from the highest point to the lowest, the track is rather narrow and there is only one DRS zone, making overtaking far from easy.

    On paper, having the three softest compounds could produce more options in terms of pit stop strategy in a race that usually would require just on tyre change, especially as time lost in the pit lane is one of the highest of the year.
    There is also the strong possibility of the race being neutralised at some point, something that has happened in over 70% of races run at Imola to date.

  • RND 7 – Misano E-Prix

    FP3-

    Despite having Round 6 already and collecting lots of data, practice makes perfect as the grid headed back out for another session.

    All drivers got lap times in, but Mahindra Racing’s Nyck de Vries slowed whilst he was on the track, he managed to make his way back to the garage and got out later on in the session to finish ninth.

    ABT CUPRA’s Nico Mueller, topped the timesheets for a while in the middle of the 30 minute session, with the team looking to get more points on the board this weekend.

    However, it was Robin Frijns who managed to go quickest. The Envision driver crossed the finish line in last and 18th Saturday, but moved up to 17th after post-race sanctions were applied.

    Qualifying-

    NEOM McLaren’s Jake Hughes achieved the third Julius Baer Pole Position of his Formula E career, as he took on two-time champion Jean-Eric Vergne in the final of the qualifying Duels.

    It’s a great result for Hughes, especially given he was demoted to the back of the grid for not having his car’s fire extinguisher armed during the session.

    During the final Hughes had the advantage in sector one, but Vergne claimed it back in the second sector. However the Brit, ended up two-tenths ahead at the chequered flag.

    Things went from bad to worse for Antonio Felix da Costa, as he had his lap time deleted in the final stages of the group in 11th. Misano not quite going his way after the disqualification.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Hughes, P2: Vergne, P3: Wehrlein, P4: Mueller, P5: Bird, P6: Vandoorne, P7: Frijns, P8: Cassidy, P9: Dennis and P10: Rowland.

    Round 7-

    Pole sitter Hughes led cleanly away with Vergne and Wehrlein plus the rest of the pack following close behind, with the top three as they’d left the gird at the end of Lap 1.

    Drivers jostled to find space and clean air over the early laps – desperately trying to avoid the pinch points at Turn 8 & 9 and fall foul of contact.
    On Lap 4, Hughes and Vergne were the first to jump for Attack Mode. From there, Hughes ceded the race lead to the DS Driver, having led until that point while Wehrlein and Cassidy then jumped for Attack Mode and occupied P1 and P2 respectively at the end of Lap 5.

    ABT CUPRA’s Nico Mueller was next to lead, with the top 10 pretty much level on usable energy remaining on Lap 7, while Robin Frijns caught his wing in contact, sending him straight on and into gravel, requiring the Safety Car to be deployed for his recovery.
    On lap 9, the race went green once again with Mueller leading Wehrlein and Cassidy away, while most of the pack leapt for Attack Mode activations.

    On Lap 11, thing went from bad to worse again for Antonio Felix da Costa after as he got contact at Turn 1 which required his front wing to be replaced which then pushed him down the order.

    Mueller hit the front again on lap 13, with Wherlein behind, while Rowland picked his moment to push – taking third from Wehrlein before moving into the race lead, as Mueller was shuffled first ot third by the Nissan then reigning champion Jake Dennis.

    Wehrlein looked to be in the box seat with 10 laps to go – the Porsche driver with a massive 2% usable energy in hand on those around him.
    On lap 18, the German driver leapt to the front of the field with enough in-hand to punch his way through the air out front to the finish.

    Rowland took the lead through Sector 1 on Lap 20, looking to gain track position with five tours to go. The German’s engineer was over the radio to his driver to make a move for P1 with four laps to run with the lead pair pulling two seconds on third-placed Dennis.

    Wehrlein seemed powerless, though with his battery derating – overheating – heading into the final lap. Drama though saw Wehrlein swoop by the Nissan as Rowland slowed to a crawl, running out of usable energy long before the flag.
    Dennis followed him home with Cassidy pipping Mueller on the line for third position – heartbreakingly close to silverware for the ABT CUPRA squad.

    The full top 10 are – P1: Wehrlein, P2: Dennis, P3: Cassidy, P4: Mueller, P5: Fenestraz, P6: Sette Camara, P7: Vergne, P8: Hughes, P9: Daruvala and P10: Bird.

  • F3 – RND 7 – Day 2 & 3

    Day 2-

    As rain began to fall before lights out, all bar Gregoire Saucy started on slicks. Pole sitter Sebastian Montoya kept the lead from pole, while Taylor Barnard surged up to second as he passed Jonny Edgar around the outside of Turn 1.

    Colapinto then passed both in one move, diving down the inside at Village to go from fourth to second. A scruffy run through Maggotts and Becketts allowed Barnard to slot back into second.

    With DRS enabled, Bortoleto was able to put pressure on Mini ahead in fifth position, the Brazilian driver was through on the Hitech driver as he forced a lock-up from the Italian driver into the Vale Chicane.

    The heavy rain arrived on lap 8 and the Safety Car was deployed with all the drivers running slick tyres. Dino Beganovic took the opportunity to pit for wet tyres whilst the rest of the grid remained on track.

    With positions one to 10 still on dry tyres and those behind on wets, the Safety Car was withdrawn entering lap 13, with Barnard right on the rear wing of Montoya, the pair made contact at Turn 1.

    After his spin, Montoya was back into the points and eighth, as he passed both of the PREMAs down the Hangar Straight with three laps to go.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Colapinto, P2: Bortoleto, P3: Mansell, P4: Collet, P5: Mini, P6: Barter, P7: Fornaroli, P8: Montoya, P9: Cohen and P10: Marti.

    Day 3-

    Fornaroli covered off his teammate to retain the lead into Turn 1 while Gabriel Bortoleto made immediate progress up to fourth position, going around the outside of Mansell into Turn 3.

    Further ahead, Marti cleared Goethe to take second position, albeit briefly. The Trident driver was able to retake the place with a great pass around the outside of Stowe later on.

    Luke Browning made contact with Hugh Barter out of the final corner, leaving the Hitech driver with a broken suspension. It resulted in his retirement from the race and brought out the Safety Car. Edgar was also out of his home event on lap 1 after contact with Collet on the opening lap.

    On lap 17, rain began to fall and Robert Faria went off into the barriers at Woodcote. He was out of the car ok and the Safety Car came back out. As the rain intensified, Tommy Smith was the only taker for wet tyres with three laps remaining, rejoining in 28th position.

    Van Amersfoort Racing’s Collet was able to make great progress despite running the slick hard tyres, taking multiple positions on the penultimate lap to rise up to the points positions.
    Teammate Smith was able to take full advantage of conditions on the wets, going from 28th to 12th in the space of a lap and a half.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Goethe, P2: Fornaroli, P3: Marti, P4: Aron, P5: Mansell, P6: Bortoleto, P7: Mini, P8: Colapinto, P9: Saucy and P10: Montoya.

  • F3 – RND 7 – Day 1

    Free Practice-

    Hitech Pulse-Eight’s Luke Browning started his and his team’s home event in fine form, setting a 1:45.794 to lead the way in Free Practice.

    With the Championship leader, Gabriel Bortoleto following closely in second position and Dino Beganovic in third making him the highest-placed PREMA driver.

    Sebastian Montoya got the weekend rolling with a 1:48.957 and the initial time to beat. Leonardo Fornaroli and then Franco Colapinto quickly beating that.

    There was contact between Kaylen Frederick and Zak O’Sullivan at Turn 16 as traffic began to build up and drivers searched for clean air. The Briton was able to continue in the session, but the ART Grand Prix driver was out after sustaining suspension damage and recovering to the pitlane.

    Browning continued to lap quickly, lowering his best time to a 1:45.946 before a Virtual Safety Car was deployed to recover debris left by the earlier contact.

    Back to green flag conditions with 12 minutes left, and there were very few improvements as Bortoleto moved himself up to second on a 1:46.075s.

    Qualifying-

    Leonardo Fornaroli headed up a Trident 1-2 around Silverstone, taking his maiden Formula 3 pole position with a 1:45.520.

    Fornaroli’s teammate, Oliver Goethe followed in second after making a late improvement, whilst Josep Maria Marti led the Campos Racing effort in third.

    Gabriele Mini set the early pace with a 1:46.619 which was swiftly beaten by teammate Luke Browning. The Tridents of Gabriel Bortoleto and Oliver Goethe crossed the line to split the two Hitech drivers, with the top three covered by just 0.120s.

    The track filled up once more after a swap to fresh tyres with less than 10 minutes remaining of Qualifying.

    Mini, Browning and Aron each improved on their next efforts but only the Estonian driver got to within a quarter of a second of Fornaroli’s provisional pole time.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Fornaroli, P2: Goethe, P3: Marti, P4: Mansell, P5: Bortoleto, P6: Aron, P7: Mini, P8: Browning, P9: Colapinto and P10: Barnard.

  • F2 – RND 7 – Day 1

    Free Practice-

    Frederik Vesti started the Barcelona weekend where he left off in Monte Carlo, ending the opening session of the weekend P1 for PREMA.

    The Dane set a 1:26.722 to lead from Oliver Bearman, as the Italian team looked comfortable around the circuit. Jehan Daruvala was third for MP Motorsport, 0.3s down on Vesti’s session topping effort.

    A red flag was thrown with just over 20 minutes to go following a spin for Victor Martins coming out of Turn 10. The ART Grand Prix driver lost the back end of the car and couldn’t get going again.

    Enzo Fittipaldi made a late improvement to jump up into third position until he lost his time for exceeding track limits, his next lap put him into the top five.

    Qualifying-

    Oliver Bearman denied Enzo Fittipaldi pole position by just 0.077s with a 1:23.546 in the final moments of Qualifying. The Rodin Carlin provisionally held the top spot until the PREMA Racing driver’s late effort was just good enough to beat the Brazilian. Jack Doohan will be hoping to realign his season, going from P3 on the feature race.

    Victor Martins led the field out of the pitlane as the light went green to get Qualifying underway. The Frenchman set the initial benchmark but that was swift beaten by those behind.

    PREMA Racing opted to run both of their drivers in the gap after the first efforts were complete, joined on track by only the MP Motorsport drivers. Hauger took the sport with a 1:23.923 while Jehan Daruvala lifted himself up to third.

    With 10 minutes left, the next flurry of laptimes arrived and it was Theo Pourchaire who went to the top of the times. That was until Enzo Fittipaldi set a 1:23.623 to put himself P1 once again.

    The full top 10 are: P1: Bearman, P2: Fittipaldi, P3: Doohan, P4: Iwasa, P5: Pourchaire, P6: Hauger, P7: Martins, P8: Vesti, P9: Crawford and P10: Amaury Cordeel.

  • RND 7 – Monaco Grand Prix

    Round 7 is now complete and we had some late drama in the race due to a rain shower where chaos ensued.

    Max Verstappen kept Red Bull’s 2023 winning record intact by keeping his cool overcoming the rain and the chaos in the final stages of the race. Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso came home in P2 and on the final step of the podium is Esteban Ocon in P3!

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

    A really good day for Mercedes, and I think the upgrades for the W14’s have improved a little bit, but we won’t know how well until we get to another circuit. With Russell’s five second time penalty for clashing with Sergio Perez when he rejoined the track from an off in the slippery conditions not affecting his finishing position.

    A really good result for Alpine, finally what they need and it’s a podium aswell, which makes it even better for the team. Hopefully this is them on the up as they had pace all weekend and they can keep the good results coming.

    Obviously a bad day for Sergio Perez, started plum last due to his crash in qualifying and we all knew it was going to be a hard race for him. Which means the gap between Max and Sergio in the Drivers standings has gotten bigger.

    A decent day for the McLaren boys, both in the points, but they still have a lot of work to do if they want to be close to Alpine.

    Now we don’t have to long to wait, as the next race is this weekend! We are in Spain for Round 8 the home grand prix of Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz!

  • RND 7 – Monaco Qualifying

    Monaco qualifying is complete and the grid is set for tomorrow’s Monaco Grand Prix, with a few shocks and surprises along the way.

    Max Verstappen took pole position for the first time in Monaco, he pipped out rival, Fernando Alonso in P2 and hometown hero Charles Leclerc in P3.

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

    But, things are never easy especially for Charles Leclerc, who has been given a 3 place grid drop for the race meaning he will start P6, which bumps up Ocon to P3, Sainz P4 and Hamilton P5.

    However, one Red Bull driver might have been on pole but the other… was down the other end of the grid. Sergio Perez will be starting in P20 due to crashing out in Q1.

    A really really good result for the Alpine’s P3 and P7, obviously it means they should be scoring some good points if they don’t loose out on strategies etc tomorrow.

    A good result to see Yuki in the top 10 also, some good pace there and for his teammate aswell who starts just outside the top 10 in P12, hoping to get his first points of the season…

    Not such a good result for Zhou Guanyu who is starting P19, the Alfa Romeo driver needing to score points but his teammate isn’t starting from the best place either in 15th, a lot of work to do if they want to get further up the constructors.

    Predictions-

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

    Obviously with such a mixed up grid it will definitely be interesting but it will be all about strategy and if it works out with safety cars etc, but i’m hoping it will be an exciting one.

  • Monaco Grand Prix

    Shall we try this again? It’s Race week and we are in Monaco for Round 7! Obviously last week was meant to be race week but due to the flood in the Emilia-Romagna region it got cancelled, so drivers will be wanting to get the best position possible this weekend.

    We all know qualifying is the most important part of the weekend at the circuit as we know you can’t really overtake on this track…

    It’s Charles Leclerc’s home race this weekend, but will he finally end the Monaco curse he has and take the win?

    Who needs to shine?

    The Alfa Romeo’s need to do a bit of work, they had a better start to last year’s season than this year’s so they will be wanting to get the ball rolling and score some more points as soon as possible.

    McLaren, rough season so far for the team but this weekend they will be hoping to get some points in the bag especially if other teams/drivers have a close moment through the tight corners of Monaco.

    Alpine still have a bit of work to do in the next couple of races, they currently sit 6th in the Constructors’ but tied on points with McLaren who sits in 5th on 14 points. That’s both team’s main competitor at the moment until other teams start scoring a bit more and making a mid field fight.

    Predictions for Qualifying-

    My top five for qualifying are- Pole: Perez, P2: Leclerc, P3: Verstappen, P4: Alonso and P5: Hamilton.

    As I said at the beginning of the post qualifying matters, so drivers will be going even more full out and getting the best position available. In the top 10 it will be the top 4 teams, unless we have a few shock appearances…

  • McLaren to run one-off livery

    McLaren will be running a one-off ‘Triple Crown’ papaya, white and black livery in this weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix as part of their 60th anniversary celebrations.

    The special livery, which will also adorn the MCL60 at the following race at Spain’s Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, is a nod to McLaren’s achievement of winning motorsport’s three most known races, known as the Triple Crown, which includes F1’s Monaco race, Indycar’s Indy 500 at Indianapolis and the endurance showpiece – the Le Mans 24 Hours.

    The rear of the car which is driven by Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri – will be bedecked in papaya, to celebrate the team’s maiden INdy 500 – winning M16C/D that Jonny Rutherford guided to victory in 1974.

    The centre of the car is what the team call “sharp ice white” from Alain Prost’s 1984 Monaco Grand Prix win, running a red and white colour scheme on the MP4/2 that became synonymous with McLaren in F1.

    The front end of the car is black, in tribute to the McLaren F1 GTR that won the 1995 Le Mans 24 Hours with JJ Lehto, Yannick Dalmas and Masanori Sekiya in McLaren’s first attempt at the endurance race.

    Having achieved the greatest accomplishment in motorsport by completing the Triple Crown, we are proud to celebrate the rich history of McLaren Racing with a special livery at the 2023 Monaco Grand Prix. In line with our 60th anniversary celebrations and honouring the legacy of Bruce McLaren, the unique livery pays homage to the three victories which form the Triple Crown accolade.

    Zak Brown, McLaren CEO.

    It’s a privilege to be involved in McLaren Racing’s 60th anniversary celebrations and to combine three iconic race-winning McLaren liveries into one for the 2023 Monaco Grand Prix is going to be a special moment for the whole team. McLaren have an impressive record in Monte Carlo and on a personal level to have experienced a podium at the 2021 race was a huge honour. We’ll be racing hard in a great looking car to celebrate Bruce McLaren and the team’s amazing legacy.

    Lando Norris added.

    The Triple Crown livery looks incredible, and I can’t imagine a better way to experience my first Monaco Grand Prix as a Formula 1 driver with McLaren Racing. Bruce McLaren was a winner in Monte Carlo in 1962 and the McLaren team have such rich history at the Monaco Grand Prix. I will feel incredibly proud lining up on the grid in the MCL60, carrying the same colours as the three Triple Crown-winning race cars.

    Piastri added.
    https://www.instagram.com/reel/Csl24BZIk-4/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

  • Monaco Tyre Selection

    The tyres have been chosen for this weekend’s Grand Prix, where we are in Monaco, where qualifying really matters…

    The three softest compounds in the Pirelli F1 range have been chosen, those being: C3 (Hard), C4 (Medium) and C5 (Soft).

    The total length of this historic track is just 3.337 kilometres with 68 races having taken place and the most successful driver (in terms of wins) being Ayrton Senna.

    Monaco has the lowest average lap speed of the whole championship, which is around 150kph. With very little grip and limited wear. The softer compound offer a good level of adhesion when it comes to traction but mechanical grip is limited.

    All types of tyre brought to Monaco were used in the variable weather of last year’s grand prix: Blue full wet, Green intermediate, and all three slick compounds. On a dry race track, the race is nearly always a one-stopper for everybody but last year most drivers stopped three times.

    We’re heading to a Monaco Grand Prix that’s somewhat different to what we expected. It should have been the second race of a European triple-header but instead it’s going to be the first due to the cancellation of Imola. Those images of devastation are still fresh in our minds and we want to express our solidarity once more with the families of the victims, as well as all those who have suffered such huge losses. 
    Monaco has written its own chapter in the history of Formula 1. The characteristics of this unique circuit, largely unaltered for more than 60 years, make it a true one-off that has often sprung surprises. No other track can allow a driver to compensate for any technical shortcomings of their car in the same way, and just one incident can shake things up entirely. The difficulty of overtaking can sometimes detract from the spectacle in the race, but that only makes Saturday’s qualifying all the more exciting, as grid position assumes a particular importance to the final result on Sunday. As is often the case on street circuits, Pirelli has nominated the softest tyres in the range. One of the peculiarities of Monaco is the fact that the track is opened to normal traffic every evening, which means that it’s very hard for rubber to build up on the racing line, making the surface even more slippery. With Imola having been scrubbed, Monaco could now become the debut for the new Cinturato Blue full wet without tyre blankets, obviously depending on weather conditions: another potential random factor this weekend.

    Mario Isola, Motorsport Director.

  • Round 7 – Berlin E-Prix

    FP1-

    DS PENSKE’s Stoffel Vandoorne set the early pace in Free Practice 1 at the SABIC Berlin E-Prix. The reigning Drivers’ World Champion popped in a 1m 05.803s at the Tempelhof Airport Circuit which has held the most races in Formula E history.

    A second split the top 20 drivers, with the top nine being separated by only three tenths!

    Behind Vandoorne, it was Avalanche Andretti’s Jake Dennis in second place, with Maserati MSG Racing’s Maximilian Guenther in third.

    The Maserati of Edoardo Mortara brought out a brief yellow flag around ten minutes into the session as his Gen3 car went into the barriers. Later on in the session, Robin Frijns went for a little spin in his ABT Cupra.

    FP2-

    Maserati MSG Racing continued to look strong at the SABIC Berlin E-Prix, as Maximilian Guenther delighted his home crowd by going fastest in Free Practice 2 with the quickest time seen around the circuit – 1m 05.301s.

    Behind Guenther was Envision Racing’s Nick Cassidy in second who is currently on a streak of three consecutive podiums. Double Formula E Champion, Jean-Eric Vergne slotted into third.

    Edoardo Mortara, almost had a repeat of his FP1 incident yesterday. However, only moments later Mahindra Racing’s Oliver Rowland sent his M9Electro into the barriers after a hefty lock up at Turn 1.

    Qualifying-

    Envision Racing’s Sebastien Buemi took a Formula E record 16th, and second Julius Baer Pole Position of the season, much to surprise after making two mistakes on his final qualifying lap and dealing with a recently broken bone in his hand.

    With both Buemi and Bird being powered by the Jaguar I-TYPE 6, it was always going to be close, but it was Buemi who snatched pole by over a tenth to second place Sam Bird.

    NIO 333’s qualifying went from strength to strength after Dan Ticktum joined his teammate into Quarters, who have never had both their cars in Duels stage since it was introduced at the start of Season 8.

    For home heroes, TAG Heuer Porsche, Antonio Felix da Costa ended Group A in 10th, his worst performance in the Groups this year. His teammate, Pascal Wehrlein, could only manage eighth in Group A too – the same he did last time out in Brazil.

    Round 7-

    Jaguar TCS Racing played a blinder with their race strategy to seal a Mitch Evans, Sam Bird one-two in a beautifully chaotic SABIC Berlin E-Prix Round 7 that saw 190 overtakes and a record 20 at the line lead changes and eight different race leaders.

    Throughout the entire race distance, some 43 laps, the field never mind the top 10, proved to be completely inseparable. Dan Ticktum had launched himself into the lead in style with a stunning move around the outside of Turn 1 right by Sebastien Buemi, Sam bird and Stoffel Vandoorne.

    Glancing at the timing screens yielded a different race leader at almost every stage as positions changed left and right, with the first of two spells under the Safety Car compounding things further and seeing the field split by just over five seconds at a little over the halfway stage.

    The Jaguar pair and Buemi then clambered to fill out the top three spots after Guenther had briefly taken P1 as the race headed into its closing stages. The Jaguar powered cars went on to stretch their legs, with Guenther looking to pick up the pieces as the front three squabbled for the race lead.

    The full top 10 are: P1: Evans, P2: Bird, P3: Guenther, P4: Buemi, P5: Cassidy, P6: Wehrlein, P7: Vergne, P8: Lotterer, P9: Mortara and P10: Rowland.

  • F3 Spa- Day 2 & 3

    F3 Spa- Day 2 & 3

    Day 2-

    Zak O’Sullivan retained the lead from pole into La Source with teammate Benavides attempting to wrestle second from Juan Manuel Correa. With the two on the Kemmel Straight, the ART driver turned defence into attack, taking the lead but only momentarily.

    Title rival, Victor Martins meanwhile had made his way up to 16th by the time the Safety Car was deployed but had jumped the start, he was handed a drive-through penalty as a result.

    A wide moment, from Oliver Goethe heading into Stavelot left the Campos driver under pressure from the Trident duo of Roman Stanek and Zane Maloney. Stanek was able to clear the Monegasque driver for fifth but contact on the exit of Blanchimont between Goethe and Maloney resulted in a big crash for the pair, but thankfully both drivers were able to walk away from their cars.

    Leclerc’s charge continued at the expense of Benavides, another DRS pass down the Kemmel Straight moved him up to fifth position and within range of Edgar as a result of the latter’s pending time penalty.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Bearman, P2: Stanek, P3: Smolyar, P4: Edgar, P5: Leclerc, P6: Alatalo, P7: Vidales, P8: Benavides, P9: Hadjar and P10: Collet.

    Day 3-

    Having become the seventh different driver to take pole this season, Collet lined up on the front row along side Maloney whilst four of the top five in the Championship found themselves starting P20 or lower.

    Maloney’s time out front didn’t last long as he was ordered to give the place back by his team. In the mean time, Goethe had gotten past Collet for P2, forcing the Trident to drop down to third behind the MP in order to return the position.

    Disaster soon struck for title contender, Martins. The ART Grand Prix driver found himself collected in chaos ahead as Kush Maini overshot the corner sending him into the side of Pizzi, tagging Ido Cohen and Martins.

    No sooner than the action resumed did the safety car return to the track after Gregoire Saucy and Josep Maria Marti touched wheels, resulting in the early retirement of a second ART car.

    Having been handed a five second penalty for rejoining the track unsafely, Collet knew it was time to be strategic as he battled with Stanek for second.

    As the penultimate lap began, it was Bearman’s time to strike as Goethe went too deep into Turn 1, the pair flew up side-by-side into Eau Rouge, but the Prema Racing driver cautiously decided to back out and go again one lap later.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Maloney, P2: Stanek, P3: Bearman, P4: Goethe, P5: Edgar, P6: Collet, P7: Vidales, P8: Alatalo, P9: Smolyar and P10: Ushijima.

    We don’t have long to wait till the next round, we are back next weekend and are in Zandvoort for Round 8, we only have two rounds left now…

  • F2 Spa – Day 1

    Free Practice-

    Ralph Boschung got his return to the Formula 2 season off to a positive start, as the Campos Racing driver topped Free Practice around Spa-Francorchamps.

    The weather proved to be a major headache with rainfall around the track, catching a few drivers out, but it was the Swiss driver who managed to clock in a 2:01.376 finish ahead of Amaury Cordeel and Ayumu Iwasa.

    Iwasa was the first driver to set a representative time. Flourishing in these conditions the DAMS driver set out to better his by 0.742s after the first two sectors, but it wasn’t to last, fighting the car through Stavelot ended in a huge spin across the gravel to bring out the Red Flag.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Boschung, P2: Cordeel, P3: Iwasa, P4: Armstrong, P5: Zendeli, P6: Sargeant, P7: Daruvala, P8: Beckmann, P9: Sato and P10: Vips.

    Qualifying-

    Championship leader, Felipe Drugovich put in a mighty lap to take pole position for the Spa-Francorchamps Feature Race ahead of Enzo Fittipaldi and Logan Sargeant.

    His closest rival in the Championship, Theo Pourchaire had to settle for eighth on the grid, meaning that the French driver will line up third on the grid for the Sprint Race.

    Juri Vips was the first to bring out a red flag due to a spin and not being able to keep his engine going. The session then resumed with 23 minutes to go and drivers got on track immediately.

    Ralph Boschung took provisional pole for Campos Racing but it was only for a moment. Jehan Daruvala and then Jack Doohan went quicker with track conditions ramping up in the closing stages.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Drugovich, P2: Fittipaldi, P3: Sargeant, P4: Doohan, P5: Beckmann, P6: Lawson, P7: Verschoor, P8: Pourchaire, P9: Daruvala and P10: Boschung.