Jordan's Track Talk

Tag: Spa

  • SPA confirmed for 2023

    The Belgian Grand Prix is set to form part of the 2023 Formula 1 calendar, following an agreement to extend the race’s partnership.

    Full details of the 2023 Formula 1 calendar are yet to be revealed, but there is a new addition to the calendar next year that being Las Vegas.

    Spa first featured on the Formula 1 calendar in the sport’s inaugural season in 1950, with this seasons set to be the 55th to be held on the circuit.

    However, a statement from Formula 1 to the media ahead of last weekend’s race said: “Formula 1 can confirm that the Belgian Grand Prix will be on the 2023 calendar following an agreement to extend our partnership together. Further details on the 2023 calendar will be announced in due course.”

    We have to congratulate the job [the race organisers] did. You’ve seen the investment they did. You see the number of people that are coming here… Incredible crowd, incredible attention to the people, and this is great. Great I think for the sport. We always said that the race is a part of our tradition, and it has a very important space in our calendar, and this is a fact that we wanted to share in this moment.

    Formula 1 President & CEO, Stefano Domenicali.

    My Opinion-

    It was a bit touch and go whether we was going to get this announcement, but luckily we did! It is a historic track in F1 and it would feel a bit strange if it wasn’t on the calendar.

    The announcement tells us it is only a year contract, so we could very much be in the same boat next year… But I am glad it’s staying at least for another year!

  • F2 Spa- Day 2 & 3

    Day 2-

    Greeted by cold and dry conditions, the mist loomed high over the Belgian hills and there were plenty of unknowns heading into the first race of the weekend after a lack of race runs in a highly disrupted practice session.

    Whilst Ralph Boschung assumed his spot on reverse grid pole on his return to the the track after suffering an injury, Jehan Daruvala’s day was brought to an early end before the lights had even gone out as the PREMA Racing driver pulled over on the reconnaissance lap.

    Unfortunately for the Swiss driver, the Belgian circuit isn’t short of overtaking opportunities. All over the back of the race leader, the Red Bull liveried Carlin sailed up into P1 along the Kemmel Straight.

    The race made a turn on Lap 11, Logan Sargeant lost his rear end on the exit of Pouhom and skidded into the barriers, triggering the Safety Car.

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

    Day 3-

    Drugovich surged off the line and Doohan cleared Enzo Fittipaldi to take second into La Source. David Beckmann followed through down the Kemmel Straight on the Charouz Racing System at Les Combes to take third.

    Theo Pourchaire’s title hopes took a major hit, as he slid down the order and out of the race with an issue. Richard Verschoor took fifth from the Charouz on the next lap, using DRS.

    Fittipaldi and Sargeant were the first to pit for mediums on Lap 8, feeding back out in 14th and 15th places respectively. Lawson responded on the following lap, but it was a slow stop for the Carlin driver.

    Juri Vips and Lirim Zendeli were the first of those on mediums to swap to softs on Lap 15 whilst Verschoor and Iwasa continued to extend their stints at the front.

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

  • Round 14- Belgian GP

    Going into the race today, we was hoping for an interesting race seeing some of the field come through the grid, but was it too easy for some of them?

    But it was Max Verstappen who took the victory at his first home Grand Prix of the season, Sergio Perez comes home in 2nd to make it Red Bull’s fourth 1-2 of the season! Carlos Sainz finished in 3rd after starting on pole.

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

    What a drive from Max Verstappen! Starting P14, and finishing 1st is great! He flew through the field with no problems, Ferrari wasn’t a problem for the Dutchman and didn’t have anyone challenging him for the win.

    Not a good day for Hamilton, a DNF for the Brit his first of the season. A Lap 1 incident between Hamilton and Alonso saw the Mercedes driver go airborne and retire on track after the team telling him to stop…

    A good finish for Vettel, Gasly and Albon all in the points which they all needed this weekend, Gasly started from the pitlane so he made up quite a lot of ground to finish 9th.

    Now Ferrari, Carlos had a good race but Charles obviously had to start at the back of the grid, he done well getting himself up the field but Ferrari thought theyd pit him on the last lap to take away the fastest lap point from Max, we’ve seen it a lot of times over the year but this time it didn’t work out. Not only didn’t it work out, Charles got a 5 second penalty for speeding in the pitlane which dropped him down to P6.

    We now look towards the next race, next week which is the second out of the triple header and we will be heading to the Netherlands for Round 15! Can Max take another victory on home soil?

  • 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…

  • Round 14- Spa Qualifying

    Before qualifying even started, it was confirmed that seven drivers, yes SEVEN are taking grid penalties… Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc, Lando Norris, Esteban Ocon, Zhou Guanyu, Mick Schumacher and Valtteri Bottas.

    But after the penalties it will be Carlos Sainz starting on pole position, with Perez in 2nd and Fernando Alonso rounding out the top 3.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Sainz, P2: Perez, P3: Alonso, P4: Hamilton, P5: Russell, P6: Albon, P7: Ricciardo, P8: Gasly, P9: Stroll and P10: Vettel.

    A quick moment, and shoutout to Alex Albon, getting his first Q3 appearance of the season and grabbed P6 due to penalties. Hopefully he can get a good start in the race and try to avoid any lap 1 incidents.

    Verstappen and Leclerc have a lot of work to do tomorrow and they start on the same row, seeing both drivers coming through the field will be good to watch but the main battle will be between the two.

    Fernando Alonso will be hoping to capitalise on his qualifying position, he starts on the second row along side Hamilton, the Spaniard will be setting his eyes on a podium finish…

    Mercedes have a big chance in the race, both drivers in the top five and they only have one Red Bull and Ferrari car around their two, this could have an impact on the constructors aswell.

    Predictions-

    My top five predictions are- P1: Sainz, P2: Hamilton, P3: Russell, P4: Alonso and P5: Gasly.

    I think its going to be an interesting race, obviously a few drivers out of place for the race start, and they will be looking to not get in any incidents in the mid-pack.

    Times for the weekend-

    • Feature Race F3 – 07:50am (BST)
    • Feature Race F2- 09:20am
    • F1 Race- 14:00pm

  • 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.

  • F3 Spa – Day 1

    Free Practice 1-

    Reece Ushijima left the rest well adrift after his 2:05.172s put him above anyone else on the grid. The Van Amersfoort Racing driver ended the session over a second clear of anybody else, with Campos enjoying a 2-3-4.

    Jenzer Motorsport’s William Alatalo set the first representative time on a 2:09,590s but that was bettered by Carlin driver Brad Benavides with the American setting a 2:09.421s soon after.

    Roman Stanek came to a halt on the Kemmel Straight with just over 10 minutes remaining of the session, briefly bringing out yellow flags before the Trident driver was able to get his car restarted to continue.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Ushijima, P2: Goethe, P3: Vidales, P4: Marti, P5: O’Sullivan, P6: Stanek, P7: Hadjar, P8: Maloney, P9: Edgar and P10: Bearman.

    Qualifying-

    Caio Collet, put his foot to the floor to storm his way to his first Formula 3 pole position, mastering the wet to drying conditions in Spa-Francorchamps to become the seventh different driver to take pole in as many rounds.

    There was no shortage of contenders in the fight for P1 in the fight for P1 as last-minute improvements mixed up the order but it was the MP Motorsport driver who reigned supreme, over two tenths clear of Maloney.

    Downpours during the break between Practice and Qualifying forced the whole field to bolt on the wet weather Pirelli tyres and given the conditions it was no surprise that the track was immediately full of action.

    The session soon ground to a halt with 19 minutes on the clock, as Jak Crawford found himself facing the wrong way. In his attempt to sprint his car around, the driver got caught out by the gravel trap and was forced into a frustratingly early end.

    Even the appearance of the chequered flag didn’t mean that the order was final. Maloney leaped half a second clear of his teammate but there was nothing he could do to stop Collet’s final effort of 2:11.289.

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

  • Belgian Grand Prix

    We are back racing this weekend, and we are at Spa-Francorchamps for Round 14, where last year we saw a Williams stick it on the front row in qualifying, for the race then to be delayed and then cancelled due to the rain.

    Lets hope this year will be a step better than lasts… The weather could play a part in who qualifies where so could potentially mix the grid up. But will Ferrari get their strategy right? What can Mercedes do? They have been getting closer to get that race win, could that be this weekend?

    Who needs a good weekend?

    I think Ferrari as a whole need a really good weekend, they’ve thrown away a few race wins down to strategy and if they want to fight for this championship they need to up their game, whether that’s reliability or strategy.

    McLaren again as a whole need to sort themselves out this half of the season, Alpine have now overtook the papaya team in the standings. So both Norris and Ricciardo need to be on top of their game this weekend and the rest of the season to get further up the standings.

    Haas will be wanting to start off this second half with a bang, especially for a certain Mick Schumacher as his contract is not confirmed for next year and the only way contract talks will start are by “scoring more points”.

    Predictions for qualifying-

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

    The weather is never certain in Belgium so it can surprise at the most important times, so it could make an appearance during qualifying and through a few shock surprises in there and a mixed up grid.

    Times for the weekend-

    Friday 26th-

    • Free Practice F3- 09:25am – 10:10am (BST)
    • Free Practice F2- 10:35am – 11:20am
    • Free Practice 1 F1- 13:00pm – 14:00pm
    • Qualifying F3- 14:30pm – 15:00pm
    • Free Practice 2 F1- 16:00pm – 17:00pm
    • Qualifying F2- 17:30pm – 18:00pm

    Saturday 27th-

    • Sprint Race F3- 09:35am – 10:20am (BST)
    • Free Practice 3 F1- 12:00pm – 13:00pm
    • Qualifying F1- 15:00pm – 16:00pm
    • Sprint Race F2- 17:00pm – 17:45pm

    Sunday 28th-

    • Feature Race F3- 07:50am (BST)
    • Feature Race F2- 09:20am
    • F1 Race- 14:00pm

  • Lawson FP1 run

    Liam Lawson will be making his Formula 1 debut on Friday, as Alpha Tauri have announced that the Carlin driver will take over the reins of the AT03 for the opening Free Practice session at Spa-Francorchamps.

    The New Zealander will be getting behind the wheel of Pierre Gasly’s car, as part of the two young driver sessions, F1 teams are required to run this season.

    So far in his 2022 season, the 20 year old has two wins and six podiums to his name, and currently sits eight in the Drivers’ Championship.

    Part of their junior programme since 2019, the Red Bull and Alpha Tauri reserve driver got his first taste of F1 machinery with the Italian team last year during the post-season Young Drivers’ Test in Abu Dhabi and will now be taking the track following Formula 2’s Practice session.

    Super excited to say I’ll be doing my first FP1 this weekend in Spa. I honestly couldn’t think of a better place to do it, it’s going to be a very exciting feeling. It’s a historic track and a place that I’ve always enjoyed driving, so in a Formula 1 car it’s gonna be incredible. I’ve been doing a lot of sim work over the year as well leading up to this, so I think the prep has been really, really good. Obviously, I had my first outing last year in December and since then, honestly, I’ve been dying to get back in the car.

    Liam Lawson on his FP1 outing.

  • Zendeli to replace Caldwell

    Lirim Zendeli will be returning to the Formula 2 grid this weekend at Spa-Francorchamps as he takes the place of banned, Olli Caldwell at Campos Racing.

    Caldwell, managed to rack up 12 penalty points this season which has prevented Caldwell from being allowed to take part in this weekend’s races.

    Since loosing his seat halfway through his rookie F2 season in 2021 due to budget issues, Zendeli has only raced cars once as he made a FIA Formula 3 Championship appearance with Charouz Racing System earlier this year.

    His 2021 F2 campaign featured four points finishes in 17 races, and before that he won once across two seasons in FIA F3 and also claimed podiums in the Toyota Racing Series.

    I’m very excited and happy to be racing a F2 car again. It’s been a year now since my last time in F2 and I’m looking forward to this experience. Spa has been good to me, last time I drove there in F3 [I won]. Taking over the keys from Olli will be a big challenge but I will try my best to find the limits again as soon as possible. I also want to thank Olli and Campos for their trust in me and I’ll give it my all to return it in good results.

    Lirim Zendelli on racing in F2 again.

    After the last sanction imposed by the FIA, unfortunately, we cannot have Olli with us in this race. Zendeli comes in his place and I wish him a very good weekend, we know he has been out for a year but we hope he will have a quick adaptation to the car and I think that with all the support of the team we can have a good weekend.

    Adri Campos on the news.

  • Spa Tyre Allocation

    We are back racing this week, and we are in Belgium! Pirelli have chosen the tyres for the Belgian Grand Prix, with Formula 2 and Formula 3 joining us aswell this weekend.

    The middle of the range has been chosen: C2 (Hard), C3 (Medium), C4 (Soft).

    The asphalt is new between Turns 2 and 4, and Turns 8 and 9, with the bumps removed as well as increased grip. Gravel traps have been added close to the track at Turns 1, 6, 7 and 9. The gravel features sharp stones as well as some sharp edges close to the concrete kerbing.

    Spa is one of the most demanding circuits for tyres on the calendar, featuring particularly high later loads. The famous Eau Rouge-Raidilon complex is just one of the places where the tyres are subjected to multiple forces.

    Variable weather is always a famous hallmark of Spa *flashback to last year*, making an outing for the Intermediate or full Wet tyres a distinct possibility.

    Formula 2-

    The medium and soft tyres have been nominated for this weekend, three medium and two soft. The sprint race lasts 18 laps and the Feature Race lasting 25 laps.

    Formula 3-

    Drivers have three new sets to use of the Medium tyres across the weekend, plus another set of mediums carried over from the previous round for use in free practice. The sprint race is 15 laps and the feature race 18 laps.