Jordan's Track Talk

Tag: Spanish Grand Prix

  • F3 – Barcelona – Day 2 & 3

    Day 2-

    Roman Bilinski immediately covered off Martinius Stenshorne from the front row, but the Hitech TGR driver dived to the inside at Turn 1, while Tim Tramnitz opted for the outside line.
    The MP Motorsport driver collided with Stenshorne, spinning the Norwegian into the path of Bilinski.

    All three were out as a result of the contact, while a great start for Ivan Domingues from sixth on the grid left the rookie with the lead.

    The Safety Car was deployed for various incidents on the opening lap, including a collision between Tuukka Taponen and Rafael Camara. The ART Grand Prix suffered a slow getaway and the Trident driver was left unsighted, and with nowhere to go the pair made race-ending contact.

    The Safety Car was withdrawn and the Sprint resumed entering Lap 5, with Domingues getting a good restart to lead Noah Stromsted and Laurens van Hoepen in the top three.

    Alessandro Giusti had to avoid contact with teammate Tramnitz on the opening lap but his recovery from P10 started with a move on the other MP driver Bruno del Pino at Turn 4.

    Van Hoepen fell back from the top two after the restart, but Ramos was right with the ART car, and with DRS on lap 9, the Mexican driver secured P3 into Turn 1.

    Lap 12 and Theophile Nael looked to pull off a pass on James Wharton at Turn 1, the pair going wheel to wheel at Turn 1 that left the VAR driver taking to the escape road.

    Onto Lap 13 and Van Hoepen lost another spot, this time to Campos’ Tsolov as the Bulgarian driver rounded the ART into Turn 1.

    Giusti moved himself into seventh on Lap 15, using DRS to pass Wharton down the main straight. A few corners later, an opportunistic dive to the inside of Turn 5 gave Mari Boya 10th position in a great pass on compatriot del Pino.

    Boya’s charge continued at the expense of Leon the following lap, a DRS pass for ninth into the first corner on the PREMA Racing driver putting him in eighth.

    With five laps to go, Stromsted began to close back in on the race leader, lapping 0.3s quicker than Domingues and the Trident rookie was on the cusp of gaining DRS once more.
    But as the pair were about to begin Lap 18, the Dane suddenly slowed, pulling into the pitlane retiring from the race.

    It left Domingues to lead home a 1-2 for VAR with Ramos second on a great day for the team, Tsolov was third for Campos.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Domignues, P2: Ramos, P3: Tsolov, P4: van Hoepen, P5: Nael, P6: Giusti, P7: Boya, P8: Wharton, P9: Inthraphuvasak and P10: Leon.

    Day 3-

    Camara aced his start but Nikola Tsolov didn’t, he was slow to get up to speed and fell to eighth by the time they made turn 1.

    The Championship leader retained the lead ahead of Laurens van Hoepen and Nael in second and third respectively as the top three built a comfortable gap to Tuukka Taponen in fourth by the end of the first lap.

    Contact between Roman Bilinski and Jose Garfias brought out the Safety Car on Lap 3, the pair tangling at Turn 4 and coming to a halt.
    With their cars cleared, racing resumed going onto Lap 8 and after a great start from P10 on the grid, Martinus Stenshorne claimed P4 from Taponen at the first corner.

    The Finn’s day was made worse on the following lap as he slowed and dropped to the back of the field.

    Alessandro Giusti moved up into the top five as a result and that soon became fourth, with a pass on Stenshorne into the first corner on Lap 11.

    The top three continued to break away from the chasing pack and were two seconds clear by Lap 14, as van Hoepen and Nael remained within DRS range in the lead battle.

    Further back, Tsolov moved himself back into the top five with a DRS pass on Stenshorne on Lap 17. Ivan Domingues repeated the move on the following lap to demote the Hitech TGR driver to seventh position.

    Lap 18 and contact between Nicola Lacorte and Brando Badoer resulted in the PREMA Racing driver getting stuck in the gravel trap at Turn 1, bringing out the Safety Car once more.

    Racing resumed on Lap 21 and van Hoepen was under pressure from Nael in the podium battle. The Frenchman pulled off a brave overtake on the outside of turn 1 to move up to second.

    Their fighting allowed Camara to escape up the road and out of DRS range and he went on to claim win number three of 2025 for Trident.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Camara, P2: Nael, P3: Giusti, P4: Van Hoepen, P5: Tsolov, P6: Domingues, P7: Tramnitz, P8: Stromsted, P9: Stenshorne and P10: Voisin.

  • R9 – Spain

    Oscar Piastri has further strengthened his championship lead by clinching a commanding victory in the Spanish Grand Prix, the Australian leading teammate Lando Norris in a McLaren 1-2 amid a dramatic end to the race.

    Piastri made an excellent start from pole position, allowing the 24 year old to build an early lead from Verstappen who had overtaken Norris into Turn 1.
    Norris later retook the position – only for Verstappen to leapfrog both McLaren’s after the first pit stops, putting himself into P1.

    This proved to brief, as the Dutchman pitted early for a second stop, handling the lead back to Piastri all of which triggered much intrigue over whether Verstappen would opt for a three stop strategy.

    Verstappen did indeed embark on a three stop – but the whole picture was dramatically shaken up when a Safety Car was deployed in the latter stages after Kimi Antonelli’s Mercedes pulled off track with a mechanical issue prompting most of the frontrunners to pit again.

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

    A lovely result from McLaren, a 1-2 for the Papaya team, I don’t think they had anything to worry about as their pace was just incredible. Piastri kept it cool, calm and collected as always and produced a lovely drive.

    P3 for Leclerc, an unexpected podium for the Ferrari driver, but sometimes being there when another driver makes a mistake is sometimes a good thing.
    As for his teammate, Hamilton finished 6th he didn’t have the best race, he seemed to struggle a lot but still managed to get some decent points.

    P4 for Russell, a good result for the Mercedes driver finally after two bad race weekends. Unfortunately for his teammate, it was a horrible weekend, he went into the gravel with a mechanical issue saw him out of the race.

    P5 for Hulkenberg! A lovely result for him and the team, a massive points haul! Hulkenberg was pulling off some lovely overtakes and that result is very well deserved.

    P7 for Hadjar, another points finish for the young driver. As for his teammate, Lawson was just outside of the top 10. He finished in 11th.

    Points for Fernando Alonso finally! P9 on home soil for the Spanish driver. He was also the only Aston Martin car on the grid yesterday, so a good result for the team.

    Now we have a little break after a triple header, for Round 10, we are heading to Canada!

  • R9- Spain Qualifying

    Oscar Piastri has grabbed his fourth pole position of the season during Qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix, the championship leader beating McLaren teammate Lando Norris in the dying moment of the session.

    After setting the pace across Q1 and Q2, Piastri lost out to Norris when the opening runs of Q3 took place, the Briton having snatched provisional pole.
    But it was advantage Piastri as the final flying laps came in, the Aussie putting in a 1m 11.546s to go 0.209s quicker.

    Max Verstappen put in another solid performance to slot into third for Red Bull, while Mercedes’ George Russell set an identical lap time to the Dutchman but had to settle for fourth after crossing the line later.

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

    A lovely result for McLaren, a 1-2 finish in qualifying for the team, which is the best result they would of wanted going into this weekend. They will want to grab another 1-2 in the race today, but who is favoured to win? And will team orders come into play?

    A great result for Verstappen, keeping himself in the top 3. The Dutchman will be keeping close going into Turn 1 to see if he can go into the lead and try and grab as many points as he can for both championships.
    As for his teammate, Tsunoda qualified 20th… not a good result at all and no where near his teammate either, this is going to really hurt Red Bull in the Constructors’ if he doesn’t score points.

    Lewis Hamilton qualifies 5th, a good result for the Ferrari driver, in a decent position to score a good amount of points too, maybe even a possible podium depending on strategies. As for his teammate, Leclerc qualified 7th, could’ve been a lot better but still in the top 10.

    Russell had a much better qualifying compared to last week in Monaco, P4 for the Brit, he will be aiming for a podium today. So watch out for the battles from the Mercedes driver.

    P9 for Isack Hadjar, the rookie driver loves a top 10 start! I feel like this is just expected now from the Racing Bulls driver.

    A little mention to Gabriel Bortoleto, qualified in his highest position so far in P12, hopefully (fingers crossed) he can score his first points this weekend.

  • Stroll to miss Spanish Grand Prix

    Aston Martin have announced that Lance Stroll will not be taking part in the Spanish Grand Prix, with the Canadian set to undergo a medical procedure after experiencing pain in his hand and wrist.

    After participating in qualifying at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya – a session he finished 14th – the team confirmed a few hours later that Stroll is set to miss the remainder of the weekend.

    Stroll sustained fractures and a broken toe after a cycling accident during the 2023 pre-season, which led him to go for surgery as well as a rehabilitation process.
    He went on to make his return in time for the first race of the camapgin.

    The 26 year old went on to finish that even – in sixth place, despite later revealing that his medical team had initially doubted whether he would be able to compete in the opening races of the season.

    Ahead of the 2024 season, Stroll admitted that he had to adapt to a more cautious approach to his training programme.

    The 2025 season has marked Stroll’s seventh season with the Aston Martin team, having joined the team in 2019, when it was running under the Racing Point guise.
    He currently sits 11th in the Drivers’ Championship on 14 points.

    Over the course of the past six weeks Lance has been experiencing pain in his hand and wrist, which his medical consultant believes is in relation to the procedure he underwent in 2023. As a result his medical team have confirmed that he will not race tomorrow and he will undergo a procedure to rectify these issues before focusing on his recovery.
    A statement from the team.

  • F3 – Barcelona – Day 1

    Practice-

    Rafael Camara made a bright start to the Barcelona weekend, setting a 1:29.024 to finish up as the quickest driver in Free Practice for Trident.

    The Brazilian logged his best effort on his attempt, and finished the session 0.3s quicker than closest challenger Alessandro Giusti of MP Motorsport. Home hero, Mari Boya was third for Campos Racing.

    Teams looked to maximise their track time with relevant running in the only session ahead of Qualifying, so opted to wait before getting serious running underway.

    With his first lap of the day, Camara set the time to beat with a 1:29.024 in the Trident, while Giusti slotted into second, 0.322s down on the Championship leader.

    Boya made a strong start to his home weekend as he went third-quickest in his Campos, while Martinius Stenshorne and Tim Tramnitz rounded out the top five after the first round of laps.

    Trident remained on track, while everyone returned to the pitlane with just over 10 minutes to go, and Charlie Wurz improved to go fourth on a 1:29.615.

    With tyre life at a premium in hot conditions, there were very few improvements after the first set of laps in the closing minutes.

    Qualifying-

    Rafael Camara was in formidable form in Barcelona Qualifying, taking his fourth pole position in the opening five rounds of the 2025 season.

    The Trident driver set a 1:28.761 for the top spot, 0.2s clear of Campos Racing’s Nikola Tsolov and ART Grand Prix driver Laurens van Hoepen in third.

    The battle for track position started immediately as drivers sought the ideal place to gain a tow but avoid traffic ahead of them. Eventually Noah Stromsted won a place at the front of the queue with Trident teammate Rafael Camara right behind them.

    The Trident pair completed their laps, but they were instantly beaten by Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak on a 1:29.433 who set the early benchmark.

    Tuukka Taponen beat that on his first flying lap as ART Grand Prix opted to run their trio off sequence and later than the rest. The Finn pipped Inthraphuvasak by 0.042s, as teammate James Wharton slotted into third place.

    Track limits became a big factor as drivers returned to the pitlane, with several drivers losing their original times for exceeding track limits. Tim Tramnitz was one of those along with Tsolov, leaving both without a lap going into the second runs.

    Tsolov delivered a time good enough for P4 to kick off second round of laptimes, but Camara behind was flying.

    A 1:28.671 put him on provisional pole ahead of the ART’s van Hoepen, while Alessandro Giusti and Tramnitz followed in third and fourth.

    Into the final runs, Camara told his team he’d wait to head back out in order to get a clean track, while his rivals rejoined the circuit to try and dislodge him for P1.

    But nobody could prevent Camara from sealing his fourth pole of the season. Tsolov and van Hoepen were his closest challengers in second and third after the Campos driver improved on his last attempt.

    The full top 10 are- Pole: Camara, P2: Tsolov, P3: van Hoepen, P4: Nael, P5: Ramos, P6: Giusti, P7: Domingues, P8: Stromsted, P9: Taponen and P10: Tramnitz.

  • R9 – Tyre Selection

    The second triple-header of the season concludes at another classic Formula 1 track, the Barcelona-Catalunya circuit that has hosted the Spanish Grand Prix every year since 1991.

    It’s an eagerly awaited event as the track is one of the most complete in offering a full range of technical challenges. That’s why it was one of the most popular tracks for testing, on the basis if a car works well here it does everywhere else.

    Since the inaugural race in 1991, the track has undergone several modifications, especially in the final part, with various attempts made to create overtaking opportunities.

    In 2023, the original configuration was restored, with the final two corners linked so as to make for a much faster entry onto the pit straight, one of the longest on the calendar.

    In the race, drivers tackle 66 laps of the 4.657 kilometre track with its 14 corners. The highest downforce corners are turns 3 and 9, both right handers.

    Not only is the track challenging for the cars, it also places high demands on the tyres.
    After two consecutive rounds featuring the softest trio in the 2025 range, as usual Pirelli has chosen the hardest, namely the C1 (Hard), C2 (Medium) and C3 (Soft).

    The forces exerted on the tyres are medium to high, because of the many fast corners, such as turn 3 and the final two, both of them righthanders. The corner of the car subjected to the greatest stress is the front left, as right hand turns are in the majority.

    Even if the Barcelona-Catalunya circuit is no longer used for testing by the teams, because of the virtual elimination of in-season testing a reduction in pre-season work, it is still a very important test bench.

  • Haas confirm Hirakawa for FP1

    Haas have confirmed Ryo Hirakawa will replace Esteban Ocon during FP1 at the Spanish Grand Prix this weekend.

    The Japanese driver will get his second first practice run out with the American team at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, having deputised for Ollie Bearman in Bahrain.

    That came the week after Hirakawa stood in for Jack Doohan in the weekend-opening session at Suzuka, before promptly leaving Alpine early the following week to rejoin Haas, where he enjoyed test and reserve opportunities last season.

    The 31 year old is expected to also compete in FP1 in Mexico and Abu Dhabi later this year, which will satisfy the team’s four rookie session requirements.

    Hirakawa has strong links to the Banbury-based squad due to his ties to Toyota, which is a technical partner of the team.

  • Martins to make F1 debut with Williams

    Williams have confirmed that Victor Martins will participate in an F1 race weekend for the first time at the upcoming Spanish Grand Prix, by getting behind the wheel of the FW47 during Free Practice 1.

    Martins who joined the Williams Driver Academy in March – is currently competing in his third Formula 2 season, during which he has so far scored a podium in the Saudi Arabia Feature Race as well as taking pole position in Melbourne.

    The Frenchman previously won a closely-fought title fight in the 2022 Formula 3 campaign, beating drivers including Isack Hadjar and Ollie Bearman to take the crown at the Monza season finale.

    Following his progression to F2, Martins helped the ART Grand Prix to secure their first F2 teams’ title in 2023 and went on to claim five podiums in 2024, which included a victory in Barcelona.

    In preparation for his FP1 debut, Martins took part in the TPC (Testing of Previous Cars) programme in Monza earlier this year where he drove the FW45 alongside fellow Williams Racing Academy driver Luke Browning.

    Martins’ FP1 appearance will mark the second of the team’s four mandated young driver sessions of the season, with Browning having previously been in action during first practice in Bahrain.

    I’m super happy to be taking the wheel of the FW47 for the first time in Barcelona! It will be an incredible experience to drive for the team. I’m working hard to prepare as much as possible to maximise my time in the car and make it a valuable session for myself and the team. I’m hugely grateful to everyone at Atlassian Williams Racing for giving me this opportunity and I’m looking forward to enjoying every second of it!
    Martins on the news.

    We’re proud that Victor will be taking part in his first Formula 1 session with Atlassian Williams Racing in Barcelona. He continues to demonstrate that he is a talented driver, and this session is an important step forward in his career as part of the Academy. His participation in our TPC programme and simulator work in Grove have prepared him well and we look forward to seeing him in the garage this weekend.
    Sven Smeets, Sporting Director at Williams.

  • Madrid to host F2 & F3 races from 2026

    The Spanish Formula 1 Grand Prix, set to take place in Madrid from 2026 to 2035, will also feature the FIA Formula 2 and FIA Formula 3 Championships.

    The ten year agreement brings the lower-tier F1 categories to Madrid, enriching the fan experience with not only the thrill of top-tier racing but also the opportunity to witness the merging talents on the road to Formula 1.

    This agreement was signed by FIA F2 and FIA F3 CEO Bruno Michel, Jose Vicente de los Mozos, President of the Executive Committee of IFEMA Madrid, Daniel Martinez, Executive Vice-President of IFEMA Madrid and Luis Garcia Abad, General Director of IFEMA Madrid.

    Having both Formula 2 and Formula 3 racing on the same weekend as Formula 1 underscores the commitment of the Spanish GP organisers to deliver a sporting and entertainment experience for fans.

    I am extremely happy to bring F2 and F3 to Madrid, at this exciting new venue. It’s important that the young drivers in both our championships get to race on as many F1 tracks as possible. With the addition of Madrid to the Formula 1 calendar, it was logical that F2 and F3 would follow suit. I am really looking forward to our cars providing the spectators with some thrilling racing.
    Bruno Michel on the news.

    At IFEMA Madrid, we are very proud to bring F2 and F3 to our Grand Prix alongside F1, as our goal is to make the F1 Spanish Grand Prix 2026-2035 the best event possible. The FIA F2 and FIA F3 categories are fundamental for the future of the sport, as they produce the future stars of F1. This makes the Spanish Grand Prix 2026-2035 an even more unmissable event, offering fans a complete experience full of talent, spectacle, and excitement, with a unique motorsport offering.
    Jose Vicente de los Mozos adds.

  • F2 – RND 6 Day 2 & 3

    Day 2-

    Maini suffered wheelspin off the line from pole and dropped to fourth while Martins profited to take the lead on the run to the first corner.
    Ritomo Miyata swept around the outside at Turn 1 to go from fourth to second, ahead of Correa and Maini.

    On lap 2 and Maini made a late dive to the inside of Correa at the opening corner to recover one position. Teammate Gabriel Bortoleto followed him through at Turn 4.

    In the battle for seventh, Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Isack Hadjar fought hard early on, though the Campos Racing driver was unable to find a route through on the PREMA Racing talent.

    By lap 10, Martins was able to escape from DRS range of Miyata behind and led by 1.5s, while the Japanese driver held a 1.1s advantage over Maini in the podium places.

    Antonelli had dropped out of DRS range to Paul Aron ahead and after a long time of trying, Hadjar finally cleared the PREMA driver into Turn 1 on lap 12.

    With 10 laps to go, track limits became a problem for Miyata, and the Rodin driver was assigned a five-second penalty for one too many breaches.
    He earned a second time penalty in his struggle to remain ahead of Maini to bring that total up to 10 second with five laps remaining.

    Further back, Hadjar lost seventh to Crawford as both DAMS cars looked to be taking better care of the tyres than those ahead. Correa was pressuring Bortoleto for the final podium place, but the Brazilian was able to fend him off to maintain position.

    Onto the penultimate lap and a sizeable lock-up into Turn 5 was evidence of how hard Bortoleto was pushing to keep Correa behind. However, it gave the American a run into Turn 10 and after diving to the inside, he claimed fourth on the road.

    Aron was next to clear Bortoleto, rounding the Invicta driver at Turn 3 on the final lap to take P5, as two corners later Crawford followed through to take sixth from him.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Martins, P2: Maini, P3: Aron, P4: Crawford, P5: Bortoleto, P6: Hadjar, P7: Miyata, P8: Correa, P9: O’Sullivan and P10: Durksen.

    Day 3-

    Pole sitter Paul Aron got the perfect launch to lead into Turn 1 ahead of Crawford and Colapinto.
    Further back, contact sent Victor Martins and Dennis Hauger spinning into the gravel at Turn 2 leaving both out of the race.

    Isack Hadjar was the biggest winner, moving up from 11th to fifth in the opening half lap prior to the Safety Car deployed for Hauger and Martins’.

    Racing resumed on lap 4 and Aron retained the lead, escaping over a second clear to move out of DRS range to Crawford behind.

    Lap 8 and the hard compound runners began to benefit over those on softs, with Joshua Duersken taking fifth from Hadjar into Turn 1.
    Crawford was in from second at the end of the lap, with Ritomo Miyata and Zak O’Sullivan following the DAMS driver in from inside the top 10.

    Gabriel Bortoleto pitted on lap 11 for Invicta Racing, filtering back out in P14 behind Crawford but with warm tyres, O’Sullivan was able to pass him on the outlap to take the position.

    Leader Aron was called into the pits and Colapinto followed him in on lap 12. The Hitech rejoined ahead of Crawford but with the DAMS driver on his rear wing.
    Through turn 3, the American driver took ninth from Aron, while Colapinto retained position over Bortoleto.

    Duerksen had been the leader and yet to pit on the alternative strategy but on lap 18, he slowed to a half in the middle sector to bring out another Virtual Safety Car.
    His stoppage handed the lead over to Juan Manuel Correa, who was also yet to pit.

    Racing resumed on lap 20, and Colapinto put Bortoleto under immediate pressure, with the Invicta driver getting his elbows out to keep the place.
    Just behind them, Aron got the slipstream to take 10th from O’Sullivan at Turn 2. One lap later and Hadjar eased by the ART driver at Turn 1.

    With 10 laps to go, Correa pitted from the race lead for the soft compound, filtering back out onto the track in P9 just as Aron made a brave dive on Bortoleto into Turn 1 to take fifth.

    As Hitech Pulse-Eight’s Amaury Cordeel pitted, Crawford retook the lead with Colapinto his closest rival for the win 3.6s behind in P2.

    Onto lap 34, and Hadjar desposed Bortoelto for fifth while Invicta teammate Kush Maini gained seventh at the expense of Maloney on the run into Turn 1.

    The Invicta teammate were nose to tail on the final lap and going wheel-to-wheel into the first corner collided with one another, leaving Bortoleto with front wing damage and Maini ahead in sixth.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Crawford, P2: Colapinto, P3: Correa, P4: Aron, P5: Hadjar, P6: Maini, P7: Maloney, P8: Cordeel, P9: Marti and P10: Bortoleto.

  • F3 – RND 5 Day 2 & 3

    Day 2-

    It was as you were at the start with Trident’s pole-sitter Santiago Ramos leading teammate Sami Megueounif away with the home favourite Boya in third.

    But there was plenty of battling in the midfield with Christian Mansell, Gabriele Mini, Luke Browning and Nikola Tsolov going four-wide down the main straight, with the Australian driver taking 13th ahead of his rivals.

    Ramos and Meguetounif were now squabbling for the lead at the start of Lap 3, but the Trident pair then collided at Turn 1. The Frenchman spun off while the former was forced to pit with a puncture.

    This promoted Boya into the lead ahead of Dunne and Goethe, but the Safety Car was quickly called upon with Callum Voisin and Nikita Bedrin stopping on track after colliding at the same corner.

    The action resumed on lap 7 and Van Amersfoort Racing’s Neol Leon was on the move again. The Mexican driver got past Arvid Lindblad at Turn 5, putting him sixth after starting in P13.

    As lap 10 got underway, Dunne was now right on the back of Boya, with Goethe just behind. They had separated themselves from the field as Martinius Stenshorne made the move past Laurens van Hoepen for P4, with Leon later following him through to fifth.

    On lap 14 of 21, a DRS train had now been formed from Boya in the lead to Sebastian Montoya in the final points paying position – the Colombian having gone from P27 on the grid to P12.

    But it was soon to be bad news for the Campos driver after he made slight contact with Mini at the exit of Turn 4. The Prema driver sustained a puncture causing him to lose control of his car which sent him into Montoya, with both ending up in the gravel and the Safety Car was called upon once again.

    However, with so few laps remaining, the Safety Car was withdrawn at the end of the final lap to leave Boya unchallenged to cross the line for his first victory in the championship.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Boya, P2: Dunne, P3: Goethe, P4: Stenshorne, P5: Van Hoepen, P6: Leon, P7: Fornaroli, P8: Beganovic, P9: Lindblad and P10: Tramnitz.

    Day 3-

    It was as you were at the start with Mansell getting a strong launch from pole to lead Lindblad and his ART teammate Nikola Tsolov.

    Oliver Goethe though was the one driver to lose out in the early exchanges as he dropped from fifth to eighth, promoting Luke Browning and Leonardo Fornaroli.

    Mansell was coming under pressure from Lindblad for the lead and the PREMA Racing driver’s attack finally paid dividends on lap 5 as he went round the outside of Mansell at Turn 1 to take the first position.

    Approaching the halfway stage of the race, Mansell was now over a second and a half behind Lindblad, with Browning being told to make the move past the ART driver.

    Goethe was able to get past van Hoepen for P6, with the Dutchman now coming under pressure from Martinius Stenshorne.

    On lap 17, Lindblad was now well over three seconds clear out front while Mansell had escaped from DRS range of Browning. The Hitech driver was now coming under pressure from Tsolov and Fornaroli as they battle for the final spot on the podium.
    The Trident driver then made his way past on lap 22, going round the outside of Tsolov at Turn 1.

    Fornaroli now set his sights on Browning up ahead, the gap between the pair just a second. Tsolov though was beginning to struggle on his tyres, losing out to Goethe for P6 on the next lap.

    Browning and Fornaroli went wheel-to-wheel for P3 on the penultimate lap and further behind, Stenshorne and van Hoepen were doing the same for P7. However, the McLaren junior and ART rookie collided at Turn 4, leaving both with punctures.

    On to the final lap and Fornaroli went around the outside of Browning at Turn 2 to take P3, just as heavy rain hit the track.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Lindblad, P2: Mansell, P3: Fornaroli, P4: Goethe, P5: Browning, P6: Tsolov, P7: Dunne, P8: Beganovic, P9: Leon and P10: Ramos.

  • RW 10 – Spain

    The Spanish Grand Prix is officially over, and it was Max Verstappen who was victorious in Barcelona, after he held off pole-sitter Lando Norris to take his seventh win of the season.

    The Red Bull driver first took the lead of the race on lap 3 after the Mercedes of George Russell who started fourth, made the most of his electric start as the lights went out to lead early on.

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

    A lovely result for Max! Another win in the bag for the reigning Champion, he had a bit of a challenge from Norris, not making it easy but the Dutchman knew what he needed to do to secure the win.
    His teammate, Sergio Perez didn’t have the best of races, starting P11 and he finished P8, not a major improvement, and he will be hoping for better next weekend in Austria.

    A decent result for Norris, I know he wanted the win and felt like he should’ve got it but it is racing sometimes, but the team and Norris should be proud of how far they’ve come, especially the past couple of races.

    A wonderful result for Mercedes, Hamilton back on the podium! And George in P4, a very good points haul for the team and a great race in general with the pace of the car and how it has improved. I think next for them would be a double podium or a win.

    An okay race for the Italian team P5 for Leclerc and P6 for Sainz. The drivers had a bit of a clash in the race, where now they are not agreeing on whose fault it is, which will make debriefs in Maranello a bit awkward. The team will be looking to see what’s going on as they were not really fighting too much with the top 4.

    Both Alpine drivers in the points again, not really too much to say on them apart from the fact they’re improving week on week and it is good to see.

    A decent drive from Hulkenberg to P11, so close to the points but not close enough, that will be a good point to take away from the race for Haas.

    No Aston Martin’s in the points, I don’t think I was surprised to see this, it’s a shame for the team but at this moment in time they are going backwards and not forwards.

  • F2 – RND 6 Day 1

    Free Practice-

    Paul Aron started the Barcelona weekend in good form, topping the Free Practice session for Hitech Pulse-Eight.
    The Estonian set a 1:26.922 to head the pack ahead of Enzo Fittipaldi in the Van Amersfoort Racing car and MP Motorsport’s Franco Colapinto.

    AIX Racing’s Joshua Duerksen set the initial pace, a 1:27.742 putting him on top early with the majority waiting to venture out onto the circuit.

    That was bettered by Ritomo Miyata in the Rodin Motorsport, lowering the time to beat to a 1:27.639.
    As the clocked ticked to under 30 minutes remaining, the track filled up and the times kept flowing.

    Championship leader, Paul Aron was the first to break into the 1:26s, setting the fastest time of 1:26.922 with just over 20 minutes left of the session.
    Fittipaldi filtered through in second, 0.136s down with Colapinto third for MP.

    Qualifying-

    Paul Aron continued the way he left free practice, setting the fastest time in Qualifying for his maiden Formula 2 pole position in an incredibly close session.

    DAMS Lucas Oil’s Jak Crawford ended up just 0.002s back in second, with Franco Colapinto third for MP Motorsport, 0.006s behind Aron.

    After ending up fastest in practice, Aron set the first time to beat on a 1:25.385. MP teammates Dennis Hauger and Colapinto filed through in second and third places respectively.

    The red flag was then thrown after AIX Racing’s Taylor Barnard went off at Turn 9 and into the barriers. He was out of the car and ok, but his car needed recovering.

    Running resumed with 23 minutes left on the clock but there were no threats to Aron’s provisional pole time until Isack Hadjar ventured out for his first flying lap.
    The Frenchman put his Campos at the top of the times, setting a 1:25.205.

    PREMA Racing’s Andrea Kimi Antonelli was able to move up to second place, just 0.141s down on Hadjar’s effort.

    After a brief spell of quiet in the pitlane, everyone was fitted with fresh soft tyres and took to the track once again with under 10 minutes to go.

    Aron was able to find further improvements to retake the top spot with a 1:24.766 before Ritomo Miyata put himself up to P2 for Rodin, 0.182s behind.

    The full top 10 are- Pole: Aron, P2: Crawford, P3: Colapinto, P4: Bortoleto, P5: Antonelli, P6: Miyata, P7: Durksen, P8: Correa, P9: Martins and P10: Maini.

  • RW 10 – Spain Qualifying

    Qualifying is done in Barcelona and we now have had four different drivers on pole in the last four races…

    McLaren driver, Lando Norris secured the second pole position of his Formula 1 career after coming out on top in an epic battle with rival Max Verstappen.

    Norris, who was last on pole at the Sochi Autodrom back in 2021, had trailed Verstappen after the opening Q3 rounds, but produced a stunning final lap of 1m 11.383s to outpace the Dutchman by two hundredths of a second.

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

    What a lovely result from McLaren and Lando Norris! Pole position! So far this weekend they have looked really strong so it’s no surprise seeing them up there.
    Piastri starts 10th, obviously it’s not the best place for Aussie. He will be wanting to stay out of trouble at the start of the race and make as many moves as possible as he can.

    Lovely result for Max, I don’t think there was many complaints from him, his teammate finished 8th in qualifying, however he won’t be starting 8th as he has a three place grid penalty from Canada so will be starting 11th.

    A lovely result for both Mercedes! A second row lockout for the team, we saw how they improved last time out in Canada, and it definitely looks like it wasn’t a one-off which is nice to see. Let’s see how well Hamilton and Russell do in the race!

    An okay result for Ferrari, it definitely could’ve been better for the Italian team, it will be all to play for in the race, as Leclerc will be looking to bounce back from an awful Canadian Grand Prix. And Carlos Sainz will be wanting a good home grand prix.

    A decent result for Alpine! Both cars in the top 10 which is good to see, it seems like the improvements they have made to the car recently has helped a little bit.

    Aston Martin are having a bit of trouble at the moment, not the best results for the team lately. Alonso qualified 11th but will be starting 10th and Stroll will be starting 14th…

  • F3 – RND 5 Day 1

    Free Practice-

    Martinius Stenshorne led the way at the Barcelona free practice, as the Hitech Pulse-Eight driver completed a lap of 1:28.774 to top the timesheets ahead of Campos Racing’s Oliver Goethe and PREMA Racing’s Gabriele Mini.

    After a quiet first half of the 45 minute session, the drivers head out on to the track for their flying laps of the day, and after the first efforts, it was Mini that went fastest.

    The Championship leader completed a lap of 1:28.847 to go six-tenths clear at the front ahead of Van Amersfoort Racing’s Noel Leon in second.

    Next to go to the top of the timesheets was Campos’ Goethe, who set a time of 1:28.810, while his teammate Sebastian Montoya moved up to third behind Mini.

    While most of the gird came back into the pitlane with 10 minutes left, Hitech Pulse Eight’s trio of drivers stayed out on track.
    Stenshorne then went quickest with a 1:28.774 while Luke Browning was two-tenths back in fourth as Cian Shields went to P8.

    As the session entered into the final five minutes, the red flags were waved with Campos’ Mari Boya in the barrier at Turn 1. The home favourite appeared to suffer an issue on the run down the main straight sending him through the gravel and then into the wall.

    Qualifying-

    Christian Mansell is set to start Formula 3’s 100th race from Pole Position after he beat PREMA Racing’s Arvid Lindblad to top spot in a dramatic qualifying.

    The ART Grand Prix driver set a 1:28.463 on his final attempt in the session to take his maiden Pole in the category, with Lindblad ending up second just 0.036s off the pace, while Mansell’s teammate Nikola Tsolov was third.

    After the first set of laps, it was the third ART driver Laurens van Hoepen who went fastest. The Dutchman’s time of 1:29.187 saw him beat Trident’s Leonardo Fornaroli to the top spot by less than a tenth.

    The drivers then returned to the pitlane and strapped on a second set of Pirelli hard tyres in preparation for the next set of push laps.
    As they crossed the line to complete the second flying efforts it was Luke Browning that went fastest with a 1:28.888.

    On the final runs, the fastest effort changed hands multiple times before Mansell eclipsed Lindblad’s time by just 0.036s with his lap of 1:28.463 giving him his first Formula 3 pole position.

    The full top 10 are- Pole: Mansell, P2: Lindblad, P3: Tsolov, P4: Browning, P5: Goethe, P6: Fornaroli, P7: Stenshorne, P8: Van Hoepen, P9: Dunne and P10: Boya.

  • RW 10 – Tyre Selection

    The Spanish Grand Prix takes place at the Barcelona-Catalunya Circuit, which is one of the most technically demanding tracks for the cars and also the tyres.

    Therefore it’s no surprise that once again for this event, Pirelli has chosen its three hardest tyre compounds, C1 (Hard), C2 (Medium), C3 (Soft), the same three selected for the opening round of the year in Bahrain.

    The track is one of the most complete of any circuit in the world, in terms of the challenges it presents. Apart from its straights, it boasts every possible type of corner, with some of them such as turn 3 and the combination of 13 and 114 which lead onto the main straight, taken at very high speeds.

    The lateral forces exerted o the tyres, especially on the lefthand side of the car are particularly high, partly because nine of the 14 turns are to the right.

    For many years, this circuit was home to winter testing for the teams and also marked the start of the European part of the season, which also signified the arrival of the first major upgrades of the year.
    Recently, changes to pre-season testing and the calendar mean this is no longer the case, but Barcelona is still a probing test.

    In 2023, the original configuration, used since 1991 when this track first appeared on the Formula 1 calendar, was reinstated.
    It was changed in 2007 with the insertion of a chicane before the final corner, with the aim of creating another overtaking opportunity but this did not materialise.
    With the removal of the chicane, combined with the aerodynamic configuration of the current cars have seen an increase in overtaking.

    This year’s race takes place three weeks later than 2023, so it could be hotter and that could add another factor to tyre management.
    In terms of strategy, a two-stop should be the quickest option with all compounds possibly coming into play. If degradation is higher, then even a three-stop might be feasible.

    Another consideration at the Barcelona-Catalunya Circuit is the importance of qualifying. In no fewer than 24 races here, the pole sitter has gone on to be first past the chequered flag and adding to the importance of this statistic is that on four other occasions the driver who was quickest in qualifying retired from the race.

  • Bearman to drive in FP1 for Haas

    Haas team boss Ayao Komatsu has confirmed that Oliver Bearman will make his next practice outing with the squad at this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix, adding to a recent run out in Imola.

    Ferrari-backed Bearman is one of the hottest prospects in the paddock at present, having underlined his junior credentials with a starring stand-in performance for Ferrari at this year’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

    A previous Italian and ADAC F4 Champion, and third-place finisher in F3, the 19 year old Brit is now tackling F2 alongside official F1 reserve driver duties for Ferrari and Haas.

    While his current F2 campaign has been a rollercoaster ride so far, leaving him 13th in the standings after five rounds, however Bearman continues to impress when given the opportunity in F1 machinery.

    He first appeared in FP1 for Haas at the 2023 Mexican and Abu Dhabi Grands Prix and sampled the VF-24 during the recent Emilia Romagna Grand Prix weekend.

    Bearman, who is set to complete four more FP1 runs with Haas as the season goes on, will replace Nico Hulkenberg for the opening 60 minute session at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

    Haas are yet to confirm either of their two drivers for next season, with Hulkenberg heading to KIck Sauber and Kevin Magnussen attempting to extend his latest stint at the team into what would be a fourth campaign since returning to Haas in 2022.

    Thanks to top-10 finishes in Saudi Arabia, Australia and China, Haas sit seventh in the constructors’ standings after nine of this year’s 24 scheduled rounds, 21 points behind RB and two ahead of Alpine.

    Of course we are evaluating him. If he is not [under] consideration, we wouldn’t be running him in FP1, and the next time he’s going to be in the car is in Barcelona.

    I don’t particularly have a timeframe, it’s more about getting the right driver for our team. We are still a pretty small team. To have somebody experienced, somebody who’s got a really good work ethic, to integrate with the team well and really push the team forward… that’s what we’re looking for, so we’re talking with several different drivers.
    Komatsu on the drivers market and Ollie Bearman.

  • Madrid to join F1 calendar from 2026

    Formula 1 has announced that the Spanish Grand Prix will be held in Madrid from 2026 to 2035 following an agreement with IFEMA Madrid to bring an all new circuit to the Spanish capital, which will incorporate both street and non-street sections.

    Built around the world-class IFEMA exhibition centre, the 5.47km circuit – subject to FIA homologation and final design specification – will feature 20 corners, with a projected qualifying lap time of 1 minute 32 seconds.

    It is projected to have capacity to host more than 110,00 fans per day across grandstand, general admission and VIP hospitality, while there are plans to grow the circuit’s capacity to 140,000 per day over the first half of the agreement, making Madrid one of the largest venues on the F1 calendar

    Located five minutes from the Madrid-Barajas Aldolfo Suarez airport, the Spanish Grand Prix will become one of the most accessible races on the F1 calendar, with the circuit just a short commute away by Metro, train and city lines.

    F1 is committed to reaching Net Zero Carbon by 2030 and IFEMA Madrid shares the vision to make the Spanish Grand Prix one of the most sustainable F1 events of the season, having greatly reduced its carbon emissions over the last five years and move to 100% renewable energy across all exhibition halls, while any temporary structure built for the race will be constructed using recyclable materials.

    Madrid is an incredible city with amazing sporting and cultural heritage, and today’s announcement begins an exciting new chapter for F1 in Spain. I would like to thank the team at IFEMA MADRID, the Regional Government of Madrid and the city’s Mayor for putting together a fantastic proposal. It truly epitomises Formula 1’s vision to create a multi-day spectacle of sport and entertainment that delivers maximum value for fans and embraces innovation and sustainability.

    Stefano Domenicali, President and CEO of Formula 1.

    Modern Formula 1 cars racing on a new circuit in the Spanish capital city of Madrid is an enticing prospect.As we build towards the introduction of the FIA 2026 Formula One regulations, which have been framed with Net Zero carbon by 2030 in mind, it is pleasing to see that the local organisers have placed a sharp focus on environmental sustainability in their plans for the event. As is customary, the proposed circuit will be subject to FIA homologation and safety checks and calendar approval by the World Motor Sport Council.

    Mohammed Ben Sulayem, President of the FIA.

    Our dream of hosting a major F1 event around IFEMA MADRID has come true. We are thrilled to announce the return of F1 to Madrid after more than four decades. We have the ambition to organise a Grand Prix that will become a reference in the F1 worldwide calendar, specifically conceptualized and designed to offer a distinctive and unique experience for both fans and teams participating in the competition. With this, Madrid wants to deep dive into the development of a new concept that combines sport and entertainment, while delivering a memorable event.

    Jose Vicente de los Mozos, President of the Executive Committee of IFEMA Madrid.

  • F3 – RND 5 – Day 2 & 3

    Day 2-

    Reverse pole sitter, O’Sullivan instantly defended the inside line, giving compatriot Browning a slip stream down into Tyrn 1. Despite that, Browning had to yield to his fellow Williams junior on the exit of Turn 2.

    A fast starting Paul Aron rocketed up from P8 to P5 by the time the Safety Car was deployed at the end of the opening lap after Rodin Carlin’s Ido Cohen found the barriers at Turn 9.

    Racing resumed on Lap 5 and O’Sullivan bolted away early through Turn 12, allowing him to pull clear from Browning. After qualifying down in P18, Gabriele Mini was on the charge, the Alpine junior was brave on the brakes, diving past Christian Mansell through Turn 7 for 12th.

    Running in P4, Saucy ran wide out of the final corner, opening the door for Aron to get through. Unable to fight back out of Turn 1, the ART Grand Prix driver was left vulnerable to those behind and lost places to both Sebastian Montoya and Gabriel Bortoleto, dropping to seventh.

    Mini and Mansell’s earlier battle reignited on Lap 16, but this time the pair made contact. It sent Mansell spinning off at Turn 2 to bring out a second Safety Car. Mini was then awarded a 10 second time penalty for the collision.

    The full top 10 are- P1: O’Sullivan, P2: Browning, P3: Fornaroli, P4: Bortoleto, P5: Aron, P6: Colapinto, P7: Boya, P8: Marti, P9: Saucy and P10: Barnard.

    Day 3-

    Despite getting a strong launch from pole, Marti was forced to immediately dive to the inside to cover off Taylor Barnard. Making an impression on his first front row start and benefiting from the slip stream.

    After scoring his maiden podium in the Sprint Race, Luke Browning’s race came to an early end on the opening lap. Contact with Leonardo Fornaroli down into Turn 4 left the Hitech Pulse-Eight pulling up with broken suspension to bring out the Safety Car.

    Marti opten to make the jump early on Lap 7, trying to pull away from Barnard through Turn 12. The Briton was all over the Campos just after the restart but couldn’t sustain the pace and dropped out of DRS range by lap 10.

    In the battle for the final points, Sprint Race winner Zak O’Sullivan made an ambitious overtake attempt on Oliver Goethe around the outside of Turn 13. It put the pair three-wide with Gregoire Saucy on the start of lap 19.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Marti, P2: Colapinto, P3: Beganovic, P4: Bortoleto, P5: Aron, P6: Boya, P7: Montoya, P8: O’Sullivan, P9: Barnard and P10: Mansell.

    Unfortunately Formula 3 is not back until July… we will be returning for Round 6 in Spielberg, Austria on the 30th June to 2nd July.

  • RND 8 – Spanish Grand Prix

    Round 8 is now complete, where we had quite a civilised race with no safety cars/ yellow flags or red flags and no retirements again!

    Max Verstappen was victorious once again, as he controlled the race from lights out to the chequered flag making it his fifth win of the season. He led home the Mercedes of both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell making it their first double podium of the season.

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

    A great drive from both Sergio Perez and George Russell, both starting from outside the top 10. Damage limitation that drive was and a good haul of points for both drivers.

    Not a good race for Leclerc, just an overall bad weekend for the Monegasque. Finishing 11th after starting 19th, which is a good move up but no points aren’t good, so hopefully he will have some good luck soon.

    Two points for Guanyu Zhou, which is fully deserved. He had a good race, some nice overtakes and his rewarded by getting points.

    Now, lets move on to Yuki Tsunoda, he was having a good race running in the points, making a few moves… And then it all went wrong, he got a 5 second time penalty for forcing Guanyu Zhou off track when he was overtaking. This dropped Yuki out of the points and finished 12th.

    With Round 8 now complete, we have to wait a little while till the next race, where we head to Canada for Round 9 on the 16th June to 18th June.

  • RND 8 – Barcelona Qualifying

    What a qualifying session, we have a very mixed up grid for the race but that’s what will make it all more exciting seeing a few driver’s battle their way through the field.

    Max Verstappen took his first pole position for the Spanish Grand Prix by comfortably getting the better of Ferrari rival Carlos Sainz and McLaren’s Lando Norris.

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

    Some bad news for Alpine, as Pierre Gasly may have qualified 4th but he won’t be starting 4th… He impeded both Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz where he was given 3 place grid penalty, twice, so he will be starting the race in 10th.

    Now looking a little further down the grid… Charles Leclerc is starting 19th as he dropped out of Q1 due to car complaints.

    Sergio Perez was another shock, as he got knocked out of Q2 due to taking a trip through the gravel, so he is due to start just outside the top 10 in 11th.

    We also have George Russell who is outside of the top 10, starting just behind Sergio Perez in 12th. During Q2 he had a bizarre incident with his teammate Lewis Hamilton, with the latter progressing on into the top 10.

    Predictions-

    My top five predictions are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Sainz, P3: Hamilton, P4: Ocon, P5: Alonso.

    I think the top five for tomorrow’s race will be mixed depending if there will be any safety cars/ red flags and who will optimise on others down fall.

  • 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.

  • F3 – RND 5 – Day 1

    Free Practice-

    Taylor Barnard took the top spot in Free Practice in Barcelona. After most opted to remain in the pitlane early on, the Jenzer Motorsport driver set a 1:28.831 to lead the way before a late red flag disrupted his rivals attempts to improve.

    With only a third of the running remaining, representative times began to be set. Luke Browning got his first attempt on the board with a 1:30.181, which was immediately bettered by teammate Sebastian Montoya with a 1:29.241.

    Barnard then put Jenzer Motorsport to the top of the timing sheets, breaking into the 1:28s to lead Caio Collet by 0.020s and edge a tenth ahead of fellow rookie Dino Beganovic.

    Turn 9’s fast nature proved to be a challenging point for several drivers. Piotr Wisnicki was the first Red Flag of the weekend, spinning off into the gravel at the top of the hill.

    Qualifying-

    Josep Maria Marti gave the Spanish fans plenty to celebrate already this weekend as he secured his maiden Formula 3 pole position on home soil.

    The Campos Racing driver’s 1:27.587 beat Jenzer Motorsport’s Taylor Barnard and Franco Colapinto from MP Motorsport by two and a half tenths.

    Keeping things neat and tidy, Leonardo Fornaroli briefly bagged the fastest lap, but Paul Aron quickly shot up into P1 with a 1:28.369 going over a tenth quicker than the Trident driver.

    With banker laps in the bag, drivers peeled into pits to change on to a fresh set of hard tyres and returned to the track with 18 minutes remaining.

    The full top 10 are: P1: Marti, P2: Barnard, P3: Colapinto, P4: Beganovic, P5: Aron, P6: Bortoleto, P7: Montoya, P8: Boya, P9: Fornaroli and P10: Saucy.

  • Spanish Grand Prix

    It’s race week once again! And this time were at the Spanish Grand Prix for Round 8, the home Grand Prix of Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz.

    Will Mercedes upgrades really show what their made of this weekend or will it be another RB dominated weekend?

    Can Fernando Alonso get that win he keeps talking about at his home race? And can Sergio Perez make up for what he did last time out this weekend?

    Who needs to shine?

    The Ferrari boys need a good weekend, yes they were in the points last weekend at the Monaco GP but they need to work as a team if they want to be further up in the drivers/constructors championship.

    McLaren will be wanting to do better, especially now Alpine have a podium under there belt and means the gap between them and McLaren is now bigger…

    Lance Stroll will be needing a better weekend, a DNF in Monaco, Miami scored no points as he finished in 12th and then looking back to the second race it was a DNF in Saudi Arabia too. With Alonso qualifying on the front row and finishing on the podium, he ideally needs his teammate there with him so they can make an impact on the Championship standings.

    Predictions for Qualifying-

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

    I don’t think it will be a mixed up qualifying session, only if someone crashes which means there out of Q1 or if someone gets knocked out of Q1, but I find that hard to believe.