Jordan's Track Talk

Tag: Zandvoort

  • R15 – Zandvoort

    Oscar Piastri has taken a victory in a hugely dramatic Dutch Grand Prix that saw McLaren teammate Lando Norris retire from the race due to a mechanical failure in the closing stages, marking a potentially seismic moment in the championship battle.

    Piastri had made a good start from pole when the race got underway, the Australian going on to build a lead from Max Verstappen after the Red Bull had overtaken Norris early on in Lap 1. Norris, however, went on to retake the position and the pair settled into a 1-2 formation.

    The race then faced a potential turn when the Safety Car was deployed after Lewis Hamilton hit the barriers on Lap 23, leading to a flurry of action in the pits. McLaren double-stacked their drivers and despite a slight delay for Norris, both cars maintained position.

    Norris continued his chase of his team mate from there and – despite a second Safety Car after a collision between Charles Leclerc and Kimi Antonelli that put the Ferrari out of the race – the fight looked to still be open as the race entered into its final stages.

    However, everything changed when smoke started to emerge from Norris’ McLaren with just a few laps to go, forcing him to retire at the side of the track.
    A Safety Car phase played out which saw Piastri hold onto P1 from Verstappen in P2, and rounding out the top three is a first time podium sitter, Isack Hadjar!

    The full top 10 are- P1: Piastri, P2: Verstappen, P3: Hadjar, P4: Russell, P5: Albon, P6: Bearman, P7: Stroll, P8: Alonso, P9: Tsunoda and P10: Ocon.

    What a result for Piastri! His first grand slam aswell and he done it in a mighty fashion! This is exactly how he would want his second half of the season to start!
    As for Norris, very gutting as he was edging closer to catching Piastri, he will be wanting to move onto the next race weekend.

    A good result for Verstappen! P2 at his home Grand Prix, I think that was the best he was going to get, but he will be happy with that result.
    As for Tsunoda, he managed to get in the points in P9, so a semi decent result.

    Now the star of the show, Isack Hadjar, he started P4 and finished P3, the Frenchmans very first podium in his rookie season! Thoroughly deserved, if I do say so myself. He should be very proud of how far his come this season already.

    A good result for Russell, P4 for him, not a bad result, shame he couldn’t get on the podium, but still a very good result. As for Antonelli it was a race to forget after he tangled with Leclerc and his race was basically over from there as he finished 16th.

    P5 for Albon! A great result for Williams, a good chunk of points for the team which was needed as the mid-field battle is heating up!

    Double points for Haas! P6 for Bearman which is his career best finish and Ocon finished in P10, a great result for the team.

    Double points for Aston Martin too! P7 for Stroll, and P8 for Alonso, quite a good weekend for the team, they’ve had some good pace this weekend will be interesting to see if they can carry it on.

    A weekend to forget for Ferrari, a double DNF which is unfortunate as they looked like they had pace this weekend too, they will be looking forward to the weekend as its their home Grand Prix.

  • R15 – Tyre Selection

    This weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix marks a milestone in Pirelli’s time in Formula 1, as this race will be the five hundredth world championship round of motorsport’s blue riband category in which the Italian marque has had an official presence.

    A lap of Zandvoort track is 4.259 kilometres in length, running through the dunes on the North Sea coast, just under 40 kilometres from the capital of the Netherlands.

    It boasts 14 low to medium speed corners – four to the left and ten to the right – of which the third and last are banked at angles of 19 and 18 degrees respectively, must steeper than the turns at Indianapolis.
    These corners generate very high vertical and lateral loads on the tyres, which requires the teams to pay close attention to set-up and management of the car-tyre package.

    The aerodynamic downforce level required is very high, similar to that seen in Budapest. The track usually offers low levels of grip and this can be greatly exacerbated by sand blown onto the surface by the coastal winds.

    For the race in the Netherlands, Pirelli has gone a step softer in terms of compounds than last year. The teams will have a choice of the C2 (Hard), C3 (Medium), C4 (Soft).

    The decision, taken in conjunction with the FIA, has the aim of increasing the likelihood of a strategy based on two stops, rather than just the one-stop, which has been the predominant choice since this race returned to the calendar in 2022.

    In 2024, 16 drivers lined up on the gird on the Medium tyre, while three drivers went for the Soft tyre, with one driver starting from the pit lane on the Hard tyre.
    Three quarter of the field made just one stop during the race, taking on the Hard tyre as the second set.

  • Kosterman as Wild Card entry in Zandvoort

    F1 Academy has announced Esmee Kosterman as the Wild Card entry for Round 5 of the season at Circuit Zandvoort, representing TeamViewer, the global leader in remote connectivity and digital workplace solutions.

    The 20 year old Dutch driver will debut with F1 Academy in a special edition livery that highlights innovators and changemakers driving progress – on and off track.

    Hailing for Wijk bij Duurstede in the Netherlands, Kosterman stepped up into car racing in 2021, cmpeting in the Ford Fiesta Sprint Cup Benelux.
    Two years later, she became the first woman to win in the series before going on to finish second in the Junior Cup and third in the overall standings.

    Kosterman continued to broaden her racecraft in the Dutch Supercar Challenge, BMW M2 Cup and the Lamera Cup.
    After scoring points on her Indian F4 debut last year, this season has seen her race in British F4 with appearances at Silverstone, Snetterton and Zandvoort.

    Our sport has the power to inspire change, and we are incredibly proud to be championing women both on and off track. We know that creating female role models in motorsport is already helping to improve participation at the junior level of racing, and working with TeamViewer, we are excited to take this further and inspire the next generation of women in STEM. Together our mission is to empower the next generation of female leaders and send a clear message: your presence matters, you are driving change.
    Karin Fink, Head of Commercial Operations, F1 Academy.

    It is our ambition to drive meaningful change both on and off the track. The opportunity to support Esmee in her F1 ACADEMY debut while driving a car featuring role models is the next step in achieving this. Our research found that not being able to see someone like you in a senior role made it harder to see a career in your chosen field. This is why it was so important to showcase so many role models on the car. Working with the F1 ACADEMY to see this come to life has been a highlight of the partnership so far. We look forward to supporting Esmee in person at her home race.
    Faith Wheller, VP of Brand, Integrated Marketing and Sports Partnerships, Teamviewer.

  • RW 15 – Netherlands

    Round 15 is officially complete, and it was McLaren’s Lando Norris who charged to a statement victory during the Dutch Grand Prix, overhauling Max Verstappen denying the Dutchman what would have been a fourth-straight home triumph.

    Norris lined up on pole position for Sunday’s race but his hopes of converting it into the win took a hit when Verstappen jumped off the line and slotted ahead at the first corner, before moving clear and breaking free of the DRS window.

    However, Norris gathered himself to mount a fight back as the race developed, finding another level of pace to close back in on the three time world champion and reclaim a lead he would not relinquish.

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

    A lovely result for McLaren, P1 for Lando, another win for the Brit! The upgrades McLaren brought to Zandvoort clearly worked as they dominated that race.
    Piastri finished P4, he will probably be a little disappointed with it as he could’ve got on the podium, but he was close, and gave a good fight to Charles Leclerc during the race.

    A good result for Max, P2, I think he was slightly gutted he couldn’t win his own Grand Prix (like anyone would be), but I think from the beginning of the weekend and how they struggled to how they finished it they need to be walking away happy, and look at what is needed to improve on.
    Perez finished in P6, an okay result from the Mexican, I think it could’ve been better but still a good amount of points.

    What a result for Leclerc! Another podium to add to his tally, apparently for the team it was quite unexpected but sometimes that is the best podiums as you know you’ve put a lot of hard work into it.
    Sainz finished P5 which is a very good result for the whole team.

    Now onto Mercedes, a decent drive from Lewis Hamilton after he started P14 and then went onto finish P8, so for him it was probably damage limitation, get into the points and see how many he can get.
    As for Russell, I feel like he kind of got swallowed up by the field, he had a great start to the race getting into P3 but by the time pit stops went around etc he ended up finishing the race in P7…

    A good result for our final points positions, P9 for Gasly which is good to see and P10 for Alonso, probably not the points he wanted after his qualifying position but being realistic with the cars around him it was probably going to end up this way anyway!

    Now, we don’t have to wait too long until the next race as it is this week! We head to Italy for Round 16 where it is the Italian Grand Prix – Ferrari’s home race.

  • F2 – RND 12 – Round-up

    Day 1, Free Practice-

    Oliver Bearman returned from the summer break and hit the ground running at Zandvoort, topping Free Practice for PREMA Racing with a 1:22.715.
    The Brit ended up 0.396s clear of MP Motorsport’s Dennis Hauger in second, and his teammate Frederik Vesti in third, just 0.073s further back.

    Looking to get some dry laps under his belt after a wet Spa-Francorchamps debut, PHM Racing by Charouz’s Joshua Mason got some laps in early.

    The track continued to rubber in quickly, with Jak Crawford going half a second clear in P1 on his next lap. His Hitech Pluse-Eight teammate Isack Hadjar displaced him before Bearman, Ayumu Iwasa and then Martins took over.

    Vesti was next to set the quickest time, going one tenth clear with 20 minutes to go until Hauger put home team MP Motorsport on top with a 1:23.111.
    Martins had another minor off after running deep at Turn 11 but carried on without issue.

    Qualifying-

    Jak Crawford proved to the other drivers, how you start the session matters as much as how you finish, as the Hitech Pulse-Eight driver secured his maiden Formula 2 pole position.

    As the American driver laid down a 1:21.210 on his second attempt of the Circuit, as three red flags denied the field a chance to improve.

    Dennis Hauger looked to have the pace but couldn’t complete his final two runs and was forced to settle for second by just 0.034s. Frederik Vesti bounced back after his disappointing weekend in Spa before the summer break by securing third.

    After the field pitted for their second sets of softs, disaster stuck for provisional pole sitter Crawford, the Hitech driver was forced to pit as he had a damaged front wing after contact with Novalak.

    Jehan Daruvala brought running to a halt with seven minutes remaining, spinning off on the exit of Turn 3 to trigger the Red Flag.

    After another red flag, it was a one lap shootout with less than four minutes left and Hauger continued to improved, but nobody could record a final time, as Novalak brought a red flag where he hit the barriers at Turn 3.

    Day 2, Sprint Race-

    Drama already began to unfold before lights out, as the expected rain fell on the Circuit Zandvoort. Championship leader, Pourchaire wasn’t able to take the start from reverse grid pole after a mechanical issue, forced the ART driver to being from the pit lane.

    Hadjar left it late on the rolling start, bolting off down the main straight to fend off Martin’s advances. Bearman pounced on Juan Manuel Correa, sliding past the Van Amersfoort Racing driver sliding past at Turn 1 for third.

    At the end of the top 10, contact between Kush Maini and Jake Crawford sent both cars spinning off at Turn 5, with Ralph Boschung unable to avoid colliding with his Campos Racing teammate. The Safety Car was deployed before being switch out for a Red Flag on Lap 3, as all three drivers clambered out of their cars.

    Following the lengthy break due to barrier repairs, the race was expected to resume with 22 minutes left on the clock, but the heavy downpours returned as Hadjar led the field back out behind the Safety Car.

    Given the torrential conditions, the Red Flag was waved for a second time, and it was swiftly confirmed that the race will not be restarted.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Hadjar, P2: Martins, P3: Bearman, P4: Correa, P5: Maloney, P6: Doohan, P7: Vesti, P8: Novalak, P9: Hauger and P10: Daruvala.
    However, no points were awarded due to the lack of racing and not going past the halfway mark.

    Day 3, Feature Race-

    Racing got underway with a rolling start in slipper conditions and Crawford got a perfect launch to retain the lead.
    Behind him, Championship contender Vesti suffered a spin at Turn 1 to fall from third to 19th position, while PREMA Racing teammate Oliver Bearman was tagged by Juan Manuel Correa and ran wide into the gravel at Turn 1.

    Victor Martins followed him off the track and both resumed in 14th and 15th respectively. Jack Doohan was another driver to hit trouble early, spinning in the last corner to bring out a Safety Car before the completion of Lap 1.

    Maloney was the first of the leading pack to make their mandatory pitstop from fourth position, switching from softs to mediums on lap 8. That pulled in leader Crawford, Dennis Hauger from P2 and Correa in third on the following lap.

    Championship leader, Pourchaire spun off the circuit whilst on his outlap after pitting, which caused him to crash out of the race at Turn 7.
    It then brought out the Safety Car but not before PREMA double-stacked their drivers. Vesti’s hope of retaking the lead of the Championship were dashed almost immediately though, losing both rear tyres on his outlap and he was too out of the running.

    After all the drama, Novalak led the pack having stopped just prior to the Safety Car intervention. Crawford followed ahead of Maloney, Verschoor, Martins, Bearman, Hauger, Fittipaldi and Cordeel in the top 10.

    Maloney had the momentum into Turn 1 and passed Crawford around the outside to take second. Behind them, Bearman looked to have a move done on Martins for fifth but the pair made contact on the exit of Turn 3, sending the PREMA driver into the barriers.

    With the Safety Car interventions, the race ran to time rather than the original 40 scheduled laps. With under 10 minutes to go, Maloney began to hunt down Novalak, closing to within two seconds and bringing Crawford in third along with him.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Novalak, P2: Maloney, P3: Crawford, P4: Verschoor, P5: Hauger, P6: Hadjar, P7: Fittipaldi, P8: Cordeel, P9: Martins and P10: Correa.

  • RND 14 – Dutch Grand Prix

    Round 14 is over, as we now take a look at a very action-packed and rain hit race.

    Max Verstappen stormed to victory for a third year in a row at the Dutch GP, making it 9 victories in a row, equalling Vettel’s. Fernando Alonso was back on the podium in P2 and Pierre Gasly, yes that’s right brought it home in P3.

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

    Fernando Alonso, back on the podium? We love to see it! He also bagged driver of the day, so hopefully himself and the team are recharged and ready to fight for some more podiums!

    Piereeeee Gaslyyyyy, P3! Wow, if you asked me if I thought he’d be on the podium I’d say no, but I wasn’t expecting an overly crazy race. His first podium with Alpine, and Alpine’s second one this year. The team will be hoping for one or two more so they can bring the fight to McLaren in the Standings.

    Now a mixed day for the Ferrari boys, Carlos finishing 5th so a decent amount of points. But Charles… first was the pit stop where there were no tyres ready for him? (Are we surprised? No.) And then he had to retire the car due to floor damage. When will they get a break?

    Not a good day for Sargeant, started in the top 10 which is good! However… it didn’t stay that way, the American lost control of his Williams at the exit of Turn 8 and slammed into the barriers which prompted a VSC and then a full Safety Car.

    Now looking at a certain New Zealanders Debut… what a brilliant drive from Liam Lawson! He finished 13th, ahead of Tsunoda, which say’s a lot.

    We don’t have long to wait, as it’s race week again, and we head to Monza!

  • RND 14 – Zandvoort Qualifying

    Qualifying is now over and we most definitely had a few surprises along the way, lets take a look at how it went…

    Max Verstappen made it three pole positions in a row at the Dutch Grand Prix with another dominating display. The Dutchman managed to pull a stupendous final lap to beat Lando Norris and George Russell at the end of a crash-filled session.

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

    Just the result Max wanted, however I think it would of been better having his teammate with him in the top three, rather than 7th…

    A great result for Williams! Albon has his best qualifying result in F1 so far joining Russell on the 2nd row. Not only this, but Logan Sargeant got into his first Q3 session! Unfortunately he crashed which meant he couldn’t get no better than 10th.

    Not the best result for Lewis, qualifying 13th. Everyone was improving each lap and with Yuki impeding Lewis so he couldn’t get a decent lap in before the chequered flag so he was just a sitting duck waiting to be pushed down.

    A mixed result for Ferrari, both drivers in the top 10, but they would have been hoping to get a bit of a better result. Sainz starts 6th, and Leclerc 9th due to crashing out aswell, which put his session to an end aswell.

    Predictions-

    My top five predictions for the race are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Russell, P3: Alonso, P4: Norris and P5: Sainz.

    I feel like the race win we know who is going to grab it unless there’s a costly mistake which will never really happen. But the chaos behind him? Now that’s what is going to be entertaining.

  • Lawson replaces Ricciardo after injury

    Daniel Ricciardo has been ruled out of the Dutch Grand Prix due to a broken hand sustained in a crash during Free Practice 2, which hands his spot to Liam Lawson as he has his F1 Debut with Alpha Tauri.

    Ricciardo followed Oscar Piastri into the barriers at Zandvoort’s Turn 3 in the early stages of FP2, which automatically put him out of the session.

    Replays later showed Ricciardo’s hands being thrown around in the cockpit due to him still holding the steering wheel when he impacted the wall, with the Australian visibly in discomfort when he stepped out of the car.

    Having been taken to the medical centre and then a local hospital, news then came from AlphaTauri that Ricciardo broke a metacarpal on his left hand, and will not be able to take part in what would have been the third race since his F1 comeback.

    In his place steps Lawson, the 21 year old reserve driver for Red Bull and Alpha Tauri who has been competing in the Japan-based Super Formula championship this year.

    Lawson sits second in the Super Formula standings ahead of October’s season finale double header at Suzuka, with the break in the calendar leaving him free to substitute for the Australian driver.

    He is set to become the 10th New Zealander to contest a Grand Prix, with the most recent being Brendon Hartley raced for Torro Rosso.

    With the Italian Grand Prix directly following this weelend’s round at Zandvoort, it also casts doubt over Ricciardo’s ability to contest the Monza event.

  • Dutch Grand Prix

    The summer break is officially over and we are headed for Round 14, where it is the home Grand Prix of Max Verstappen so be prepared for lots of orange this weekend!

    Will it be another Red Bull and Max Verstappen dominated weekend? Or will Mercedes and Aston Martin or even McLaren bring the fight this weekend?

    Who needs to shine?

    Sergio Perez has a lot to prove this second half of the season. He has had a rough season so far, and with rumours always going round about the Red Bull seat he will be wanting to have a impressive second half to show he should keep the seat.

    Ferrari as a whole need a good weekend with some big points there fourth in the constructors and Aston Martin are only ahead by 5 points, so the fight will be on between the two teams.

    Another interesting fight is between Williams and Haas as they are currently tied on points in 7th and 8th respectively, not only this but Alfa Romeo are in 9th with just only 9 points, two points away from the teams above.

    Predictions for qualifying-

    My top five for qualifying are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Hamilton, P3: Norris, P4: Russell and P5: Piastri.

    I still think McLaren are still going to be on form, hence why both drivers are in my top five. At the time of writing this aswell, it is meant to rain tomorrow so we all know how Lando likes the rain!

  • Shwartzman to take on FP1 outings

    Frederic Vasseur, Ferrari Team Principal has revealed that reserve driver Robert Shwartzman will get behind the wheel of the SF23 in both the team’s allocated rookie FP1 sessions this year – starting with the Dutch GP this weekend.

    Shwartzman has been a part of the Ferrari Driver Academy since 2017, and since leaving Formula 2 at the end of 2021 – where he finished runner-up to McLaren’s Oscar Piastri – he has been serving as Scuderia’s reserve driver.

    Ferrari’s decision comes of the back of the rule that was introduced at the start of 2022 that requires all 10 teams to give a minimum of two FP1 sessions to a young driver throughout the season.

    Shwartzman has plenty of experience in F1 machinery, having taken part in both FP1 sessions for Ferrari last year, as well as having driven in the post-season young test for the team in 2022 and 2021 – where he also drove for Haas.

    And with Ferrari having two academy drivers in Formula 2 – Oliver Bearman and Arthur Leclerc – Vasseur explained why the decision was made not to give either a run out in F1 machinery this year instead of Shwartzman, due to wanting the drivers to focus on the championship.

    Robert will do Zandvoort in Carlos’ car, and he will do another one – probably Abu Dhabi in Charles’ car. Because (Zandvoort) was the choice of the driver. I gave them the choice to do it, where they want to do it. I know that it is not an easy situation but Carlos… it’s not so easy to decide. Because for sure you can’t do it in Singapore, in Japan, in Las Vegas. Also, you have some Sprint events in Austin, Qatar, also that you can’t do it. Then you have the races with tyre allocation, a bit different, so it is also tricky to do it, meaning at the end of the day you don’t have so many options.

    Vasseur on Shwartzman FP1 outings.

  • Zandvoort Tyre Selection

    We are back racing this week and we head to Zandvoort for the Dutch Grand Prix and the tyres have been selected!

    The chosen compounds are: C1 (Hard), C2 (Medium) and C3 (Soft). This is the same choice as the last two years (since it returned) with the difference being that the current C1 compound is softer than its predecessors.

    There has been 32 Formula 1 Grands Prix held at Zandvoort since 1952, with F1 returning to the track in 2021 after a 35 year absence.
    With the most successful team at the track being Ferrari with eight wins while the driver with the most is Jim Clark with four.

    Most drivers made three pit stops last year. On paper, the best and fastest strategy is a two-stopper, but it’s possible to stop just once with careful tyre management.

    Overtaking is quite tricky because of the narrow track and constant sequence of corners. This makes qualifying even more important in terms of the end result.

    The second half of the season gets underway with a unique race. The Dutch Grand Prix takes place in Zandvoort: one of the most traditionally demanding tracks on the calendar that returned to the Formula 1 schedule three years ago on the wave of all the local support for Max Verstappen, who repaid his fans amply with a pair of victories from the last two races. It’s a very twisty track with two banked corners – Turn 3 and Turn 14 – that are steeper than Indianapolis, by way of comparison. On corners like this the stress on the tyres is greater than it would be through normal corners, as the vertical forces increase with the much higher speeds due to the banking. We’ve brought the same tyres as 2022, at least as far as the names are concerned: C1, C2, and C3. However, the current C1 is actually a new compound for this year, positioned between the C2 and the previous C1, which is now called the C0. Last year, in a race that was characterised by two neutralisations, no fewer than 14 drivers – including the top three – used all three compounds, underlining the wide variety of options available to the strategists on the pit wall.

    Mario Isola – Motorsport Director.

  • F1 to race at Zandvoort till 2025

    Formula 1 will continue to race at Zandvoort until 2025 after a new deal between F1 and the Dutch track was announced.

    The new agreement adds on two more races to the original three-year contract, which began in 2021 when the Dutch Grand Prix returned to the calendar for the first time since 1985.

    The race at the seaside circuit has quickly become one of the best loved on the calendar with the enthusiastic Dutch fans which bring a fantastic atmosphere to the track at both the 2021 and 2022 events – both of which were won by home hero, Max Verstappen.

    And at the 2023 race in late August – the fans will have two Dutch drivers to cheer on with former Formula 2 champion, Nyck de Vries joining the grid full time next season with AlphaTauri.

    One of the key focuses for the event has been sustainable travel for fans, and at this years race, 99% of general admission ticket holders made their way to the circuit by public transport, bike or walking.

    The Dutch Grand Prix has quickly established itself on the calendar as a fan favourite, bringing incredible energy and a great fan experience every year. The sold-out events in the last two years have raised the bar in terms of organisation, entertainment, and sustainability, and we are delighted to extend our relationship with them. There is huge demand to host F1 races so it is testament to what the team have done to cement Zandvoort on the calendar until 2025, and we can’t wait to return next summer.

    Stefano Domenicali, President & CEO of Formula 1.

    We are looking forward to the upcoming Grands Prix. With great races in which Dutch fans can now enjoy no less than two Dutch drivers. Of course, we will again offer an extensive and surprising entertainment program. With this we are again offering the ultimate race festival. We want the world to experience again how we as the Netherlands organize an event. It is unique that we are on the calendar with world cities like Las Vegas, Monaco, and São Paulo. And as we say internally, we are ‘Ready for Tomorrow’. We need and want to put on the F1 event of the future, which is not necessarily bigger but better, more engaging, more innovative, more sustainable, and more inclusive.

    Jan Lammers, former F1 driver and now Sporting Director of Dutch GP.

  • F2 Zandvoort – Day 2 & 3

    Day 2-

    Novalak got wheelspin from his getaway and in the second phase of the launch, Armstrong claimed the lead of the race, diving down the inside into turn 1. Novalak’s attempted defence baulked Juri Vips behind him, allowing Dennis Hauger a run alongside the Estonian at Turn 2.

    Theo Pourchaire’s tricky start to the weekend got worse on Lap 2, dropping to 21st after out-braking himself at Turn 1 and running through the gravel after an attempted pass on David Beckmann for 14th.

    A big lock up for Vips with six laps to go almost opened the door to Verschoor to seize P5 at Turn 10 but the Hitech driver gathered it up before the Trident could get close enough to pass.

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

    Day 3-

    Drugovich covered off Doohan in Turn 1 but from third on the road, Logan Sargeant locked up and ropped right to the back following a trip through the gravel at the first corer.

    But at Turn 7, Sargeant’s day went from bad to worse as the Carlin driver went into the barrier as he had contact with Boschung. The barrier required repair the race was red-flagged on Lap 4.

    Doohan had DRS on Drugovich but a big lock-up from the Virtuosi Racing driver, on lap 9 into the first corner meant he had to file back in behind with a major flat spot as a result.

    The Safety Car was out once again on Lap 17 after Marino Sato found the barriers at Turn 2, with his wheel becoming detached following his pit stop. The Safety Car was withdrawn entering Lap 22 but Lawson left it as late as possible to make his getaway.

    It caught out plenty behind and contact between several driver. Doohan was one of those who got caught up in the melee, tagged by Verschoor from behind. The Virtuosi driver was out along with Novalak and Calderon – the Safety Car was deployed once more.

    Due to delays and earlier stoppage, the Feature Race went to time rather than the full 40-lap distance. After taking the lead, Drugovich was comfortable out in front and he claimed victory to put himself within touching distance of the 2022 Drivers’ Championship.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Drugovich, P2: Verschoor, P3: Iwasa, P4: Hauger, P5: Fittipaldi, P6: Cordeel, P7: Vips, P8: Beckmann, P9: Caldwell and P10: Pourchaire.

    We are back this weekend for the second to last race weekend of the season, we are in Monza for Round 13.

  • Round 15- Dutch GP

    Round 15- Dutch GP

    Well, Round 15 is complete and what a race it was! From long pit-stops to running over wheel guns, to VSC’s and then a Safety Car, there was a lot of drama…

    It wasn’t easy for Max Verstappen, but he took the race win in his home grand prix. George Russell follows closely behind to finish 2nd, his highest finishing position so far this season and for Mercedes! Charles Leclerc rounds out the podium in third, it’s been a few races since we last saw him on their!

    But the full top were- P1: Verstappen, P2: Russell, P3: Leclerc, P4: Hamilton, P5: Perez, P6: Alonso, P7: Norris, P8: Sainz, P9: Ocon and P10: Stroll.

    It looked like Mercedes would be the one who was going to the the race win, when they done their first pit stops (the only team in top 3 to be doing 1 stop strategy), both Hamilton and Russell were flying on the hard tyres, so it is one of those ‘what if’ situations, if the VSC and Safety Car didn’t come out would it be a different story?

    A good day for Leclerc, he wasn’t really in contention for a podium until after the Safety Car so good work for him and to be on it when racing resumed and overtook Lewis for the final podium spot. The same couldn’t be said for his teammate though, a very long pitstop for the Spanish driver, he also got an unsafe release in the pitlane, which resulted in a 5 second penalty, he originally finished 5th, but dropped down to 8th.

    A very good day for Alpine, considering both drivers started out of the top 10, no-one knew how this race would go today but they made the most of it and got a double points finish.

    Not a good day for either Yuki Tsunoda or Valtteri Bottas, both pulling over on the side to the track but different reasons why. Tsunoda’s reason is still unknown, he thought his tyre’s weren’t fitted, so he managed to get back round to the pits and the team fitted a new set of tyres, and then started to do something with his seatbelt? For Bottas it sounded like it was a mechanical issue.

    The Championship-

    Verstappen now has over a 100 point lead in the driver championship, Leclerc remains second but he is level on points with Sergio Perez who is in third. Russell now goes to fourth, leap frogging Sainz who sits in fifth.

    Looking at the constructors, Red Bull are on 511 points, a 135 point lead. Ferrari are still in second on 376 but Mercedes have now closed that gap down to 30 points. Alpine are in 4th on 125 points and McLaren round out the top five on 101 points.

    We haven’t got long to wait, we are back racing next weekend and we are at the Temple of Speed, Monza for Round 16. The home Grand Prix of Scuderia Ferrari!

  • F3 Zandvoort – Day 2 & 3

    Day 2-

    Dominating the front row were two black and white ART Grand Prix cars, as Correa lined up on reverse grid pole ahead of teammate Saucy, whilst O’Sullivan and Collet lay in the second row.

    In his Formula 3 race, Sebastian Montoya found himself sitting in P6 meanwhile title protagonists could be found up and down the field, with Hadjar in seventh ahead of Stanek and Crawford in ninth and tenth. The third ART of Martins lined up P11, whilst PREMA Racing’s Oliver Bearman and Arthur Leclerc started in P13 and P20.

    Collet, was ready for his opportunity to pounce on Lap 4 and take the race lead from Correa. Attempting to make the move stick around the outside of Turn 1, the Brazilian dipped his wheels across the kerbs into Turn 3.

    Things began to settle down towards the mid point of the race as the medium Pirelli compounds began to fade, leaving those who managed the yellow-walled tyres the best with the upper hand towards the latter end of the 21 lap sprint race.

    Approaching the final seven laps, Bearman’s defence came un-done with a wobble into Turn 4. The Ferrari Academy driver went over the kerbs and across the grass , dropping him behind Stanek.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Collet, P2: Correa, P3: O’Sullivan, P4: Edgar, P5: Saucy, P6: Hadjar, P7: Martins, P8: Montoya, P9: Crawford and P10: Stanek.

    Day 3-

    Martins would have been rubbing his hands with glee as the ART GP driver nailed his getaway off the line, immediately going side-by-side with Maloney up the inside of Turn 1. The Trident driver attempted to cover him off but went wide soaring over the kerbs.

    Futher back, Bearmans day went from bad to worse. A poor start saw the Ferrari Academy driver junior loosing three places at lights out, allowing Leclerc to close in on his teammate.

    With the battles showing no sign of settling down, it wasn’t long until the Safety Car made its first appearance of the weekend Lap 4. Brad Benavides was caught out by William Alatalo’s braking point into Turn 2 and sending both into the gravel and then retire.

    There was no doubt Martins was beginning to struggle. A rough looking left front tyre left him vulnerable to Colapinto behind but the Van Amersfoort driver couldn’t get past him.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Maloney, P2: Martins, P3: Colapinto, P4: Stanek, P5: Hadjar, P6: Crawford, P7: Collet, P8: Montoya, P9: Edgar and P10: Bearman.

    We now only have one round remaining next weekend, and we are in Monza, will we be finding out who is going to be our Formula 3 2022 Champion!

  • Round 15- Zandvoort Qualifying

    The Orange army was in full force yesterday to support their Dutchman where it was all about where you qualify for the Dutch GP today!

    But it was the World Champion, Max Verstappen who snatched pole position from the Ferarri’s! Leclerc is in 2nd, and an amazing day for the Italian team as Carlos Sainz making it a 2-3.

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

    A good result for Mercedes, they are showing some pace this weekend so I can definitely see at least one of them going for a podium, they could also benefit of others in front of them.

    Landoooo, what a weekend so far for the Brit! His shown unreal pace, and to be ‘best of the rest’ is exactly what McLaren need, hopefully he can turn it into a good result later on.

    I definitely expected the Alpine’s higher up, Ocon qualifying P12 and Alonson P13, it will be interesting to see how they go today because they are ‘out of position’ in a way.

    A good qualifying for Mick! A Q3 appearance, so we could possibly see the German driver getting some points. Unfortunately his teammate is no where near him down in P18.

    Predictions-

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

    I just have a feeling Red Bull’s race pace wont be as good as their qualifying pace, they struggled on the first day with both drivers but for different reasons.

  • F2 Zandvoort – Day 1

    Free Practice-

    Jack Doohan picked up from where he left off just under a week ago, leading the way in P1 for Virtuosi Racing. The Australian was ahead of Ayumu Iwasa by 0.323s whilst Championship leader, Felipe Drugovich followed in third 0.402s down on the best time.

    The opening minutes were taken up by installation laps around what was quite a green track. Before any real representative times could be posted, Beckmann spun into the gravel out of Turn 13 to bring out the red flags.

    As the drivers logged the laps, the track conditions rapidly evolved and the times tumbled as a result. Amaury Cordeel was briefly quickest before Ayumu Iwasa then Frederik Vesti went fastest. Doohan restored himself back to P1 with a 1:23.133s with just under 20 minutes left.

    As the track evolution enticced the drivers to push but for Vesti, it resulted in a spin and contact with the barriers. His stranded ART Grand Prix car at Turn 2 brought out the red flags once more.

    Qualifying-

    Felipe Drugovich put himself within touching distance of the 2022 Formula 2 Drivers’ Championship by claiming his second consecutive pole position, over two tenths clear of Jack Doohan and Logan Sargeant.

    Felipe Drugovich set the initial time to beat on a 1:21.915 until the fastest man in practice, Doohan restored his name to the top of the timing screens on a 1:21.760.

    Red flags with 21 minutes left were down to Pourchaire finding the barriers at Turn 3, a snap of oversteer on the corner entry sent him directly into the outside wall and required a repositioning of the barrier before getting underway again.

    Doohan’s next attempt was good but not good enough to stop the Championship leader. A second red flag with under four minutes due to Jehan Daurvala a spin between Turns 7 and 8 left the PREMA driver stuck on the sidelines.

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

  • F3 Zandvoort – Day 1

    Free Practice-

    Victor Martins’ effort to reignite his fight for the title after a difficult weekend last time out in Spa, were given a boost after the ART Grand Prix driver led the way during the opening session in Zandvoort.

    Laying down a benchmark of 1:25.688 ahead of the all-important qualifying, he went nearly four-tenths clear of the MP Motorsport duo, Caio Collet and Alexander Smolyar.

    It was a leisurely start to the session with only five drivers setting a time during the opening 12 minutes, as Francesco Pizzi set a 1:18.014 to go half a second clear of his teammate David Schumacher.

    Brand Benavides didn’t have the ideal start to the weekend off the back of his maiden points finish in Spa-Francorchamps, going off into the gravel at Turn 9 to bring out the Virtual Safety Car.

    Qualifying-

    Zane Maloney exuded confidence as he claimed his second pole position of his rook rookie season, whilst Victor Martins reignited his title hopes by securing a spot on the Feature Race front row.

    After two virtual safety car appearances in practice, it was no surprise that a queue of cars formed along the pit lane as the lights went green, with the whole field eargely heading out early and try to get a banker lap in.

    As the clock started to tick down to 16 minutes, it seemed the perfect time for Caio Collet and the rest of the field to head back out on track. But off the back of his maiden victory last time out in Spa, Maloney set about claiming his spot on the front row for the third consecutive race.

    Lining up on reverse grid pole, Juan Manuel Correa will be hungry for his first podium finish of the 2022 season in Sprint Race. He’ll have familiar company on the front row in the form of ART teammate, Gregoire Saucy.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Maloney, P2: Martins, P3: Crawford, P4: Stanek, P5: Colapinto, P6: Hadjar, P7: Montoya, P8: Edgar, P9: Collet and P10: O’Sullivan.

  • Dutch Grand Prix

    Now that was a short break… we are back this week for the second race in our triple header, and we are heading to Zandvoort for Max Verstappen’s home Grand Prix.

    What can the Dutchman do this weekend? Will it be another win in the bag or will he have the Ferrari’s close behind him? Are Mercedes able to bounce back from last week and be up there in the fight again?…

    Who needs a good weekend-

    Charles Leclerc will be wanting a good weekend, he didn’t have the best race last weekend, so if he wants to either properly be in this title fight he will need to get a few wins under his belt, as well as this Mercedes are closing in on Ferrari in the Constructors so there is this also to think about.

    Lewis, will be wanting to bounce back from last weekend, there is not many times in the season you see him DNF/ crash, so he will be wanting to help his team make a step forward and make the most of these next 8 races.

    Lando will be hoping for a better weekend, obviously he had the engine penalty last week so he was towards the back of the grid, but with the Alpine’s having strong race weekends both of their drivers are closing in on the Brit in the drivers standings.

    Predictions for qualifying-

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

    I think it will be close for pole, but I also having yellow and red flags will play apart of this weekend’s qualifying session. At the time of writing this, there is rain to be expected on Saturday, with this possibly adding in to the mix we then could have a very mixed up grid.

    Times for the weekend-

    Friday 2nd-

    • Free Practice F3- 07:55am – 08:40am (BST)
    • Free Practice F2- 09:05am – 09:50am
    • Free Practice 1 F1 – 11:30am – 12:30pm
    • Qualifying F3- 13:00pm – 13:30pm
    • Qualifying F2- 14:00pm – 14:30pm
    • Free Practice 2 F1- 15:00pm – 16:00pm

    Saturday 3rd-

    • F3 Sprint Race- 09:25am – 10:10am (BST)
    • Free Practice 3 F1- 11:00am – 12:00pm
    • Qualifying F1- 14:00pm – 15:00pm
    • F2 Sprint Race- 16:00pm – 17:00pm

    Sunday 4th-

    • F3 Feature Race- 07:45am (BST)
    • F2 Feature Race- 09:20am
    • F1 Race- 14:00pm

  • Zandvoort Tyre Allocation

    Round 15 is here and this weekend we will be halfway through the triple header. Pirelli have chosen the tyres for this weekends Dutch Grand Prix, alongside Formula 2 and 3 aswell.

    The three hardest compounds have been chosen for Zandvoort, C1 (Hard), C2 (Medium), C3 (Soft).

    This year, there’s a bigger gap between the C1 and C2 compounds than there was previously: this could be a reason why teams might concentrate more on the two softer compounds this weekend.

    The banking on Turns 3 and 14 is around 18 degrees by way of comparison, the historic banking on the old circuit at Monza is roughly 30 degrees on average. Of other modern circuits, Indianapolis has nine degrees of banking and Jeddah has 12.

    Zandvoort generates some big g forces all around the 4.2-kilometre track: braking into Turns 1 and 11 is a deceleration of about 5g whilst turn 7 also provides lateral forces of around 5g.

    Zandvoort proved to be a spectacular addition to the calendar last year, and the most challenging parts for tyres are the banked Turns 3 and 14, which are taken at high speed and place sustained combined forces on the car: downforce as well as lateral demands. Along with the other overall demands of the circuit layout, this is why we have nominated the hardest three compounds in the range for only the fourth time in 2022, after Bahrain, Spain and Great Britain. The new car-tyre package this season should make overtaking easier on a track where it was hard to pass last year: the majority of drivers stopped just once to maintain track position, but this time there could be more of a focus on the softer compounds – which might lead to more two-stoppers and drivers pushing even harder.

    Mario Isola, Motorsport Director.

    Formula 2-

    The hard and soft tyres have been nominated for F2 this weekend. The Sprint Race will be lasting 29 laps and the Feature Race, 40 laps.

    Formula 3-

    F3 has three new sets of Medium tyres to use across the weekend, plus another set carried over from the previous round. On Saturday the sprint race is 21 laps, and then Sunday is 26 laps.

  • Round 13- Zandvoort Race

    Well… Max Verstappen wins on his home turf and now leads the championship again, he drove a superb race!

    Hamilton finished in P2 with fastest lap as-well which we all know is major in the championship this year as its so close and then Bottas in P3 which now makes Mercedes have a 12 point advantage over Red Bull in the championship!

    The rest of the top 10 are- P4: Gasly, P5: Leclerc, P6: Alonso, P7: Sainz, P8: Perez, P9: Ocon and P10: Norris. We knew the order wouldn’t of changed too much so I honestly am not surprised by this order at all!

    It does make some changes to the Championship though, which is what we like to see and makes the future races more exciting! Norris is down to P4 as Bottas’ podium means he move us to P3, but I can imagine they will keep swapping round.

    Alonso done very well today, from starting in P9 and finishing in P6 which is a good points haul for the Alpine and Alonso! Gasly, done absolutley mega today, kept his P4 which went un-noticed yesterday but he made it count today and this is where it counts.

    Ferrari had a very good day today, which means a good lot of points for the Italian team, and they will want to excel on their performance this week going into the Italian Grand Prix next weekend!

    We had 3 DNF’s and they were Mazepin, Tsunoda and Russell. All cars retired to pit lane, the reasons are unknown at this time but will be updated later on.

    Now onto the second Red Bull, I don’t think Perez has had the best weekend, he obviously qualified P16 and then Red Bull done a very clever move and changed his power unit which meant he starts from the pit-lane but even then it didn’t exactly go the way they wanted it to. He started on hard tyres and then had to pit on the 10th lap to change to mediums as there was flat-spots. They did however manage to claw some points for Perez. It did make me think imagine if he was on the mediums to start what would of happened? Could we off seen him top 5?

    Now all eyes onto next weekend as we have our second sprint race of the season and we are back at Monza for the Italian Grand Prix!

  • Round 13- Zandvoort Quali

    Well, well, well what a quali that was, at one point I didn’t know who would be where at one point!

    But Max Verstappen manages to get his first pole position of his home grand prix, with Lewis joining him on the front row and it was only 0.38s between the pair. Valtteri takes P3, which makes Max under pressure from both of the Mercedes, especially because of the strategy, Mercedes have both drivers in top 3, where as Max is on his own and his team-mate is no where to be seen…

    The rest of the grid are as follows- P4: Gasly, P5: Leclerc, P6: Sainz, P7: Giovinazzi, P8: Ocon, P9: Alonso, P10: Ricciardo, P11: Russell, P12: Stroll, P13: Norris, P14: Latifi, P15: Tsunoda, P16: Perez, P17: Vettel, P18: Kubica, P19: Schumacher and finally P20: Mazepin.

    I feel like the grid is a bit of a mix match this weekend, there some good results for some teams where as other teams its been quite disappointing…

    I said both Ferrari drivers need a good weekend and they’ve started it of good, but tomorrow is where it counts as thats where the points are dished out.

    Not a good day for Lando, his been a bit of the pace today, whether thats due to having under-estimated the track or just simply being caught out by the red flags in Q2. We all know what he can do, so i’m sure we will see him doing some brave over takes tomorrow to get some points!

    Not the best qualifying for Williams either, having both cars bring out two red flags isn’t the best but lucky for them they have free tyre choice with both cars and hopefully they can play a good strategy to get some points!

    Now onto Perez, who actually quite shocked me. Starting P16, on a track which isn’t known for over-taking but if you want to take risks which we saw some Formula Three drivers do earlier on in the day, they do pay off.

    Now onto the one who impressed me the most… It’s Antonio Giovinazzi starting P7, where did that pace come from in the Alfa Romeo!! You always want to do well on race weekends but even more so when a reserve driver stands in for your team-mate, but he has just excelled today! Could he possibly have a point to prove that maybe he deserves to stay in F1? All I know is that one performance like this isn’t going to cut it, but if he has now fount a good way with the car and use it tomorrow he could be in contention for some points!

    Predictions-

    My top five predictions for tomorrow are: P1- Hamilton, P2: Bottas, P3: Verstappen, P4: Gasly and P5: Alonso. Fastest lap I think will go to Bottas.

    I’d like to see the likes of Norris, Russell, Latifi in the top 10 and get some points but it’s all about the risk in overtaking here, are they willing to do it? I think tomorrow will be a very good race, no-one knows how these 72 laps are going to go but I am very excited!

    Times for tomorrow-

    The race starts at §4:00pm (BST), and 15:00pm (CEST). As well as Formula Three in the morning at 9:45am (BST) and 10:45am (CEST)

  • Dutch GP

    After 36 years we are back for the Dutch Grand Prix, and its set to be a special one! It’s the home Grand Prix of Max Verstappen and i’m sure he will be wanting to come out on top to give the fans a real show. But could we see Hamilton wanting to give something back on his home turf?

    The fight for P3 in the constructors is still very much on, even more so with the gap down to only 3.5 points… but who will come out on top this weekend? McLaren or Ferrari? It’s all too play for and I can’t wait!

    Who needs a good weekend?

    I think both Ferrari drivers do, they got it wrong last weekend which is a shame but hopefully we see both of them in the top 10 throughout the weekend…

    I’d possibly say Stroll as well, his currently sitting 14th in the championship. His not had the best season compared to his team-mate. His had two DNFs and four other races where his been out of the top 10 so six races in total with no points. I’m not entirely sure why he isn’t performing as well as Seb, as you’d think Stroll’s been in the car and the team a lot longer than Seb so he should be comfortable in it and know roughly what he needs to work on, but were now onto the second half of the season and it doesn’t seem to be improving, so hopefully a good weekend for him.

    Predictions for Quali-

    My top five predictions for this weekend are- Pole: Hamilton, P2: Verstappen, P3: Norris, P4: Bottas and P5: Ocon. I’m hoping Russell will qualifying top 10 again, but obviously after coming from qualifying P2 last weekend his confidence is high but we need to be realistic with the predictions for him this weekend as theres no rain forecasted yet…

    This track is so hard to do predictions on as we haven’t got no previous data on it, so we don’t know whether it suits a certain team more or less!

    Times for the weekend-

    Saturday 4th- FP3: 11:00am – 12:00pm(BST), 12:00pm – 13:00pm (CEST). Qualifying: 14:00pm – 15:00pm (BST), 15:00pm – 16:00pm (CEST).

    Sunday 5th- Race: 14:00pm (BST), 15:00pm (CEST).

  • Tyres for Zandvoort

    We are back racing this weekend and we are at Zandvoort and Pirelli have announced their tyres for this weekend.

    We’ve got the hardest of the compounds which is the fourth time they’ve been chosen this season. C1 (Hard), C2 (Medium) and C3 (Soft). With no previous relevant data the hardest tyres are the most suitable choice.

    The track looks quite different than when it did at its last Grand Prix in 1985. In particular, turns 3 and 14 they are both now banked at 19 degrees. As well turn 14 is taken flat-out which generates forces in excess of 4g, while there are two corners which have heavy breaking of around 5g: the entries into Turn 1 and 11.

    As expected from an old circuit, Zandvoort has a distinctly old-school feel to it, with fast and narrows turns with a number of different elevation changes. Zandvoort is located in an area of sand dunes near the beach, with the wind sometimes blowing sand onto the track which can affect grip; which is normally an issue in places like Bahrain. So we could possibly expect some drivers being caught out by the lick of grip.

    We have Formula Three with us again this weekend, and they will also be using the hard tyre. Zandvoort has big demands and banked corners which will take a lot of energy out of the tyres.