INDIA in F1

Author: David Bodapati

  • Quartararo leads a Yamaha armada on Friday

    Quartararo leads a Yamaha armada on Friday

    The Iwata marque make it a 1-2-3 on Day 1 at Misano, with KTM joining the party in the top five

    Misano Adriatico, 11 Sept. 2020: After two tough weekends at the Red Bull Ring, Friday saw a change of fortunes for Yamaha at Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, with the Iwata marque leading the way with a 1-2-3. It was Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) who took to the top by the end of the play, the Frenchman turning the tables on Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) in the afternoon after the number 12 blitzed FP1. The gap between the two? An infinitesimal 0.009! Third went the way of Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT), who once again showed some serious speed in 2020.

    FP1
    The first premier class session of the day most definitely belonged to one man: Viñales. The Spaniard set a blistering 1:32.198 to head the timesheets by over half a second in the morning, beating his own 2019 pole position time and going over a second quicker than FP1 last year. Quartararo was the rear gunner for Top Gun in second, ahead of an impressive session for Aprilia in third. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) completed the top three for the Noale factory, the Spaniard 0.751 adrift of the top… but that translating into a deficit of just two tenths to Quartararo given Viñales’ margin.

    Johann Zarco (Esponsorama Racing) was fourth quickest in FP1, ahead of a second Noale machine as Bradley Smith (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) locked out the top five.

    Things got lively in the latter stages of the session on fresh rubber, with a few putting in time attacks. Viñales hit first to oust Quartararo from the top in the final two minutes, with Zarco and the Aprilias striking next. Viñales had the last word though, slamming in that stunning last lap to extend his advantage to over half a second.

    No one crashed in the session.

    FP2
    The tables were turned in the afternoon as Quartararo took over at the top, getting the better of teammate Morbidelli by 0.178 in a Petronas Yamaha SRT 1-2. Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) was third, ahead of a stunning session for rookie Iker Lecuona (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) in P4. Local legend Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) completed the top five in FP2, just ahead of Viñales.

    In the early stages, Quartararo led the way from Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) and Viñales, with Lecuona impressing early on to sit inside the top five. Viñales was down to serious business, however, working on the medium front and hard rear Michelin tyres. The Spaniard looked like he was on rails, consistently setting personal bests. The Team Suzuki Ecstar machines of Alex Rins and Joan Mir were also going well in FP2 to both share a period at the top of the timesheets, but the Hamamatsu factory wouldn’t stay there by the end of the day.

    Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Brad Binder then took a tumble at Turn 6, but the South African went to the top of the timesheets not long after as the riders pushed for that one-lap time attack in the final few minutes. Morbidelli, who was 12th in FP1, was next to take over at the top, before teammate Quartararo snatched it back to have the final say on Friday’s fastest. 

    Overall, that lap was enough to secure fastest overall on the combined timesheets for ‘El Diablo’, but when taking into account Viñales’ quickest from FP1, it’s not by much. Just 0.009 split the two at the top, with Morbidelli in third. 

    Pol Espargaro is therefore shuffled down to fourth overall, 0.297 off the top and with a couple of tenths in hand over Lecuona in P5. Rossi was next up to make it all four Yamahas in the top six, with Danilo Petrucci (Ducati Team) the first Borgo Panigale representative as he slotted into seventh overall.

    Brad Binder is P8 after Day 1, with Styrian GP winner Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) just behind him… making it all four KTMs in the top ten and on for potential graduation to Q2. Aleix Espargaro was only 0.001 off the Portugese rider, however, completing the top ten for the Noale factory.

    There’s one definite name missing there, and it’s the man second in the Championship: Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team). The Italian was 11th on the combined timesheets by just 0.009, and he’ll be the first looking to move forward on Saturday. Jack Miller (Pramac Racing), double podium finisher at the Red Bull Ring, was also down the order a little as the Aussie took P17 – a few hundredths ahead of teammate Francesco Bagnaia as the latter returns from injury. 

    It’s game on for Saturday at Misano, and qualifying starts at 14:10 (GMT +2) to decide the grid positions for another stunning Gran Premio Lenovo di San Marino e Della Riviera di Rimini. Don’t miss it!

    MotoGP: The five fastest on Friday:

    1 Fabio Quartararo* – Petronas Yamaha SRT – Yamaha – 1:32.189
    2 Maverick Viñales – Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP – Yamaha – +0.009
    3 Franco Morbidelli* – Petronas Yamaha SRT – Yamaha – +0.178
    4 Pol Espargaro – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing – KTM – +0.287
  • Valtteri Bottas continues to set the pace at Mugello

    Valtteri Bottas continues to set the pace at Mugello

    Mugello, 11 Sept 2020: After topping the order in the opening practice session for this weekend’s first F1 Tuscan Grand Prix, Valtteri Bottas continued to set the pace at Mugello in the afternoon, beating team-mate Lewis Hamilton by over two-tenths of a second in a session that was twice interrupted by red flags.  

    Bottas led the way in the opening phase of the session, run largely on medium tyres and the Finn took P1 on the yellow banded tyres with a time of 1:18.019. The field then began to move to soft tyres for qualifying simulations when Lando Norris sent the field back to the pit lane when he went off at Turn 3, Poggio Secco. 

    The McLaren driver had started his quali sim when he went wide on the corner exit and slid through the gravel trap. He hit the barriers nose first, detaching the front wing, before coming to rest. Unable to get going again, his stoppage brought out the red flags. 

    The session resumed after almost 10-minutes and the Mercedes cars emerged on soft tyres for their qualifying runs. Bottas went quickest of all through the first two sectors as he held the top spot with a lap of 1:16.989. Hamilton was quickest in the final sector but the deficit across the first two sectors left him 0.207 behind his team-mate. 

    Max Verstappen took third place in the session and kept Mercedes honest by finishing just under four hundredths of a second behind Hamilton. The Dutchman’s team-mate Alex Albon was fourth, but the Thai driver was more than seven tenths of a second adrift of Verstappen. 

    Albon was, however, the last drive to get within a second of Bottas. 

    Renault took fifth and sixth in the session, with Daniel Ricciardo edging team-mate Esteban Ocon by a fraction under eight hundredths of a second. Ocon finished ahead of Racing Point’s Sergio Pérez, AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly and the Alfa Rome of Kimi Räikkönen.

    After Charles Leclerc opened the weekend of Ferrari’s 1000th race with a useful looking third place in the opening session, the afternoon was more muted for the Scuderia with Leclerc finishing in 10th position and Sebastian Vettel ending the session in P12. 

    The long runs in the second half of the session were interrupted by a second flag when Sergio Pérez and Kimi Räikkönen collided. 

    Räikkönen was starting lap when Pérez emerged from the pit lane. The Mexican seemed not to see the Finn and as they went into Turn 1 he clipped the rear of Räikkönen’s car as the Alfa Romeo driver turned in. Räikkönen was left beached in the gravel trap and the red flags were once again displayed. 

    Elsewhere, there was trouble for Romain Grosjean. The Frenchman completed just five laps in the session due to an electrical problem on his Haas car.
     

    2020 FIA Formula 1 Tuscan Grand Prix – Free Practice 2
    1 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:16.989 28 245.255
    2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:17.196 0.207 29 244.598
    3 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda 1:17.235 0.246 25 244.474
    4 Alexander Albon Red Bull/Honda 1:17.971 0.982 28 242.166
    5 Daniel Ricciardo Renault 1:18.039 1.050 32 241.955
    6 Esteban Ocon Renault 1:18.115 1.126 29 241.720
    7 Sergio Pérez Racing Point/Mercedes 1:18.198 1.209 34 241.463
    8 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri/Honda 1:18.244 1.255 30 241.322
    9 Kimi Räikkönen Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1:18.385 1.396 38 240.887
    10 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:18.400 1.411 27 240.841
    11 Lance Stroll Racing Point/Mercedes 1:18.462 1.473 37 240.651
    12 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:18.498 1.509 39 240.541
    13 Carlos Sainz McLaren/Renault 1:18.651 1.662 32 240.073
    14 Lando Norris McLaren/Renault 1:18.658 1.669 9 240.051
    15 Daniil Kvyat AlphaTauri/Honda 1:18.736 1.747 33 239.814
    16 George Russell Williams/Mercedes 1:18.843 1.854 33 239.488
    17 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1:18.944 1.955 35 239.182
    18 Nicholas Latifi Williams/Mercedes 1:18.983 1.994 31 239.064
    19 Kevin Magnussen Haas/Ferrari 1:19.113 2.124 32 238.671
    20 Romain Grosjean Haas/Ferrari 1:19.257 2.268 5 238.237

  • A lot’s happened in five races: ready, set… Misano!

    A lot’s happened in five races: ready, set… Misano!

    The pre-event Press Conference gets us revved up to go racing on the Riviera di Rimini

    San Marino, 10 Sept 2020: It’s that time of the week again… Press Conference time! Ahead of the Gran Premio Lenovo di San Marino e Della Riviera di Rimini, Championship leader Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) was joined by second overall Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team), nine-time World Champion and hometown hero Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP), winner last time out Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Tech 3), the returning Francesco Bagnaia (Pramac Racing) and Moto2™ Championship leader Luca Marini (Sky Racing Team VR46) to talk business ahead of the upcoming weekend.

    Here are the key quotes from those present, with Quartararo up first:

    FABIO QUARTARARO: “Honestly it’s still difficult to believe that after three bad races we’re still leading the Championship. It’s crazy. But really happy to be here in Misano, last year was really positive, we have been testing in 2019 two days before. Last year everything was really good, the pace was good and fighting for the win until the last lap but let’s see this year. I’m confident because it’s a track that I like, I feel comfortable, let’s see. But for sure I will give my maximum to fight for victory and the podium.

    “[We had] many troubles in Austria. We struggled a lot but let’s see. We will have these problems but this track suits the bike better than Austria. So, we will need to adapt quickly and see what is the best way to ride without these problems. We need to make changes on the electronics, but let’s see what we can do. I’m confident because it’s a track that I like and last year was really positive for us.”

    Quartararo arrives P1 at a solid track for Yamaha… A MotoGP photo

    And what about the nine races in 11 weeks coming up now?

    “Honestly, I like it. Two weeks at home, the second week I was a little bit bored to not be on the bike. It will be tough, 9 races in 11 weeks, I think it’s the first time that we will do it but yes, I’m looking forward to it. Try not to be injured because it will be a short time!”

    The next man to speak agrees…

    ANDREA DOVIZIOSO: “For me it’s fine, it’s not a big problem. Four days between races is enough to recover for the next round so, it’s different.”

    Dovizioso has won here before… MotoGP image

    And what about Misano? 

    “Everybody is working on that but still nobody is able to be consistent. A lot of things have happened in five races. There is new asphalt so that will create completely different situations with the new tyres so I don’t know how I think it will be better than last year for us. Last year we struggled from the first lap from the test we realised our speed was very low. I expect it to be more competitive but, as you know, this year every time is different. I’m really happy to be close to the first practice to know how it will be.”

    The same first question – about the schedule – was then asked of Rossi.

    VALENTINO ROSSI: “It will be very busy for sure. But first of all we will always race in Europe so you can go home for some days, you don’t have to fight with the long flight and the jetlag, so it’s easier. With a lot of races like this you need to have a lot of attention, you also have to be lucky because you have a lot races in a row. But it’s doesn’t change a lot. It’s strange to make two races in the same track but for the rest, nine races or seven races in 11 weeks it’s more or less the same.”

    This weekend is the first of two on home turf for the number 46 too…

    “It’s always special to race in Misano because for a lot of riders and for me it’s the home GP, I live 10km from here and I grew up on this track. The track changed a lot, but it will be special because it will be the first race with fans around. I think that’s a small step but in a good way, we hope normality comes back as soon as possible. We come from Austria, it’s not our best track. Misano on paper, we can be more competitive because last year the Yamahas were strong so we can be fast, and we have to fight for the podium and for the top positions.”

    Next up was Oliveira. So how does it feel to arrive as a premier class winner?

    MIGUEL OLIVEIRA: “It feels nice, for sure, I think it’s more of a mental step or click you get from a win the motivation is very high for sure. It lifted a weight from the team’s shoulders. Everyone was feeling a little bit tense because from a few races back we had shown a lot of potential but never making it to the end with the result we thought we could achieve and to do it with the win, not even the podium, was fantastic.

    They also arrive armed with some knowledge from testing…

    “I would not say it is a big advantage, but we have done our homework. We took advantage of the tools we have to work here which was testing in June and also two weeks ago. The work is done now we need to start the weekend. The asphalt will feel a little different from three months ago and we need to start the weekend and be prepared for the challenges.”

    Bagnaia then took the mic, as he returns to action from injury. Still with a crutch, but fit to race and bike ready.

    FRANCESCO BAGNAIA: “I was every day very nervous, angry… and seeing the other riders racing has been very difficult, but I took a lot of time to go to the gym, to prepare, to go to the physio to make it possible to be here with good potential. I’m not 100% but I’m quite good. Tomorrow morning will be very important to understand my condition. I think it can be a positive weekend, for our bike it’s a good track, also the conditions are better because the new tarmac is much better than the old one so let’s see what will happen but I think we can make a really good weekend.”

    The Italian also spoke about the future, as he’s set to stay with Ducati, but the team remains to be determined…

    “I’m very happy to stay with Ducati for two more years. But let’s see which team. For sure Pramac is a very good team, I have the maximum from Ducati so my bike is the same of the factory bike so in any case, I’m with the best bike that I can have so I am happy. But for sure my ambition, and the ambition for every rider, is to arrive to a factory team. If I have the possibility, I will be very happy because it’s my ambition but let’s wait to see the decision of Ducati!”

    Finally, it was time to hear from the intermediate class points leader – Marini. Does that change how it feels on the way in?

    LUCA MARINI: “The feeling is the same when you arrive at the circuit. I’m really focused, today was a good day to work with the data and the crew I think we prepared very well the bike for tomorrow. I hope I can be fast from the beginning of FP1. This year you have to choose the correct tyre at the front from the beginning. You do a plan for the next days. We will see in the morning, and I think the first position in the championship it doesn’t change my approach.”

    Marini is the Moto2™ Championship leader and another on home turf. A MotoGP image

    He also spoke about the news that one of his key rivals – Jorge Martin (Red Bull KTM Ajo) – will miss the weekend due to testing positive for Covid-19.

    “In Moto2 every year it’s the same; a lot of riders are so fast and the level is very high and the gap between one another is tight. I’m really sorry for him it’s a pity because I think he was really fast in this period, he is one of the fastest in Moto2 and it is great to have battles with  him. I hope to beat him in the track and not like this. I hope he comes back soon to fight with him in the next race in Misano or Barcelona, wherever it will be!”

    That’s a wrap from Thursday at the San Marino GP! Tune in for FP1 at 9:55 (GMT +2) on Friday before the race starts on Sunday at 14:00. With some fans in the stands and the sunset to shine!

  • Racing Point signs Sebastian Vettel for 2021

    Racing Point signs Sebastian Vettel for 2021

    Silverstone, 10 Sept 2020: Ahead of Aston Martin’s long-awaited return to the Formula 1 grid in 2021, we are delighted to confirm that four-time World Champion Sebastian Vettel has signed up to join the team.
     
    The signing of Sebastian is a clear statement of the team’s ambition to establish itself as one of the most competitive names in the sport.

    Sergio Perez leaves
    Meanwhile, Sergio Perez is to leave the BWT Racing Point F1 Team at the end of the 2020 season, bringing an end to his seven-year association with the team from Silverstone, a release said here on Thursday.

    In those seven seasons, Sergio helped the team achieve some memorable feats, including five podium finishes – most of them against the odds. Those strong results also helped the team – as Force India – achieve consecutive fourth-place finishes in the Constructors’ Championship in 2016 and 2017.

    Everybody at Racing Point would like to thank Sergio for his hard work and dedication over the years, and wish him every success in the future.
    A Champion’s Pedigree
    As a four-time World Champion, Sebastian brings a fresh mindset to the team. He is one of the most accomplished and respected drivers in world motorsport and knows what it takes to win at the highest level.
     
    At the time of writing, he stands as a 53-time race winner, putting him third on the all-time list of Grand Prix victors with a further 67 podium finishes to his name.
     
    His qualifying speed is equally impressive, starting on the front row of the grid 101 times throughout his career to date – 57 of which were from pole position.
     
    Having claimed four consecutive titles with Red Bull Racing between 2010 – 2013 and multiple Grands Prix victories with Scuderia Ferrari in the years since, Sebastian’s experience and leadership qualities make him the perfect driver to help the team achieve its ambitions.
    A Few Words
    Otmar Szafnauer, CEO & Team Principal, BWT Racing Point F1 Team:
    “Everybody at Silverstone is hugely excited by this news. Sebastian is a proven champion and brings a winning mentality that matches our own ambitions for the future as Aston Martin F1 Team. On a Saturday or Sunday afternoon, Sebastian is one of the best in the world, and I can’t think of a better driver to help take us into this new era. He will play a significant role in taking this team to the next level.”
    Sebastian Vettel:
    “I am pleased to finally share this exciting news about my future. I’m extremely proud to say that I will become an Aston Martin driver in 2021. It’s a new adventure for me with a truly legendary car company. I have been impressed with the results the team has achieved this year and I believe the future looks even brighter. The energy and commitment of Lawrence [Stroll] to the sport is inspiring and I believe we can build something very special together. I still have so much love for Formula 1 and my only motivation is to race at the front of the grid. To do so with Aston Martin will be a huge privilege.”
    An Impressive CV
  • Mercedes excel even without `Party Mode’ but it was Pierre Gasly’s race day

    Mercedes excel even without `Party Mode’ but it was Pierre Gasly’s race day

    Pierre Gasly took a surprise but well-deserved win for Alpha Tauri at the iconic Monza circuit as McLaren’s Carlos Sainz and Racing Point’s Lance Stroll completed an unexpected podium in the Italian Grand Prix.

    By Malhaar Khaladkar

    New Delhi, 7 Sept 2020: Prior to this weekend, FIA had issued a technical directive (TD) stating that all teams must use the same engine mode from start of the qualifying to the end of the race. This effectively banned `party mode’ during qualifying for the power unit (PU) manufacturers. Party mode is the most powerful PU mode which is run over one lap to give maximum power. It cannot be run constantly as it damages the engine over a period of time.

    The TD did not seem to affect Mercedes as even without ‘party mode’ they locked out the front row, Lewis Hamilton taking 6th pole position of the year. Nearest non-Mercedes car was of Carlos Sainz in the McLaren, 0.8s behind, with Racing Point’s Sergio Perez alongside in P4. Max Verstappen could only qualify as high as P5, with the second McLaren of Lando Norris is P6. Daniel Ricciardo’s was the only Renault car in top 10, ahead of Lance Stroll in P8 and Alex Albon in P9. Pierre Gasly rounded off the top 10, his teammate Daniil Kvyat put his AlphaTauri in P11. Esteban Ocon in Renault was P12 and behind was Charles Leclerc with what was the worst qualifying for Ferrari at Monza in recent years. His teammate Sebastian Vettel failed to make it out of Q1, to start P17. Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Raikkonen was P14, behind him the two Haas cars of Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean. The second Alfa Romeo of Antonio Giovinazzi qualified in P18. Williams occupied the last row, with what was the last weekend for the Williams family in Formula 1 after their team was bought over.

    Top 10 cars started on the soft tyre. Predicted strategy was a one-stop, from soft to medium tyres. Magnussen and Vettel were the only two cars to start on the Hard tyre.

    The race got underway and Hamilton maintained P1. Valtteri Bottas, who started P2, fell down to P6 by the end of lap 1 due to a bad start. Behind Hamilton, Sainz was P2, Norris in P3, Perez in P4 and Ricciardo in P5. Verstappen too had a bad start and fell down to P7. On lap 6, Vettel went straight on towards the run off area instead of turn 1 and later confirmed via team radio that he had a break failure. Eventually his car was retired.

    The drama in the race started on lap 19 as Magnussen pulled over his Haas near the entry of the pitlane which duly brought out the safety car. On lap 20, Hamilton and Giovinazzi pitted, no one else. As the FIA had closed the pitlane (no cars are allowed to enter the pits) to recover Magnussen’s car, everyone stayed out. Hamilton& Mercedes overlooked this, so did Giovinazzi and his team. Eventually, both drivers were handed a 10-second stop-go penalty for their actions. This costed the race win to then-leader Hamilton. Once the pit lane was opened on lap 22, everyone pitted to change tyres. As racing got underway on lap 25, Leclerc lost his car under acceleration and went into the barrier at turn 11. Thankfully he was not harmed. The crash had a big impact on the tyre barrier and therefore needed repair. Thus, the FIA decided to red flag the session and all cars returned to the pit lane.

    Hamilton pats Pierre Gasly Sunday – LAT Images

    Teams are allowed to change tyres and damaged parts under red flag conditions. Stroll effectively got a free pit stop as he did not pit under the safety car. Meanwhile, Hamilton changed to hard tyres as the looming penalty, once served after the start would put him in last place.

    After a 25-minute stoppage, cars once more lined up on the grid for at the start procedure, Hamilton on pole once again. He maintained the lead, behind him were Gasly, Raikkonen and Stroll. Hamilton served his penalty on the next lap and came out in last place. Gasly inherited the lead, with Sainz overtaking Raikkonen and Stroll to slot into P2. Raikkonen was on soft tyres and as his pace faded away Stroll occupied P3. Eventually Raikkonen finished out of the points.

    Lap 31 saw Max Verstappen retire due to a power unit issue, while his teammate Albon was already running outside of the points after damaging his floor in the opening segment of the race. Sainz tried to pile pressure on the leader Gasly but ultimately finished just 0.415s behind. Stroll completed the podium. Norris finished in P4 giving McLaren their highest points tally of the season in one race. Bottas’s car had overheating issues thus, could not overtake and finished in P5. Renault’s Ricciardo finished P6 while his teammate Ocon finished 8th. Kvyat and Perez completed the top 10. Haas and Alfa Romeo were unable to finish in the points, so was the sole Red Bull of Albon. The Williams boys finished out of the top 10 as well, in what was the last race for Claire and Sir Frank Williams. Hamilton finished P7 after falling back to P16 by virtue of serving the penalty. He was the fastest man on track after the restart. But all the accolades belong to Gasly, who drove superbly to take his first career victory and second win for AlphaTauri/Toro Rosso.

    The technical directive regarding engine modes did not affect Mercedes as they maintained their dominance in qualifying and race pace advantage. Due to a bad start from Bottas and an error from Hamilton & Mercedes during the safety car meant that they lost the win. Still, Hamilton increased his championship lead by two points as Bottas overtook Verstappen for second place. Red Bull had a bad race as they failed to score a point and Verstappen retired. To rub salt on their wounds, their slower sister team and a driver they demoted last year won the race. Low downforce circuits seem to be the Achilles heel of Red Bull as they could not qualify for the front two rows. They had setup issues throughout the weekend and their race pace vanished as neither driver gained positions in the race. Ferrari had a nightmare home race as both cars retired and a second consecutive no points race. Ferrari customers Alfa Romeo have looked faster than the Maranello squad for the last two races.

    McLaren looked second best the whole weekend, behind the dominant silver arrows. Qualifying and race pace is encouraging as they were able to hold off Racing Point and Renault in the before the safety car intervention. Renault had a mediocre weekend as they were expected to fight for the podium, especially after a good showing at Spa- Francorchamps a week before. Both Ricciardo and Ocon were unable to challenge their orange and pink rivals. Racing Point had decent qualifying with Perez but Stroll languished in P8. Their race pace was good enough to challenge Red Bull and Renault. AlphaTauri got a second win in their history (the first win was with Vettel in 2008 at Monza in their first avatar as Toro Rosso). They were slower than their midfield rivals but made the most of the safety car and red flag opportunity. Once in the lead, Gasly was able to control the pace.

    Low drag set up seems to suit Alfa Romeo as they once again outperformed Ferrari. Though they do not have the consistency to achieve regular points finishes. Haas too have a consistency problem as they are unable to unlock the pace from VF-20. The slow Ferrari power unit is not helping their cause as they look to advance in the midfield. The Williams car is draggy (has too much drag for the amount of downforce produced) and was expected to struggle on high-speed circuits like Spa and Monza. They can take the learnings from these races and chip away their deficit to the midfield.

  • The MotoGP rollercoaster reaches the Riviera di Rimini

    The MotoGP rollercoaster reaches the Riviera di Rimini

    The saying goes that there are only two things one can’t avoid in life: death and taxes. But the 2020 FIM MotoGP World Championship season is doing its best to add a third as unpredictability remains the name of the game in what has so far proven a true history maker of a season. Electrifying racing, four different winners from three factories, battles to the line; history has been made across the board for man, machine, team and nation… you couldn’t ask for more. But we’ll get more, because it’s time to get back in the saddle to take on the stunning Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli.

    A splash of multi-coloured kerbs and run-offs glistening next to the clear blue waters of the Adriatic, Misano is a glorious homecoming for many and could be welcome respite for some. Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) will be banking on the latter as we head into round six, with the Frenchman starting the year with double wins and then watching that record-breaking pace fade over the tougher rounds of Brno and Austria. But cast your thoughts back 12 months to a rookie taking the reigning Champion to the wire and remember where ‘El Diablo’ belongs… the question is though, can he get back there? For Yamaha it should be a more suited track, and no one should count out the only man to have so far won twice this season.

    Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) will also be eyeing Misano with optimism as it’s a better layout for the Iwata marque, but also a chance for him to put to bed some truly awful luck at the Red Bull Ring. Narrowly avoiding one huge crash only to get hit by technical trouble, and then playing protagonist in another huge incident a week later due to… technical trouble, it hasn’t been an easy ride for ‘Top Gun’ lately. But he’s been quick, taken podiums and been on pole, and he knows – as we all do – that the unpredictability and ever-shuffling pack this season means one thing: no one is out of it yet.

    That goes for his teammate, too. The “Most Wins” stat at Misano is shared three ways, but only one of the riders on the list will be lining up in 2020: Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP). The ‘Doctor’ has three wins at the venue to equal Jorge Lorenzo and reigning Champion Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team), who remains sidelined, but it’s the number 46’s backyard. He also arrives with some deceptively solid consistency in 2020. His protegee of sorts, Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT), will also be optimistic on the way in. Robbed of what looked like a first podium earlier in the year, the number 21 has taken a key step forward this season. On very familiar turf, what can he do?

    The man second overall, however, is a different Italian. Veteran Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) hasn’t had a perfect run of form in 2020, but he’s wrung the most out of it on the day including that searing ride to victory in the Austrian GP. After the up and down form of so many and the drama we’ve seen in 2020, the wily Italian is now the man doing the daunting as he homes in on Quartararo’s lead. It’s just three points now, and Dovizioso has won at the venue before. He and Rossi will also have some fans cheering them on, giving that little extra twist of hometown glory to the mix.

    Jack Miller (Pramac Racing), meanwhile, is another to watch. 11 points off Dovizioso and therefore just 14 off Quartararo’s lead, he’s very much in touch after some impressive rides to the podium at the Red Bull Ring. Riding Ducati machinery as well, there’s plenty at stake for Miller and the Australian is seriously on song. His teammate Francesco Bagnaia will be back from injury too, and what can Danilo Petrucci (Ducati Team) do on home turf after a tougher 2020 so far?

    A run through of the likely Borgo Panigale factory frontrunners would no longer be complete without a shoutout to Johann Zarco (Esponsorama Racing), however. Since that searing Long Lap Penalty – yes, we’re going to keep bringing it up – the Frenchman has been on quite the rollercoaster, but he managed to take two points last time out despite a broken scaphoid and a pitlane start. More time to heal and no penalties on the horizon at Misano make Zarco an interesting prospect, as ever. 

    And then, of course, there’s KTM. Brno was a milestone and Styria another, as Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) added to Brad Binder’s (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) glory, as well as making some history for Tech 3 with their first premier class win. So do KTM lose concessions? They do. Does it look like they need them? You be the judge. The Austrian factory are the steamrolling success story of 2020 so far, and are now third in the constructors’ standings… by just six points. And that’s to the top held by Yamaha. Ducati? They’re only one point ahead of the orange armada! Binder, Oliveira and Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) will all be out for glory, and Iker Lecuona (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) will be looking to build on some much-improved solid finishes in Austria.

    For Team Suzuki Ecstar, meanwhile, the points don’t really tell the story. The Hamamatsu factory are very fast, and Alex Rins and Joan Mir have now both run at the front despite injury struggles for the former and still ever-growing experience for the latter. But some bad luck and crashes – and the Red Flag in Styria seemingly snatching victory from the hands of Mir – mean they’re not quite where they should be in terms of results on paper. Nevertheless, they remain two extremely fast riders on one extremely quality motorcycle, and the reset of Misano will see them aiming for the top again.

    The Red Flag that seemed to dent Mir’s hopes of a perfect Sunday last time out was a similar story for Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu). A fourth in Jerez is his best so far, but the Japanese rider was on the front row in Styria for the first time and stayed as calm and collected as if he’d been there every week. He’s not been out the top ten so far this season, and he’s fought far up within it. Will Misano see that form rollover to the next events? And what can Alex Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) do for Honda? The Red Bull Ring ended up being a tougher double, and the rookie will want to score – Binder’s Czechia victory and frontrunning form puts him well ahead in the fight for Rookie of the Year.

    For Aprilia, as well as Ducati and the Italian riders, Misano is also the first home race of the year. What can Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) do? He’s scored a good chunk of points in the last three races, and he’ll want more – as will teammate Bradley Smith, a few places behind in the standings.

    Misano. It’s a modern classic that’s staged some serious memorable showdowns, and now we’re on the verge of enjoying two races at the track. First it’s the Gran Premio Lenovo di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini as we return after a short break. Have you caught your breath yet? Get ready for more on Sunday the 13th of September at 14:00 (GMT +2).

    MotoGP Championship standings:

    1 Fabio Quartararo* – Petronas Yamaha SRT – Yamaha – 70
    2 Andrea Dovizioso – Ducati Team – Ducati – 67
    3 Jack Miller* – Pramac Racing – Ducati – 56
    4 Brad Binder – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing – KTM – 49
    5 Maverick Viñales – Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP – Yamaha – 48
    *Independent Team riders

  • Martins Sesks, first Latvian to win a Junior WRC rally

    Martins Sesks, first Latvian to win a Junior WRC rally

    Estonia, 6 Sept 2020: Martins Sesks becomes the first ever Latvian to win a FIA Junior WRC rally following a dramatic event on Estonia’s inaugural WRC event. 
     
    Sami Pajari was able to claim a well-earned second place after running into difficulty early on in the rally.
     
    Robert Virves, the crowdfunded local hero, finished third after leading for much of the rally until a puncture dropped him out of contention in the closing stages of Sunday. 
     
    Friday evening’s opening short blast was won by Sami Pajari with a clear second over Tom Kristensson. The Swede struck back the following morning taking the first stage win of the day, his rally ended on the next stage with a crankshaft failure following a heavy landing. 
     
    The story of Saturday was the crowdfunded hometown hero, Robert Virves, consistently posting top-three stage times from stage four until stage 14. 
     
    Romanian Raul Badiu would join Kristensson in retiring for the day in the first loop, damaging his radiator on stage three punting a hay bale across the stage. Pontus Lonnstrom’s early stage times indicated he would be in contention for a podium however his day was cut short, stopping in stage four due after a technical issue. Italian driver, Fabio Andolfi, also retired after stage three.
     
    Ken Torn established himself as a contender for victory, closing down on Virves’ lead on Saturday with a hat-trick of stage wins following a puncture in the opening loop. Torn’s luck would run out on stage eight, after two punctures while only carrying one spare, forcing him to retire for the day. He returned to action on Sunday morning which was short-lived after mechanical problem on stage 13.
     
    The drama continued in Junior WRC on Sunday following an action packed day on Saturday.
     
    Home favourite Robert Virves headed into the closing day with an 11-second lead over Martins Sesks with Finnish youngster Sami Pajari trailing by 27 seconds in third. Virves would ultimately relinquish his lead following a puncture on stage 14, losing 45 seconds in the process of being relegated to third. The Estonian would not give up, collecting his maiden Junior WRC stage win point on the penultimate stage to hold third by the end of the rally.
     
    Sami Pajari collected the most stage wins of any Junior WRC driver on Rally Estonia, totalling eight stage wins by the conclusion of the rally and more importantly, seven valuable championship points. Pajari now sits second in the championship with 39 points.
     
    Following a run of successful preparation events Martins Sesks was on form throughout Rally Estonia, not putting a foot wrong, running no lower than third for the duration of the rally. Applying the pressure on Virves all Saturday and Sunday, and following the Estonian’s puncture, Sesks inherited the lead with three speed tests to run.
     
    He becomes the first ever Latvian driver to take a Junior WRC rally win and with it has picked up the championship lead with 47 points.
     
    Elsewhere in Junior WRC, Briton Ruairi Bell claimed his best finish so far with a well-earned fourth position after delivering a faultless drive with consistent stage times. 
     
    Teenager Fabrizio Zaldivar was set to match his best ever finish with a fifth place after a respectable drive throughout the rally. The Paraguayan’s hard work would come undone on the penultimate stage, losing his brakes and dropping to sixth. He would enter the Wolf Power Stage without brakes in an effort to finish the rally and collect valuable championship points.
     
    Italian Marco Pollara who, like Zaldivar, kept his head down and avoided trouble eventually took fifth position, his best finish in FIA Junior WRC.
     
    Maciej Woda, Junior WRC Team Director: “Rally Estonia has been epic and a fantastic return to rallying! We all owe so much thanks to the organisers of Rally Estonia, FIA and WRC Promoter for providing a smooth and safe way for us finally get back rallying, I cannot wait to see what Sardinia brings for us. Massive congratulations to Martins taking the victory, it’s great to see a Baltic driver doing so well and Latvia finally having a FIA Junior WRC winner. Robert gave a hard fight throughout the entire rally and should be very proud of what he has achieved for his first ever WRC event, it was an incredible performance and he has done Estonia proud. Sami Pajari is proving what so many people have said in terms of how talented he is after taking the most stage wins on this rally. I would also like to say a special well done to Ruairi Bell who faced exceptional circumstances heading into this rally so to finish fourth is a really good job.”
     

    1. Martins Sesks / Renars Francis 2:21:20.5
    “This weekend was quite an incredible rally for everyone because the stages were really, really rough. Even the guys in R5s were saying it is rough so imagine how rough it is in the Rally4 car. You had to be really technical all the time to see where you could drive fast and where you needed to take it easy to save your car and make it to the finish. I am really happy, we started on the safe side yesterday and started to gain speed and everything. We had a good battle with Ken who was flat out from the first stage. He was really fast I would say he was even faster than me as it was a rally of experience and he has it here. Overall I still can’t put it into words the feeling I have right now, but all the hard work I have put in, and after the struggles of last year, it is finally paying off for me.”
     
    2. Sami Pajari / Marko Salminen +14.7
    “We had the most stage wins, second place is not too bad and at the moment I am feeling like ‘oh damn it was just 15 seconds’, but overall I need to be really happy.”
     
    3. Robert Virves / Sander Pruul +37.8
    “Not the result we were hoping for but that’s rally and there’s nothing we can do. I have to be happy but it isn’t a win.”
     
    4. Ruairi Bell / Matt Edwards +5:12.7
    “It’s been a fantastic weekend with only four or five notice before today, Matt jumped in the car, being here now with fourth place in the juniors is fantastic and I am more than happy. Sadly I lost a bit of time but didn’t lose a position so I can’t complain.”
     
    5. Marco Pollara / Maurizio Messina +7:03.9
    “I am very happy for this result, the stages were fantastic and very beautiful. I am in love with these special stages, I hope to return here next year but until then, see you in Sardinia.”
    6. Fabrizio Zaldivar / Fernando Mussano +9:29.8
    “It was quite a tough rally for us, from the beginning we knew it would be difficult but still we made it to the end which is a good thing. We still need to work more on the pacenotes over the kilometres, today we had some brake problems so that’s why we lost fifth place but it was quite nice to finish the rally.”
     
    7. Enrico Oldrati / Elia de Guio +10:44.7
    “I’m not really happy but we got a lot of experience and that’s the most important thing. Ok now, we look forward to Rally Sardinia, which is my home rally and we will see how we go there.”
     
    8. Raul Badiu / Gabriel Lazar +1:24:46.0
     “I am disappointed, the result isn’t what we were wanting and the worst part is that on these lovely stages we would have liked to go and really take the experience and learn but we had very few kilometres without problems. The good side is that we finally started back rallying after these really difficult times.”
     
    RETIRED:
    Ken Torn / Kauri Pannas
    Pontus Lonnstrom / Stefan Gustavsson
    Tom Kristensson / Joakim Sjöberg
    Fabio Andolfi / Stefano Savoia

  • Jonathan Rea wins battle with Rinaldi to extend lead

    Jonathan Rea wins battle with Rinaldi to extend lead

    A thrilling battle in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship between Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) and Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team GOELEVEN) was the story of the day at the Pirelli Teruel Round as the reigning Champion extended his Championship lead to 36 points. The pair duelled throughout the majority of the 18-lap race with Rea coming out on top; Scott Redding (Aruba.IT Racing – Ducati) finishing in third place.

    Redding passed Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) on the opening lap but two corners earlier than he managed in the morning’s Tissot Superpole Race, with Redding passing the reigning Champion at Turn 13 to take the lead of the race having lost out to Rea at the start of the race.

    It was Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team GOELEVEN) who took advantage of the Redding and Rea battle on Lap 6 when Redding and Rea went wide at Turn 8 fighting each other, allowing Rinaldi to cut back through Turn 9 and get the run on both riders; eventually diving down the inside of Redding to take the lead.

    Rea was able to get ahead of Redding and pull out a gap of around one second to Redding, allowing the five-time Champion to start applying pressure to Rinaldi. It would take Rea until three laps left of the race before he could pass Rinaldi; the Italian rider not buckling under the pressure of racing with Rea, coming home to finish second behind Rea and claiming his third podium in three races. Rea had a couple of huge moments during the race; making a superb save after running wide while trying to pass Rinaldi while he also had to make another save at Turn 1 shortly after passing Rinaldi.

    Redding was unable to respond to the leading duo and came home in third place, securing a podium place but finds himself now 36 points behind Rea in the Championship standings. Leon Haslam (Team HRC) secured his best result of the 2020 season with fourth place, finish more than a second clear of Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) in fifth. The duo finished five seconds ahead of Michael van der Mark (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team); the Dutchman coming home in sixth place.

    Michael van der Mark’s teammate, Toprak Razgatlioglu, finished in seventh place ahead of Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha); Baz finishing more than five seconds behind Razgatlioglu and holding off the challenge from GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team duo Federico Caricasulo and Garrett Gerloff as five Yamaha machines finished inside the top ten.

    Eugene Laverty (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) just missed out on a top ten finish with 11th place, less than a second away from Gerloff. Marco Melandri (Barni Racing Team) scored a points finish with 12th place, with Xavi Fores (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) in 13th. Matteo Ferrari (Motocorsa Racing) secured another points finish on his WorldSBK debut with 14th place, ahead of Roman Ramos (OUTDO Kawasaki TPR). Takumi Takahashi (MIE Racing Honda Team) was the last classified runner in 16th place.

    Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) became the first retirement from the race when he pulled into the pits on the opening lap while Maximilian Scheib (ORELAC Racing VerdNatura) crashed out on Lap 4. Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC) crashed out at Turn 7 on Lap 5, forcing the Spanish rider to retire from the race. Chaz Davies (Aruba.IT Racing – Ducati) was another retirement from the race after a crash on Lap 13 while he was running in the top five, while Sylvain Barrier (Brixx Performance) also did not finish the race.

  • Honestly, it’s unbelievable. I’m not realising what’s happening right now: Gasly

    Honestly, it’s unbelievable. I’m not realising what’s happening right now: Gasly

    DRIVERS: 1 – Pierre GASLY (AlphaTauri); 2 – Carlos SAINZ (McLaren) and 3 – Lance STROLL (Racing Point)
     
    TRACK INTERVIEWS (Conducted by Jenson Button) 
     
    Q: Lance, fantastic podium finish. Are you happy with that P3?   
    Lance STROLL: I am. It’s been a couple of years since I stood on a podium. It feels good to be back. It was such a crazy race. I’m so happy for Pierre. He really deserved it. He had a great start and he just stayed consistent all the way throughout the race. It’s a bit of a bummer as I think it was mine to lose, starting from second. But I just had no grip at the start and I had a ton of wheel spin and everybody flew by me. I had a good scrap with Carlos there in the first couple of laps. I overtook him around the outside and then he got me again into Turn 1. We were battling out there and I’m happy to pick up third. I think the win slipped away from us today but third is great.
     
    Q: It’s a fantastic result. It’s such a young podium. The young guns on the podium is fantastic to see. How strange is it starting a race again half way through?
    LS: It’s bizarre. You’ve got to reset. We’re not used to that intermission half way through a race, but great to finish third.
     
    Q: Carlos, what a drive. You’ve been getting the maximum out of the car for so many races. I’m sure it’s exciting and it’s great to get a P2 but you were so close. You pushed him so hard at the end.
    Carlos SAINZ: Yeah, it’s incredible. I’m half way disappointed with P2 you know. I wouldn’t have believed that I would have got a chance to fight for victory today, we were very, very close. Honestly, with a normal race I think I would have got P2 behind Lewis because we had really, really good pace. So I think it’s what we deserve. But with Pierre there in front is like, ‘wow, how could that happen?’ I guess a bit of bad luck with the safety car but then we did a good job to recover it and with the red flag also. Very happy with P2, we’ve been super-quick all weekend and I felt like I could dominate the midfield pretty easily today, so I’ve got to be happy with that.
     
    Q: This isn’t a lucky P2. You didn’t luck in with the safety car or strategy. You guys have just been quick all weekend?
    CS: I was faking it! No, especially getting back from P6 to P2 and then chasing Pierre and managing to finish three or four tenths behind him at the flag, we need to be proud of that, we need to be proud of the pace of the car and then that red flag I think I would have finished behind Lewis today, but it is what it is.
     
    Q: Pierre! Pierre, I mean sensational. In your short period in Formula 1 you’ve been through so much, so many emotions, highs, lows… This is phenomenal. It must feel very special?
    Pierre GASLY: Honestly, it’s unbelievable. I’m not realising what’s happening right now, you know. It was such a crazy race. We capitalised on the red flag. The car was fast. We had a pretty fast car behind us. As you said, I’ve been through so much in the space of 18 months. My first podium last year, I was already like ‘wow, with AlphaTauri and now my first win in Formula 1, in Monza, I struggle to realise.
     
    Q: The emotion for your team. In Italy, they won as an Italian team. You can see what it means to them and it must be so nice celebrating with them?
    PG: I’ve got no words. This team have done so much for me. They gave me my first opportunity in F1. They gave me my first podium and now they are giving me my first win. It’s crazy, honestly, it’s just crazy and I’m so happy, I can’t thank them enough. Everyone from AlphaTauri, to Honda. I mean, it’s a power sensitive track and we won the race ahead of all the Mercedes, Ferrari and Renault cars, so just an amazing day.
     
    Q: I’m not sure I’m 100 per cent correct but I think you are the first French winner since 1996.
    PG: That’s right. Olivier Panis was the last one. I’ve always said coming in F1 that’s one thing we need to change because it’s been so long but I never expected that it would happen to us with AlphaTauri and we just kept focusing on ourselves since last year, working, improving step by step. It’s crazy. I’m just so happy.
     
    PRESS CONFERENCE
     
    Q: Pierre, such a happy podium today. No doubt you’ve dreamt of this moment. How does the reality compare to the dream?
    PG: It’s amazing. Honestly, I’m lost for words right now. I’m still struggling to realise what’s happened for us. My first win in Formula 1… A couple of months ago I got my first podium in Brazil and then today it’s my first win, in Monza with AlphaTauri, which is an Italian team. It could not have been better and we worked so hard, day by day, race after race, after everything that happened to me in the last 18 months, I could not have hoped for a better way to get my first win.
     
    Q: And it seems you really did want to soak up that podium. You didn’t want to leave?
    PG: I didn’t want to leave, because these kind of moments… You never know how many times you are going to be able to enjoy these kinds of times. I wish we could have had all the tifosi and all the grandstands full of people, because it’s probably one of the best races to be on the podium, right up there. Obviously 2020 style is a bit different but nevertheless I just wanted to sit down and take a moment for myself to go through the thoughts that were crossing my mind and just enjoy that moment.
     
    Q: And just about the race: the timing of your pit stop was perfect but also those last few laps when Carlos Sainz was closing in on you, how much pressure were you under?
    PG: After the restart I think we had 28 laps to go. I managed to pass Lance into Turn 1 and I think this really helped me for the rest of the race. Lewis pitted, I think on lap one, and then after that I was on my own. It reminded me of my Formula 2 days when you are leading the race and just focusing on your own driving, corner by corner. I pushed so hard at the start because I wanted to break the tow from the guys behind and I didn’t have anyone in front on me so I knew I had to make the time in the corners and the last five laps were really hard and my tyres were completely gone. I was sideways in every corner and I could see Carlos slowly closing the gap and I know myself I would have been so pissed with myself if I would have lost that win in the last few laps. I just gave everything I had and I’m so happy I managed to get my first race win in Formula 1.
     
    Q: Carlos, coming to you, lovely to actually see you on the podium this time, unlike in Brazil where you got promoted after the race. Pierre has already told us that his tyres were shot at the end of the race. What conditions were yours in?
    CS: Well, my tyres were four laps older and obviously I was struggling also. But the pace we had today was incredible. Honestly, the gap that I managed to open with the rest of the midfield in the first stint and after that, managing to go through the whole five cars I had in front to end up chasing Pierre. Definitely felt really nice and felt like I had a good shot for victory. Then once I got to 1.5s I got stuck. The tow, as we see with these cars and the dirty air, starts affecting you a lot in traction, in braking. Mini lock-ups, oversteers and I think we were both a bit rallying for a minute because we were both struggling with tyres. But yeah, happy. Happy to finish in P2. Obviously disappointed to not get the win because today we had a lot of pace and we felt that without that red flag it would have been a different story because I know I was the virtual race leader with Hamilton’s penalty. But that red flag came, and I managed to recover my positions and made it nearly to Pierre – which would have been nice but I think he deserves it and congrats.
     
    Q: As you say, you were running P2 on merit. Are you surprised by the pace of the McLaren this weekend?
    CS: Yeah, a bit surprised, of course – because we didn’t expect to be that strong. Especially what I didn’t expect is for everyone behind us to not be able to overtake us and to open that five-second gap that gave me that buffer before the first stop, then the Safety Car came out and I knew I had lost all that hard work earned. And then I very quickly realised that Lewis was going to get a penalty and I would have been the virtual race leader on the fresher tyres, and I just had to go through the field and get myself to P1 and push like mad – but the red flag came out. It was a rollercoaster of emotions because I was then lying in P6 with the same tyres as everyone in front of me. Even on a used tyre for me from the Safety Car, and I was a bit angry – and a bit disappointed, to say the least. But I managed to recover, and nearly made it. I think we can be proud because today I left nothing on the table in Monza. So I’m going to bed calm that I know that I didn’t leave one single tenth out there.
     
    Q: Many congratulations, well done Carlos – and many congratulations to you too Lance. First podium since Baku in 2017. How sweet does this feel?
    LS: Yeah, it’s been a long time coming. A part of me is a little bit frustrated. I had a terrible restart after the red flag. I fell back to P6 and had a good fight with Carlos in the first lap after the restart but lost out to him and then I made my way back to third. Yeah, I gave it everything I could – but I’m very happy for Pierre and I think everyone drove a great race in this room. It was an awesome race and I’m really happy to be back on the podium.
     
    Q: We’ve seen great pace from you and the RP20 this weekend. Is it fair to say there’s been a bit of a breakthrough in performance with the car?
    LS: Yeah, we made a big step from Friday to Saturday. I didn’t have the best day yesterday, to be honest, so I was bit on the backfoot coming into today but, y’know, this game, a big part of it is luck and timing and staying out on the Soft tyre for that long gave us an opportunity to fit a new set under the red flag and make up some positions. We gave it everything today and I’m just really happy for the team to get this great result.
     
    VIDEO CONFERENCE
     
    Q: (Alex Kalinauckas – Autosport) Question to both Pierre and Carlos please. What were you thinking in terms of tactics when the gap was coming down right at the end. Pierre, at one stage we saw you weaving to try to break the tow. Carlos, you mention sliding and both of you rallying at one point. What were you thinking about? Where to attack and where you were stronger or weaker compared to each other.
    PG: I knew the closer Carlos was getting, the more slipstream he would get, so I knew he started around four seconds and then at three seconds which was probably the idea gap for the slipstream. So he was going to get closer and closer. I tried to push as hard as I could in the corners on the tyres, which obviously means you have more degradation but it was my only way to make lap time. The last few laps I had big, big moments through the Lesmos, through Ascari, just trying to give everything because I could see him becoming bigger and bigger in my mirrors. I knew I was struggling with traction a lot in Turn One. So, there was one place he could try was either DRS the first chicane or the second chicane but I tried to… yeah I saw he wasn’t getting closer and closer and once he got to 1.5s, except for that last lap, I managed to save the energy, just to be able to defend in case he would try something. And yeah, we kept him behind but lucky the race wasn’t much longer because with this Medium tyre I think I didn’t have any rubber left at the end. So, it was the right time to finish the race.
     
    Carlos?
    CS: Difficult to explain everything that was going on but I guess since the moment I started catching Pierre, my main target was to get within DRS and then knowing that he would have to defend and use the battery to defend. Honestly, we’ve been very strong here on the straights this weekend, we’ve been very, very quick all weekend on the straights and the only thing I haven’t done this weekend is to get a tow – because I know that our car doesn’t work very well on the tow, we are very affected by the dirty air. So, as soon as I got to within 1.5s I started feeling that dirty air; I started feeling the car a lot more loose, a lot more difficult to get the lap time and the grip in the corners. So, I was trying to maximise the tow, maximise everything I could but the car was starting to struggle a bit behind Pierre. Then suddenly in the last lap and a half I saw him start doing the small mistakes that allowed me to get into the DRS and then I crossed the start finish four-tenths, which would have given me a good run into Turn One if it was one lap more. But, unfortunately it wasn’t one lap more and it is what it is. He did a tremendous job defending and I’m not going to say anything. I know I left nothing on the table. I think those four-tenths reflect very well what we both did and I think it’s a good finish to the race.
     
    Q: (Julien Billiotte – Auto Hebdo) Question to Pierre. First of all, many congratulations. It’s fair to say French fans were not really emotionally ready for a day like this. Are you aware of how big this is on the scene of French motorsports? And also, what went through your mind at the end on the podium when we saw you sitting in a reflective mood?
    PG: How big it is? Personally I know how important it was for me to get my first race win in Formula 1 and in the end it’s only my third season in F1, even though I’ve been through a lot in the last two years, I still feel I’m quite new to this world and improving year after year and just getting better the whole time. So, I would have never expected that a year ago when I got back to Toro Rosso. The podium was already unexpected and a big, big highlight last year. And then I wasn’t ready for that win today, even though you always try to imagine the best scenario, the best car, the best race, everything the best way. We know that it happened only once in the whole history of Toro Rosso in Formula 1. Franz actually told me, “you know we’ve done it in the wet, I’m really proud of you because today we’ve done it in the dry now.” Yeah, it was very difficult but I’m just happy to show my speed. I’ve worked on myself day after day, race after race since last year and just trying to get stronger all the time. I’m really happy that today I get the reward for all the hard work that we’ve done with AlphaTauri and also with Honda.
     
    And all that was going through your mind on the podium?
    PG: Yeah, exactly. I sat down and had a lot of things crossing my mind. First of all, I through of my family, my friends, my brothers and all these people that supported me and just kept pushing me the whole time, and you just remember everything you’ve been through. I was just trying to imagine all of these people down from the podium, all the tifosi that should be there. It was a very special moment. As I said, being a crazy ride in the last few months and it’s just unbelievable. I’m still struggling to realise what we’ve just achieved.
     
    Q: (Alan Baldwin – Reuters) Pierre, the only guy to have won a race for your team was also at Monza and he was fast-tracked up to Red Bull pretty quickly. I just wondered is that a move you would like next season, is it a good move, and are you ready for it?
    PG: I think I’m ready but as I said, it’s not up to me to make that call. The only thing I’ve done since they moved me back to Toro Rosso has been just to focus on myself and just show what I can do. When I get the right tools in my hand I’m really happy that the performance we’ve shown – and I’m not only talking about Brazil but I think generally, we’ve been pretty strong most of the time. We’ve had some really strong qualifyings, really strong races since. We’ll see what happens but I think there have been many, many strong drivers in Toro Rosso. I’m really happy to be one of the two that have managed to get a win for this team. Obviously I guess the strong results should be rewarded with something but we will see what happens. At the moment it’s not something I really want to think about. I just want to enjoy this moment, because it’s my first win in F1 and I will have time to think about this later.
     
    Q: (Abhishek Takle – Midday) Carlos, as a future Ferrari driver, what would it have meant for you to win at Monza today? Not winning, not withstanding, what was it like to stand on the Monza podium? I know there weren’t any fans today but if you could describe that, especially as a future Ferrari driver.
    CS: Well, what I’m sure is today, if there would have been tifosi there, they would have been pretty happy and proud and that makes me excited about the future and a bit gutted that there was no one today down there, apart obviously from my team and everyone involved in Formula 1, but it makes me excited and makes me look forward to the future and hopefully it’s my first podium in Monza, not my last and hopefully many will come with Ferrari. I’m ready for it, I cannot wait for it to happen and I just cannot imagine what it would have been with 100,000 people. We get to finish on the podium in the coolest race of the season and no one is there to see us. Hopefully we will get it in the future. I think we all have the potential to do it again so let’s see.
     
    Q: (Edd Straw – The Race) Pierre, obviously the key was the timing of the first pit stop but what were you thinking at the time that happened, because it could have gone a lot of different ways and it also seemed that maybe the early timing was partly motivated by having to release your teammate on the other side, behind you, so were you thinking that could have actually been a bad move at the time, even though it turned out, the way the race happened to be the making of it?
    PG: Yeah, to be fair, once we pitted and I just exited the pit lane I saw safety car, I came on the radio and I was like ‘is that a joke? We just pitted like exactly at the worst time possible.’ They just told me ‘OK, the pit entry is closed’ so that’s what happened, and in the end it turned out to be a very lucky move. There was no way we could have planned this. I think today we’ve had a little star with us, a little angel, let’s say, taking care of us and obviously we’ve got pretty lucky on that one and after obviously there was still thirty laps to do which were very difficult but that was clearly a turning point.
     
    Q: (Laurence Edmondson – ESPN) My question is about the red flag period because at that point we knew that Lewis was going to have to take that penalty, so you were all in contention for the win so for each of you, what was going through your head in that moment, how much were you talking to your engineers and how did you get yourself in the frame of mind to go and actually race again?
    LS: Yeah, it definitely threw a curveball at us. We’re not used to getting out of the car halfway through the race. I think it was just important to re-set and get back into it. It was an amazing opportunity in the race to start from second, knowing that Lewis had a ten second time penalty. I wasn’t actually aware of the stop and go, I just thought it was a ten second time (penalty). It was unexpected but it created a lot of excitement in the race, that’s for sure.
    PG: Yeah, to be fair, they told that to me when we had the red flag and I was like, just not focused on Lewis because he was just going to pit and come back through the field and finish 20 seconds ahead of us to I was like let’s do our own race, focus on the guys around. I think for us it was a tricky call between the hard tyre and the medium tyre at the time because we didn’t know if it was a rolling start or a standing start. We opted for the medium, which was better for the race start and yeah, he boxed on lap one and to be fair, I expected him to come back through the field and the same with Valtteri. I thought these two guys would just coming flying past us but it wasn’t the case but yeah, the team knew, apparently, that it wasn’t going to be that easy for them to catch us and yeah, apparently it was the case.
    CS: Yeah, a roller coaster of emotions really. As you can imagine, I was very, very disappointed with the red flag and angry and I had rage in myself and again, I was again thinking about the bad luck and this season and everything and we had to re-start on four lap old medium tyres which is not easy and I knew that the two Alfas in front of me had new softs, one of them had to pit, Hamilton to pit so maybe I was in contention for a podium but maybe the win with Pierre knowing how quick they had been all weekend, I knew it was going to be tricky if Pierre and Lance got a good start. So disappointed because I knew it was going to be a race with them and maybe I could make it to third but honestly, since the restart, I just put my head down, tried to do everything I could to focus on catching them both and had a great battle with Lance on lap one and then from there on, with that medium tyre that didn’t feel great, I just pushed as hard as I could, to try and making it to Pierre and I nearly did but at the point of the red flag I was negative and I was disappointed and I thought I had lost the chance of a win and potentially of a podium also, which would have been nice. But we recovered nicely and we didn’t make it.
     
    Q: (Andrew Benson – BBC Sport) Pierre, you’ve obviously been through a lot in the last year. Can you tell us how you’ve managed to stay strong in your self-belief after your demotion back to Toro Rosso last year and then of course you lost Anthoine Hubert as well and how you rebuilt yourself to this position, to get this win and how it feels to achieve this?
    PG: That was a purely a tough moment last year. I grew up with four brothers and I think, like personally, as a child, I had to work through quite difficult moments, which built me a pretty strong character and I always had to fight for everything I wanted. I always, in some way, managed to turn that negative energy into something positive and I knew last year what happened, deep inside me, obviously I felt hurt and I didn’t feel it was fair to myself and I really wanted to make a clear point in that moment but look, I know I’m fast, I know what I can do, I know I can believe, I’ve been fighting for victories, for pole, championships in my early years, in my career and that’s what I want in F1. I really worked very hard with the team and I knew that with them I had everything in my hands to show my potential. After, I just tried to focus on my own performance, not really looking at the others, taking race after race, looking at what I can improved on my side, what I can improve with the team, with my engineers, just to extract more from myself and more from that package and combination and yeah, honestly I can’t be happier with the team I have at the moment. They are doing an amazing job; they are giving me everything I need to be competitive every single weekend. Sometimes we are fast enough for the top eight, sometimes for top ten, sometimes top twelve but at the end of the day, they really put all the energy for my own performance which I really appreciate and I’m really thankful for because thanks to that, today gave us my first race win in Formula 1.
     
    Ends

  • Stunning maiden win for Pierre Gasly and Alpha Tauri

    Stunning maiden win for Pierre Gasly and Alpha Tauri

    Monza, 6 Sept 2020: Pierre Gasly scored his first Formula 1 victory and the first for the AlphaTauri team at the end of an enthralling, incident-packed Italian Grand Prix that saw Carlos Sainz and Lance Stroll take second and third respectively and during which championship leader lost the lead of the race through a stop and go penalty.

    A pleased Gasly said: “This is amazing! I’m lost for words! It’s unbelievable! I’ve been through so many things in the past 18 months and it’s better than anything I expected. I focused hard when I re-joined Scuderia AlphaTauri. Day by day, race by race, we improved ourselves and got stronger and stronger – this team gave me my first podium in F1 last year in Brazil and today, these guys gave me my first win in Formula 1, in Italy, in Monza, with an Italian team. I’m not someone who gives up on anything, I always fought for everything in my life until I made it to F1. Today it was a great day! When I was fighting the last few laps to keep P1, I knew how gutted I would have been if I had lost it, I wouldn’t have been happy with P2. I gave it everything I had – it was difficult – I pushed hard at the start of the stint to not give anyone the slipstream behind, then the last five laps were so intense, I almost shunted 10 times… I was pushing so hard! My tyres were gone but I wanted that win so much, it still feels weird to say I’m an F1 race winner. A big thanks to all of these guys here at the track and at the factory, in Faenza and Bicester, it’s a great day for them too. Most of them are Italian and the HQ is in Faenza, Italy, so to win the Italian Grand Prix is amazing. Thank you all.”

    At the race start, pole sitter Hamilton made a good getaway to take the lead but team-mate Valtteri Bottas, starting from P2, made a slow start which allowed Sainz to steal second on the run to Turn 1. The Spaniard’s team-mate Lando Norris then pounced in Turn 1 and Bottas dropped back to an eventual fifth as Sergio Pérez also powered past. Further back, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen also lost ground at the start. The Dutchman got away slowly when the lights went out and he dropped from fifth to seventh. 

    As the opening stint got into its stride, Hamilton began to march away from the pack and by lap 10 he was six seconds clear of Sainz who was a further 3.5s clear of Norris. 

    However, on lap 17 Haas’ Kevin Magnussen lost power and pulled over at the side of the track near the pit entry. The Safety Car was deployed and Hamilton dived into the pit lane to take on a set of medium tyres. However, prior to the race leader’s move the pit lane had already been closed to provide for safe removal of the Haas car and Hamilton’s entry to the close pit lane was placed under investigation. 

    Once Magnussen’s car had been recovered the pit lane was reopened and the entire field streamed into the pit lane for new tyres just ahead of a swift resumption of action. 

    However, within moments of the restart, the race was neutralised again. Charles Leclerc lost control at high speed at the exit of Parabolica and hit the barriers hard. With the tyre wall substantially deformed and requiring repair the race was red flagged. 

    After an almost -30-minute delay the field reformed on the grid for a standing start. Hamilton, now facing a 10-second stop-and-go penalty, lined up on pole ahead of Stroll, Gasly, the Alfa Romeo cars of Kimi Räikkönen, Antonio Giovinazzi and McLaren’s Sainz. Norris lined up seventh ahead of Bottas, Williams’ Nicholas Latifi and Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo. 

    Hamilton held the lead on the restart as Gasly stormed past Stroll to take P2. At the end of the lap Hamilton dived into the pit lane to take his penalty and Gasly assumed the lead of the race. Further back Verstappen steered his RB16 to the pit lane and retired from the race with a PU issue.

    Sainz slowly beginning to reel in Gasly, with the Spaniard edging closer to the leader by two tenths of a second per lap. With two laps remaining he was edging into DRS range of the AlphaTauri and on the final lap Sainz took his chance. 

    He made a late lunge into Turn 1 but Gasly rebuffed the move and with better traction out of the corner and out of the second chicane he was able to draw away from the McLaren but just enough to take his first career win, with 0.4s in hand over the Spaniard. As well as taking the first win for the AlphaTauri name, Gasly become just the second driver to win for the Faenza-based team after Sebastian Vettel won the Italian Grand Prix for Toro Rosso in 2008. 

    Lance Stroll completed an unlikely podium, with Norris fourth. Bottas finished in fifth place ahead of Ricciardo and Hamilton clawed his way through to seventh place. Eighth place went to Esteban Ocon and the final two points positions were taken by Daniil Kvyat in the second AlphaTauri and Racing Point’s Sergio Pérez. 

    2020 FIA Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix – Race 
    1 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri/Honda 53 1:47’06.056 
    2 Carlos Sainz Jr. McLaren/Renault 53 1:47’06.471 0.415
    3 Lance Stroll Racing Point/Mercedes 53 1:47’09.414 3.358
    4 Lando Norris McLaren/Renault 53 1:47’12.056 6.000
    5 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 53 1:47’13.164 7.108
    6 Daniel Ricciardo Renault 53 1:47’14.447 8.391
    7 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 53 1:47’23.301 17.245
    8 Esteban Ocon Renault 53 1:47’24.747 18.691
    9 Daniil Kvyat AlphaTauri/Honda 53 1:47’28.264 22.208
    10 Sergio Pérez Racing Point/Mercedes 53 1:47’29.280 23.224
    11 Nicholas Latifi Williams/Mercedes 53 1:47’38.932 32.876
    12 Romain Grosjean Haas/Ferrari 53 1:47’41.220 35.164
    13 Kimi Räikkönen Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 53 1:47’42.368 36.312
    14 George Russell Williams/Mercedes 53 1:47’42.649 36.593
    15 Alexander Albon Red Bull/Honda 53 1:47’43.589 37.533
    16 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 53 1:48’01.255 55.199
         Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda 30 1:14’59.415 Power Unit
         Charles Leclerc Ferrari 23 35’27.678 Spun off
         Kevin Magnussen Haas/Ferrari 17 25’15.852 Retirement
         Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 6 9’48.850 Brakes