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Author: David Bodapati
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Arbolino holds the aces on home turf: Moto3
Italian plays his cards to perfection to set a new lap record and take Mugello pole
Mugello, 1 June 2019: Home hero Tony Arbolino (VNE Snipers) will start his home Gran Premio d’Italia Oakley from his third career pole at Mugello, setting a stunning new lap record in qualifying to end Saturday nearly seven tenths clear of the competition. That competition is led by Gabriel Rodrigo (Kömmerling Gresini Moto3), 0.673 down in second, with Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Leopard Racing) the last man within a second of pole to lock out the front row.
After a frantic Q1 that saw rookie Raul Fernandez (Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team) lead the way ahead of Marcos Ramirez (Leopard Racing), Darryn Binder (CIP – Green Power) and Andrea Migno (Bester Capital Dubai), the stage was set for a showdown in Q2 and, as always in Moto3™, there was plenty of action packed in.
After the first run it was Friday’s fastest man Tatsuki Suzuki (SIC58 Squadra Corse) who led the way and Arbolino hadn’t even set a time, but there was drama for both Suzuki and teammate Antonelli as they’d left pitlane before the lights went green – something that would later affect their grid positions immensely. Rodrigo was the first to move the goal posts and take over at the top at that point though, and the Argentine lowered his lap time again next time around. But then came Arbolino and the new lap record on his final lap of the session, with the Italian celebrating even before popping out from behind the bubble.
Rodrigo was therefore forced to settle for second, with Dalla Porta the man who’ll start alongside him in third after having moved up into the mix in the final few minutes. Andrea Migno was another late improver, the 2017 winner taking P4 at the flag to head the second row – an impressive feat after coming through Q1. Suzuki and teammate Niccolo Antonelli were fifth and sixth fastest at the flag, but their first lap times were then cancelled after they were deemed to have gained an unfair advantage due to their earlier infraction – so it’s 2014 Mugello winner Romano Fenati (VNE Snipers) who starts fifth, with Qatar GP winner Kaito Toba (Honda Team Asia) set to start alongside him in P6. After ending Day 1 outside the top twenty, the turnaround from the Japanese rider is an impressive one.
Ramirez took P7 and heads up the second row, ahead of Championship leader Aron Canet (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) after a more difficult session, with Suzuki’s fastest allowed lap putting him in P9 to complete Row 3. Alonso Lopez (Estrella Galicia 0,0) completes the top ten.
Will qualifying prove to matter that much at Mugello, where the slipstream rules all? The likes of Celestino Vietti (Sky Racing Team VR46) – 16th – and Le Mans winner John McPhee (Petronas Sprinta Racing) – 17th – will join Antonelli, down in 18th, in hoping it doesn’t and that race day shuffles the pack once again.
The lights go out for the Moto3™ race at 11:00 (GMT +2), don’t miss one of the spectacles of the season.
Moto3 Qualifying Results:
1 – Tony Arbolino (ITA – Honda) 1’56.407
2 – Gabriel Rodrigo (ARG – Honda) +0.673
3 – Lorenzo Dalla Porta (ITA – Honda) +0.869 -
Flash: Marquez shatters lap record on way to Italian GP pole: A Honda view
Mugello 1 June 2019: Blistering pace under the Tuscan sun saw Marc Marquez take his fourth pole of 2019 as Lorenzo prepares for a comeback from 17th on the grid.
Having finished third fastest in both Free Practice 3 and Free Practice 4, Marc Marquez headed into Q2 confident of challenging for at least a front-row start. A busy session saw Marquez working hard for track position during his first run, setting a best time of 1’46.291 before a perfectly planned and executed second run had the reigning World Champion take his fourth pole of 2019.
Marquez’s 1’45.519 is a new lap record at the Mugello Circuit, Marquez one of only four riders ever to complete a 1’45 lap. This is Marquez’s second premier class pole in Mugello, his first coming in 2014 when he took six straight pole positions.
Saving fresh tyres for Saturday looked to pay off for Jorge Lorenzo in Free Practice 3, immediately able to go a full second faster as soon as a fresh rear was fitted. Eventually setting a 1’46.893, Lorenzo finished the session 12th. He continued to work on his pace for the race throughout Free Practice 4 and spent the session lapping consistently. Unable to improve his time as he had in FP3, Lorenzo will start 17th on the grid with a 1’47.135.
Marc Marquez – 1st 1’45.519
“It was a difficult Qualifying because it was different to other races and a bit hard to find space. With the first tyre I was ready to attack straight away but then Dovi slowed down so I overtook him and I lost some time there. Pirro was also trying to follow me for the slipstream so tactics were needed. With the second tyre we just followed our strategy and I found a good space with slipstream and I calculated the space to Dovi perfectly. The pole position is important but the most important part is being on the front row. There are a lot of opponents for tomorrow’s race!”
Top Results Qualifying MotoGP Mugello 2019:
1. Marc Marquez (ESP), Honda 1:45.519
2. Fabio Quartararo (FRA), Yamaha +0.214
3. Danilo Petrucci (ITA), Ducati +0.362
4. Franco Morbidelli (ITA), Yamaha + 0.440
5. Jack Miller (AUS), Ducati +0.510Top-3 Results Qualifying Moto2:
1. Marcel Schrotter (GER) Kalex 1:51.129
2. Thomas Luthi (SUI) Kalex +0.040
3. Alex Marquez (ESP) Kalex +0.177Top-3 Results Qualifying Moto3:
1. Tony Arbolino (ITA) Honda 1:56.407
2. Gabriel Rodrigo (ARG) Honda +0.673
3. Lorenzo Dalla Porta (ITA) Honda +0.869The Gran Premio D’Italia Oakley is scheduled for 14:00 local time on Sunday, June 01.
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Rookie invasion: Bagnaia and Quartararo rule Mugello on Friday
…with Petrucci on the chase and KTM in the top four
Francesco Bagnaia (Pramac Racing) tops Friday times at Mugello. A MotoGP image Mugello, 31 May 2019: Francesco Bagnaia (Pramac Racing) and Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) stole the headlines on Friday in the Gran Premio d’Italia Oakley, the sixth round of the MotoGP World Championship.
The rookies took a 1-2 and were split by just 0.046 at the top – making it the first time since Qatar 2008 qualifying, when Jorge Lorenzo took his debut pole ahead of Brit James Toseland, that two rookies have topped a full session. Their closest competition came from Danilo Petrucci (Mission Winnow Ducati) as the Italian was just under a tenth in arrears in P3, with some big names outside the top ten: Andrea Dovizioso (Mission Winnow Ducati), Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) and Jorge Lorenzo (Repsol Honda Team).
Conditions were a stark contrast to Le Mans as the sun shone over the stunning Tuscan countryside in Mugello, and as the clock ticked down, every rider apart from LCR Honda Idemitsu’s Takaaki Nakagami and Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) had improved on their FP1 times with just under 20 minutes to go. As is oft the case in MotoGP™ FP2, however, most of the chopping and changing came in the final ten minutes.
FP1 leader Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) was sat at the top of the times for most of FP2, followed by a quintet of Ducatis, before Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP’s Maverick Viñales then jumped into the top four and fellow Yamaha rider Quartararo moved up into P3 as the timing screens lit up with red sectors. Danilo Petrucci (Mission Winnow Ducati) was the next to strike as he took over at the top, before Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Pol Espargaro stuck in the first 1:46 of the weekend to take P1 and impress once again.
Petrucci and Quartararo then exchanged fastest times at the top, but with seconds to go there was another Italian on the march: Bagnaia, who improved drastically from a P17 in FP1 to delight the home crowd. That pushed Quartararo down to second, but only by half a tenth, with Petrucci in P3 and Pol Espargaro keeping hold of his top four.
Viñales didn’t lose too much ground to end the day in fifth after a more difficult FP1 down the timesheets, with Marquez down in P6 as he looks to take his third win in a row. Key rival Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar), pushing to recover from a tougher French GP, was seventh quickest on Friday, ahead of LCR Honda Castrol’s Cal Crutchlow in eighth. Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) took P9 after a late crash for the Australian that dropped him out the running, with italian Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) completing the top ten and list of provisional automatic graduates to Q2.
So who’s missing? Dovizioso is in P11 so not far off, with Johann Zarco (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) just behind him despite a big off for the Frenchman – rider ok. But Rossi is P18 and Lorenzo P20 after Day 1, and two have a combined total of 13 premier class wins at Mugello. FP3 will be pivotal for both, but there’s no need to panic just yet: with good weather forecast it should provide a thrilling time-attack from the whole grid and they’re sure to play a part on Saturday morning.
Tune in from 9:55 (GMT +2) local time as FP3 decides those heading straight through to Q2, before qualifying from 14:10 to gives us the grid for another absolute stunner at Mugello.
Top-6 Friday’s fastest in MotoGP – from Combined Free Practice classification
1 – Francesco Bagnaia* (ITA – Ducati) 1’46.732
2 – Fabio Quartararo* (FRA – Yamaha) +0.046
3 – Danilo Petrucci (ITA – Ducati) +0.131
4 – Pol Espargaro (SPA – KTM) +0.234
5 – Maverick Viñales (SPA – Yamaha) +0.2416. Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda) +0.330
*Independent Team riders
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Hamilton nurtures worn-out tyres to win in Monaco; Vettel 2nd ahead of Bottas
Hamilton, who won in Monaco on Sunday. An FIA image Monaco, 26 May 2019: Lewis Hamilton successfully managed to keep severely worn tyres alive to keep his close rivals at bay in Monaco and take his third win in the Principality ahead of Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas in the Grand Prix de Monaco, the sixth round of the Formula 1 World Championship here on Sunday.
Early in the race Hamilton pitted for medium tyres during a Safety Car period sparked by local hero Charles Leclerc shedding debris across the track following a puncture. With the cars directly behind targeting a long stint until the end of the race having taken on hard tyres, Hamilton was left to nurse his yellow-banded Pirellis until the end.
And despite relentless pressure from Red Bull’s Max Verrstappen, who was seeking to negate a time penalty for an unsafe release by passing the Briton, Hamilton managed to keep the tyres alive until the flag to take his 77thcareer win.
When the lights went out for the start, polesitter Hamilton got away well and held his advantage over fello front-rwo started Bottas, third-placed Verstappen and Vettel.
Further back Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, starting in 15th, was on a march. The local hero quickly climbed to P13 and then began to chase down Romain Grosjean. Going into Rascasse, the Haas left a small gap and Leclerc pouned, slipping down the inside of the Haas to steal the place.
Having succeeded once, the Monegasque driver decided to try the same passing manoeuvre on Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg. This time, though, the gap was too tight and Leclerc clipped the barrier with his rear right wheel.
He carried, passing the pit entry as he did so, but it became clear that he’s sustained a puncture. With the whole track to navigate before he could pit, his tyre quickly began to disintegrate. He pitted, taking on medium tyres, but with debris all over the track the Safety Car was deployed. With severe damage to the floor of his car, Leclerc would retire after 16 laps.
During the SC period Mercedes opted to pit. The champion team stacked their drivers and both took on mediums, with Hamilton first in. The delay to Bottas provided Max with an opportunity and he managed to get fitted with new hard tyres more swiftly than the Finn. It meant they met in the pit lan as they went to rejoin and there was contact. Verstappen exited the pit lane ahead of Bottas in P2 but the incident was placed under investigation by the stewards. Bottas sustained a puncture in the coming together and pitted again at the end of the following lap for hard tyres. He dropped to P4 behind Vettel.
At the end of lap 22, the stewards returned a verdict on the incident and the Dutch driver was given a five-second time penalty. Looking for the most effective way of negating the penalty, Verstappen then began to apply pressure on Hamilton, who was now trying to nurse his medium tyres to the flag.
By lap 30 Verstappen was 0.5s behind the Mercedes driver and forcing the champion to stress his tyres more than he would have wished. But as he applied the pressure Verstappen too also began to work his tyres harder than he might have liked and by half distance he was experiencing some graining to his front-right tyre and could find no way past Hamilton.
Verstappen was now running out time. Behind him Vettel and Bottas were closing up and the Dutchman’s hopes of claiming a podium position began to fade as Bottas got well within the five seconds Verstappen would lose at the flag.
The only possibility of holding on to a podium place rested in getting past Hamilton. Versatappen tried to make the move two laps from home. He braked late into the Nouvelle Chicane, trying to get down the inside of Hamilton’s Mercedes. Max locked up, however, and pushed the leader across the chicane.
They both kept going but Hamilton was able to keep the chasing pack at bay over the final two laps and crossed the line to take his 77thcareer win.
He was followed by Max, but with the five-second penalty immediately applied, he dropped to fourth behind Vettel and Bottas.
Pierre Gasly followed to take an excellent fifth place, with the Frenchman also taking his second fastest lap point of the season following a late ‘free’ pit stop for soft tyres. Behind Gasly, Carlos Sainz took sixth place for McLaren, while Toro Rosso enjoyed a profitable day with Daniil Kvyat seventh and Alex Albon eighth, ahead of Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo. The final point on offer was claimed by Romain Grosjean.
2019 FIA Formula One Monaco Grand Prix – Race
1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes
2 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 2.602
3 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 3.162
4 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 5.537
5 Pierre Gasly Red Bull Racing 9.946
6 Carlos Sainz Jr. McLaren 53.454
7 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 54.574
8 Alex Albon Toro Rosso 55.200
9 Daniel Ricciardo Renault 1’00.894
10 Romain Grosjean Haas 1’01.034
11 Lando Norris McLaren 1’06.801
12 Kevin Magnussen Haas 1 Lap
13 Sergio Perez Racing Point 1 Lap
14 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 1 Lap
15 George Russell Williams 1 Lap
16 Lance Stroll Racing Point 1 Lap
17 Kimi Raikkonen Alfa Romeo 1 Lap
18 Robert Kubica Williams 1 Lap
19 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo 2 Laps
DNF: Charles Leclerc Ferrari. -
Chennai’s Nirmal, Bengaluru’s Ishaan, Mihir star in X30 Round 1
Winners of Round 1 of JKNKC X30 Senior Class. From Left: Debarun Banerjee (2nd) Nirmal Umashankar (Winner) and MR Rishon (3rd). Photos: JK Tyre Motorsports Bengaluru, 26 May 2019: Chennai’s Nirmal Umashankar and Bengaluru’s Mihir Suman Avalakki emerged as the heroes of Round 1 of the JK Tyre-FMSCI National Karting Chamionship 2019, X-30 class, at the Meco Kartopia here on Sunday.
Nirmal, a regular in the Euro JK category of JKNRC, proved to be the man with nerves of steel as he strolled into the lead in the Senior category. He finished third in the opening race of the day but won the next three to accumulate a total of 36 points.
Delhi’s Debarun Banerjee surged to the second spot by picking up 24 points; thanks to his two second-place finishes in the last two races of the round. Another local boy M R Rishon is on their tail with 23 points with two third places and one second-place finish.
In the Junior category, Mihir did not have the best of the starts, finishing sixth in the opening race. However, he won the next three races to register a total of 33 points to go atop the leaderboard. With three podium finishes and 24 points in his kitty, Mihir’s city-mate Arjun S Nair ended the round in the second spot.
Another local boy and one of the favourites of the championship, Ruhaan Alva, is on the third spot with 23 points. He started the round on a glorious note winning the opening race and finishing second in the next race. It looked like it was going to be his day but a DNF in the third race cost him. He recovered well in the final race finishing third, to be pushed down to the third place.
X30 Cadet Winners: From left: Saathvik Raju (2nd), Ishan Madesh (winner) and Shriya Lohia (3rd) at Meco Kartopia in Bengaluru on Sunday. A JK Tyre image In the Cadet category, Ishaan Madesh from Bengaluru took the first spot with three wins and one second-place finish with 37 points. Trailing on the second spot is Bengaluru’s Saathvik Raju (30 points) and 9-year-old Shriya Lohia (25 points) of Pune.
Standings after Round 1 – X-30:
Senior: Nirmal Umashankar (36 points); Debarun Banerjee (24 points); M R Rishon (23 points)
Junior : Mihir Suman Avalakki (33 points); Arjun S Nair (24 points); Ruhaan Alva (23 points)
Cadet : Ishaan Madesh (37 points); Saathvik Raju (30 points); Shriya Lohia (25 points.
Results: (Unaudited results): X 30 Senior Class:
Race 1 (15 laps): 1. Aditya Swaminathan 14:30.208; 2. Mihir Suman Avalakki 14:30.316; 3, Nirmal Umashankar 14:31.455; Best lap: Debarun Banerjee 56.936 (4th place)
Race 2 (15 laps): 1. Nirmal Umashankar 14:20.166; 2. MR Rishon 14:28.593; 3. Aditya Swaminathan 14:28593; Best lap: Debarun Banerjee 56.672 sec (4th place)
Race 3 (15 laps): 1. Nirmal Umashankar 14:49.633; 2. Debarun Banerjee 14:50.891; 3. MR Rishon 14:52.133; Best lap: Mihir Suman Avalakki 56.362 secs (4th place)
Race 4 (4 laps): 1. Nirmal Umashankar 3:50.159; 2. Debarun Banerjee 3:50626; MR Rishon 3:51.602; Best Lap: Debarun 56.649.
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Hubert holds on for photo finish victory; Mahaveer shunted out: F2
Frenchman earns maiden F2 win on the streets of MonacoMonaco, 25 May 2019: Anthoine Hubert became the season’s first rookie winner by the finest of margins in the FIA Formula 2 Sprint Race at Monaco. The Frenchman survived a late onslaught from second placed Louis Delétraz whose front-wing was just inches behind the BWT Arden’s at the chequered flag. Fellow rookie Guanyu Zhou finished in third to claim his second podium in F2.Indian Mahaveer Raghunathan was shunted out after an unlucky incident.At the start of the race, Hubert, on a new set of Soft tyres, made a good getaway to retain the lead from Delétraz, while Zhou sailed around the outside of Artem Markelov into Turn 1 for P3. Also on fresher tyres, Ralph Boschung snuck into P7 ahead of yesterday’s Feature Race winner Nyck De Vries and Sérgio Sette Câmara. The safety car brought a brief stop to the racing after Luca Ghiotto made contact with Tatiana Calderon at Turn 5, which effectively ended the Colombian’s day.Racing resumed, but not for long: the Italian’s luckless weekend would continue when he entangled himself with Indian racer Mahaveer Raghunathan at the hairpin and ended both his own, and the MP Motorsport man’s race. The marshals were swift in clearing up the mess, but Hubert was even quicker – not only did he hold onto the lead at the restart, he went on to set the fastest lap.Despite his pace out in front, the 22-year-old had not been able to distance himself from the remainder of the front four and just 2.5s separated the quintet, who were all in search of their first F2 win.The title fight was then given a shake-up: mechanical issues forced Boschung into retirement, while Matsushita dropped to 9th, which elevated De Vries into P6 and handed him the Championship lead.Just over 10 laps remained and it all kicked off at the back: Sean Gelael failed to slow down at the Nouvelle Chicane and flung himself into the rear of Giuliano Alesi, which ended the Trident man’s race.The front four had pulled away from the Campos of Dorian Boccolacci in fifth, with a sturdy 10s gap, but out in front Hubert still couldn’t shake the unrelenting Carlin of Delétraz. Despite Zhou’s continued presence behind him, his eyes refused to leave the tail of the Renault Junior with little left to go.The Frenchman had been steadfast all race, but a momentary wobble on the final lap threatened to derail his race and he kissed the barrier. Delétraz had been gunning for this mistake, but was unable to capitalise and Hubert managed to steady his Arden and head for the chequered flag.The Renault Junior’s dalliances with the wall would have appeared to most as Delétraz’s final chance, but the Swiss had other ideas and attempted a daring lunge at the death. His Carlin cut around the outside of Hubert on the final straight and he edged to his left, but ended just inches behind when they crossed the line.Behind them, Zhou held on for third place in-front of Artem Markelov, Boccolacci, Sette Câmara, De Vries and Nikita Mazepin.Out of the points, but eligible for the fastest lap, Nicholas Latifi clawed further pace from his DAMS to snatch the quickest time at the death to remain on top of the Driver’s Championship on 95 points, followed by De Vries on 94 points. Ghiotto is in third on 67 points, ahead of Jack Aitken on 62 and Zhou on 54. In the Team’s standings, DAMS top the table with 147 points, 26 points ahead of UNI-Virtuosi Racing. ART Grand Prix are in third on 100 points, followed by Campos Racing on 92 and Carlin on 60.Racing will resume at the Circuit Paul Ricard in France in just under a month’s time, when Latifi and De Vries are sure to face up against one another once again.2019 FIA Formula 2 Championship – Monaco Sprint Race classificationDRIVERTEAM1Anthoine HubertBWT Arden2Louis DeletrazCarlin3Guanyu ZhouUNI-Virtuosi Racing4Artem MarkelovMP Motorsport5Dorian BoccolacciCampos Racing6Sergio Sette CamaraDAMS7Nyck De VriesART Grand Prix8Nikita MazepinART Grand Prix9Nobuharu MatsushitaCarlin10Nicholas LatifiDAMS11Mick SchumacherPREMA Racing12Juan Manuel CorreaSauber Junior Team by Charouz13Jack AitkenCampos Racing14Callum IlottSauber Junior Team by Charouz15Sean GelaelPREMA RacingNOT CLASSIFIEDGiuliano AlesiTridentRalph BoschungTridentMahaveer RaghunathanMP MotorsportLuca GhiottoUNI-Virtuosi RacingTatiana CalderonBWT ArdenOVERALL FASTEST LAPSean Gelael (PREMA Racing) – 1:23.318 on Lap 27FASTEST LAP ELIGIBLE FOR POINTSNicholas Latifi (DAMS) – 1:23.868 on Lap 30 -
Hamilton takes pole ahead of Bottas in Monaco
Hamilton beats Bottas by a split second for 2019 Monaco GP pole on Saturday. Image: Mercedes AMG Petronas/ Steve Etherington Monaco, 25 May 2019: Lewis Hamilton set a new Monaco track record on his way to his 85thcareer pole position, with the five time world champion setting a lap of 1:10.166 to edge Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas by 0.086s. Max Verstappen took third place for Red Bull Racing ahead of Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel in the qualifying session of the Monaco Grand Prix, the sixth round of the Formula 1 World Championship here on Saturday.
Lewis Hamilton later said: “This is one of the best poles I can remember. We’ve had a lot of success over the years, but I can’t really remember a pole that means as much as this one. It’s been such a difficult week for the whole team and me personally. It’s amazing that we’ve turned up here as a team, continuing to take strides forward together collectively, get stronger and improve our performance weekend in, weekend out. I’m just so proud of everyone. We have a cloud over us this weekend, so we’re really trying to lift each other up and we’re trying to deliver for Niki. I have not had a huge amount of success in Monaco over the years, I never quite got that perfect lap, but I think today was as close as I can get to it. This one is for Niki.”
Ferrari fumbles: There was a disastrous miscalculation on the other side of the Ferrari garage, however, as the team kept Charles Leclerc in the garage in the final runs of Q1. The Monegasque driver plummeted down the timesheet as the final lap times arrived and after being eliminated from the session he will now start his home grand prix from 16thplace on the grid.
Many drivers paid triobutes to legend late Niki Lauda who passed away last week. A Mercedes car photo by Steve Etherington In that opening session, it was Red Bull that set the early pace with Verstappen claiming an early P1 position with a time of 1:11.725, which he soon improved to 1:11.597. Tema-mate Pierre Gasly then took P2 with a time of 1:11.740.
Mercedes then moved ahead, however, with Bottas beating Verstappen by 0.007s. Hamilton edged out both then moved to the top with a time of 1:11.542, while Toro Rosso’s Daniil Kvyat jumped to fifth place ahead of Pierre with a time of 1:11.602.
Ferrari were struggling, however, with Leclerc in P11 and Vettel in P17. It was Leclerc though who would suffer most. But while Vettel crossed the line with seconds to spare to begin a final attempt, Leclerc was in the garage with the team seeming to feel secure in his opening lap time.
Vettel put in an good lap of 1:11.434 to jump to the top of the order but Leclerc was left shaking his head in the garage as Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg edged him out to 16thplace by the tiny margin of five hundredths of a second.
Also eliminated at this stage were 17th-placed Sergio Pérez of Racing Point, followed by team-mate Lance Stroll and the Williams cars of George Russell and 20th-placed Robert Kubica.
In the initial runs in Q2 it was Bottas who set the pace, with the Finn posting an impressive time of 1:10.701, 0.134s ahead of Hamilton. Verstappen took third spot with an first-run time of 1:11.059.
It was Verstappen though who made the most of the second runs, with the Red Bull driver powering to a P1 time of 1:10.618, eight hundredths of a second clear of Bottas, Hamilton and Vettel.
Eliminated at the end of Q2 were: Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg, McLaren’s Lando Norris, Haas’ Romain Grosjean and the Alfa Romeos of Kimi Räikkönen and Antonio Giovinazzi.
In the first runs of Q3, it was Bottas who laid down a strong early marker. The Finn posted a lap of 1:10.252 to head Hamilton by two tenths of a second, as Verstappen grabbed third, just 0.158 behind Hamilton.
Only Hamilton made an improvement in the second runs, however, and his lap of 1:11.166 was good enough to establish a new track record and secure his 85thcareer pole.
Behind him both Bottas and Verstappen failed to engineer perfect warm-up laps and they stayed second and third ahead of Vettel and Gasly. Haas’ Kevin Magnussen qualified sixth ahead of Daniel Ricciardo, Daniil Kvyat and Carlos Sainz. The final top-10 position was taken by Albon.
2019 FIA Formula One Monaco Grand Prix – Qualifying
1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:10.166
2 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:10.252 0.086
3 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 1:10.641 0.475
4 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:10.947 0.781
5 Pierre Gasly Red Bull Racing 1:11.041 0.875
6 Kevin Magnussen Haas 1:11.109 0.943
7 Daniel Ricciardo Renault 1:11.218 1.052
8 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 1:11.271 1.105
9 Carlos Sainz Jr. McLaren 1:11.417 1.251
10 Alex Albon Toro Rosso 1:11.653 1.487
11 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 1:11.670 1.504
12 Lando Norris McLaren 1:11.724 1.558
13 Romain Grosjean Haas 1:12.027 1.861
14 Kimi Raikkonen Alfa Romeo 1:12.115 1.949
15 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo 1:12.185 2.019
16 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:12.149 1.983
17 Sergio Perez Racing Point 1:12.233 2.067
18 Lance Stroll Racing Point 1:12.846 2.680
19 George Russell Williams 1:13.477 3.311
20 Robert Kubica Williams 1:13.751 3.585. -
De Vries seals back-to-back F2 wins in Monaco; Mahaveer Raghunathan 15th
Monte Carlo (Monaco), 24 May 2019: There was no nip and tuck about Nyck De Vries’ victory in Monaco: the Dutch dynamo produced a flawless display to claim back-to-back FIA Formula 2 wins. The ART man led Luca Ghiotto from lights-to-flag, whilst Carlin’s Nobuharu Matsushita took third.Indian racer Mahaveer Raghunathan of MP Motorsport finished 15th.Callum Ilott suffered heartbreak after the formation lap: the Briton who was starting from P2 signalled an issue on the grid, which caused an aborted race start. He would later retire from the pits.Polesitter De Vries appeared to be in an entirely different race when the lights went out: the Dutchman was unopposed off the line without anyone in P2 and quickly collected a comfortable lead. Ilott’s retirement also left Mick Schumacher with a clear run when the lights went out, but a poor getaway from the German allowed Anthoine Hubert to lunge ahead.After his disappointing beginning, Schumacher would use the power of his PREMA to good effect and quickly reassumed his position in fourth thanks to a daring move on Hubert. On the option/prime strategy, the German was amongst the first drivers to switch to Soft compounds and would head the cars on the same strategy.At the front, Ghiotto set the fastest lap in his pursuit of De Vries, but to little effect as the race leader was still able to build a 3s gap to the Italian who also had to check his mirrors as Sérgio Sette Câmara remained close.De Vries’ race lead looked all the more lucrative given his Championship rival’s woes further back: Nicholas Latifi tried to make a move on Schumacher but made the jump too soon and attempted a tight move on the hairpin which resulted in a battered front wing, having found no room on the inside. This forced the Canadian into the pits and he re-joined in lowly 15th.Trying to stay ahead of Louis Delétraz who was on the same strategy as him, Schumacher was desperate to overtake Tatiana Calderon (on the prime/option strategy). The German attempted to squeeze between the Colombian and the barrier at La Rascasse, but the room wasn’t there and he caught her tyre and spun the BWT Arden car. Delétraz had nowhere to go and came to a halt behind and the trio blocked the track, bringing out a red flag.The cars were pushed back into the pits ahead of the race restart, which derailed De Vries’ dominance at the front. The Dutchman had built up a 6s lead over Ghiotto, but this was shattered and he would need to do it all over again. They both switched to new soft tyres in the pitlane, before De Vries who made light work of the restart and moseyed off back out in-front.Latifi began making inroads in his search for a points finish. However, his progress was short-lived – his move on Sean Gelael for P10 at La Rascasse came too early and he collected the rear of the PREMA which sent him into the wall, allowing Hubert to dive past them both. The Canadian was handed a drive-through penalty and Gelael forced into a front-wing change.Ghiotto was the first of the front three to dive into the pits and returned in third place. De Vries and Sette Câmara followed on the next lap. The Dutchman re-joined ahead of Ghiotto whilst the Brazilian slotted in just ahead of Matsushita who had pitted one lap earlier. On warmer tyres, the Japanese passed the DAMS car at Turn 5, claiming third place along the way.With just five laps to go, drama returned to the streets of Monaco: Mahaveer Raghunathan appeared to hit the brakes late and jerked the back of Jack Aitken, which shunted his Campos into the barrier. Simultaneously, Juan Manuel Correa lost control and smashed into the wall at the swimming pool. The Safety Car came out bunching the cars at the front.At the restart with only one lap to go, De Vries would not be denied what felt rightfully his: he remained calm and collected to stay ahead of the pack and take the chequered flag first. Ghiotto settled for second as Matsushita returned to the podium with third place. Sette Câmara finished fourth ahead of Dorian Boccolacci, Guanyu Zhou, Artem Markelov, Delétraz, Hubert and Ralph Boschung.Starting from reverse grid pole, Delétraz will hope to be the second Carlin of the weekend to enjoy the podium, when racing resumes at 5.15pm local time.2019 FIA Formula 2 – Monaco Feature Race classificationDRIVERTEAM1Nyck De VriesART Grand Prix2Luca GhiottoUNI-Virtuosi Racing3Nobuharu MatsushitaCarlin4Sérgio Sette CâmaraDAMS5Dorian BoccolacciCampos Racing6Guanyu ZhouUNI-Virtuosi Racing7Artem MarkelovMP Motorsport8Louis DelétrazCarlin9Anthoine HubertBWT Arden10Ralph BoschungTrident11Nikita MazepinART Grand Prix12Giuliano AlesiTrident13Nicholas LatifiDAMS14Mick SchumacherPREMA Racing15Mahaveer RaghunathanMP Motorsport16Tatiana CalderonBWT Arden17Juan Manuel CorreaSauber Junior Team by Charouz18Jack AitkenCampos RacingNOT CLASSIFIEDSean GelaelPREMA RacingCallum IlottSauber Junior Team by CharouzOVERALL FASTEST LAPNobuharu Matsushita (Carlin) – 1:22.243 on Lap 38 -
Shahan raring to go as JK Tyre National Karting Championship begins in Bengaluru
Bengaluru, 24 May 2019: Young Shahan Ali Mohsin is raring to go as the X-30 class of the JK Tyre-FMSCI National Karting Championship gets under way here at the Meco Kartopia on Saturday.
As many as 30 racers from across the country will be in action over the weekend in three different categories (Cadet, Junior and Senior) as the sports gets a new fillip at the grassroots level.
Agra’s Shahan Ali, holder of multiple national karting championships and former Asia Max Karting champion, heads the star cast, beginning as a strong favourite in the Senior category.
It will, however, not be a cakewalk for him as the Chennai duo of Nirmal Umashankar and Raghul Rangasamy are also in the fray. Nirmal and Raghul have already made a mark in the higher Euro JK & LGB-4 category of the JKNRC respectively and will bring all their experience into play in this opening round.
It will be a three-way battle in the Junior category too, with Shahan featuring in this pack too, and the Bengaluru pair of Rohaan Madesh and Ruhaan Alva. All of them are champions in their own right and have the ability to come up with brilliant performances. Coimbatore’s Shravantika Lakshmi will also be another racer in this category to watch out for. The 14-year-old from Coimbatore will hope to use the opportunity to the optimum and give the boys a run for their money.
“I am really happy to see so many top young racers lining up for this championship. The younger lot has to go through the rigours on go-karts to become top racers,” Sanjay Sharma, Head-Motorsport, JK Tyre, said.
In the Cadet category, all eyes would be on the fine young talent from Pune: Shriya Lohia. The 9-year-old has already been lauded by FMSCI in their Annual Awards as an Outstanding Woman in Indian Motorsport. She will look to live up to the expectations and will pose a tough fight to local boy Ishaan Madesh, who will start as the favourite in this category.
The first and the second round will be held in Bengaluru while the third and the fourth will take place in Hyderabad before returning to Meco Kartopia for the final round.
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Hamilton tops FP2 ahead of Bottas: Monaco GP
Hamilton tops FP2 in the Monaco Grand Prix on Thursday. A Mercedes/Wolfgang Wilhelm image Monte Carlo (Monaco), 23 May 2019: Mercedes powered away from its rivals in second practice for the Monaco Grand Prix, with Lewis Hamilton setting a time of 1:11.118 to top the timesheet 0.081s ahead of team-mate Valtteri Bottas. The Silver Arrows’ closes rival in the session was Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel who finished more than seventh tenths of a second behind Hamilton.
Hamilton and Bottas set the early pace in the session, using medium compound Pirelli tyres, but were dislodged when Vettel bolted on a set of softs for his performance runs.
The German was only four hundredths of a second quicker than Hamilton’s medium-tyre benchmark and when the Mercedes duo moved to the soft compound they swiftly regained the upper hand. First, Bottas took top spot with an opening run of 1:11.597. He and Hamilton then traded times until the championship leader eventually moved a narrow eight hundredths of a second clear with a lap Bottas had no answer to. Hamilton’s time left Vettel 0.763s down.
After seeing team-mate Max Verstappen run more a second clear of his best time in FP1, Red Bull Racing’s Pierre Gasly has a much better afternoon session and took fourth place, less than a tenth behind Vettel. Verstappen fared less well and spent a large part of the session in the garage as his team investigated a suspected water leak. He ended up in P6 after rejoining the action late in the session.
It was a good outing for Toro Rosso driver Alex Albon, too. The Thai driver, who was on pole for the F2 feature race here last year, took fifth place in the second session of his first F1 weekend in Monaco with a lap of 1:12.031.
Kevin Magnussen was seventh Haas, ahead of the Alfa Romeos of Antonio Giovinazzi and Kimi Raikkonen.
The top ten order was rounded out Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. The Monegasque driver ended the 90 minutes some 1.2s off the pace after complaining of brake issues during the session.
2019 FIA Formula One Monaco Grand Prix – Free Practice 2
1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 41 1:11.118
2 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 48 1:11.199 0.081
3 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 42 1:11.881 0.763
4 Pierre Gasly Red Bull Racing 39 1:11.938 0.820
5 Alex Albon Toro Rosso 51 1:12.031 0.913
6 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 17 1:12.052 0.934
7 Kevin Magnussen Haas 54 1:12.174 1.056
8 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo Racing 51 1:12.239 1.121
9 Kimi Raikkonen Alfa Romeo Racing 51 1:12.342 1.224
10 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 42 1:12.350 1.232
11 Romain Grosjean Haas 51 1:12.392 1.274
12 Lando Norris McLaren 27 1:12.393 1.275
13 Carlos Sainz McLaren 47 1:12.419 1.301
14 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 39 1:12.577 1.459
15 Sergio Perez Racing Point 44 1:12.752 1.634
16 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 49 1:12.872 1.754
17 Daniel Ricciardo Renault 53 1:12.888 1.770
18 Lance Stroll Racing Point 40 1:14.558 3.440
19 George Russell Williams 37 1:15.052 3.934
20 Robert Kubica Williams 45 1:15.146 4.028
