INDIA in F1

Author: David Bodapati

  • F1 and Netflix put Drive to Survive on pole position

    Formula 1 and Netflix, Wednesday announced details of the highly-anticipated docuseries, “Formula 1: Drive to Survive”, which will launch on the service on the 8 March 2019.

    “Formula 1: Drive to Survive” is a gripping, high-octane 10 part series. It is the first time in the sport’s history that a series such as this has been given exclusive and intimate access to the greatest racing championship in the world. From the makers of “Senna” and “Amy”, the series will reveal the true story of the sport – not only focusing on the fight to be World Champion, but giving fans a real insight into the personal lives of their heroes on and off the track.

    As a new generation of drivers steps out of the shadows, Formula 1 has opened its doors to give unprecedented access to the top drivers, team principals and owners, to set the scene for a new wave of gripping competition and challenges. Not only does the series focus on all the track action, it also takes time away from the circuit to provide a unique insight into the teams and the people that make the championship what it is, the greatest racing spectacle in the world.
    The global series will show each round of the 2018 FIA Formula One World ChampionshipTM, beginning in Melbourne and culminating at the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi, where the championship draws to a close and scores are settled.

    Ian Holmes, Director of Media Rights, Formula 1 said: “As we move into a new generation of Formula 1 we are thrilled to announce our new docuseries
    “Formula 1: Drive to Survive”. This truly unique series embodies the sport and helps us to showcase and unearth the untold stories on and off the track. Partnering with Netflix to create an original series puts us at the forefront of becoming a media and entertainment brand and attracting new fans to the sport”.

    Paul Martin , Box to Box Films said: “Netflix was the perfect platform on which to tell the inside story of this incredible sport. F1 has long been a world of colourful characters and super-sized egos, thrills and drama, victory and
    tragedy, but until now that world has been largely hidden and secretive. “Formula 1: Drive to Survive” takes the viewers right into the heart of this world and shows what it is like to live, work and race within the world’s fastest sport.”
    This series is executive-produced by Academy-Award winner James Gay Rees (“Senna”) and Paul Martin for Box to Box Films with Sophie Todd as the showrunner.

    View the “Formula 1: Drive to Survive” trailer here

  • Charles Leclerc keeps Ferrari on top as Pierre Gasly crashes out: F1 testing

    After Sebastian Vettel topped the first day of pre-season F1 testing yesterday, new Ferrari recruit Charles Leclerc kept the Italian team at the top of the timesheets, finishing three tenths of a second clear of McLaren rookie Lando Norris.

    The session came to an early end for Pierre Gasly, however, when the new Red Bull Racing driver lost control of his RB15 and spun into the barriers. The French driver had spend most of the afternoon on short, data-gathering runs but as the final hour of the session neared he embarked on a quick run. However, after setting a personal best in the second sector, Gasly lost the rear of the car at the exit of Turn 10 and slid off into the barriers.

    Though the damage to the rear of his car appeared minimal, his team halted running for the day to begin repairs.

    Leclerc, meanwhile, had a trouble-free day and was soon into the groove in the morning session and after 90 minutes had worked his way down to a P1 time of 1:19.172s on C2 Pirelli tyres.

    An hour later and the Monegasque driver emerged on the C3 compound used by Vettel to set his day one benchmark. Leclerc maximised the extra grip from the yellow banded tyre and immediately moved further ahead of the field with a time of 1:18.247. The lap, within a tenth of a second of Vettel’s day one best, remained the benchmark for the rest of the day. He posted a total of 157 laps.

    Norris, meanwhile, waited until late in the day to log his best lap. The rookie Briton mirrored the day one efforts of team-mate Carlos Sainz and bolted on a set of C4 tyres late in the session to finish the day on 1:18.553s, 0.306 back from Leclerc’s time. Norris also completed 104 laps across his first day at the wheel of the McLaren MCL34.

    Kevin Magnussen took P3 for Haas with a time of 1:19.206 but a problem with his seat restricted his running. Reserver driver Pietro Fittipaldi took over in the last hour of running but completed just four laps.

    Fourth place on the timesheet went to Toro Rosso’s Alexander Albon. The rookie driver who finished third in last year’s F2 championship behind Norris and champion and new Williams driver George Russell had an unfortunate start to his F1 career, spinning within seconds of the session starting, but once he got jup and running properly the Thai-registered driver enjoyed a solid opening day.

    Albon ploughed through 132 laps of the Barcelona track and in the afternoon edged past Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi with a time of 1:19.301 set on C4 tyres. Giovinazzi racked up 101 laps to be the fourth and final driver to log a day two century.

    As with the opening day of testing Mercedes split running between Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas, with defending champion Hamilton at the wheel in the morning. The team once again focused on long-run pace, with Bottas ending the day sixth while Hamilton finished in P10.

    Gasly took seventh place before his spin, finishing ahead of the Renault pair of Nico Hulkenberg and Daniel Ricciardo. The Australian’s morning running was briefly interrupted by a rear wing failure. Behind them Lance Stroll finished ninth on his debut for Racing Point after moving from Williams.

    2019 Formula 1 Pre-Season Test 1, Day 2
    1. Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:18.247s 157 laps
    2. Lando Norris McLaren 1:18.553s 104 laps
    3. Kevin Magnussen Haas 1:19.206s 59 laps
    4. Alexander Albon Toro Rosso 1:19.301s 132 laps
    5. Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo C38 1:19.312s 101 laps
    6. Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:19.535s 89 laps
    7. Pierre Gasly Red Bull Racing 1:19.814s 92 laps
    8. Nico Hulkenberg Renault 1:19.837s 95 laps
    9. Daniel Ricciardo Renault 1:19.886s 28 laps*
    10. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:19.928s 74 laps
    11. Lance Stroll Racing Point 1:20.433s 79 laps
    12. Pietro Fittipaldi Haas F1 1:21.849 13 laps.

  • Vergne tops the final in-season test in Mexico City

    Mexico City, 17 Feb 2019: Reigning champion Jean-Eric Vergne has topped the final in-season test session of the 2018/19 ABB FIA Formula E Championship in Mexico City for DS TECHEETAH. Following another tough race day for rookie HWA RACELAB driver Stoffel Vandoorne, he posted the second fastest time ahead of fellow rookie Pascal Wehrlein who also had a torrid time in the Mexico City E-Prix losing out on the win on the final lap.

    Both Audi’s were fastest in the morning session with Daniel Abt posting a 58.917s lap, followed closely by his teammate and yesterday’s race winner Lucas di Grassi with a time of 58.962s. “It feels good but it makes me sad at the same time because of yesterday,” said Abt.

    “We had everything to be at the front but I made a mistake in Quali. It’s a shame there are no points for testing today!”

    Third fastest of the morning’s session was Venturi’s Felipe Massa, who set a 58.977s lap. The Brazilian scored his first points in Formula E in the Mexico City race, putting him 16th in the standings. Abt’s time topped the former lap record of 58.963s set by BMW i Andretti Motorsport’s Antonio Felix da Costa in Practice 2 ahead of the 2019 CBMM Niobium Mexico City E-Prix.

    With 18 cars all posting times within a second of each other, only Mahindra Racing’s Pascal Wehrlein and his teammate Jerome d’Ambrosio, NIO’s Oliver Turvey and Panasonic Jaguar Racing’s Nelson Piquet Jr. failed to post a time under a minute. Following a spectacular collision with Jean-Eric Vergne in the race yesterday, Piquet Jr. spent the morning running in the rebuilt car.

    During the afternoon session, times tumbled further as DS Techeetah’s Jean-Eric Vergne posted the fastest time overall, setting a new lap record with a time of 58.775s. The test passed without any major on-track incidents, with the only driver-related red flag the result of Felipe Nasr stopping on-track with suspension damage.

    The only non-regular Formula E driver to take to the track was Raffaele Marciello, who shared the #7 GEOX DRAGON with Jose Maria Lopez. The rookie posted the 17th fastest time in the afternoon session.

  • Tom Kristensson wins on Junior WRC debut: Rally Sweden

    Tom Kristensson wins on Junior WRC debut: Rally Sweden

    Kristensson wins Junior WRC on 17 Feb 2019. A WRC image

    Torsby, 17 Feb 2019: Tom Kristensson sent a clear message to the rest of the FIA Junior WRC Championship field, winning on Rally Sweden with a fine drive in his 200 horsepower EcoBoost-powered Ford Fiesta R2.

    The top three is made up entirely of rookies to the Junior WRC championship, with Roland Poom and Jan Solans in second and third respectively.

    Kristensson is the third Swede to win the Junior WRC on Rally Sweden confirming his position as a championship contender.

    The Swede’s win is the tip of the iceberg when looking at the Junior WRC 2019 Rally Sweden story.

    The Junior WRC veteran Dennis Rådström had notched 10 impressive stage wins by the conclusion of stage 12, leading many to believe he was set to repeat his 2018 Rally Sweden victory. He started stage 13 but wouldn’t finish it thanks to a costly error and was forced to retire the car for the day.

    Rådström returned to the stages on Sunday morning, grabbing two stage wins from an available three, bringing home a decent points haul thanks to the one point per stage win allocation in Junior WRC.

    Kristensson inherited the lead from Rådström’s stage 13 exit and took a calm and measured approach after experiencing a tight and competitive fight in section two. Knowing he had a comfortable 1m44.0s lead over Estonian rookie Roland Poom, Kristensson elected for mistake-free finishes over stage wins to deliver his first Junior WRC win.

    Roland Poom had a steady start to Rally Sweden and made great progress on Saturday thanks to increasing confidence and costly errors made by those further up the road. He claimed his best stage result of 2nd on stage 13 compounding Kristensson’s winning philosophy of calm and cautious.

    Jan Solans rounded out the top three, taking a stage win along the way after a successful Saturday when he climbed from fifth to third on his debut in the Junior WRC. Although for most of the day he adopted a similar approach to Poom and Kristensson, he was able to find astonishing pace on stage 16, thanks to its sprint style nature, claiming his maiden stage win of the year.

    There were many favourites for the 2019 Junior WRC crown starting Rally, all of which having difficulties at some point along the way. 2018 Junior WRC Rally Finland winner Ken Torn was able to demonstrate his raw speed with two stage wins but several big mistakes removed him from podium contention. Junior WRC rookie Martins Sesks delivered times consistently in the top three with three stage wins. He was forced to retire due to a technical issue on Friday, surrendering second place and the chance for Junior WRC victory.

    FIA Junior WRC Championship Manager, Maciej Woda, said:

    “Following the Junior WRC on Rally Sweden has been unbelievable and great to watch. I don’t think anybody would have predicted our top three going into this rally, especially when you consider that they are all new to the Junior WRC Championship. We have had a very healthy spread of stage winners this weekend which is great for the season ahead and also the championship. Tom should be incredibly proud of his achievement, starting his first Junior WRC event and winning it on home soil is something very special. This rally has been a great test for the all-new Fiesta R2 car which has been majorly impressive from the feedback we have received so far. The car’s exceptional pace and consistency could not have been achieved without the support we have received from Ford and our partners at Pirelli and Wolf Lubricants.”

    JUNIOR WRC RALLY SWEDEN OVERALL CLASSIFICATION AND DRIVER QUOTES:

    1. Tom Kristensson / Henrik Appelskog 3:14:48.9
    “I think we have shown the pace and I am extremely happy about my confidence in myself; I had a plan and I stuck to it. It feels really good and I think it will be a great season. The biggest point for me was not to make any mistakes I think the most important thing was to find the right pace and remain calm. We have enjoyed the rally and of course there were some moments there’s no question about that but in the end it feels great. I’m really looking forward to the rest of the season as I feel I’m really progressing with the car”

    2. Roland Poom /  Ken Jarveoja +1:31.2
    “We knew that this rally would be really hard and there wasn’t much point in pushing. I knew I had the speed to achieve a podium but there no point as it was a new rally for me. The other guys decided to push and made mistakes allowing me to achieve my first Junior WRC podium.”

    3. Jan Solans / Mauro Barreiro +4:09.2
    “It was really good for us to start the season in this way and I’m really happy about it. We were really consistent this weekend which helped us finish third. We are really happy with our performance this weekend; we improved a lot it’s a good result for us here in Sweden.”

    4. Tom Williams / Phil Hall +6:53.4
    “It’s a really good feeling for the event that I thought was going to be the trickiest this year. This one was just a survival and that’s from my experience last year of making lots of small mistakes and realising that I need the consistency. We made a lot of changes to my pace notes over the winter and made no mistakes on the rally so we’re really happy.”

    5. Sean Johnston / Alex Kihurani +11:43.1
    “The goal was simply getting to the end of the rally hoping maybe for a top ten result so to finish in fifth is really quite the gift. I don’t feel like we had the pace for this result, we’ve been persevering and other people have been having issues.”

    6. Martins Sesks / Krisjanis Caune +13:20.9
    “It’s been a crazy weekend out here. We started with a stage win on the first proper day of rallying, then we had a spin. When we got back in the rhythm it was unfortunate, but we had a technical issue so we retired and from there, there was not much that we could do.”

    7. Enrico Oldrati / Elia de Guio +16:23.8
    “This was a weekend to forget for me, I could not get the right feeling in the car under the conditions but we have finished now so I am happy about that.”

    8. Dennis Rådström / Johan Johansson +23:31.1
    “We have to take a step and develop, the driving has been really great this week and we’re really happy as we are focussing on the positives.”

    9. Fabrizio Zaldivar / Fernando Mussano +23:47.0
    “It was quite tricky, on the first day we were learning and to finish the rally which was the main goal. We finished the rally but it was very tricky for me as it was my first time here, the surface was not at its best and then we had technical issues on Saturday leaving us stuck at one point where we lost a lot of time.”

    10. Ken Torn / Kuldar Sikk +24:00.0
    “We finished in this position and there’s nothing we can do about it now, it’s made us a little bit unhappy and we lost time on the last two stages too. We need to make some progress for Corsica. Top five is ok but we want to win so we are going to keep working.”

    11. Julius Tannert / Helmar Hinneberg +41:24.8
    “It was a really difficult weekend for us, we have shown some good speed and some good pace. In the end we had a bad Saturday with a technical issue and then we went off and damaged the car. We retired on Saturday and restarted on Sunday but this isn’t the position we wanted to end our weekend in.”

    12. Nico Knacker / Tobias Braun +49:09.3
    “We learned a lot about the rally and the difficult conditions this weekend. We had contact on the last day with a snow bank which isn’t great. Overall the experience has been fantastic this, we learned a lot and know what to do for next year.”

    13. Raul Badiu / Gabriel Lazar +53:38.8
    “It is indeed a disappointing start to the championship, but we learned a lot, WRC is not a flat-out rally from the start to the finish. You have to use your brain a lot in these tricky conditions when it is very easy to make mistakes and have numerous punctures like I did. We can’t change time, so we’re already look ahead to the next rally.”
  • Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT crew Ott Tanak, Martin Jarveoja clinch victory: WRC Rally Sweden

    Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT crew Ott Tanak, Martin Jarveoja clinch victory: WRC Rally Sweden

    Tanak, Jarveoja celebrate after winning Rally Sweden on Sunday. An FIA image

    Torsby, 17 Feb 2019: Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT crew Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja clinched victory on the FIA World Rally Championship’s second round, Rally Sweden, which promoted them to the overall championship lead for the first time in their career. Fending off the assaults from Jari-Matti Latvala and Teemu Suninen early in the rally, Tänak went on to dominate the event, winning by 53.7s over Citroen Total WRT crew Esapekka Lappi and Janne Ferm. Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT pair Thierry Neuville and Nicolas Gilsoul finished 3 seconds only behind Lappi in third place, their third career podium in Sweden, and remain second in the championship standings after two events.

    Sunday began with two runs through the 21.19km Likenäs test, which showcased typical Rally Sweden conditions with a proper covering of snow and ice providing good grip for the rally cars. The “Torsby” special stage, host of the Power Stage and used twice previously, presented however different road conditions as the gravel underneath the surface had been exposed.

    Rally leader Tänak took a careful approach to the opening two stages, saving his tyres for the Power Stage and its bonus points. His strategy paid off as he dominated the Torsby test by going 3.5s faster than Neuville to score maximum points.

    Behind Tänak, Andreas Mikkelsen had started the rally’s final day in second place, tied with Lappi, but the Norwegian struggled in the first pass of Likenäs with his set of used Michelin tyres. He set only the 10th fastest time and dropped behind both Lappi and Neuville.

    Lappi slightly increased his gap over third-placed Neuville through both passes of Likenäs but drove conservatively on the Power Stage. The Citroën driver secured second by three seconds overall.

    Despite missing out the second place, there was consolation for Neuville as the Belgian collected four valuable bonus points for the FIA World Championship by setting the second-fastest time in the Power Stage. Lappi also picked up one bonus point with the fifth fastest time, just behind Sébastien Ogier, who scored two bonus points as the fourth-fastest driver.

    Mikkelsen held on to fourth but a stage win on the second pass of Likenäs by M-Sport’s Elyn Evans put the Hyundai driver under pressure for the Power Stage. Mikkelsen dropped 11.6s on Sunday to finish only 2.8s ahead of his Welsh rival. Fifth-placed Evans was also able to score three bonus points with a third-fastest time through the Torsby Power Stage.

    A tense battle for sixth place was expected on Sunday, with Kris Meeke and Sébastien Loeb separated by only 1.6s overnight. In the end, the French did not manage to dominate, dropping five seconds to Meeke on the first pass of Likenäs and eventually finishing 10.9s behind him in seventh place.

    Pontus Tidemand ended his home event – the second with the M-Sport Ford WRT team – in eighth, 1m48s behind Loeb, but still scoring valuable manufacturers’ points for the British team.

    Ole Christian Veiby picked up ninth place overall in addition to an impressive FIA WRC 2 victory. He had been under pressure on Saturday from Jari Huttunen but won comfortably in the end, as his Finnish rival went off into a snowbank on the second run of Likenäs and retired. Emil Lindholm took second place in the category, 16.1s ahead of FIA World Rallycross champion Johan Kristoffersson.

    Former Škoda and M-Sport factory driver Janne Tuohino completed the Top 10 overall, nearly 13 years from his last appearance in the FIA World Rally Championship.

    Mads Ostberg took the FIA WRC 2 Pro victory for Citroën Total, finishing over three minutes ahead of Škoda Motorsport factory driver Kalle Rovanpera, while Gus Greensmith took third place for M-Sport.

    Swedish yougster Tom Kristensson won the FIA Junior World Rally Championship’s inaugural event, finishing his home round 1m31.2s ahead of Estonia’s Roland Poom in second. Jan Solans completed the podium, with all drivers competing in an identical M-Sport-run Ford Fiesta R2s.

     

    Rally Sweden – Final unofficial results (subject to scrutineering)

    1 Ott Tänak / Martin Järveoja Toyota Yaris WRC 2hr47min30.0sec
    2 Esapekka Lappi / Janne Ferm Citroen C3 WRC 2hr48min23.7sec
    3 Thierry Neuville / Nicolas Gilsoul Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 2hr48min26.7sec
    4 Andreas Mikkelsen/Anders Jǽger Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 2hr48min35.4sec
    5 Elfyn Evans / Scott Martin Ford Fiesta WRC 2hr48min38.2sec
    6 Kris Meeke / Sebastian Marshall Toyota Yaris WRC 2hr49min08.8sec
    7 Sébastien Loeb / Daniel Elena Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 2hr49min19.7sec
    8 Pontus Tidemand / Ola Floene Ford Fiesta WRC 2hr51min07.7sec
    9 Ole Christian Veiby / Jonas Andersson Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 2hr54min04.0sec
    10 Janne Tuohino / Mikko Markkula Ford Fiesta WRC 2hr55min51.4sec
  • #Rossi40: As Valentino Rossi celebrates his 40th birthday, MotoGP presents 23 seasons in review

    #Rossi40: As Valentino Rossi celebrates his 40th birthday, MotoGP presents 23 seasons in review

    A MotoGP image

    Celebrate the Doctor’s 40th birthday by re-watching his greatest moments in 23 years of motorbike racing

     

    Hamilton, Maradona, Federer, Iniesta and more wish Rossi ‘buon compleanno’

    Some of the biggest stars from Italy and around the world send their birthday wishes to the Doctor

     

  • Teemu Suninen-Marko Salminen lead WRC for the first time: Rally Sweden

    Teemu Suninen-Marko Salminen lead WRC for the first time: Rally Sweden

    Teemu Suninen tops Day2 of Rally Sweden on Friday night. An FIA image

    Torsby, 16 Feb 2019: Teemu Suninen is the leader of an FIA World Rally Championship event for the first time on Rally Sweden, ending a dramatic day two seconds ahead of Estonia’s Ott Tänak, in second. Jari-Matti Latvala has been battling for the top spots with them until going off and retiring on the last stage, handing Andreas Mikkelsen third place on Friday night (15th Feb).

    This afternoon the crews returned for the second loop of 64.24 competitive kilometres through the morning stages before coming back to Torsby for the first run of what will be Sunday’s Power Stage: a short 8.93km stage located right next to the Service Park. With the high temperatures and the first-morning pass, the crews faced quite different conditions on the roads: a set of gravel stages replacing the snow and ice, and slush in many parts – although the infamous Scandinavian snowbanks still lined the stages.

    Those snowbanks caught out several drivers, with returning Finnish star Marcus Gronhölm and reigning FIA World Champion Sébastien Ogier from France among them. First, on the road, Ogier struggled for grip and touched a snowbank in the afternoon’s second stage, sending his Citroën C3 WRC into it nose-first. With no spectator in close proximity of the incident site to help, it took the Frenchman a long time to extricate his car from the snow – a delay that eventually forced him to retire.

    While the first crews in the running order struggled, those starting later had a slight advantage. Suninen snatched the lead on “Svullrya”, getting in front of Latvala, who himself had displaced Tanäk one stage earlier. On the final test of the day, Latvala went wide at a crest and landed into a snowbank, getting stuck for nearly 24 minutes. The Finn managed to finish but the time loss was too big and Toyota elected to retire and prepare for a return tomorrow.

    With Latvala’s incident, Andreas Mikkelsen climbed to third place behind Suninen and Tanäk after a trouble-free afternoon.

    Along with Suninen’s impressive run-up front, his M-Sport Ford team-mate Elfyn Evans was on a charge. He had dropped time with a spin on the first-morning stage but came back with a strong performance in the afternoon, winning two stages on a rapid ascent from 10th to 4th in only four stages.

    Esapekka Lappi, in the remaining Citroen car, had a stunning run through the final “Torsby” stage to jump from ninth to fifth in one run. Sebastien Loeb struggled initially on his return on Sweden’s snow and ice but finally found his rhythm on Friday afternoon, moving up to sixth.

    Thierry Neuville, the rally leader after Thursday’s Karlstad superspecial, struggled on roads which had turned into gravel and spun twice on Hof-Finnskog. He finished Day 1 in seventh place and moved ahead of Kris Meeke, eighth.

    Pontus Tidemand is the last WRC factory car in ninth overall, claiming some encouraging stage times after facing a throttle issue in the morning. Ole Christian Veiby, the FIA WRC 2 category leader and an FIA WRC 2 podium finisher in Sweden for the last two years, completes the Top 10 overall. He ended Friday with a 24.5sec advantage over team-mate, fellow Polo driver and FIA World Rallycross champion, Johan Kristoffersson of Sweden.

    In the FIA WRC 2 category, Mads Østberg took a 1m30sec lead on his home rally after a trouble-free run in mixed stage conditions.

    In the FIA Junior Championship, home town hero Dennis Rådström proved unbeatable this afternoon and reeled off a string of five-speed test wins to build a comfortable lead on Friday night.

     

    Rally Sweden – Unofficial results after Section 2

    1       Teemu Suninen / Marko Salminen Ford Fiesta WRC 1hr11min05.3sec
    2       Ott Tänak / Martin Järveoja Toyota Yaris WRC 1hr11min07.3sec
    3       Andreas Mikkelsen/Anders Jǽger Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 1hr11min23.1sec
    4       Elfyn Evans / Scott Martin Ford Fiesta WRC 1hr11min33.9sec
    5       Esapekka Lappi / Janne Ferm Citroen C3 WRC 1hr11min47.3sec
    6       Sébastien Loeb / Daniel Elena Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 1hr11min54.1sec
    7       Thierry Neuville / Nicolas Gilsoul Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 1hr11min58.0sec
    8       Kris Meeke / Sebastian Marshall Toyota Yaris WRC 1hr11min58.4sec
    9       Pontus Tidemand / Ola Floene Ford Fiesta WRC 1hr12min29.7sec
    10       Ole Christian Veiby / Jonas Andersson Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 1hr13min45.0sec
  • Thierry Neuville, Sebastien Ogier resume their battle with opening Super Special Stage: WRC

    Thierry Neuville, Sebastien Ogier resume their battle with opening Super Special Stage: WRC

    Thierry Neuville tops the opening Super Special Stage on Thursday. An FIA image

    Karlstad, 15 Feb 2019: Thierry Neuville and Sébastien Ogier resumed their battle where they left off on Rallye Monte-Carlo: the pair separated by 0.8s after Rally Sweden’s short opening superspecial in Karlstad in first and second place. Neuville’s team-mate at Hyundai, Andreas Mikkelsen, is only 0.3s behind in third on Thursday night.

    Wet and slushy road conditions welcomed the drivers on Karlstad’s 1.9km superspecial, causing quickly forming ruts on the arena’s surface. Ogier went wide with his Citroen in the last corner on the outside loop, a fate that befell several drivers in this section of the track. Ott Tänak, third on the Rallye Monte-Carlo podium, was not one of them, and finished fourth fastest, 1.9s behind Neuville.

    Finnish drivers dominated the bottom half of the Top 10. In his 197th start in the series, Jari-Matti Latvala marked a momentous occasion, going fifth fastest. Teemu Suninen and Esapekka Lappi were next for M-Sport and Citroen in sixth and seventh respectively, while two-time FIA World Rally Champion Marcus Grönholm marked his one-off return after nine years away from the WRC with the eighth fastest time, at the wheel of a private team entry Toyota Yaris WRC.

    Ahead of several WRC’s top drivers, FIA WRC 2 Pro leader Eerik Pietarinen navigated his factory Skoda Fabia R5 to ninth quickest overnight, tied with Toyota’s Kris Meeke and FIA WRC 2 pilot Jari Huttunen.

    This meant several factory WRC drivers were outside the Top 10: Elfyn Evans, Pontus Tidemand and nine-time world champion Sébastien Loeb, all within six seconds of stage winner Neuville.

     

    Rallye Sweden – Unofficial results after Section 1

    1 Thierry Neuville / Nicolas Gilsoul Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 1min 34.9sec
    2 Sebastien Ogier / Julien Ingrassia Citroen C3 WRC 1min 35.7sec
    3 Andreas Mikkelsen/Anders Jǽger Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 1min 36.0sec
    4 Ott Tänak / Martin Järveoja Toyota Yaris WRC 1min 36.8sec
    5 Jari-Matti Latvala / Miikka Anttila Toyota Yaris WRC 1min 36.9sec
    6 Teemu Suninen / Marko Salminen Ford Fiesta WRC 1min 37.6sec
    7 Esapekka Lappi / Janne Ferm Citroen C3 WRC 1min 37.9sec
    8 Marcus Gronhölm / Timo Rautiainen Toyota Yaris WRC 1min 39.0sec
    9 Kris Meeke / Sebastian Marshall Toyota Yaris WRC 1min 39.3sec
    10 Eerik Pietarinen / Juhana Raitanen Škoda Fabia R5 1min 39.3sec
  • McLaren unveils MCL34 alongside new 2019 drivers, Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris

    McLaren unveils MCL34 alongside new 2019 drivers, Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris

    McLaren Racing unveiled the MCL34 today. A McLaren image

    Woking, 14 Feb 2019: McLaren Racing today presented its first all-new Formula 1 driver line-up in 12 years, as Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris watched 34 of their McLaren team-mates unveil the MCL34, the team’s 2019 race car, ahead of pre-season testing next week.

    This year, Sainz (24) begins his fifth Formula 1 campaign, while Norris (19) embarks on his debut season, as McLaren continues its performance recovery programme throughout 2019.

    The concept and design process of the 2019 McLaren MCL34, powered by the Renault E-Tech 19 engine, focuses on laying the foundations for the development of the car throughout the season.

    The MCL34 livery continues to sport the iconic McLaren papaya orange, echoing the colour chosen by Bruce McLaren for the team’s first Formula 1 Grand Prix entry in 1966. This year’s scheme is a progression from 2018, featuring a complementary blue that nods to the team’s broader racing heritage.

    Over a productive commercial pre-season, the team has continued to strengthen its partner portfolio, with the addition of three new brands forming a 30-strong roster.

    The MCL34 will make its on-track debut during pre-season testing at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Spain (18-21 February & 26 February – 1 March). Carlos and Lando will share the driving duties across both tests.

    Carlos Sainz, #55

    “I’m really looking forward to the tests and excited to finally go racing in McLaren colours. I know everyone at the factory has been working very hard over the winter to prepare ourselves for this year, and I think the team has done a fantastic job with the livery of the MCL34.

    “I’ve been especially focused on my preparations this winter. New training routines, new diet, very specific simulator sessions, and extra time with the engineers to develop and align certain aspects of the car to my preferences. The factory has become my second home since I moved back to the UK and everyone in the team is moving in the same direction. We know the big task ahead of us and we first need to evaluate where we are after the tests. From there onwards, I can’t wait to start racing and keep pushing forward together.”

    Lando Norris, #4

    “Next stop, Barcelona! Seriously, I can’t wait to get behind the wheel in testing. I’ve been working hard over the winter preparing for my step up to F1. I’ve spent a lot of time with the team in the factory too, learning as much as I can to get ready for the 2019 season.

    “It’s been my dream to get to Formula 1 since I was a kid. I gained useful experience behind the wheel during practice sessions in 2018, and now I’m really looking forward to making my race debut with McLaren. The MCL34 looks great and now I just want to drive it.”

    Zak Brown, CEO McLaren Racing: 

    “The MCL34 is the result of an immense amount of hard work and dedication throughout our team. We’re all committed, motivated and united in our ambition to return McLaren to competitiveness, and the MCL34 is only the start of this process.

    “We have a fresh driver pairing, who together represent the new generation of Formula 1 talent, and are an integral part of the team and our collective effort to advance McLaren forward.

    “The McLaren family is not only our people and our drivers, but also our superb partners and wonderful fans. We have a strong community of partners which continues to grow, and an incredible fanbase, who have all remained loyal and supportive throughout our highs and lows, and I’d like to thank them as we head into the 2019 season.

    “As ever, we move fearlessly forward.”

  • All you need to know about the Australian round of #WorldSBK

    Philip Island, 14 Feb 2019:

    1. For the eleventh year in a row, Phillip Island will be the opening round of the season. The Australian race track is where the most season openers in the Championship history have taken place so far, followed by Donington, Valencia, and Losail, at four each.

    2. Phillip Island is the circuit with most WorldSBK races run: 55. The first appearance of the Australian race track in the calendar was back in 1990.

    3. In the history of the Championship, in 17 seasons out of 31, the winner of the opening race has gone on to win the title at the end of the year. That was not the case for Marco Melandri last year. The Italian took his only two wins of the season in Australia and finished 5th in the standings.

    4. Rea starts his 2019 campaign after having led the championship 100 times in total. Now he is on a streak of 20, began in Buriram 2018.

    5. Last year Marco Melandri broke a string of 6 consecutive British wins at Phillip Island. The same record for a country goes to Australia with a string of 6 consecutive wins from 2004 Race 2 to 2007 Race 1.

    6. Tom Sykes will start his 260th WorldSBK race at Phillip Island when the lights will go off on Saturday 23rd February.

    7. Jonathan Rea is on a winning streak of 11 straight races, a record sequence. None of these wins came with the advantage of a pole position start.

    8. The fastest ever top speed recorded at Phillip Island is 324.6 kph, set by Max Biaggi on board his Aprilia in 2012.

    9. In all the 31 seasons run so far, the eventual champion always finished the opening race in the first five places, with Tom Sykes and Jonathan Rea being the only champions to start their winning campaigns with a fifth, in 2013 and last year.

    10. Australian riders have won their home race here 23 times out of 55, the last one in 2008 with a double win for Troy Bayliss. Since then, riders from seven different countries have won at Phillip Island.