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Author: David Bodapati
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Valtteri Bottas fastest on Day 2: Bahrain pre-season Test
Bahrain, 13 March 2021: Valtteri Bottas set the quickest time of pre-season testing so far as Mercedes enjoyed a more productive second day at the Bahrain International Circuit.
After troubles on the opening day of the three-day test, Bottas posted 58 laps in the afternoon on his way to the quickest time of the day. However, the Finn needed to bolt on a set of the softest tyres on offer, the red-banded C5 compound Pirelli, to dislodge AlpahTauri’s Pierre Gasly from top spot on the timesheet. Gasly too had used the C5 for his best time of the day and finished just 0.124 behind the Finn.
Earlier in the day Bottas’ team-mate Lewis Hamilton also enjoyed a more productive outing with the seven-time world champion also getting through 58 laps of the desert circuit in the morning session, despite an early off.
Hamilton, though, restricted himself to hard tyres during his running and finished the day in 15th place on the timesheet.
A number of drivers moved to soft-tyre running in the latter part of the afternoon session.
Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll took third place on the timesheet with a late run on C5 tyres, posting a best time of 1:30.460 to finish 0.171s behind Bottas.
Fourth place also went to a Mercedes-powered driver, with McLaren’s Lando Norris as little over a tenth behind Stroll with a best lap of 1:30.586. While the top three used the C5, Norris’ best time was delivered on the C4 compound.
Norris was followed by C5 runners Antonio Giovinazzi of Alfa Romeo and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, while Williams’ Nicholas Latifi finished seventh thanks to a C5 time of 1.31.672.
That was one thousandth of a second ahead of the eighth–placed Red Bull of Sergio Pérez, though the Mexican’s time was set on tyres three steps harder than those on the Williams man’s car.
Pérez spent the bulk of his running on the C2 hard tyre as day one’s quickest team focused on longer runs and an afternoon race simulation.
Pérez’s 117 laps weren’t without issue, however, and after briefly being restricted to the garage by a technical issue in the morning he was sidelined for a longer spell in the afternoon when the left side engine cover of his car blew off while on track. With debris strewn across the start-finish straight the session was red-flagged. Pérez later rejoined the action and completed his race run.
McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo finished in ninth place, while Fernando Alonso, making his return to F1 with Alpine, finished in 10th place as he too focused on the C2 hard tyre.
AlphaTauri rookie Yuki Tsunoda was 11th on the timesheet ahead of Haas’ Mick Schumacher, the second Ferrari of Carlos Sainz and the second Haas of Nikita Mazepin.
There was trouble though for Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel as gearbox problems restricted him to just 10 laps in the morning and he finished in 16th and last place.
Formula 1 Pre-Season Testing, Bahrain – Day Two
1 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 58 1:30.289
2 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri 87 1:30.413 0.124
3 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 71 1:30.460 0.171
4 Lando Norris McLaren 52 1:30.586 0.297
5 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo 125 1:30.760 0.471
6 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 73 1:30.886 0.597
7 Nicholas Latifi Williams 132 1:31.672 1.383
8 Sergio Perez Red Bull 117 1:31.682 1.393
9 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren 52 1:32.215 1.926
10 Fernando Alonso Alpine 128 1:32.339 2.050
11 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri 57 1:32.684 2.395
12 Mick Schumacher Haas 88 1:32.883 2.594
13 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 56 1:33.072 2.783
14 Nikita Mazepin Haas 76 1:33.101 2.812
15 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 58 1:33.399 3.110
16 Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin 10 1:38.849 8.560 -
Jack Miller wraps up Qatar test with fastest on Day 5
The Australian remains fastest overall after Day 5 sees conditions worsen in the desert… but the top three are covered by less than a tenth
Doha, 12 March 2021: And just like that, 2021 pre-season testing for the MotoGP riders and teams is over. Five largely hectic days at Losail International Circuit see Jack Miller and Ducati Lenovo Team head into Round 1 as the combination to beat, with Miller’s 1:53.183 taking the honour of the fastest ever two-wheel lap in Qatar. The Bologna factory are chased by a trio of Yamahas who are all within a tenth and a half, as Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP), teammate Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) enjoy a successful pre-season to complete the top four.
Unfortunately, the final day of the Qatar Test flattered to deceive. High winds caused dust to scatter across the track, which in turn meant barely anyone ventured out. With just over two hours of the first and only pre-season test remaining, Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda Team) and Danilo Petrucci (Tech3 KTM Factory Racing) were the only two riders to have set a lap time, but eight seconds slower than Miller. The red flags then came out as cleaning machines ventured out to try and improve the conditions, but the majority of the work was already done and dusted for the teams and it was an early pack up.
Nevertheless, we’ve seen plenty of laps laid down across the other four days of Official Test action, as well as the Shakedown for test riders and rookies last Friday. So where are we ahead of Round 1?
In the hands of a charismatic Australian, Ducati will head into the first Grand Prix as the fastest. Miller’s blistering time attack lap on Wednesday evening was proof that he and the new GP21 are looking like a formidable partnership this season, with the innovation kings of MotoGP – of course – bringing plenty of new parts to test in Qatar. The most notable was some new front aero, a significant change and something we’ve not seen before. Elsewhere, the famous ‘salad box’ is a different shape on the new bikes, and another big change we’ve seen in 2021 is the front holeshot device that most of the factories have now got. Ducati, along with Aprilia, Honda, KTM and Suzuki have been seen launching off the line with the bike squatted at the front as well as the rear.
Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) ends testing inside the top five behind his factory teammate and the trio of Yamahas, and sounded very positive about his work at Losail. Pecco was visibly pleased with the race pace work he had done throughout and when he pushed for a qualifying-esque time, he wasn’t far away at all – 0.261s to be exact.
Thanks to Johann Zarco’s (Pramac Racing) 1:53.899, Ducati have all their non-rookie riders inside the top 10 ahead of Round 1. Consistently the quickest rider through the speed trap – Thursday seeing him reach a new unofficial record of 357.69km/h down the start/finish straight – Zarco was another rider who seemed happy with his performance overall. The Frenchman commented on Thursday that he had worked a lot on race pace and had plenty of things to try, not all of which were good, but that they got through a lot.
Zarco’s Pramac Racing teammate Jorge Martin ended the Qatar Test as the fastest rookie. The Spaniard sits P14 thanks to his 1:54.483, an incredibly respectable time from the Moto2 graduate who is just 1.3s away from Miller’s all-time – unofficial – lap record. Reigning Moto2™ World Champion Enea Bastianini (Avintia Esponsorama Racing) finished just 0.022s behind Martin in P15, with Luca Marini (Sky VR46 Avintia) claiming P21 – 1.839s shy of Miller.
For the Ducati trio, the week in Qatar has been largely positive with lots of laps completed by all: Martin clocked 159 in the Official Test, Bastianini 178 and Marini 204. All will have been a learning curve as the trio now head back to Europe, do some homework and get set for their MotoGP™ Grand Prix weekend debuts.
Factory Team Manager Davide Tardozzi rated Ducati’s Qatar Test as a 9/10, the Italian was pleased with every aspect: speed, attitude, and morale of the team. Confidence is brimming in the red camp but one thing that must be said is that traditionally, Losail is a great circuit for Ducati…
At Yamaha, the marque once again proved that their one-lap pace is meteoric. The aforementioned Viñales, Quartararo and Morbidelli all pushed for a fast lap time when they set their best times of the test, and even though they lost out to Miller, things are still looking good for Yamaha in that department. However, it’s race pace and lots of other intricate details that all four of their full-time riders have been working on most in Qatar.
On Wednesday, Yamaha rolled out a new aero fairing and new mudguard. Top speed is still a slight weakness, and these updates seem aimed at reducing the gap to the likes of Ducati and Honda. Moreover, the Yamaha riders have been testing a new chassis and the signs have been positive. It looks like the decision has been made to use it this season.
Second fastest Viñales was seen working hard on his practice starts. On Wednesday and Thursday, pitlane reporter Simon Crafar reported that the number 12 must have been into double figures with the number of times he’d come to the end of pitlane, sink the rear of his Yamaha and launch himself down into Turn 1. It’s a point that Viñales has been focusing on in pre-season testing, as well as the opening handful of laps. We’ll see if his hard work will come to fruition in due course…
New factory recruit Quartararo said it took him a good 30-40 laps to get reacquainted with his YZR-M1 monster on Saturday, but once the Frenchman had regained his confidence at the controls, all seemed to go well. The 2019 Rookie of the Year said he felt comfortable on the new chassis and had tried “many things”, much like teammate Viñales, with race pace looking fantastic for all the Yamahas. Team Manager Massimo Meregalli said both of his riders are feeling very confident, with parts like the chassis and aero body approved by both.
Morbidelli and Valentino Rossi (Petronas Yamaha SRT) join their factory counterparts in looking good in race trim. Rossi, judging from the timesheets, was the only rider out of the quartet who didn’t look at slamming in a time attack, but The Doctor is sounding in very good spirits heading into his 26th Grand Prix season. The nine-time World Champion ends pre-season testing 11th overall, with his 1:53.993 proving his best-ever lap at Losail.
Sixth on the combined timesheets was Aprilia Racing Team Gresini’s Aleix Espargaro. As has been heavily reported, their 2021 RS-GP is almost completely new: the engine, chassis, two aero designs, exhausts and ‘salad box’ have changed, and Aprilia also have their first carbon swingarm – which means Suzuki are the only manufacturer that doesn’t have this feature. In addition, the aforementioned front holeshot device was being used to great effect by the Spaniard. A 1:53.640 best time was enough to get Espargaro within half a second of Miller, very promising signs indeed.
Massimo Rivola, Aprilia Racing CEO, gave their pre-season a 7/10 rating. Understandably, the factory are trying to keep their feet on the ground after a promising 2020 season didn’t materialise into results in the season proper, but he was pleased with the progress shown in Qatar. Rookie Lorenzo Savadori ended the test in P26, 2.571s away, but the Italian has been nursing a shoulder injury throughout.
Meanwhile, it’s fair to say that World Champions Team Suzuki Ecstar have gone under the radar somewhat at the beginning of 2021. Reigning MotoGP World Champion Joan Mir finished P7 overall, one place and 0.033s ahead of teammate Alex Rins. A new chassis and a new swingarm have been used in Qatar as well as all the other little bits that all riders and teams play with, and Suzuki also get a head start on next season with Mir, Rins and test rider Sylvain Guintoli giving a 2022 engine a run…
Mir has admitted that both Ducati and Yamaha look better on overall pace as it stands, but the GSX-RR duo aren’t far away at all. Losail International Circuit isn’t one that naturally goes hand in hand with Suzuki, but the riders are feeling good and have made improvements from last year’s bike – a worry for the other teams. In Mir’s own words: “We are competitive, we are not slow, and it’s only testing.”
Next, we come to Honda. It was a somewhat mixed Qatar Test for the Japanese giants, but the main and overriding positive is the efforts of Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda Team). The Spaniard set the exact same time as ninth place Zarco to finish just inside the top 10, but the outright lap time shouldn’t be the main thing to look at – and that goes for all riders. Espargaro’s adaptation from KTM to Honda has been seamless; the number 44 impressing just about everybody in the paddock with his performance so far. Closing out the test, Pol Espargaro described his debut as a “pain release” from a winter full of anticipation.
Tech-wise, Honda brought three different chassis to Qatar: one ‘standard 2020’, one with carbon bonded onto the frame and a completely new one. Some new aero was testing by Stefan Bradl (Honda Test Team) and Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) in the opening exchanges of the test, and we’ll wait and see if HRC bring it to the opening race weekend.
Nakagami was the second best Honda rider on the overall timesheets in P12, just ahead of Bradl in P13. Both of these riders suffered more than one crash, and a Turn 2 tumble on Wednesday saw Bradl sit out the afternoon session. Honda saw their riders hit the deck 10 times in total – more than any other factory. Unfortunately for Alex Marquez (LCR Honda Castrol), a big highside at Turn 9 on Thursday evening resulted in a small right foot metatarsal fracture, but the two-time World Champion should be fit to ride at the Qatar Grand Prix.
Repsol Honda Team Manager Alberto Puig didn’t want to give much away about his feelings regarding the Qatar Test, but he was very pleased with how “smooth” his new rider has adapted. One huge talking point over the next 14 days will also be whether Marc Marquez will be on the bike in Qatar after his latest check-up went very well. Are the signs there for the eight-time World Champion to link up with impressive teammate Espargaro and the rest of the Honda camp in the near future?
After an outstanding 2020 season, KTM haven’t hit the ground running in 2021 on the timesheets as yet, but it is testing. Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) was the fastest RC16 rider and the double 2020 race winner was P16, 1.343s away from the time set by Miller. Teammate Brad Binder finishes 0.165s behind Oliveira on the timesheets in P17, but the Austrian factory have little data in Qatar: no race here last year with their new and improved package has seemingly hampered them and Losail isn’t KTM’s strongest layout.
They did bring plenty of new items to test though. Simon Crafar called them the “winners on the hardware front” and the most notable changes from the naked eye was the slimmer new front fairing that – seemingly – has a few more ‘shark teeth’ carved in. As well as this, test rider Dani Pedrosa was the first seen sporting KTM’s new seat unit.
Oliveira didn’t seem downbeat at the end of the test as the Portuguese star said there have been positive things to take and there are no specific worries at this stage. The number 88 did point out that KTM are struggling to exploit the maximum from the package at the minute, but it’s the timesheets don’t tell the story.
Danilo Petrucci, meanwhile, has completed his first test on a KTM machine and the Italian is pleased with the progress he’s made over the four proper days on track, with some clear ideas of what is needed to improve on his 1:54.895 best. Teammate Iker Lecuona says he has learned a lot and has improved a lot too, but also recognises that there is work to do to close down the faster guys.
So just like that, MotoGP 2021 pre-season testing is over. Next up: the Barwa Grand Prix of Qatar. In two weeks’ time the premier class warriors will be back on track at Losail, but it will be during a race weekend. Before that, the Moto2 and Moto3 riders will be taking part in a three-day Official Qatar Test.
Aleix Espargaro Jack Miller, fastest Martin Mir headed Rins by 0.033 by the end of play… Pol Espargaro has definitely adjusted well Oliveira was fastest KTM Rossi ends the test optimistic and said it was definitely a step forward on 2020 Viñales was at the head of a Yamaha trio hot on Miller’s tail
Photos from Day 5, the last day of the MotoGP Qatar test on March 12. All images by MotoGP -
Max Verstappen top times on Day 1: Bahrain Test
Bahrain, 12 March 2021: Max Verstappen set the quickest time on the opening day of Formula 1 pre-season testing at the Bahrain International Circuit as Mercedes encountered early troubles.
In hot and hazy conditions due to heavy winds whipping up sand, Verstappen set his quickest time, a lap of 1:30.674 set on Pirelli’s yellow-banded C3 tyre in the afternoon session as he also worked his way to the day’s largest lap count of 139 tours of the 5.412km circuit.
The Dutchman’s table-topping lap left him 0.215 seconds clear of McLaren’s Lando Norris with the British driver also using the C3 tyre for his best time. Third place on the day went to Alpine’s Esteban Ocon, though the French driver set his best lap on the softer C4 compound.
Mercedes’ test phase got off to a difficult start, however. Valtteri Bottas managed to complete a single installation in the morning before being sidelined by a gearbox issue.
Bottas was able to rejoin the session but managed just six laps in total before handing over driving duties to Lewis Hamilton.
Seven-time world champion Hamilton added 42 laps in the afternoon but suffered several off-track moments in the tricky conditions and ended the day in 10th place on the timesheet with a best time of 1:32.912 set on the C2 hard tyre.
Bottas, meanwhile, was left to prop up the timesheet in 17th place, six seconds off the pace.
“The first lap, the install lap, we realised there was an issue with the gearbox. We obviously had to localise the issue and change the gearbox, which takes quite a bit of time,” said the Finn of his troubled morning. “Only at the very end we got a few laps, and then it was red-flagged, and that was it. Six total laps, all with aero rakes on the car, so not much running today. Not an ideal start.”
Fourth place in the session went to Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll. The Canadian driver finished 1.1s off Verstappen’s pace, as he ran on unmarked prototype Pirelli tyre. The tyre supplier is offering two prototypes this weekend that are identical to the standard C3 but produced in Turkey rather than Romania.
Stroll’s new team-mate, four-time champion Sebastian Vettel ended the day in P13 on the timesheet with a best time of 1:33.742. In all the Aston Martin pair got through 97 laps on a solid first day.
Vettel’s replacement at Ferrari, Carlos Sainz, took fifth spot on his first full test day for the Scuderia. The Spaniard finished with a best time of 1:31.919 set on C3 tyres.
Like Mercedes, Ferrari also encountered mechanical woes, as Charles Leclerc was halted by an issue in the morning.
Kimi Räikkönen posted 63 laps for Alfa Romeo in the morning session and team-mate Antonio Giovinazzi added a further 68 in the afternoon to complete a decent first day for the Swiss team as they placed 12thand sixth respectively.
Seventh place went to new McLaren recruit Daniel Ricciardo with the Australian followed by AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly and rookie driver Yuki Tsunoda.
Further back Williams tester Roy Nissany was 14th for Williams as he worked through 83 laps, while Haas rookie Nikita Mazepin completed 70 laps on his way to P15. It was a less auspicious first outing with the American team for 2020 Formula 2 champion Mick Schumacher. The German only completed 15 laps.
Formula 1 Pre-Season Testing, Bahrain – Day One
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda 1:30.674 139
2 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:30.889 0.215 46
3 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 1:31.146 0.472 129
4 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:31.782 1.108 46
5 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1:31.919 1.245 57
6 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1:31.945 1.271 68
7 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren/Mercedes 1:32.203 1.529 45
8 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri/Honda 1:32.231 1.557 74
9 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri/Honda 1:32.727 2.053 37
10 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:32.912 2.238 42
11 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:33.242 2.568 59
12 Kimi Räikkönen Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1:33.320 2.646 63
13 Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:33.742 3.068 51
14 Roy Nissany Williams/Mercedes 1:34.789 4.115 83
15 Nikita Mazepin Haas/Ferrari 1:34.798 4.124 70
16 Mick Schumacher Haas/Ferrari 1:36.127 5.453 15
17 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:36.850 6.176 6 -
Maverick Vinales tops times on Day 4: Qatar Test
Qatar, 11 March 2021: Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP’s Maverick Viñales shot to the top by the end of play on Day 4 of the Official MotoGP™ Qatar Test with a late 1:53.244, making it three Yamahas leading the way on Thursday as Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) and Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) both set 1:53.3s to cement their good form heading into the final day of pre-season testing, taking second and third overall.
In terms of new tech, nothing too new was seen on Thursday but track conditions couldn’t have been more perfect for Day 4, handing riders a fantastic opportunity to get some crucial laps under their belts with time running out before the start of the season.
Pitlane reporter Simon Crafar revealed that Yamaha have been looking excellent in race pace trim. One of those riders is of course Viñales and it was a busy day for the Spaniard, who had three bikes in his garage: his ‘standard’ one, a T1-plated carbon bike and the stunning white and red liveried package. Viñales was also once again seen doing plenty of practice starts at the end of pitlane and at the end of the day’s play, he set that table-topping time. The number 12 confirmed he is concentrating hard on his starts and the opening handful of laps, with a big race simulation coming on Friday.
Teammate Quartararo did sit top in the closing stages but was edged down to P3 at the chequered flag, the Frenchman not quite going as quick as yesterday and now third on the combined times behind Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) and Viñales. “Many things” to test was the order of El Diablo’s day, Quartararo confirmed that he feels comfortable on the new chassis and the pace he has is “great.” He’s looking for another step on the final day.
Valentino Rossi (Petronas Yamaha SRT) was very pleased after Wednesday’s track action and was pleased with the new parts that Yamaha have been trying so far. On Thursday, The Doctor set his fastest lap of the test so far – a 1:53.993 – and is in good spirits, with Rossi saying he feels like “a real rider” again. Petronas Yamaha SRT Team Manager Wilco Zeelenberg confirmed that Morbidelli has been trying lots of different settings to enable him to get the feeling he had in 2020, and the man himself confirmed he’s “really happy” overall but, as always, there’s areas to work on during the final day.
Ducati’s fastest rider on Day 3 was Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) and the Italian was another to set his best time of the test so far. Speaking on After the Flag, Pecco was happy with his 1:53.444 but admitted it was by no means a perfect lap. Bagnaia was a lot happier with his race pace though, the new factory Ducati recruit has been quietly going about his business and confirmed he used Ducati’s new aero package in Thursday’s race simulation.
Second best Ducati was Pramac Racing’s Johann Zarco. The Frenchman set the most laps of anyone on Day 4 – 71 – and ended the session in P9, with Zarco confirming that he worked a lot on race pace but had different feelings – not all good – than Wednesday. In addition, Zarco clocked an earth-shattering top speed of 357.69km/h down the start/finish straight – a new unofficial top speed record.
A couple of places behind the number 5 was Miller and after setting the fastest time of the test so far on Wednesday, Thursday looked like it was a day working more towards race pace with P11 for the Australian. Miller confirmed that they never put a new soft tyre in and it was another great day, with the race simulation going well. He thinks still there are a couple of little things with the setup to aid him and Ducati in race trim though.
Fastest of the rookies, despite a crash at Turn 16, was Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing). A 1:54.483 was set by the Spaniard, that’s over half a second quicker than he’d previously managed. 42 more laps are on the board for Martin who finished just 0.022s ahead of Enea Bastianini (Avintia Esponsorama Racing), the latter finishing P15 on another great day for the Italian. Luca Marini (SKY VR46 Avintia) also had a seamless day at the office by the looks of things, the tall Italian set a 1:55.022 to end Day 4 in P20, 1.778s away from Viñales’ pace. Overall, the three Moto2™ graduates have been looking great.
Aprilia Racing Team Gresini’s Aleix Espargaro finished P5 on the timesheets and was overall happy with his work. Stability and rear grip have been improved, as well as being able to go fast with used tyres so all remains positive in the Noale camp. Espargaro had a small crash at Turn 4 while teammate Lorenzo Savadori – who finished P23 on the timesheets – also suffered a crash at the same corner. Nevertheless, 40 more laps were completed by rookie Savadori.
Team Suzuki Ecstar duo Joan Mir and Alex Rins finished line astern on the leaderboards in P6 and P7, respectively. It’s been a relatively quiet test for the World Champions – outwardly at least – but both Mir and Rins dipped into the 1:53s for the first time at the test, so judging from the timesheets at least, it looks to be going pretty well.
The biggest news on Day 4 came from the Honda camp. In terms of updates on new parts, test rider Stefan Bradl, who recovered from a sore neck after his Day 3 Turn 2 crash, was seen debuting a new aero design for the Japanese manufacturer. The new-look design features some notable additions to the fairing, a big change from what we’ve seen before from HRC, who were already testing a different aero package earlier in the event with Bradl.
It was another tough day in terms of crashes for Honda though. Alex Marquez (LCR Honda Castrol) suffered a nasty highside on the exit of Turn 9, which resulted in the double World Champion picking up a small metacarpal fracture in his right foot. The Spaniard headed to the hospital for some mandatory checks, but fingers crossed it doesn’t see him miss too much track time. Bradl crashed at Turn 1 and early on in the day and Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda Team) went down at the opening corner for his first crash in HRC colours – thankfully for both Repsol-liveried riders, no injuries were picked up.
Pol Espargaro was the fastest Honda on Day 3 and ended Thursday’s running in P10 after 65 laps as the Spaniard continues to impress ahead of the 2021 campaign. Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) set his best lap on his 52nd and final circulation of the day too and it was P12 for the Japanese rider, one place ahead of Bradl in P13.
KTM’s quiet Qatar Test continued on Day 4. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) was the quickest RC16 rider out there, setting a 1:54.691 – his best lap of the test so far. Factory teammate Miguel Oliveira was P18 with a best time of a 1:54.735 as both 2020 premier class winners continue their workload.
In the Tech3 KTM Factory Racing ranks, 19th fastest Danilo Petrucci set his best time of the test so far too as he continues his adaptation from Ducati to KTM machinery. Petrucci crossed the line 49 times on Day 4, with teammate Iker Lecuona completing a further 40 laps. The latter suffered a crash at Turn 12, but the young Spaniard was perfectly ok.
Another busy day in Doha draws to a close. Four days down, one to go. 2021 pre-season testing for the premier class will come to an end on Friday evening, it’s going to be a huge day for every rider, team and manufacturer.
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Williams Racing welcomes watch partner Bremont
Oxfordshire, 11 March 2021: Williams Racing is delighted to welcome Bremont as the team’s Official Timing and Watch Partner. Founded in 2002, Bremont craft beautifully engineered British watches, designed, manufactured and assembled in Oxfordshire.
The partnership draws upon the many similarities of the two brands, with a clear focus on precision and innovation allowing for collaboration on a deeper technical level. Bremont’s move to its new state-of-the-art Manufacturing and Technology Centre, which marks the start of a new era for British watchmaking, is perfectly timed to enable a knowledge sharing focused around their respective CNC machining capabilities.
Williams race drivers, George Russell and Nicholas Latifi, will proudly wear their Bremont watches along with other senior members of the team.
Jost Capito, CEO from Williams Racing commented: “It is our pleasure to welcome luxury watch manufacturer Bremont as Williams Racing’s Official Timing and Watch Partner, as we start an exciting new era for the team. As close neighbours in Oxfordshire we see the multitude of synergies between the two businesses and Bremont’s commitment to bring watchmaking back to the UK, with its unique positioning as the preeminent British watch manufacturer, makes the firm a perfect partner for us. The undeniable crossover in manufacturing skills and our sheer proximity to one another should make for some exciting and innovative future projects.”
Giles English, Co-Founder of Bremont added: “Everyone at Bremont is incredibly proud to be working with Williams Racing, a team with an incredible history and such a poignant name in sport. The links between our two industries are considerable and as Official Timing and Watch Partner our relationship will be beneficial on many levels. Over the years we have seen a substantial crossover between the manufacturing skills in Formula One and watchmaking; we have employed several individuals from the industry to date. Complex machining to very high tolerances requires a significant investment in machinery and technical skillset. We’re excited to be working with such a renowned British technology business and look forward to seeing where we can take the partnership.
About Bremont
Bremont is an award-winning British luxury watch brand, manufacturing mechanical watches in Henley-on-Thames, England. Bremont is making considerable investment with its UK watch making and manufacturing and at the end of 2014 launched a new Parts Manufacturing Facility which saw the firm starting to produce its own case and movement components. Cofounded by brothers Nick & Giles English in 2002, Bremont has made a substantial impact on the watch making industry in a very short period of time. The brand remains true to its original principles of aviation and military, British engineering and adventure. As well as manufacturing watches for some of the most exclusive military squadrons around the world, Bremont continues to play an influential role in revitalising the British watch industry, the birthplace of numerous timekeeping innovations still used today. The brand is now in the top handful of chronometer producers in the world.
About Williams Grand Prix Engineering Limited
Williams Grand Prix Engineering Limited’s core competencies are the design and development of racing cars to compete in the Formula One World Championship. As one of the world’s leading Formula One teams, the company has secured 16 FIA Formula One World Championship titles since its foundation in 1977. Nine of these titles have been won in the Constructors’ Championship in association with Cosworth, Honda and Renault. The remaining seven titles were won in the Drivers’ Championship with Alan Jones, Keke Rosberg, Nelson Piquet, Nigel Mansell, Alain Prost, Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve.
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Top-Down on 2021 F1 pre-season: A viewpoint from our Technical Writer Malhaar
London, 11 March 2021: The Formula 1 pre-season testing is set to begin on March 12 through to March 14. This year it is being held at the Sakhir International circuit for the first time since 2014. With the 2021 cars about to hit track, here is all you need to know about teams and drivers in pre-season testing.
Key regulations changes in 2021 include floor-space reduction ahead of the car’s rear tyre which is aimed at downforce reduction. The length of diffuser strakes has been shortened as well to aid the reduction in downforce. Reduction in downforce was stipulated by the FIA so that the Pirelli tyres can handle the lateral forces going through them as they were effectively introduced in 2019 and meant for slower (2019) cars.
Other key change is the carry-over of the survival cell, the monocoque chassis to reduce costs for teams due the ongoing Covid pandemic with the revolutionary new cars to be introduced in 2022 instead of 2021. The FIA also introduced a two-token system by which the teams can use their tokens to develop certain homologated parts of their cars. Aerodynamic surfaces can be developed freely. The ingenious DAS system introduced by Mercedes last year has been banned as well. Other small changes include the weight of Power Unit increasing slightly and the weight of cars going up by 3 kgs to 749 kgs.
Mercedes AMG F1:
The reigning champions will be gunning for a record-extending eighth consecutive Drivers’ and Constructors’ title this season as they ended the 2020 season on a high with 15 pole positions and 13 wins.
Formel 1: Präsentation des Mercedes-AMG F1 W12 E Performance Formula One: Launch of the Mercedes-AMG F1 W12 E Performance. A Mercedes AMG Petronas image Their 2021 car is called the W12, which has a major carry over of parts and monocoque chassis (as stipulated by the 2021 regulations). They have openly admitted to keeping their cards close to their chest and not showing either the new floor or where they have spent the tokens to develop their car. Mercedes stopped the development of W11 (2020 car) midway through last season to focus on the W12. A lot of work has also gone in the Power Unit side, with Mercedes claiming it to be more powerful and reliable than last year. So, expect them to come out of the blocks quickly.
Mercedes keep their drivers unchanged, only one of the three teams to do so, with Lewis Hamilton signing a one-year contract in February and Valtteri Bottas staying on. For Mercedes this means stability as this gives them the best opportunity to gun for both the titles yet again.
Red Bull Racing:
Red Bull on paper are the closest rivals and challengers to Mercedes for this season. Them winning the season ending Abu Dhabi GP in 2020, means momentum is on their side going in 2021.
The RB16B will be their challenger for 2021. Red Bull, too, have kept their cards close to the chest as they barely revealed the RB16B to the public. They are also hiding their floor details. Red bull have spent their tokens on a new gearbox transmission and rear suspension of the car. Honda has also introduced a new engine, which has the upgrades planned for 2022 originally, but brought forward as they will be leaving the sport at the end of this season. Red bull will be hoping to start the year much closer to Mercedes as this year’s car is 60% carry over of last year’s car.
In the driver department, Red Bull chose to go for Sergio Perez instead of retaining Alex Albon to partner Max Verstappen. Perez brings the consistency and the knowledge of Mercedes power unit to Red Bull which could be key for them to win both the championships. It remains to be seen how Perez adapts to the Red Bull car which in recent history has been tricky to get grips with.
McLaren Racing:
McLaren’s P3 in the constructor’s championship was their best result in the turbo-hybrid era. With a new driver line-up and a new car under the skin they look set to consolidate P3 and move closer to the top 2 teams.
The MCL35M’s biggest change is the power unit. McLaren swapped the Renault power unit for the Mercedes one in 2021, reinvigorating the classic McLaren-Mercedes brand. Mercedes has arguably been the class leading Power Unit since 2014, thus the switch. As Mercedes PU has a different architecture compared to the Renault PU, they have had to modify their monocoque chassis to fit the Mercedes PU, thus, spending their two tokens on it. According to McLaren, this year’s car is a better package compared to last year with the integration of Mercedes.
Daniel Ricciardo replaces Carlos Sainz and will be partnered by Lando Norris. Ricciardo brings race winning experience to McLaren while this will be Norris’ third season with the papaya squad. With Ricciardo having the ability to adapt to a car quickly, podiums can be expected from this season.
Aston Martin F1:
Famous rebranding and signing of a four-time world champion show the intent and commitment of Aston Martin, previously Racing Point to reach the top and… winning! They almost achieved P3 last season and were narrowly beaten by McLaren, Aston Martin will be determined to finish as close as possible to the top-2 teams, beating their rivals in the process.
Aston Martin during the Test. Photo by Aston Martin added on 15 March Their new car is called the AMR21, which is the most different car compared to last year’s car of any team. That is due to them having spent their tokens on a new monocoque chassis, to redesign the sidepod inlets and cooling configuration. They have also got the 2020 Mercedes rear suspension and the improved Mercedes PU. Aston martin have retained the Mercedes low-rake aerodynamic philosophy for this year.
Sebastian Vettel has come on-board to be alongside Lance Stroll. Once again, Vettel brings championship winning experience and feedback to improve the car. If the drivers are able to capitalise on the car’s “expected” potential, then they could finish P3 by the end of the season.
Alpine F1:
Another team which had a re-brand and signed a world champion for this year. Alpine, previously Renault, will be hoping to make gains to consistently challenge McLaren and Aston Martin in the fight for P3.
The A521 is an evolution of the RS20 with main changes coming internally. They have introduced a new power unit. To supplement that Alpine has spent its tokens on the rear of the car with a new gearbox transmission and rear suspension. As Alpine do not have power unit customers, they will be at a disadvantage in testing due to less data compared to other manufacturers. It remains to be seen if this will hinder their progress in 2021.
Alpine have signed two-time champion Fernando Alonso in the wake of Ricciardo leaving for McLaren. Alongside him will be Frenchman, Esteban Ocon. Alpine are hoping that with the speed and experience of Alonso they can take the fight to McLaren and Aston Martin, with achieving regular podiums their top priority.
Scuderia Ferrari:
Ferrari had their worst season in F1 in 40 years as they finished P6 with a draggy car and a sub-par engine. They will be looking to bounce back getting ahead of the pack with the new engine and new driver line-up.
The SF21 is a radical evolution of previous year’s car. It has a new front wing and nose, coupled with an all-new Ferrari engine which is better than last year. According to Mattia Binotto their straight-line speed for this year has improved compared to last year. Ferrari have spent their tokens on a new gearbox transmission and rear suspension as they look to make the rear of the car even tighter for aerodynamic gains.
Ferrari have signed another young blood, in the name of Carlos Sainz who though young, will be going in his seventh season in F1. Alongside him will be Charles Leclerc in his third season with Ferrari. Both drivers are proven so it remains to be seen if the car can propel them to the front of the field and at least secure P3 in the constructors by the end of the season.
AlphaTauri:
AlphaTauri had a good baseline to end with last season and with the introduction of a newly promoted driver it could be a fantastic season for the Faenza based team.
Pierre and Yuki sample the AT02 for the fist time on March 11. Alpha Tauri pic AlphaTauri’s 2021 challenger is called the AT02. With a good baseline from last year, AlphaTauri elected not to use Red Bull’s 2020 rear suspension, instead sticking with 2019 rear suspension setup in a bid to optimize it fully. Instead, they have spent their tokens on a new thinner nose cone structure and a new front suspension setup. Along with that, they too receive the upgraded 2021 Honda engine.
AlphaTauri has retained 2020 race winner Pierre Gasly and signed a promising F2 driver, Yuki Tsunoda. AlphaTauri team principal Franz Tost is confident that if they maximise the potential of their car, they will be able to challenge the likes of McLaren and Aston Martin.
You can watch the 11 March 2021 video here.
Alfa Romeo:
Alfa Romeo had a difficult season in 2020 as their chassis was not up to their expectations and the slower Ferrari engine accentuated their problem. They have also opted for stability in sticking with the same drivers this season.
The C41 shows promise according Alfa Romeo as they have heavily reworked the car. They hope to get better performance from the new Ferrari engine. They have spent their tokens on the new thinner nose cone as well as a new front suspension setup to iron out the inherent understeer in previous years car.
As mentioned, Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi will stay with Alfa Romeo for a third consecutive season as they hope the experience of both will propel them into the mid field fight.
Haas F1:
Haas had another mediocre season as they finished P9 at the end of the 2020 season. With a completely new driver lineup and injection of funds, Haas will be hoping to turn their fortunes around.
Haas have not revealed their 2021 challenger, the VF21 yet. This will be done on the morning of pre-season testing in Bahrain. They did reveal the livery of the car. Haas are also yet to fire up their power unit for the first time as due to covid restrictions it has not been possible. Haas have also confirmed that no upgrade packages will brought to the VF21 as the team will fully focus on 2022 car.
Haas field a new driver lineup of Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin. Both are rookies and will be their first season in F1. Inexperienced yet both are fast as Schumacher won the 2020 F2 title and Mazepin finished in the top 5.
Williams F1:
A fast driver lineup and improving car Williams look on the rise as they will try to get back in the midfield and contest for points regularly. Their aim is to beat Alfa Romeo and Haas this season.
The Williams 2021 car, the FW43B is an evolution of last year’s FW43. A Williams image The FW43B is an evolution of last year’s FW43. Their main focus has been weight reduction of the car for 2021. Williams have not spent any development tokens this year, instead electing to fully optimise their package. Williams have also said that they will aggressively develop the FW43B in the early stages of the season in a bid to challenge the mid field rivals.
Williams will continue with George Russell and Nicholas Latifi. With this stability and speed of both driver Williams are hoping to be consistently in the midfield battle and score points.
*Malhaar Khaladkar writes on F1 and technical aspects of the sport. The passionate student based in London, is also a keen student of the sport. After successfully completing one year of an analysis piece, after every race last year, Malhaar will continue to bring to you the nuances of the sport with a Monday comment piece after every race. We invite your comments and suggestions.
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Miller turns the tables on Quartararo as testing resumes in Qatar
The pace hots up in the desert as MotoGP gets back on track, with two familiar names beating the lap record at Losail International Circuit
Doha, 10 March 2021: After two days off, Wednesday welcomed the grid back down to business in Doha as the third day of official MotoGP testing got underway… and it was an absolute scorcher. The all-time lap record at Losail International Circuit fell first courtesy of Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP), but late on Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) hit back to go even quicker. The Australian stormed his way to a 1:53.183 to finish 0.080s ahead, making that a new – although unofficial, since it’s testing – lap record. Maverick Viñales made it two Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP bikes inside the top three in P3, although a couple of tenths further back.
Thankfully for all the riders and teams, the second leg of the Qatar Test was greeted by the best weather conditions we’ve seen since the paddock landed in Doha. The wind wasn’t causing issues, the sun was shining before setting and the riders were raring to get going again after two days on the sidelines.
At Ducati, Miller stole the headlines once again but after seeing the factory riders testing the intriguing new Ducati aero, Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) was giving it a whirl on Wednesday. Judging by the timesheets – although not all his laps were with the new package – the Frenchman was feeling good as he slotted into fourth overall with exactly the same laptime as Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda Team). Zarco was “pretty happy” with the progress being made, and the Frenchman added that the GP21 has “huge potential” – promising signs for the Bologna factory.
Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) ended Day 3 in P9 as the third fastest Desmosedici rider on track, putting in 51 laps as he ended the day 1.053s off Miller’s time. Bagnaia was concentrating on his longer run pace and made a big step compared to the first two days of testing; pleased with his work on Wednesday.
A little further down the ranks, Enea Bastianini (Avintia Esponsorama Racing) was the fastest rookie in P14, finishing ahead of Alex Marquez (LCR Honda Castrol), Stefan Bradl (Honda Test Team) and Danilo Petrucci (Tech3 KTM Factory Racing) – impressive to say the least. The reigning Moto2™ World Champion was also just 0.120s behind nine-time World Champion Valentino Rossi (Petronas Yamaha SRT) and is settling into MotoGP™ life very well indeed.
The other two Ducati-riding rookies are looking great too. Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing) improved his previous best time by half a second and has been checking Miller and Zarco’s data, confirming that in “three or four corners” he could immediately go faster. Martin placed P19 with a 1:55.010, with Luca Marini (Sky VR46 Avintia) only three tenths behind Martin in P22.
In the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP camp, a new mudguard and front fork covers were getting put through their paces. Both Quartararo and Viñales were also doing back-to-back runs on the new and old chassis to get some final confirmation on whether any improvements have been made. The factory duo finished P2 and P3, with Viñales completing the most laps of anyone on Day 3. The Spaniard did suffer a crash at Turn 1 but rider ok, and he was also doing plenty of practice starts at the end of pitlane so it was a busy day.
Petronas Yamaha SRT’s Franco Morbidelli and Valentino Rossi both finished outside the top 10 as the Italians ended the day 1.1 and 1.4 seconds adrift of the best time, respectively, but the focus was not time attacks. Rossi’s main concern was the rear grip previously, and The Doctor said that the new chassis was much closer to the 2020 one, rather than the 2019 one.
Meanwhile, Pol Espargaro’s adaptation to the Honda continues to be seamless. The Spaniard was leading the way at midday and eventually snuck into the 1:53s on just his third day on the RC213V. The number 44 is already only half a second shy of Marc Marquez’s official all-time lap record in Qatar. The new Repsol Honda kid on the block was also seen using Honda’s carbon bonded chassis and that could point towards that being chosen as the way forward. All in all, 53 laps were completed by Pol Espargaro on Day 3.
On the other side of the Repsol-liveried garage, Stefan Bradl’s day ended early after a crash at Turn 2 left the German with some pain in his neck. LCR Honda Idemitsu’s Takaaki Nakagami also crashed, as did LCR Honda Castrol’s Alex Marquez, making it seven crashes between them in the Qatar Test. Nakagami was the quicker of the two and snuck into the top 10 though, and on a day where he tested some new items. The Japanese rider reported that they were working very well in some areas but that more time is needed, in his opinion, to confirm which chassis is the one to go with. He has a “much better” feeling on the bike than on Saturday and Sunday. Teammate Alex Marquez finished P15 on the timesheets.
Aleix Espargaro and Aprilia Racing Team Gresini once again ended the day towards the summit. The all-new RS-GP in the hands of the Spaniard ended the day P6, although the number 41 completed the lowest number of laps of any full-time rider – 31. A couple of technical issues and a small crash on new tyres hampered his day, and he’s hoping for fewer problems tomorrow to complete the programme and do a race simulation. MotoGP™ rookie Lorenzo Savadori completed 39 laps to finish the day 25th, another day of valuable track time for the Italian.
Down at World Champions Team Suzuki Ecstar, we saw an extra set of fairings on the side of their bikes, with Joan Mir and Alex Rins claiming P7 and P8 on the timesheets. Between them, 120 laps were put in by the 2021 GSX-RR as the Hamamatsu factory continue to rattle through their busy testing schedule in Qatar. The big focus so far has been a new chassis and we’re still no nearer to knowing whether Suzuki have fixed their main 2020 Achilles heel – one-lap pace. Will Thursday and Friday welcome some time-attacks?
Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), meanwhile, was the leading KTM rider once again in P12. The gap between the Portuguese rider and Miller’s time was 1.343s and it’s fair to say it’s been a quiet test for the Austrian factory so far at the Losail International Circuit, with no hand shown. Oliveira’s teammate Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) also suffered another crash at Turn 2, although he said he had started to get back a better feeling and just “seemed to be washing the front”. The South African was P20 but said the team have a good direction to work in. A new swingarm and mudguard – that test rider and MotoGP™ Legend Dani Pedrosa has been testing – has been spotted on Binder’s bike, with the KTM runners also using the new, skinnier fairing once again.
Tech3 KTM Factory Racing’s Danilo Petrucci and Iker Lecuona were P17 and P21 on the timesheets respectively, with Lecuona suffering a small crash at Turn 2 early doors. Lecuona is expecting Thursday will be better and admits he need more time with the bike, but the Spaniard has tried many new parts during the test. And, whilst not a rookie, Lecuona’s first season was the shorter-than-normal 2020, so he’s still lacking the normal experience by this stage – as is Binder, despite taking KTM’s first premier class win in 2020.
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A new circuit joins WorldSBK 2021 Calendar
The Circuito de Navarra will make its debut on the WorldSBK calendar, while the Aragon Round becomes season opener due to Estoril postponement.
9 March 2021: Due to ongoing local restrictions the FIM and Dorna WSBK Organization (DWO) confirm updates to the 2021 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship, for what is set to be an exceptional season.
Following a further modification to the 2021 season, a new circuit will join the calendar as the Circuito de Navarra becomes the fifth Round of the 2021 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship. Located in Los Arcos, in the north of Spain, the Circuito de Navarra was opened in 2010 and has already hosted events for both national and international level competition. The Spanish circuit will host, from the 20th to the 22nd of August, WorldSBK and WorldSSP classes.
MotorLand Aragon will now host the opening Round of the 2021 calendar from the 21st to the 23rd of May, due to the postponement of the Estoril Round, initially scheduled to be held from the 7th to 9th of May. All parties involved are working hard to confirm a new date for the event.
With the Supported Test at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya taking place in less than a month, the FIM and Dorna WSBK Organization are constantly working with Government Officials and Circuits in order to continue putting everyone’s safety first. Any further updates to the 2021 WorldSBK calendar will be communicated accordingly.
WorldSBK Calendar 2021
# Date Country Circuit SBK SSP SSP300 1 21-23 May 2021 Spain MotorLand Aragón x x x 2 11-13 June Italy Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli” x x x 3 2-4 July UK Donington Park x Nil Nil 4 23-25 July Netherlands TT Circuit Assen x x x 5 20–22 August Spain Circuito de Navarra x x Nil 6 3-5 September France Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours x x x 7 17-19 September Spain Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya x x x 8 24-26 September Spain Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto x x x 9 1-3 October Portugal Autódromo Internacional do Algarve x x x 10 15–17 October Argentina Circuito San Juan Villicum x x Nil 11 12–14 November Indonesia Mandalika International Street Circuit*** x x Nil 12 TBA**** Australia Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit** x x Nil 13 TBA**** Portugal Circuito Estoril** x x Nil ends/9March2021
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Jehan Daruvala post second fastest time in the afternoon
Sakhir, 9 March 2021: Red Bull Junior driver and ace Indian star Jehan Daruvala of Carlin team finished in the top-two in the afternoon session clocking the second fastest time on the second day of the F2 test here on Tuesday. He put in a very useful 71 laps in both the sessions together to get mileage in the 2021 car.
ART Grand Prix’s Christian Lundgaard continued his strong start to pre-season testing, following up second place on Day 1 with the fastest time on Day 2. The Alpine junior set the quickest lap of the tests so far in the morning session, his time of 1:41.697 more than three tenths faster than Trident rookie Bent Viscaal in second.
MORNING
Lundgaard’s name was a familiar presence at the top of the timesheets in the morning as the ART ace kicked into gear and swiftly set the fastest of the opening laps. The Dane’s time of 1:43.514 was just the start as he later cemented his position in P1 with the only sub-1m 42s lap of the morning.
There was a brief stoppage between those two laps as Alessio Deledda was forced to pull over at the final corner with mechanical issues. When things got back underway, Théo Pourchaire managed to climb as high as third, before falling to seventh as he begun a programme of long runs.
Fellow rookie Viscaal managed one better than his former Formula 3 rival, sneaking into second behind Lundgaard towards the midway point of the session. The Dutchman is desperate to impress those at Trident, in the hope of extending his current one-round deal at the Italian side, and did his chances no harm with a solid stint, lapping at 1:42.697.
Marcus Armstrong was looking more at home with DAMS on the second morning, bettering his P9 finish on Monday morning by breaking into the top three, just one hundredth off the marker for P2. The Kiwi’s Ferrari junior rival Robert Shwarztman was in and amongst it himself, breaking into the top five for the first time this pre-season.
Two of Red Bull’s hopes for the 2021 season, Liam Lawson and Jüri Vips, both made the top 10 with Hitech Grand Prix, sandwiching Shwarztman in fourth and sixth. Roy Nissany, Oscar Piastri and Marino Sato completed the top 10 as the drivers headed in for lunch.
AFTERNOON
With a number of teams getting in a qualifying simulation during the morning session, attention was focused on longer-runs and data gathering in the afternoon. Just 13 cars headed out when the lights went green, with Guilherme Samaia running the fastest of these.
A red flag disrupted the running after Gianluca Petecof stopped at Turn 13, before action resumed and the remainder of the field headed out for a taste of the track. Times were still well below the morning, as Richard Verschoor set the standard at 1:45.018. The Dutchman did manage to improve with a lap of 1:44.051, before dropping down to seventh.
There were two further red flags during the afternoon, with Lawson and Guanyu Zhou both stopping on track. Both managed to get back out there, with Zhou recovering to finish third.
A flurry of final laps when saw Dan Ticktum take control of the timesheet, breaking the 1m 44s barrier to go first. His Carlin teammate Jehan Daruvala followed suit, but couldn’t quite match the Briton’s effort, missing out on by just 0.003s.
Samaia found the time for a late lap to take him as high as fourth, ahead of Felipe Drugovich and Ralph Boschung. Petecof recovered from his earlier struggles to break into the top 10 and finish the afternoon in eighth, despite lapping just 10 times. Day 1’s top driver, David Beckmann finished ninth, as Bent Viscaal completed the top 10.
We’ll be back for Day 3 on Wednesday at 9am (local time).
2021 FIA FORMULA 2 CHAMPIONSHIP – PRE-SEASON TESTS, DAY 2, MORNING SESSION
DRIVER TEAM LAPTIME LAPS 1 Christian Lundgaard ART Grand Prix 1:41.697 39 2 Bent Viscaal Trident 1:42.028 28 3 Marcus Armstrong DAMS 1:42.038 26 4 Liam Lawson Hitech Grand Prix 1:42.256 28 5 Robert Shwartzman PREMA Racing 1:42.257 27 6 Jüri Vips Hitech Grand Prix 1:42.299 22 7 Théo Pourchaire ART Grand Prix 1:42.347 42 8 Roy Nissany DAMS 1:42.419 31 9 Oscar Piastri PREMA Racing 1:42.462 32 10 Marino Sato Trident 1:42.997 27 11 Dan Ticktum Carlin 1:43.158 35 12 Ralph Boschung Campos Racing 1:43.206 40 13 Jehan Daruvala Carlin 1:43.616 35 14 David Beckmann Charouz Racing System 1:43.954 48 15 Guanyu Zhou UNI-Virtuosi 1:43.997 38 16 Lirim Zendeli MP Motorsport 1:44.346 31 17 Richard Verschoor MP Motorsport 1:44.485 31 18 Guilherme Samaia Charouz Racing System 1:44.575 50 19 Gianluca Petecof Campos Racing 1:45.419 33 20 Felipe Drugovich UNI-Virtuosi 1:45.865 46 21 Matteo Nannini HWA RACELAB 1:45.865 20 22 Alessio Deledda HWA RACELAB 1:46.413 13 2021 FIA FORMULA 2 CHAMPIONSHIP – PRE-SEASON TESTS, DAY 2, AFTERNOON SESSION
DRIVER TEAM LAPTIME LAPS 1 Dan Ticktum Carlin 1:42.185 36 2 Jehan Daruvala Carlin 1:42.619 36 3 Guanyu Zhou UNI-Virtuosi 1:43.114 30 4 Guilherme Samaia Charouz Racing System 1:43.129 40 5 Felipe Drugovich UNI-Virtuosi 1:43.194 34 6 Ralph Boschung Campos Racing 1:44.320 25 7 Richard Verschoor MP Motorsport 1:44.335 20 8 Gianluca Petecof Campos Racing 1:44.569 10 9 David Beckmann Charouz Racing System 1:44.640 19 10 Bent Viscaal Trident 1:44.879 42 11 Lirim Zendeli MP Motorsport 1:45.052 21 12 Christian Lundgaard ART Grand Prix 1:46.913 45 13 Théo Pourchaire ART Grand Prix 1:47.429 47 14 Jüri Vips Hitech Grand Prix 1:47.497 47 15 Robert Shwartzman PREMA Racing 1:47.614 33 16 Marcus Armstrong DAMS 1:47.900 44 17 Alessio Deledda HWA RACELAB 1:47.904 30 18 Liam Lawson Hitech Grand Prix 1:48.814 39 19 Roy Nissany DAMS 1:48.974 42 20 Marino Sato Trident 1:49.501 30 21 Oscar Piastri PREMA Racing 1:49.824 32 22 Matteo Nannini HWA RACELAB 1:50.445 18 -
Abhishek stripped of 2020 TVS OMC title: IMSAC ruling
Chennai, 9 March 2021: Bengaluru rider Abhishek Vasudevamurthy, winner of the TVS One-Make Championship 2020 (RR310 category), has been stripped of his title in addition to the penalties imposed by Race Direction for his “unsportsman-like act” in the season-finale race last December.
The penalty is in accordance with the ruling by a three-member Indian Motor Sport Appellate Court (IMSAC) panel comprising Senior Advocates Silambannan (Chairman) and PR Raman (Member), and J Balamurugan, Chairman, FMSCI Disciplinary Committee (Member), after a hearing, attended among others, by Abhishek via Zoom Video Conferencing, on February 13.
In its ruling, IMSAC said: “Mr Abhishek Vasudevamurthy, competitor No.12 in the FMSCI TVS One-Make Championship 2020, be divested of his 2020 Championship title in the said Championship. The other penalties awarded by the Race Direction shall remain in force.”
The IMSAC hearing and subsequent ruling was a consequence of an incident in the eighth and final race of the TVS One Make Championship 2020 at the MMRT on December 20. On the start-finish straight, Abhishek grabbed and depressed the brake lever of fellow-competitor Anup Kumar (Chennai). Incidentally, Abhishek had already sealed the championship going into the final race.
After the race, the Race Direction summoned Abhishek for a hearing, following which docked him a fine of Rs 30,000 besides disqualifying him from the race. Further, under the provision in the FMSCI Disciplinary and Arbitration Code, the Race Direction referred the matter to IMSAC, recommending a minimum ban on Abhishek for one round of the next Championship he takes part in.
During his virtual disposition to IMSAC, Abhishek stated that he had apologised after the race for his action and accepted Race Direction’s decision (disqualification and monetary fine) while preferring not to appeal. During the hearing, Abhishek also conceded that “the worst-case outcome of the incident could have been one or more fatalities and accepted that it was a serious breach”.
After viewing the video recording of the incident and due deliberations, IMSAC observed that “the incident was a very serious and unsportsman-like act on part of the competitor (Abhishek) and that it deserved exemplary and deterrent penalty so that such actions are not repeated by him or by others in the future”.
