INDIA in F1

Category: Indians Abroad

News about Indians racing in different motorsports events abroad

  • Maiden feature race win for Ghiotto; Arjun Maini 12th: F2

    Silverstone, 13 July 2019: Luca Ghiotto continued his return to form in the FIA Formula 2 Championship, following up his double podium placing at Spielberg, with his first ever Feature Race win. The UNI-Virtuosi man came out on top of a fierce battle with rival Nicholas Latifi, before building up a solid 5s gap ahead of the DAMS man, and third placed teammate Guanyu Zhou.
    Indian racer Arjun Maini of Campos Racing could only finish 12th.
    The Italian went wheel-to-wheel with his polesitting teammate when the lights went out and eventually cemented P1 at the end of Turn 2, edging ahead of Zhou. It was just as tight between the two DAMS behind him, as Sérgio Sette Câmara and Latifi battled it out for third.
    Nobuharu Matsushita leapt to sixth at the start, slipping through the middle of Nyck de Vries, Callum Ilott and Jack Aitken. The session was briefly yellow flagged as returnee Dorian Boccolacci stopped off track and was forced into retirement.
    When racing resumed, Latifi launched ahead of his teammate at Becketts for third, while Ghiotto stretched his lead over Zhou to a still narrow 0.7s. Latifi’s tussle for first would begin shortly after, as he made light work of the Chinese racer for P2 and ducked into the pits for a change of tyre.
    The race leader pitted a lap later and returned just inches ahead of the Canadian in fifth, who had already warmed his rubber. The pair narrowly avoided a tangle when the DAMS’ driver bumped the back of the UNI-Virtuosi but they were able to retain control.
    Ghiotto locked up at Brooklands upon their return to full speed, which allowed Latifi to make a move down the inside and lunge ahead. The Italian looked blisteringly quick all weekend though and began to eat back into the gap once his tyres got up to temperature. Eventually, he was able to slip down the inside of Latifi and reclaim the positon at Stowe.
    On the alternate strategy, Nikita Mazepin and Tatiana Calderón were thrust to the front of the field and were battling to gain an advantage ahead of their late stop. Ghiotto dipped between the duo for P2 and put some breathing space between himself and Latifi.
    Further back, Aitken had managed to recover from his slow start and rise as high as sixth ahead of Louis Delétraz, Ilott and Matsushita. The British driver could clearly sniff further points and arrowed in on Championship leader De Vries. Getting within DRS range, he flung his car down the inside of the Dutchman and made the move stick going into Turn 3.
    This would be the last course of action as Ghiotto closed out his first win since Bahrain back in March, having amassed a strong 5s lead over Latifi. He swept through ahead of the Canadian, who was followed by the second UNI-Virtuosi of Zhou. Sette Câmara ran through next for an all UNI-Virtuosi and DAMS front four, ahead of Aitken in fifth. De Vries, Delétraz, Ilott, Matsushita and Jordan King completed the top ten.
    De Vries retains control of the driver’s Championship on 160 points, ahead of Latifi on 133. Ghiotto moves up to third with 122 points, one ahead of Sette Câmara in fourth. Zhou completed the top five on 104. In the team’s Championship, DAMS are still in control on 154 points, ahead of UNI-Virtuosi on 226. ART Grand Prix are third on 166, ahead of Campos Racing on 126 and Carlin on 111.
    Local hero Callum Ilott will start on reverse grid pole in tomorrow’s Sprint Race at Silverstone and will look to earn his first race win in front of a home crowd.
    2019 FIA Formula 2 Championship – Round 7 Feature Race Classification
    DRIVER
    TEAM
    1
    Luca Ghiotto
    UNI-Virtuosi Racing
    2
    Nicholas Latifi
    DAMS
    3
    Guanyu Zhou
    UNI-Virtuosi Racing
    4
    Sergio Sette Câmara
    DAMS
    5
    Jack Aitken
    Campos Racing
    6
    Nyck De Vries
    ART Grand Prix
    7
    Louis Delétraz
    Carlin
    8
    Callum Ilott
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    9
    Nobuharu Matsushita
    Carlin
    10
    Jordan King
    MP Motorsport
    11
    Mick Schumacher
    PREMA Racing
    12
    Arjun Maini
    Campos Racing
    13
    Juan Manuel Correa
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    14
    Tatiana Calderón
    BWT Arden
    15
    Mahaveer Raghunathan
    MP Motorsport
    16
    Nikita Mazepin
    ART Grand Prix
    17
    Giuliano Alesi
    Trident
    18
    Anthoine Hubert
    BWT Arden
    NOT CLASSIFIED
    Dorian Boccolacci
    Trident
    OVERALL FASTEST LAP
    Sergio Sette Câmara (DAMS) – 1:40.858 on Lap 24
    FASTEST LAP ELIGIBLE FOR POINTS
    Sergio Sette Câmara (DAMS)
  • Championship lead is a big boost, but I want to win races, says Daruvala

    Championship lead is a big boost, but I want to win races, says Daruvala

    THOUGHTS FROM VIPS, DARUVALA AND ARMSTRONG

    Jehan Daruvala (left) at the FIA post-race F3 press meet on Saturday. An FIA image

    FIA Formula 3: Hello and welcome to today’s FIA Formula 3 press conference following Race 1 here at Silverstone. Joining us today we have our top three finishers from the opening race – our race winner Jüri Vips from Hitech Grand Prix, in second place Jehan Daruvala from PREMA Racing and in third place Marcus Armstrong from PREMA Racing. Jüri congratulations. A magnificent lights to flag victory out there today, highlighted by a really intense fight with Jehan at the front of the field. Could you talk us through that battle with him and some of the defensive moves?

    Jüri Vips: I think I was struggling with my rear tyres a bit more than them through the whole race so first of all it was almost impossible to break the DRS without safety cars and everything. It was tough in the corners, very tough, and I really had to defend and fight for the victory but in the end I’m really happy that I got it. I’m really happy at the progress we’re all making, myself and Hitech, to start putting these weekends together and really have a clear direction on how to close the gap to the PREMA drivers. I’m really happy.

    FIA Formula 3: The safety car towards the end of the race cooled the battle down a little bit but it set things up for a final sprint to the flag. How did you deal with that? I guess it was quite an intense pressure towards the end?

    Jüri: Yeah. I think I did a better job with warming up the tyres and I think the safety car also kind of saved me because I got to cool down my rear tyres which were much hotter than the PREMA drivers behind me. I think that helped me to win and the tyres were a bit more ready, especially the front tyres at the safety car restart. I managed to pull a little gap in the last few laps and I don’t think Jehan got to attack after the safety car so that was good.

    FIA Formula 3: Congratulations. Jehan moving on to you now. Another podium finish and a hard fought race. Could we get your view of the fight with Jüri out there?

    Jehan Daruvala: It was a good battle. All race long I was close but just not close enough when I was catching him right at the end of the straight with the DRS. The virtual safety car was disappointing because that was the closest I was all race when coming out of Maggotts and Becketts. I thought that would be my best opportunity to overtake him but in the end, after the virtual safety car, I could stay within his DRS but I think he was pretty clever when he was in Maggotts and Becketts making sure he was always fast on the exit. Then we’d come close in the middle but I didn’t really have enough downforce on the last part of the circuit. He drove well. He didn’t really make any mistakes apart from one on the opening lap where he went off in Maggotts Becketts but he had a safe gap at that point. To be honest the car was great, I could follow him a bit better than I thought in all the corners except the most crucial corner.

    FIA Formula 3: Another podium though, and that puts you into the lead of the Drivers’ Championship now. How much of a boost has this recent run of podiums and high finishes been for you?

    Jehan: It is a boost, but like I said yesterday my main focus was to win the race. I wasn’t thinking at any time that I wanted to finish second even though I knew Robert was sixth at one point. Obviously, I’m fighting Jüri and Marcus for the championship as well so my goal was to try and take the lead. I tried a couple of times but his defence was quite strong.

    FIA Formula 3: Well done today. Marcus moving on to you now. You recovered after dropping off the front row at the start to get into that fight for the lead at one point, how much did that safety car stump your charge? You were so close but did it pull you back a little bit?

    Marcus Armstrong: Yeah. As a whole it’s a bit of a disappointing race. The start was strange. I sort of had a shocking launch and everyone just went past me. To be honest I wasn’t too worried at the time because I knew that we had the pace. Obviously quali was quite strong so it wasn’t the end of the world. Once I got past [Christian] Lundgaard quite early in the race it was clear that the car was good and the pace was strong. Then I think there was a VSC straight after that just as I was starting to get on the back of these guys. I think the two, the virtual safety car and the safety car, was not ideal for me just because it kept, as you say, stunting the momentum that I had. In saying that it is difficult to overtake once you arrive to the front two. As Jehan said, Jüri’s not making many mistakes and obviously Jehan’s not making many mistakes, so it was never going to be an easy fight to get past.

    FIA Formula 3: We spoke yesterday about it possibly being a race of management out there, how did that match up with your expectations?

    Marcus: It wasn’t mental. It’s pretty cold outside so it wasn’t dramatic. In the end I don’t think I’d do anything differently. It was quite a predictable race which is not what I expected yesterday.

    FIA Formula 3: Well done on your result. Jüri back to you now. You received high praise from both of your fellow drivers here, how much are you enjoying this fight against PREMA? It’s a really intense battle that we’re seeing at the front of the championship right now.

    Jüri: The first few races not so much because the battle for the championship didn’t look so good then, but I’m really happy with how things went at the Red Bull Ring. We put a very strong weekend together and I know we still have Race 2 to go but this is also looking like a very strong weekend, or maybe even better because we got pole position as well. There’s still little things to improve, the pace wasn’t as good as I wanted, but I need to check the data and improve for Race 2 because tomorrow will also be very crucial to make up as many positions as possible and gain as many points on these two as possible to close the gap in the championship. That’s my aim.

  • Jehan Daruvala settles for second after a daring drive: F3 Race 1

    Jehan Daruvala settles for second after a daring drive: F3 Race 1

    Jehan Daruvala (PREMA Racing), Juri Vips (Hitech Grand Prix), Marcus Armstrong (PREMA Racing) at the F3 podium on Saturday. An F3 image

    Silverstone, 13 July 2019: Ace Indian driver Jehan Daruvala of Prema Racing, made a valiant attempt to force a win, but superb defending by Red Bull Junior Juri Vips of Hitech Grand Prix team saw him take a well-deserved win ahead of the Prema duo of Daruvala and championship leader Marcus Armstrong in the  FIA Formula 3 Race 1, a support event at the British Grand Prix weekend at the iconic Silverstone circuit here on Saturday. Daruvala, thus gained his fifth podium of the season and has now taken the championship lead with 102 points. He will start on P7 for the shorter Sprint race on Sunday at 1.05 IST

    Jüri Vips produced a defensive masterclass at Silverstone to keep the relentless Jehan Daruvala behind him and drive a lights-to-flag victory in the FIA Formula 3 Race 1. The Hitech Grand Prix man survived several overtake attempts from the pacey PREMA to retain the position come the chequered flag. The duo were followed by the second PREMA of Marcus Armstrong in third.
    Courtesy Twitter @DaruvalaJehan

    There was a frantic start when the lights went out, as Vips dashed in front of Armstrong to hold onto pole and race ahead. In his attempts to take first, the Kiwi dropped between both Daruvala and Christian Lundgaard, who took advantage of his focus on Vips.

    Armstrong managed to regain the place from Lundgaard at the second corner, who was thrust into a battle with Leonardo Pulcini. The Italian initially cut around the right of the ART man, who dropped back and sprinted around his left to regain fourth.
    Meanwhile, the third PREMA of Robert Shwartzman had fallen as far as 13th after a slow start, but wrestled his way back to his starting position of sixth within the first tour of Silverstone.
    Armstrong and Lundgaard were still locked in wall-to-wall combat for third around the tight twists of the circuit, before the Kiwi was given some respite when debutant Federico Malvestiti stopped on track and brought out a virtual safety car.
    Back out in front, Daruvala attempted a daring lunge on the race leader when action resumed, but Vips defended gallantly going into the corner to hold onto P1. The Indian driver made a second attempt just a few minutes later, but once again fell foul to the defensive abilities of the Hitech racer, who held on, despite nearly kissing tyres.
    The battle was far from over and the gap remained under a second, but Vips refused to waver. His persistent change of racing line was breaking Daruvala’s tow and keeping him in behind. The PREMA man’s third attempt was his closest as the duo went wheel-to-wheel, but Vips edged him around the corner and once again, they nearly kissed tyres as the PREMA man was forced to ease off.
    Having fought so hard for first, the Indian was suddenly plunged into a fight for P2 after he wobbled around a corner and briefly cruised off track. Armstrong dove down the side and the pair went wheel-to-wheel. Still within a second of Vips, Daruvala was aided by DRS and managed to cling on.
    Further back, Raoul Hyman was flung off track and bumped the barriers. His attempts to get restarted were in vein and eventually he was forced out of his car, bringing out a safety car.
    Five laps remained when the safety car dove back into the pits and Vips made a superb getaway, while Daruvala made a poor one. The Estonian quickly built up a 1s gap and was out of DRS range, with Daruvala now concentrating on the Kiwi teammate in his shadow.
    The safety car had bridged the gap between Piquet and Shwartzman, but traffic was crushing his efforts to overtake. Spotting the Trident in his rear view, the PREMA picked up pace and made a move on Lundgaard, slickly sweeping down his left.
    Vips had put air between himself and Daruvala, who was now locked in a three-way battle with Armstrong and Pulcini for the final podium places. They would all hold on come the chequered flag, as Vips ran ahead of Daruvala and Armstrong, with Pulcini in fourth, for the first lights-to-flag victory of the campaign.
    Shwartzman completed the top five following his move on Lundgaard, while Piquet stole sixth at the death. The ART man was forced to settle for seventh, ahead of Liam Lawson, Jake Hughes and Alex Peroni.
    Daruvala’s P2 finish was enough to haul him into the Championship lead on 100 points, two ahead of teammate Shwartzman. Vips is third on 92, followed by Armstrong on 69 and Piquet on 43. PREMA lead the team’s standings with 226 points, ahead of ART Grand Prix on 76. Hitech Grand Prix are third with 71 points, followed by Trident on 50 and HWA RACELAB on 35.
    The grid’s youngest driver Liam Lawson will start on reverse pole in Race 2 tomorrow, which takes place at 1.05pm IST, 8.35am local time.
    2019 FIA Formula 3 Championship – Round 4 Race 1 classification
    DRIVER
    TEAM
    1
    Juri Vips
    Hitech Grand Prix
    2
    Jehan Daruvala
    PREMA Racing
    3
    Marcus Armstrong
    PREMA Racing
    4
    Leonardo Pulcini
    Hitech Grand Prix
    5
    Robert Shwartzman
    PREMA Racing
    6
    Pedro Piquet
    Trident
    7
    Christian Lundgaard
    ART Grand Prix
    8
    Liam Lawson
    MP Motorsport
    9
    Jake Hughes
    HWA RACELAB
    10
    Alex Peroni
    Campos Racing
    11
    David Beckmann
    ART Grand Prix
    12
    Ye Yifei
    Hitech Grand Prix
    13
    Felipe Drugovich
    Carlin Buzz Racing
    14
    Yuki Tsunoda
    Jenzer Motorsport
    15
    Lirim Zendeli
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    16
    Fabio Scherer
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    17
    Richard Verschoor
    MP Motorsport
    18
    Niko Kari
    Trident
    19
    Max Fewtrell
    ART Grand Prix
    20
    Sebastian Fernandez
    Campos Racing
    21
    Keyvan Andres
    HWA RACELAB
    22
    Bent Viscaal
    HWA RACELAB
    23
    Andreas Estner
    Jenzer Motorsport
    24
    Simo Laaksonen
    MP Motorsport
    25
    Teppei Natori
    Carlin Buzz Racing
    26
    Logan Sargeant
    Carlin Buzz Racing
    27
    Devlin DeFrancesco
    Trident
    NOT CLASSIFIED
    Raoul Hyman
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    Federico Malvestiti
    Jenzer Motorsport
    Alessio Deledda
    Campos Racing
    OVERALL FASTEST LAP
    Logan Sargeant (Carlin Buzz Racing) – 1:45.692 on Lap 16
    FASTEST LAP ELIGIBLE FOR POINTS
    Jehan Daruvala (PREMA Racing) – 1:45.698 on Lap 17

  • UNI-Virtuosi’s Guanyu Zhou scored his first ever pole; Arjun Maini P14: F2

    Silverstone, 12 July 2019: UNI-Virtuosi’s Guanyu Zhou scored his first ever pole position in the FIA Formula 2 Championship, and the first this season for a rookie, at Silverstone in Round 7. The team followed up P1 in Free Practice to score a front-row lock-out, with Luca Ghiotto following his teammate in second and Dams’ Sérgio Sette Câmara nabbing third.
    Louis Delétraz was the first out onto a cool Silverstone circuit, but it was DAMS who were hottest in the early exchanges, when Sette Câmara and Nicholas Latifi claimed P1 and P2. Their time at the top was short lived, as UNI-Virtuosi continued to show their searing speed in Round 7. No sooner had Ghiotto taken provisional pole, had his teammate Zhou stolen in.
    The duo remained at the top of the pile as everyone returned for fresh rubber. Mick Schumacher attempted to replicate Anthoine Hubert’s strategy in Austria by diving out of the pits early and hitting an empty track, however, his flying lap was disrupted by traffic as others also returned ahead of time.
    This ensured Zhou retained his control of pole going into the final five minutes. The Chinese racer held just a 0.012s lead over Ghiotto, who clearly had the pace to mount a challenge. Neither of the DAMS could topple them on their final laps and were forced to settle for third and fourth.
    With time nearly out, Ghiotto had set a purple first sector on his final tour of the circuit, but a wobble towards the end of his lap cost him valuable time and ensured Zhou secured his first pole position in the Championship. The pair were followed by Sette Câmara, Latifi and Delétraz. Callum Ilott, Nyck De Vries, Jack Aitken, Nobuharu Matsushita and Hubert completed the top ten.
    UNI-Virtuosi will aim to continue their British dominance during tomorrow’s Feature Race, which begins at 3.45pm local time.
    2019 FIA Formula 2 Championship – Round 7 Qualifying classification
    DRIVER
    TEAM
    LAPTIME
    LAPS
    1
    Guanyu Zhou
    UNI-Virtuosi Racing
    1:38.182
    11
    2
    Luca Ghiotto
    UNI-Virtuosi Racing
    1:38.410
    11
    3
    Sérgio Sette Câmara
    DAMS
    1:38.511
    11
    4
    Nicholas Latifi
    DAMS
    1:38.519
    10
    5
    Louis Deletraz
    Carlin
    1:38.547
    11
    6
    Callum Ilott
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    1:38.549
    10
    7
    Nyck De Vries
    ART Grand Prix
    1:38.613
    12
    8
    Jack Aitken
    Campos Racing
    1:38.686
    11
    9
    Nobuharu Matsushita
    Carlin
    1:38.877
    11
    10
    Anthoine Hubert
    BWT Arden
    1:39.046
    11
    11
    Juan Manuel Correa
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    1:39.071
    11
    12
    Jordan King
    MP Motorsport
    1:39.225
    11
    13
    Mick Schumacher
    PREMA Racing
    1:39.227
    12
    14
    Arjun Maini
    Campos Racing
    1:39.512
    12
    15
    Giuliano Alesi
    Trident
    1:39.574
    10
    16
    Nikita Mazepin
    ART Grand Prix
    1:39.615
    12
    17
    Dorian Boccolacci
    Trident
    1:39.622
    12
    18
    Sean Gelael
    PREMA Racing
    1:39.790
    11
    19
    Tatiana Calderon
    BWT Arden
    1:40.530
    12
    20
    Mahaveer Raghunathan
    MP Motorsport
    1:41.725
    11
  • Jehan Daruvala claims P3 for Race 1, looks forward to a good fight: F3

    Jehan Daruvala claims P3 for Race 1, looks forward to a good fight: F3

    Jehan Daruvala after qualifying P3 on Friday at Silverstone. Photos: Twitter @DaruvalaJehan

    Silverstone, 12 July 2019: Indian race driver Jehan Daruvala missed the pole by a whisker after a late charge by Jüri Vips in his last lap put the Hitech Grand Prix team on top and he fetched his first F3 pole position, during an intense final few minutes of FIA Formula 3 Qualifying here on Friday.

    No fewer than five drivers held first in the final 90 seconds of the session, but Vips came out on top ahead of PREMA duo Marcus Armstrong and Jehan Daruvala.
    The Championship leaders were the ones to beat at the start of the session, with Armstrong and Daruvala comfortably lapping quickest early on. Vips and Max Fewtrell soon got up to speed and were able to usurp the in-form pair.
    Armstrong was on the hunt for his second pole this season in as many rounds and reclaimed P1 as the cars began to feed back into the pit lane at the halfway stage.  Liam Lawson nipped out ahead of everyone and pocketed P2 with the track to himself, but the Kiwi was pushed back down the order when the track filled up again.
    Vips exchanged fastest laps with Niko Kari heading into the final minutes of the session, before Qualifying quickly heated up. Pedro Piquet stole P1 from the clutches of Vips with 90 seconds left on the clock, but was soon usurped by Robert Shwartzman and then Armstrong.
    The Estonian had enough in the tank to return the favour and jumped back ahead to seal first, followed by Armstrong and Daruvala. Christian Lundgaard and Leonardo Pulcini completed the top five, ahead of Shwartzman, Lawson, Piquet, Fabio Scherer and Ye Yifei.
    Jehan will be aiming for a podium finish if not a win and looking forward for a good fight in Race 1 tomorrow, at 2.05iST. Local time: 9.25am
    FIA Formula 3 Championship – Round 4 Qualifying classification
    DRIVER
    TEAM
    LAPTIME
    LAPS
    1
    Jüri Vips
    Hitech Grand Prix
    1:43.902
    13
    2
    Marcus Armstrong
    PREMA Racing
    1:43.998
    11
    3
    Jehan Daruvala
    PREMA Racing
    1:44.014
    11
    4
    Christian Lundgaard
    ART Grand Prix
    1:44.073
    12
    5
    Leonardo Pulcini
    Hitech Grand Prix
    1:44.139
    12
    6
    Robert Shwartzman
    PREMA Racing
    1:44.218
    11
    7
    Liam Lawson
    MP Motorsport
    1:44.360
    12
    8
    Pedro Piquet
    Trident
    1:44.403
    13
    9
    Fabio Scherer
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    1:44.433
    13
    10
    Ye Yifei
    Hitech Grand Prix
    1:44.461
    12
    11
    Jake Hughes
    HWA RACELAB
    1:44.462
    13
    12
    Niko Kari
    Trident
    1:44.476
    14
    13
    David Beckmann
    ART Grand Prix
    1:44.581
    12
    14
    Max Fewtrell
    ART Grand Prix
    1:44.584
    12
    15
    Raoul Hyman
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    1:44.647
    12
    16
    Logan Sargeant
    Carlin Buzz Racing
    1:44.746
    12
    17
    Lirim Zendeli
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    1:44.756
    13
    18
    Richard Verschoor
    MP Motorsport
    1:44.967
    11
    19
    Sebastian Fernandez
    Campos Racing
    1:44.984
    13
    20
    Felipe Drugovich
    Carlin Buzz Racing
    1:45.020
    12
    21
    Alex Peroni
    Campos Racing
    1:45.088
    13
    22
    Devlin DeFrancesco
    Trident
    1:45.109
    13
    23
    Keyvan Andres
    HWA RACELAB
    1:45.110
    13
    24
    Simo Laaksonen
    MP Motorsport
    1:45.142
    12
    25
    Bent Viscaal
    HWA RACELAB
    1:45.229
    14
    26
    Yuki Tsunoda
    Jenzer Motorsport
    1:45.301
    13
    27
    Andreas Estner
    Jenzer Motorsport
    1:45.435
    13
    28
    Teppei Natori
    Carlin Buzz Racing
    1:45.590
    13
    29
    Federico Malvestiti
    Jenzer Motorsport
    1:46.103
    13
    30
    Alessio Deledda
    Campos Racing
    1:47.068
    13
  • Arjun Maini, 7th fastest in F2 Free Practice; Ghiotto on top at Silverstone

    Arjun Maini, 7th fastest in F2 Free Practice; Ghiotto on top at Silverstone

    Luca Ghiotto (ITA, UNI VIRTUOSI). An F2 image

    Silverstone, 12 July 2019: Indian racer Arjun Maini of Campos Racing clocked the 7th fastest time even as Luca Ghiotto carried his Austrian form into Round 7 to achieve his highest session placing since Barcelona, lapping quickest in FIA Formula 2 Free Practice, at Silverstone. The Italian followed up his pair of podium finishes in Spielberg with P1, ahead of DAMS’ Nicholas Latifi and teammate Guanyu Zhou. The other Indian in the F2 field Mahaveer Raghunathan was 19th for MP Motorsport.

    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz duo Juan Manuel Correa and Callum Ilott set the early pace, immediately going under 1m 43s. The session was then briefly yellow flagged as Sean Gelael and Louis Delétraz made contact around Turn 6, which forced the PREMA man to retire from Free Practice.
    British duo Jack Aitken and Jordan King fleetingly led proceedings, until Nyck De Vries and Sérgio Sette Câmara took turns at the top of the table, before ducking into the pits for a freshen up.
    Ghiotto made the most of an emptying circuit to claim P1 ahead of De Vries and Sette Câmara, with a time of 1:39.166. Jack Aitken and Latifi both made attempts on his time, but neither could match him and settled for second and third.
    With the session coming to a close, the Italian’s teammate Zhou demonstrated the pace of the UNI-Virtuosi machine this weekend and raced round for third place, nestling behind Ghiotto and Latifi. They were followed by Aitken, Sette Câmara and De Vries. Meanwhile, Arjun Maini made a return to the top seven in just his second round this season, beating Delétraz, Nobuharu Matsushita and King.
    Ghiotto will look to continue his resurgence when the cars hit the track for qualifying at 3.55pm local time.
    2019 FIA Formula 2 Championship – Round 7 Free Practice classification
    DRIVER
    TEAM
    LAPTIME
    LAPS
    1
    Luca Ghiotto
    UNI-Virtuosi Racing
    1:39.166
    18
    2
    Nicholas Latifi
    DAMS
    1:39.281
    20
    3
    Guanyu Zhou
    UNI-Virtuosi Racing
    1:39.327
    18
    4
    Jack Aitken
    Campos Racing
    1:39.554
    17
    5
    Sergio Sette Camara
    DAMS
    1:39.622
    20
    6
    Nyck De Vries
    ART Grand Prix
    1:39.692
    22
    7
    Arjun Maini
    Campos Racing
    1:39.899
    20
    8
    Louis Deletraz
    Carlin
    1:40.034
    21
    9
    Nobuharu Matsushita
    Carlin
    1:40.039
    22
    10
    Jordan King
    MP Motorsport
    1:40.062
    21
    11
    Mick Schumacher
    PREMA Racing
    1:40.141
    17
    12
    Nikita Mazepin
    ART Grand Prix
    1:40.154
    21
    13
    Giuliano Alesi
    Trident
    1:40.452
    19
    14
    Callum Ilott
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    1:40.735
    22
    15
    Dorian Boccolacci
    Trident
    1:40.779
    17
    16
    Anthoine Hubert
    BWT Arden
    1:40.789
    21
    17
    Juan Manuel Correa
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    1:40.878
    21
    18
    Tatiana Calderon
    BWT Arden
    1:41.841
    20
    19
    Mahaveer Raghunathan
    MP Motorsport
    1:42.792
    19
    20
    Sean Gelael
    PREMA Racing
    2:00.608
    3

  • Jehan Daruvala clocks 10th fastest time in Friday morning practice: F3

    Silverstone, 12 July 2019: Indian racing sensation Jehan Daruvala of Prema Racing, who is running second in the F3 Championship table, finished 10th on the timesheets in Friday practice even as Max Fewtrell ensured the British race weekend got underway with a countryman on top, lapping quickest around the freshly laid Silverstone circuit to top the times in this morning’s FIA Formula 3 Free Practice.
    The ART Grand Prix man ran ahead of Trident’s Devlin DeFrancesco and teammate David Beckmann, who both secured their highest practice positions of the campaign to date.
    It was the third ART machine which got the session underway, as Christian Lundgaard set the early pace in cool 17-degree temperatures. Fellow Englishman Jake Hughes and Leonardo Pulcini then exchanged places at the top, as the grid warmed up their tyres.
    There was plenty of traffic on track in the opening minutes as the cars got a taste of the new tarmac and PREMA soon took control of the session with Championship leaders Robert Shwartzman and Jehan Daruvala leading the times.
    That was as good as it got for the PREMA duo who quickly dropped down the order. Pulcini and Beckmann began to battle it out in first, but Fewtrell then emerged as the frontrunner in front of his home crowd.
    Ye Yifei briefly claimed first ahead of the ART man, but the latter bounced back by breaking the 1m 46s barrier with just two minutes on the clock. DeFrancesco was able to set a time good enough for second, while Beckmann couldn’t improve on his teammate’s time and nestled in at third ahead of Yifei and Lirim Zendeli. Yuki Tsunoda, Lundgaard, Raoul Hyman, Pulcini and Daruvala completed the top ten.
    Fewtrell will look to keep up his early weekend pace when the cars return to the track for Qualifying at 4.50pm (local time).
    FIA Formula 3 – Silverstone Free Practice classification
    DRIVER
    TEAM
    LAPTIME
    LAPS
    1
    Max Fewtrell
    ART Grand Prix
    1:45.264
    18
    2
    Devlin DeFrancesco
    Trident
    1:45.487
    18
    3
    David Beckmann
    ART Grand Prix
    1:45.583
    19
    4
    Ye Yifei
    Hitech Grand Prix
    1:45.606
    20
    5
    Lirim Zendeli
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    1:45.672
    19
    6
    Yuki Tsunoda
    Jenzer Motorsport
    1:45.779
    20
    7
    Christian Lundgaard
    ART Grand Prix
    1:45.998
    19
    8
    Raoul Hyman
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    1:46.185
    19
    9
    Leonardo Pulcini
    Hitech Grand Prix
    1:46.222
    15
    10
    Jehan Daruvala
    PREMA Racing
    1:46.264
    15
    11
    Fabio Scherer
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    1:46.270
    20
    12
    Robert Shwartzman
    PREMA Racing
    1:46.396
    16
    13
    Felipe Drugovich
    Carlin Buzz Racing
    1:46.428
    17
    14
    Juri Vips
    Hitech Grand Prix
    1:46.553
    17
    15
    Niko Kari
    Trident
    1:46.578
    16
    16
    Pedro Piquet
    Trident
    1:46.681
    16
    17
    Sebastian Fernandez
    Campos Racing
    1:46.743
    18
    18
    Logan Sargeant
    Carlin Buzz Racing
    1:46.767
    17
    19
    Andreas Estner
    Jenzer Motorsport
    1:46.843
    21
    20
    Marcus Armstrong
    PREMA Racing
    1:46.850
    14
    21
    Alex Peroni
    Campos Racing
    1:47.096
    17
    22
    Liam Lawson
    MP Motorsport
    1:47.201
    17
    23
    Simo Laaksonen
    MP Motorsport
    1:47.220
    16
    24
    Richard Verschoor
    MP Motorsport
    1:47.235
    16
    25
    Teppei Natori
    Carlin Buzz Racing
    1:47.477
    18
    26
    Jake Hughes
    HWA RACELAB
    1:47.637
    18
    27
    Federico Malvestiti
    Jenzer Motorsport
    1:47.876
    21
    28
    Keyvan Andres
    HWA RACELAB
    1:48.315
    19
    29
    Bent Viscaal
    HWA RACELAB
    1:48.946
    19
    30
    Alessio Deledda
    Campos Racing
    1:49.124
    20
  • Shivani Pruthvi, first Indian woman to take part in Asia Auto Gymkhana

    Shivani Pruthvi, first Indian woman to take part in Asia Auto Gymkhana

    Shivani Pruthvi  after being felicitated by the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences recently. Photo: India in F1

    Bengaluru, 11 July 2019: A three-member Indian team, including a woman driver, representing the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs in India (FMSCI) will take part in the first round of the Asia Auto Gymkhana championship to be held at Yogyakarta in Indonesia on July 13.

    Shivani Pruthvi of Davangere, Sahil Khanna, and Karan Malik will represent India in the event which will see 39 drivers from 12 countries vie for top honours.  The trio will be up against contingents from Taiwan, Singapore, New Zealand, Thailand, Malaysia, South Korea, Nepal, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, and the host country Indonesia. There, all competitors will drive identical race-prepped Toyota Agyas (aka Wigo in the Philippines) on multiple gymkhana course layouts in a knock-out format. “It is a great honour to represent India and we will strive our best to bring laurels to the country,” said Shivani.

    Team India at the registration desk on Thursday. An INDIAinF1 image

    New for 2019 is the introduction of the ladies championship, run under the support of the FIA’s “Women in Motorsport” program. With this, FMSCI has selected Shivani Pruthvi to be India’s first female representative. Shivani has recently taken part in the South India Rally, the first round of the Indian National Rally Championship at Chennai along with her mother as the navigator in the only all-woman team. A couple of days back, Shivani was felicitated by the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences before heading to Indonesia for the first round of Asia auto Gymkhana championship.

    The31-year old Sahil Khanna is the current reigning Autocross National champion in the Stock 2w class 1100 to 1400cc for 2019. He also won the third place in the T1 category of Desert Storm 2018 . The 26-year old Karan Malik won overall 2nd place in the T2 category of Desert Storm this year. Shivani, who is just 21 years, won the Times Women’s driver in 2018 and retained the title this year. She also did well in the INRC first round in Chennai with her mother Deepthi as co-driver last month.

    The AAGC’s first event in 2019 will take place under the city night lights of Yogyakarta, located on the Indonesian island of Java.

  • Ace Indian driver Jehan Daruvala raring to go: F3

    Ace Indian driver Jehan Daruvala raring to go: F3

    All of the vital information ahead of F3’s fourth round of 2019
    File photo of Jehan Daruvala, Prema Racing. FIA Formula 3 Championship, at the Austria round in June. Credit: Team Daruvala

    Silverstone, 11 July 2019: Ace Indian driver Jehan Daruvala, touted as the next best chance of an Indian in F1, will begin the Round 4 after his triple podium in a positive manner. Daruvala (82) is just eight points behind his Prema Racing teammate Marcus Armstrong (90) in the championship standings and is raring to go.

    Daruvala came second in the Sprint race and his strong performance in both races of the Austrian Grand Prix weekend, the Round 3, saw him close the gap to 8 points, remaining second in the FIA F3 Championship behind Schwartzman from Russia. This weekend at the famed Silverstone circuit will be a support event to the iconic British Grand Prix, which will remain in the calendar for another six years and agreement paved the way for meaningful financial dealings for the race hosts.

    Another Indian Arjun Maini will also be seen in action at the Silverstone F1 weekend as he will race in the F2 along with compatriot Mahaveer Raghunathan, who returns after being kept out for one event.

    The Stakes       
    Two weeks after the amazing action in Austria’s mountains, the F3 paddock rolls into the Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire countryside for Round 4 of the FIA Formula 3 Championship at Silverstone.
    PREMA Racing’s Marcus Armstrong had the early pace at the Red Bull Ring, going fastest in practice and then nabbing pole position in qualifying, but it was Hitech Grand Prix’s Jüri Vips who took the win in Race 1 after a measured drive to stand on the top step of the podium for the first time this season. Armstrong and Championship leader Robert Shwartzman looked on course to return PREMA to winning ways in Race 2, only for the teammates to break the golden rule of racing and collide on the final lap. The New Zealander suffered a puncture and ended up P19, while the Russian was relegated to third after a time penalty meaning Jake Hughes landed his and HWA RACELAB’s first F3 win.
    Shwartzman (90 points) still leads the way in the Drivers’ Championship, though his lead has been cut to just eight points by teammate Jehan Daruvala (82) in second place. Vips (63) leaps up to third after bagging 31 points in Austria, more than any other driver. PREMA (226) are still sitting pretty at the top of Teams’ Championship, 150 points in front of second-placed ART Grand Prix (76). Hitech (71) are just five points behind in third.
    Silverstone Circuit is the venue for the fourth round of the championship. Famed for its high speeds, fast corners and long straights, the drivers will look to fly around the former airfield on Pirelli’s hard compound tyre. With 30 cars ducking and diving around the track, they’ll have to remain grounded if they are to come out on top during another incredible weekend of racing.
    Warm Up // Jüri Vips – Hitech Grand Prix
    “Silverstone is one of my favourite circuits on the calendar. I really love the fast sections of corners and everything is combined so it’s very fast but very technical at the same time. That fits me just perfectly. It’s one of the rounds that I look forward to the most.
    “Every corner is a challenge, some more than others, but it probably has the most challenging section of corners on the calendar. Out of the first four corners, Maggotts and Becketts are some of the hardest of the season. You have to drive perfectly. It’s the easiest place to make a big time difference in that sense, which I like a lot.
    “Silverstone is definitely a driver’s track. Last year, overtaking was very difficult but I think this year it will be easier because after Maggotts/Becketts it’s not that difficult to follow a car and we have a DRS zone there.
    “If you get hot temperatures and your car has oversteer and slides a lot you can get quite tired, not physically but mentally, because you’re fighting the car quite a lot. It’s not that your muscles get overloaded, it’s just that you have to think about what the car is going to do a lot more so it’s harder.
    “Tyre degradation is probably going to be quite high, especially on the front tyres, so we’ll have to set up the car for that and take care of that during the race. It’s an interesting new set of skills that we have to learn in F3.
    “I can’t wait, I’m really looking forward to it. I’m going to get pole position and win both races, or at least that’s what I’m planning for!”
    Mario Isola, Pirelli Head of F1 and Car Racing
    “Silverstone is known as the ‘home of British motorsport’ so it’s a very significant race for many teams and drivers in the F3 championship. The biggest question mark will be the new asphalt, which nobody has had a chance to drive on yet, while the weather in England at this time of year is also often variable. The 30 Formula 3 drivers will all be fighting on the hard tyre and will need to manage them to the end on this demanding circuit.”
    Season Stats
    8 The gap between Robert Shwartzman and PREMA Racing teammate Jehan Daruvala at the top of the Drivers’ Championship.
    31 The number of points Jüri Vips took from Round 3, the most of any driver.
    7 The number of different drivers who have led races so far this season.
    235 The total race distance in kilometres a driver will cover at Silverstone in Round 4.
    Noteworthy
    Hitech Grand Prix’s Jüri Vips became the first non-PREMA Racing driver to win a race this season when he was victorious in Race 1 in Austria
    Vips, Lirim Zendeli and Marcus Armstrong all led an FIA Formula 3 race for the first time at the Red Bull Ring
    Six drivers from five different teams have earned a bonus point for setting the fastest lap so far; PREMA’s Armstrong and Jehan Daruvala, Vips of Hitech, Jenzer Motorsport’s Yuki Tsunoda, Jake Hughes of HWA RACELAB and ART Grand Prix’s Christian Lundgaard
    Just eight points separate Robert Shwartzman and Daruvala at the top of the Driver’s Championship
    19-year-old Italian racer Federico Malvestiti will make his F3 debut when he drives Jenzer Motorsport’s number 15 car at Silverstone
    Nine different drivers have stood on the podium in the opening three rounds
    Seven different drivers scored points in both races of Round 3 – Shwartzman and Daruvala of PREMA, Vips and Leonardo Pulcini of Hitech Grand Prix, ART Grand Prix’s Max Fewtrell, Jake Hughes of HWA RACELAB and Zendeli of Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    Data (GMT+1)
    Friday
    Free Practice: 08.35 – 09.20
    Qualifying: 16.50 – 17.20
    Press conference: 18.30
    Saturday
    Race 1: 09.25 (20 laps)
    Press conference: 10.25
    Sunday
    Race 2: 1.05pm Indian Standard Time (20 laps)
    Local time: 08.35 am

    Following are the Indian Times

    QUALIFYINGFRI 12 JUL 2019, 21:20 (GMT+5.5)

    RACE 1SAT 13 JUL 2019, 13:55 (GMT+5.5)

    RACE 2SUN 14 JUL 2019, 13:05 (GMT+5.5)

  • Arjun Maini, Mahaveer Raghunathan to race in F2 during the British GP week-end

    Silverstone, 11 July 2019: Two Indian racers talented Arjun Maini and regular Mahaveer Raghunathan will feature in the F2 race, run as a support race during the British GP weekend and as the teams and drivers of the F2 paddock land at the former airfield of Silverstone for Round 7 of the 2019 FIA Formula 2 Championship, two weeks after the sensational action in Austria’s Styrian Alps.
    Arjun Maini, will be racing in the second and last of his two races in F2 championship this season while MP Motorsport’s Mahaveer Raghunathan returns to F2 this weekend having served a one-event suspension that saw him miss both races in Austria for amassing 12 penalty points for infringements during Virtual Safety Car periods.
    Carlin’s Louis Delétraz went fastest during practice for the first time this season, before Championship leader Nyck de Vries pulled off a masterclass in qualifying to take pole position early in the session. Nobuharu Matsushita chased the Dutchman down superbly in the last few laps to earn his first F2 Feature Race win, calling it the best drive of his entire career over the radio as he took the chequered flag. The ‘firsts’ continued in Sunday’s Sprint Race, as Sérgio Sette Câmara and his DAMS machine took victory for the first time in 2019. The Brazilian leapt to the front from third on the grid and put in a measured display to stay there until the end.
    De Vries (152) has pulled further ahead in the Drivers’ Championship, and now has a 37 point lead over Nicholas Latifi (115). Sérgio Sette Câmara (107) has climbed to third, just eight points behind his teammate. DAMS lead the way in the Teams’ Championship with 222 points, though second-placed UNI-Virtuosi Racing (182) have closed the gap to 40 points. ART (158) are 22 points further behind in third.
    Round 7 of the season takes place at Silverstone Circuit, famed for its high speeds, fast corners and long straights. Race strategy will be crucial as teams and drivers look to get the best possible performance from Pirelli’s hard and soft compound tyres. A number of British drivers will hope to enjoy victory on home soil, but the rest of the grid will have designs of their own in what should be another incredible weekend of F2 action.
    Warm Up // Jordan King – MP Motorsport
    “I’ve always been quite successful at Silverstone. My first ever car race was there in Formula Palmer Audi and I got pole and finished second which started off a good love affair as they say! I suppose the highlight at this level is winning there in back in 2016. I probably had the best part of 50 people there – friends, family and partners. It felt good to be there with lots of people who had come on the journey with me and who had supported me.
    “I enjoy Silverstone. It is a real pleasure to drive. It’s an old-school circuit and there is something special about driving there – with it being your home Grand Prix it’s like a double win. From what you see as a driver, the fans look amazing, there’s plenty of colour in the crowd and you like to think that all the union flags in the grandstand are for you.
    “It’s really fast and it’s physically one of the hardest tracks of the year on your neck, shoulders and arms. It’s tricky with all the high-speed corners and tyre degradation is normally quite high. That makes for another interesting aspect to the racing angle.
    “Although it’s high-speed and it’s hard to follow through the corners you can still overtake. The two main overtaking spots are into Brooklands and Stowe but battles go on for more than a couple of corners.
    “I used to be a lot more stressed about the smaller details but now I’m just driving for the moment, to help the team, push the guys forward. I’m still setting goals and trying to achieve things but I’m not going into qualifying thinking ‘I have to be top five’ because it’s unnecessary pressure. I’m just going out and driving the best that I can.”
    Mario Isola, Pirelli Head of F1 and Car Racing
    “Silverstone is known as the ‘home of British motorsport’ so it’s a very significant race for many teams and drivers in the F2 championship. The biggest question mark will be the new asphalt, which nobody has had a chance to drive on yet, while the weather in England at this time of year is also often variable. We expect quite a big performance gap between the two nominated compounds in Formula 2, which should hopefully lead to some interesting strategies. The soft will need careful management on this demanding circuit but will offer a considerable performance advantage.”
    Season Stats
    37 The points gap between Championship leader Nyck de Vries (152) at the top of the standings and Nicholas Latifi (115) in second place.
    4 The number of times a DAMS driver has picked up bonus points for the fastest lap this season. Sérgio Sette Câmara and Nicholas Latifi have both done it twice.
    357 The number of racing laps completed so far this season.
    95 The number of laps De Vries has led so far this season in his ART Grand Prix machine.
    Noteworthy
    The F2 race lap record at Silverstone is 1:42.512, set by Nobuharu Matsushita with ART Grand Prix in 2017
    Matsushita’s Feature Race win in Austria is not only his first ever Feature Race victory but also Carlin’s first win since Lando Norris won the opening race of the season in Bahrain last year
    That victory means all three British teams (UNI-Virtuosi Racing, BWT Arden and Carlin) have won at least one race this season going into their home event
    The British round of the FIA Formula 2 Championship is also the home event of Callum Ilott of Sauber Junior Team by Charouz, Campos Racing’s Jack Aitken and MP Motorsport’s Jordan King
    Dorian Boccolacci, who competed in the first five rounds of the 2019 F2 Championship with Campos Racing, also returns to the F2 paddock with Trident this weekend. The French driver has previously raced for the Italian outfit in GP3.
    Seven different drivers have won races this season: Aitken, Matsushita, Nyck de Vries, Sérgio Sette Câmara, Nicholas Latifi, Luca Ghiotto and Anthoine Hubert
    If De Vries wins this weekend he will match Artem Markelov for the record highest number of wins in the modern era of FIA Formula 2. A win in both races would see the Dutchman surpass the Russian
    De Vries has stood on the podium six times in the last five events, including three wins, the longest current podium streak in the championship. Sette Câmara is next best with three podiums from three events
    Mick Schumacher battled brilliantly during the Sprint Race in Austria. Starting 18th on the grid he finished fourth and might have grabbed his first F2 podium had it not been for good defending from De Vries in third
    Data (GMT+1)
    Friday
    Free Practice: 11.55 – 12.40
    Qualifying: 15.55 – 16.25
    Press conference: 18.00
    Saturday
    Feature race: 15.45 (29 laps)
    Press conference: 17.05
    Sunday
    Sprint race: 10.00 (21 laps)
    Press conference: 11.05