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Piastri takes maiden pole; Jehan Daruvala P12: F2
Silverstone, 16 July 2021: Oscar Piastri became the fourth different polesitter in as many rounds with a dominant performance at Silverstone, setting the fastest lap of the session in the first stint, before a Robert Shwartzman crash brought out a Red Flag and ended Qualifying prematurely.
Indian racing ace Jehan Daruvala could only qualify P12 due to the Red Flag situation but is looking to do better in the races. “P12 is not my best out there today. I will keep working hard to make sure we can do better tomorrow, the Carlin team Red Bull junior said on twitter after the race.
Championship leader Guanyu Zhou snuck into second with a late lap, but was 0.221s off Piastri’s poletime of 1:39.854. MP Motorsport’s Richard Verschoor scored his best Qualifying position with third, just over four-tenths off the leader.
Christian Lundgaard escorted the field out onto a hot and sunny Silverstone circuit, with a track temperature of 42 degrees. Lapping at 1:40.962, Felipe Drugovich led the first round of fast runs, beating Dan Ticktum’s Free Practice topping time by more than a second.
There was enough life left in the medium Pirellis for another flyer and Piastri was determined to make the most of it, lunging to first with 1:39.854. Meanwhile, Drugovich was bumped down to third by Ticktum, although the Carlin driver remained half a second off Piastri.
After a stint in the pits for fresh rubber, the field returned to the track with just a second separating the top 12. Piastri couldn’t make any improvements on his quickest time, but neither could his rivals, with the Australian retaining his half a second buffer in first.
Zhou was left thanking his lucky stars as the UNI-Virtuosi racer crossed the line just moments before a Red Flag ended the session. And it was a significant improvement too, with the Chinese racer leaping from 10th to second in the order, thanks to a purple first sector and a personal best second sector.
The session-ending Red Flag came when Shwarztman spun and beached his PREMA in the gravel at Stowe with just two minutes to go. Although, the Russian could consolidate himself with a solid finishing position of P7.
Like Zhou, Verschoor had also managed to beat the Red Flag and nabbed himself a top-three spot, setting 1:40.259s to drop Ticktum down to P4.
Théo Pourchaire completed the top five for ART Grand Prix, ahead of early pacesetter Felipe Drugovich. Roy Nissany scored eighth for DAMS, as Jüri Vips and Lundgaard completed the top 10.
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Verstappen achieves third consecutive victory: Austrian GP Analysis
Max Verstappen achieved his third consecutive victory of the season as he extended his championship lead over title rival Lewis Hamilton. Valtteri Bottas achieved his highest finishing position of the season in P2 as McLaren’s Lando Norris completed the podium positions.
London, 5 July 2021: Max Verstappen made a clean sweep of the triple header with a win in France, Styria and now Austria as Valtteri Bottas finished a distant second just being able to stay ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris who got his third podium of the season. Lewis Hamilton nursed his car to P4 as he suffered downforce loss, ahead of Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz. Sergio Perez recovered to P6 after falling to P10 on the opening lap. Daniel Ricciardo recovered his McLaren to P7 after a disappointing qualifying on Saturday ahead of Charles Leclerc in P8. Pierre Gasly could only manage P9 in AlphaTauri and Fernando Alonso completed the points paying position.
George Russell finished P11 after a long battle with Alonso, losing out at the end of the race. Japanese rookie Yuki Tsunoda finished in P12 and Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll crossed the line in P13. Both Alfa Romeo drivers Antonio Giovinazzi and Kimi Raikkonen finished P14 and P15 respectively, with Raikkonen having a late coming together with Sebastian Vettel, the German not finishing but classified in P17. Williams’ other driver Nicholas Latifi finished P16. Both Haas cars finished two laps down with Mick Schumacher in P18 and Nikita Mazepin in P19. Esteban Ocon was the only non- classified DNF as he retired due to contact on lap one.
Rain threatened once again this week but eventually failed to materialize. Verstappen got off cleanly from pole on lap one. Behind, Ocon’s contact meant he retired, and a safety car was called out.
Racing got underway on lap 4, with once again Verstappen starting smoothly. In P2 was Norris who being challenged by Perez. Perez tried to pull off a move outside turn 4, but the gap closed,and he ended up in the gravel falling to P10. Meanwhile, Bottas got past teammate Hamilton, but Hamilton returned the favor by passing Bottas after 2 corners.
With Perez out of the way, Hamilton chased Norris trying to overtake him. Finally on lap 20 Hamilton was able to get past his countryman. But the damage had already been done as Verstappen already had a lead of 5s in the lead. The stewards gave Norris a controversial 5 second time penalty for the incident with Perez after the safety car restart.
Spectators seen during the FIA Formula One World Championship 2021 in Spielberg, Austria on July 4, 2021. Photo Philip Platzer for Red Bull Content Pool The AlphaTauri pair of Tsunoda and Gasly were the first cars to pit as they started on the soft tyres and changed to hard tyres. They pitted on lap 12 and 13 respectively. Everyone else was on mediums in the points, hence, they carried on longer.
In the midfield Ricciardo was the first one to pit for hard tyres. In the lead Bottas and Norris pitted on the same lap, Bottas getting ahead of Norris as the McLaren driver served his 5-second time penalty before the pit stop could be completed. Hamilton pitted on lap 31 and Verstappen followed him one lap later. The last one to pit and change to hard tyres was Leclerc on lap 34. The only exception being his teammate Sainz who started on hard tyres and went long. Finally pitting on lap 48 for a set of medium tyres.
Ahead Hamilton was unable to close up to Verstappen and started losing time relative to the Dutchman. Behind Bottas and Norris were closing as well. As it emerged, he had lost a piece of bodywork on the left rear of his car due to the aggressive nature of kerbs at the Red Bull ring. It cost him 30 pints of downforce according to Mercedes. He let Bottas past him and tried to defend from Norris but to no avail lost out to him. He pitted again on lap 53 for a new set of hard tyres but remained P4 for the rest of the race.
In the midfield four cars were involved in the fight for P5, the leader of them being Perez. Leclerc tried to pass Perez on the outside of turn 4, much like the Mexican had tried at the start of the race. Leclerc got squeezed on the gravel and Perez was duly handed a 5 second time penalty. Leclerc once again tried to pass Perez on the outside of turn 6, again resulting in the same outcome with Perez getting another 5 second time penalty. Sainz who was on fresh medium tyres got past Leclerc and Ricciardo. He finished ahead of Perez due to the Red Bull driver’s penalties.
Alonso overtook Russell at the dying moments to extend his point scoring streak after a proper battle with the Williams driver. On the last lap ex-teammates Vettel and Raikkonen tangled with the Finn getting a 20-second time penalty for the mishap. The day belonged to Verstappen as he took a dominant victory and made a clean sweep of the triple header.
Red Bull have wind in their sails and their car on average is faster than their German title rivals. With Perez up to speed and supporting Verstappen, arguably it’s their championship to lose for the first time since 2013. Mercedes’ W12 clearly lacks pace especially in qualifying trim as they were outqualified by a McLaren. They have confirmed that they will bring upgrade packages in the near future to claw back performance, but it remains to be seen if it will be enough to return to the front.
McLaren, especially in the hands of Norris almost got pole position, missing by less than 0.05s. Ricciardo is still struggling to extract one lap pace from the car but does well to recover positions in the race, exhibiting the McLaren’s race pace. Norris was just about to keep up with Bottas in the race as well. This is a positive step for the team who are looking to stamp their authority on P3 in the constructor’s championship. Ferrari struggled in qualifying as both cars were eliminated in Q2 but were the fourth fastest car in the race. Leclerc even had the pace to challenge Perez for positions. Ferrari need to solve the consistency problems with their car as some tracks they are faster in qualifying but struggle in the race and vice-versa.
AlphaTauri showed impressive qualifying pace once again. They lost out to superior cars of McLaren and Ferrari in the race, admittedly a big part of it was due to an inferior strategy as they had to start on the soft tyre instead of the mediums. Tsunoda had a positive race as well if not for penalties received for crossing the pit entry line, an amateurish mistake on his behalf. Alpine were on the fringes of points as Alonso got P10, but they still lack the pace to challenge the midfield front runners. Alonso was blocked by Vettel otherwise he could have made into the top 10 in qualifying. Ocon retired on lap 1, therefore it was a race of ‘what could have been’ for Alpine. Aston Martin struggled in qualifying and race, as the softer allocation of tyres did not seem to suit them compared to last weekend. They made it to Q3 but were unable to convert position into points as both cars finished outside the top 10.
Williams have showed a turn of speed since France with Russell progressing into Q3 on the medium tyres and then holding onto P10 until a late pass by Alonso. It is not long before Williams score points with their current form. Alfa Romeo similar to last weekend lacked pace in either of the main sessions as they finished well outside the top 10 and points. Haas’ struggle continue as scoring points looks bleak with an underdeveloped car and rookie drivers.
Saturday Qualifying Results were:
P1: Max Verstappen- 33 (Red Bull) P2: Lando Norris- 4 (McLaren) P3: Sergio Perez- 11 (Red Bull) P4: Lewis Hamilton- 44 (Mercedes) P5: Valtteri Bottas- 77 (Mercedes) P6: Pierre Gasly- 10 (AlphaTauri) P7: Yuki Tsunoda- 22 (AlphaTauri) P8: Sebastian Vettel- 5 (Aston Martin) P9: George Russell- 63 (Williams) P10: Lance Stroll- 18 (Aston Martin) P11: Carlos Sainz- 55 (Ferrari) P12: Charles Leclerc- 16 (Ferrari) P13: Daniel Ricciardo- 3 (McLaren) P14: Fernando Alonso- 14 (Alpine) P15: Antonio Giovinazzi- 99 (Alfa Romeo) P16: Kimi Raikkonen- 7 (Alfa Romeo) P17: Esteban Ocon- 31 (Alpine) P18: Nicholas Latifi- 6 (Williams) P19: Mick Schumacher- 47 (Haas) P20: Nikita Mazepin- 9 (Haas) Note – Vettel penalised three grid places for impeding Alonso in Q2.
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Advait Deodhar takes another well-deserved podium: EuroNASCAR2
Brands Hatch (Kent, England), 4 July 2021: Ace Indian racer Advait Deodhar of CAAL Racing notched up another well-deserved podium taking a third place in EuroNASCAR2 Race 2 (Round 4) at the 1.94 kilometre Indy Circuit on Sunday. Tobias Dauenhauer scored his first win of the season and took the points lead from his teammate Martin Doubek.
You can watch Sunday’s Round 4 race here on Auto Track You Tube.
The 31-year old, Deodhar, in a #56 Ford Mustang, created history at the Saturday’s American SpeedFest 8 by taking a stunning victory in Race 1 of Round 3 as he became the first Indian pole sitter and race winner in the EuroNASCAR series.
The London-based Mumbaikar’s victory proved to be a historic one in many ways. His victory is not only a first for an Indian driver in the Euro Series but his win also stopped the 12-race win streak that Hendriks Motorsport in the EuroNASCAR 2 division which is the longest streak of the most consecutive wins for any team in Euro Series so far.
Race Report: Dauenhauer made a great start on the outside from second and got past poleman Deodhar at Paddock Hill Bend. The 23-year-old pulled away from his chasers and sped to victory after 30 laps under green. It was the first win of the season for the driver of the #50 Hendriks Motorsport Ford Mustang, who was handed the red Whelen banner for being the Championship leader.
Deodhar, who lost the lead at the start, put up a stubborn defence against DF1 Racing’s Simon Pilate. The Belgian started from third and tried several times to get past Deodhar for second and managed to overtake on lap 27 for his best EuroNASCAR 2 result so far. Deodhar, the first Indian to win a EuroNASCAR race had to settle in third after a solid performance at the wheel of his #56 CAAL Racing machine in the 30-lap race. The Indian is supported by TJB SuperYachts and Strange Brew.
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Verstappen extends title lead; Hamilton limps to fourth
Spielberg, 4 July 2021: Max Verstappen scored the first grand slam of his career thanks to a dominant Austrian Grand Prix win that saw the Red Bull driver lead every one of the 71 laps of the Red Bull from pole position to take victory and take the extra point on offer for fastest lap.
The Dutchman was faultless throughout and managing an early re-start following a short safety car period caused byt Esteban Ocon’s crash on lap one, Verstappen effortlessly controlled the following 68 laps to finish almost 18 seconds ahead of Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas and McLaren’s Lando Norris. Nursing a damaged car, Lewis Hamilton finished in fourth place.
When the lights went out at the start, Verstappen made a good start to take the lead ahead of front-row starter Norris and Sergio Pérez who made a good start from third place on the grid.
The race was soon neutralised, however. Alpine’s Esteban Ocon was hit by the Alfa Romeo of Antonio Giovinazzi and the Frenchman pulled over off track on the run down to Turn 4. The Safety Car was immediately deployed.
When racing resumed at the start of lap four, Pérez piled pressure on Norris and attacked as they went down to Turn 4. The Mexican tried a bold move around the outside of the McLaren but as Norris held his line, Pérez was forced off into the gravel and he dropped to P10 behind the second McLaren of Daniel Ricciardo.
The soft tyre starters then began to pit. That boosted Pérez back up the order and on lap 20 he found himself in seventh place behind Charles Leclerc and within DRS range of the Ferrari. At the front, Max was 8.6s ahead of Norris but then the McLaren driver was hit with a five-second penalty for causing the earlier collision with Pérez. His pain was increased when moments later he was passed by Hamilton.
The Mercedes driver’s move past Norris made little immediate impact on Verstappen’s advantage at the front, however, and by lap 24 the Red Bull driver was 10.2 seconds clear of his title rival.
Norris and Bottas then sparked the main round of pit stops for the leaders on lap 31 and during his stop Norris served his five-second penalty. That allowed Bottas to exit the pit lane ahead of him, in third place.
Hamilton was the next to make a pit stop, on lap 32, with Verstappen following a lap later and when the order shook out Max found himself more than 13 seconds ahead of the Mercedes driver.
Pérez made his first stop on lap 34, attempting to undercut Leclerc, and despite a slow stop caused by a problem with his front left wheel, the Red Bull driver leapfrogged the Ferrari driver pitted when he pitted on lap 35.
On lap 41 Leclerc attacked Pérez in Turn 4, and the Ferrari and the Red Bull made contact. Leclerc went off track and rejoined and Pérez was handed a five-second time penalty for forcing another driver off track.
The battle between the two flared again on lap 46. Leclerc once again got into DRS range and attacked into Turn 4. This time the battle continued through the following corner, but in Turn 6 Pérez held a wide line and Leclerc was forced off track a second time. The Mexican soon received a second five-second penalty.
Hamilton now began to report that he was struggling with damage to his Mercedes and with Norris once again looking competitive in P4, Mercedes opted to allow third-placed Bottas to pass his team-mate. Hamilton then fell back towards Norris and on lap 53 the young McLaren driver powered past the Mercedes man in Turn 6. With a sizeable gap behind him to Pérez Hamilton then pitted to take on another set of hard tyres.
Verstappen now had an almost 30-second advantage over Bottas and Red Bull pitted the Dutchman for another set of hard tyres. He emerged with over seven seconds in hand over Bottas and on lap 62 he then grabbed the fastest lap of the race and an extra point with a time of 1:06.200. From there it was a cruise to the flag and after 71 Verstappen grabbed his 15th career win.
Behind him Bottas took second, while Norris scored the fourth podium finish of his career. Hamilton had to settle for fourth ahead of Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz who managed to pass Leclerc and Ricciardo in the final few laps.
With two five-second penalties to take at the flag, Checo needed to eke out a 10-second advantage over the sixth-placed driver, but as Sainz rose through the order, Checo ended up missing out by just 0.7s and had to settle for sixth. With Ricciardo and Leclerc seventh and eighth respectively, ninth place went to Alpha Tauri’s Pierre Gasly. The final point on offer went to Alpine’s Fernando Alonso after he came out on top of an enthralling battle that denied Williams’ George Russell a first point of the season.
2021 FIA Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix – Race
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda 71 1:23’54.543
2 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 71 1:24’12.516 17.973
3 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 71 1:24’14.562 20.019
4 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 71 1:24’40.995 46.452
5 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 71 1:24’51.687 57.144
6 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda 71 1:24’52.458 57.915
7 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren/Mercedes 71 1:24’54.938 1’00.395
8 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 71 1:24’55.738 1’01.195
9 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri/Honda 71 1:24’56.387 1’01.844
10 Fernando Alonso Alpine/Renault 70 1:24’05.587 1 lap /11.044
11 George Russell Williams/Mercedes 70 1:24’11.219 1 lap /16.676
12 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri/Honda 70 1:24’21.962 1 lap /27.419
13 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 70 1:24’28.620 1 lap /34.077
14 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 70 1:24’31.561 1 lap /37.018
15 Nicholas Latifi Williams/Mercedes 70 1:24’37.844 1 lap /43.301
16 Kimi Räikkönen Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 70 1:24’39.438 1 lap /44.895
17 Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin/Mercedes 69 1:23’02.087 2 laps
18 Mick Schumacher Haas/Ferrari 69 1:24’00.507 2 laps /5.964
19 Nikita Mazepin Haas/Ferrari 69 1:24’51.577 2 laps /57.034
Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 0 Collision -
Advait Deodhar becomes first Indian to win a EuroNASCAR race: NWES
Brands Hatch, 3 July 2021: Advait Deodhar created history by becoming the first Indian to not only take pole position but win a EuroNASCAR race at the Indy Circuit on Saturday.
He held off Tobias Dauenhauer to win Race 1 of Round 3 of NASCAR2 Whelen Euro Series at Brands Hatch on Saturday.
The 2018 European NASCAR Elite Club champion, Deodhar of CAAL Racing, in a #56 Ford Mustang, led from start to finish, surviving a caution restart to win his first-ever EuroNASCAR career race. He also claimed the fastest lap with Tobi Dauenhauer second and the shadow of Francesco Garisto in third in the first race of the Round 3. The London-based Indian is supported by TJB SuperYachts and Strange Brew.
You can watch the race video at YouTube Auto Track here.
Race Report by BY ANDRÉ WIEGOLD
Advait Deodhar (centre) on the top of the podium. Credits: NASCAR WES/ Stephane Azemard Advait Deodhar made a lifetime dream come true at his home track of Brands Hatch, UK. The Indian living in London grabbed the maiden win of his NASCAR Whelen Euro Series career at the 1.94 kilometer Indy Circuit. Deodhar led all 30 laps and defended his lead against a charging Tobias Dauenhauer, who ended up second at the wheel of the #50 Hendriks Motorsport Ford Mustang, reported euronascar.com
Starting from the pole for his 21st EuroNASCAR 2 race which began on dry conditions, Deodhar successfully held on to the lead on the start and kept Dauenhauer at bay in the first few laps despite all the attempts the German made. The race was halted not too long after, however, as contact between Hollamby and Leevi Lintukanto sent the No. 23 Barot’s Camaro in the gravel trap at Paddock Hill, ending the Finn’s race early.
After a lengthy Safety Car period, the race was restarted with Deodhar successfully managing to keep the lead once again. Deodhar was pressured by Dauenhauer throughout the race, but the 31-year old Indian driver showcased his experience by putting a masterclass in a defensive race, keeping the German at bay and skillfully getting past the lapped cars on his way to score his first career victory in the EuroNASCAR 2 division, crossing the finish line 0.433 ahead of Dauenhauer.
“I will never forget this moment in my life”, said Deodhar, who posted the fastest lap and thus also secured pole for the race on Sunday. “I need to pinch myself because I cannot believe I have won. It was a tough race with Tobias at my back bumper during all laps of this round. Thanks to CAAL Racing for giving me an awesome car. It was only the second win of my life and it’s something very special to score one here at Brands Hatch.”
Starting from fifth place, Francesco Garisto was on a mission in EuroNASCAR 2 Round 3 at the wheel of the #17 42 Racing Shadow DNM8. The Italian overtook his fellow countryman Alberto Panebianco and settled down in third. He crossed the finish line on that position but was demoted back to seventh after a post-race penalty for an avoidable collision with Panebianco.
Simon Pilate inherited third place with a strong run after a safety car period that was triggered by Levi Lintukanto on lap 3. The Finn got stuck in the gravel of Paddock Hill Bent and the caution was necessary to clear the turn. Green flags waved again on lap 11 and Pilate powered his way up to fourth after passing his DF1 Racing teammate Justin Kunz and Not Only Motorsport’s Panebianco.
Deodhar gets maiden pole before the rain
Earlier, Advait Deodhar scored his first ever NASCAR Whelen Euro Series Pole Position at Brands Hatch on Saturday. The Indian, who’s living in London, clocked a 49.918-lap and beat Tobias Dauenhauer by 0.192 seconds. Deodhar had some help from the skies as rain started to fall right around the half-time of the 30-minute session. NWES rookie Miguel Gomes spun with his slick tires and triggered a short red flag period.
As the session resumed, the track prevented teams and drivers from driving faster laps so a lot of V8 engines stayed quiet until the end. Only Michael Bleekemolen and Yevgen Sokolovskiy tried out their cars on wet tires. DF1 Racing’s Justin Kunz was third quickest ahead of the impressive EuroNASCAR 2 rookie Alberto Panebianco at the wheel of the #89 Not Only Motorsport Chevrolet Camaro. The Italian also topped the Rookie Trophy standings.
Advait Deodhar on way to his pole on Saturday. Photo by Stephane Azemard 42 Racing’s Fracesco Garisto completed the top-5 with a 0.594-gap from the pole setter. Valencia double winner Martin Doubek followed in sixth ahead of Max Lanza and Simon Pilate. Pierluigi Veronesi and Sokolovskiy, who led the Legend Trophy standings, closed the top-10. Alina Loibnegger beat Arianna Casoli in the battle for the best starting position in the Lady Trophy.
The NASCAR Whelen Euro Series will be back in action on Sunday for Rounds 4 of the 2021 season. The NASCAR GP UK will continue at 1:43 pm CET with the EuroNASCAR PRO race, while the EuroNASCAR 2 race will follow at 4:58 pm CET. All races will be broadcasted live on EuroNASCAR’s social media platforms – YouTube, Facebook, Twitch – and Motorsport.tv.
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Max Verstappen takes pole ahead of Norris and Perez
Spielberg, 3 July 2021: Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen took his second Red Bull Ring pole position in a week with a dominant performance in qualifying for Formula 1’s Austrian Grand Prix. However, despite topping every segment of the hour–long session he was push closer in the final top 10 shootout by Lando Norris who claimed the first front-row start of his F1 career just four hundredths of a second behind the championship leader. Sergio Pérez took third place for Red Bull as Lewis Hamilton qualified fourth.
In Q1 Verstappen went out earlier than usual and with his first flying lap he jumped to the top of the order with an opening flying lap of 1:04.249. Hamilton wasn’t far behind the Dutchman on track and when he crossed the line he slotted into second place with a lap of 1:04.506, six hundredths of a second ahead of team-mate Bottas. Pérez, meanwhile, found his way to sixth place with his opening lap of 1:04.833. However, as rivals crossed the line he dropped to eighth place and while Verstappen would stay in the garage for the final runs, Pérez had to go again.
In the end of though, the Mexican didn’t need to the boost of an extra flyer and as McLaren’s Lando Norris finished second behind Verstappen and ahead of Alpine’s Fernando Alonso, Pérez backed out of his final flyer as other failed to make significant gains he settled for his opening lap time and P8.
Eliminated at the end of the first segment were Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Räikkönen in P16 ahead of Alpine’s Esteban Ocon, Williams’ Nicholas Latifi and the Haas cars of Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin.
In the second segment Pérez was first out on track, on medium tyres, and the Mexican gave the remaining drivers in the field a target of 1:04.554 to aim at. Verstappen then headed out on mediums and immediately jumped to the top of the timesheet with a lap of 1:04.208.
Hamilton then took second but was soon eclipsed by McLaren’s Lando Norris and Pérez who went for a second attempt of 1:04.483.
In the final runs, Verstappen went quicker again hold top spot with a lap of 1:03.927, while Hamilton rose again to take P2 over three tenths down on the Red Bull. Bottas took third place ahead of Pierre Gasly and Lando Norris and Pérez settled for P6 thanks to his second run time.
Fernando Alonso though appeared to be blocked by seventh placed Sebastian Vettel and the stewards quickly announced that they would investigate the incident after the session. George Russell did make it through, however, taking Williams into Q3 for the first time this season.
It meant that both Ferraris failed to make it through, with Carlos Sainz being eliminated in P11 ahead of team-mate Charles Leclerc, McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo, Alonso and Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi.
In the first runs of the top-10 shootout Verstappen once again set blistering pace to open his Q3 account with a lap of 1:03.720. McLaren’s Lando Norris also showed good pace to take P2 just over two tenths of a second behind the Dutchman, with Hamilton in third place almost three tenths off Verstappen. Pérez, though, found himself in P5 after the first runs, a little under two tenths of a second behind Bottas.
The Mexican would need to find good gains in the final runs and when the final runs began he was third in the queue out of the pit lane, behind Norris.
Verstappen was at the head of the pack and though the Red Bull driver tried to find more time on his final run he couldn’t make an improvement. Aided by a tow from the championship leader Norris found more time but the Briton couldn’t quite match Verstappen’s opening time and the Red Bull driver’s opening lap was good enough to claim the team’s 67th pole position.
Pérez also benefited from a tow, this time from Norris, and the Mexican found the pace he needed to leapfrog both Mercedes drivers, taking P3 ahead of Hamilton and Bottas.
Behind the Mercedes drivers Pierre Gasly took sixth for AlphaTauri ahead of team-mate Yuki Tsunoda. Vettel finished eighth but will face investigation, while Russell qualified in P9 ahead of Stroll.
2021 FIA Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix – Qualifying
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda 1:03.720 7 243.954
2 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:03.768 0.048 7 243.771
3 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda 1:03.990 0.270 7 242.925
4 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:04.014 0.294 6 242.834
5 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:04.049 0.329 6 242.701
6 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri/Honda 1:04.107 0.387 6 242.482
7 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri/Honda 1:04.273 0.553 6 241.855
8 Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:04.570 0.850 6 240.743
9 George Russell Williams/Mercedes 1:04.591 0.871 3 240.665
10 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:04.618 0.898 6 240.564
11 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1:04.559 0.632 6 240.784
12 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:04.600 0.673 6 240.631
13 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren/Mercedes 1:04.719 0.792 6 240.189
14 Fernando Alonso Alpine/Renault 1:04.856 0.929 6 239.681
15 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1:05.083 1.156 6 238.845
16 Kimi Räikkönen Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1:05.009 0.760 9 239.117
17 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 1:05.051 0.802 6 238.963
18 Nicholas Latifi Williams/Mercedes 1:05.195 0.946 6 238.435
19 Mick Schumacher Haas/Ferrari 1:05.427 1.178 9 237.589
20 Nikita Mazepin Haas/Ferrari 1:05.951 1.702 9 235.702 -
Breen-Nagle take first podium for MRF in ERC
Talsi/Liepaja, 3 July 2021: With a second place finish at the Rally Liepaja, Team MRF Tyres today registered their first ever podium since entering the European Rally Championship in 2020.
It was a hard fought podium with Craig Breen and Paul Nagle battling against Europe’s best throughout the day.
The day’s action saw six stages and 90.92km of action in warm and sunny conditions on roads around the Latvian coastal town of Liepaja.
The Team MRF Tyres Hyundai i20 R5 started the day in second place, involved in a great fight with Nikolay Gryazin/Konstantin Aleksandrov (VW), Efrén Llarena/ Sara Fernández (Skoda) and Alexey Lukyanuk/Dmitriy Eremeev (Citroën). Just 13.4 seconds separated the four cars.
The day started with the 18.42km Neste stage. The roads on Saturday differed from the previous day with a harder surface being presented to the drivers.
Breen and Nagle came in third in the stage with a time of 9:18.2, just 3.4 seconds off the lead.
The pace was repeated on the second stage of the day, with Breen/Nagle taking second just 3.1 seconds off the stage win on the Invest in Liepaja! stage.
Third on stage nine, solidified Team MRF Tyres second place going into the final service. With just three stages remaining, Breen and Nagle sat in second 15.2 seconds off Gryzain/Konstantin in the lead and 16.0 seconds ahead of Lukanuk/Eremeev in third.
After final service, the need to push still existed. All of the drivers were at 100 percent, and there would be no room for mistakes.
SS10 saw a repeat of the Neste stage with Breen/Nagle coming home in fifth, 3.9 seconds off the stage win.
The eleventh stage would be a new one for the rally with the 9.93km blast setting up a setting up a grandstand finish.
Breen and Nagle were able to bring the car home third on the final stage to finish second in the overall standings as they stood at the final stopline.
The result demonstrates the advancements that Team MRF Tyres have made in the development of their tyres.
In Rally Poland, just the second gravel rally for Team MRF Tyres, Breen and Nagle took the first stage wins on gravel for MRF Tyres.
In Latvia, the first repeat rally for MRF Tyres, the team takes the first podium.
MRF Tyres customer cars Michal Pryczek/ Jacek Pryczek (Subaru Impreza N15) and Igor Widłak/Daniel Dymurski (Ford Fiesta Rally 3) ran strongly over the day.
Pryczek/Pryczek finished third in the ERC2 category and Widlak/Dymurski also finished third in the RC3 category.
Team MRF Tyres will be out in the next round of the European Rally Championship with the Rally di Roma Capitale on 23-26 July.
Quotes
Craig Breen, Driver, Hyundai i20 R5
“We had to push all rally long. There was no room to relax this weekend. This series is so strong and you have to fight for the podium.”“Team MRF Tyres has achieved so much in this campaign and a podium was a big part that was missing. To achieve a podium for Team MRF Tyres is very satisfying.”
“The Hyundai i20 R5 felt so good through the rally but we had to push the entire way. The entire team at MRF Tyres should be proud of what we have achieved in a short amount of time.”
“We entered the European Rally Championship a year ago and Rally Liepaja is only our third gravel rally. It is a great result.”
*Results provisional -
Red Bull turns the tide with Verstappen’s dominant win: Race Analysis
Max Verstappen took a second consecutive victory over Lewis Hamilton as Valtteri Bottas just managed to hold on to the final podium position in the Styrian Grand Prix, the first of two races held at the Red Bull ring.
London, 28 June 2021: Max Verstappen took a dominant fourth victory of the season as Lewis Hamilton finished a distant 2nd ahead of Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas. Sergio Perez tried to chase Bottas for the podium with an alternate strategy, but to no avail had to settle for P4 ahead of McLaren’s in form driver Lando Norris in P5. Ferrari redeemed themselves with Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc finishing P6 and P7 respectively. Lance Stroll added to Aston Martin’s points tally in P8, ahead of veteran Fernando Alonso in P9 and the points positions completed by Japanese rookie Yuki Tsunoda in P10.
Kimi Raikkonen finished just outside the points in P11, meanwhile his Alfa Romeo teammate Antonio Giovinazzi finished down in p15. Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel crossed the line in P12 ahead of reliability hampered Daniel Ricciardo who could only manage P13 in his McLaren. Alpine’s Esteban Ocon finished P14. Williams’ Nicholas Latifi finished in P17, sandwiched by both Haas cars of Mick Schumacher in P16 and Nikita Mazepin in P18. George Russell retired due to pneumatic pressure loss while Pierre Gasly suffered a rear suspension failure on lap 1.
All race weekend rain beckoned but eventually it stayed away from the track and Verstappen went off the line smoothly maintaining his lead on lap 1, Hamilton following suit. Perez moved past Norris but conceded the place back to the McLaren man as Norris made a move outside of turn 4. Bottas was running in P5, meanwhile, Ricciardo had made up five positions running in P8 from P13.
Leclerc had to pit as he damaged his front wing by nicking Gasly’s rear left tyre. The AlphaTauri driver retiring as he got suspension failure due to tyre puncture and, in the process, spun Giovinazzi and Latifi. A few laps later, Ricciardo suffered momentary engine power loss due to which he plummeted back to P13, promoting Williams’ Russell in P8.
On lap 10 Perez moved past Norris, Bottas doing the same a lap later as the McLaren did not put up much of a defense due to faster nature of the Red Bull and Mercedes cars. At the front Verstappen was leading Hamilton by 3s. The duo led Perez and Bottas by over 12s. Behind the top four it was Norris, Stroll, Alonso, Russell, Tsunoda and Sainz.
Perez was the first one to pit for hard tyres on lap 26 and suffered a slow pit stop. This gave Mercedes the opportunity to pit Bottas and with a smooth pitstop emerged ahead of Perez and running into the podium positions. Hamilton pitted on lap 28, already behind Verstappen by 5s. Verstappen copying his title rival and emerging in the lead once again. There was another bout of bad luck for Russell as he was comfortably running in points before reliability problems struck and eventually retiring the car on lap 36 after falling to P18.
Pit Stops – A Pirelli graphic In the midfield both Sainz and Ricciardo pulled off a mammoth 41 lap stint on medium tyres before pitting for hard tyres. Everyone else in the midfield had pitted between lap 26 and 31. The outlier being Leclerc who pitted a second time on lap 37 after pitting on lap 1 to change his front wing.
Ahead, Perez was unable to get past Bottas and pitted again on lap 51 to try and pull of another “Hungary 2019” on Bottas to get the podium. It was to no avail as Perez just finished 0.5s behind Bottas who continued and finished on his ageing hard tyres.
In the lead, Hamilton was unable to make a dent in Verstappen’s lead as the lead extended over 10s. The Briton pitting on lap 69 for a set of soft tyres to get an extra point for setting the fastest lap, a consolation for what had been a dominant victory by the Red Bull team.
Red Bull clearly dominated this race weekend and the same can be expected next weekend as the Austrian grand prix takes place at the same venue. Only weather and rain have a chance to stop their momentum. Red Bull brought an upgrade to their diffusers leading edge, making it serrated to enhance the rear downforce creation. By doing this they can run a lower downforce rear wing compared to Mercedes which gave them an advantage of about 0.2s on the straights without compromising cornering speed. Mercedes have lost out to Red Bull especially in race pace as Hamilton kept losing time in relation to Verstappen. Mercedes have not brought any upgrades instead aiming to optimise their current package. They have a lot of work to do if they want to consistently challenge Red Bull. It has been four races since the German squad won a race.
McLaren once again proved to be the clear best of the rest with them being the leading team in midfield in qualifying and race. Ricciardo is still unable to maximise the potential of the MCL35M and therefore, McLaren are unable to operate at their potential. Also, reliability hampered them in Styria as Ricciardo too would have finished in points. Ferrari have seemed to recover their race pace after a dismal French grand prix where the car chewed through its tyres. In Styria the car looked more balanced and tyre wear was not an issue for the Italian squad. It remains to be seen if they have fixed the problem or is it a track specific issue. AlphaTauri failed to capitalise on their potential pace, like many other races this season. Both drivers showed impressive qualifying pace with Gasly even beating both Ferrari’s. His race was over on lap 1 due to the Leclerc incident and Tsunoda was able to finish in the points. AlphaTauri can challenge for higher points if they have incident free and clean race.
Aston Martin struggled in qualifying but showed competitive race pace. Due to one lap pace being their issue and midfield teams being closely matched in race pace, Aston Martin were unable to break through the midfield to challenge the likes of McLaren and Ferrari with only Stroll adding to team’s tally. Alpine are on similar level as Aston Martin, operating on the fringes of top 10. Alonso maximised while Ocon struggled in qualifying and race, like the French grand prix. With race pace to rivals being similar it is all about maximizing qualifying and maintaining track position.
Williams genuinely for the first time this season showed points potential and having the pace to match teams like Aston martin and Alpine in the hands of Russell. Russell was comfortably running in the top 10 and even putting pressure on Alpine’s Alonso before reliability gremlins struck and robbed him his points finish. Williams needs a reliable race car if they want to challenge the top 10 because clearly, they have made steps forward with the FW43B.
Alfa Romeo were in no man’sland this weekend as they did not have the pace for top 10 but were faster than fellow Ferrari customer Haas. They fell back behind Williams, but Raikkonen maximised the cars potential by finishing P11, one position outside points. Their race pace is better than qualifying but both need improvement to consistently challenge the lower top 10. Haas have had the same story for much of the season as they struggled once again at the back of the field but both rookie drivers gaining experience in Formula 1.
Saturday Qualifying Results were:
P1: Max Verstappen- 33 (Red Bull) P2: Valtteri Bottas- 77 (Mercedes) P3: Lewis Hamilton- 44 (Mercedes) P4: Lando Norris- 4 (McLaren) P5: Sergio Perez- 11 (Red Bull) P6: Pierre Gasly- 10 (AlphaTauri) P7: Charles Leclerc- 16 (Ferrari) P8: Yuki Tsunoda- 22 (AlphaTauri) P9: Fernando Alonso- 14 (Alpine) P10: Lance Stroll- 18 (Aston Martin) P11: George Russell- 63 (Williams) P12: Carlos Sainz- 55 (Ferrari) P13: Daniel Ricciardo- 3 (McLaren) P14: Sebastian Vettel- 5 (Aston Martin) P15: Antonio Giovinazzi- 99 (Alfa Romeo) P16: Nicholas Latifi- 6 (Williams) P17: Esteban Ocon- 31 (Alpine) P18: Kimi Raikkonen- 7 (Alfa Romeo) P19: Mick Schumacher- 47 (Haas) P20: Nikita Mazepin- 9 (Haas) Note – Bottas penalised three grid places for dangerous driving in the pit lane during practice. Tsunoda penalised three grid places for impeding Bottas during Q3.
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Dominant victory for Max Verstappen ahead of Hamilton
Spielberg (Austria), 27 June 2021: Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen took a flawless lights-to-flag Styrian Grand Prix victory, beating Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton by 35 seconds as Valtteri Bottas in the second Mercedes car kept hard-charging Sergio Pérez in the second Red Bull at bay in the closing stages to take third place.
At the start of the race, Verstappen made the perfect getaway and he took the lead ahead of Hamilton, McLaren’s Lando Norris and Pérez as the field streamed through Turn 1.
Behind them AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly tangled with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in Turn 1 and as the pair rejoined Leclerc’s front wing tagged the left rear of Gasly’s car. The Frenchman sustained a puncture. Then in Turn 3 he collided with the Alfa Romeo of Antonio Giovinazzi. The collisions left Gasly with heavy damage at the left rear corner of his car and he limped back to the pits to retire as Leclerc also pitted for repairs.
By lap 10 of the short and fast Red Bull Ring Verstappen had managed to eke out a three-second gap to Hamilton, while behind him Pérez was closing on Norris. The Mexican got the job done in Turn 3 of the same lap, diving down the inside of the McLaren driver to steal the podium place. Bottas pulled off a similar move on the McLaren but Pérez’s pace was strong and by lap 15 he had already extended the gap to the Finn to 3.5 seconds.
Pérez was the first of the leaders to make a pit stop. The Mexican headed for the pits on lap 27 but when he stopped on his marks there was a problem with the rear left wheel and he spent a costly 4.8 seconds stationary before being released with a set of new hard tyres.
The delay prompted Mercedes to pit Bottas at the end of the next lap and after a clean switch to hard tyres the Finn rejoined in third place ahead of Pérez.
Hamilton was the next of the leaders in and he too made a good stop of 2.2s as he sought to undercut Max. The Team responded, however, and after a brilliant stop of two seconds dead, the Dutchman rejoined in the lead, over four seconds clear of his championship rival.
Pérez then began to chip away at the gap to Bottas and by lap 42 he was just 2.8s behind the Finn. At the front Verstappen was managing the pace well and the gap to Hamilton remained stable at 4.4s.
At the front, Verstappen slowly but surely began to pull away from Hamilton and on lap 48 the gap had stretched to 6.5 seconds. Pérez, meanwhile, was still trying to find a way past Bottas. He steadily chipped away at the Finn’s advantage and on lap 49 was just 1.6s behind the Mercedes man.
He could find no way past, however, and at the end of lap 55 the Team brought the Mexican into the pits for a new set of medium tyres.
He quickly began to set purple laps and with 10 laps to go had turned a 20s deficit to the Finn to a gap of just 11 seconds. Five laps later and the gap was under six seconds.
With just a few laps remaining, the race to overhaul Bottas was always going to be close and despite a heroic effort in the end Pérez missed out by a tiny margin, crossing the line in fourth place, just 0.5s behind the Finn.
Verstappen was in cruise control at the front of the pack. With 15 seconds in hand over Hamilton in the final stages, Mercedes went into damage limitation mode.
On the penultimate lap Hamilton headed for the pits and took on a set of soft tyres. He claimed the race fastest lap on the final lap and reduced the damage caused by Verstappen to seven points.
After crossing the line 35s ahead of Hamilton to claim Red Bull’s third victory at its home track after Austrian Grand Prix wins in 2018 and 2019, Verstappen now leads the Drivers’ championship on 156 points, 18 ahead of Hamilton. Pérez, in third place, now has 96 points, 10 ahead of Norris.
In the battle for the Constructors’ championship crown Red Bull Racing now have 156 points, 40 ahead of Mercedes.
Behind the top four, Lando Norris took 10 valuable points for McLaren with fifth place. The result keeps McLaren in third in the Constructors’ Championship, on 120 points, 12 clear of Ferrari.
After a difficult build up to the race the Scuderia enjoyed a profitable afternoon with Carlos Sainz working a long stint well to rise up the order and eventually claim sixth place after starting from P12. Team-mate Charle Leclerc pitted at the end of the first lap following his clash with Gasly and dropped to the rear of the field. The Monegasque driver made an excellent comeback, however, to finish seventh ahead of Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and Alpine’s Fernando Alonso. The final point on offer was taken by AlphaTaauri’s Yuki Tsunoda.
2021 FIA Formula 1 Styrian Grand Prix
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda 71 1:22’18.925
2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 71 1:22’54.668 35.743
3 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 71 1:23’05.832 46.907
4 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda 71 1:23’06.359 47.434
5 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 70 1:22’24.281 1 lap /5.356
6 Carlos Sainz Jr. Ferrari 70 1:22’31.243 1 lap /12.318
7 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 70 1:22’43.757 1 lap /24.832
8 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 70 1:22’59.121 1 lap /40.196
9 Fernando Alonso Alpine/Renault 70 1:23’00.099 1 lap /41.174
10 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri/Honda 70 1:23’00.774 1 lap /41.849
11 Kimi Räikkönen Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 70 1:23’03.208 1 lap /44.283
12 Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin/Mercedes 70 1:23’08.210 1 lap /49.285
13 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren/Mercedes 70 1:23’09.506 1 lap /50.581
14 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 70 1:23’10.959 1 lap /52.034
15 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 70 1:23’17.947 1 lap /59.022
16 Mick Schumacher Haas/Ferrari 69 1:23’01.861 2 laps /42.936
17 Nicholas Latifi Williams/Mercedes 68 1:22’22.430 3 laps /3.505
18 Nikita Mazepin Haas/Ferrari 68 1:22’30.819 3 laps /11.894
George Russell Williams/Mercedes 36 44’25.454 Power Unit
Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri/Honda 1 2’03.661 Collision -
Fabio Quartararo wins at Cathedral of Speed
The Frenchman pulls the pin to reverse the Yamaha 1-2 on Sunday, with Mir slicing through to third
Assen (Netherlands), 27 June, 2021: Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) pitched the tactics to perfection in the Motul TT Assen to come out on top, heading a Yamaha 1-2 ahead of teammate Maverick Viñales as the two Iwata marque machines pulled the pin once again on Sunday. The duo also push the factory past the milestone of 750 podiums, with Yamaha now counting on 751 with two riders on the rostrum at Assen, known as Cathedral of Speed. Reigning Champion Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) completed the podium, slicing through from 10th on the grid.
Fabio Quartararo: “I trained with the ball a little bit higher all the days but this one was tough. Was really tough race, I was struggling so much to overtake Pecco. I struggled a little bit all weekend with my right arm, and in the race, I could have gone three or four tenths faster every lap, but I was feeling really bad and, at the half race I was a bit scared, but I kept the pace and I can be happy because with the battle with Maverick on Saturday, he won, but the points arrive on Sunday so I am so happy.”
Quartararo took the holeshot from second, but the Frenchman wasn’t allowed to escape early as fellow front row starter as Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) went for a Lap 1 leap at Turn 8. It was close between Quartararo and Pecco, their exits compromised, with that allowing Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) up alongside the pair as Quartararo ran hot into Turn 9. Bagnaia said thank you very much, the Italian through to lead and holding station – for now.
Fabuleux! Fabio was fast as ever on Sunday. Quartararo went for a move at the final chicane to answer back but was wide, and Bagnaia got his GP21 stood up and blasted back past. That happened again on Lap 6, before Lap 7 saw Quartararo grab P1 through Turns 12 and 13. How crucial was that going to prove? Meanwhile, Nakagami was still holding Viñales at bay, with Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing), Mir and Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) line astern right behind.
Two 1:32.8s saw Quartararo stretch a 1.2 lead to Bagnaia on Lap 9, hammer down. On Lap 11, that gap was up to 2.5 as Bagnaia had to switch focus to keeping Nakagami behind him. The Japanese rider passed the Ducati rider on Lap 11 through the rapid kinks, but Bagnaia grabbed P2 back down the front straight. Viñales, Zarco, Mir and Oliveira were all waiting in the wings and there was a copy paste of Nakagami vs Bagnaia a couple of laps later. Drama hit then though as the number 63 was handed a long-lap penalty for exceeding track limits.
On Lap 15, there was plenty of action. Bagnaia dived into the long-lap penalty loop, and then teammate Jack Miller crashed unhurt at Turn 5. Nakagami was sat up by Mir at the same corner and it was now Viñales in second place, four seconds behind runaway leader Quartararo. Mir was then up past Zarco at Turn 5 with eight laps to go into third, with Oliveira around half a second away back on the Pramac rider, in fifth.
At the front, the gap came down to 2.5 with two laps to go between Quartararo and Viñales as the latter seemed quicker, but after too much lost ground no one had an answer to El Diablo at Assen. A fourth 25-point haul of the season extends his Championship advantage to 34 points heading into the summer break. Viñales delivered impressive late-race pace on the front soft tyre, but it wasn’t enough to reel in Quartararo. Nevertheless, after finishing last at the Sachsenring, P2 for the Spaniard is a splendid effort as the number 12 returns to the podium for the first time since his Qatar GP win. Mir kept his powder dry ahead of Zarco to secure third, the podium also his third of the season.
Zarco was forced to settle for fourth ahead of Oliveira in fifth, with a real battle deciding sixth just behind. Marc Marquez made a stunning start from 20th on the grid to gain ten places in what seemed like the blink of an eye, and he hustled on to the back of Bagnaia after the Italian’s Long Lap penalty. The eight-time World Champion couldn’t quite find a way past, although he was within 0.075 over the line as Bagnaia held on for sixth. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) took eighth, with Nakagami disappointed with ninth after an early podium challenge and Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda Team) completing the top ten.
11th went to Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) despite a run off for the number 42 following contact early in the race with Johann Zarco, with the Suzuki holding off Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) as the South African got his first taste of Assen on a MotoGP™ bike. Danilo Petrucci (Tech3 KTM Factory Racing) took 13th, ahead of Alex Marquez (LCR Honda Castrol) – another debuting at the track in the premier class – as was rookie Enea Bastianini (Avintia Esponsorama), who completed the points.
Valentino Rossi (Petronas Yamaha SRT) crashed out fast at Turn 7 but rider ok, Miller went down at Turn 5. He rejoined but then had to stop with a mechanical problem. Iker Lecuona (Tech3 KTM Factory Racing) also crashed, and Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing) was forced back into pitlane with an issue.
Now it’s time for summer break and a reset, with a double-header at the Red Bull Ring up next at the start of August. Quartararo heads in with another win and a sizeable advantage at the top, but can anyone hit back in the second half? Join us for the Styrian Grand Prix from the 6th to the 8th of August.
Top 10:1. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP)
2. Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) + 2.757
3. Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) + 5.760
4. Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) + 6.130
5. Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) + 8.402
6. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) + 10.035
7. Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) + 10.110
8. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) + 10.346
9. Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) + 12.225
10. Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda Team) + 18.565
