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Jack Doohan tops Day 1 test at Jerez
Jerez, 12, May 2021: Trident’s Jack Doohan carried over his form from the opening round of the season, leading both the morning and the afternoon stint on the opening day of testing in Jerez.
It was the Trident racer’s morning tour that finished at the top of the timesheets, with a time of 1:29.625 enough to beat out teammate Clement Novalak and ART Grand Prix’s Frederik Vesti.
MORNING
Making the trip from the Northeast of Spain to the Southwest, the F3 field followed up the opening round of the campaign in Barcelona with a two-day test in Jerez two days later, giving them a chance to build on what they’d learned.
Heading out at the first opportunity under the Spanish sun, MP Motorsport were amongst the busiest in the opening half an hour, with Tijmen Van der Helm the first man to top the leaderboard, before Caio Collet got the fast laps underway, setting the standard at 1:31.304. The Alpine junior continued in a similar vein throughout the session, eventually finishing in P8.
Juan Manuel Correa scored his first point in F3 during Race 2 at Barcelona and followed this up with a table-topping time on the opening morning in Jerez, setting a 1:30.754 to beat out ART Grand Prix teammate Vesti. Though Correa later dropped down the order and out of the top 10, Vesti was able to take P3 at the chequered flag.
Jonny Edgar and Calan Williams were the first drivers to break the 1m 30s barrier, doing so within seconds of each other, but it was the Carlin Buzz driver who went quickest, lapping at 1:29.991. The duo had fallen to fourth and seventh by the end of the session.
Setting the fastest time at the post-season tests in Jerez last October, Doohan put himself back at the top of the order with the quickest of the morning runs, lapping at 1:29.625, ahead of Trident teammate Novalak.
Alex Smolyar completed the top five ahead of Ayumu Iwasa. Pierre-Louis Chovet and Jak Crawford took the final two top 10 spots, finishing ninth and 10th.
AFTERNOON
Current Championship leader, Dennis Hauger, flexed his muscles at the start of the afternoon session, setting the pace at 1:31.405 ahead of Doohan and his PREMA teammate, Arthur Leclerc.
There was plenty of time to still be found around Jerez though, and Roman Stanek was the first to find it, overtaking the PREMA with a tour of 1:31.332, before his teammate, Iwasa leapt above him with the first sub-1m 31s time of the afternoon.
But it was the familiar name of Doohan who ended the session on top, following up his successful morning stint with the quickest time of the afternoon as well, lapping at 1:30.605 to drop Iwasa to P2.
Novalak finished second fastest on Day 1 of testing in Jerez. A Getty Images photo It was an all-Red Bull academy top four as Jak Crawford claimed third ahead of Hauger, with Doohan’s teammate, Novalak, completing the top five. Edgar ensured that all of the Red Bull Juniors had a spot in the top 10, as he took P6 ahead of Leclerc and Collet.
Stanek had dropped to P9 by the time the session concluded, while Amaury Cordeel took the final place in the top 10.
2021 FIA FORMULA 3 CHAMPIONSHIP – JEREZ TEST, DAY 1, MORNING SESSION**
DRIVER TEAM LAPTIME LAPS 1 Jack Doohan Trident 1:29.625 18 2 Clément Novalak Trident 1:29.676 13 3 Frederik Vesti ART Grand Prix 1:29.700 28 4 Jonny Edgar Carlin Buzz Racing 1:29.911 31 5 Alexander Smolyar ART Grand Prix 1:29.927 28 6 Ayumu Iwasa Hitech Grand Prix 1:29.944 29 7 Calan Williams Jenzer Motorsport 1:29.967 23 8 Caio Collet MP Motorsport 1:30.044 26 9 Pierre Louis Chovet Jenzer Motorsport 1:30.064 29 10 Jak Crawford Hitech Grand Prix 1:30.097 30 11 Oliver Rasmussen HWA RACELAB 1:30.181 30 12 Kaylen Frederick Carlin Buzz Racing 1:30.228 32 13 Enzo Fittipaldi Charouz Racing System 1:30.324 25 14 David Schumacher Trident 1:30.429 13 15 Ido Cohen Carlin Buzz Racing 1:30.438 30 16 Matteo Nannini HWA RACELAB 1:30.511 21 17 Juan Manuel Correa ART Grand Prix 1:30.551 29 18 Arthur Leclerc PREMA Racing 1:30.604 32 19 Olli Caldwell PREMA Racing 1:30.664 33 20 Rafael Villagomez HWA RACELAB 1:30.762 29 21 Roman Stanek Hitech Grand Prix 1:31.090 30 22 Tijmen van der Helm MP Motorsport 1:31.192 26 23 Filip Ugran Jenzer Motorsport 1:31.203 28 24 Amaury Cordeel Campos Racing 1:31.554 32 25 Reshad de Gerus Charouz Racing System 1:31.704 22 26 Lorenzo Colombo Campos Racing 1:31.788 29 27 László Tóth Campos Racing 1:32.044 37 28 Victor Martins MP Motorsport 1:32.153 11 29 Dennis Hauger PREMA Racing 1:32.383 25 2021 FIA FORMULA 3 CHAMPIONSHIP – JEREZ TEST, DAY 1, AFTERNOON SESSION**
DRIVER TEAM LAPTIME LAPS 1 Jack Doohan Trident 1:30.605 22 2 Ayumu Iwasa Hitech Grand Prix 1:30.616 25 3 Jak Crawford Hitech Grand Prix 1:30.665 30 4 Dennis Hauger PREMA Racing 1:30.720 29 5 Clément Novalak Trident 1:30.781 29 6 Jonny Edgar Carlin Buzz Racing 1:30.795 46 7 Arthur Leclerc PREMA Racing 1:30.867 30 8 Caio Collet MP Motorsport 1:30.882 38 9 Roman Stanek Hitech Grand Prix 1:30.919 29 10 Amaury Cordeel Campos Racing 1:30.956 27 11 Alexander Smoylar ART Grand Prix 1:30.958 36 12 Juan Manuel Correa ART Grand Prix 1:30.996 36 13 Calan Williams Jenzer Motorsport 1:31.049 41 14 Olli Caldwell PREMA Racing 1:31.094 30 15 Enzo Fittipaldi Charouz Racing System 1:31.192 24 16 David Schumacher Trident 1:31.196 25 17 Kaylen Frederick Carlin Buzz Racing 1:31.198 34 18 Frederik Vesti ART Grand Prix 1:31.205 36 19 Lorenzo Colombo Campos Racing 1:31.315 31 20 Victor Martins MP Motorsport 1:31.463 46 21 Ido Cohen Carlin Buzz Racing 1:31.560 47 22 Oliver Rasmussen HWA RACELAB 1:31.620 57 23 Pierre Louis Chovet Jenzer Motorsport 1:31.741 37 24 Rafael Villagomez HWA RACELAB 1:31.823 56 25 Reshad de Gerus Charouz Racing System 1:31.907 35 26 Tijmen van der Helm MP Motorsport 1:32.184 28 27 Filip Ugran Jenzer Motorsport 1:32.210 41 28 László Tóth Campos Racing 1:32.550 42 29 Matteo Nannini HWA RACELAB 1:33.421 55 - Logan Sargeant (Charouz Racing System) did not take part in today’s sessions due to previous commitments
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Off-beat: Jehan Daruvala’s dream Indian race weekend
7 May 2021, (F2 feed): We hand the reigns over to Jehan Daruvala who crafts a brand-new addition to the Formula 2 calendar. The Carlin driver creates a new race weekend.
WHERE WOULD THE RACE BE HELD?
“I would hold the race in India because I think that I could get a lot of fans there for me and a lot of support.
“We would race in Mumbai, to be exact. It is my home city and I know the streets. I think I would get on well around them.”
HOW WOULD THE TRACK BE LAID OUT?
“It would be a street track. A pure street track, like Macau, where you haven’t got any curbs or anything, just barriers.
“Knowing the roads, I would have a bit of an advantage. I would also get rid of practice for this reason and go straight into Quali.”
DAY OR NIGHT?
Daruvala said his dream track would be a pure street circuit like Macau “It would be a night race on the streets. I like driving in the night in general.”
WHAT WOULD THE WEATHER BE LIKE?
“I like it hot. Back home, it is warm all of the time, so I enjoy the heat. It would need to be dry as well – I don’t want any rain. It would be great if it was humid because then other drivers who aren’t used to that might struggle a bit!”
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The call of the Desert: Dakar 2022 route revealed
Key points:
* For its 44th edition, which will run from 2-14 January, the Dakar will pay its third visit to Saudi Arabia. The rally will start in Ha’il and finish in Jeddah, after a rest day in Riyadh. With the route heading in a south-easterly direction, the organisers propose a sandier tone to the challenge. In the Empty Quarter, it’s “dunes galore”!
* The desire to take the discipline towards a virtuous operation in terms of carbon emissions will take concrete form from 2022 with the launch of a T1-E category reserved for prototypes engaged in this research. The end of the combustion engine era is planned for 2030 for cars.
* The popularity of vintage vehicles in the “Dakar Classic” regularity race has encouraged many enthusiasts of 1980′ and 90’s 4x4s to have a go in the adventure. The field could double in size at the start in Ha’il.
* During the Andalusia Rally, featuring some of the Dakar favourites, the contours of the 2022 edition and the debut of the registration period, which will begin on 17 May, were announced.
In 2020 the Dakar competitors and teams discovered Saudi Arabia. In 2021 they familiarised themselves with its territories in unique conditions, and in 2022 they will continue their exploration. A glance at the map of the country invites those who love wide-open spaces to go into the Empty Quarter. This immense desert is as big as France and extends over the entire south-eastern region of the country. It is the challenge that David Castera has set for himself. The idea is to emphasise negotiating the sand with, for example, three stages exclusively in the dunes! The weeding-out process will come down to the crews’ ability to tackle the dunes and off-road navigation. The drop in the average time should not be the result of a series of punctures that several competitors have suffered on some of the rocky stages.
In the continuity of the adjustments made to balance the playing field with navigation, the electronic roadbook will be generalised to all crews in the car, SSV and truck categories. A version for motorbikes and quads will also be available for elite riders. Above all, the 2022 edition will mark the starting point of the plan to host a field of cars powered solely by alternative energies by 2030. The disappearance of combustion engines will take place according to a progressive timetable subject to technological developments. Initially, this will involve the opening of a T1-E category for low-carbon emission prototypes. Constructors are currently developing these cars to make them as competitive as possible, starting with Audi, which plans to take on the challenge beginning in 2022. Electric powered cars will soon take on the Empty Quarter.
For the second edition of the Dakar Classic, which caused a stir in the bivouacs, among television viewers and on social media last January, a few rule changes have been made. Regularity will no longer be the only evaluation criteria. On portions representing roughly 20% of the route, only navigation will be judged and not time, and each excess kilometre covered will cost points.
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Andalucia Rally 2021 begins today
Andalucia, 12 May 2021: Starting Wednesday morning, 200 vehicles and more than 300 competitors are expected to pass through administrative and technical checks for the Andalucía Rally 2021. And in order to ensure the on-track safety of this XXL size rally, the Andalusian authorities and the organisers have put in place an exceptional safety dispositive.
The other particularity of this edition, is the astonishing proportion of rookie competitors present on the event. To make sure they make their debut in the best possible conditions a training and evaluation structure staffed by rally professionals has been set up via the Challenge Road to Dakar that has chosen the Andalucía Rally 2021 to show case this initiative.
SAFETY FIRST
So as to ensure the safety in the zones covered by the race for the increased number of vehicles entered (+100 % for the cars, + 40 % for the bikes), the Andalusía Rally have mobilised no less than 1100 local commissaires supervised by the Guardia Civil. Added to that are 200 members of the organisation, to give a ratio of organisers to competitors of almost 5 to 1. In addition no less than 5 helicopters will overfly the event: 2 from the police and 3 from the organisation. In the words of David Castera, “an exceptional safety dispositive.”
After being the first event in the world to allow bike and quad competitors to test an airbag last October, the Andalucía Rally 2021 will be the first race after the Dakar to make this compulsory.
Due to the Covid context, the race will be based entirely behind ‘closed doors’ at the magnificent El Rosalejo hacienda. A sanitary bubble has once again been created to protect both the population of Andalusia and the rally caravan. To access the bubble for the first time, all accredited participants will have to present a negative PCR test taken less than 72 hours before arriving. Contact between the competitors, organisers, and the media have been reduced to the strict minimum in respect of the conditions defined by the organisation. Throughout the rally an ‘anti-covid’ team will be responsible for ensuring that these rules are scrupulously respected.
RALLY-RAID SCHOOL
Put in place by ASO this year on the Andalucía Rally, the Challenge Road to Dakar rewards the best newcomer in the Moto/Quad Rally category and SSV-T4 as well as the Moto/Quad Enduro Cup. 43 rally bike/quad competitors will be trying to win an entry for the next edition of the Dakar while the 15 Enduro Cup entrants are in with a chance of winning an entry to the Rallye du Maroc 2021.
As David Castera explains, with its new educational format, everybody is a winner: “We want to accompany the newcomers so that they debut their adventure under the best possible conditions. There are still too many rookies that under-estimate the Dakar. We will train competitors the use the Iritrack, the GPS and how to navigate. None other than Cyril Despres will advise them on how to tackle their first rally, guiding and advising them during the race. In addition, the forty or so bikes entered in the category will come under the scrutiny of physical trainer Xavier Feuillée, who looks after a number of top competitors such as Sébastien Ogier and Esteban Ocon. He will test their physical and psychological aptitude and produce a report giving the areas that need to be worked on. At the end of the Andalucía Rally 2021 those who have demonstrated a super level will be informed that for them it is OK (for the Dakar). Take the rest in seven months direct to Dakar will be considered unreasonable and they will be presented with two options. Either continue to progress and take part in the Rallye du Maroc 2021 or participate in a second training session of three days that will take place at the same time as the race to avoid them spending a bigger budget. At the end of one or other of these two options we will either allow them to take the start of the Dakar or refuse their entry. To say ‘no’ if necessary, will be doing them a favour.”
To simply cross the final finish line of one of these rallies therefore no longer means an automatic entry to the Dakar, with the selection process now based on training and assessment. The new generation of the discipline will be able to count on the experience of Cyril Despres with his tally of five wins in 13 participations on bikes and 6 in cars.
Cyril Despres: “I’m very honoured to be given this role. Safety in rally-raid is something very important to us all.”
UNDER STARTERS ORDERS
Before attacking the four stages to be run from 13 to 16 May for a total of 1473 kms, of which 1086 kms are timed (74%), the competitors must tackle a short 8 kms special. A Qualifying Special for the cars, the ten fastest choosing their start position for the first stage as stipulated by the FIA regulations. The times achieved on this special being added to competitors’ overall time. Super Special for the bikes, starting the next stage in order of the time posted. A coefficient of 4 will be applied to their times to discourage them from trying for a ‘strategic’ finish. No less than 27 nationalities will be represented on the start line. France will be the most represented nation (38%) ahead of the Spanish contingent (18%), with the Dutch at 7% and the Italians at 5. All however will be speaking the universal language of road book!
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J Rod to spearhead Hero MotoSports team: Andalucia Rally
Villamartin (Spain) 11 May 2021: Hero MotoSports Team Rally, the motorsport team of the world’s largest manufacturer of motorcycle and scooters – Hero MotoCorp, is geared up to kick-start their Road to Dakar 2022 campaign at the Andalucia Rally from tomorrow.
The rider duties for the Team, in the first rally of the season, will be delivered by the trio of Joaquim Rodrigues, Sebastian Buhler and the newest Hero Franco Caimi.
After an emotional and exciting outing at the Dakar Rally earlier this year – marked by the heartbreaking crash of CS Santosh and the fantastic fight back by the team to post their best results ever with two Top 15 finishes – the team is back in action for an exciting new season with renewed focus, motivation and a reinforced team.
Franco Caimi, the exciting Argentine rider has joined forces with Hero MotoSports Team Rally last month and is all set to make his debut in Hero colors at the Andalucia Rally. A promising talent in the Rally Raid circuit, Caimi is expected to enhance the overall performance and competitiveness of the team.
Joaquim Rodrigues will be looking to build upon his gritty performance at the Dakar to deliver strong results for the team. While for Sebastian Buhler it will be another opportunity to gain more experience as he continues to sharpen his skills in the sport.
Meanwhile, the morale and mood of the team is also bolstered by the news of CS Santosh making strong and quick recovery with every passing day.
Headquartered at Villamartin, Spain, the Andalucia Rally will be formally kicked off on May 12, with a short prologue stage followed by four days of racing, covering a total of 1629 kms including 1244 kms of specials.Wolfgang Fischer, Team Manager, Hero MotoSports Team Rally: “We are very excited to kick-off our new season with the Andalucia Rally and looking forward to a great race and the season ahead. We have utilized our time to work on our bike and also strengthen the team keeping the future in sight. We are excited to see Franco Caimi in our team and wish him the best for his first race with us. We are very excited about our prospects and possibilities this season. We are very happy with the remarkable progress of Santosh. He is a fighter and we are very happy with how his recovery is shaping up. It has been a very tough time since last year for the world. Our well wishes with everyone in India and we stand in solidarity with everyone impacted by this pandemic. Stay safe everyone.”
Joaquim Rodrigues, Rider, Hero MotoSports Team Rally: “I am looking forward to the start of a new season with the team. It has been a tough one and a half years for me personally as well for the team. But we have come out stronger and I want to build on that and do my best for the team. I think we are well prepared for the Andalucia Rally given the situation all around, and we have a really good bike now so looking forward to a good race.”
Franco Caimi, Rider, Hero MotoSports Team Rally: “I am really excited to be a part of Hero MotoSports Team Rally and looking forward to my first race with the team. I think we have done well to prepare the bikes for the Andalucia Rally and I can’t wait to start tomorrow!”Sebastian Buhler, Rider, Hero MotoSports Team Rally: “The start of a new season is always exciting, especially in these times when we do not know which races will happen. So, I am quite excited to begin the new season with Andalucia Rally and hoping to get more experience in the sport, learn more and do my best.”
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K1000 postponed due to COVID19 second wave
Bengaluru, 11 May 2021: Karnataka 1000, popularly known as K1000, scheduled to run as the second round of the Champions Yacht Club fmsci Indian National Rally Championship 2021, from May 28 to 30, was postponed due to the second wave of COVID 19 that hit Bengaluru badly. The new dates will be announced later.
With the way the pandemic is raging, the Indian Championship is expected to be stretched to the end of the year and two back-to-back rounds beginning with South India Rally are likely to be held Chennai and Bengaluru. Last year, Champions Yacht Club conducted two back-to-back rounds in Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh and the calendar concluded with the third round in Coimbatore as K-1000, scheduled to be the last round, was cancelled.
The first round of the scheduled six-round National Championship this year, the MMSC South India Rally was postponed last month. The rally which attracted a record number of 73 entries was supposed to be held concurrently with the Asia Leg of the Asian Pacific Rally Championship (APRC). The third round at Coimbatore to be run by the Coimbatore Auto Sports Club, slated to be held from July 16 to 18, also looks like a non-starter.
The postponement was announced by the National body, the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (fmsci) on May 11 and was confirmed by the BS Gautham, President, Karnataka Motor Sports Club (KMSC).
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Strategic masterstroke enables Hamilton to beat Verstappen
Lewis Hamilton became the first Formula 1 driver to achieve a century of poles and converting it to his 98th career victory after a race long battle with title rival Max Verstappen at Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya in Spain. Verstappen finished P2 with a bonus point for the fastest lap and Valtteri Bottas completed the podium.
London, 10 May 2021: Strategic masterstroke by Mercedes enabled Lewis Hamilton to win his third race of the season ahead of Max Verstappen in P2 and Valtteri Bottas in P3. The trio appearing on the Spanish GP podium for the fourth consecutive year. Charles Leclerc was best of the rest in Ferrari in P4, with second Red Bull of Sergio Perez finishing in P5. Daniel Ricciardo had his best race of the season as he finished P6 for McLaren ahead of Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz in P7 and teammate Lando Norris in P8. Alpine’s Esteban Ocon scored for a third consecutive race, finishing P9, meanwhile, a late move by Pierre Gasly on Lance Stroll meant the AlphaTauri driver finished P10.
Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and Sebastian Vettel finished in P11 and P13 respectively, sandwiching Kimi Raikkonen in P12. Alfa Romeo teammate Antonio Giovinazzi finished P15, behind Williams’ George Russell. Nicholas Latifi beat Fernando Alonso while both Haas cars of Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin finished P18 and P19. Yuki Tsunoda’s AlphaTauri was the sole retirement due to engine issues.
Verstappen got a brilliant start and was alongside polesitter Hamilton as they approached turn 1. With the Dutchman diving on the inside and snatching the lead, Hamilton had to settle for P2. Behind Bottas lost out to Leclerc as he pulled of an overtake on the outside of turn 3. Ricciardo jumped to P5 and Perez to P6 as Esteban Ocon fell back to P7. Gasly got a five-second time penalty for starting the race outside of his position.
The front running duo checked out as they built an 8s advantage over Leclerc in P3 and Bottas in P4, the Finn still unable to find a way past the Ferrari. On lap 8, Tsunoda’s engine shut off, the car grounding to a halt at the reprofiled turn 10. The safety car was called out, neutralising the race. Giovinazzi and both the Williams cars pitted for medium tyres under the safety car.
The race got underway on lap 11 with Verstappen and Hamilton once again checking out in the lead while Leclerc managing to stay ahead of Bottas. Behind, Stroll moved past Alonso’s Alpine to run P10. Bottas pitted on lap 23 for medium tyres to undercut Leclerc while the rest of the midfield doing the same on lap 22 and 23.
Ahead, Hamilton was hovering around 1s behind Verstappen with Verstappen pulling the trigger on lap 24 to pit for medium tyres, this was to prevent from Hamilton attempting an undercut on the Red Bull. It was an uncharacteristically slow pit stop for Red Bull, which meant had Hamilton pitted the next lap he would have emerged in the lead. That was not to be as he carried on for four more laps, eventually pitting on lap 28 and emerging 6s behind the Dutchman.
Hamilton quickly caught up to the gearbox of Verstappen, eroding the leader’s advantage. The Briton again hovering around 1s and pressurising the Red Bull but unable to get past. Behind, Bottas was running in P3 as Leclerc had pitted on lap 28 and emerged behind the Mercedes.
Hamilton was called in to the pits again on lap 42 for another set of medium tyres as the gap to the rest of the field meant he had a free pit stop. This was a de ja vu to Hungary GP 2019 where Mercedes had done the same enabling Hamilton to win. Verstappen’s engineer echoed the same over radio saying, “it could be Hungary all over again”. Hamilton emerged in P3 22s behind the race leader. In the midfield, Perez was able to pass Ricciardo after multiple attempts to overtake for P5.
A Pirelli graphic Bottas in P2 was instructed not to hold up Hamilton but he made the Briton’s life difficult holding him up for half of the lap, eventually Hamilton diving Bottas in turn 10 on lap 52. Hamilton now 9s behind Verstappen was lapping on average 1.5s faster, with the Dutchman understandably worried on the radio. By the end of lap 59 the Mercedes was once again on the gearbox of the Red Bull. With Hamilton getting supreme traction out of the last corner he was able to overtake Verstappen on lap 60 heading into turn 1.
Bottas had pitted for soft tyres to attempt the fastest lap. Verstappen followed suit after being relegated to P2.In the midfield, teams opted for a second stop as degradation was high, meaning a two stop would enable them for higher points. Only Alpine sticking to their original strategy.
Hamilton crossed the line in P1, winning the Spanish GP for the fifth consecutive time and equaling Ayrton Senna’s record for consecutive wins at one circuit- Senna winning 5 consecutive times at Monaco. Verstappen got a consolation point for fastest lap finishing in P2 as the Red Bull team had the slower car and were outsmarted on strategy. Hamilton extending his lead to 14 points and Mercedes doing the same to 29 points.
Before the race, all the teams had expected the race to be a one-stop. But as the race unfolded and tyre degradation was higher than expected, everyone shifted two a two stop. Ocon being the only one stopper who would eventually finish in the points.
Mercedes had a slight edge in qualifying and a clear advantage in race pace over Red Bull as Hamilton was able to follow Verstappen closely throughout the race. Compounded with that was the strategy and tyre usage. Mercedes had kept two sets of medium tyres for the race whereas Red Bull had just one. Meaning, Mercedes was in the optimum position to do a one or two stop depending on the situation. Also,the W12 was kinder on its tyres than the RB16B which enabled Hamilton to keep up the pressure on Verstappen. Finally, Mercedes have not introduced a raft of new upgrades, instead focusing on understanding and optimising their car to find pace. They have unlocked pace and improved drivability since the first race in Bahrain.
A Pirelli graphic Red Bull arguably were on the backfoot as they had one car to fight against two Mercedes with Perez qualifying P8. This meant, that Hamilton got the free second pit stop which enabled him to win. The RB16B was lacking in race pace and was much worse on tyre degradation. With the car inherently more draggy it had a disadvantage over straight line speed as well. Also, with just having one set of medium tyres even if they wanted to come in a lap after Hamilton’s second pit stop, they would have struggled as the soft tyre would have dropped off towards the end and the hard tyre was too slow to be used in the race.
Ferrari were best of the rest this weekend with their car working great around the Barcelona track. Leclerc was able to qualify and finish P4 and Sainz too achieved a points finish in P7. Ferrari have lacked race pace to match their qualifying performances, but in Spain the car performed. Sainz even admitting that he should have finished higher up the order. McLaren played second fiddle to Ferrari as they were behind in both qualifying and race trim. Ricciardo arguably had his best race of the season but Norris was left frustrated after failing to maximise the potential of the MCL35M. Alpine have showed strong form in recent races, especially in the hands of Ocon. They showed better qualifying pace than McLaren and had they done a two-stop strategy, they could have another double points finish. Barcelona also gave evidence that Alpine’s new aerodynamic upgrades which included a new floor and front wing have added performance to the car.
AlphaTauri struggled at Barcelona with neither qualifying pace nor race pace matching Ferrari, McLaren and Alpine. They showed a lot of promise in Bahrain but since then have struggled.Gasly achieved the solitary point while reliability issues struck Tsunoda.Aston Martin were on the fringes of the top 10 pace but ultimately lost out. They introduced a new aerodynamic floor upgradewhich has improved the car but not to the extent the team were hoping for. They are still unable to regularly challenge for higher points positions. Alfa Romeo showed race pace equaling Aston Martineven though they have mediocre qualifying pace. It is a positive showing for the Italian team as they are not too far off challenging the top 10.
Williams once again showed promise as Russell made it to Q2 and was briefly running in the top 10. Eventually he lost out but nonetheless, the potential to match Alfa Romeo and challenge for points on a good day is there for Williams. Haas will be positive after Schumacher outqualified Latifi’s Williams on pure pace. Both drivers got another full race distance under them and Haas are slowly solving the balance issues plaguing their car. Nevertheless, it will be difficult to challenge for points given that no development of the car will take place.
Saturday Qualifying Results were:
P1: Lewis Hamilton- 44 (Mercedes) P2: Max Verstappen- 33 (Red Bull) P3: Valtteri Bottas- 77 (Mercedes) P4: Charles Leclerc- 16 (Ferrari) P5: Esteban Ocon- 31 (Alpine) P6: Carlos Sainz- 55 (Ferrari) P7: Daniel Ricciardo- 3 (McLaren) P8: Sergio Perez- 11 (Red Bull) P9: Lando Norris- 4 (McLaren) P10: Fernando Alonso- 14 (Alpine) P11: Lance Stroll- 18 (Aston Martin) P12: Pierre Gasly- 10 (AlphaTauri) P13: Sebastian Vettel- 5 (Aston Martin) P14: Antonio Giovinazzi- 99 (Alfa Romeo) P15: George Russell- 63 (Williams) P16: Yuki Tsunoda- 22 (AlphaTauri) P17: Kimi Raikkonen- 7 (Alfa Romeo) P18: Mick Schumacher- 47 (Haas) P19: Nicholas Latifi- 6 (Williams) P20: Nikita Mazepin- 9 (Haas) Note: Mazepin penalised three places for impeding Norris during qualifying.
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Hamilton conquers a strategic battle edging out Verstappen
Barcelona, 9 May 2021: Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton edged a close strategic battle with Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen to claim victory at the Spanish Grand Prix, the fourth round of the FIA Formula 1 (F1) World Championship here on Sunday, working a two-stop strategy to recover a lead lost to the Dutchman at the race start as Red Bull tried to keep Verstappen’s tyres alive on a one-stop plan.
At the race start, front-row starter Verstappen made a better start than polesitter Hamilton and on the long run to Turn 1 he managed to move ahead of the Mercedes driver before holding a strong line through Turn 1 to seize the lead.
In doing so the Red Bull driver forced Hamilton wide and the Mercedes man recovered he held up team-mate Valtteri Bottas. The dselaye allowed Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc to sneak past the Finn and steal third place. Behind Bottas McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo climbed from P7 on the grid to fifth at the start while Sergio Pérez in the second Red Bull passed the second Ferrari if Carlos Sainz and Alpine’s Esteban Ocon.
On lap nine Yuki Tsunoda’s AlphaTauri slowed and the Japanese driver was forced to stop at the edge of the circuit at Turn 10. That brought out the safety car and when racing resumed on lap 11 Verstappen controlled the re-start well to keep his lead ahead of Hamilton and Leclerc.
Bottas made his first stop on lap 23 and successfully undercut Leclerc to vault the Ferrari driver who waited until lap 28 to shed his starting soft tyres.
Verstappen made his first pit stop of the race at the end of lap 24 but the halt was a slow one as a problem with the rear left kept the Red Bull driver stationary for 4.2 seconds. He rejoined in third position but soon began to claw back time on Hamilton who now led.
Mercedes didn’t immediately respond to Verstappen’s stop and Hamilton stayed out for a further five laps before making a pit stop for medium tyre. The Mercedes driver resumed six seconds behind Max but armed with fresher tyres he quickly began to reel in the Red Bull and at half distance he pulled into DRS range.
Then, at the end of lap 42, Hamilton suddenly arrowed into the pit lane and took on a second set of medium tyres. The Mercedes driver emerged in third place behind Bottas and 23 seconds behind Verstappen who stayed out on track to keep track position and hope his rapidly ageing medium tyres would hold enough pace to keep Hamilton at bay.
But as the race wore on that hope looked increasingly forlorn. With 15 laps to go Hamilton had halved the gap to the Dutchman and a handful of laps later the gap was down to 3.0s. On lap 60 Hamilton got DRS on the pit straight and powered past the helpless Dutchman into Turn 1.
With the win now beyond Verstappen, Red Bull pitted the Dutchman at the end of the same lap for a new set of soft tyres and on lap 62 he set a lap of 1:18.149 the bag the point for fastest lap.
Four laps later Hamilton crossed the line to take his 98th win and his third of the season ahead of Verstappen, Bottas, Leclerc and Pérez. Ricciardo took sixth place ahead of Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, while McLaren’s Lando Norris took eight place. Ninth place in the race went to Alpine’s Esteban Ocon and the final point on offer went to Pierre Gasly.
2021 FIA Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix – Race
1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 66 1:33’07.680
2 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda 66 1:33’23.521 15.841
3 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 66 1:33’34.290 26.610
4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 66 1:34’02.296 54.616
5 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda 66 1:34’11.351 1’03.671
6 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren/Mercedes 66 1:34’21.448 1’13.768
7 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 66 1:34’22.350 1’14.670
8 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 65 1:33’32.265 1 Lap
9 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 65 1:33’46.241 1 Lap
10 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri/Honda 65 1:33’46.431 1 Lap
11 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 65 1:33’51.667 1 Lap
12 Kimi Räikkönen Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 65 1:33’52.826 1 Lap
13 Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin/Mercedes 65 1:33’57.046 1 Lap
14 George Russell Williams/Mercedes 65 1:34’06.452 1 Lap
15 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 65 1:34’08.166 1 Lap
16 Nicholas Latifi Williams/Mercedes 65 1:34’17.872 1 Lap
17 Fernando Alonso Alpine/Renault 65 1:34’18.194 1 Lap
18 Mick Schumacher Haas/Ferrari 64 1:33’11.392 2 Laps
19 Nikita Mazepin Haas/Ferrari 64 1:34’01.254 2 Laps -
Olli Caldwell takes his first F3 win: Race 2
Barcelona, 9 May 2021: Olli Caldwell benefitted from not one, but two, front row crashes to take his first ever victory in Formula 3, winning out over Victor Martins in Race 2. The PREMA Racing ace picked up the pieces as first, David Schumacher and Enzo Fittipaldi, and then, Matteo Nannini and Dennis Hauger, collided in front of him from the lead.
The two crashes came in a similar place within a matter of laps, with all four finishing outside of the points. Having seen the chaos unfold in front of him, Martins opted not to challenge Caldwell too strongly and calmly crossed the line behind the Briton.
ART Grand Prix’s Frederik Vesti was the third beneficiary, taking his fifth podium in F3, ahead of Trident’s Clement Novalak, who was up from P11.
Juan Manuel Correa scored points in F3 for the first time, making up five places from P15 to finish 10th. The most impressive climb of the day came from Caldwell’s PREMA teammate, Arthur Leclerc, who magnificently rose to 12th from P28, having suffered a puncture at the end of Race 1.
AS IT HAPPENED
With the temperature rising to 42 degrees ahead of Race 2, the field were in for a sweltering afternoon of action under the Spanish sun. The heat didn’t stop Fittipaldi from pulling away coolly, as Nannini eased forward to put pressure on Schumacher for P2. After a hairy start, the Trident racer was afforded some breathing space as Martins gave Nannini a scare from fourth.
Behind them, minor contact between Novalak and Alex Smolyar resulted in a puncture for the Race 1 winner. Losing control of his ART as a result, Smolyar collected the back of Logan Sargeant and sent them both curtailing into the gravel trap. Both drivers clambered out of their cars unharmed, but a Safety Car was required to clear up the debris.
Fittipaldi made a second clean getaway of the afternoon when action eventually resumed on Lap 5, as the top five all held onto their positions.
Martins was swallowed up by PREMA duo Hauger and Caldwell when DRS was enabled. Meanwhile, the third PREMA of Arthur Leclerc was up to 22nd from P28, having suffered a puncture in Race 1.
Schumacher had remained within DRS range of Fittipaldi at the front and was harrying the rear wing of the Charouz. His hard work paid off on Lap 12 with a late scamper at the end of Turn 1, the German spotting a gap and swerving down the inside.
The Trident had taken the lead, but couldn’t build any form of a gap, as Fittipaldi searched for an opening that would allow him to get back ahead. The Charouz pulled back alongside side him heading into Turn 1, but the duo got too close and came to blows, with Schumacher skidding into the barriers and out of the race.
Nannini was gifted the lead from third, while Fittipaldi fell down the order, before retiring during the subsequent Safety Car period. The HWA RACELAB driver was confident on the brakes when racing resumed, holding off the PREMA of Hauger superbly.
Remarkably, history repeated itself with two laps to go as Nannini and Hauger came together in the same place as the previous leaders. The duo remained on track but plummeted to the back of the field, handing the lead to Caldwell, who scurried ahead.
Martins briefly looked down the side of the PREMA from P2, but opted to air on the side of caution, allowing Caldwell to cross the line unchallenged for his first win in the third tier.
Race 1 podium finisher Caio Collet completed the top five ahead of Novalak and Vesti. Red Bull junior quartet Jonny Edgar, Ayumu Iwasa, Jack Doohan and Jak Crawford took the next four positions, with Correa completing the top 10.
KEY QUOTE – OLLI CALDWELL (PREMA RACING)
“That was a crazy race, I think the reverse grids are really showing that it is going to crazy this year, which means that it will be good to be consistent.
“I am really happy with that. I had to hang on at the end with the tyres, but it was definitely a good result with all of the carnage that happened.
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Lewis Hamilton takes 98th career F1 victory: A Merc view
Lewis claims an exhilarating victory for the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team in Barcelona, with Valterri finishing strongly in P3
- Lewis executed a bold strategy call from the team to record his 98th victory in F1 following a brave decision to pit early for his second stop on lap 42.
- Valtteri’s race was compromised after being boxed in at the start to find himself behind Charles Leclerc, yet the Finn completed an impressive recovery drive to clinch P3 and move up to third in the Drivers’ Championship.
- Today marked the 100th win from pole for the Mercedes F1 Team, becoming only the second team to do so.
- Lewis’ victory was his fifth consecutive at the Spanish Grand Prix; Ayrton Senna is the only other driver to record five consecutive victories at a Grand Prix – Monaco.
- Lewis (94 points) leads the Drivers’ Championship by 14 points from Max Verstappen (80 points) with Valtteri (47) in P3.
- The Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team (141 points) lead Red Bull (112 points) by 29 points in the Constructors’ Championship.
- Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Chairman of INEOS, accepted the Constructors’ trophy on behalf of the team.
Lewis Hamilton
What a day! It was a remarkable job by the whole team again this weekend and it’s so good to see fans back here. I even saw a few British flags in the crowd and I’ve really missed that! I feel great, like I could do that all over again, all the training is clearly paying off!
It was really close off the start, there was a lot of rubber down on the righthand side of the grid and Max got a really good start. I then went hunting and was so close to Max for so long during the opening stages of the race, and I was worried I wouldn’t be able to make the tyres last in the dirty air. It looked like a long way back after the second stop – it was something like 20 seconds off Max – but it was a really bold call by the team. I was really conflicted, it felt like I might have the shot to make the move before Max stopped, but we just have that trust between us in the team and it was a great call.
Valtteri Bottas
Losing that position to Charles at Turn 3 on the first lap compromised the first stint of my race. I was hoping for more today but that made it difficult. My overall pace wasn’t too bad – bit of a shame that we couldn’t finish higher, but at least I managed to get on the podium. I’m never happy to settle for third, I’m here to win but it was a good day for the team, scoring more solid points. Monaco is going to be a unique challenge in two weeks’ time and I’m looking forward to it.
Toto Wolff
I think we had a quick car, but when you lose position on the first lap it puts you on the back foot. It was difficult for Red Bull as the car in front to make the right decision on strategy, being in second it’s easier if you have the gap to make the call that we did today.
When you look at qualifying, there were three cars within a tenth, you never know who’s going to be in front. I hope it’s going to remain like this till the end of the season – it’s just what the sport needs and we’re enjoying this fight.
Today was brilliant work from the team back home, it was our Head of Race Strategy, Rosie’s, last race before going on maternity leave and I’m so proud. It was a bold move, and when you see the gap open up to more than 20 seconds, you think there’s no way you’ll catch up. We saw Max’s tyres suffered more than ours, and we were able to stay close. The planner actually showed we’d catch Max with one lap to go but we got there with four!
The guys and girls in the team are doing a really good job, even on the days we lose, we learn and the mindset is right. When our car is not quick enough, we are still able to extrapolate good performances. We we never rest, never have any sense of entitlement – in two weeks it can swing in the other direction and then it will be a weekend to learn. The atmosphere was fantastic and I really need to take my hat off from the group of strategists led by James and all the group back in Brackley, they are just fantastic.
Andrew Shovlin
Congratulations to Lewis on another well-deserved win! A good day’s work by the team and drivers but it felt like a lot of effort to get back to where we started. Both drivers dropped positions off the line; we didn’t have a particular issue on Lewis’s side, he just lost a bit in clear air and ended up on the left where you can get pushed wide. Valtteri got a bit boxed in with Lewis going into turn 3 and lost to Leclerc on the outside. We knew overtaking on-track was going to be a long shot on the same age tyres but at least we could sit close enough to Max to force him in early and with Valtteri, to go for the undercut on Charles.
Going into the race, we thought a one-stop would be much easier to complete than it turned out to be but I don’t think we were alone going in with that mindset. That’s largely down to the short sessions, with less time to do our homework but at least the scene was set for the alternative strategy to take the win as many cars were dropping off at the end.
Our pace has been pretty solid this weekend, although we still seem to be relatively better on the long runs than the single lap and in Monaco, it’s mainly about single lap performance. That’s always a challenging weekend to get right but it’s a great race and we’re looking forward to going back there after the gap in 2020.
