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  • Piastri takes superb maiden win; Jehan Daruvala misses podium

    Piastri takes superb maiden win; Jehan Daruvala misses podium

    Sakhir, 26 March 2021: Reigning Formula 3 champion Oscar Piastri became the second rookie winner in as many races this season, completing a superb last-lap overtake on UNI-Virtuosi’s Guanyu Zhou, to win a frenetic Sprint Race 2 in Sakhir. The Chinese driver also fell foul to a last gasp move from Christian Lundgaard, dropping to third on an all-Alpine Academy podium. Jehan Daruvala finished P4. He will now start the Feature Race at P6 on Sunday at 16.20hours.

    It initially looked as though Zhou was set to pull off his second win in Formula 2, after boldly starting on softs, before two late Safety Cars turned the race on its head and allowed a number of the field to switch to soft Pirellis themselves. Zhou was then left to struggle to the line on heavily degraded tyres, just about holding on to third.

    Piastri and Lundgaard were amongst those to change rubber, taking advantage of a late problem for Jüri Vips, who dropped out of contention, having previously looked to be Zhou’s biggest threat. Meanwhile, Red Bull junior Jehan Daruvala just missed out on a second podium of Round 1, taking fourth.

    The superb late battle took away from some incredible performances in behind as Richard Verschoor finished fifth, having started 22nd, and Théo Pourchaire sealed sixth, having started 19th.

    Marino Sato and Matteo Nannini both started out of the top ten but finished in eight and ninth, behind David Beckmann.

    AS IT HAPPENED

    After his Qualifying disqualification, Vips said he just wanted to keep things clean in the second race of the day. Starting from reverse grid pole, the Hitech racer managed to do that at the start, darting into the distance with Lirim Zendeli in tow, as those behind them got tangled up.

    Robert Shwartzman and Dan Ticktum were the unlucky pairing. The duo came to blows in their attempts to rise up the order and were both out of the race by the end of Turn 1.

    All of the excitement brought out a Safety Car, meaning that Vips needed to nail a second getaway. The Hitech racer shrugged off the challenge and scrambled back off into the distance. Zendeli’s restart wasn’t quite as strong and it cost him P2, as Zhou launched down the side of him and into second.

    The Virtuosi racer was on a mission, homing in on Vips and coolly dispatching of the Hitech racer in the same lap to steal first. Meanwhile, things went from bad to worse for Zendeli, as he was clipped by Lundgaard and suffered a puncture. The ART racer was handed a 10s-time penalty for the offence, which he served in the pits in the latter stages of the race.

    Having lost the lead, Vips then found himself in a battle with his race-winning teammate Liam Lawson, who had climbed an incredible seven places to third. Keeping an eye on their battle was Felipe Drugovich, who’d put on a brilliant recovery himself, rising 12 places to fourth.

    Rivalling the Brazilian for most positions gained were Marcus Armstrong and Pourchaire, the Kiwi climbing 13 places to P7 and the Frenchman up to ninth from 19th.

    Lundgaard began to gain on Drugovich in fourth, which prompted the Virtuosi man to step up his chase of Lawson, sparking a three-way brawl that ended with Lawson facing the wrong way and out of the race. The Safety Car returned to clear up the mess, triggering a mass exodus of the track as a handful of drivers all dived into the pits to swap the hard Pirellis for a set of softs.

    Zhou wasn’t amongst those to pit and still held the lead when the Safety Car headed back in, followed by Drugovich, Armstrong and Bent Viscaal, with the latter trio still on the hards. All four had Vips breathing down their necks from P5 on fresh soft.

    All four went on the defensive at the restart and Viscaal very briefly snuck into second, but the Dutchman was too early on the breaks at Turn 1 and fell back down to P5. Vips dove into P2 at the exit and was followed through by Piastri, another who had swapped boots.

    Things didn’t calm down, as a third Safety Car was required when Alessio Deledda stopped on track and retired. Nursing heavily degraded hards, Zhou’s chances of holding onto first seemed slim, yet he just about clung on at the restart, as Vips was too busy defending from Piastri.

    The Australian was handed a straight shot of Zhou when Vips slowed and plummeted out of the top 10 – or so he thought. Lundgaard appeared and threw himself into the all-Alpine junior battle for P1.

    The Alpine trio went three wide on the final lap and Piastri just about edged ahead, before Lundgaard daringly launched down the outside, though the move wouldn’t stick, as ART man over pushed and ran wide.

    Lundgaard recovered and held onto second on track, although he didn’t appear on the podium. He had served his time penalty in the latter stages of the race, and with much happening in the pitlane and on the track, the FIA needed time to confirm whether the Dane had taken his time penalty in a proper manner. The confirmation came after the podium ceremony, and since the ART driver served it correctly, his P2 result was reinstated.

    Piastri now leads the Drivers’ Championship on 21 points, with Daruvala one point behind in second. Lundgaard and Zhou are tied in third on 16 points, with Lawson in fifth. PREMA lead the Teams’ standings on 29 points, ahead of Carlin on 21 and ART on 20. Virtuosi are fourth with 16 and Hitech fifth with 15

    KEY QUOTE – OSCAR PIASTRI (PREMA RACING)

    “The second race in Bahrain and it was a crazy one. We came out on top, so I want to give a massive thanks to PREMA. It was the right strategy call from the team to go onto softs.

    “I am just riding the high at the minute, second race, first win. We struggled a bit at the beginning, but I couldn’t be happier with the result and we will go again tomorrow.”

    WHAT’S NEXT?

    Zhou will line up on pole ahead of Lundgaard in the Feature Race on Sunday at 4.20pm Indian time (13.50am local time).

  • Francesco Bagnaia takes maiden pole: Barwa GP

    Francesco Bagnaia takes maiden pole: Barwa GP

    Doha, 27 March 2021: Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) has taken his maiden MotoGP™ pole position in serious style at the Barwa Grand Prix of Qatar, the Italian slamming in a 1:52.772 – the fastest-ever two-wheel lap of Losail International Circuit – to take the honour. Bagnaia beats second place Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) by 0.266s, with Quartararo’s fellow Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP rider Maverick Viñales. Fourth? Top Independent Team rider Valentino Rossi (Petronas Yamaha SRT) as the Doctor made it a Yamaha armada just behind Bagnaia… in more ways than one.

    Before the final battle though, there was Q1 to contend with. Reigning World Champion Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) found himself having to fight for his place in the pole position shootout at the season opener and it wasn’t a walk in the park as the number 36 faced some stiff competition from two rookies: Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing) and Enea Bastianini (Esponsorama Racing). Both took turns leading the session, with Mir returning to P1 by just 0.005s with his best lap of the weekend.

    Martin then crashed unhurt on his last lap and was out of contention, and Bastianini was unable to improve. Out of nowhere, Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) was then the man setting the timing screens alight though and the Japanese rider snatched P1 on his final flyer to demote Bastianini out of Q2 promotion. The Beast’s 0.005s deficit to Mir proved to be the difference. And so Mir edged through to Q2 by the skin of his teeth, and later received a fine and had his first but not fastest lap deleted for leaving pitlane early. 

    Nakagami and Mir then joined the fastest 10 riders from Free Practice for Saturday’s main course: MotoGP™ Qualifying 2. And in said session, it took Bagnaia just one lap to break the all-time lap record, a 1:53.273 coming in from the Italian to set us up for a phenomenal first pole shootout of 2021. Still, despite the P1 time being an all-time lap record, the timing screens were lit up with red sector times.

    Bagnaia didn’t improve on his next lap, but teammate Jack Miller did and the Aussie took over at the top. Next was Quartararo and the Frenchman was an astonishing four tenths under at Sector 3, losing a little in the final sector but still talking over at the top, homing in on the 52s with a 1:53.038 – another all-time lap record. After the first couple of flying laps, it was a Yamaha and Ducati fest at the top, with Aleix Espargaro placing his Aprilia Racing Team Gresini machine next up in P6 ahead of Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing). Ahead of those two sat Quartararo, Miller, Viñales, Bagnaia and Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) as the grid rumbled back into pitlane and prepared for a final push. 

    This was it. Viñales was the leader on the road and the first to show us what he had left in his locker, the Spaniard making it a factory Yamaha 1-2. Attention then turned back to Bagnaia though, and he had Valentino Rossi in tow to boot. Pecco unleashed a mind-blowing lap to return to P1 by 0.266s, impervious and seemingly unbeatable, and Rossi’s effort put him P3 for the time being as The Doctor demoted former teammate Viñales off the front row. Top Gun then returned the favour though, taking third back and pushing Rossi down to fourth.

    The front row would go unchallenged for the remaining seconds. Bagnaia said on Friday, “we will beat the record in Q2”, and he stuck to his word as the Italian to claimed his first premier class pole position in style with the fastest-ever two-wheel lap of Losail International Circuit. Quartararo and Viñales lock out the front row as The Doctor joins two of his three Yamaha counterparts inside the top four; a 1:53.114 by far the fastest Rossi has lapped Losail.

    Joining the veteran Italian on the second row are Miller and Zarco. The two Bologna bullets will have been hoping for more in Q2 but the second row is a solid place from which to unleash Ducati’s holeshot device. Zarco is also the new MotoGP™ top speed record holder at 362.4km/h after FP4, and his last flying lap in Q2 was his best to knock Morbidelli onto the third row.

    2020 runner up Morbidelli spearheads Row 3 and he’s joined by Aleix Espargaro in eighth place, an impressive feat given the top eight were all under Marc Marquez’s old lap record. Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) is the final member on Row 3 in P9, with Mir being forced to settle for P10 – 0.910s back from pole position. Work to do on a Sunday for both Suzukis again, but if there’s one thing we learned in 2020, it’s to never discount the GSX-RR duo in race trim. Nakagami is the leading Honda ahead of the opening race of 2021 just behind them, he and Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda Team) will fire off the line in P11 and P12. For full results, click here. 

    We were expecting fireworks, but we really did get some: a new all-time lap record and top speed record within an hour. It’s safe to say MotoGP™ is off to an astonishing start in the desert, as attentions now turn to race day. Bagnaia has done the hard work up until now, but can he help Ducati keep up their formidable Qatar record under the lights in 24 hours time? There’s a whole host of riders lining up behind him who are more than capable of winning the Qatar GP, and it’s going to be simply unmissable.

    Q2 results:1. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) – 1:52.7722. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) + 0.2663. Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) + 0.3164. Valentino Rossi (Petronas Yamaha SRT) + 0.3425. Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) + 0.4436. Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) + 0.5147. Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) + 0.5418. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) + 0.5439. Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) + 0.71810. Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) + 0.91011. Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) + 0.94912. Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda Team) + 1.158

    Action from  MotoGP Qatar Main Race will be LIVE on EUROSPORT and EUROSPORT HD from 19:15 Hrs (07:15 pm IST) onwards on Sunday, 28th March 2021. The same will be live streamed on discovery + app.

  • Max Verstappen takes pole for Bahrain GP

    Max Verstappen takes pole for Bahrain GP

    Sakhir, 26 March 2021: Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen set blistering pace at the Bahrain International Circuit to claim pole position for tomorrow’s season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix, the first round of the Formula 1 World Championship here on Saturday.

    The Dutch driver beat Mercedes’ defending seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton by almost four tenths of a second and finished nearly seven tenths ahead of the Briton’s team-mate Valtteri Bottas. 

    Verstappen went into qualifying having topped all three practice sessions and the superior pace of his new RB16B car was evident from the opening runs of Q1. With his first lap of the session he powered to the top of the timesheet with a lap of 1:30.499, a little over a tenth ahead of Yuki Tsunoda of AlphaTauri and 0.118s in front of Hamilton. 

    Further back, the drop zone ahead of the final runs featured Alpine’s Esteban Ocon followed by Williams’ Nicholas Latifi and George Russell and then the Haas cars of Nikita Mazepin and Mick Schumacher. 

    Only Russell managed to avoid the exit door and the Williams driver’s early final run saw him jump to P7 before a slide back to 13th place at the end of the session and progress to Q2. 

    Russell’s early final flyer proved wise as in the closing moments Nikita Mazepin spun going into Turn 1 and that brought out the yellow flags. When the final runs were completed Ocon who later said he had lost half a second due to the yellow flags went out in P16 ahead of Latifi. However, Q1’s major casualty was Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel who exited in P18, again because of the yellow flags. Haas’ Mick Schumacher went out in P19 ahead of team-mate Mazepin. 

    At the start of Q2 Red Bull, Mercedes, McLaren and AlphaTauri took to the track on medium tyres. Verstappen set an opening time of 1:30.318 to take an early P1 but that was swiftly bypassed by Hamilton who set a time of 1:30.085. Behind them Sergio Perez, in his first qualifying session with Red Bull, opened with a lap of 1:30.715 but the Mexican’s time was soon deleted for exceeding track limits and he fell into the drop zone ahead of the final runs. 

    The Mexican went out on another set of medium tyres but as quicker laps were posted by soft-tyre runners Perez dropped back and he eventually exited the session in P11 ahead of Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi, Tsunoda, the second Alfa or Kimi Räikkönen and Russell. 

    At the start of Q3 Verstappen took top spot in the first runs of the top-10 shootout, setting a provisional pole time of 1:29.526, just two hundredths of a second ahead of Hamilton. 

    Then, as the final runs began, Hamilton initially edged ahead with a lap of 1:29.385. Verstappen, though, was finding more and more time. A session-best first sector led to a purple time in the middle part of the lap and when the Red Bull driver crossed the line he claimed pole almost four tenths of a second ahead of Hamilton and almost seven tenths ahead of third-placed Valtteri Bottas in the second Mercedes. Fourth place in qualifying went to Leclerc, with the Monegasque finishing ahead of Gasly, Ricciardo, Norris, Sainz, the returning Alonso and Stroll. 

    2021 FIA Bahrain Grand Prix – Qualifying
    1 Max Verstappen Red Bull 1:28.997   218.919
    2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:29.385 0.388 217.969
    3 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:29.586 0.589 217.480
    4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:29.678 0.681 217.257
    5 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri 1:29.809 0.812 216.940
    6 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren 1:29.927 0.930 216.655
    7 Lando Norris McLaren 1:29.974 0.977 216.542
    8 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1:30.215 1.218 215.964
    9 Fernando Alonso Alpine 1:30.249 1.252 215.882
    10 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 1:30.601 1.604 215.043
    11 Sergio Perez Red Bull 1:30.659 1.662 214.906
    12 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo 1:30.708 1.711 214.790
    13 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri 1:31.203 2.206 213.624
    14 Kimi Raikkonen Alfa Romeo 1:31.238 2.241 213.542
    15 George Russell Williams 1:33.430 4.433 208.532
    16 Esteban Ocon Alpine 1:31.724 2.727 212.411
    17 Nicholas Latifi Williams 1:31.936 2.939 211.921
    18 Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin 1:32.056 3.059 211.645
    19 Mick Schumacher Haas 1:32.449 3.452 210.745
    20 Nikita Mazepin Haas 1:33.273 4.276 208.883

  • Liam Lawson holds off Jehan Daruvala for maiden F2 win

    Liam Lawson holds off Jehan Daruvala for maiden F2 win

    Sakhir, 27 March 2021: Hitech Grand Prix’s Liam Lawson drove like a seasoned pro on his Formula 2 debut, brushing off a stern challenge from second year Jehan Daruvala to take the opening win of season in Sprint Race 1 at Sakhir. Charouz Racing System rookie David Beckmann hung onto third to complete a youthful podium.

    Scampering ahead of Théo Pourchaire at the start, Lawson spent the majority of the race in a to-and-fro with his former Formula 3 rival, before seeing the ART Grand Prix driver retire. This handed the Kiwi a more experienced challenger, as Daruvala – up from fifth – lined up behind him. However, the Carlin driver had no answer to his Red Bull academy teammates’ defensive masterclass and was forced to settle for second.

    Impressively leaping from 11th to fifth at the start, Robert Shwarztman had a podium in his sights when Pourchaire retired and handed him fourth, but the PREMA’s attack was stalled by his teammate, Oscar Piastri. The reigning F3 champion had jumped ahead of Christian Lundgaard and kept Shwartzman occupied in the closing laps, before eventually settling for fifth.

    UNI-Virtuosi’s Guanyu Zhou – who will begin Sunday’s Feature Race on pole – got his weekend off to a solid start, rising to seventh, ahead of Dan Ticktum. MP Motorsport’s Lirim Zendeli and Lawson’s Hitech teammate, Jüri Vips, completed the top 10.

    AS IT HAPPENED

    Lawson nailed his first race start in F2, launching from third to first off the line and making the most of a sluggish getaway from Pourchaire. The reverse polesitter briefly dropped down to third at the first corner, but managed to claw his way back ahead of Beckmann and into P2.

    Title-favourite Shwarztman endured a difficult return to the track on Friday, as mechanical troubles left him unable to set a laptime in the second run of Qualifying and had him starting back in 11th. Determined to make amends, the Russian gallantly flung his PREMA up to fifth inside of the opening lap.

    A daring move from Ticktum failed to come off in the opening lap as the Carlin driver attempted a double overtake down the inside of Felipe Drugovich and Richard Verschoor, but clipped the back of the MP Motorsport and spun it backwards.

    Ticktum somehow got away unscathed, but Drugovich was caught up in the collision and suffered damage. The Brazilian was forced into the pits for repairs and plummeted to last. Ticktum was later handed a 5s penalty for his troubles and fell to P8.

    Two further retirements in the opening five laps decreased the field to 19, as Marcus Armstrong pulled over onto the gravel with mechanical issues. The Kiwi’s retirement also spelled the end for Ralph Boschung, who tagged the back of the slowing DAMS and spun off.

    Pourchaire was keeping up with Lawson at the front, remaining within 2s of the Hitech driver, but Beckmann was struggling to hold on to third behind him. He locked up and momentarily went skidding off track, flinging dirt into the pathway of those immediately behind him.

    The Charouz managed to return to the track, but the mistake cost him precious grip and handed an opportunity to Daruvala behind him. The Carlin took a hit of DRS and passed the German around the outside of Turn 4.

    The Red Bull junior was then handed another position as Pourchaire lost power and fell out of the points. The Frenchman attempted to keep his ART going, but eventually conceded his race was run and pulled over.

    Daruvala’s experience was beginning to show. The Carlin racer’s tyres were in better shape than Lawson’s and he had eaten into the gap between the two of them. With two laps to go, Lawson was just about clinging on. Their battle continued into the final lap, but Daruvala just couldn’t find any way past and crossed the line in second.

    There was little change behind them, though Piastri had managed to tussle ahead of Lundgaard for fifth place, directly behind his teammate Shwartzman. The Australian started to harry the back of the PREMA and chanced his arm with a brave move down the left, but was forced to back off as he ran out of space, allowing Shwartzman to hold onto fourth. The duo’s battle allowed Beckmann to retain the final podium spot.

    THE KEY QUOTE – LIAM LAWSON (HITECH GRAND PRIX)

    “That was pretty awesome. Starting third, I had a pretty good start and led from that moment onwards. I had massive pressure from Jehan (Daruvala) towards the end of the race and learned a lot. I’m excited to get into the night race later today.”

    WHAT’S NEXT?

    Lawson’s Hitech teammate Vips will start from reverse grid pole, ahead of MP’s Zendeli later today in Sprint Race 2 at 10.40pm IST (7.40pm local time).

  • Flash: Jehan Daruvala begins the F2 season with a podium

    Flash: Jehan Daruvala begins the F2 season with a podium

    Sakhir, 27 March 2021: Red Bull Junior and ace Indian racer Jehan Daruvala began the season with a podium winning the second place in the inaugural Sprint Race at the Bahrain International Circuit at Sakhir here on Saturday.

    The fifth FIA F2 season will comprise a total of eight rounds, all support events of the Formula 1 World Championship.

    The 22-year-old, Jehan Daruvala started on P5 and did some consistent laps before making a move to take P3 on Lap 11. Daruvala puts pressure on Beckmann, going all the way around the outside of the Charouz driver in Turn 4 and claimed P3. Later, at the halfway mark rookie Lawson was on P1 followed by another rookie Pourchaire, who started on pole. Beckman was behind Daruvala.

    By Lap 16, Daruvala was pushing Lawson and by Lap 18 the Indian closed the gap to 0.7 seconds and the rookie was fighting to mainain his P1 and the Carling driver had to be content with a P2. Even on the Lap 20, both the Red Bull drivers posted 1:59.9s battling for P1 but Liam Lawson held on to take a creditable win on his debut. The Indian who is doing another season of F2, neverthless began the season on a bright note unlike last year, where despite good qualifying results he had to battle his own car and had a terrible season. Only after the change of engine, did he find the fortunes, and he closed the season with his first F2 victory.

    Following a change to the Sporting Regulations, the new season will see three races per round – the previous total was two – forming a 24-race season. There will be no changes to the Friday sessions, with one Free Practice session of 45 minutes and one Qualifying session of 30 minutes.

    Two sprint races will take place on Saturday and will both consist of 120 kilometres or 45 minutes,  whichever comes first.

    The Feature Race will now take place on Sunday morning ahead of the Formula 1 Grand Prix. It will be still be one hour long or 170 kilometres (whichever comes first) and will keep a compulsory pit stop, in which all four tyres must be changed. Unless the driver has used wet-weather tyres during the Feature Race, they must use at least one set of each specification of dry-weather tyres during the Feature Race.

    The Feature race will be on Sunday.

  • Jack Miller leads Ducati 1-2 on Friday

    Jack Miller leads Ducati 1-2 on Friday

    A familiar name topped the timesheets on Friday at Losail as Miller headed teammate Bagnaia, with Quartararo slotting into third

    Doha, 26 March 2021: Day 1 of MotoGP™ action in 2021 is in the history books, and leading the way on Friday at the Barwa Grand Prix of Qatar is Ducati Lenovo Team’s Jack Miller as the Australian picked up where he left off in testing. Miller’s 1:53.387 was just 0.007s away from the all-time lap record, and teammate Francesco Bagnaia made it a Borgo Panigale factory 1-2. An infinitesimal 0.035s split the two red machines, with Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) completing the top three after ending the day 0.188 off Miller.

    After a scorching FP1 was completed earlier in the day, the Losail floodlights were switched on for FP2 and Miller, Bagnaia, Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) and Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) all almost immediately set laptimes quicker than Franco Morbidelli’s (Petronas Yamaha SRT) FP1 pace. That was before the Red Flag came out due to track conditions, with some debris scattered across the track on the start/finish straight. However, after a quick clean up operation, the MotoGP™ riders were back out with one thing on their mind: securing a place in the top 10 and therefore a provisional place in Q2.

    Aleix Espargaro was the first rider to venture into the 1:53s under the evening lights and briefly went an incredible seven tenths clear, before Rins then cut the deficit to just under half a second. It then fell a little quieter at the top but with just under 15 minutes to go on the opening day, Quartararo slotted into within a tenth of Aleix Espargaro to make it four manufacturers in the top four: Aprilia, Yamaha, Ducati, and Suzuki. Soft front and rear rubber was the choice for pretty much every rider as the first shootout of the year began.

    On his next lap, Quartararo made good on his earlier threat and did demote Aleix Espargaro to P2, with Quartararo’s fellow Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP rider Maverick Viñales taking over in P3. Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) and Valentino Rossi (Petronas Yamaha SRT) were next to climb the ladder into P5 and P6, with rookies Enea Bastianini (Esponsorama Racing) and then Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing) enjoying some time in the top 10 too.

    With nine minutes left, Bagnaia then took charge and did so by an almighty 0.275s. That lap was within half a tenth of Marc Marquez’s (Repsol Honda Team) all-time lap record, a 1:53.380, and Miller was next to challenge as he crossed the line within just 0.007s of Marquez’ time and took over in P1. It was soon a Ducati 1-2-3 as well, with Zarco going 0.199s behind Miller and the top 10 positions chopping and changing.

    Quartararo was then glowing the timing screens with red in the opening three sectors, but the Yamahas were losing touch in the last sector as the superior grunt of the Ducatis kicked in. Nevertheless, El Diablo was able to grab P3 to break the Ducati trio apart. Bagnaia then threatened to reclaim top spot but Pol Espargaro’s (Repsol Honda Team) second crash of the day, this time at Turn 15, meant the Italian couldn’t complete his lap due to yellow flags.

    In the end then, it’s Ducati and Miller who take first blood in 2021 and Bagnaia is forced to settle for second. The Italian makes sure it’s a Bologna 1-2 at the top though, with Yamaha looking good and Quartararo the quickest YZR-M1 rider so far in third. Zarco is looking like a serious contender on the GP21 too and finishes Friday in P4, with Rins going well on the soft tyres – something that bodes well for Suzuki to shrug of their sometime Achilles’ heel of one-lap pace – to claim P5.

    Viñales and Morbidelli were close in sixth and seventh, respectively, finishing within three tenths of Miller as Aleix Espargaro slipped to P8 at the end of play. Valentino Rossi finished inside the top 10 for the second session in a row, the nine-time World Champion taking ninth, and Pol Espargaro grabbed a vital P10 despite his late tumble. Two crashes in one day aren’t what HRC’s new recruit would have been looking for, but the number 44 has some good speed.

    Reigning World Champion Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) misses out on what could prove to be a crucial top 10 place as his title defence begins, but the gap could hardly be smaller: just 0.013s. With the cooler evening temperatures allowing the riders to set their best times of the day compared to when the sun was beating down in FP1 though, the same could well happen again in FP3 – so will an automatic place in Q2 be a struggle for Mir?

    MotoGP™ really has returned with a bang in 2021 as 16 riders finish within a second on the opening day, a fantastic way to welcome back Grand Prix motorcycle racing. 15:15 local time (GMT+3) on Saturday afternoon is when the premier class will be back on track for FP3 and the provisional places in Q2 will be confirmed, so make sure to tune in and come back for the first qualifying shootout of the season from 19:20.

  • Max Verstappen fastest in both practice sessions

    Max Verstappen fastest in both practice sessions

    Sakhir, 26 March 2021: Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen continued to set the pace at the Bahrain International Circuit as he set the quickest lap of the second practice session for the Bahrain Grand Prix ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris and Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton. The F1 World Championship begins on Sunday with the first race at BIC. 

    The opening part of the 60-minute session saw much of the running conducted on medium compound tyres with Verstappen leading the way early thanks to a lap of 1:31.842 after an early P1 time from Hamilton was deleted for exceeding track limits. 

    The champion was soon back on top, however. Mercedes team-mate Valtteri 

    Bottas briefly held sway but a second run on mediums that yielded a lap of 1:31.261 took Hamilton back to the top of the order. 

    It was during this phase of the session that the season’s first brush with barriers occurred. Kimi Räikkönen lost control on the exit of Turn 2 and the Alfa Romeo driver slid off into the barriers damaging both ends of his car. The Finn was able to keep his car going, however, and he was able to limp back to the pits for repairs. 

    When the field made the switch to soft tyres for performance runs soon after the incident, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz was the first to make a step up, topping the timesheet with a lap of 1:31.127. Hamilton then found five hundredths of a second to take P1 again before Norris usurped him with a lap of 1:30.942.

    Verstappen, though, had just emerged on track and at the end of his soft-tyre run the Dutch driver had edged ahead of the McLaren man by 0.095s to set the fastest lap of the session. Verstappen also posted the best times in the final two sectors. 

    With the performance runs completed the field then switched the traditional FP2 long-run data gathering. 

    Behind Hamilton Carlos Sainz was fourth for Ferrari with a lap of 1:31.127. That was good enough to put him almost a tenth ahead of Bottas, with the Finnish Mercedes shading the second McLaren of Daniel Ricciardo by just over a hundredth of a second. 

    Yuki Tsunoda continued to impress for AlphaTauri with the Japanese rookie setting the seventh fastest time. His lap of 1:31.294 saw him finish a tenth ahead of Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and two tenths ahead of more experienced AlphaTauri team-mate Pierre Gasly. 

    The final top 10 position was taken by Sergio Perez in the second Red Bull. The Mexican ended the session with a best time of 1:31.503 to sit 0.656s behind Verstappen.

    2021 FIA Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix – Free Practice 2
    1 Max Verstappen Red Bull 23 1:30.847  
    2 Lando Norris McLaren 25 1:30.942 0.095
    3 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 24 1:31.082 0.235
    4 Carlos Sainz  Ferrari  26 1:31.127 0.280
    5 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 23 1:31.218 0.371
    6 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren 22 1:31.230 0.383
    7 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri 23 1:31.294 0.447
    8 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 24 1:31.393 0.546
    9 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri 27 1:31.483 0.636
    10 Sergio Perez Red Bull 23 1:31.503 0.656
    11 Esteban Ocon Alpine 24 1:31.601 0.754
    12 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 26 1:31.612 0.765
    13 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo 27 1:31.740 0.893
    14 Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin 26 1:31.769 0.922
    15 Fernando Alonso Alpine 24 1:31.770 0.923
    16 Kimi Raikkonen Alfa Romeo 15 1:31.862 1.015
    17 George Russell Williams 28 1:32.331 1.484
    18 Mick Schumacher Haas 24 1:33.297 2.450
    19 Nicholas Latifi Williams 28 1:33.400 2.553
    20 Nikita Mazepin Haas 19 1:33.449 2.602

    Free Practice 1

    Earlier, the Dutch driver used soft compound Pirelli tyre to claim top spot in the session, just under three tenths of a second ahead of Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas, with McLaren’s Lando Norris third. Defending World Champion Lewis Hamilton finished fourth. 

    With Friday’s practice session cut to an hour each this season the session was a busy one with returning two-time champion Fernando Alonso leading the field out of the pit lane in his Alpine when the lights went green to signal the start of the first grand prix track session of the new season. 

    It was Red Bull who quickly forced their way to the top of the timesheet, however, with new recruit Sergio Pérez claiming top spot as he bolted on a set of soft tyres inside the first quarter of an hour. 

    Mercedes pursued a similar strategy and Hamilton then went quickest on soft tyres with a time of 1:32.884. Bottas then moved ahead but Verstappen eclipsed everyone with his first flying lap of 1:32.214.

    With early soft tyre runs complete teams switched focus to longer running before once again looking at performance in the closing stages. 

    Norris was the first to move up the timesheet, with the McLaren driver posting a lap of 1:31.897 on soft tyres. With improvements occurring across the order the Red Bull and Mercedes drivers eventually emerged with a little more Hamilton went fastest of anyone in the first sector with just over 10 minutes remaining. 

    The defending champion seemed to be enjoying a more stable Mercedes than seen in pre-season testing but after setting the fastest first sector the improvement ebbed and he finished the session with a best time of 1:31.921, a tenth behind Norris. 

    Bottas, though, was able to extract more from the new Mercedes W12 and he posted a time of 1:31.692 to claim P1. Verstappen was still circling, however, and with purple times in the first two sectors he claimed top spot with 0.298 in hand. 

    Charles Leclerc was fifth for Ferrari, six tenths off Verstappen but less than a tenth behind Hamilton, while Pérez was sixth with a lap of 1:32.071, 0.677 behind his new team-mate, though the Mexican did claim the quickest third sector. 

    AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly finished seventh in front of Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, while Daniel Ricciardo was ninth in the second McLaren ahead of Sauber’s Antonio Giovinazzi. 

    2021 FIA Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix – Free Practice 1 
    1 Max Verstappen Red Bull 12 1:31.394  
    2 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 17 1:31.692 0.298
    3 Lando Norris McLaren 20 1:31.897 0.503
    4 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 15 1:31.921 0.527
    5 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 14 1:31.993 0.599
    6 Sergio Perez Red Bull 15 1:32.071 0.677
    7 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri 23 1:32.195 0.801
    8 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 15 1:32.366 0.972
    9 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren 20 1:32.434 1.040
    10 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo 16 1:32.786 1.392
    11 Kimi Raikkonen Alfa Romeo 18 1:33.134 1.740
    12 Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin 21 1:33.157 1.763
    13 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 20 1:33.233 1.839
    14 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri 21 1:33.329 1.935
    15 Esteban Ocon Alpine 20 1:33.528 2.134
    16 Fernando Alonso Alpine 18 1:33.872 2.478
    17 George Russell Williams 22 1:34.127 2.733
    18 Nicholas Latifi Williams 22 1:34.340 2.946
    19 Mick Schumacher Haas 16 1:34.501 3.107
    20 Nikita Mazepin Haas 16 1:34.975 3.581

  • Zhou takes pole; Jehan Daruvala to start on P7

    Zhou takes pole; Jehan Daruvala to start on P7

    Sakhir, 26 March 2021: Guanyu Zhou took the first pole position of the season for the second year in a row, going fastest in Sakhir to take the first points of the new campaign during a dramatic final few minutes of the Formula 2 World Championship Race 1 qualifying session. The UNI-Virtuosi man stole first from ART Grand Prix’s Christian Lundgaard by 0.003s on his final tour of the Bahrain International Circuit, with his teammate Felipe Drugovich finishing third.

    Lundgaard didn’t make the top 10 in Free Practice, but was straight on the pace in Qualifying, putting in two purple first sectors to leap to the top of the time screen with an early benchmark of 1:43.628.

    A late wobble in the final sector meant the Dane’s benchmark was beatable, and Drugovich managed to find the extra bit of time to do just that. The UNI-Virtuosi racer was fastest in Free Practice on the hard tyre and appeared equally as comfortable on the softer compound, stealing P1 by three tenths.

    Drugovich’s teammate Zhou started 2020 on pole and was looking for the same outcome one season on. The Alpine junior was the only driver without a time on the board when the field fed back into the pits for a change of rubber, having boldly requested to run in the gap. He didn’t disappoint, bettering his teammate’s lap by 0.022s to replace him in first place.

    No sooner had the cars returned to the track, were they having to head back into the pits. The field had just completed their preparation lap when Robert Shwarztman came to a halt down the pit straight and brought out a red flag. The stranded PREMA was swiftly cleared off the track, but just five minutes remained to get a time on the board.

    Knowing time was of the essence, Lundgaard flew back out of the traps and got to work regaining control of the session. The Dane gave posted three purple laps, and the nailed the tricky final corner that let him down before, to take first from Zhou.

    Amongst the first to get another time on the board, Lundgaard headed back into the pits to await his fate, knowing his tyres were cooked. The ART Man watched on as Ticktum failed and ended up in fourth. The Briton set two green sectors, but got stuck in traffic around the final corner. Jüri Vips and Richard Verschoor both missed out as well, settling for fifth and sixth.

    Zhou and Drugovich both beat the chequered flag to give themselves one last shot at beating Lundgaard’s provisional pole time of 1:42.851.

    Setting a personal best first sector and a fastest overall second sector, Zhou’s final laptime was better than Lundgaard’s by the finest of margins, knocking off his Alpine academy teammate by three thousandths of a second. Meanwhile, Drugovich’s final tour wasn’t quite as strong and the Brazilian ended up in third, behind Lundgaard.

    Further back, Jehan Daruvala managed to take seventh, ahead of reigning Formula 3 champion Oscar Piastri, with Liam Lawson in ninth.

    Finishing 10th on his debut, David Beckmann will start Sprint Race 1 from reverse grid pole on Saturday at 1.25pm (local time).

  • New track limit detection system introduced

    New track limit detection system introduced

    Race Director Mike Webb explains changes to the detection system designed to increase the accuracy of track limit decisions

    Qatar, 26 March 2021: Ahead of the 2021 FIM MotoGP World Championship getting underway on Friday in the Barwa Grand Prix of Qatar, Race Director Mike Webb explained a few changes to the way track limit infringements are judged.

    A new system of sensors is now in place, increasing the accuracy of judgments and helping to create a level playing field for every infringement and/or decision.

    Mike Webb: “Track limit regulations are staying the same but what we’ve been working on all last year is an updated system to detect track limits. Dorna and timekeeping have been working on this last year, we’ve got a new system that has pressure senses on the track outside the kerbs, so we can detect very accurately when a rider has gone out of track limits. It’s a much more accurate system.

    “So the rule stays the same but because the system is actuated a little differently to the cameras we used before, it means for the riders that if they go out of track limits, there’s immediately a signal. In the past we had to look at a camera image and make a judgement. Now it’s just in or out; it’s very accurate. The difference for the riders or protocol is that now, one wheel out means out. In the past it was two wheels in the green, and is this two or one, how far out… no more of that judgment. Out is out and it doesn’t matter if it’s one wheel or two. It’s more accurate and it means it’s more fair for every rider, with a very clear view of who is in or who is out. The rule is the same, but the judgment is much more precise.”

  • Joan Mir takes centre-stage as title-hopefuls rev-up in pre-race press meet

    Joan Mir takes centre-stage as title-hopefuls rev-up in pre-race press meet

    Doha, 26 March, 2021 :  We have lift-off in 2021. The Barwa Grand Prix of Qatar officially kicked off with the pre-event Press Conference as MotoGP World Champion Joan Mir sat centre stage ready to embark on what he hopes is a title defending campaign. Everyone surrounding the number 36 on Thursday evening, the likes of Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team), Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP), Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda Team), Valentino Rossi (Petronas Yamaha SRT) and Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini), will be hoping it’s them who will be lifting the trophy come November.

    Between now and then though, there’s thousands of kilometres to be raced – starting under the lights at the Losail International Circuit. Naturally as the current king, Mir has a target on his back and will head into the 2021 season as the rider to beat. Both he and Team Suzuki Ecstar Alex Rins had a quiet pre-season test, but Mir was relishing the weekend ahead and the “great challenge” that faces him and the team this year.

    “Yes. So happy to be here again. Last year we did a really good season, a dream to achieve the Championship. We are here in Qatar, everyone starts from zero and it will be important to feel great here. The test was not bad but we have work to do. I’m looking forward to this season, we have a great challenge ahead of us defending the title and we’ll do as good as we can so let’s see.”

    Someone who wasn’t quiet in testing was Miller. Fastest man on the timesheets here earlier this month, the Australian is being tipped as one of the favourite title contenders in 2021 – and for good reason. The factory star didn’t want to get carried away about his and Ducati’s testing performance though and knows there’s plenty more variables to consider in a Grand Prix weekend. But, Miller is looking and sounding right up for taking the fight to Mir, as well as the others.

    Fabio Quartararo at the Thursday Press Conference. A MotoGP image

     “Yeah I feel ready as I’ll ever be. We didn’t get that big of a break, I went back to Australia for a bit but not as much as I’d like. The pre-season went good, I didn’t have a massive move it was just one garage over, I already knew a lot of the guys so we got on straight away. The times were good in testing but we can’t look into it too much, the conditions were perfect. We’ll start again from zero here, it will be a bit different with Dunlop rubber on the track so we’ll come in with an open mind,” explained Miller.

    Something no one would have predicted last year is Repsol Honda going winless. The sport’s most decorated manufacturer signed up Pol Espargaro to partner still absent Marc Marquez this year and if testing is anything to go by, then the younger Espargaro has settled in well. Very well. However, naturally, the Spaniard didn’t want to overhype his chances for Round 1, but did admit that his one-lap pace wasn’t far from the likes of Miller, Quartararo and Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP).

    Aleix Espargaro and Aprilia impressed in testing; Aleix at the Thursday Press Conference. A MotoGP image

    “Yeah it was a difficult beginning to the season because we just had four days of testing,” said Pol Espargaro. “For the rookies it was even worse but also for the guys who changed bikes, it was not the best preseason. Anyways even with those four days, the final day I felt comfortable and I could do something interesting with race pace, at least to start to think about where to be on the race. On one lap we weren’t far from Jack Miller, we know he is very fast, also Fabio and Maverick but still I think we have a lot to learn and it will be a little bit difficult, but we will enjoy the first race of the season.”

    The number 44 went onto explain the old saying: Honda have the most difficult bike on the grid. Pol Espargaro doesn’t agree though and says you have to adapt your riding style accordingly. But how much was he able to do that at the pre-season test?

    “In the past when I heard someone saying this bike is very difficult, I was always thinking the same thing, for me, one bike with one manufacturer can be very difficult and for one rider with a riding style better to this one it can be easier. So, for me, the Honda for sure is not the easiest but I don’t agree it is the most difficult bike on the grid. You just need to match the riding style of the bike and it feels like I did that a little in the Test. 

    “I don’t know how much I matched because it is difficult to evaluate after four days how much I’m connected to the bike. I would take out this idea the bike is difficult, and I want to start to be positive, to be proactive and try to make things happen. Starting here in Qatar it is not the best place for Honda or even me, but the Test was quite positive, but we are going to go for it and see what we can do in the first races even if we are still rookies with this bike.”

    Winner of three races in 2021, Quartararo will be eager to mount a season-long title challenge this season now he is donning factory colours. All four YZR-M1s were looking in very decent trim during pre-season testing and the Frenchman explained how he’d been able to learn from his difficult end to the year last time out.

    “Yes, I think that last year and the end of the season was difficult, but I think I have learned many things that can bring me a lot of experience for the future and this year. It feels like it has been high and low, but I feel ready for 2021 and I think that is the most important thing.”

    Feeling ready for the 2021 season is something that at 42 years of age may sound very daunting. Not to Rossi though. The nine-time World Champion embarks on a new voyage in his illustrious Grand Prix career that enters its 26th chapter, and after lapping Losail quicker than ever, Rossi got the same buzz as he has done for the previous 26 years on the first Thursday of the season.

    “Yes the atmosphere of Thursday of the first race is always the same, like the first day of school,” began The Doctor. “It’s always exciting, also for the pictures together on the grid, you have the feeling that in some hours we start. I changed team after a long, long time, but I feel good. The atmosphere is good and the test was not so bad, now we have to see in a real race weekend.”

    Seeing how they get on in a real race weekend is something that Aleix Espargaro and Aprilia are eager to do with the 2021 RS-GP. After a supremely impressing Qatar Test, a lot of eyes will be concentrating on how Espargaro and Lorenzo Savadori get on. Could Aprilia challenge for regular rostrums in 2021? Aleix Espargaro was certainly hopeful of that, but he was another rider to point out that testing and a Grand Prix weekend are two wholly different prospects.

    “I hope it is like this, but you never know, a test is a test,” began the Spaniard. “Races are completely different, and Moto2 and Moto3 the track will change. We will not start from zero but somewhere we will have to change some things. The test was good, the RS-GP 21 looks sincerely promising, but we have to race and compare with the others. I’m sure everyone will improve for the race. It’s not going to be easy but I’m very motivated and feel I have the chance to fight with the best and it gives me positive energy and I can’t wait for FP1.”

    Millions of fans from every corner of the globe also can’t wait for MotoGP™ FP1 to get underway on Friday in Qatar. World Champion Mir will roll out of pitlane for the first time in 2021, during a Grand Prix, as the number one rider. However, there’s so many riders waiting in the wings to make sure it’s them who take all the plaudits this year.

    Telecast: Action from  MotoGP Qatar Qualifying Race will be LIVE on EUROSPORT and EUROSPORT HD from 20:00 Hrs (08:00 pm IST) onwards on Saturday, 27th March 2021. The same will be live streamed on discovery+ app.