Your basket is currently empty!
Blog
-
Norris breezes to maiden victory in Bahrain feature race; Arjun Maini 15th
Sakhir (Bahrain), April 7: Lando Norris secured his first FIA Formula 2 Championship victory in the Feature Race here on Saturday.Indian racer Arjun Maini of Trident team could finish only in the 15th place after he started on P14.Norris mastered the hot and windy conditions to win with a 8.3s advantage over Carlin teammate Sergio Sette Camara, who held onto second place after a thrilling battle in the final stages of the race with Russian Time’s Artem Markelov, the latter producing a spectacular recovery drive to secure the final podium position.With the majority of the field, save from the Trident team, opting to start on the medium-compound tyres, degradation was a hotly anticipated factor in the race. An aborted start was called at the beginning, as Markelov and MP Motorsport’s Roberto Merhi stalled on the grid and prompted a second formation lap; the Russian then took to the pits to restart from the back of the field while the Spanish driver retired from mechanical failure.At the second time of asking, Norris made a fantastic start to streak clear of the rest of the field, while Sette Camara took advantage of a slow start from George Russell to catapult himself into second. Russell, starting from the front row, also lost ground to a fast-starting Nyck de Vries and Nirei Fukuzumi, resulting in a scintillating scrap among them in the early stages of the race.De Vries soon put a move on Sette Camara to grab second, allowing Norris to scamper off into the distance at the rate of a second per lap. Further behind, Alexander Albon surged past Russell and subsequently did battle with De Vries and Sette Camara, the latter of whom ultimately won out for second as the Dutchman began to drop back.Seemingly unflappable in the lead, Norris had the luxury of not needing to react to the others once they’d begun to make their stops. Louis Delétraz opened proceedings among the top ten on lap 14, with Russell blinking a lap later – staying ahead of the Swiss driver. Sette Camara and Albon came in together later on and dropped behind Russell as they rejoined the track.Meanwhile, Markelov was charging forward, having dispatched the majority of the field with a flurry of well-timed passes into Turn 1, and continued to carve through the pack after his own stop on lap 16. Norris switched to the soft compound two laps later, continuing with the lead on his return to the track as the pair of Sette Camara and Albon returned to second and third after clearing Russell.Markelov also passed the British driver, with third-placed Albon next on his radar. Once more, the Russian used his DRS to blitz past at the first corner and, although the Thai driver fought back across the next few corners, the Renault development driver held firm to secure third.In the final five laps, Norris started to lose fractions of his 10 second lead to his teammate, who was simultaneously under attack from Markelov. The Brazilian was inch-perfect in his defence of second when Markelov approached, orchestrating an excellent switch back manoeuvre at the start of the final lap to hold second.Norris took the chequered flag after a seemingly untouchable performance, walking away with an impressive 31 points with pole, win and fastest lap. Sette Camara and Markelov’s battle for second delighted the crowd up to the line ahead of Albon.Russell kept fifth having lost ground to the front four, as Nyck De Vries completed the top six having fallen out of contention in the midway stages. Sean Gelael converted an early pitstop into seventh place from P19 on the grid, as Maximilian Günther, Jack Aitken and Ralph Boschung all battled hard to end the race in the top ten.Günther begins tomorrow’s Sprint Race from reverse-grid pole, and will start alongside Gelael as Norris will seek to win the second race of the weekend from eighth.2018 FIA Formula 2 Championship – Round 1 Feature Race Provisional ClassificationDriverTeam1Lando NorrisCarlin2Sergio Sette CamaraCarlin3Artem MarkelovRUSSIAN TIME4Alexander AlbonDAMS5George RussellART Grand Prix6Nyck de VriesPERTAMINA PREMA Theodore Racing7Sean GelaelPERTAMINA PREMA Theodore Racing8Maximilian GuntherBWT Arden9Jack AitkenART Grand Prix10Ralph BoschungMP Motorsport11Nicholas LatifiDAMS12Luca GhiottoCampos Vexatec Racing13Louis DeletrazCharouz Racing System14Santino FerrucciTrident15Arjun MainiTrident16Roy NissanyCampos Vexatec Racing17Antonio FuocoCharouz Racing System18Nirei FukuzumiBWT Arden19Tadasuke MakinoRUSSIAN TIME—Roberto MerhiMP Motorsport -
Marquez, Crutchlow, Pedrosa: the Honda armada in Argentina!
File photo of Marc Marquez. Photo: Srinivasa Krishnan Termas de Rio Hondo (Argentina), April 7: Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) led the way by some margin on Day 1 and the reigning World champion was chased by both Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol) and FP1’s fastest Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team) as Honda reigned supreme on Friday in the Argentina MotoGP.
All have been on the podium at the venue, and Marquez is a previous winner, making the form book another positive read. So, after the first two sessions, what do the three men think of their Friday?
“Today was a good day for us, I mean, we started in a good way,” begins Marquez. “We did, I think, a good plan for the practice. We even tried a few setups, we tried a few tyres, more or less I like it, but the tyres are still some gap because both tyres are working quite well. Anyway, we are working in a good way.
“Today it’s a slippery track and when it’s slippery it’s my place. I mean, when it’s slippery I feel so comfortable and maybe the others are struggling more…but tomorrow will improve the grip and even more on Sunday. So, everything will be closer and closer.”
Pedrosa agrees on the slippery and was another who was positive given the weather. “The track is always quite slippery here on the first day which makes the first practice a bit tougher,” says Pedrosa, despite going quickest in FP1.
“The parts that had been resurfaced seem better in terms of the bumps, but the asphalt was too dirty to really understand what the grip was like. This morning, we worked on the tyres, trying to make the best of the dry conditions as the weather forecasts for the weekend aren’t good. We’ll see how the weather is tomorrow, and we’ll keep working for Sunday.”
Crutchlow, meanwhile – and despite taking the top three in both sessions – says there are a few specifics to work on for him, mainly with the wind, which picked up in the afternoon.
“We still have some small issues that we want to look into because the wind was so strong this afternoon,” explains the LCR rider. “It didn’t feel strong when we were here or anything like that, but as soon as we got onto the track it was horrendous and we need to make the bike turn a little bit better in that kind of situation because it could be the same on Sunday, we don’t know. But overall, we are happy enough. I think we could have been faster, but we are happy with today. The main thing was to be in the top 10 in case it rains in the night.”
If the rain comes in for FP3 and Q2, graduation is already set, Honda are in the hot seat.
SETBACK FOR DOVI, LORENZO
After the highs of the Qatar GP, Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) had a less memorable Friday Free Practice session. The Championship leader, along with team-mate Jorge Lorenzo, failed to make it into the top-10, meaning both factory Ducatis could have to go through Q1 in qualifying on Saturday if the weather moves in for FP3 and lap times don’t improve.
Dovizioso said: “Today, we found a few negative things and I didn’t have the feeling. In the afternoon there was a lot of wind and it was even harder. But I think we have to be calm, and study every detail, and I think if we put a few things together we can be in front.
“I don’t know which position, but for sure, Marquez is, like always, on a different level on this track, but the point is, a lot of riders are often fast in practice. So if your feeling is not 100%, it’s easy to be at the back.
“I hope to have minimum one practice in the dry tomorrow because we have to try other things and I have to work on the track so let’s see the weather tomorrow.”
With the factory riders finding it tougher going, it was instead Tito Rabat (Reale Avintia Racing) who put in a stellar ride to end the day fourth and top Ducati as he gains more and more confidence on his Desmosedici.
The 2014 Moto2™ World Champion was nearly four-tenths ahead of the next Borgo Panigale machine – Jack Miller (Alma Pramac Racing) – who squeezed into the top-10 having been fifth quickest after FP1.
“I feel very good because we make very good day, we work well and I feel very good on the bike with these conditions,” Rabat says. “The important thing today is I enjoy, we go fast and now we have some very important work for tomorrow to make a good qualifying and for Sunday it’s most important make good race. I like this bike, I like this bike and my team a lot.”
ROSSI, VINALES OFF PACE
Meanwhile, Maverick Viñales (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) and his team-mate Valentino Rossi finished the day in P6 and P7 respectively, and both riders are remaining positive despite being over a second off Marc Marquez’s (Repsol Honda Team) pace.
“My feelings today have been mixed,” said Viñales. “I felt quite confident on the bike this morning, but honestly, I didn‘t feel the same way in the afternoon. I was happy that, in the end, I provisionally qualified for Q2 in FP2, because it was difficult. Tomorrow, if it rains, it would have been tricky to get inside the top ten.”
The two were separated by just 0.067 seconds at the end of the day, with Rossi particularly upbeat about his pace on the harder compound tyre.
“The main target was to stay in the top 10 because the weather is very difficult to predict,” the ‘Doctor’ began. “I’m quite happy with my pace on the hard tyres because I feel confident with the bike. Unfortunately, I put the soft on at the end but I wasn’t able to improve like I expect because with the soft tyre I don’t feel very good.”
Source: MotoGP.com
-
Kopecký and ŠKODA Motorsport lead WRC 2 in Rally France; team-mate Veiby third
Kopecky, WRC2 leader after Leg-1 in Rally France. Photo: SKODA AUTO Bastia (Corsica), April 7: ŠKODA factory team of Jan Kopecký and co-driver Pavel Dresler (CZE/CZE) took the lead in the WRC 2 category at Rally France / Tour de Corse after the first Special Stage and defended it up to the finish of Leg One, here on Friday in the fourth round of the FIA World Rally Championship. Their young Norwegian teammates Ole Christian Veiby and Stig Rune Skjaermoen lost some time with two spins, but nevertheless defended third position.
On the opening stage of the Rally France on Friday, the crews had to face nearly 50 Kms with endless corners and virtually no straights between La Porta and Valle de Rostino in the northeast of Corsica. Heavy rainfall on Wednesday before the rally had put all kinds of dirt on the tarmac roads and in some corners water puddles made the road conditions unpredictable.
“The first stage was very good for us, but it was very tricky as well. There was some running water on the road, which was not there when we made our pace notes. As we are not allowed to have gravel crews who check the roads before we are driving, the roads are a bit unpredictable in some corners. So I took a cautious approach,” confessed Kopecký. The ŠKODA factory driver was nevertheless fastest on the opening special stage, which put him into the lead after the morning loop.
While their competitors had technical issues or went off the road, both ŠKODA works teams where happy with their ŠKODA FABIA R5, which were reliable as always. “I had a spin in a hairpin in the first stage. On some places, there was a lot of mud and water, the grip changed all the time. So I decided to be careful,” said young Veiby, who was in third position of the WRC 2 category.
After the service at midday, the afternoon saw the repetition of the two morning stages. Kopecký set another fastest time, increased his lead and after the four Friday stages, was quite happy with his performance: “It was much better this afternoon, the roads were drier and I could push a lot more.” Veiby had another spin, but could nevertheless defend his third position after the first leg on Friday.
ŠKODA Motorsport boss Michal Hrabánek was satisfied with the first day: “This is really a tough test for men and machine on winding asphalt roads. I am happy that our updated ŠKODA FABIA R5 was reliable and fast like our drivers. Jan proved again his pure speed on tarmac and OC is learning with every kilometre here in Corsica,” said Hrabánek.
Saturday will feature the longest leg of the rally. The crews have to face six Special Stages covering more than 136 Kms.
Standings Rally Corsica after Day 1 (WRC 2):
- Kopecký / Dresler (CZE/CZE), ŠKODA FABIA R5, 01hrs, 24mins, 07.0secs; 2. Bonato / Boulloud, (FRA/FRA), Citroën C3 R5, +20.8 sec; 3. Veiby / Skjaermoen (NOR/NOR), ŠKODA FABIA R5, +1:07.9 min; 4. Lefebvre / Moreau, (FRA/FRA), Citroën C3 R5, +1:10.4 min; 5. Loubet / Landais (FRA/FRA), Hyundai i20, +1:17.3 min; 6. Andolfi / Scattolin (ITA/ITA), ŠKODA FABIA R5, +1:25.7 min.
Skoda Auto Press Release
-
Sebastien Ogier leads by 33 seconds; Loeb crashes out in Tour de Corse
Ogier after taking the lead on Friday. Photo: FIA Corsica, April 6: After the repeated afternoon stages on the opening day of the 2018 Tour de Corse, Sebastien Ogier has extended his advantage and now heads Thierry Neuville by 33.6 seconds on Friday.
The Frenchman won all but one of the day’s four stages and has a comfortable lead over his nearest Championship rival as the crews head into the longest day of the rally on Saturday. The fight behind the second-placed Belgian is however intense with Kris Meeke just 5.1 seconds further adrift in third and Ott Tanak 5.5 more seconds behind in fourth.
Ogier has reigned supreme and has had a virtually totally trouble-free run and was able to start pulling out a clear advantage when Sebastien Loeb retired after going off the road this morning.
Neuville, third going into the afternoon stages, was able to move ahead of Kris Meeke in the first of the repeated tests, second fastest through the long 49 kilometre stage aiding his charge. He maintained position through the final stage, pushing hard to stay ahead of a chasing Meeke.
The Northern Irish driver once again suffered with a faulty intercom this afternoon but was happy with his day in the C3 WRC. Tanak heads Toyota’s challenge in fourth, the Estonian admitting he was playing with a few settings in his first outing in the Yaris WRC on asphalt.
Toyota team-mate Esapekka Lappi has upped the pace this afternoon and had a great final stage, taking the fastest time in his first drive in a World Rally Car in Corsica. He is fifth albeit nearly 30 seconds adrift of Tanak.
Behind the Finn, there is a big battle with four other drivers; Elfyn Evans is chasing hard and only three-tenths of a second behind Lappi, Dani Sordo sits a further six-tenths of a second away and previous Tour de Corse winner Jari-Matti Latvala is eighth and again within striking distance of his rivals. Andreas Mikkelsen is a close ninth and Bryan Bouffier rounds off the top 10.
In the FIA WRC 2 Championship category, the fight is between Jan Kopecky and Yohan Bonato, the rivals split by 20.8 seconds at the end of a long day of competition in the mountains. The FIA Junior WRC Championship is headed by Terry Folb, the Frenchman 10.9 seconds ahead of Jean-Baptiste Franceschi.
Tour de Corse – Unofficial classification after Section 2
1 Sebastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia Ford Fiesta WRC 1hr 19min 39.0sec 2 Thierry Neuville / Nicolas Gilsoul Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 1hr 20min 12.6sec 3 Kris Meeke / Paul Nagle Citroen C3 WRC 1hr 20min 17.7sec 4 Ott Tanak / Martin Jarveoja Toyota Yaris WRC 1hr 20min 23.2sec 5 Esapekka Lappi / Janne Ferm Toyota Yaris WRC 1hr 20min 52.5sec 6 Elfyn Evans / Phil Mills Ford Fiesta WRC 1hr 20min 52.8sec 7 Dani Sordo / Carlos del Barrio Hyundai i20 Couple WRC 1hr 20min 53.4sec 8 Jari-Matti Latvala / Miikka Anttila Toyota Yaris WRC 1hr 21min 04.0sec 9 Andreas Mikkelsen / Anders Jæger Hyundai i20 WRC 1hr 21min 08.2sec 10 Bryan Bouffier / Xavier Panseri Ford Fiesta WRC 1hr 21min 23.8sec -
Raikkonen fastest in FP2 but likely to face grid penalty
Sakhir (Bahrain), April 6: Kimi Räikkönen went quickest in second practice ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix but the Ferrari driver may be facing a grid penalty due to a possible unsafe release from the pit lane late in the session. Bahrain GP is the second round of the 21-round Formula One World Championship.
The Finn was quickly into the action as the session got underway and set an early benchmark of 1:30.689 on soft compound Pirellis that was later passed by team-mate Sebastian Vettel and Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas.
Räikkönen then wasted no time in getting his qualifying simulation out of the way, being the first to bolt on a set of supersoft tyres shortly before the half-hour mark.
And after logging a time of 1:29.817 that was good enough to stand until the end of the session, the Finn then moved on to long runs. However, 15 minutes from the end of the of the session, he pitted for a change of tyres and despite frantic waving from crew members on the front right of his car Räikkönen was released back on track. Realising he had an issue the Ferrari driver quickly pulled over and stopped.
Race control reported that the incident would be investigated following the session but if it is found to be a case of unsafe release Räikkönen the race stewards hand him a grid drop for Sunday afternoon’s race at the Bahrain International Circuit.
In the qualifying runs Räikkönen was followed onto supersoft tyres by Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton.
The champion backed out of a first flying lap due to traffic and then at the end of scrappy effort lost further time when he encountered the slower Haas of Kevin Magnussen. Hamilton thus finished the session in fourth place, behind team-mate Bottas and more than six tenths of a second off the pace.
It was left to Vettel to take P2 in the session, with the German profiting from a clean run that left him just 0.011s behind Räikkönen.
The two-by-two nature of the top positions was completed by Red Bull, for whom Max Verstappen was fifth quickest. However, the Dutchman was unhappy with a qualifying run that left him almost a second off top spot.
Verstappen finished six thousandths of a second clear of team-mate Daniel Ricciardo who had a near miss with Bottas during the session. The Australian was on a quick lap when he came across the Mercedes on a slow lap but on the racing line. Bottas was quick to point out over the radio that his team had given him no information about Ricciardo’s approach. The Red Bull driver was understandably unimpressed, however.
Best of the rest status was taken by Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg, who finished half a second behind Ricciardo and 1.4s off the top Ferrari.
Behind the German, Toro Rosso’s Pierre Gasly continued the good form he had shown in claiming seventh spot in the opening session by taking eighth place in the evening and beating the McLaren pairing of Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne who finished ninth and tenth respectively.
2018 Bahrain Grand Prix – Free Practice 2
1 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1:29.817 32
2 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:29.828 0.011 37
3 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:30.380 0.563 31
4 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:30.472 0.655 32
5 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 1:30.745 0.928 32
6 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing 1:30.751 0.934 31
7 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 1:31.220 1.403 34
8 Pierre Gasly Toro Rosso 1:31.232 1.415 38
9 Fernando Alonso McLaren 1:31.282 1.465 29
10 Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren 1:31.422 1.605 35
11 Romain Grosjean Haas 1:31.591 1.774 33
12 Carlos Sainz Renault 1:31.601 1.784 34
13 Esteban Ocon Force India 1:31.809 1.992 31
14 Sergio Perez Force India 1:31.868 2.051 34
15 Kevin Magnussen Haas 1:31.969 2.152 35
16 Charles Leclerc Sauber 1:32.372 2.555 37
17 Lance Stroll Williams 1:32.382 2.565 30
18 Sergey Sirotkin Williams 1:32.474 2.657 37
19 Marcus Ericsson Sauber 1:32.733 2.916 32
20 Brendon Hartley Toro Rosso 1:32.908 3.091 38. -
Norris grabs maiden pole; 2nd sector time costs Arjun as he slips to P14: F2 qualifying
Lando Norris takes F2 pole at Sakhir, a support race on F1 week-end, on Friday. An FIA image Sakhir (Bahrain), 6 April 2018: Lando Norris took pole position in the 2018 FIA Formula 2 Championship qualifying session at Sakhir, Bahrain in an enthralling battle for the first berth on the grid, setting a 1:41.761 to go fastest. The McLaren F1 reserve driver will be joined on the front row in tomorrow’s feature race by countryman George Russell of ART Grand Prix, as DAMS’ Alexander Albon will start from third place.
The green flag was eagerly awaited by a queue of cars all lined up to hit the track, with Trident’s Santino Ferrucci first onto the circuit – closely followed by teammate Arjun Maini and Russian Time’s Artem Markelov, who quickly disposed of his medium-compound tyres after an exploratory lap to fall in line with everyone else on softs.Ferrucci set the opening laptime before BWT Arden’s Maximilian Günther dipped below the two-minute mark. The bar quickly began to rise, and Sergio Sette Camara (Carlin) was the first in the right ballpark with a lap in the 1m42s. Russell quickly dispatched the Brazilian to go into the midpoint of the session ahead, standing on top of the pile with half-a-tenth’s advantage.The field then pulled into the pits for the second round of running, bolting on fresh sets of soft tyres before looking to overhaul Russell’s benchmark. Maini looked threatening, but a moment in the second sector put paid to the Indian driver’s chances of snatching the headline time. Instead, Russell chiselled half a second out of his timesheet-topping lap, setting the latter two sectors purple en route.Albon got closest to Russell, fractions slower than the British driver’s time, before Norris snatched pole by under a tenth of a second despite going wide at the final sector. Russell and Albon could not find any more time to stop Carlin from claiming their first F2 pole, while Nyck de Vries popped up into fourth late on with the fastest final sector.Louis Delétraz gave Charouz Racing System a strong debut in the championship with fifth, narrowly clearing Sette Camara. Nirei Fukuzumi (Arden) and Tadasuke Makino (RUSSIAN TIME) will create an all-Japanese fourth row intomorrow’s race, as Jack Aitken (ART) and Günther completed the top ten.With the margins slim in the qualifying session, tomorrow’s feature race promises to deliver an exciting season opener. Warm afternoon conditions should provide something of an extra challenge, as each driver seeks to open their 2018 accounts with victory.2018 FIA Formula 2 Championship – Round 1 Qualifying SessionDriverTeamTimeLaps1Lando NorrisCarlin1:41.761102George RussellART Grand Prix1:41.823103Alexander AlbonDAMS1:41.850104Nyck de VriesPERTAMINA PREMA Theodore Racing1:41.880115Louis DeletrazCharouz Racing System1:42.17496Sergio Sette CamaraCarlin1:42.221117Nirei FukuzumiBWT Arden1:42.246108Tadasuke MakinoRUSSIAN TIME1:42.264109Jack AitkenART Grand Prix1:42.2821110Maximilian GuntherBWT Arden1:42.336911Antonio FuocoCharouz Racing System1:42.3421112Luca GhiottoCampos Vexatec Racing1:42.414913Roberto MerhiMP Motorsport1:42.4231114Arjun MainiTrident1:42.437915Nicholas LatifiDAMS1:42.4471016Ralph BoschungMP Motorsport1:42.4601017Artem MarkelovRUSSIAN TIME1:42.8161118Santino FerrucciTrident1:42.8181119Sean GelaelPERTAMINA PREMA Theodore Racing1:43.016820Roy NissanyCampos Vexatec Racing1:43.3509 -
Indian racer Arjun Maini of Trident tops first session to beat Carlin duo
Indian racer Arjun Maini of Trident tops 1st session at Bahrain on Friday. An FIA image. Sakhir (Bahrain), 6 April 2018: Arjun Maini drew first blood in the first 2018 FIA Formula 2 Championship practice session at Sakhir, Bahrain, setting a 1:44.459 midway through the session to beat the Carlin duo of Lando Norris and Sergio Sette Camara to the quickest lap.
Warm and breezy conditions greeted the drivers on their first free practice session of the 2018 season, and most drivers needed to set installation laps in the opening five minutes of running to acclimatise. ART Grand Prix’s George Russell led an early flurry of activity out of the pits, while the first timed lap was courtesy of BWT Arden’s Maximilian Günther, which was given short shrift by teammate Nirei Fukuzumi.
Alexander Albon of DAMS was the first to wind the times below the two-minute mark before Fukuzumi briefly re-emerged on top of the standings to bring the laps below the 1m50 mark. Albon then took almost five seconds out of the Arden driver’s lap, leading the way after the first 20 minutes.
The Carlin duo then struck, as Sette Camara pipped the Thai driver before Norris went quicker than his teammate by just 0.05s. Both were then put in the shade by Maini, who had languished at the bottom of the timesheets during the first half of the session. Setting the quickest first sector, the Haas F1 protégé grasped the first position by half a tenth, which he would not relinquish for the remainder of the session.
The final five minutes were punctuated with a brief Virtual Safety Car test, allowing all teams to trial the new VSC functionality with the new car. Although the green flag returned for the final stages, nobody was able to improve on their lap times. Behind the top three, Albon stayed ahead of Russell for fourth, while Artem Markelov (RUSSIAN TIME) was the last of the drivers within the 1m44s.
Roberto Merhi (MP Motorsport) was seventh, ahead of Günther and Antonio Fuoco (Charouz Racing System), as Sean Gelael of PERTAMINA PREMA Theodore Racing completed the top 10.
With the top 16 drivers all within a second, this evening’s qualifying promises to be incredibly close fought, especially with cooler conditions and option tyre running to contend with.
2018 FIA Formula 2 Championship – Round 1 Free Practice ClassificationDriverTeamTimeLaps1Arjun MainiTrident1:44.549122Lando NorrisCarlin1:44.600143Sergio Sette CamaraCarlin1:44.613114Alexander AlbonDAMS1:44.769155George RussellART Grand Prix1:44.812136Artem MarkelovRUSSIAN TIME1:44.861107Roberto MerhiMP Motorsport1:45.005138Maximilian GüntherBWT Arden1:45.010169Antonio FuocoCharouz Racing System1:45.0801510Sean GelaelPERTAMINA PREMA Theodore Racing1:45.2141311Jack AitkenART Grand Prix1:45.2681412Nicholas LatifiDAMS1:45.2911613Nyck de VriesPERTAMINA PREMA Theodore Racing1:45.3291214Tadasuke MakinoRUSSIAN TIME1:45.3311415Luca GhiottoCampos Vexatec Racing1:45.3441416Santino FerrucciTrident1:45.4191417Ralph BoschungMP Motorsport1:45.5641318Nirei FukuzumiBWT Arden1:45.8491619Louis DelétrazCharouz Racing System1:45.9581420Roy NissanyCampos Vexatec Racing1:46.40715 -
Armaan Ebrahim’s MSPORT team for F3 Asian Championship certified by FIA
Photo: F3 Asian Championship Bengaluru, April 6: An Indian team, MSPORT, headed by one of country’s finest racing talents, Armaan Ebrahim and partnered by well-known race engineer Patrick Roberts, will be participating in the newly-launched F3 Asian Championship certified by FIA. The five-round, 15-race championship, the brain-child of Shanghai-based company, Top Speed, will be only the second ‘Regional F3’ in the World with the F3 Americas Championship which was launched last year.
Ten teams, including MSPORT, which is the arm of Meco Motorsport, have already registered for the championship which is set to commence in Malaysia during the July 13-15 weekend. In all, 24 cars are expected to be on the start grid.
Armaan, who had participated in Formula 2 and FIA GT series, said: “MSport will have a two-driver line-up which we will announce in due course. It is an exciting venture and we are hopeful of putting up a good show in the new championship.”
With countless victories both at home and across Asia, MSPORT is made up of a strong team of experienced professionals, and, as part of the Meco Group, it also provides a wide range of driver development services.
The team line-up for the Championship also includes China’s Absolute Racing, Black Arts Racing (BAR) and Zen Motorsport; Eurasia from Hong Kong, Super License from Japan and Pinnacle Motorsport from the Philippines.
Italy-based SVC Asia and UK’s Hitech GP are the two European teams to have confirmed for the championship, along with Los Angeles-based Chase Own Racing.
Davide De Gobbi, General Manager, Top Speed, said: “We are thrilled to announce such a strong line-up of 10 professional and experienced teams for the F3 Asian Championship certified by FIA. Never before has an Asia-based single-seater championship been given such a ringing endorsement by some of sport’s most respected teams.”
The provisional calendar:
July 9-10: Official test, Sepang International Circuit, Malaysia; July 13-15: Round 1, Sepang; Aug 31-Sept 2: Round 2, Ningbo International Speedway, China; Sept 21-23: Round 3, Shanghai International Circuit, China; Oct 12-14: Round 4, Ningbo International Speedway, China; Nov 23-25: Round 5, Sepang International Circuit, Malaysia.
-
Ferrari eyeing success at Sakhir as Formula 1 heads to Bahrain
Photo: formula1.com Bahrain, April 6: It’s advantage Ferrari after round one in Australia. Now, Sebastian Vettel and his team hope to keep the pressure on as F1 warms up with a trip to the Bahraini desert this weekend, but at a track that’s been very kind to them in recent years, reigning World champions Mercedes will have other ideas.
Ferrari inflicted defeat on Mercedes for the second year in a row in Melbourne. Only this time, rather than the Prancing Horse outracing them, the Silver Arrows were the masters of their own downfall.
Having found the software bug that led to their strategic miscalculation, Mercedes will not let that happen again. But Lewis Hamilton – the man who lost victory in Australia – expects Ferrari to be “rapid” in the heat of Bahrain, suggesting round two of a record-breaking 21-race season will be even closer in pure pace terms.
And a two-team fight could become a three-team fight if Red Bull can show the same speed over a full race that Daniel Ricciardo displayed as he set the fastest lap in Melbourne. Bring it on…
The form book
Until last season, Mercedes had been in control at Sakhir during the V6 era, winning in 2014, 2015 and 2016. However, Vettel stopped the rot in 2017, gifting Ferrari their fifth victory at the circuit.
Hamilton, Vettel and Valtteri Bottas all led at different stages of last year’s race, and based on what we saw in Melbourne, we could witness similar again this year.
The potential jokers in the pack are Red Bull. Team Principal Christian Horner insists his team can mix it with Mercedes and Ferrari after showing strong pace in clear air in Australia, and the team have twice triumphed in Bahrain, in 2012 and 2013.
Behind ‘the big three’, Haas lived up to their billing as the likely surprise package in Melbourne and were on course to finish fourth and fifth before cross-threaded wheel nuts conspired against them.
Team Principal Guenther Steiner has vowed to ramp up pit stop practice ahead of this weekend to avoid a repeat. Having scored a fifth and an eighth in two visits to Bahrain, Haas have every chance of being at the front of the midfield again if they can keep it clean.
But one factor working against the American team is the development race. Expect changes to cars up and down the pit lane, with McLaren one of the teams making the most moves. The Woking squad are aiming to bring much of the package which failed to make it to Australia, while rivals Force India are set to introduce a new front wing – and that could lead to a slight shuffling of the pack.
Hamilton Milestones
Hamilton may have seen victory slip through his fingers in Australia, but second place was enough to stretch his point-scoring streak to 26 races. Another top-10 finish in Bahrain will equal Kimi Raikkonen’s all-time record. In the grand scheme of things, it may seem insignificant, but make no bones about it – it would be a mighty achievement.
Hamilton failed to convert pole into victory for the fifth time in seven attempts in Melbourne. In Bahrain, he has converted one of two poles into victory. If he can improve that record this weekend, he will surpass Michael Schumacher’s record of 40 wins from pole.
However, pole isn’t the be all and end all. In only one of the last five races here has the pole-sitter claimed victory (Hamilton in 2015). Lining up at the sharp end, though, is imperative as the race has never been won from outside the first two rows of the grid.
Hamilton will make more history just by starting the race. It will be his 100th for Mercedes, making him the first driver to reach 100 starts for two different teams – he made 110 starts for McLaren between 2007 and 2012.
Raikkonen poised for Finnish record
Speaking of Raikkonen, victory this weekend would move him ahead of Mika Hakkinen as the most successful Finnish driver in terms of race wins. The two are currently tied on 20. However, despite scoring eight podiums in 12 attempts at Sakhir, the Iceman has never found his way to the top step. He has also never qualified on the front row in the desert.
Vettel set to join 200 club
After making it to 100 career podiums in Melbourne, Vettel will make a bit more history this weekend by joining the 200 race starts club – the 18th driver to do so. The German has so far scored four World championships, 48 wins and 50 poles in 199 Grand Prix weekends. Another win here will boost the confidence around the halls of Maranello.
For the superstitious out there, victory in Bahrain takes on even greater importance as nine of the previous 13 winners in the desert have gone on to win the drivers’ title!
Alonso, McLaren win-drought
Fernando Alonso’s fifth place in Australia equalled McLaren’s best result in the previous three years with Honda. If they fail to win at Sakhir, as seems likely given their pace relative to Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull, it will be the first time in their history they have gone 100 races without victory. Their last triumph came in the 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix, courtesy of Jenson Button.
By coincidence, this weekend is also Renault’s 100th since their last Grand Prix victory. Only two teams have gone that long without a win and once again made it to the top step of the rostrum. Williams went 132 races between victory in Brazil 2004 and Spain 2012. Ligier started 231 between Canada 1981 and Monaco 1996. So, both Renault and McLaren have some way to go to snatch that unwanted record.
In Australia, Force India failed to score points with either car for the first time since the Monaco Grand Prix last May. If they can get back inside the top 10 in Bahrain and score 13 points or more, they will break the 1000-point barrier.
It has been a while since Marcus Ericsson last scored a point. In fact, it’ll be 50 races this weekend if he fails to make the top 10. Should he score again, he will set a record for the number of races between points finishes.
The circuit
Bahrain won the honour of bringing F1 to the Middle East in 2004 and since then has played host to a Grand Prix every year bar 2011.
Built on the site of an old camel farm, the 15-turn 5.412km Bahrain International Circuit features a mix of long straights and slow corners. Its stop-start nature makes traction important. It is also one of the best for overtaking, with opportunities at Turns 1, 3 and 11.
Hitting a barrier or wall is unlikely courtesy of the acres of run-off that engulf the circuit. But that means track limits will come into play. Put four wheels over the white line at the edge of the track and you risk a penalty from the stewards.
The track isn’t used all that often. Combine that with the venue’s desert location and you’ve got a recipe for low grip. Conditions improve as the weekend goes on as rubber is gradually laid down.
In 2014 the Bahrain Grand Prix became a twilight race, with the lights set to go out just after sunset this year. While temperatures drop as the race goes on, it is still one of the hottest of the year.
The timetable places more emphasis on second practice, as it is the only session to take place in the cooler conditions that are representative of qualifying and the race. First and third practice sessions are run earlier in the day when temperatures are much higher.
The tyres
Pirelli have nominated the same tyre choices as last year in Bahrain, bringing their medium, soft and supersoft tyres. But this year, all of the compounds are one step softer.
“Bahrain provides a very different challenge to Australia, but one of the things it has in common is that is quite a stop-start circuit characterised by longitudinal rather than lateral loads, which also means that it is rear-limited in particular,” said Pirelli Head of Car Racing, Mario Isola.
“Because of the abrasive surface and also thermal degradation we would expect more than one pit stop for most drivers, especially as the entire tyre range is softer this year and Bahrain has produced a variety of interesting strategies in the past.
“The race schedule, with track temperatures that fall considerably during the evening, means that teams need to maximise their learning from the sessions that are most representative and draw the most effective conclusions from the unusual track conditions in the evening.”
The forecast
Bahrain usually offers a chance to slap on sunscreen and dust off the sunglasses, and forecasts suggest this year will be no different. Sunny intervals are expected on Friday and Saturday with clearer skies set for Sunday. Temperatures will peak around 28C throughout, but drop quickly as the sun sets and the floodlights flicker on.
If recent trends are to be believed, the hotter conditions should play into the hands of Ferrari.
Source: formula1.com
-
Chairman and CEO Chase Carey presents initiatives for future of Formula 1 from 2021
Photo – Formula 1 Bahrain, April 6: Simpler, louder and road-relevant power units besides revenue distributed according to meritocracy were some of the key initiatives in a set of proposals for the future of the sport from 2021 that Chase Carey, Chairman and CEO of Formula 1 presented to the teams and the FIA in a meeting held at the Bahrain International Circuit, here today, according to a Formula 1 Press Release.
Chase Carey said: “Formula 1 is a sport with a rich history. We want to preserve, protect and enhance that history by unleashing F1s potential, by putting our fans at the heart of a more competitive and more exciting sport. We are driven by one desire: to create the world’s leading sporting brand; fan-centred, commercially successful, profitable for our teams, and with technological innovation at its heart.”
Key strategic initiatives
Power units (PU)
- The PU must be cheaper, simpler, louder; have more power and reduce the necessity of grid penalties.
- It must remain road relevant, hybrid and allow manufacturers to build unique and original PU. • New PU rules must be attractive for new entrants and Customer teams must have access to equivalent performance.
Costs
- We believe how you spend the money must be more decisive and important than how muchmoney you spend.
- While there will be some standardised elements, car differentiation must remain a core value • Implement a cost cap that maintains Formula 1 position as the pinnacle of motorsport with a state-of-the-art technology
Revenues
- The new revenue distribution criteria must be more balanced, based on meritocracy of the current performance and reward success for the teams and the Commercial Rights Holder.
- F1s unique, historical franchise and value must and will still be recognised.
- Revenue support to both cars and engine suppliers.
Sporting and technical rules & regulations
- We must make cars more raceable to increase overtaking opportunities.
- Engineering technology must remain a cornerstone but driver’s skill must be the predominant factor in the performance of the car.
- The cars must and will remain different from each other and maintain performance differentiators like aerodynamics, suspensions and PU performance. However, we believe areas not relevant to fans need to be standardised. Governance
- A simple and streamline structure between the teams, the FIA and Formula 1.
About Formula 1®
Formula 1® racing began in 1950 and is the world’s most prestigious motor racing competition, as well as the world’s most popular annual sporting series. The 2018 FIA Formula One World Championship™ runs from March to November and spans 21 races in 21 countries across four continents.
Formula One World Championship Limited is part of Formula 1 and holds the exclusive commercial rights to the FIA Formula One World Championship™. Formula1 is a subsidiary of Liberty Media Corporation (NASDAQ: LSXMA, LSXMB, LSXMK, BATRA, BATRK, FWONA, FWONK) attributed to the Formula One Group tracking stock.
The F1 FORMULA 1 logo, FORMULA 1, F1, FIA FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP, GRAND PRIX and related marks are trademarks of Formula One Licensing BV, a Formula 1 company: All rights reserved.
Formula 1 Press Release
