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British GP: Sainz secures first win in thrilling end after early red flag
Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz scores first F1 win in British GP from Red Bull’s Sergio Perez and Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton in a thrilling race.
It was dry weather to start the F1 British GP at Silverstone which was red-flagged after a major incident involving multiple cars. At the front, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen took the lead on the soft compound from Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz who was on the mediums.
Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton jumped Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc for third, with Alpine’s Fernando Alonso jumping Red Bull’s Sergio Perez and McLaren’s Lando Norris to be fifth. The Mexican had anti-stall which affected his start and he dropped a position.
Williams’ Nicholas Latifi – also on the soft tyres – was eighth from Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas and McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo in the Top 10. There were little replays of the start after information came through of Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu went upside down.
Guanyu was confirmed to be fine during the extraction with the car seemingly stuck in the barriers. After he was sent to the medical center, F1 showed replays which showed how the incident took place where AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly touched wheels with Russell.
The Brit moved slightly to the left and touched wheels with Gasly which resulted in Russell swerving to make contact with Guanyu who flipped over from Turn 1 onto the gravel as his car jumped over the barrier onto the catch fence before coming to a halt.
It took some time to get Guanyu out and also the car out. While this was happening, a slow start from AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda allowed Alpine’s Esteban Ocon to jump him. At the same time, Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll rammed onto Williams’ Alexander Albon.
The Thai racer went onto the wall and then hit both Tsunoda and Ocon in the process. The cars of the latter two made it into the pitlane as mechanics were able to fix it. For Russell and Albon, despite the car being brought back, there was little chance of a start.
While all this was happening, the news came through of certain number of protesters jumping over the fence at around Turn 7 to make it onto the track. The police warned of such action ahead of the weekend but fortunately the red flag came for the crash.
Post red flag:
Despite the order changing in that brief running, the FIA decided to re-start the F1 British GP as per the original order with Sainz leading Verstappen, Leclerc, Perez, Hamilton, Norris, Alonso, Latifi, Gasly and Bottas in the Top 10.
It was a strong re-start from Sainz while on the same tyre as Verstappen. The Spaniard just did not allow the Dutchman to pass which brought Perez and Leclerc into the action. The two touched into the left-hander, which slightly damaged the Mexican’s car.
Leclerc then had a small contact with Verstappen which the stewards noted but stated no further action. Perez was fourth from Norris with Hamilton behind him in fifth, Gasly up to seventh from Alonso, Tsunoda and Ocon in the Top 10 points position.
Replays showed the close fight between Leclerc and Perez along with Leclerc and Verstappen, which did hurt Hamilton when Norris got through. The McLaren driver eventually lost fifth to the Mercedes driver which became fourth.
Perez was forced to pit to change the damaged front wing as Norris was fifth from Alonso who cleared Gasly. Tsunoda was eighth from Ocon with Latifi in the Top 10. Before the race started to settle, a wide moment from Sainz allowed Verstappen to lead F1 British GP.
And no sooner, Leclerc started to hustle Sainz for second. But it didn’t matter as a seemingly slow puncture forced Verstappen to stop. Despite pitting, the Dutchman still complained of a problem which the team stated that it was not critical.
It was a performance drop on the rear which he may have done by running over the kerb. He dropped to sixth as Hamilton was up to third. He set his charge against Sainz and Leclerc, who were not blazing the track due to damage to the Monegasque.
Norris steadied himself in fourth from Alonso and Verstappen, with Ocon in seventh from Latifi, Bottas and Ricciardo in the Top 10. Amid all this chaos, there was an odd moment between the two AlphaTauri drivers going into Turn 1.
Tsunoda in the inside tried a move but both he and Gasly slid onto the run-off in the same manner to drop outside of the Top 10. The Japanese was handed 5s time penalty for forcing another driver off the track as it ruined both their races.
With Sainz and Leclerc pitting around the pit stop time, Hamilton took the lead of F1 British GP with the Brit in the mix of the race win. He extended his stint, with Norris in fourth from Alonso, Perez and Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel in the Top 7.
Verstappen who pitted for the hard compound lost to Vettel and was struggling for grip as Ocon passed Latifi for ninth. The Canadian had Haas pair of Mick Schumacher & Kevin Magnussen on his tail in the fight for the final point in the Top 10.
It was a bad day for Alfa Romeo where Bottas was forced to retire, while Gasly’s damage saw him retire from the F1 British GP too. Ferrari, meanwhile, allowed its drivers to fight but not for long as Leclerc eventually was allowed to pass Sainz for track position.
After Hamilton pitted, Leclerc led F1 British GP from Sainz, with the Brit in third. Perez was fourth after his early stop as Norris was fifth from Alonso and Vettel. Behind him, Verstappen had to fend off from Ocon, who caught him up well.
In fact, Ocon passed Verstappen for eighth as Schumacher started his chase after he cleared Latifi. The Dutchman fought back but the Frenchman had troubles to come to a halt which brought out the full safety car and whole lot of soft tyres.
Leclerc missed the cue to remain on the hard tyres, with Sainz and Hamilton behind him on the soft tyres. Perez got a free stop to be fourth as Alonso was fifth after a late stop Norris which dropped him to sixth as Vettel stayed seventh after a free stop.
Magnussen was up to eighth from Verstappen and Schumacher in the Top 10. The re-start almost worked well for Leclerc against Sainz but not for long as the Spaniard eventually passed his teammate to lead F1 British GP as Perez passed Hamilton for third.
The Brit was slow off the final corner which allowed him to pass Hamilton. With Sainz far into the distance, Leclerc had Perez and Hamilton on his tail in the. It was feisty battle among them where Hamilton got both of them in the final corner to second.
While Perez and Leclerc tussled, Hamilton made the most but not for long as Perez came back on him at Turn 1 to move to second with Leclerc passing the Brit too. The Mexican stretched out of this leaving Leclerc and Hamilton to fight for third.
The two tussled for couple of laps and went back and forth but Hamilton finally made the move to third as Leclerc then had to fend off from Alonso and Norris. Behind them, Verstappen had to fight Schumacher with a floor damage.
Vettel was ninth from Magnussen in the Top 10. At the front, Sainz got through to score his first-ever F1 win in British GP after a tough 2022 with Perez in second from Hamilton. Leclerc was fourth as he fended off both Alonso and Norris.
Behind them, Verstappen fought until the final corner against Schumacher for eighth to register his first points in F1 as Vettel and Magnussen rounded out the Top 10. Finishing outside of points was Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll in 11th.
He made a late pass on Williams’ Latifi who beat McLaren’s Ricciardo where the Australian suffered from DRS issue, while AlphaTauri’s Tsunoda was 14th. DNF: Ocon, Gasly, Bottas, Russell, Zhou, Albon.
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Jehan Daruvala finishes 7th in Feature race: F2
Silverstone, 3 July 2022: Indian racer Jehan Daruvala endured a character-building weekend at the Silverstone round of the Formula 2 championship as he finished outside the top-three for only the second time in seven rounds but still came away with a double points finish.
The 23-year-old finished 8th in the Sprint and 7th in the Feature race respectively, taking home a total of seven points on a weekend of damage limitation for the lead Red Bull-backed racer in the standings.
Jehan started Saturday’s Sprint race from pole on a wet track and established a comfortable early lead. But the car, set up for mixed conditions, did not allow the wet weather tyres to be used to their optimum which led to them overheating and Jehan struggling for grip. Prema team mate Dennis Hauger, who finished 15th, suffered similarly.
Fired up to make amends in Sunday’s Feature race, Jehan, starting on the harder prime tyre, decided to play the long game. He looked after his tyres during the early stages of the race and, while briefly in the lead, unleashed his speed as his pitstop approached.
He continued lighting up the timing screens on the grippier option tyre as he fought his way back up the order.
Jehan showed strong pace all weekend. But getting a strong result in Sunday’s Feature race was always going to be an uphill task, with Jehan starting 10th after the qualifying strategy of setting one flying lap per tyre set did not work as most of his rivals found more pace on their second ‘push’ laps
Jehan said, “This wasn’t our weekend but that’s motor-racing sometimes. While I’m naturally disappointed, there are still positives that we can take away. The next race at the Red Bull Ring is only a week away. It’s a home race for us Red Bull juniors. We’ve shown both pace and consistency over the course of this season and I’m confident we can bounce back next weekend in Austria.”
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Eight selected for FIM MiniGP World Series India
Bengaluru, 3 July 2022: Eight young riders, including two girls, in the age group of 10-14 years, made it to the first list of riders selected to participate in the FIM MiniGP World Series India 2022 following two sessions of tryouts and evaluation by experts at the Meco Kartopia track, here on Saturday, July 2. The full grid of 15 riders will be announced later this month after a similar exercise in north India.
The selected riders are: Nandanan Mahendran (Chennai), Rakshith Dave (Chennai), Jinendra Sangave (Kolhapur), Kabilesh R (Chennai), Shreyas Hareesh (Bengaluru), Rehbar Islam Baktoo (Delhi), Aleena Shaikh (Bengaluru) and Anastya Pol (Bengaluru) and Dev Agasthya (Bengaluru, Reserve rider).
Also included in the list of first batch is Chennai’s Rakshitha, twin sister of Dave, who could not participate in the trials here owing to injury she suffered in a National Championship race recently, but hopes to recover fully in time for the first round of the FIM MiniGP World Series India, later this month.
The rider evaluation panel included: BS Sujith Kumar, FIM-Asia Vice-President; Emmanuel Jebaraj, a former multiple National champion; and Marco Rossetto, Product Manager, Ohvale-India. Rajini Krishnan, the 10-time National champion, who was originally in the panel, excused himself as his son also took part in the trials.
FIM, the World governing body for two-wheeler racing, in conjunction with Dorna Sports, promoters of the FIM MotoGP, launched the MiniGP Series in 2021, as part of the Road To MotoGP programme, aiming to create an equal platform for young riders around the World to begin their motorcycle racing career.
The Series is restricted to riders in the age-group of 10-14 years. The top two riders at the conclusion of the series will take part in the World Series final round to be held at Valencia, Spain, in November.
Marco Rossetto, Product Manager, Ohvale India, said: “We are happy that the FIM MiniGP World Series India, which is part of the global series, finally got off the ground here in Bengaluru on Saturday with the selection trials. We selected eight kids plus a reserve rider today after evaluation by experts. In another week, we will have a full grid of 15 riders who will participate in the series. Once again, we thank the fmsci for granting us permission besides actively involving in the programme.”
The first round of the FIM MiniGP World Series India 2022 will be held at the Meco Kartopia, Bengaluru, on July 23-24, before moving to Hyderabad for the next two rounds and then returning to Bengaluru for the final two rounds. Each round will comprise two races.
The selected riders will compete on equal Ohvale GP-0 160 machinery (Mini bikes), manufactured in Italy, while Pirelli is the official single-tyre supplier for all the FIM MiniGP World Series with a standard tyre allocation given per event. All the five rounds (10 races) will be run on karting tracks that meet minimum standards set by the FIM or the national federation.
India, along with Australia, Austria, Indonesia, Japan and Qatar are the new additions to the Series that already includes 10 other countries – France, Ireland, Italy, Malaysia, the Netherlands, North America, Portugal, Spain, the UK and Alpe-Adria.
July 23-24: Round 1, Meco Kartopia circuit, Bengaluru
August 20-21: Round 2, Chicane circuit, Hyderabad
August 27-28: Round 3, Chicane circuit, Hyderabad
Sept 10-11: Round 4, Meco Kartopia circuit, Bengaluru
Sept 24-25: Round 5, Meco Kartopia circuit, Bengaluru
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Main Sponsors: Vidiem, Ohvale India and RMS Motorsport. Helmets: MT
Support partners: Tech & Tantra (organiser); AJ Customs (design & graphic); Garage77 (technical support).
Series Sponsors: Pirelli, Motul, Dell’Orto. Series supported by: FIM, Fmsci, DornaSports, Road to MotoGP
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British GP: Sainz takes pole from Verstappen in damp conditions
Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz took F1 British GP pole in damp conditions with Charles Leclerc third behind Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
Q1:
The rain returned for the first part of F1 British GP qualifying at Silverstone with everyone choosing the intermediate tyres. Everyone ventured out to set a lap time barring the two Alpine pair, who only made it out later in the session.
There were some slippery moments from drivers but with the rain stopping, a dry line started to appear albeit the drivers still on the intermediate tyres. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen led the way with a 1m39.129s lap from Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
Mercedes’ George Russell ended up third as the bottom end saw Williams’ Nicholas Latifi make it in Q2 by 0.080s over teammate Alexander Albon despite not having the updates. The Thai was knocked out in 16th after his 1m42.089s lap.
The Haas and Aston Martin pair did not have a good time with Kevin Magnussen (1m42.159s) leading Sebastian Vettel (1m42.666s), Mick Schumacher (1m42.708s) and Lance Stroll (1m43.430s) in 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th, as all four were knocked out in Q1.
Q2:
The second part of F1 British GP saw more rain and much heavier than the first part. The disrupted the drivers as the session progressed which limited improvements for the all the drivers and sadly that hampered chances of making it in Q3.
Interestingly, Latifi made the cut in the Top 10 as Red Bull’s Verstappen led the way with a 1m40.655s lap from Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari’s Leclerc. The weather conditions set the results early on with AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly (1m43.702s) out in 11th.
Teammate Yuki Tsunoda (1m44.311s) was 13th behind Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas (1m44.232s), with McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo (1m44.355s) in 14th and Alpine’s Esteban Ocon (1m45.190s) 15th.
Q3:
The third part in F1 British GP got interesting with more rain in the horizon. The teams ventured out straight up to set a banker lap. In trying to do so, Red Bull’s Verstappen had a 360 while he also had a moment on his second lap where he ran over the kerb.
But he made up for it on the third attempt by going fastest with a 1m42.966s lap. There was a moment for Latifi which resulted in a yellow flag but it didn’t disrupt as much. The final moments saw mistake from Leclerc which left him out of chance.
Even Verstappen did not improve as expected, whereas Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz came out of nowhere to set a 1m40.983s lap and secure F1 British GP in damp conditions. The Dutchman (1m41.055s) was only 0.072s off with Leclerc (1m1.298s) in third.
A late improvement from Red Bull’s Sergio Perez (1m41.616s) saw him end up in fourth with Mercedes’ Hamilton (1m41.995s) in fifth with McLaren’s Norris (1m42.084s) sixth from Alpine’s Fernando Alonso (1m42.116s).
The other Mercedes of George Russell (1m42.161s) was only eighth. It was a career best qualifying result in ninth for Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu (1m42.719s), while Williams’ Latifi (2m03.095s) couldn’t get a lap time in to round out the Top 10.
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British GP: Verstappen leads Perez in FP3 as Red Bull bounces back
Red Bull ended up 1-2 with Max Verstappen ending up on top in FP3 of F1 British GP from Sergio Perez as Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was third.
It was cloudy but dry weather at Silverstone in FP3 of F1 British GP as Red Bull bounced back from Friday to Saturday where Verstappen was fastest with a 1m27.901s lap from Perez, as Ferrari’s Leclerc ended up third.
His teammate Carlos Sainz was sixth facing same problem as he did on Friday in high-speed section which allowed the Mercedes duo of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton to slot into fourth and fifth in a better show from them.
Russell noted about no bouncing at one point which was a plus for Mercedes. McLaren’s Lando Norris was seventh from Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas, Haas’ Mick Schumacher and Alpine’s Fernando Alonso in the Top 10.
It was a good lap from both Bottas and Schumacher, who were outside the Top 10 on Friday. The Alpine pair got stuck around the Top 10 with Alonso making it in and Esteban Ocon just outside in 11th from Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel.
Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu was 13th with Williams’ Alexnader Albon continuing his good work in 14th with the updates. For AlphaTauri, it was another difficult session where Pierre Gasly was only 15th and teammate Yuki Tsunoda in 17th.
Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll was 16th who dropped off a bit after a better show on Friday. It wasn’t a good lap from McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo to be 18th with Williams’ Nicholas Latifi in 19th and Haas’ Kevin Magnussen 20th, who couldn’t get a good lap in.
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Mumbai Falcons extends support to Kush Maini’s F3 campaign
Silverstone, 1 July, 2022: The Mumbai Falcons announced their support to Indian racing star and formula driver Kush Maini as a title sponsor for the remainder of the six rounds 2022 FIA Formula 3 Championship, that runs alongside Formula1. extending their long-standing partnership.
Mumbai Falcons extended their partnership with Maini, who was first drafted into the X1 Racing League in 2019, when Falcons was founded. The younger of the two Maini brothers, Kush’s good performance in the series prompted the Falcons to back him for the 2021 FIA Asian F3 Championship and their relationship has now expanded to the FIA F3 campaign in 2022.
Racing for the MP Motorsport team, Maini’s car will now carry the Mumbai Falcons livery which will also feature prominently on his suit and the helmet to signal a deeper partnership into the Future.
“I’m overjoyed to have extended my partnership with the Mumbai Falcons,” Maini said of the deal.
“My relationship with Mumbai Falcons goes back to 2019 and I am excited to continue it for the F3 season and it is a big step for me. The organisation has done an outstanding job of promoting motorsport in India, as well as overseas and I hope to play an important role in the sport’s development in the country through my results in F3 and beyond,” add Kush Maini.
“The FIA Formula 3 Championship is extremely competitive, with some of the world’s best drivers vying to impress the Formula 1 grid. But I intend to maximize the opportunities extended to me for the rest of the year.”
Mumbai Falcons owner Ameet Gadhoke also commented on the partnership, citing Maini’s raw speed, talent, and personality as the primary reasons for the extension. “We are delighted to see Indian talent budding in motorsport and see Kush as a contender presently to bring this sport into the mainstream in our nation. We wish him the best during his remaining season and anticipate he would move up the ranks quickly.”
The Mumbai Falcons, a subsidiary of the Gadhoke Group, were established in 2019 with the goal of promoting Indian motorsport talent. The group also intends to construct a world-class racing facility that will eventually provide aspiring drivers with the infrastructure they need to compete on a global scale.
The FIA Formula 3 Championship, which consists of 30 cars, is extremely competitive, with drivers from all over the world attempting to advance to Formula 1. The championship serves as a support race for nine different F1 Grand Prix weekends, and drivers such as Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Mercedes’ George Russell have used the series as a stepping stone on their journey to F1.
The fourth round of the FIA F3 Championship will be held at the historic Silverstone race circuit on the weekend of July 1-3 and will be ‘Live’ for Indian audience on Star Sports Select 2, HD channels.
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British GP: Sainz tops a dry FP2 session from Hamilton, Norris
Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz was fastest in dry FP2 of F1 British GP from Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and McLaren’s Lando Norris.
With dry weather conditions, the FP2 session became an important one at Silverstone in F1 British GP where the teams had to combine short and long runs with lots of cars using flo-viz paint to understand its cars better around a demanding circuit.
Ferrari’s Sainz ended up on top with a 1m28.942s lap in a relatively sedate session which saw some porpoising for certain drivers. He led Mercedes’ Hamilton (1m29.105s) and McLaren’s Norris (1m29.118s), who had a problem in a pit stop.
There was a jack failure where his car was dropped on ground rather heavily. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen (1m29.149s) was fourth from Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc (1m29.404s), with Alpine’s Fernando Alonso (1m29.695s) slotting in sixth from Red Bull’s Sergio Perez (1m29753s).
Mercedes’ George Russell (1m29.799s) was eighth from McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo (1m29.902s) and Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll (1m29.942s) in the Top 10. Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas was just outing in 11th from Alpine’s Esteban Ocon, whose session ended early due to cracked sidepod.
Williams’ Alexander Albon did well in 13th with his car having the major upgrades which the team brought for the weekend. Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu slotted in 14th from Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel, whose team noted a floor trouble.
AlphaTauri pair reported of lack of grip with Yuki Tsunoda only 16th and Pierre Gasly 18th with Haas pair also having a sedate session where Kevin Magnussen was 17th and Mick Schumacher 19th, as Williams’ Nicholas Latifi was 20th.
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British GP: Bottas fastest in FP1 amid rain disruption and red flag
Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas was fastest in FP1 of F1 British GP from Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz amid rain disruption.
The rain shower at Silverstone disrupted the FP1 session in F1 British GP as it limited the running for the whole field where several chose not to set a lap time. By midway, they waited for the weather to change, but it started drizzling again to set them back.
By the end of the session, though, there were some laps on the slick tyres on a drying track. Among the slick runners, Alfa Romeo’s Bottas set the pace with a 1m42.249s on intermediate tyres as Mercedes’ Hamilton (1m42.781s) was second on slick compound.
Ferrari’s Sainz (1m42.967s) was third from teammate Charles Leclerc (1m43.801s), while Haas’ Mick Schumacher (1m43.895s) slotted in fifth with teammate Kevin Magnussen (1m48.161s) seventh behind Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu (1m46.171s).
The session ended under red flag after an off for Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll as he was beached on the gravel, but his time was good enough to be eighth with teammate Sebastian Vettel (1m59.168s) 10th behind AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda (1m59.168s).
Outside the Top 10, no one set a lap time but the order saw Mercedes’ George Russell in 11th from Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, Alpine’s Esteban Ocon & Fernando Alonso, Williams’ Alexander Albon, McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo, AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly, McLaren’s Lando Norris, Williams’ Nicholas Latifi and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
Aside the on-track running running, the Northamptonshire police, Event Commander Chief Inspector Tom Thompson, issued a statement where he requested the protesters planning to disrupt the F1 British GP not to invade the track on safety grounds.
“We have received credible intelligence that a group of protestors are planning to disrupt the event and possibly invade the track on race day,” he said. “First of all, I want to appeal directly to this group of people and strongly urge you to not put yourselves, the drivers, as well as the many marshals, volunteers and members of the public, at risk.
“Going onto a live racetrack is extremely dangerous – if you go ahead with this reckless plan you are jeopardising lives. Protesting is of course everyone’s human right in this country and we are more than happy to speak with you to help you facilitate a peaceful protest at the circuit, we just please ask that you do not create a situation that puts lives in danger.”
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Hyderabad confirmed to host Formula E race in 2022/23 season
Formula E has released a provisional 2022/23 calendar with the likes of India and Brazil joining in, along with three TBD slots.
The latest FIA World Motor Sport Council meet affirmed a provisional 2022/23 Formula E calendar which has new venues like India and Brazil, while three empty slots which will be confirmed at a later stage. There are 18 races and 13 rounds in all.
The rounds in Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Indonesia, Italy and United Kingdom will be double-headers, with rest all to be solo events. But there is a change for the season-opener as Mexico replaces Saudi Arabia to hold the first round on January 14.
The Middle Eastern round will take place on January 27-28, with the inaugural Indian event in Hyderabad on February 11. Then there are two empty slots as TBD on February 25 and March 11, with inaugural Brazilian event in Sao Paulo on March 25.
Berlin is next on April 22, followed by Monaco on May 6 as South Korea and Indonesia will take place on May 20-21 and June 3-4. Another TBD slots in on June 24, with Italy and UK rounding the season on July 15-16 and July 29-30.
Among the three TBD slots, Africa and USA are the front-runners to fill them, while the third could be an event in Europe. Aside the calendar news, the FIA also approved minor changes to the Technical and Financial Regulations.
“The 2022/23 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship Technical Regulations have also been approved. With no changes in the overall philosophy, the Season 9 Technical Regulations include overall updates which reflect the Gen3 car architectures (added Front Powertrain Kit, car weight, power levels, energy requirements).
“Lastly, minor edits to the 2022/23 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship Financial Regulations for FE teams and manufacturers have been approved. Those address the impact of current inflation and fine-tune the wording of the Regulations,” the statement noted.
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MotoGP: Bagnaia wins Dutch GP as Quartararo has double crash
Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia wins MotoGP Dutch GP from VR46’s Marco Bezzecchi and Apirlia’s Maverick Vinales after crash for Fabio Quartararo.
It was a clean start from pole-sitter Francesco Bagnaia on his Ducati to lead MotoGP Dutch GP at Assen under cloudy conditions. Behind him, the fight for second was on between Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro and Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo.
Despite the back and forth, Espargaro got ahead of Quartararo, with Pramac Ducati’s Jorge Martin in fourth from VR46 Ducati’s Marco Bezzecchi in the Top 5. He passed Ducati’s Jack Miller, who had a Long Gap Penalty to serve for irresponsible riding.
KTM’s Brad Binder was seventh from LCR Honda’s Takaaki Nakagami, Aprilia’s Maverick Vinales and KTM’s Miguel Oliveira in the Top 10. After Miller served his penalty, he dropped to 10th as Bezzecchi cleared Martin to move himself into fourth.
Moments later, Quartararo tried a move on Espargaro on the inside at the left-hander and he slipped taking the Spaniard along with him. The Aprilia rider had to go through the gravel to drop towards the end of Top 15, while the Yamaha rider got back up to the back.
He ventured into the pits but returned back, as Bagnaia continued to lead the MotoGP Dutch GP. The incident which will be investigated after the race, helped Bezzecchi to be second from Martin as Binder was fourth from Vinales in the Top 5.
Nakagami was sixth from Miller and Oliveira, Pramac’s Johann Zarco and Gresini Ducati’s Fabio di Giannantonio in the Top 10. The grand prix saw further crashes for Yamaha riders with Franco Morbidelli going down at Turn 5, while RNF’s Darryn Binder falling too.
Few laps later, Quartararo had another crash at Turn 5 which was a major highside. He hurt himself a bit to make it three Yamaha riders out of the grand prix. Nakagami, meanwhile, was handed a Long Gap Penalty for exceeding track limits too many times.
Before anything could settle down, rain flags were displayed by the organisers but no one dived to swap bikes, as Bagnaia continued to lead from Bezzecchi but Vinales moved up to third after clearing both Martin and Binder.
In fact, Miller cleared them too to be fourth with Binder in fifth from Martin. Behind them, Espargaro climbed back up to seventh bringing Suzuki’s Joan Mir along in eighth, as Oliveira was ninth from the other Suzuki of Alex Rins in the Top 10.
Gresini’s Enea Bastianini was 11th from Nakagami, who served his penalty. Up front, Bagnaia eventually eased to win MotoGP Dutch GP as Bezzecchi secured a handsome podium from Vinales, who fended off a later charge from Miller.
The Australian made it through at one point but went too hot which allowed Binder to close in on Miller. This brought Espargaro on their tail and the final lap move on both of them in the sequence of corners allowed the Spaniard to move up to fourth.
Espargaro took the inside line to made it through as a minor touch between Binder and Miller saw the latter take avoiding action to end up sixth. Martin was seventh from Mir, Oliveira and Rins in the Top 10, while Bastianini was just outside in 11th.
Nakagami ended up 12th from Zarco, di Giannantonio and Marquez in the Top 15 points position. The lone Yamaha of Andrea Dovizioso was 16th with VR46’s Luca Marini only 17th after he was tapped by Mir at the start of the grand prix.
Honda’s Stefan Bradl was 18th from Tech 3 KTM’s Remy Gardner, whose teammate Raul Fernandez retired due to arm pump, as Aprilia wildcard Lorenzo Savadori was 20th.
DNF: Fernandez, Quartararo, Binder, Morbidelli
