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Tag: Arjun Maini
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Gaurav Gill to race for Delhi; Bengaluru picks up Arjun Maini: X1 Racing League set to begin Nov 30
From left: Zulfiquar Ghadiyali, CEO private office of sheik Tahnoon Al nahyan (AD Racing Delhi),Yohan Sethna (Team Principal, NK Racing Team), Dhaval Gada(promoter of DG Enterprises, owner DG Racing), Moid Tungrekar (CEO, Mumbai Falcons), Avi Jain (Co-owner, Bangalore Racing Stars), Akhil Reddy (owner, Blackbirds Hyderabad) during the racers draft of the inaugural edition of the X1 Racing League held in Mumbai. Mumbai, 11 Nov 2019: The much anticipated drivers draft for the inaugural edition of the X1 Racing League, a franchise based motorsports competition concluded here today as 30 international and domestic racers were drafted by six teams. Son of legendary F1 driver Niki Lauda, Mathias was picked by the Delhi franchise (AD Racing) while India’s Arjun Maini and Gaurav Gill will race for Bengaluru (Bangalore Racing Stars) and Delhi teams respectively. The league is powered by JK Tyre Motorsports.
The league which is to be held between November 30-December 1 in New Delhi at the Buddh International Circuit and December 7-8 in Chennai at the Madras Motor Race Track will have four drivers and two cars in each team. Of the four drivers in each team there will be one international male, one international female, one India international and domestic racer. Of the two domestic racers picked in each team one will get to represent the franchise. Each race will last for 30 minutes and will have three unique team-based race formats per day.
Team Hyderabad (Blackbirds Hyderabad) were the first to pick in the draft which started off with India’s International racers in the first round, they chose Akhil Rabindra. The next to pick were Team Bengaluru who chose Arjun Maini after which Team Mumbai (Mumbai Falcons) went on to choose Arjun’s brother Khush Maini. The others picked in the round were Krishna Mahadik by Team Ahmedabad (DG Racing), Gill by Team Delhi and Chennai team (NK Racing) auto-picked their team owner Narain Karthikeyan.
In the male international racers draft Bengaluru were the first pick and chose English racer Oliver James Webb. The other male international racers who were picked in the draft include Malaysian driver Alex Yoong by Ahmedabad, Mathias joined Delhi franchise, China’s Frankie Cheng went to the Chennai team, former F1 racer Tonio Luizzi by Hyderabad and Danish racer Mikkel Jensen by Mumbai.
As both male and female drivers would be racing against each other, it was important for each franchise to make sure they had a strong female driver as well. The first female international racer to be picked was Denmark’s Michelle Gatting by Bengaluru. While, English racers Pippa Mann and Alice Powell joined Mumbai and Chennai respectively, Switzerland’s Rahel Frey went to Ahemedabad, Denmark’s Christina Neilsen to Delhi and Polish racer Gosia Rdest to Hyderabad.
The domestic racers who will be part of the action include Arjun Balu and Yash Aradhya for Chennai, Raghul Rangaswamy and Ashwin Datta for Delhi, Chittesh Mandody and Ameya Walavalkar for Ahmedabad, Sohil Shah and Karthik Tharanisingh for Mumbai, Nayan Chatterjee and Vishnu Prasad for Bengaluru and Arjun Narendran and Anindth Reddy for Hyderabad.
“All teams are equally balanced and look strong. As all the cars are of the same make, it will be up to the drivers to show their skills and win the race for their team. We hope that the best team wins the league. We are happy with how the draft concluded and the owners are also happy with their teams. We can’t wait for racing to begin,” said co-founder of X1 Racing, Armaan Ebrahim.
“Some of our domestic Indian drivers will get a chance to rub shoulders with the best of the best. This a chance for the domestic racers who were picked in the draft to make it to the next level and prove themselves against other established International driver. I hope they come out on top,” said co-founder of X1 Racing, Aditya Patel.
The X1 Racing League follows the X1 Racing eSports Racing season 1, a digital-simulator based racing competition which is currently being held in cities across India. The eSports competition was created by X1 Racing in a bid to tap out talent from different strata of the society and also increase the fan following for motorsport in the country.
Team Hyderabad
Akhil Rabindra
Tonio Luizzi
Gosia Rdest
Arjun Narendran
Anindth ReddyTeam Bengaluru
Arjun Maini
Oliver James Webb
Michelle Gatting
Nayan Chatterjee
Vishnu PrasadTeam Mumbai
Khush Maini
Mikkel Jensen
Pippa Mann
Sohil Shah
Karthik TharanisinghTeam Ahmedabad
Krishna Mahadik
Alex Yoong
Rahel Frey
Chittesh Mandody
Ameya WalavalkarTeam Delhi
Gaurav Gill
Mathias Luada
Christina Neilsen
Raghul Rangaswamy
Ashwin DattaTeam Chennai
Narain Karthikeyan
Frankie Cheng
Alice Powell
Arjun Balu
Yash Aradhya -
Arjun to race back to back in Macau and Shanghai
File photo of Arjun Maini. INDIAinF1.com Bengaluru, 4 Nov 2019: Ace Indian driver Arjun Maini will be racing in Macau on the weekend from November 15 to 17 and in Shanghai from November 22 to 24.
Arjun, the JK-Tyre backed, Bengaluru-based driver, is returning to the 2019 FIA F3 Macau Grand Prix with Jenzer Motorsport. After two GP3 seasons in 2016 and 2017 with Jenzer where he won the Barcelona sprint race in 2017, Arjun moved up to F2 in 2018 and 2019, and also drove in the complete European Le Mans Series in 2019. He also competed in the 24-hours Le Mans. Arjun Maini, who drove in Macau in 2015 and 2016, is excited to take up this special challenge once more.
Andreas Jenzer said: “It’s fantastic to have our race winning driver back for our Macau campaign. We will all be working to achieve a top result!”
Maini said: “I am looking forward to racing in Macau again and to be back with Jenzer Motorsport. It is a challenging circuit especially now with the new generation cars as it will be a challenge for everyone to adapt quickly.”
RLR MSport, with whom Arjun raced the 24 hours of Lemans and also the ELMS season in LMP2, is set to expand its reach to China, South East Asia and Australia with an assault on the 2019-20 Asian Le Mans Series LMP2 Am Trophy, in a bid to secure a coveted entry to the 88th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The Bolton team will field a sole ORECA 05 Nissan for European Le Mans Series (ELMS) regulars John Farano and Arjun Maini, and New Zealand’s LMP2 debutant Andy Higgins for the duration of the four-part season that takes in some of the greatest racetracks in the Asia-Pacific region.
RLR MSport welcomed Arjun Maini to the fold for its much-anticipated return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the ELMS’s LMP2 class in 2019.
The young Indian was impressive during his maiden season of endurance sportscar racing, transitioning seamlessly from Formula 2 single-seaters to Le Mans Prototypes, and he views the Asian Le Mans Series as an opportunity to continue his development through the winter.
“The idea behind racing in the Asian Le Mans Series is to get as much driving time as possible and to win the AM Trophy to earn an entry to the 24 Hours of Le Mans,” said Maini. “It would be good to win for John (Farano), who has improved a lot throughout the year, and I feel the class will be fair for the Bronze drivers and give a good reflection of how they’re getting on relative to each other.
“I know the ORECA 05 is a little slower than the 07 we race in the ELMS, so we will have to get our heads around the speed and the grip levels, but I think we will all be fine with that. I’m looking forward to returning to Sepang, as I have experience of the circuit from GP3 and Formula BMW and I really like Malaysia as a country, although I’ve never been to Australia and The Bend looks mega, so I’m expecting that to be a highlight.”
Higgins, meanwhile, is a second-generation racer from Auckland and a stalwart of New Zealand’s historic motor racing scene.
Arjun Maini file photo The 2019-20 Asian Le Mans Series commences at the Shanghai International Circuit in China (22-24 November) before moving on to The Bend Motorsport Park in South Australia (10-12 January), and it concludes with back-to-back races at Malaysia’s Sepang International Circuit (14-15 February) and Thailand’s Chang International Circuit (21-23 February).
RLR MSport Director of Motorsport Operations, Nick Reynolds, said: “The Asian Le Mans Series is growing in size and stature every year, and we believe there’s a lot of value in an entry. It isn’t only the calibre of the field that makes the series attractive, but the fact it’s held during the European winter months makes it a fantastic platform for teams and drivers who wish to stay fresh all year round.
“For John (Farano) and Arjun (Maini), it’s an opportunity to continue developing their skills, albeit in slightly older LMP2 machinery, in a competitive environment with all the variables of a race weekend. Of course, it’s fantastic to have Andy (Higgins) on-board; while he is yet to sample modern LMP2 machinery, he will be an asset. The aim is simple – win the Asian Le Mans Series Am Trophy and secure that automatic entry to the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and gather plenty of momentum for the 2020 season.”
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Mick Schumacher storms to maiden F2 victory in Budapest; Arjun Maini slips to 16th
PREMA ace earns his and his teams’ first win of 2019, ahead of Matsushita and Sette CâmaraBudapest, 4 August 2019: Mick Schumacher became the second rookie winner of this season’s FIA Formula 2 campaign with a commanding performance from lights-to-flag in the Sprint Race that required every inch of his defensive abilities.The PREMA racing man beat out the experienced Nobuharu Matsushita to earn his maiden F2 win and a first taste of champagne for PREMA this season. DAMS’ Sérgio Sette Câmara came home in third, having pushed and prodded Matsushita all the way, in the tightest of front threes.The German had been handed reverse grid pole for the second time this season, thanks to a strong 8th place finish in yesterday’s Feature Race and he got away smoothly off the line, despite the Carlin attached to his rear wing.Matsushita, starting P2, waited until the first turn to make his move and skidded around the outside of the German, but he ran out of track and remained second. Sette Câmara had forced his way ahead of Jordan King when the lights went out for third, while Nikita Mazepin rose four places to break into the points’ paying places.Schumacher set the fastest lap in his attempts to put space between himself and Matsushita, but the Japanese driver reacted by beating his time around the Hungaroring and slicing into the distance between them. Less than a second behind him was Sette Câmara, in an intense three-wary tussle for first.With thick clouds appearing above, the track temperature fell from 41 to 35 degrees, adding a further challenge to Schumacher’s defence of P1. Still, he clung on, but Matsushita remained within five tenths of him and refused to let the German breathe.The Brazilian in third had the same tactic, but couldn’t find a way through at Turn 3 when the two went side-by-side and the Carlin came out ahead.Championship contender Luca Ghiotto had been one of the fall guys in Mazepin’s rise to 8th, but he was able to regain the spot when the ART man lost pace on lap 18. Callum Ilott and Guanyu Zhou both followed the Italian through, after the Russian had warned his team that he was in trouble. Ghiotto’s overtake of the Russian put him in a 1-2-3 with title rivals Nicholas Latifi and Nyck De Vries in a three-way fight for 6th.Matsushita remained in the shadow of Schumacher in the chase for P1 and was lapping two tenths faster than the German, beating him in both sectors 1 and 2, but could still not find a way through. The battling Ferrari F1 junior fought the Honda Dream driver all the way to the chequered flag and came out on top, thanks to a defensive masterclass.Following closely behind was Sette Câmara, who beat out British duo Jordan King and Jack Aitken. De Vries, Latifi and Ghiotto finished 6th, 7th and 8th, as Guanyu Zhou and Callum Ilott completed the top ten.De Vries remains ahead in the Driver’s Championship, with 30 points more than Latifi in second, who has 166. Sette Câmara climbs back to third on 141 thanks to his podium finish, while Ghiotto has 135 and Aitken 134. In the Teams’ Championship, DAMS still lead on 307, ahead of UNI-Virtuosi on 242 and ART Grand Prix on 202. Campos Racing are 4th with 164 and Carlin 5th with 145.The F2 Championship takes a brief break ahead of Round 9 in Spa-Francorchamps, when the drivers should return refreshed and ready to battle it out in the final four rounds of 2019. Having returned to winning ways in Budapest, Latifi will hope to further chop into De Vries’ Championship lead when racing returns at the end of August.2019 FIA Formula 2 Championship – Sprint Race provisional classificationDRIVERTEAM1Mick SchumacherPREMA Racing2Nobuharu MatsushitaCarlin3Sérgio Sette CâmaraDAMS4Jordan KingMP Motorsport5Jack AitkenCampos Racing6Nyck De VriesART Grand Prix7Nicholas LatifiDAMS8Luca GhiottoUNI-Virtuosi Racing9Guanyu ZhouUNI-Virtuosi Racing10Callum IlottSauber Junior Team by Charouz11Anthoine HubertBWT Arden12Giuliano AlesiTrident13Louis DeletrazCarlin14Juan Manuel CorreaSauber Junior Team by Charouz15Nikita MazepinART Grand Prix16Arjun MainiCampos Racing17Sean GelaelPREMA Racing18Ralph BoschungTrident19Mahaveer RaghunathanMP MotorsportNOT CLASSIFIEDTatiana CalderonBWT ArdenOVERALL FASTEST LAPNobuharu Matsushita (Carlin) – 1:33.056 on Lap 4FASTEST LAP ELIGIBLE FOR POINTSNobuharu Matsushita (Carlin) -
DAMS driver Latifi secures first win since Round 3, ahead of De Vries and Aitken: F2
3 August 2019: Nicholas Latifi won for the first time since Barcelona with a masterclass on the tight turns of the Hungaroring, bombing ahead of Nyck De Vries at the start and never wavering. Amazingly, it is the first time this season that the Championships’ top two have shared a podium, with the duo finishing ahead of Campos Racing’s Jack Aitken.Despite the downpour in Friday’s Qualifying session, the rain held off on Saturday morning in Hungary and De Vries made the most of the dry surface to get away cleanly off the line, battling off a move down his right from Luca Ghiotto. Or, so he thought! Nicholas Latifi surged past them both on the left and nipped by at the end of the first turn, with De Vries’ locking up.There were plenty of places gained further back at Turn 1 as Aitken jumped three to 5th, while Hubert hopped five to 13th. There was heartbreak for Louis Delétraz, whose slow start when the lights went out saw him drop to 8th, before his Carlin slowed down to a stop.Aitken began hounding Mick Schumacher in 4th, who had fallen off the tail of Ghiotto. The German defended his position well, but lost out in the pits as Campos delivered a perfect stop, which saw the Brit nip ahead of both the PREMA man and Ghiotto.By the time Latifi pitted a lap later, he’d built a strong gap over De Vries and returned in 6th place, directly in-front of the ART Grand Prix man who had already stopped. The race lead was handed to Jordan King who was on the alternate strategy.Latifi briefly put space between himself and De Vries when he passed Ralph Boschung, but he got caught in traffic and the Dutchman began to catch him. There was a brief Virtual Safety Car as Arjun Maini pulled over onto the gravel and became the morning’s second casualty.Nobuharu Matsushita passed Schumacher down the pit-straight when racing resumed, while Latifi zipped by Hubert for second, who was also yet to stop. By the time King pitted from first and handed Latifi back the lead, the Canadian had built up a 6s gap between himself and his title rival.The front three spots were back into the hands of Latifi, De Vries and Aitken, with Ghiotto in 4th and unable to match the Brit’s speed. This sent the Italian into the clutches of Matsushita and sparked a mass brawl for fourth.Ghiotto was able to fend off the Carlin driver, which sent him into the lurches of Sérgio Sette Câmara who had risen magnificently from 12th. The duo went two wide ahead of Turn 3, which put King into the mix. Narrowly avoiding a kiss of tyres, the Brazilian and the Briton edged passed Matsushita.The battles were brought to a swift conclusion when Boschung’s Trident went up in smoke and forced him to pull over onto the gravel. The race finished under the subsequent Safety Car, although Ghiotto and King were handed penalties after the chequered flag for a SC infringement and fell down the order. Latifi safely crossed the line ahead of De Vries and Aitken. Sette Câmara claimed fourth, ahead of Matsushita, Ghiotto, King, Schumacher, Guanyu Zhou and Callum Ilott.The Canadian’s victory sees him gain ground on De Vries at the top of the Drivers’ Championship, with De Vries now on 192 points and Latifi 28 behind him. Sette Câmara moves up to third on 133, ahead of Ghiotto on 130. Aitken completes the top five with 128. In the Teams’ Championship, DAMS have increased their lead and now have 297 points, ahead of UNI-Virtuosi on 237. ART Grand Prix sit third on 198, with Campos Racing behind on 158 and Carlin on 135.Schumacher will start on reverse pole for the first time since Bahrain in the Sprint Race and aim for a maiden win in F2 when action kicks off again tomorrow at 11.25am local time.2019 FIA Formula 2 Championship – Round 8 Feature Race provisional classificationDRIVERTEAM1Nicholas LatifiDAMS2Nyck De VriesART Grand Prix3Jack AitkenCampos Racing4Sérgio Sette CâmaraDAMS5Nobuharu MatsushitaCarlin6Luca GhiottoUNI-Virtuosi Racing7Jordan KingMP Motorsport8Mick SchumacherPREMA Racing9Guanyu ZhouUNI-Virtuosi Racing10Callum IlottSauber Junior Team by Charouz11Anthoine HubertBWT Arden12Nikita MazepinART Grand Prix13Giuliano AlesiTrident14Juan Manuel CorreaSauber Junior Team by Charouz15Sean GelaelPREMA Racing16Tatiana CalderonBWT Arden17Mahaveer RaghunathanMP Motorsport18Ralph BoschungTridentNOT CLASSIFIEDArjun MainiCampos RacingLouis DelétrazCarlinOVERALL FASTEST LAPJordan KingMP Motorsport1:32.436 on lap 33FASTEST LAP ELIGIBLE FOR POINTSJordan KingMP Motorsport -
Dutchman De Vries flies to Budapest pole; Arjun Maini P15: F2
Budapest, 2 August 2019: Nyck de Vries continued his so far flawless weekend to claim an emphatic pole position in the wet, in today’s FIA Formula 2 Qualifying at the Hungaroring. The ART Grand Prix ace picked up where he left off in Free Practice to finish ahead of Championship rivals Luca Ghiotto and Nicholas Latifi.The rain threatened to derail the session right from the start, as Nikita Mazepin succumbed to the slippery circuit and spun at Turn 7 on his out lap. The Russian was unable to get going again, which prompted a red flag so that the marshals could quickly whisk him off track.At the restart, De Vries was the first back out there, but focused on testing the track limits with rain still pouring down, and lapped the Hungaroring in 1:50.820. Guanyu Zhou and Mick Schumacher opted for a similar strategy and nestled into third and fourth, with Luca Ghiotto coming closest to the Dutchman. The UNI-Virtuosi man lapped just 0.061s slower, eying up P1 with his next tour.The Italian duly set a purple first sector, but a wobble in the third proved his undoing, as he was unable to beat his prior time. He had the same issue on his next lap as the rain began to take its toll on the field.Latifi held his lap together and stole P1 from the clutches of his rival by 0.242s, as he coveted his first ever pole position in the category. Meanwhile, Schumacher had looked pacey in practice and nipped in-between the traffic at the start of a flying lap in his own bid for pole. The German was unrelenting in the rain and despite a slightly slow second sector, snatched second place with a searing lap.It was then that De Vries came into his own, displaying his undeniable ability over one lap. The Championship leader smashed out three perfect purple sectors to break the 1m 50s barrier and take an unassailable lead at the top.Ghiotto improved upon his time prior to the chequered flag, but couldn’t match the sheer speed of De Vries in the rain, who held on for pole position ahead of Latifi, Schumacher and Louis Delétraz. They were followed by Callum Ilott, Jack Aitken and Nobuharu Matsushita while Anthoine Hubert and Zhou completed the top ten.Racing will resume on Saturday morning at 10.10am (local time) when De Vries will aim to continue his perfect start to Round 8 and add to his Championship lead. Following closely will be title rivals Ghiotto and Latifi, in what could be the tightest battle of the season yet. Don’t count against further downpour which would add extra spice to an already tasty looking race.FIA Formula 2 Championship – Round 8 Qualifying provisional classificationDRIVERTEAMLAPTIMELAPS1Nyck De VriesART Grand Prix1:49.809132Luca GhiottoUNI-Virtuosi Racing1:50.036133Nicholas LatifiDAMS1:50.578134Mick SchumacherPREMA Racing1:50.748125Louis DeletrazCarlin1:50.853146Callum IlottSauber Junior Team by Charouz1:50.871137Jack AitkenCampos Racing1:50.962138Nobuharu MatsushitaCarlin1:51.408149Anthoine HubertBWT Arden1:51.5131210Guanyu ZhouUNI-Virtuosi Racing1:51.5731311Jordan KingMP Motorsport1:51.7171312Juan Manuel CorreaSauber Junior Team by Charouz1:51.7881313Sergio Sette CamaraDAMS1:51.8171214Giuliano AlesiTrident1:52.6441315Arjun MainiCampos Racing1:52.7181216Ralph BoschungTrident1:52.9561317Sean GelaelPREMA Racing1:52.9951218Tatiana CalderonBWT Arden1:53.9971219Mahaveer RaghunathanMP Motorsport1:55.21712NOT CLASSIFIEDNikita MazepinART Grand Prix -
Campos Racing’s Arjun Maini to continue at F2 Round 8: Hungarian GP weekend
Twitter @ArjunMaini Budapest, 1 August 2019: The FIA Formula 2 Championship heads for the heat of the Hungarian summer for Round 8, as the F1 paddock moves to Budapest following the excitement of Great Britain.
Indian racer Arjun Maini, who signed up with Campos Racing for two races only, will continue for the third race with the Spanish team and will take part in the F2 during the F1 weekend.There was plenty for the home fans to celebrate at Silverstone with British outfit UNI-Virtuosi Racing setting the pace for the majority of the weekend. Luca Ghiotto was the man to catch in free practice, and the Italian continued his pace in qualifying before teammate Guanyu Zhou went fastest to take pole and lockout the front row for the Norfolk-based team. Ghiotto edged ahead of the Chinese rookie in the opening lap before battling to take the first F2 Feature Race win of his career. Campos Racing’s Jack Aitken continued to give the British crowd reasons to be cheerful, pulling off audacious overtakes on championship leader Nyck de Vries and then Louis Delétraz to take the lead and secure his second victory of the season to rapturous applause.De Vries (170 points) is still out in front in the Drivers’ Championship, but second-placed Nicholas Latifi (139) has closed the gap slightly to 31 points. Ghiotto (122) has leapfrogged Sérgio Sette Câmara (121) into third position by a single point. DAMS (260) are top of the Teams’ Championship though a solid weekend for UNI-Virtuosi Racing (227) have seen them narrow the gap to 33 points. French outfit ART Grand Prix are currently third with 176 points.The Hungaroring hosts Round 8 of the championship, a technical track that tests both cars and drivers. With an average temperature of 28 degrees, strategy will prove a decisive factor in the warm weather and Pirelli are supplying the medium and soft tyre compounds. As we’ve seen all season, the racing on track should be just as hot in another incredible weekend of F2 action!Warm Up // Nobuharu Matsushita – Carlin“I really like the Hungaroring because it’s a really technical track. It’s not all about the high-speed corners, it’s also technically difficult, and so it’s really hard to try and put everything together during one lap. It’s a challenging track to drive.“There’s not one specific corner that provides more of a challenge than any other. Every single corner is difficult. I guess that makes the whole circuit a specific challenge when compared to other tracks.“Tyre degradation also plays a key role and you have to look after your tyres if you are going to survive until the end of the race. That all adds to the difficulty. I’d say the best place to overtake is in Turn 1. You have to be really smooth in Sector 3 to follow the guy in front, making sure you don’t make a mistake in the last corner, and then you can use the DRS to help you get past into the first corner. There are other places to overtake but that’s the easiest place to get a move done.“I’ve won twice in Hungary and have had some of the best experiences of my career there at this level. I also did F1 testing there in 2017 with Sauber. I remember it was really hot, but it is a good memory! I’m really looking forward to going back and racing and I would really like to win there again.”Mario Isola, Pirelli Head of F1 and Car Racing“This the last round before the summer break but the FIA F2 Championship is already entering its closing stages, which provides even more pressure to obtain a strong result in Hungary. It’s a type of track that many of the drivers will be familiar with from their karting days: very tight and narrow, with the tyres constantly working. As a result, managing the compounds in the hot conditions will be vitally important, with an accent on strategy as well because it’s very tricky to overtake. It’s also going to be one of the most important qualifying sessions of the year: finding a gap on what’s often a crowded circuit will be essential as well.”Season Stats
170 The number of points championship leader Nyck De Vries currently has so far this season, exactly the same number as reigning champion George Russell had at this stage last season. Russell was also driving for ART Grand Prix.31 The points gap between Drivers’ Championship leader De Vries and second-placed Nicholas Latifi (139) at the top of the standings.4 Only four drivers have been classified finishers in every race so far this season; De Vries,Latifi, Jack Aitken and Anthoine Hubert.5 Excluding DNF’s, the lowest Sérgio Sette Câmara has finished in a Feature Race this season is fifth.NoteworthyThe F2 race lap record at the Hungaroring is 1:29.121, set by Antonio Fuoco with PREMA Racing in 2017Guanyu Zhou became the first Chinese pole sitter in the history of F2 when he earned his very first pole position at Silverstone. The Chinese driver also became the first rookie of the season to earn pole position for a Feature RaceIf Carlin qualify on pole position for Saturday’s Feature Race, they will become the first team in the history of F2 to claim Feature Race pole at the Hungaroring in two consecutive yearsIf Nyck De Vries wins this weekend he will match Artem Markelov for the record highest number of wins in the modern era of FIA Formula 2. A win in both races would see the Dutchman surpass the RussianDe Vries has finished on the podium at least once in every round of 2019 except one – the season opener in Sakhir back in MarchEvery driver that has won a Budapest feature race at this level and then gone on to win the championship in the same year has also gone on to race in Formula 1. Nico Hulkenberg did it in 2009, Pastor Maldonado in 2010, Romain Grosjean in 2011 and then Pierre Gasly in 2016Ralph Boschung, who competed in the first five rounds of the 2019 F2 Championship with Trident, returns to the F2 paddock with the Italian outfit this weekend. The Swiss driver has already scored three championship points this termThe Feature Race at the Hungaroring will take place on Saturday morning as opposed to Saturday afternoonData (GMT+2)Friday
Free Practice: 13.00 – 13.45
Qualifying: 16.55 – 17.25
Press conference: 19.00SaturdayFeature race: 10.10 (37 laps)
Press conference: 11.30SundaySprint race: 11.25 (28 laps)
Press conference: 12.30 -
Home win for Jack Aitken; Arjun Maini 13th: F2
Louis Delétraz (Carlin), Jack Aitken (Campos Racing), Nyck De Vries (ART Grand Prix), the F2 Sprint winners on Sunday. An FIA F2 image Silverstone, 14 July 2019: Jack Aitken gave British racing fans a reason to cheer at Silverstone, clawing his way from fourth on the grid for a first home win in the F2 Sprint Race. The Campos driver achieved his best finish since Azerbaijan, crossing the line ahead of Carlin’s Louis Delétraz and ART Grand Prix’s Nyck De Vries. Indian racer Arjun Maini, also of Campos Racing, finished 13th while the other Indian on the grid Mahaveer Raghunathan of MP Motorsport ended at the last.
Aitken got the better of another British driver at the race start, as he joined Delétraz and De Vries in lunging ahead of reverse grid pole-sitter Callum Ilott who was slow off the line. The trio flung themselves down the right of the Ferrari Junior and dropped him to fourth at Turn 1.Delétraz made the best start of the three and headed the group going into Lap 2, as Aitken began to hone in on De Vries. The Brit unsettled the Championship leader and made his move, arrowing beautifully down the side of him, having taken a tow. The Dutchman briefly fought back, but bumped the back of the Campos car and handed over the position.This left the Championship leader in view of Ilott, who took a peak at the right of the ART machine, however, the Briton appeared just short of the pace required for an overtake and remained in behind.Feature Race winner Luca Ghiotto continued to display UNI-Virtuosi’s pace advantage at Silverstone, moving up to fifth with an overtake on Nicholas Latifi. The Italian had eyes on Ilott, but was unfortunately forced into a tyre change and returned from the pits at the back of the field, in an agonizing end to his weekend.Back at the front, Delétraz had held a near 3s lead over Aitken, but the Campos man was running quicker and twice set a faster lap as he began to eat into the air between them. The Renault test driver whittled it down to DRS range within two laps and the strain on the Carlin was too much for Delétraz.No sooner had the gap dropped beneath a second, had Aitken arrived in the shadow of the race leader, halving the time difference to under 0.5s. The 23-year-old looked up and glided down the side of Delétraz who was powerless to prevent the move.From there, the order remained unchanged, as Aitken kept his cool in front and held on ahead of Delétraz. De Vries completed the podium in third to salvage something from Round 7, ahead of Ilott, Latifi, Mick Schumacher, Nobuharu Matsushita and Guanyu Zhou.The drivers’ championship remains in the hands of De Vries, who leads Latifi by 31 points. Ghiotto is third on 122, ahead of Sérgio Sette Câmara on 121 and Jack Aitken on 113. DAMS top the teams’ championship on 260 points, with UNI-Virtuosi second on 227. ART Grand Prix sit third on 176, with Campos Racing fourth on 143 and Carlin fifth on 125.De Vries will aim to pick up speed again in Budapest at the end of July, when the F2 Championship returns to action at the Hungaroring.2019 FIA Formula 2 Championship – Round 7 Sprint Race classificationDRIVERTEAM1Jack AitkenCampos Racing2Louis DelétrazCarlin3Nyck De VriesART Grand Prix4Callum IlottSauber Junior Team by Charouz5Nicholas LatifiDAMS6Mick SchumacherPREMA Racing7Nobuharu MatsushitaCarlin8Guanyu ZhouUNI-Virtuosi Racing9Jordan KingMP Motorsport10Juan Manuel CorreaSauber Junior Team by Charouz11Anthoine HubertBWT Arden12Nikita MazepinART Grand Prix13Arjun MainiCampos Racing14Dorian BoccolacciTrident15Luca GhiottoUNI-Virtuosi Racing16Tatiana CalderonBWT Arden17Sérgio Sette CâmaraDAMS18Mahaveer RaghunathanMP MotorsportNOT CLASSIFIEDGiuliano AlesiTridentOVERALL FASTEST LAPJack Aitken (Campos Racing) – 1:39.993 on Lap 20FASTEST LAP ELIGIBLE FOR POINTSJack Aitken (Campos Racing) -
Maiden feature race win for Ghiotto; Arjun Maini 12th: F2
Silverstone, 13 July 2019: Luca Ghiotto continued his return to form in the FIA Formula 2 Championship, following up his double podium placing at Spielberg, with his first ever Feature Race win. The UNI-Virtuosi man came out on top of a fierce battle with rival Nicholas Latifi, before building up a solid 5s gap ahead of the DAMS man, and third placed teammate Guanyu Zhou.Indian racer Arjun Maini of Campos Racing could only finish 12th.The Italian went wheel-to-wheel with his polesitting teammate when the lights went out and eventually cemented P1 at the end of Turn 2, edging ahead of Zhou. It was just as tight between the two DAMS behind him, as Sérgio Sette Câmara and Latifi battled it out for third.Nobuharu Matsushita leapt to sixth at the start, slipping through the middle of Nyck de Vries, Callum Ilott and Jack Aitken. The session was briefly yellow flagged as returnee Dorian Boccolacci stopped off track and was forced into retirement.When racing resumed, Latifi launched ahead of his teammate at Becketts for third, while Ghiotto stretched his lead over Zhou to a still narrow 0.7s. Latifi’s tussle for first would begin shortly after, as he made light work of the Chinese racer for P2 and ducked into the pits for a change of tyre.The race leader pitted a lap later and returned just inches ahead of the Canadian in fifth, who had already warmed his rubber. The pair narrowly avoided a tangle when the DAMS’ driver bumped the back of the UNI-Virtuosi but they were able to retain control.Ghiotto locked up at Brooklands upon their return to full speed, which allowed Latifi to make a move down the inside and lunge ahead. The Italian looked blisteringly quick all weekend though and began to eat back into the gap once his tyres got up to temperature. Eventually, he was able to slip down the inside of Latifi and reclaim the positon at Stowe.On the alternate strategy, Nikita Mazepin and Tatiana Calderón were thrust to the front of the field and were battling to gain an advantage ahead of their late stop. Ghiotto dipped between the duo for P2 and put some breathing space between himself and Latifi.Further back, Aitken had managed to recover from his slow start and rise as high as sixth ahead of Louis Delétraz, Ilott and Matsushita. The British driver could clearly sniff further points and arrowed in on Championship leader De Vries. Getting within DRS range, he flung his car down the inside of the Dutchman and made the move stick going into Turn 3.This would be the last course of action as Ghiotto closed out his first win since Bahrain back in March, having amassed a strong 5s lead over Latifi. He swept through ahead of the Canadian, who was followed by the second UNI-Virtuosi of Zhou. Sette Câmara ran through next for an all UNI-Virtuosi and DAMS front four, ahead of Aitken in fifth. De Vries, Delétraz, Ilott, Matsushita and Jordan King completed the top ten.De Vries retains control of the driver’s Championship on 160 points, ahead of Latifi on 133. Ghiotto moves up to third with 122 points, one ahead of Sette Câmara in fourth. Zhou completed the top five on 104. In the team’s Championship, DAMS are still in control on 154 points, ahead of UNI-Virtuosi on 226. ART Grand Prix are third on 166, ahead of Campos Racing on 126 and Carlin on 111.Local hero Callum Ilott will start on reverse grid pole in tomorrow’s Sprint Race at Silverstone and will look to earn his first race win in front of a home crowd.2019 FIA Formula 2 Championship – Round 7 Feature Race ClassificationDRIVERTEAM1Luca GhiottoUNI-Virtuosi Racing2Nicholas LatifiDAMS3Guanyu ZhouUNI-Virtuosi Racing4Sergio Sette CâmaraDAMS5Jack AitkenCampos Racing6Nyck De VriesART Grand Prix7Louis DelétrazCarlin8Callum IlottSauber Junior Team by Charouz9Nobuharu MatsushitaCarlin10Jordan KingMP Motorsport11Mick SchumacherPREMA Racing12Arjun MainiCampos Racing13Juan Manuel CorreaSauber Junior Team by Charouz14Tatiana CalderónBWT Arden15Mahaveer RaghunathanMP Motorsport16Nikita MazepinART Grand Prix17Giuliano AlesiTrident18Anthoine HubertBWT ArdenNOT CLASSIFIEDDorian BoccolacciTridentOVERALL FASTEST LAPSergio Sette Câmara (DAMS) – 1:40.858 on Lap 24FASTEST LAP ELIGIBLE FOR POINTSSergio Sette Câmara (DAMS) -
UNI-Virtuosi’s Guanyu Zhou scored his first ever pole; Arjun Maini P14: F2
Silverstone, 12 July 2019: UNI-Virtuosi’s Guanyu Zhou scored his first ever pole position in the FIA Formula 2 Championship, and the first this season for a rookie, at Silverstone in Round 7. The team followed up P1 in Free Practice to score a front-row lock-out, with Luca Ghiotto following his teammate in second and Dams’ Sérgio Sette Câmara nabbing third.Louis Delétraz was the first out onto a cool Silverstone circuit, but it was DAMS who were hottest in the early exchanges, when Sette Câmara and Nicholas Latifi claimed P1 and P2. Their time at the top was short lived, as UNI-Virtuosi continued to show their searing speed in Round 7. No sooner had Ghiotto taken provisional pole, had his teammate Zhou stolen in.The duo remained at the top of the pile as everyone returned for fresh rubber. Mick Schumacher attempted to replicate Anthoine Hubert’s strategy in Austria by diving out of the pits early and hitting an empty track, however, his flying lap was disrupted by traffic as others also returned ahead of time.This ensured Zhou retained his control of pole going into the final five minutes. The Chinese racer held just a 0.012s lead over Ghiotto, who clearly had the pace to mount a challenge. Neither of the DAMS could topple them on their final laps and were forced to settle for third and fourth.With time nearly out, Ghiotto had set a purple first sector on his final tour of the circuit, but a wobble towards the end of his lap cost him valuable time and ensured Zhou secured his first pole position in the Championship. The pair were followed by Sette Câmara, Latifi and Delétraz. Callum Ilott, Nyck De Vries, Jack Aitken, Nobuharu Matsushita and Hubert completed the top ten.UNI-Virtuosi will aim to continue their British dominance during tomorrow’s Feature Race, which begins at 3.45pm local time.2019 FIA Formula 2 Championship – Round 7 Qualifying classificationDRIVERTEAMLAPTIMELAPS1Guanyu ZhouUNI-Virtuosi Racing1:38.182112Luca GhiottoUNI-Virtuosi Racing1:38.410113Sérgio Sette CâmaraDAMS1:38.511114Nicholas LatifiDAMS1:38.519105Louis DeletrazCarlin1:38.547116Callum IlottSauber Junior Team by Charouz1:38.549107Nyck De VriesART Grand Prix1:38.613128Jack AitkenCampos Racing1:38.686119Nobuharu MatsushitaCarlin1:38.8771110Anthoine HubertBWT Arden1:39.0461111Juan Manuel CorreaSauber Junior Team by Charouz1:39.0711112Jordan KingMP Motorsport1:39.2251113Mick SchumacherPREMA Racing1:39.2271214Arjun MainiCampos Racing1:39.5121215Giuliano AlesiTrident1:39.5741016Nikita MazepinART Grand Prix1:39.6151217Dorian BoccolacciTrident1:39.6221218Sean GelaelPREMA Racing1:39.7901119Tatiana CalderonBWT Arden1:40.5301220Mahaveer RaghunathanMP Motorsport1:41.72511 -
Arjun Maini, 7th fastest in F2 Free Practice; Ghiotto on top at Silverstone
Luca Ghiotto (ITA, UNI VIRTUOSI). An F2 image Silverstone, 12 July 2019: Indian racer Arjun Maini of Campos Racing clocked the 7th fastest time even as Luca Ghiotto carried his Austrian form into Round 7 to achieve his highest session placing since Barcelona, lapping quickest in FIA Formula 2 Free Practice, at Silverstone. The Italian followed up his pair of podium finishes in Spielberg with P1, ahead of DAMS’ Nicholas Latifi and teammate Guanyu Zhou. The other Indian in the F2 field Mahaveer Raghunathan was 19th for MP Motorsport.
Sauber Junior Team by Charouz duo Juan Manuel Correa and Callum Ilott set the early pace, immediately going under 1m 43s. The session was then briefly yellow flagged as Sean Gelael and Louis Delétraz made contact around Turn 6, which forced the PREMA man to retire from Free Practice.British duo Jack Aitken and Jordan King fleetingly led proceedings, until Nyck De Vries and Sérgio Sette Câmara took turns at the top of the table, before ducking into the pits for a freshen up.Ghiotto made the most of an emptying circuit to claim P1 ahead of De Vries and Sette Câmara, with a time of 1:39.166. Jack Aitken and Latifi both made attempts on his time, but neither could match him and settled for second and third.With the session coming to a close, the Italian’s teammate Zhou demonstrated the pace of the UNI-Virtuosi machine this weekend and raced round for third place, nestling behind Ghiotto and Latifi. They were followed by Aitken, Sette Câmara and De Vries. Meanwhile, Arjun Maini made a return to the top seven in just his second round this season, beating Delétraz, Nobuharu Matsushita and King.Ghiotto will look to continue his resurgence when the cars hit the track for qualifying at 3.55pm local time.2019 FIA Formula 2 Championship – Round 7 Free Practice classificationDRIVERTEAMLAPTIMELAPS1Luca GhiottoUNI-Virtuosi Racing1:39.166182Nicholas LatifiDAMS1:39.281203Guanyu ZhouUNI-Virtuosi Racing1:39.327184Jack AitkenCampos Racing1:39.554175Sergio Sette CamaraDAMS1:39.622206Nyck De VriesART Grand Prix1:39.692227Arjun MainiCampos Racing1:39.899208Louis DeletrazCarlin1:40.034219Nobuharu MatsushitaCarlin1:40.0392210Jordan KingMP Motorsport1:40.0622111Mick SchumacherPREMA Racing1:40.1411712Nikita MazepinART Grand Prix1:40.1542113Giuliano AlesiTrident1:40.4521914Callum IlottSauber Junior Team by Charouz1:40.7352215Dorian BoccolacciTrident1:40.7791716Anthoine HubertBWT Arden1:40.7892117Juan Manuel CorreaSauber Junior Team by Charouz1:40.8782118Tatiana CalderonBWT Arden1:41.8412019Mahaveer RaghunathanMP Motorsport1:42.7921920Sean GelaelPREMA Racing2:00.6083
