INDIA in F1

Tag: Arjun Maini

  • Arjun Maini, Mahaveer Raghunathan to race in F2 during the British GP week-end

    Silverstone, 11 July 2019: Two Indian racers talented Arjun Maini and regular Mahaveer Raghunathan will feature in the F2 race, run as a support race during the British GP weekend and as the teams and drivers of the F2 paddock land at the former airfield of Silverstone for Round 7 of the 2019 FIA Formula 2 Championship, two weeks after the sensational action in Austria’s Styrian Alps.
    Arjun Maini, will be racing in the second and last of his two races in F2 championship this season while MP Motorsport’s Mahaveer Raghunathan returns to F2 this weekend having served a one-event suspension that saw him miss both races in Austria for amassing 12 penalty points for infringements during Virtual Safety Car periods.
    Carlin’s Louis Delétraz went fastest during practice for the first time this season, before Championship leader Nyck de Vries pulled off a masterclass in qualifying to take pole position early in the session. Nobuharu Matsushita chased the Dutchman down superbly in the last few laps to earn his first F2 Feature Race win, calling it the best drive of his entire career over the radio as he took the chequered flag. The ‘firsts’ continued in Sunday’s Sprint Race, as Sérgio Sette Câmara and his DAMS machine took victory for the first time in 2019. The Brazilian leapt to the front from third on the grid and put in a measured display to stay there until the end.
    De Vries (152) has pulled further ahead in the Drivers’ Championship, and now has a 37 point lead over Nicholas Latifi (115). Sérgio Sette Câmara (107) has climbed to third, just eight points behind his teammate. DAMS lead the way in the Teams’ Championship with 222 points, though second-placed UNI-Virtuosi Racing (182) have closed the gap to 40 points. ART (158) are 22 points further behind in third.
    Round 7 of the season takes place at Silverstone Circuit, famed for its high speeds, fast corners and long straights. Race strategy will be crucial as teams and drivers look to get the best possible performance from Pirelli’s hard and soft compound tyres. A number of British drivers will hope to enjoy victory on home soil, but the rest of the grid will have designs of their own in what should be another incredible weekend of F2 action.
    Warm Up // Jordan King – MP Motorsport
    “I’ve always been quite successful at Silverstone. My first ever car race was there in Formula Palmer Audi and I got pole and finished second which started off a good love affair as they say! I suppose the highlight at this level is winning there in back in 2016. I probably had the best part of 50 people there – friends, family and partners. It felt good to be there with lots of people who had come on the journey with me and who had supported me.
    “I enjoy Silverstone. It is a real pleasure to drive. It’s an old-school circuit and there is something special about driving there – with it being your home Grand Prix it’s like a double win. From what you see as a driver, the fans look amazing, there’s plenty of colour in the crowd and you like to think that all the union flags in the grandstand are for you.
    “It’s really fast and it’s physically one of the hardest tracks of the year on your neck, shoulders and arms. It’s tricky with all the high-speed corners and tyre degradation is normally quite high. That makes for another interesting aspect to the racing angle.
    “Although it’s high-speed and it’s hard to follow through the corners you can still overtake. The two main overtaking spots are into Brooklands and Stowe but battles go on for more than a couple of corners.
    “I used to be a lot more stressed about the smaller details but now I’m just driving for the moment, to help the team, push the guys forward. I’m still setting goals and trying to achieve things but I’m not going into qualifying thinking ‘I have to be top five’ because it’s unnecessary pressure. I’m just going out and driving the best that I can.”
    Mario Isola, Pirelli Head of F1 and Car Racing
    “Silverstone is known as the ‘home of British motorsport’ so it’s a very significant race for many teams and drivers in the F2 championship. The biggest question mark will be the new asphalt, which nobody has had a chance to drive on yet, while the weather in England at this time of year is also often variable. We expect quite a big performance gap between the two nominated compounds in Formula 2, which should hopefully lead to some interesting strategies. The soft will need careful management on this demanding circuit but will offer a considerable performance advantage.”
    Season Stats
    37 The points gap between Championship leader Nyck de Vries (152) at the top of the standings and Nicholas Latifi (115) in second place.
    4 The number of times a DAMS driver has picked up bonus points for the fastest lap this season. Sérgio Sette Câmara and Nicholas Latifi have both done it twice.
    357 The number of racing laps completed so far this season.
    95 The number of laps De Vries has led so far this season in his ART Grand Prix machine.
    Noteworthy
    The F2 race lap record at Silverstone is 1:42.512, set by Nobuharu Matsushita with ART Grand Prix in 2017
    Matsushita’s Feature Race win in Austria is not only his first ever Feature Race victory but also Carlin’s first win since Lando Norris won the opening race of the season in Bahrain last year
    That victory means all three British teams (UNI-Virtuosi Racing, BWT Arden and Carlin) have won at least one race this season going into their home event
    The British round of the FIA Formula 2 Championship is also the home event of Callum Ilott of Sauber Junior Team by Charouz, Campos Racing’s Jack Aitken and MP Motorsport’s Jordan King
    Dorian Boccolacci, who competed in the first five rounds of the 2019 F2 Championship with Campos Racing, also returns to the F2 paddock with Trident this weekend. The French driver has previously raced for the Italian outfit in GP3.
    Seven different drivers have won races this season: Aitken, Matsushita, Nyck de Vries, Sérgio Sette Câmara, Nicholas Latifi, Luca Ghiotto and Anthoine Hubert
    If 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 Russian
    De Vries has stood on the podium six times in the last five events, including three wins, the longest current podium streak in the championship. Sette Câmara is next best with three podiums from three events
    Mick Schumacher battled brilliantly during the Sprint Race in Austria. Starting 18th on the grid he finished fourth and might have grabbed his first F2 podium had it not been for good defending from De Vries in third
    Data (GMT+1)
    Friday
    Free Practice: 11.55 – 12.40
    Qualifying: 15.55 – 16.25
    Press conference: 18.00
    Saturday
    Feature race: 15.45 (29 laps)
    Press conference: 17.05
    Sunday
    Sprint race: 10.00 (21 laps)
    Press conference: 11.05

  • Matsushita claims first F2 Feature Race win; Arjun Maini 15th

    Red Bull Ring, 29 June 2019: Nobuharu Matsushita claimed his first ever Feature Race win in FIA Formula 2, surging past Championship leader Nyck De Vries during a tantalizing final few laps at the Red Bull Ring. The Carlin driver hailed the victory as the best of his career over team radio, as he earned last season’s dominant force their maiden win of the campaign.
    On his return to F2, Indian racing talent Arjun Maini of Campos Racing finished 15th.
    The Japanese driver finished ahead of UNI-Virtuosi ace Luca Ghiotto, who followed him past De Vries. The Dutchman lost a further place to Sérgio Sette Câmara, but ended up on the podium when the DAMS’ driver was dropped to fifth after a five second time penalty was added.
    The race began in calmer circumstances with De Vries making a smooth start off the line to retain first place ahead of Anthoine Hubert. Guanyu Zhou quickly made an attempt on the Frenchman’s position, but ran out of track and swerved wide allowing Matsushita through to third.
    The Japanese racer was up to second a lap later with a successful assault on Hubert, but he then switched his attention to building a gap between himself and those behind him, ahead of his pit stop when he would switch the prime tyre.
    Tensions threatened to boil over further back when Sette Câmara’s attempts to pass teammate Nicholas Latifi ended with the Canadian getting thumped from behind and swung full circle. When he recovered, he had been dropped to P19 and the Brazilian was handed a five second time penalty for causing the collision.
    Those on the option tyres went for Soft rubber on lap 7, leaving Sean Gelael in first, with front five De Vries, Matsushita, Ghiotto, Zhou and Hubert amongst the drivers making the change. Zhou suffered a gearbox glitch upon his return and dropped down to 15th before he was able to get back up to speed.
    Seventeen seconds separated De Vries and the PREMA man out in front and the Dutchman’s charge began with an overtake on Ryan Tveter. Matsushita followed him through a lap later. Gelael was told to push harder over team radio, but by then the ART and Carlin men had already made their way past Patricio O’Ward and Tatiana Calderon for fourth and fifth, and were fast honing in.
    With Gelael unable to form a gap out in front, Nikita Mazepin took a stab at the race lead and passed the Indonesian. The PREMA man was then overtaken by De Vries, who had also just passed Arjun Maini. Gelael pitted and a slow stop saw him fall further down the grid.
    De Vries was joined by Matsushita and Ghiotto in the chase for first and was closing in on his teammate at the front of the field. The Russian still required a pit stop, but the Championship leader refused to wait and retook his place at the top of the pile. However, De Vries’ tyres had already taken a battering as the race headed into its final five laps.
    Sensing this, the duo behind him pounced at Turn 1 and the Championship leader was dragged back to third in dramatic circumstances, after both Matsushita and Ghiotto made their moves on him stick in one clean sweep.
    Having suffered earlier in the race, Zhou showed no slowdown in pace from the earlier issues, charging back through the pack to P6 thanks to a gritty recovery. Latifi also managed to dice his way through the field and re-enter to the points’ paying positions, but narrowly missed out on reverse grid pole as he finished in ninth behind the impressive Jordan King – who had started the race as far back as 15th.
    There was one final course of action when Sette Câmara endeavoured to make the most of his race, with the knowledge of an incoming five-second penalty. The Brazilian set the fastest lap with just one tour of the circuit to go and managed to slide past former race leader De Vries, who was still struggling with tyre degradation. De Vries reclaimed the position upon the chequered flag as Sette Câmara’s penalty saw him drop to fifth.
    Matsushita crossed the line in first, ahead of Ghiotto, who achieved his best finish since Barcelona. De Vries ran home in third, ahead of Hubert, with Sette Câmara in fifth, followed by Zhou, Louis Delétraz, King, Latifi and Jack Aitken.
    De Vries stretched his lead at the top of the standings to 140 points, 29 ahead of Latifi in second place. Sette Câmara climbs to third on 92 points ahead of Aitken on 86 and Ghiotto on 85. DAMS’ retain their position at the top of the Teams’ Championship on 203 points, 34 ahead of UNI-Virtuosi. ART Grand Prix are third with 146, ahead of Campos Racing on 116 and Carlin on 97.
    King will attempt to claim the top honours in tomorrow’s Sprint Race when he starts on reverse grid pole ahead of Louis Delétraz at 11am local time.
    2019 FIA Formula 2 Championship – Feature Race Classification
    DRIVER
    TEAM
    1
    Nobuharu Matsushita
    Carlin
    2
    Luca Ghiotto
    UNI-Virtuosi Racing
    3
    Nyck De Vries
    ART Grand Prix
    4
    Anthoine Hubert
    BWT Arden
    5
    Sergio Sette Camara
    DAMS
    6
    Guanyu Zhou
    UNI-Virtuosi Racing
    7
    Louis Deletraz
    Carlin
    8
    Jordan King
    MP Motorsport
    9
    Nicholas Latifi
    DAMS
    10
    Jack Aitken
    Campos Racing
    11
    Juan Manuel Correa
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    12
    Nikita Mazepin
    ART Grand Prix
    13
    Giuliano Alesi
    Trident
    14
    Callum Ilott
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    15
    Arjun Maini
    Campos Racing
    16
    Ryan Tveter
    Trident
    17
    Sean Gelael
    PREMA Racing
    18
    Tatiana Calderon
    BWT Arden
    19
    Mick Schumacher
    PREMA Racing
    20
    Patricio O’Ward
    MP Motorsport
    OVERALL FASTEST LAP
    Sergio Sette Camara (DAMS) – 1:18.209 on Lap 34
    FASTEST LAP ELIGIBLE FOR POINTS
    Sergio Sette Camara (DAMS)

  • George Russell wins final race, clinches F2 title; Arjun Maini suffers DNF in opening chaos

    Briton slices through hectic feature for win and title

    Abu Dhabi, 24 Nov 2018: George Russell claimed the 2018 FIA Formula 2 Championship drivers’ title with his seventh victory of the season in an eventful feature race tonight at the Yas Marina Circuit, losing and then regaining the lead while turmoil reigned behind as he sailed to victory by three seconds over Artem Markelov and Luca Ghiotto.

    It was the first night start of the season for the grid, bringing with it pressure of starting in the unknown: Russell made a poor getaway from pole, allowing a fast starting Nyck de Vries to grab the lead at turn one from the championship leader and Markelov, but there was chaos behind as DAMS duo Alexander Albon and Nicholas Latifi stalled, along with Sergio Sette Câmara.

    Arjun Maini was unable to get around the Canadian and the pair had an enormous impact, with Nirei Fukuzumi being tagged as he went around the stricken cars: with 5 vehicles in various states of undress on the front straight there was no choice but to release the safety car, with the remainder of the field coming through the pits each time around, including the restarted Albon and Sette Câmara, for 5 laps as the marshals cleared a path for them.

    When the race went live Russell was pushing de Vries all around the circuit, with Markelov in hot pursuit: both drivers ran heavily over the kerbs in their efforts to gain ground on the man ahead until the Briton headed into the pits on lap 9: an incredible out lap allowed him to blow past de Vries as he exited the pits, and a record-equalling victory was on the cards.

    Markelov came in next time around, slotting in right behind de Vries on his return, handing the lead on the road to Ghiotto, one of the few to risk the alternate tyre strategy from P16 on the grid. The Italian had a 24-second lead but the rest of the field was closing, cutting 5 seconds in 6 laps before the gap started to reverse, stretch back out to 24 seconds over the next 6 laps and handing Ghiotto an unexpected opportunity at victory.

    Unfortunately for the Italian, he ran too deep at the marina chicane just before his stop, picking up a 5 second time penalty for gaining an advantage and undoing his good work: he served it before his team swapped tyres on lap 26, and re-emerged in P5 on fresh rubber. He made short work of Lando Norris and was soon storming after de Vries, who had been unable to contain a charging Markelov a few laps earlier.

    On the penultimate lap Ghiotto blew past de Vries at the marina, but ran out of time to improve his podium position: Russell cruised to the win, equalling the F1 feeder record of 7 wins held jointly by Stoffel Vandoorne and Charles Leclerc, by 3s ahead of Markelov, who was almost 5s to the good over Ghiotto at the flag. De Vries was disappointed with P4 ahead of Norris, with Louis Deletraz a second ahead of teammate Antonio Fuoco after he mugged Roberto Merhi for 7th on the final lap, and Tadasuke Makino and Jack Aitken rounding out the points in the final feature race of the season.

    Provisional Feature Race Classification

    Position Driver Team Gap
    1 George Russell ART Grand Prix
    2 Artem Markelov RUSSIAN TIME 3.301
    3 Luca Ghiotto Campos Vexatec Racing 8.283
    4 Nyck de Vries PERTAMINA PREMA Theodore Racing 12.046
    5 Lando Norris Carlin 19.050
    6 Louis Delétraz Charouz Racing System 21.964
    7 Antonio Fuoco Charouz Racing System 23.633
    8 Roberto Merhi Campos Vexatec Racing 27.375
    9 Tadasuke Makino RUSSIAN TIME 27.840
    10 Jack Aitken ART Grand Prix 32.786
    11 Daniel Ticktum BWT Arden 42.485
    12 Dorian Boccolacci MP Motorsport 46.303
    13 Alessio Lorandi Trident 47.809
    14 Alexander Albon DAMS 55.571
    15 Niko Kari MP Motorsport 70.190
    16 Sergio Sette Câmara Carlin 70.766
    17 Sean Gelael PERTAMINA PREMA Theodore Racing 89.971
    Not Classified
    Nicholas Latifi DAMS DNF
    Nirei Fukuzumi BWT Arden DNF
    Arjun Maini Trident DNF

  • Russell flies to pole in dramatic qualifying; Arjun Maini to start at the back of the grid

    Championship leader grabs pole in Abu Dhabi
    Abu Dhabi, 23 Nov 2018: George Russell has put one hand on the trophy by claiming a fifth pole position at this evening’s FIA Formula 2 Championship qualifying session to extend his lead over title rival Alexander Albon to 41 points with just 44 left to claim this weekend, with the Briton flying on his second run to grab the top spot ahead of Nyck de Vries and Nicholas Latifi.
    The Briton stopped the clocks with a lap of 1:49.251 with a minute remaining in the session, while Albon had a wide ride over the kerbs in the final sector of the lap, destroying any chance he had of getting one over his rival ahead of tomorrow’s feature race.
    The temperatures remained up as the sun dropped down ahead of the session, and with the lights blazing overhead the teams concentrated on making the final preparations until the circuit opened for business. Russell was the 2nd driver on track and was clearly keen to stamp his authority on the session: Carlin pair Lando Norris and Sergio Sette Câmara briefly alternated the lead before Russell claimed the top spot for himself, with Albon and Artem Markelov slotting onto the timesheets just behind him.
    Nyck de Vries and Latifi emerged for their first runs just as their rivals were returning to the pits, and both men put the clear track to good use, with first the Canadian and then the Dutchman annexing the top spot, although de Vries made it clear to his team that he didn’t think his lap was good enough to hold on as he returned for fresh tyres. It was a point that was soon to be proven correct.
    With six minutes remaining everyone was back on track and looking to find the time they left on track last time around: Russell’s sectors went green and then purple before holding on the final sector to claim provisional pole, with de Vries and Latifi improving as well but both being unable to usurp the ART driver, and when Albon had a ragged final sector after a trip across the kerbs Russell’s pole was secure.
    Behind the top three Artem Markelov made a tremendous improvement on free practice to claim a second row start ahead of Jack Aitken, Louis Deletraz, Norris, Albon, Tadasuke Makino and Sette Câmara: tomorrow’s feature race promises even more fireworks with the title potentially to be secured.
    Provisional Qualifying Classification
    Position
    Driver
    Team
    Time
    Laps
    1
    George Russell
    ART Grand Prix
    1:49.251
    10
    2
    Nyck de Vries
    PERTAMINA PREMA Theodore Racing
    1:49.541
    8
    3
    Nicholas Latifi
    DAMS
    1:49.647
    9
    4
    Artem Markelov
    RUSSIAN TIME
    1:49.869
    9
    5
    Jack Aitken
    ART Grand Prix
    1:49.946
    10
    6
    Louis Delétraz
    Charouz Racing System
    1:50.038
    9
    7
    Lando Norris
    Carlin
    1:50.059
    10
    8
    Alexander Albon
    DAMS
    1:50.155
    10
    9
    Tadasuke Makino
    RUSSIAN TIME
    1:50.180
    9
    10
    Sergio Sette Câmara
    Carlin
    1:50.187
    10
    11
    Niko Kari
    MP Motorsport
    1:50.375
    10
    12
    Roberto Merhi
    Campos Vexatec Racing
    1:50.513
    10
    13
    Antonio Fuoco
    Charouz Racing System
    1:50.522
    9
    14
    Daniel Ticktum
    BWT Arden
    1:50.580
    10
    15
    Sean Gelael
    PERTAMINA PREMA Theodore Racing
    1:50.812
    10
    16
    Alessio Lorandi
    Trident
    1:50.855
    10
    17
    Luca Ghiotto
    Campos Vexatec Racing
    1:50.892
    10
    18
    Dorian Boccolacci
    MP Motorsport
    1:51.037
    10
    19
    Nirei Fukuzumi
    BWT Arden
    1:51.048
    9
    20
    Arjun Maini
    Trident
    1:51.597
    10

  • Arjun Maini 16th as Russell sets the pace in FP1: FIA Formula 2

    Russell sets the pace in Abu Dhabi
    Abu Dhabi, 23 Nov 2018: Top Indian driver Arjun Maini suffered a set back as he could clock only 16th fastest in the Free Practice 1 even as George Russell got his championship-deciding weekend under way in fine style by topping this afternoon’s FIA Formula 2 Championship free practice with a lap of 1:51.720, grabbing P1 by over a tenth from Antonio Fuoco and Luca Ghiotto, while title rival Alexander Albon kept his powder dry by coming home in P9, almost a second behind the 2019 Williams F1 driver.
    The Indian driver who is returning to top competition after a long break put in 17 laps on Friday.
    The session got underway with the expected blue skies and soaring temperatures, with Lando Norris and Fuoco the first drivers to set representative times to top the timesheets. The Italian held P1 for the first quarter hour before being usurped by Russell, who looked unruffled as he grabbed the top spot while further back Albon had a slightly wayward moment at the marina complex and decided that discretion was the better part of valour, returning to the pitlane soon afterwards.
    And with that, the grid concentrated on their long run pace ahead of the penultimate race tomorrow, with little to concern the timekeepers: Roberto Merhi had a small moment over the kerbs while Artem Markelov explored the limits of tyre adhesion all around the circuit in an otherwise quiet session.
    Nirei Fukuzumi was best of the rest behind the top 3 but ahead of Nyck De Vries, Merhi, Louis Deletraz, Norris, Albon and Markelov as they returned to the paddock to scour the data in an effort to go faster still in this evening’s qualifying session.
    Free Practice Times
    Driver
    Team
    Laptime
    Laps
    1
    George Russell
    ART Grand Prix
    1:51.720
    19
    2
    Antonio Fuoco
    Charouz Racing System
    1:51.884
    18
    3
    Luca Ghiotto
    Campos Vexatec Racing
    1:52.315
    20
    4
    Nirei Fukuzumi
    BWT Arden
    1:52.323
    15
    5
    Nyck De Vries
    PERTAMINA PREMA Theodore Racing
    1:52.386
    16
    6
    Roberto Merhi
    Campos Vexatec Racing
    1:52.395
    19
    7
    Louis Delétraz
    Charouz Racing System
    1:52.518
    17
    8
    Lando Norris
    Carlin
    1:52.611
    18
    9
    Alexander Albon
    DAMS
    1:52.655
    17
    10
    Artem Markelov
    RUSSIAN TIME
    1:52.940
    16
    11
    Jack Aitken
    ART Grand Prix
    1:53.012
    18
    12
    Sergio Sette Camara
    Carlin
    1:53.037
    18
    13
    Alessio Lorandi
    Trident
    1:53.216
    18
    14
    Tadasuke Makino
    RUSSIAN TIME
    1:53.360
    17
    15
    Sean Gelael
    PERTAMINA PREMA Theodore Racing
    1:53.398
    16
    16
    Arjun Maini
    Trident
    1:53.483
    17
    17
    Nicholas Latifi
    DAMS
    1:53.507
    18
    18
    Niko Kari
    MP Motorsport
    1:53.605
    18
    19
    Dorian Boccolacci
    MP Motorsport
    1:53.875
    17
    20
    Daniel Ticktum
    BWT Arden
    1:54.317
    18

  • Nyck de Vries takes pole; Arjun Maini stalls, to start at the end

    Sochi, 28 Sept. 2018: Nyck de Vries collected his second FIA Formula 2 Championship pole position of the season in Qualifying here in Russia, powering his way to a 1:46.476 on his second set of tyres at the supporting event at the FIA Formula One World Championship Round 16. Indian driver  Arjun Maini spun before stalling and will begin the race at the end of the grid.

    The Pertamina Prema Theodore Racing driver held on from a late Lando Norris lap, which shunted George Russell down to third on the grid for Saturday’s Feature Race.

    Jack Aitken brought the running underway, poking his nose out of the pits ahead of Norris, Sergio Sette Camara, and Russell. First, to post a flying lap, Aitken was immediately dispatched by Norris, before Russell went half a second faster moments before the session was red flagged – Arjun Maini spun and was unable to get going, and was wheeled off the road before qualifying resumed.

    At the restart, the field persisted with the same set of tyres and went out for a second set of push laps; Nyck de Vries hammered in a purple first sector, but was unable to convert his pace into a lap which could challenge for pole – instead, Russell extended his advantage with a trio of purple sectors to head into the midway point of the session on top.

    Aitken began proceedings once more after the field had bolted on fresh sets of supersoft tyres. Crucially, Russell was unable to take advantage and was far slower on his next run as he sought to build his advantage at the top. Next, Sette Camara and Alexander Albon began to challenge – the latter falling just over a tenth behind Russell’s benchmark.

    With some impressive sector times behind him, de Vries then surged to the first position, denying Russell a fifth pole of the season ahead of the final minute of running. The Brit attempted to return the favour, but his quickest effort was 0.363s down on de Vries’ best. Norris then pushed Russell down to third, claiming his first front row start since the round in Austria.

    Nicholas Latifi beat DAMS teammate Albon to fourth having trumped the Thai driver’s middle sector, while Luca Ghiotto displaced Tadasuke Makino from sixth late on in the session. Sette Camara could only manage eighth, as Aitken and Maximilian Gunther completed the top half of the field.

    2018 FIA Formula 2 Championship Round 11 – Sochi, Russia – Provisional Qualifying Results

    Driver Team Laptime Laps
    1 Nyck de Vries PERTAMINA PREMA Theodore Racing 1:46.476 11
    2 Lando Norris Carlin 1:46.696 11
    3 George Russell ART Grand Prix 1:46.839 12
    4 Nicholas Latifi DAMS 1:46.890 11
    5 Alexander Albon DAMS 1:47.039 11
    6 Luca Ghiotto Campos Vexatec Racing 1:47.151 12
    7 Tadasuke Makino RUSSIAN TIME 1:47.372 12
    8 Sérgio Sette Câmara Carlin 1:47.384 12
    9 Jack Aitken ART Grand Prix 1:47.634 13
    10 Maximilian Günther BWT Arden 1:47.743 9
    11 Antonio Fuoco Charouz Racing System 1:47.774 10
    12 Roberto Merhi Campos Vexatec Racing 1:47.854 9
    13 Alessio Lorandi Trident 1:48.006 12
    14 Louis Delétraz Charouz Racing System 1:48.105 12
    15 Sean Gelael PERTAMINA PREMA Theodore Racing 1:48.154 12
    16 Niko Kari MP Motorsport 1:48.206 10
    17 Nirei Fukuzumi BWT Arden 1:48.327 11
    18 Dorian Boccolacci MP Motorsport 1:48.491 12
    19 Artem Markelov RUSSIAN TIME 1:48.568 9
    20 Arjun Maini Trident 2:14.971 2

  • Russell holds off Markelov for Monza Sprint Race win; Trident’s Arjun Maini 9th

     Russel, the British driver extends championship advantage with Italy triumph
    George Russell secured victory in the FIA Formula 2 Championship Sprint Race at Monza, Italy, capitalising on an Artem Markelov lock-up into turn 1 to bag his first race win since Austria. Markelov followed the ART Grand Prix driver home, albeit one second adrift to collect a successive second place finishes. Sergio Sette Camara factored in the battle for the win, and the Carlin driver ended the race in third position.
    After a slow getaway, polesitter Ralph Boschung immediately trickled back through the order as Nicholas Latifi – starting from the second row – surged into the lead with Russell and Markelov falling into order behind him. Sette Camara and Carlin teammate Lando Norris also enjoyed strong starts, but were unable to capitalise early on; the Brazilian dropped behind Alexander Albon, while Norris made contact in the opening corners and fell behind Luca Ghiotto and Feature Race winner Tadasuke Makino.
    The order over the opening laps was relatively stagnant, and Markelov was given the order to close in on Russell to take advantage of DRS. Meanwhile, Norris moved up the order after Makino endured a large lock-up into turn 1 after just two laps, prompting the Japanese driver to pit for new tyres on the following tour of the circuit.
    Russell had caught Latifi on the fourth lap, and looked to pass the Canadian with DRS on their next visit to the start/finish straight. Cruising past with apparent ease, Russell snatched at his brakes and let Latifi back past, while Markelov seized the opportunity to steal through into second place. The Russian then took the lead on the following lap, barrelling past on the straight to give his RUSSIAN TIME team the chance of securing back-to-back wins.
    Having failed to come back at Markelov, Latifi was now under attack from Russell, who had Sette Camara for company after the Brazilian had dispatched Albon earlier on. Russell launched his attack on Latifi on lap 9, while Sette Camara found it far tougher to dispatch the DAMS driver, eventually making his way past as Albon came under attack from Norris behind them.
    No sooner had Sette Camara steamed through into third place, Markelov ahead of them had locked up at the first chicane, taking the escape road which allowed Russell to streak past to assume control of the race. However, the lock-up hadn’t compromised Markelov’s pace and he immediately began to put Russell under pressure – with Sette Camara catching up to the pair to challenge for the lead. At the same time, Albon fell victim to Norris’ pass at Curva Grande, before dropping back with reported technical issues.
    Markelov was a constant presence in Russell’s mirrors, but was unable to capitalise on his position with DRS to launch a serious assault on the British driver. A number of opportunities after the median point of the race came to nothing, and Markelov instead elected to drop back to preserve the life in his tyres. This left him under fire from Sette Camara, but the Carlin driver was also unable to find a way past.
    With some breathing space, Russell was able to start managing the gap to the cars behind him, especially as Markelov was now occupied by Sette Camara’s advances. Further down the road, Latifi was embattled by Norris, but was inch-perfect in his defense of fourth and refused to concede a further position.
    Into the closing stages, Markelov was able to manage the gap to Sette Camara, but was unable to launch a late effort on Russell in a final play for the lead; the championship leader had opened the gap to beyond DRS range, cruising home to clinch victory and extending his championship advantage over Norris to 22 points. Markelov held onto second ahead of Sette Camara, while Latifi absorbed pressure from Norris to secure fourth. Ghiotto took sixth to grab double-points finishes from his home round, while Dorian Boccolacci took his first F2 points with seventh – as Jack Aitken beat Arjun Maini to eighth.
    Russell stands at the top of the championship with renewed vigour, his 219 points shading Norris’ haul of 197. Albon remains third with 176. Carlin have 339 points in the teams’ standings, with ART on 281 and DAMS on 249 ahead of the next round in Sochi from the 28-30 September.
    2018 FIA Formula 2 Championship Round 10 – Monza, Italy – Sprint Race Provisional Classification
    Driver
    Team
    1
    George Russell
    ART Grand Prix
    2
    Artem Markelov
    RUSSIAN TIME
    3
    Sergio Sette Camara
    Carlin
    4
    Nicholas Latifi
    DAMS
    5
    Lando Norris
    Carlin
    6
    Luca Ghiotto
    Campos Vexatec Racing
    7
    Dorian Boccolacci
    MP Motorsport
    8
    Jack Aitken
    ART Grand Prix
    9
    Arjun Maini
    Trident
    10
    Antonio Fuoco
    Charouz Racing System
    11
    Louis Deletraz
    Charouz Racing System
    12
    Alessio Lorandi
    Trident
    13
    Nirei Fukuzumi
    BWT Arden
    14
    Tadasuke Makino
    RUSSIAN TIME
    15
    Roy Nissany
    Campos Vexatec Racing
    16
    Maximilian Gunther
    BWT Arden
    17
    Nyck de Vries
    PERTAMINA PREMA Theodore Racing
    Not Classified
    Alexander Albon
    DAMS
    Ralph Boschung
    MP Motorsport
    Sean Gelael
    PERTAMINA PREMA Theodore Racing
    Fastest Lap: Sergio Sette Camara (Carlin) – 1:34.896

  • Sette Camara heads Monza Free Practice; Arjun Maini 8th fastest

    Monza, 31 Aug 2018: Sergio Sette Camara secured the fastest time in the FIA Formula 2 Championship Free Practice session at Monza, Italy, clocking in a 1:33.810 during the final stages as the wet circuit began to dry over the course of the allotted running. The Carlin driver beat RUSSIAN TIME’s Artem Markelov to the top of the timesheets by 0.048s, as the Russian driver brought out a yellow flag at the end of the session. DAMS’ Alexander Albon completed practice in third place.
    Following heavy downpours earlier in the day, the session began under wet track conditions, and home hero Luca Ghiotto was first on the road with a set of wet tyres – accosted by BWT Arden pairing Maximilian Günther and Nirei Fukuzumi. After the first exploratory laps, a dry line showed signs of appearing as Sean Gelael set the first timed lap in the 1m45s before Markelov shunted him off of top spot.
    Markelov’s teammate Tadasuke Makino was first to try a lap on the medium-compound slicks, leading a series of reconnaissance efforts as the field looked to make a switch to the dry tyre. Eventually, Louis Delétraz and Arjun Maini decided to bite the bullet and commenced a series of timed laps on slicks – Delétraz dipping below the 1m40s to beat Markelov’s benchmark by over four seconds, then hacking a further two seconds out of his time.
    Makino and MP Motorsport’s Dorian Boccolacci then emerged on the road, and the Frenchman elevated himself into first with a 1:36.781 before the Japanese ace went a second and a half faster. Boccolacci then returned to the top, but was quickly displaced by Lando Norris until Ghiotto beat the British driver – who had participated in Formula 1’s morning practice session for McLaren – by fractions of a second.
    Returning to the top, Markelov beat Ghiotto by 0.03s and was then able to extend his advantage by almost a second as the circuit continued to improve with the increased running. However, he was beaten to the punch by Sergio Sette Camara, who found a smidgen of time over his rival to clinch control of the session. Any hopes of further improvement throughout the session were ended by Markelov, who spun at the first chicane and became beached on the sausage kerb, bringing out a yellow flag at the opening sector.
    Albon fired his way up to third before the chequered flag, beating Makino’s time while Ghiotto was fifth in front of his home crowd. The Campos Vexatec Racing driver’s compatriot Antonio Fuoco was sixth, while championship leader George Russell claimed the seventh best time ahead of Maini. Norris and Boccolacci completed the top 10 runners.
    2018 FIA Formula 2 Championship Round 10 – Monza, Italy – Free Practice Classification
    DRIVER
    TEAM
    LAPTIME
    LAPS
    1
    Sergio Sette Camara
    Carlin
    1:33.810
    11
    2
    Artem Markelov
    RUSSIAN TIME
    1:33.858
    13
    3
    Alexander Albon
    DAMS
    1:34.287
    13
    4
    Tadasuke Makino
    RUSSIAN TIME
    1:34.646
    11
    5
    Luca Ghiotto
    Campos Vexatec Racing
    1:34.677
    12
    6
    Antonio Fuoco
    Charouz Racing System
    1:34.793
    11
    7
    George Russell
    ART Grand Prix
    1:34.812
    11
    8
    Arjun Maini
    Trident
    1:34.817
    13
    9
    Lando Norris
    Carlin
    1:34.828
    11
    10
    Dorian Boccolacci
    MP Motorsport
    1:34.848
    15
    11
    Jack Aitken
    ART Grand Prix
    1:34.932
    11
    12
    Ralph Boschung
    MP Motorsport
    1:34.958
    14
    13
    Louis Delétraz
    Charouz Racing System
    1:35.216
    18
    14
    Nicholas Latifi
    DAMS
    1:35.461
    13
    15
    Roy Nissany
    Campos Vexatec Racing
    1:35.480
    15
    16
    Sean Gelael
    PERTAMINA PREMA Theodore Racing
    1:35.568
    12
    17
    Nirei Fukuzumi
    BWT Arden
    1:35.677
    11
    18
    Maximilian Günther
    BWT Arden
    1:35.954
    12
    19
    Alessio Lorandi
    Trident
    1:36.559
    12
    20
    Nyck de Vries
    PERTAMINA PREMA Theodore Racing

  • Nicholas Latifi takes lights-to-flag victory; Arjun Maini 8th: F2 Sprint race

    Canadian driver scores first win of 2018 in Belgium

    Nicholas Latifi led from lights to flag for victory in the FIA Formula 2 Championship Sprint Race at Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium, converting a reverse-grid pole into his first win of 2018. Disappearing into the distance in the opening laps, Latifi was well ahead of a final-lap battle for second place, which was ultimately won by Carlin’s Lando Norris who was able to hold off Latifi’s DAMS teammate Alexander Albon – who joined the duo on the podium.

    In cold, sunny conditions, Latifi enjoyed a strong getaway at the start as Feature Race winner Nyck de Vries rocketed off the line to swoop from eighth to third by the first corner. Meanwhile, Norris briefly surged ahead of Artem Markelov for fourth before dropping behind the Russian as Albon drew closer, as continued battles down the field made for a frenetic first lap. At the opening of the next lap, Latifi’s lead over second-placed Luca Ghiotto stood at 1.2s.

    Norris was all over Markelov once more by the end of lap 2, and attempted to fire past on the Kemmel Straight – although the RUSSIAN TIME driver was resolute in his defence. The British driver kept pushing, and his persistence was rewarded two laps later as he found his way past on the back straight with DRS, while de Vries cannoned past Ghiotto ahead of them.

    Although de Vries was quick, Latifi was able to extend his lead to 3.1s, while Ghiotto fell into the clutches of Norris and Markelov – both passing the Italian ahead of the race’s midpoint. Albon was next to challenge the Campos driver, having overcome the threat of championship leader George Russell earlier on in the race. A wide moment at Raidillon for Ghiotto on the tenth lap was all Albon needed to charge past, allowing the Thai driver to chase after Markelov.

    Latifi seemed untouchable at the front, and despite de Vries’ best efforts, the Canadian was able to keep his lead completely intact, before beginning to build it up even further in the final five laps. Further down the field, the action raged on; BWT Arden’s Maximilian Gunther had seemingly started to struggle with tyre wear and was easy pickings for the trio of Tadasuke Makino, Louis Delétraz and Arjun Maini before retreating to the pitlane.

    With three laps remaining, de Vries had fallen five seconds behind Latifi and was beginning to drop back towards the chasing Norris. Albon, meanwhile, had passed Markelov to begin his pursuit of Norris – bringing the Russian in tow to set up a thrilling final-lap showdown for the second position. De Vries was in an uncomfortable position as the three cars behind him hunted him down with DRS, and the Prema driver lost places to both Norris and Albon into Les Combes.

    Albon wasn’t quite done and was immediately looking to cruise past Norris into the downhill run to Bruxelles. However, he had to concede defeat as Norris was inch perfect in keeping Albon at bay, and the pair crossed the line 10 seconds behind Latifi. De Vries managed to hang on from the advances of Markelov on the final lap, while Ghiotto was a further 8.7s behind the pair. Russell was seventh, beating Maini who had masterminded a late surge to eighth to dispatch Sergio Sette Camara late on.

    In the Drivers’ Championship, Russell’s lead to Norris has been slashed to just five points, with the leader sitting on 188 points. Albon remains third with 161 points. Carlin continue to lead the Teams’ Championship with 307 points, with ART Grand Prix second on 249. DAMS are third with 216. The next round will take place at Monza, Italy next weekend from the 31 August – 2 September.

  • De Vries surges to pole position at Spa; Arjun Maini bogged down to P15: F2

    Dutchman overcomes deleted time to secure quickest lap in Belgium
    Spa Francorchamps, 23 Aug 2018: Indian racer Arjun Maini is bogged down with technical issues and could only qualify on P15 even as Nyck de Vries produced a scintillating lap to secure pole in the FIA Formula 2 Championship Qualifying Session at Spa in Belgium here on Saturday.
    Setting the fastest middle sector by some margin en route to a 1:56.054 time, the Pertamina Prema Theodore Racing driver watched the final five minutes from the pitwall, and saw his time remain unbeaten as ART Grand Prix’s George Russell will start alongside the Dutch driver in Sunday’s Feature Race. Sergio Sette Camara for Carlin will start third.
    A cool, overcast session began with Trident’s Arjun Maini first out of the blocks, leading Lando Norris, Jack Aitken and Sette Camara onto the circuit for the first round of laps. The honour of setting the first timed lap belonged to de Vries, but the Dutchman immediately hit trouble as his subsequent flying lap of a 1:56.450 was deleted for exceeding track limits. Norris then briefly took the reins, before Russell leapfrogged his championship rival to lead the first half of the session.
    Having lost his time, de Vries sought vengeance and wasted no time in returning to the circuit having pitted for fresh tyres. Rejoining an empty track, thanks to the customary lull in running at the session’s midpoint, de Vries immediately put the hammer down and – thanks to a middle sector almost half a second faster than anyone else – fired his way up to the provisional pole.
    De Vries then retreated to the pits and was left to watch the final five minutes of the session with his team as the rest of the field looked to beat his benchmark. Russell, Norris and Alexander Albon all seemed to be on course to overturn their deficits after each set impressive first sectors, but de Vries’ middle sector was untouchable, leaving all three to find themselves some way adrift.
    Sette Camara then challenged, but the Brazilian’s time was only good enough for third as de Vries began to celebrate with the PREMA engineers with moments left on the clock. His pole position was cemented as Antonio Fuoco came to a stop on the Kemmel Straight, followed in short order by Norris who pulled up at the side of the road on the exit of Pouhon.
    Alongside de Vries, Russell claimed his fifth front-row Feature Race start of the season, with Luca Ghiotto separating the Carlins of Sette Camara and Norris for fourth place. Albon was sixth with Fuoco seventh, while Nirei Fukuzumi enjoyed his best qualifying session in F2 with eighth. Louis Delétraz and Artem Markelov completed the top ten.
    2018 FIA Formula 2 Championship Round 9 – Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium – Provisional Qualifying Classification
    DRIVER
    TEAM
    TIME
    LAPS
    1
    Nyck de Vries
    PERTAMINA PREMA Theodore Racing
    1:56.054
    8
    2
    George Russell
    ART Grand Prix
    1:56.457
    8
    3
    Sergio Sette Camara
    Carlin
    1:56.594
    8
    4
    Luca Ghiotto
    Campos Vexatec Racing
    1:56:611
    10
    5
    Lando Norris
    Carlin
    1:56.723
    7
    6
    Alexander Albon
    DAMS
    1:56.878
    10
    7
    Antonio Fuoco
    Charouz Racing System
    1:56.930
    9
    8
    Nirei Fukuzumi
    BWT Arden
    1:57.169
    10
    9
    Louis Delétraz
    Charouz Racing System
    1:57.183
    10
    10
    Artem Markelov
    RUSSIAN TIME
    1:57.266
    9
    11
    Tadasuke Makino
    RUSSIAN TIME
    1:57.394
    10
    12
    Nicholas Latifi
    DAMS
    1:57.515
    10
    13
    Ralph Boschung
    MP Motorsport
    1:57.596
    10
    14
    Maximilian Günther
    BWT Arden
    1:57.635
    8
    15
    Arjun Maini
    Trident
    1:57.718
    10
    16
    Jack Aitken
    ART Grand Prix
    1:57.754
    10
    17
    Roy Nissany
    Campos Vexatec Racing
    1:57.773
    10
    18
    Sean Gelael
    PERTAMINA PREMA Theodore Racing
    1:57.878
    10
    19
    Alessio Lorandi
    Trident
    1:58.174
    10
    20
    Dorian Boccolacci
    MP Motorsport
    1:58.338
    11