INDIA in F1

Tag: F2

  • Jehan Daruvala eagerly waiting for Round 3

    Jehan Daruvala eagerly waiting for Round 3

    Budapest, 16 July 2020: The FIA Formula 2 campaign returns for Round 3 at the Hungaroring in Budapest, and thousands of Indian fans will be watching Jehan Daruvala, the only Indian in any of the top racing events currently.

    The Indian had two forgettable weekends but will be looking forward to Round 3, the first of the remaining seven rounds to make strong fightback. The rest of the calendar as and when added will be revealed later.

    THE TITLE FIGHT

    With no clear leader in the race for the title, could Budapest give us a glimpse of which drivers may pull away in the battle for the crown? Robert Shwartzman currently tops the pile after his Feature Race win in Round 2, but having endured a DNF on Sunday, his lead is a slender five points.

    Christian Lundgaard and Callum Ilott sit joint second with a win a piece themselves. Both have been consistent in the opening races, but need to be ruthless if they are to translate their early form into a title challenge.

    Meanwhile, Jehan Daruvala who began with a P12 in the first round after he spun in the very first lap also faltered in the second round but is looking forward for the next two races confidently. The Mumbai-born Red Bull Junior finished the Track walk today and tweeted a couple of photos to show that he is in a buoyant mood, eager to get back on track.

    QUALIFYING WILL BE KEY

    Qualifying is king in Budapest. The Hungaroring is notoriously difficult to overtake on, making the starting positions even more important than normal for the races.

    So far this season, Yuki Tsunoda has looked to be the quickest man around one lap, scoring first in both Free Practice sessions, as well as pole in Round 2.

    UNI-Virtuosi pairing Guanyu Zhou and Ilott have also been right up there in Qualifying and will expect a similarly strong showing in Hungary.

    WILL EXPERIENCE COME TO THE FORE?

    So far, the rookies have ruled the roost in F2, and occupy four of the top five positions in the standings. Can the experienced drivers on the grid hit back in Round 3?

    The likes of Zhou, Ilott and Mick Schumacher have all looked solid so far, but need to find a little bit more this weekend if they are to stay in the hunt for the Championship.

    Don’t rule out Louis Delétraz, Jack Aitken or Nobuharu Matsushita either, who all know the track extremely well from past years.

    DAMS LOVE BUDAPEST

    DAMS have never failed to win in Hungary in the modern era of the F2 Championship. Last season, it was Nicholas Latifi who claimed an emphatic Feature Race win. In 2018, it was Alex Albon, and in 2017, Oliver Rowland.

    Having come so close in Round 2, narrowly losing out to Christian Lundgaard in the Sprint, could this be the weekend where Dan Ticktum earns his first victory in F2?

  • Shwartzman wins as Tsunoda takes P2; Daruvala P12

    Shwartzman wins as Tsunoda takes P2; Daruvala P12

    Spielberg, 11 July 2020: Ferrari junior Robert Shwartzman proved unstoppable on the wet in Spielberg, clawing his way from sixth on the grid to take his first-ever victory in FIA Formula 2.

    The PREMA racer’s win denied fellow rookie, and Red Bull Academy driver, Yuki Tsunoda a first win of his own in F2. The polesitter led for the majority of the race, but an issue with team radio saw him pit too late and drop down to fifth. Meanwhile, Indian racer Jehan Daruvala lost a chance to finish P8 and a pole on the reverse grid for the Sprint race on Sunday. “Only my self to blame… Threw away points and reverse grid pole for tomorrow. I am really angry with myself, but now I can’t change it. So will keep my head up and try to fight back tomorrow,” said Daruvala.

    Despite a late charge on the fresher tyres, he wasn’t able to recover first and instead had to settle for second, and a maiden podium.

    Guanyu Zhou led the race when Tsunoda pitted late on, but had the opposite issue to the Carlin racer, having changed his tyres too early. Zhou’s rubber wasn’t strong enough to hold off Shwartzman and he ended up in third ahead Mick Schumacher, who had done brilliantly to rise from ninth after a tough Qualifying session.

    Marcus Armstrong was another to perform brilliantly around the Red Bull Ring after a tough day on Friday. The ART Grand Prix driver qualified 12th and managed to climb to seventh, just behind his teammate Christian Lundgaard, and Callum Ilott.

    AS IT HAPPENED

    Wet weather put the Feature Race into doubt as rain poured down onto the Red Bull Ring. The initial formation laps tested the conditions before race control deemed it unsafe and ordered them back into the pits. This delayed the start by over an hour as they waited for the conditions to ease.

    Race Director Silvia Bellot deemed it dry enough for a safety car start shortly after 18:30 local time, and the grid headed out onto the track. The rain eased somewhat, and the safety car returned to the pits after four laps, at which point racing finally got underway. Tsunoda was put under instant pressure from Zhou, but managed to hold the position around the first turn.

    The only change to the order on the opening lap saw Jack Aitken edge ahead of Luca Ghiotto for fourth. Tsunoda was attempting to build a gap between himself and Zhou, but despite the drying conditions, was struggling to find the grip, with the Lauda section remaining particularly wet.

    Lundgaard was revelling in the rain, finding excellent traction to push ahead of Shwarztman, and then fire past Ghiotto and into fifth. Aitken looked to be within his reach, but a slight wobble gave the Campos driver space to breathe.

    Having been passed by Lundgaard, Ghiotto was then under threat from Shwartzman as well, who was remaining patient in his attempts to overtake. He eyed up several moves on the Italian but opted against the risk until lap 15, when he finally lunged ahead at Turn 6. The PREMA racer made the move just in time to follow Lundgaard ahead of Aitken for fourth and fifth.

    Zhou and Ilott were amongst the first of the front runners to box on laps 22 and 23, with many of the field looking to stay out longer. The pair returned in sixth and seventh, believing that they could fire through the field and build a gap at the front, when the remainder changed their rubber.

    The majority chose to change their boots a few laps later and Carlin told their race leader to follow suit, but Tsunoda remained out, seemingly ignoring team orders. When the same thing happened on the following lap, the team quickly realised that there was a fault with the team radio and dashed to the pitwall, to give him the instructions in person.

    This put the Red Bull junior’s race win in doubt. He had lost chunks of time to Zhou and Ilott and returned back in fifth. The select few drivers who had opted to remain out pitted and handed Zhou the lead.

    The Chinese driver and his teammate Ilott were under pressure from Shwartzman who had the fresher rubber. The Russian proved too strong and both were passed within the space of a lap.

    Returning in fifth with just five laps to go, the win looked to have been lost for Tsunoda, but the Carlin racer was hounding down those ahead of him in a desperate attempt to claw back P1. First, he dispatched of Ilott, and then he eased ahead of Zhou. Shwarztman was 3s ahead of him, and time was swiftly running out, but this wouldn’t stop Tsunoda from trying.

    It wasn’t the only late dash going on either. The second PREMA of Schumacher was also on fresher tyres and sprinted into third, with a tidy move on Ilott, before locking in on Zhou.

    Back out at the front, Tsunoda managed to get within a second of P1 on the final lap, but he couldn’t quite get within range to make a lunge on Shwarztman, allowing the Russian driver to run over the line for his first win.

    Zhou completed the podium behind them in third, just about staving off the threat of Schumacher. Ilott took fifth and Lundgaard sixth, ahead of his teammate Armstrong. Dan Ticktum finished eighth, with Aitken in ninth and Sean Gelael tenth.

    Shwartzman’s win hands him first in the Drivers’ Championship, with 48 points, ahead of Ilott on 37. Lundgaard moves up to third on 26, ahead of Armstrong, Tsunoda and Ticktum, who are all on 24. In the Teams’ Championship, PREMA lead with 62 points, ahead of UNI-Virtuosi on 56 and ART Grand Prix on 50. MP Motorsport are fourth, followed by DAMS.

    KEY QUOTE – ROBERT SHWARTZMAN (PREMA RACING)

    “I am super happy to finish first, and I couldn’t have expected that result from the start. The beginning was really tough, and I had some issues with the car after the restart.

    “There was a lot of rain coming down on the visor and I couldn’t see much, but slowly the rain started to go away and I started to pick up the pace and get ahead of a few cars. From P4, we done a really great strategy, so a massive thanks to the team, who were really quick on the pit

    “We exited behind Zhou and he was really fast, but he started to lose grip and we had an interesting fight. I got passed him and took the provisional leading position, but my engineer told me that Yuki was really quick, so I couldn’t rest or relax.

    “I saw him coming and the last give laps were really intense, because I started to lose the rear grip. Thankfully, Yuki was struggling a bit by then too, which saved me.

    “I am really happy and really thankful to everyone who was watching and all of my fans. Also, to my team, SMP Racing and the FDA, but the biggest thanks goes to my dad, who was watching me from up there, so I hope that he is happy.”

    WHAT’S NEXT?

    Ticktum will be eying his first F2 win from reverse grid pole in the Sprint Race tomorrow at 11.10am (local time) that is 2.40pm IST.

  • Jehan looking confident ahead of Round 2: Formula 2

    Jehan looking confident ahead of Round 2: Formula 2

    Spielberg (Austria), 10 July 2020: India ace Jehan Daruvala is looking forward confidently to the second round of the FIA Formula 2, as the campaign returns to the Red Bull Ring here with Free PRactice on Friday and is positive that he would be able to realise the potential of the Carlin cars which showed the capability for great pace. In the Free Practice today, the Carlin cars showed that they have the pace to be in the forefront and the team which took both the rookies this year, with Daruvala having Yuki Tsunoda as his teammate, will be making amends to show some good results, what with the pace they have shown in Round 1 last week.

    Tsunoda took P1 in the Free Practice last time around and if things go well Carlin has the potential to put its drivers on the top in the feature race tomorrow.

    IN LAST WEEK’S RACE

    At one point it looked as if all of the pre-race prophecies would be coming true. Guanyu Zhou led an all-second year front three of himself, Callum Ilott and Mick Schumacher, with highly rated rookie duo Marcus Armstrong and Robert Shwartzman following.

    But this is F2 after all, so it was never going to play out like that was it? Zhou and Schumacher both dropped out of contention late on, allowing the 2019 F3 frontrunners a debut podium.

    But the Carlin drivers, Daruvala and Tsunoda are looking to fight back and make amends.

    CARLIN

    Carlin didn’t quite hit the same heights in 2019 as they did in 2018, when they were crowned teams’ champions. They showed plenty of pace, and took two impressive victories, but struggled with consistency, and at times, bad luck.

    They took a risk for 2020 in signing two rookie drivers to their rostrum, but Free Practice suggested they could surprise a few, as Yuki Tsunoda took P1. Things got a bit more challenging from here though, and ultimately, neither Tsunoda, nor Jehan Daruvala would score a point in Round 1.

    FP was proof that the team are quick though, and if they can translate that into race pace this weekend, then they’ll be a force to reckon with.

    DARUVALA SPEAKS

    About his Racing style

    “I tend to push corner entries a lot and I like to push the brakes, so that is probably the biggest difference in my style to others. Normally, I am quite smooth and there is not too much hustling going on, but I try to drive as close to the limit as possible.”

    His First racing memory

    “When I was a kid, I used to always watch Formula 1 on tv with my family. It was a family Sunday tradition that we used to do together – I was always a fan of speed and racing.”

    “I was maybe around seven, and my sister and father were at a go karting track, just 10 -15 minutes away from my house – that was my first experience of seeing a go-kart. I was too small to actually drive back then, so I took two pillows and sat with them in the seat, so I could reach the pedals. That was the first time that I drove a go kart and that is when I felt the adrenaline and wanted to take it up as a sport.”

    Jehan Daruvala’s Racing hero

    “My racing hero is Fernando Alonso. He was my idol when I was young, and I used to watch him on TV. I used to always watch how he was driving, because no matter what the situation was, or what car he was in, he always got the maximum out of it, always pushed it to the limit. For that main reason, he has been my inspiration since I was very young.”

    His favourite track on the F2 calendar

    “My favourite Formula 2 track would be Spa-Francorchamps. From my past experiences of the track, I am a really big fan of the layout. It has a combination of slow, medium and high-speed corners, and it is also the longest track on the calendar, so it is, all in all, my favourite track. It consists of everything and it is fun for us drivers because you have a lot of opportunities to overtake, so it brings good racing. It is good for the drivers and the fans.”

    Daruvala’s greatest racing achievement

    “I think that I have a couple of biggest achievements to be honest., it is hard to particularly choose one. I think in karting, it was when I came third in the CIK-FIA World Championship. I also see the 2019 season as an achievement, in FIA F3, when I finished third. That was probably my most competitive season in car racing and it is probably one of the most competitive grids that I have been a part of. Those are probably the two biggest achievements of my career so far.”

    The 2020 FIA Formula 2 Championship is set for more excitement this weekend as the paddock returns to the Red Bull Ring in Austria for Round 2.

    WHEN TO WATCH All times IST (GMT +5.30)

    Friday Free Practice: 16:25 – 17:15

    Qualifying: 20:30 – 21:00 Press conference: 21:45

    Saturday Feature race: 20:15 (40 laps) Press conference: 21:35

    Sunday Sprint race: 14:14 (28 laps) Press conference: 15:45

  • Drugovich wins Sprint race; Daruvala ends up P16, vows to fight back

    Drugovich wins Sprint race; Daruvala ends up P16, vows to fight back

    Spielberg (Austria), 5 July 2020: Felipe Drugovich capped off a sublime debut weekend in FIA Formula 2 by clinching his first victory in the Championship at the Red Bull Ring, in just his second race at this level. He won the Sprint race on Sunday ahead of Louis Deletraz.

    Indian racing driver Jehan Daruvala had a forgettable weekend as he failed to get into the points in the Sprint race after a no-points finish at P12 in the opening Feature race on Friday. The Red Bull Junior programme driver and his teammate Tsunodo had both had two off days for their team Carlin, but with the back-to-back racing weekend, they look to make amends next Saturday and Sunday at the same venue.  Daruvala pledged to make a strong comeback and with the car showing enough pace, all his Indian fans will be looking forward for a strong return to points. “It is a weekend to forget, and it was a tough race today. Will work hard and we will do our best to fight back next weekend for Round 2,” quipped the Mumbai-born driver in his tweet after finishing a disappointing P16 in the Sprint Race.

    The Brazilian drove like a seasoned F2 contender, belying his lack of experience in the Championship and overcoming not just one, but three race restarts as the safety car got plenty of laps under it’s belt.

    Indian ace Jehan Daruvala who finished P16 on Sunday vows to fightback next weekend in Round 2. A JD twitter image.
    Indian ace Jehan Daruvala who finished P16 on Sunday vows to fightback next weekend in Round 2. A JD twitter image.

    Not even the pressure of the experienced Louis Delétraz breathing down his neck could unsettle the Brazilian, who rarely looked under the threat.

    Enjoying his second front-row start in as many races, Drugovich took the lessons learned from a difficult debut on Saturday, when he struggled to defend, and put them to practice perfectly with an assured performance.

    Delétraz would be forced to settle for second, while Dan Ticktum took his first ever podium in F2, benefitting from Marcus Armstrong’s woes, with the ART Grand Prix racer forced to retire from third.

    Still reeling from his mistake on Saturday which cost him P2, Mick Schumacher will be pleased to have made up for this in part, taking his first points of the season in P6.

    Feature Race winner Callum Ilott won’t be as happy with his second race of the year, losing the final points’ position to Jack Aitken, who had clawed his way up from 15th on the grid.

    AS IT HAPPENED

    Drugovich enjoyed the cleanest of getaways off the line, shrugging off an attack from Delétraz to sprint off into the distance. The Charouz racer was left to contend with Ticktum, as the DAMS racer pulled up alongside him.

    The Swiss just about kept his place before Armstrong got him out of jail and stole the attention of Ticktum. The Kiwi had already claimed three places at the start and took a fourth with his lunge on the Briton.

    Alesi was forced to pull over onto the grass from sixth as the back of his machine went up in smoke, bringing out the first safety car of the morning. There would be a second visit in quick succession, as Sean Gelael pulled over as well just as the safety car was getting ready to head back into the pits.

    When the safety car did finally head back in, Drugovich aced his restart and pulled away without an inch of doubt. Delétraz was forced to fight off Armstrong, just about clinging onto P2.

    The safety car would be required for a third time shortly after, as Ghiotto was spun around and beached himself on the gravel. Guanyu Zhou just about managed to swing around the spinning Hitech machine, but was forced wide and dropped to the back off the grid.

    Once again, Drugovich nailed his restart, not even giving Delétraz a sniff of the race lead. Still, he’d need to do it for a third time as Armstrong became the race’s next casualty, losing power while in third place. Still Drugovich remained unfazed, holding off Delétraz when racing resumed once more.

    With just a few laps remaining, the only movement in the top ten would come from Aitken, whose lunge ahead of Ilott handed him his first points of the season, after a tough opening weekend.

    Drugovich was the first across the line, ahead of Delétraz and Ticktum. Shwartzman followed up P3 in the Feature Race with P4, ahead of Christian Lundgaard, Nobuharu Matsushita, Schumacher and Aitken.

    Ilott leads the Drivers’ Championship after the first round with 27 points, four ahead of Robert Shwartzman with Drugovich sitting third, followed by Ticktum and Delétraz. In the Teams’ table, ART Grand Prix lead with 36 points, ahead of UNI-Virtuosi on 31 and MP Motorsport on 27. PREMA sit fourth ahead of DAMS In fifth.

    THE KEY QUOTE – FELIPE DRUGOVICH (MP MOTORSPORT)

    “I came out with a win and I am really, really, really happy with it. We made some big improvements from yesterday with the car and I improved a lot from yesterday with my driving.

    “I am really happy with it. We had some issues yesterday and we were expecting a lot more after the Quali that we had, but today, I think that we got the job done.

    “The car was awesome, and I could push how I wanted, so I am really happy and thankful to the team.”

    WHAT’S NEXT?

    The paddock will remain in the picturesque surroundings of Spielberg for the second round of the Championship next weekend. Shwartzman will look to pile the pressure onto fellow Ferrari junior Ilott from second following an impressive debut weekend.

  • Jehan Daruvala finishes P12 in debut F2 race; Illot wins

    Jehan Daruvala finishes P12 in debut F2 race; Illot wins

    Spielberg (Austria), 4 July 2020: Indian ace Jehan Daruvala of Carlin Racing team had a bad day as he suffered a spin early in the race and despite some fighting-laps had finished out of points at P12 in his first F2 race on Saturday. Callum Illot of UNI-Virtuosi Racing won the first F2 race.

    However, the Mumbai-born 21-year old Red Bull Junior driver is keeping a positive approach and looking forward to making amends in the Sprint Race on Sunday. Jehan’s teammate and the other Red Bull Junior driver Yuki Tsunoda too finished outside points. The Carlin team had a bad outing as they also messed up Tsunodo’s pit stop. “P12 today… A real shame as we had good speed but got spun-around at T3 on the first lap. Anyway, tomorrow is a new day and we will try to fight back as much as possible. I am going into the Sprint with a positive mind,” said Jehan Daruvala after the race.

    The F2 races are being held along with the Formula 1 races and the grid has eight rookie drivers. The Sprint Race on Sunday will begin at 2.40 pm IST and Drugovich will start on the reverse grid pole.

    Jehan Daruvala of India finishes P12 in his F2 debut race but looks forward for a good outing in the Sprint on Sunday. A Carlin team photo
    Jehan Daruvala of India finishes P12 in his F2 debut race but looks forward for a good outing in the Sprint on Sunday. A Carlin team photo

    Callum Ilott steered clear of trouble to seal his maiden FIA Formula 2 win in a dramatic first race of the season. The UNI-Virtuosi racer was joined in the top three by fellow Ferrari juniors Marcus Armstrong and Robert Shwarztman, with the duo taking podiums in their F2 debuts.

    Ilott spent the majority of the race in a dogfight with teammate Guanyu Zhou and fellow Ferrari Academy member Mick Schumacher, but saw the duo plummet to the back of the grid late on. Both would finish out of the points as Zhou suffered from mechanical issues, before Schumacher
    made a mistake and went wide. Their problems handed Armstrong – who had started in 13th – a shot at the podium on his first F2 start and the ART Grand Prix racer duly delivered. Behind him, Shwartzman was handed third and despite his best efforts, couldn’t get past his former F3 teammate.
    Christian Lundgaard also impressed on his first start for ART, with the rookie taking fourth ahead of Dan Ticktum. Behind them, Giuliano Alesi enjoyed a sublime race in the BWT HWA RACELAB machine, rising from 18th to sixth. Fellow rookie Felipe Drugovich, who had begun on the front row, dropped back to eighth but will start the Sprint Race on reverse grid pole as a result.

    Callum Illot after winning the first F2 race of the season. A Formula Motorsport photo
    Callum Illot after winning the first F2 race of the season. A Formula Motorsport photo

    An all Ferrari driver (FDA) podium

    The FDA made its mark on the first FIA Formula 2 race of the year. Drivers from the Scuderia Ferrari young driver programme monopolised the podium with Callum Ilott taking his first win in the category. Marcus Armstrong and Robert Shwartzman finished on the podium at their very first attempt, driving for ART Grand Prix and Prema respectively. Ilott, driving for UNI Virtuosi Racing built his win in the opening moments, with an almost perfect start that took him into the lead from third on the grid. The 21-year-old Brit had a long scrap with his Chinese team-mate Guan Yu Zhou, before pitting for Hard tyres on lap 18. Seven laps later Callum was back in the lead and then managed a Safety Car period to perfection to finish the 40 lap race eight seconds ahead of Marcus Armstrong.
     
    A delighted Callum. “It’s my first race with UNI Virtuosi Racing and to win first time out with a new team is always special,” he said. “In some moments I pushed hard and it was fantastic to immediately find the right rhythm with the car and at that point I knew I could have a good race. During the lockdown I tried to keep in shape, because last year I realised how important that is in a series as competitive as Formula 2 and I’m very happy to have started my season in the best possible way. There’s a long way to go, but for now, I’m going to enjoy this great day.”
     
    Great rookies! Marcus Armstrong and Robert Shwartzman were second and third respectively past the chequered flag, split by just four tenths of a second. The 19-year-old New Zealander started from 13th and, with his ART team engineers, decided to go for an early pit stop, being the first to change tyres and once back on track, he pushed a lot on the hard tyres making the most of a free track ahead of him. Once the pit stops were over, Marcus was up to third, behind Ilott and Mick Schumacher and when the German made a mistake he came up behind Ilott. In the final laps, the Armstrong-Shwartzman train caught everyone’s attention, but their duel was fair with no risks taken by the FDA rookies.
     
    The right strategy. “I’m pleased and surprised,” commented Marcus. “Because after qualifying hadn’t gone to plan I didn’t think I’d finish my first Formula 2 race on the podium. We went for a different strategy, because of course no one knows much about the 18 inch tyres yet and in the end it worked out very well. In the final laps I suffered a bit because the tyres were now on the limit, but the Safety Car meant I could let them cool down a bit and that was a lucky break.”
     
    Off on the right foot. Shwartzman, the reigning FIA F3 champion, also ended his first F2 race on the podium. “A great result, as I was up with the leaders right from the start and it wasn’t a bad feeling,” commented Prema’s Russian driver. “The team did a good job at the pit stop, but when I was back on track, I had to get the tyres up to temperature and I didn’t want to take any risks with Marcus right at the end. But it’s my first race in the category, so not bad to start with a third place. It’s going to be a tough season so it was good to get off on the right foot.”
     
    Unlucky Mick. Mick Schumacher was out of luck today, after a technical problem had slowed him down during free practice before he qualified fifth. In the race the 21-year-old German had a strong pace and was fighting for the win up until nine laps from the flag when he went off track, dropping from second to 11th place.
     
    A great comeback for Giuliano. Giuliano Alesi had to fight all race long, after a brake balance problem in qualifying meant the Frenchman started from 18th on the grid. Giuliano went for a different strategy to the rest of the field, starting on the hards before switching to the softs for the final third of the race. It paid off, as Alesi was able to fight his way up to sixth thanks to a great pace in the final part of the race. It means he will start the 24 lap Race 2 from third on the grid. 

  • Zhou takes F2 pole; Jehan to start P6

    Zhou takes F2 pole; Jehan to start P6

    Spielberg (Austria), 3 July 2020: Uni Virtuosi Racing’s Guanyu Zhou, the Renault Junior, set the tone for the inaugural F2 race here, taking the pole position ahead of Felipe Drugovich of MP Motorsport but the Feature Race on Saturday will tell if the Chinese can translate his one-lap pace to race win.

    The Indian ace, the 21-year old Jehan Daruvala, will start on P6 for the Feature race behind C Illot, C Lundgaard and Mich Schumacher who finished from P3 to P5, in that order. “P6 is a positive start to my first FIA F2 race and I am really looking forward to the feature race tomorrow because the pace for the front row is definitely there but I could not do the second run because of yellow and red flags,” said the Mumbai-born after the qualifier.

    Zhou, the Renault junior is hoping to buck the trend become China’s first F1 driver. Having finished 2019 as F2’s leading rookie, but the season offers a new machine with wider tyres and is anybody’s guess.

    The Mumbai-born Indian Jehan who started to fight with Zhou in the initial stages was in the top-3 till the end but finally had to settle for P6 clocking 1:15:028 as yellow flags prevented the last lap push.

    Guanyu Zhou got his title challenge off to the perfect start in Spielberg, sealing his second pole position in FIA Formula 2 with a stunning Qualifying performance around the Red Bull Ring.

    Zhou celebrates after taking F2 pole in Spielberg on Friday. An FIA F2 image
    Zhou celebrates after taking F2 pole in Spielberg on Friday. An FIA F2 image

    Behind the Renault junior, there will be a surprise front-row start for rookie Felipe Drugovich, who has enjoyed a superb start to life with MP Motorsport, already qualifying higher in F2 than he did in Formula 3 last season. British outfit UNI-Virtuosi appear to be the team to beat in Austria, with Zhou’s teammate Callum Ilott completing the top three.

    Free Practice pacesetter Yuki Tsunoda picked up from where he left off at the start of this afternoon’s session, setting the early pace around the Red Bull Ring. The Carlin driver’s position at the top was short-lived though, as he was soon pipped by his teammate, Jehan Daruvala, and Zhou.

    Further back, Giuliano Alesi pushed the limits of the circuit too far and spun off the track, which forced him back to the pits and put his Qualifying session on hold, although he would later return. Zhou had no such issues, taking the time under 1m 15s to climb above Daruvala and into P1.

    The field dived into the pits for fresh soft tyres, but their subsequent return to the track was only fleeting, as Marino Sato spun onto the gravel for the second time today and brought out a red flag.

    Drugovich had shown potential in Free Practice with a P6 finish, but improved even more in Qualifying to squeeze in a fast lap just ahead of the red flag, which fired him to third.

    Just five minutes remained when the lights went green and Christian Lundgaard saw a challenge on Zhou fall just short, with the ART man’s time only good enough for P2. Despite holding onto first, the Chinese racer raised his game, setting two purple sectors to improve his laptime and further cement P1.

    Drugovich continued to surprise in the MP Motorsport machine and fired ahead of Lundgaard for second, followed closely by Zhou’s teammate Ilott, whose own tour of the Red Bull Ring took him third.

    Jehan Daruvala on way to P6 on Friday. Photo Jehan Daruvala

    Time remained for one more lap, and each of Louis Deletraz, Jack Aitken and Tsunoda had all posted purple first sectors, only to be thwarted by a yellow flag when Nikita Mazepin spun out.

    That left Zhou to ease his way back to the pits and claim the first pole of 2020 ahead of Drugovich and Ilott. Lundgaard and Mick Schumacher took fourth and fifth, ahead of Daruvala, Luca Ghiotto, Robert Shwartzman, Dan Ticktum and Delétraz.

    Zhou will be looking for his maiden victory in F2 when the lights go out in the Feature Race tomorrow, at 4.45pm (local time).

  • Sette Câmara clinches pole at Yas Marina

    Sette Câmara clinches pole at Yas Marina

    The Brazilian will start at the front of the grid in tomorrow’s Feature Race, ahead of Ilott and Delétraz

    Sergio Sette Camara (BRA, DAMS). An F2 photo

    Yas Marina, 29 Nov 2019: Sérgio Sette Câmara continued his hot form from Free Practice to score his second pole position of the 2019 season, in Qualifying at Yas Marina, Abu Dhabi. The Brazilian puts his DAMS’ side in a strong position to secure the Teams’ Championship in tomorrow’s Feature Race, but will face stern competition from Callum Ilott in P2 and Louis Delétraz in third.

    Jordan King was the first out on track, setting the initial time at 2m 11s, while Nyck de Vries and Jack Aitken were amongst five drivers to remain in the pitlane when the lights went green. Delétraz set the first fast time of the evening, racing around in 1:50.128, but was swiftly displayed by Ilott, who beat him by less than a hundredth of a second.
    De Vries, Nicholas Latifi and Aitken all headed out as the rest of the field began to feed back into the pits for fresh rubber. The Canadian quickly went to work and leapt up to fourth, with three green sectors.
    De Vries managed fifth on his first flying lap and improved to fourth the next time around, which would have been higher had he not locked up in the final sector.
    Sette Câmara took control of the session from here, storming around to steal provisional pole from Ilott. The Briton, along with Delétraz, attempted to react, but the duo could only manage second and third. Behind them, Guanyu Zhou rose from 10th to fifth with a powerful tour of the circuit.
    There was frustration for Sean Gelael, as he clipped the curb and spun into the middle of the straight, bringing out a yellow flag. This brought a halt to the session and ended a number of push laps.
    This saw Sette Câmara hold on to first ahead of Ilott, Delétraz, Nobuharu Matsushita and Zhou. They were followed by De Vries, Latifi, Aitken, Nikita Mazepin and Mick Schumacher, who completed the top 10.
    The DAMS ace will be fighting for his second win of the campaign in the Feature Race tomorrow, when lights go out at 6.45pm (local time).
    2019 FIA Formula 2 Round 12 – Qualifying provisional classification
    DRIVER
    TEAM
    LAPTIME
    LAPS
    1
    Sergio Sette Camara
    DAMS
    1:49.751
    10
    2
    Callum Ilott
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    1:49.840
    10
    3
    Louis Deletraz
    Carlin
    1:49.931
    9
    4
    Nobuharu Matsushita
    Carlin
    1:50.157
    10
    5
    Guanyu Zhou
    UNI-Virtuosi Racing
    1:50.190
    9
    6
    Nyck De Vries
    ART Grand Prix
    1:50.288
    8
    7
    Nicholas Latifi
    DAMS
    1:50.303
    9
    8
    Jack Aitken
    Campos Racing
    1:50.520
    8
    9
    Nikita Mazepin
    ART Grand Prix
    1:50.618
    5
    10
    Mick Schumacher
    PREMA Racing
    1:50.652
    7
    11
    Luca Ghiotto
    UNI-Virtuosi Racing
    1:50.858
    10
    12
    Giuliano Alesi
    Trident
    1:50.920
    10
    13
    Jordan King
    MP Motorsport
    1:51.174
    10
    14
    Artem Markelov
    BWT Arden
    1:51.412
    10
    15
    Matevos Isaakyan
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    1:51.522
    10
    16
    Marino Sato
    Campos Racing
    1:51.829
    10
    17
    Sean Gelael
    PREMA Racing
    1:51.884
    8
    18
    Christian Lundgaard
    Trident
    1:52.140
    10
    19
    Tatiana Calderon
    BWT Arden
    1:52.412
    10
    20
    Mahaveer Raghunathan
    MP Motorsport
    1:53.363
    6
  • De Vries storms to Championship title with Sochi Feature Race victory: FIA F2

    De Vries storms to Championship title with Sochi Feature Race victory: FIA F2

    Dutchman beats out Latifi and Delétraz for fourth win of 2019

    Nyck De Vries wins F2 Championship on Saturday. An FIA F2 image

    Sochi, 28 Sept 2019: Four wins, 11 Podiums, 254 Points, one Championship title and a season of utter domination. Nyck de Vries sealed the 2019 FIA Formula 2 title in style, with victory in the Sochi Feature Race, ahead of his main challenger, Nicholas Latifi. The Canadian had to settle for second on the day, and now faces a fight for the same spot in the drivers’ standings.

    Louis Delétraz completed the top 3 with his first Feature Race podium in F2, but he left it late, bombing past Luca Ghiotto at the final turn. The Italian had risked the alternate strategy as he went for victory, but in the end couldn’t build a big enough gap between himself and De Vries, before eventually losing out on a podium place.
    The morning’s rain had dried up by the time De Vries lined up on pole at 4.45pm local time and he got off the line smoothly, surging into the distance ahead of Latifi and Callum Ilott. The duo both held on off the line, but couldn’t match the sheer pace, and determination, of the Champion-to-be. Further back, the front 10 remained largely unaltered, apart from the dazzling red PREMA of Mick Schumacher, who had risen up to seventh thanks to a storming start. The German’s overtaking spree was momentarily halted as Artem Markelov pulled off the track and into retirement, bringing out a virtual safety car.
    When racing resumed, Ilott went into freefall. The Briton slowed and plummeted down the order, from third to 12th. This handed Schumacher sixth, which he then turned into fifth with a move on Guanyu Zhou, who was later slapped with a five-second time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage. Out in front, Latifi knew that he would need to pass De Vries to prevent the Dutchman from claiming the title, but his hopes were dashed when Ghiotto lunged down his left hand side for second. The Italian didn’t stop there and daringly sent it down the side of De Vries at the first corner, to complete his charge from fourth to first.
    Unlike Ghiotto, De Vries and Latifi had both started on the supersofts and would pit later that lap, returning in 10th and 11th. This sparked into motion the Italian’s alternate strategy, as he set about maintaining the 27s gap that would be required when he eventually pitted. Behind the Italian, Schumacher, Nikita Mazepin and Nobuharu Matsushita had opted for the same strategy.
    Schumacher’s attempts at making this work were dealt a blow as the Russian passed him, prompting a momentous roar from his home crowd. The rear of his PREMA was then in the eye-line of Matsushita, who overtook the German when he locked up at Turn 13. De Vries and Latifi had already set about closing what was initially a 32s gap to Ghiotto, as they dashed by Marino Sato, and shortly after, Ralph Boschung. At this point, Schumacher was forced out of the race when his PREMA went up in smoke. The Ferrari F1 junior made it back to the pits, but was forced to retire.
    Five laps remained and the gap between De Vries and Ghiotto was now just 26s, but still, the Italian refused to pit. He would devilishly remain out for two further laps, as he looked to make the switch when the front field’s rubber would be at its weakest.
    When the UNI-Virtuosi racer eventually swapped his mediums for supersofts, he returned behind both of the Championship’s top two and Delétraz. Albeit, with fresher, faster tyres. He made light work of the Carlin and began to chase down Latifi. He got within touching distance, but slipped slightly wide and cost himself valuable time. This allowed De Vries to cross the line unopposed and fittingly seal his Championship title with a fourth victory of the year, while Latifi held on for second. Behind them, Delétraz managed to sneak back past Ghiotto on the final turn, as the Italian appeared to lock-up. Sérgio Sette Câmara completed the top five, ahead of Matsushita, Jack Aitken, Mazepin, Ilott and Zhou.
    De Vries secured the F2 Championship with an advantage of 70 points over Latifi in second. Ghiotto is third with 169, ahead of Sette Câmara on 161 and Aitken on 159. In the Teams’ Championship, DAMS remain in first with 345 points, ahead of UNI-Virtuosi on 285 and ART Grand Prix on 264. Carlin are fourth with 200 and Campos Racing fifth with 189.
    De Vries may have been named champion, but there remains everything to play for behind him, with second place still very much up for grabs. Action continues tomorrow at 11.20am local time.
    2019 FIA Formula 2 Championship Round 10 – Feature Race provisional classification
    DRIVER
    TEAM
    1
    Nyck De Vries
    ART Grand Prix
    2
    Nicholas Latifi
    DAMS
    3
    Louis Delétraz
    Carlin
    4
    Luca Ghiotto
    UNI-Virtuosi Racing
    5
    Sérgio Sette Câmara
    DAMS
    6
    Nobuharu Matsushita
    Carlin
    7
    Jack Aitken
    Campos Racing
    8
    Nikita Mazepin
    ART Grand Prix
    9
    Callum Ilott
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    10
    Guanyu Zhou
    UNI-Virtuosi Racing
    11
    Sean Gelael
    PREMA Racing
    12
    Jordan King
    MP Motorsport
    13
    Giuliano Alesi
    Trident
    14
    Ralph Boschung
    Trident
    15
    Tatiana Calderon
    BWT Arden
    16
    Marino Sato
    Campos Racing
    17
    Mahaveer Raghunathan
    MP Motorsport
    18
    Matevos Isaakyan
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    NOT CLASSIFIED
    Mick Schumacher
    PREMA Racing
    Artem Markelov
    BWT Arden
    OVERALL FASTEST LAP
    Luca Ghiotto (UNI-Virtuosi Racing) – 1:51.104 on Lap 26
    FASTEST LAP ELIGIBLE FOR POINTS
    Luca Ghiotto (UNI-Virtuosi Racing)

  • Aitken fires to third F2 win in Monza Sprint

    Campos racer completes British one-two ahead of King and De Vries
    Monza, 13 Sept 2019: An emotional Jack Aitken earned his third win of the season in a thrilling FIA Formula 2 Sprint Race at Monza, dedicating his lights-to-flag victory to fellow Renault Academy driver, and friend, the late Anthoine Hubert. The Campos Racer was harried right to the chequered flag, narrowly finishing ahead of fellow Brit, Jordan King, and Championship leader Nyck de Vries.
    On a still drying track, the polesitter made an astounding start, soaring into the distance unopposed, as those behind him tussled for the final podium spots. De Vries was amongst a collection of drivers to bolt off the line, but traffic into Turn 1 forced him to remain seated in sixth. King and Callum Ilott found the space to blitz past Giuliano Alesi in P2, to emerge in a British 1-2-3.
    Despite his superb start, King soon closed the gap between himself and Aitken in P1, displaying the impressive power of his MP Motorsport machine, on the unique Autodromo Nazionale Monza circuit.
    The 25-year-old took a look at the right of Aitken, but opted against the move, instead choosing to bide his time and further reel in the Renault F1 junior. His team urged him to make the move sooner rather than later, and on the next tour of the track, he thundered past the Campos driver down the pit straight. Aitken had an instant answer to King’s speed though and forced himself back down the side of him, but he went wide and had to hand back the position.
    The fight behind them quickly intensified, as Turn 1 continued to prove tricky for the young drivers. De Vries, Sérgio Sette Câmara and Luca Ghiotto struggled with the corner and came together. De Vries was lucky to escape unscathed, but the Brazilian suffered a puncture and Ghiotto lost chunks of his front wing. Sette Câmara was forced to retire, while the Italian pitted for a replacement and returned in last.
    This brought out a Virtual Safety Car and when racing resumed, Aitken sent it down the side of King to reclaim the race lead down the pit straight. De Vries emerged ahead of Alesi for fourth.
    Aitken was yet to put the battle between himself and his fellow Brit to bed and the 25-year-old had another attempt at rounding the Campos racer, but the angles tightened. Aitken went wide, while King was forced to slow around the corner, allowing Ilott to sneak through for second.
    Yet again, Turn 1 proved difficult to master and De Vries locked up on his attack of the corner. He wobbled and flew through the grass, before eventually slowing enough to return safely, behind Nobuharu Matsushita in fifth place.
    The same happened to Ilott on the final lap, who locked up on entry, The Sauber Junior Team by Charouz racer then lost control on the grass and snagged his tyre, when grazing the barrier. This tore up his rubber and heartbreakingly ended his race, from second.
    Meanwhile, Matsushita had been handed a 5s penalty for a VSC infringement, which hauled him back to fifth and allowed De Vries into third, behind Aitken and King, who cruised to first and second at the chequered flag. The trio proudly displayed the French flag on the podium, in honour of Hubert.
    Behind the three of them, was Guanyu Zhou in fourth and Matsushita in fifth. Mick Schumacher, Alesi and Louis Delétraz completed the points’ positions.
    De Vries stretches his Championship lead to 59 points, following a second podium finish of the weekend. Nicholas Latifi remains second on 166, 10 points ahead of Luca Ghiotto in third. Aitken is two points behind in fourth, and Sette Camara two more behind in fifth. In the Teams’ Championship, DAMS lead on 317 points, ahead of UNI-Virtuosi on 270. ART Grand Prix are third with 231 and Campos Racing fourth on 183. Carlin sit fifth with 177.
    De Vries could potentially wrap up the title in Sochi at the end of September, when racing resumes in Russia.
    2019 FIA Formula 2 Championship Round 10 – Sprint Race provisional classification
    DRIVER
    TEAM
    1
    Jack Aitken
    Campos Racing
    2
    Jordan King
    MP Motorsport
    3
    Nyck De Vries
    ART Grand Prix
    4
    Guanyu Zhou
    UNI-Virtuosi Racing
    5
    Nobuharu Matsushita
    Carlin
    6
    Mick Schumacher
    PREMA Racing
    7
    Giuliano Alesi
    Trident
    8
    Louis Deletraz
    Carlin
    9
    Nikita Mazepin
    ART Grand Prix
    10
    Nicholas Latifi
    DAMS
    11
    Marino Sato
    Campos Racing
    12
    Callum Ilott
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    13
    Mahaveer Raghunathan
    MP Motorsport
    14
    Tatiana Calderon
    BWT Arden
    15
    Luca Ghiotto
    UNI-Virtuosi Racing
    NOT CLASSIFIED
    Sean Gelael
    PREMA Racing
    Sergio Sette Camara
    DAMS
    OVERALL FASTEST LAP
    Mick Schumacher (PREMA Racing) – 1:35.422 on Lap 4
    FASTEST LAP ELIGIBLE FOR POINTS
    Mick Schumacher (PREMA Racing)
  • Mahaveer Raghunathan finishes 10th in feature race; Matsushita wins: F2

    Mahaveer Raghunathan finishes 10th in feature race; Matsushita wins: F2

    Carlin driver wins from fifth, ahead of Ghiotto and De Vries

    Race winner Nobuharu Matsushita (JPN, CARLIN) celebrates in parc ferme on Saturday. An FIA F2 image

    Monza, 7 Sept 2019: Nobuharu Matsushita claimed his second FIA Formula 2 win of the season, in an overtake fuelled Feature Race at Monza. The Japanese driver rose from fifth on the grid and eventually finished 7s ahead of home hero Luca Ghiotto, and Championship leader Nyck de Vries, who completed a sensational drive from last place.

    It was an emotional afternoon for the F2 field and each car adorned touching tributes to the late Anthoine Hubert who tragically passed in last weekend’s race at Spa and Juan Manuel Correa who was injured in the horrific collision. The entire Formula 2 family was Racing for Anthoine, and race winner Matsushita later dedicated his win to the Frenchman.
    Correa’s teammate Callum Ilott started on pole for the first time in his career and cleanly got away off the line, fending off a challenge from fellow rookie Guanyu Zhou. The third of the three rookie frontrunners wasn’t as lucky: Nikita Mazepin struggled at the entry to Turn 1 and went wide, which dragged him down the order.
    Zhou suffered the same fate as his Russian rival a lap later, going wide at the tricky Turn 1 which threw him down to fifth. Behind him, Louis Delétraz spun on the same corner which ended his race, and De Vries went wide as well.
    The struggles of those in front of him had handed Matsushita second, with the Carlin driver perfectly manoeuvring the corner and setting the fastest lap behind race leader Ilott. The Japanese began to hone in on the Brit and by lap 5, he was within DRS range. The duo went side-by-side down the pit straight and the Sauber Junior Team by Charouz racer clung on by the skin of his teeth. Matsushita was unrelenting and eventually forced himself ahead of Ilott, who couldn’t fight off the DRS enthused Carlin any longer.
    Further back, Ghiotto had fired past his teammate as those on the soft tyre began to feed into the pits. Matsushita was amongst those on the prime stint to pit last and returned sixth, narrowly ahead of Ilott in seventh. The lead was handed to Ghiotto who was on the alternate strategy.
    The Italian had 30s on Matsushita – who was running fresher tyres – and was pushing his UNI-Virtuosi machine to the limit of its powers, in an attempt to stretch the gap even further. Behind them, a coming together between Nicholas Latifi and Zhou left the latter with a puncture to his rear right tyre and he was eventually forced to retire from the pits. Latifi pitted for a new front wing, which dumped him to last.
    Ghiotto eventually pitted with a 20s buffer between himself and Matsushita, but a slow stop from his UNI-Virtuosi team dropped him down to seventh and wounded his dreams of a home victory – not that he would let that stop him trying.
    As the rest of the cars on the alternate strategy began to pit, Matsushita took the race lead and began to put air between himself and Ilott. De Vries passed Sérgio Sette Câmara for third, with a 3s deficit to close for P2. He quickly set to work and within two laps had swept passed the Ferrari F1 junior down the pit straight.
    Despite his troublesome pit stop, Ghiotto had somehow managed to force his way back to third, having followed De Vries past Ilott a lap later. The Italian had the fresher tyres of the two and added another scalp to his growing list of overtakes, thundering past the Dutchman to the tune of a roaring Italian crowd. With just a lap remaining, there was too much ground to cover for first, leaving the Italian wondering what might have been.
    Sette Câmara scrambled past Ilott on the final lap for fourth, before Matsushita crossed the line for first. He was followed by Ghiotto and De Vries, who completed the podium. At the request of the drivers, the French national anthem was played during the podium celebrations in honour of Hubert.
    Sette Câmara and Ilott were fourth and fifth, but the Brazilian was handed a 5s time penalty for gaining track advantage earlier in the race which resulted in Ilott classifying ahead of Sette Câmara. Jordan King finished sixth ahead of Giuliano Alesi, who scored his best finish in F2. Jack Aitken, Sean Gelael and Mahaveer Raghunathan – who also scored his highest finish – were the final men in the points’ positions.
    With Latifi out of the points, De Vries stretches his Championship lead to 49 points with yet another podium finish. The Canadian follows in second on 166, ahead of Ghiotto on 155 and Sette Câmara on 151. Aitken completes the top five with 138. In the Teams’ Championship, DAMS lead the Championship with 317 points, ahead of UNI-Virtuosi on 262 and ART Grand Prix on 221. Carlin are fourth with 170 and Campos Racing fifth with 168.
    Jack Aitken will start on reverse grid pole ahead of Alesi and King for tomorrow’s Sprint Race, at 10.50am local time.
    FIA Formula 2 Championship Round 10 – Feature Race provisional classification
    DRIVER
    TEAM
    1
    Nobuharu Matsushita
    Carlin
    2
    Luca Ghiotto
    UNI-Virtuosi Racing
    3
    Nyck De Vries
    ART Grand Prix
    4
    Callum Ilott
    Sauber Junior Team by Charouz
    5
    Sérgio Sette Câmara
    DAMS
    6
    Jordan King
    MP Motorsport
    7
    Giuliano Alesi
    Trident
    8
    Jack Aitken
    Campos Racing
    9
    Sean Gelael
    PREMA Racing
    10
    Mahaveer Raghunathan
    MP Motorsport
    11
    Nikita Mazepin
    ART Grand Prix
    12
    Marino Sato
    Campos Racing
    13
    Nicholas Latifi
    DAMS
    NOT CLASSIFIED
    Mick Schumacher
    PREMA Racing
    Guanyu Zhou
    UNI-Virtuosi Racing
    Tatiana Calderon
    BWT Arden
    Louis Delétraz
    Carlin
    OVERALL FASTEST LAP
    Mick Schumacher (PREMA Racing) – 1:34.632 on Lap 21
    FASTEST LAP ELIGIBLE FOR POINTS
    Luca Ghiotto (UNI-Virtuosi Racing) – 1:34.900 on Lap 28