2021 Formula 1 World Championship Archives

F1/Round 7: Highlights & Provisional Results For 2021 French Grand Prix

Max Verstappen had a great start but the Red Bull driver was too eager to get the lead that he went miscalculated the first two turns, and Lewis Hamilton was ready to slip past right away.

Within 5 laps, the Mercedes-AMG driver was able to start stretching the gap with Verstappen. Valtteri Bottas was almost 4 seconds behind the leader, watching out for Sergio Perez in his mirrors.

Hamilton, however, was not having an easy run on a track suited for the Silver Arrows. His rear tyres were losing grip and he was uncomfortable with the situation, along with winds blowing along the track.

While Pierre Gasly was duelling with Sergio Perez, while Daniel Ricciardo was looking for a way past Fernando Alonso. Further back, Kimi Raikkonen did well to bring his Alfa Romeo up 3 places.

Other drivers were also having concerns about their tyres, which was understandable after what had happened in Baku with two cars having tyre failures. Pirelli said its investigations did not find the tyres to be at fault and suggested the pressures were the issue.

On lap 13, as Alonso was watching Ricciardo, Lando Norris closed in and got past. The sudden move distracted the Alpine driver and suddenly, both of the McLarens were ahead of him.

By lap 18, with Norris following him like a wingman, Ricciardo prepared to challenge Charles Leclerc, the Ferrari driver headed into the pits. His move started the ball rolling for other drivers to come in for a change of tyres as well.

Hamilton came in on lap 20 and although his stop took 2.2 seconds, it was enough time for Verstappen to overtake even though the Red Bull driver had pitted one lap earlier. Perez had inherited the lead nut had to surrender it by lap 25 to come in.

At least 5 drivers, including both those in the Aston Martin team, had started with hard compounds and were still running on them after 27 laps.

With both the two frontrunners on fresh tyres, Hamilton was keeping the pressure on Verstappen who was expressing concern that he could not keep the Mercedes-AMG driver from passing for too long. 2o laps remained.

By lap 33, the Red Bull team brought their man in and put on a set of mediums, sending him back out into fourth position and 15 second hehind Hamilton who was in the lead. Bottas was trailing 3 seconds behind and waiting to get new tyres as well.

Perez, who was ahead of Verstappen, dutifully moved aside to let his team mate pass in pursuit of Bottas. With fresh tyres, the Red Bulls could push as hard as they needed to in the remaining laps.

On lap 40, radio problems seemed to plague both Hamilton and Verstappen, the latter having been communicating intermittently since the race started.

Bottas was doing his best to prevent Verstappen from getting past but his tyres were going fast, and Hamilton could not afford to have the Dutchman on his tail as his tyres were also going.

With 5 laps remaining, Hamilton was doing his best to preserve his tyres and it didn’t help that he hit a kerb as well. Bottas had no choice but to let Verstappen pass (and then Perez) and the gap with Hamilton closed to less than 3 seconds.

As the two leaders approached the chicane, Verstappen got DRS and overtook Hamilton who could not do anything because of his degraded tyres. Once past, it took just a burst of speed and it was a Red Bull across the finish line first.

F1/Round 7: Preview & Starting Grid For 2021 French Grand Prix

Race starts at 3 pm in France/9 pm in Malaysia

Historically, the French Grand Prix has been one of the regular rounds of the Formula 1 World Championship since 1950 and, apart from 1955, was in every year’s calendar until 2008. Then there was s 10-year break and it was reintroduced in 2018. This year should be the 62^nd running of the French GP but it is the 61^st because the event had to be cancelled last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Paul Ricard Circuit at Le Castellet has hosted the French GP 16 times since 1971, with six other circuits used on other occasions. It is a ‘traditional’ type of circuit, which is a change from the street circuits of the last two rounds in Baku and Monaco. Most of the long track has been resurfaced for F1’s return this year, and many of the corners have been very subtly reprofiled.

About the coloured stripes
The coloured stripes at Paul Ricard aren’t just for show: they make up a high-grip asphalt run-off system that replaces traditional gravel traps. Both colours use a mix of asphalt and tungsten to create an abrasive surface that helps slow the cars down if they go off track. However, the abrasion level is different, depending on the colour. The ‘Blue Zone’ isn’t as abrasive and is only mildly punishing, but the ‘Red Zone’ – close to the barriers – is much more abrasive and effective at slowing down the cars.

According to Pirelli, the tyre suppliers for F1, there are varied characteristics of the track but tyre degradation is generally low. However, Turn 13 is particularly demanding in terms of continuous energy demands on the tyre, as is the Signes corner after the Mistral straight.

“We’re back to the combination of tyres used for the first two races of this year, right in the middle of the range. This is the most versatile combination, well suited to a wide variety of different demands, and this is also what makes it a good match for the Paul Ricard circuit, which contains an interesting mix of corners,” said Mario Isola, Head of F1 and Car Racing at Pirelli.

He noted that the winning strategy in the 2019 race was a one-stopper, from medium to hard. This was adopted by all the podium finishers, with all but seven of the drivers starting the race on the medium tyre.

Finding the balance between speed and agility
The 5.8-km layout of the circuit presents a strong challenge for teams to find the optimum set-up. With high-speed straights and the fast Signes Corner at the end of the Mistral Straight, as well as the complexes of low and medium-speed corners at the end of sectors 1 and 3, the choice of downforce is not easy. The teams will have to carefully balance outright speed with agility through the corners.

Of all the tracks being used this year, Paul Ricard has the highest average track temperature (50°C) and second-highest maximum track temperature (55°C). This means the teams will want to ensure that the brakes can cool quickly and Brembo supplies six different front disc solutions. There is the medium cooling option with 800 holes, high cooling with 1,250 holes and very high cooling with 1,480 holes. Each of these then offers a sub-option with a process on the outer diameter – the so-called groove.

In the case of very high cooling, the holes are arranged in seven different rows; in the intermediate case in six rows; and the other case in four rows. They measure 2.5 mm in diameter each and are precision-machined individually. It takes 12-14 hours to punch all the holes on a single disc. The mechanical component tolerance is only four hundredths.

Championship positions
With Lewis Hamilton having lost his chance to collect any points in the previous round, and Max Verstappen having been forced out due to tyre failure, the difference between the two divers remains slim with the Dutchman just 4 points ahead of the reigning World Champion. Sergio Perez’ first win of the season in Baku has elevated him to third place with 69 points, 3 points ahead of Land Norris.

While Verstappen didn’t collect points for Red Bull Racing in the last round, the 25 points Perez collected for his win have extended the team’s lead to 26 points from Mercedes-AMG. McLaren and Ferrari are just 2 points apart, and the same for Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda and the Aston Martin Cognizant team.

F1/Round 6: Highlights & Provisional Results For 2021 Azerbaijan Grand Prix

As the cars in the front got off to a good start, Williams Racing’s George Russell quickly headed to the pits for a change of tyres to a Hard compound.

While fighting to get ahead at the start, Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and Haas F1’s Michael Schumacher banged wheels, but fortunately remained on the track and didn’t hit the walls to bring out the dreaded red flags that upset Qualifying.

Lewis Hamilton, determined to rectify his loss of championship lead, pushed hard to pass Charles Leclerc and did it within the first 3 laps. The Mercedes-AMG could outrun the Ferrari on the straight but the Italian car had the edge through the tight corners. Meanwhile, Hamilton’s team mate, Valtteri Bottas, seemed unable to improve from the 10th position he had started from.

For Esteban Ocon (Alpine F1), the race ended after just 3 laps as his car lost power. Fortunately, he was able to reach the pits and get off the track so there was no need for disruption with a Safety Car.

On lap 8, Red Bull racing’s Max Verstappen slipped past Hamilton into second for a while but by Hamilton managed to regain it and then when Leclerc went into the pits for a tyre change, inherited the lead while being chased by Verstappen. Though Leclerc’s stop was not slow, when he rejoined the race, he was already down in 10th.

Both Mercedes-AMG cars came in on lap 12, Hamilton first. He had lost the lead not to Verstappen but Red Bull Racing’s Sergio Pererz who had been setting quicker and quicker laps and then passed his team mate. As Verstappen also came into the pits, Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel moved into second position with Perez visible just ahead.

Then Perez had to pit so Vettel took over the lead, but it wouldn’t be for long as he would have to go for new tyres. Verstappen was back in second and with fresh tyres, waiting for Vettel to get out of the way.

Hamilton’s pit stop dropped him to 4th place and he had to deal with Perez, who had managed to get ahead of him, before he could start going after the leader, He was certainly trying as he recorded fastest laps.

The two Aston Martins were still staying out of the pits as lap 15 passed, the only two remaining not to get new tyres. Stroll had started on Hards while Vettel was on Softs, and came in on lap 19.

With Vettel dropping out of the lead position, Verstappen took over with Perez and then Hamilton 3 – 4 seconds behind him. It was a reverse of the usual situation where the Red Bulls are seeing the rear end of the Mercedes… It was vital for Hamilton to minimise the points Red Bull could score so they would not move further ahead in the championship.

As the race passed the halfway mark, Stroll was still amazingly on his original set of tyres – the only car that had not come in. That Hard compound must have been really hard!

It seemed like Hamilton just could not find a way past Perez and it didn’t help that he was also in the ‘dirty air’ behind the Red Bull. The gap from Verstappen was also widening, from 4 seconds to 8 seconds as the Dutchman put in faster laps.

After 26 laps, Bottas was still in 10th place, with drivers like Norris and Tsunoda ahead of him. In spite of urging from his team, Bottas just didn’t seem to be in the groove today.

On lap 30, the ‘Tyre King’ Lance Stroll went into the wall, bringing out the Safety Car because debris was all over the track. He was travelling quite fast on the straight when it appeared that the rear left tyre failed but he was able to get out of the car on his own.

With the Safety Car circulating, a number of drivers chose to visit the pits and have the tyres changed. Up to that point, all of them had only done one change. The Safety Car would come in on lap 35 and off went Verstappen again, with Perez and Hamilton on his tail.

With fresh tyres, Vettel could afford to push harder and got past Gasly to fourth place and start thinking about the possibility of a podium placing if he could challenge his old rival Hamilton.

Leclerc, who had started from pole position, saw his race worsen and with the restart after the Safety Car, he locked up and flat-spotted his tyres. Bottas too was having a very bad day and seemed unable to prevent 4 other cars from passing him.

With 10 laps remaining, Hamilton was pushing harder, setting the fastest laps on each round of the Baku City Circuit. He didn’t have Bottas behind him as would sometimes be the case, so it was all up to him to get the points for the team.

Disaster struck on lap 46 as Verstappen crashed while speeding along the main straight. Tyre failure (also at the rear) lost him the race that he most likely would have won. Out came the Safety Car as Perez inherited the lead and Hamilton was elevated to second, with Vettel now on a podium position – if the tyres didn’t fail too.

With 2 laps remaining, the Stewards decided that the race would be suspended as there was a lot of debris on the track. Some drivers were beginning to wonder about the tyres as well. A tyre-change was allowed if any team felt it necessary to be on the safe side.

The race did not end with the suspension even with two laps left and there was a standing start, with Perez in the first slot. All eyes were on the Mexican and how he would hold off Hamilton in the 12-km sprint to the chequered flag.

And Hamilton lost out – trying too hard to outrun the Red Bull, his car went off the track into the run-off and rejoined at the tail end of the pack. Just before the restart, he had been thinking of just completing the race and getting the points, but not necessarily pushing too hard for an overall win. Neither he nor Bottas would bring home any points from Baku, Bottas finishing in 12th and Hamilton in 15th.

Perez had a clear run to the end, pursued closely by Vettel, with Gasly less than 3 seconds behind. It was a bitter-sweet victory for the Red Bull Racing team and a heartbreaking day for Verstappen who could have led a 1-2 finish.

F1/Round 6: Preview & Starting Grid For 2021 Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Race starts at 4 pm in Azerbaijan/8 pm in Malaysia

With the COVID-19 pandemic sweeping across Europe this time last year, the 2021 Formula 1 World Championship had to be suspended. Many venues could not be used due to health restrictions and Baku in Azerbaijan was one of them, so there was no Azerbaijan Grand Prix for the first time since 2017 when the city was included as a venue for one of the rounds.

Baku, like Monaco, is also on a coast, in this case that of the Caspian Sea. Its City Circuit, however, could not present a more different street race challenge compared to Monaco. With a long, high-speed section parallel to the seafront, it is one of the easiest street circuits for overtaking.

Two tracks in one
One of the best ways to describe the layout of the Baku City Circuit is that it’s two tracks in one: half Monaco, half Monza. The twisty Old City section has a similar vibe to the streets of Monte Carlo, while the long straights and big braking zones are a characteristic it shares with the Italian Grand Prix venue.

Most street circuits don’t tend to register the same level of maximum g-forces as traditional tracks and Baku is no different. Because of these lower forces, it isn’t a demanding race physically for the drivers, as there is less strain on their neck. There are also more straights for them to do switch changes and there is a bit more margin for error with the barriers, so it is less mentally demanding too.

But like street circuits, especially those in old cities like Baku, there are unforgiving walls of the old buildings and the surface has low grip. Unlike in 2019, Pirelli has made a decision to go one step softer on the compound range, providing the softest combination of tyres for this weekend. In 2019, the top three teams ran near-identical one-stop races, and no one used that season’s Hard compound in the race.

Because the corners don’t generate as much energy as other tracks, the drivers are more dependent on brake heat to keep the tyres warm. However, because of this, the softer tyre compounds are more sensitive to overheating and breaking apart, so it’s a tough balance to find between keeping the tyres warm and not overheating them.

The championship so far
After a forgettable time at Monaco, Lewis Hamilton has been overtaken by Max Verstappen who is now 4 points in the lead after 5 rounds. The two drivers each have almost double the points of Lando Norris, who is in third position. As for the Constructors Championship, the Monaco win also moved the Red Bull Racing team to the top but with just 1 point difference. 60 points further back from Mercedes-AMG is the McLaren F1 team.

Behind the wheels at the 2021 Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Behind the wheels at the 2021 Azerbaijan Grand Prix

After a year’s absence, Formula One cars will once again speed around the Baku City Circuit for the 2021 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. This will be the fifth time in 6 years that the event has been run at the same venue along the coast of the Caspian Sea.

Demanding on brakes
It is the second street circuit to be used so far, after Monaco two weeks ago. Being a street circuit with narrow roads and tight turns, the track is classified as one of the most demanding tracks for brakes. On a scale of 1 to 5, Brembo engineers give it a 4 on the difficulty index, the same as the Sakhir Circuit in Bahrain.

The layout includes four 90° corners at the start which are highly demanding on the brakes, followed by other turns where the angle changes continuously and, consequently, so does the use of the brakes. The track has several technical corners like Turn 8 near the old town fortifications where there is no room for error.

Carbonfibre + aluminium
In addition to aluminium-lithium calipers and carbonfibre discs, Brembo also supplies F1 teams with brake pads, also made from carbonfibre. There are 5 different types for the front and 2 variations for the rear. They vary according to the specifications of the material used, the internal ventilation and the geometry.

The length of each pad ranges from 160 to 190 mm and the surface area from 50 to 90 sq. cm. while the weight varies from 150 to 300 grams. The pads have a friction coefficient of 0.5 and the operating temperature is the same as the discs. Both have very high thermal conductivity since they are in direct contact and made from similar materials.

20 seconds of braking per lap
Over the 6 kms of circuit with 11 braking zones, the brakes are used for just under 20 seconds per lap. This is twice as much as on the Imola track and 1.2 seconds more than Monaco. Despite this, at Baku, the load on the brake pedal from start to finish is lower, 53.5 metric tons.

In 5 of the 11 braking sections, the load does not even reach 90 kgs; deceleration is just 3.8g and braking lasts for 1.86 seconds. In 4 braking sections, on the other hand, the brake system is in use for over 2.13 seconds even if the load on the brake pedal reaches a peak of 166 kgs and does not exceed 140 kgs in the other cases.

5.5g right after the starting line
Of the 11 braking sections of the Baku City Circuit, 4 are classified as very demanding on the brakes, another 4 are of medium difficulty, and the remaining 3 are light. The most challenging one for the brake system is the first corner where the cars arrive at 334 km/h and then have to slow down to 125 km/h within just 1.85 seconds. To do this, drivers apply a load of 131 kgs on the brake pedal and as the car decelerates, there will be a force of 5.5g as they cover a distance of 107 metres.

F1/Round 5: Highlights & Provisional Results For 2021 Monaco Grand Prix

♦ Charles Leclerc, who had qualified with the fastest time and crashed at the end of the final session but could claim pole position on the grid, lost that position as the damage to his Ferrari’s gearbox was too great. This gave Red Bull driver Max Verstappen the pole position, with Mercedes-AMG’s Valtteri Bottas alongside. Uncharacteristically, Lewis Hamilton had qualified only in seventh (and moved up to sixth).

♦ The tightness of the circuit makes passing difficult so the status quo was maintained for most of the front runners although Alpine F1’s Fernando Alonso managed to move up two positions from his grid position to 14th.

♦ Left alone to represent Ferrari, Carlos Sainz slowly took time off the gap with Bottas which was about 3 seconds with 10 laps completed.

♦ By lap 13, gaps were beginning to open up as some drivers were urged to pick up the pace. Sergio Perez, who was 20 seconds from his Red Bull team mate, was trying hard to get past Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel.

♦ Nikita Mazepin (Haas F1) and Lando Norris (McLaren) were some of the drivers who got black and white flags to warn them about track limits. If they did it too many times, the Stewards would give them time penalities.

♦ With 29 laps done, all eyes were on the pits to see who would come in for their tyre changes. It was Lewis Hamilton who was the first, follow by his team mater Bottas was was around 63 seconds behind Verstappen. And then disaster struck for the Finn to make it worse as a front wheel could not come off the Mercedes-AMG. As a result, the tyre could not be changed – and it meant retirement for Bottas.

♦ Amazingly, Pierre Gasly (Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda), who was just ahead of Hamilton, came in and returned to the track still ahead of the Mercedes-AMG driver. But Vettel was quick to exploit the pit stops, passing Gasly and Hamilton to take fifth place.

♦ With half the 78-lap race completed, Verstappen was not secure yet as he had a lead of only 3 seconds ahead of Sainz. With Bottas out, there was a strong possibility of Hamilton losing his championship lead and implications for the team as well.

♦ With 30 laps remaining, Norris was in third – too far from Sainz but 7 seconds ahead of Perez. Vettel was a further 11 seconds but trying very hard with what has been an uncompetitive car.

♦ Hamilton was not giving up easily and pushed hard although, unlike other tracks where he could push forwardm difficulty overtaking held him back behind other cars.

♦ As the laps counted down, Perez was one of the more aggressive drivers, trying hard to pass Norris and be on the podium place instead of the McLaren driver.

♦ Yuki Tsunoda (Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda), who seemed to show promise at the start of the season, was the last car to pit and he was down in 16th position.

♦ As 10 laps remained, Hamilton came in for a new set of tyres, aiming to go flat out to the finish and improve his position from seventh and more importantly, try and set the fastest lap and get that one bonus point. He was the only driver to come into the pits twice – and he was also about to be lapped by Verstappen.

♦ Perez kept the pressure on Norris right till the end, coming within less than 2 seconds, but his fight could not continue as Verstappen crossed the finish line – and into the championship lead.

F1 – Turkish Grand Prix cancelled, 2 races to be run in Austria

Is the Monaco Circuit the hardest on brakes in the F1 championship? (w/VIDEO)

With all its twists and turns as well as tight corners, you would think that the street circuit for the 67^th Monaco Grand Prix would be the toughest on brakes among all the circuits of the 2021 Formula 1 World Championship. However, it’s not and according to Brembo technicians, the Monaco Circuit falls into the category of tracks that present an average challenge for the brakes. On a difficulty index scale of 1 to 5, it is classified as a three, exactly the same as the tracks of the last three races.

The circuit stands out for its high aerodynamic load and the considerable percentage of braking time. The calipers and brake fluid reach high temperatures and vapour lock was a common phenomenon in the past, causing the lengthening of the brake pedal action.

Brembo carbon doesn’t melt at 3,000°C
Carbon discs began to be used in Formula 1 in the 1980s, and then spread into other motorsport competitions. Indeed, no other element offers that special combination of light weight, high thermal conductivity and absence of dilation, even at 1,000°C, a distinguishing feature of Brembo’s F1 discs.

The density of carbon is 1.7 grams per cubic centimetre, compared with 7.8 grams for steel and 7.3 grams for gray cast iron. Its thermal expansion coefficient is 1/15th that of steel and 1/11th that of cast iron. The melting point of carbon is higher than 3,000°C, compared with the 1,200°C of cast iron and 1,800°C of steel.

3 metres make all the difference
Carbon discs aren’t suitable for road use, mainly because the braking system doesn’t reach the minimum operating temperatures needed, but also due to their high consumption. Some of their benefits, however, can be found in the carbon ceramic discs of which Brembo is the main worldwide manufacturer.

Carbon ceramic discs allow a saving of 5 to 6 kgs in weight compared with traditional cast iron discs. What’s more, their lifespan may even equal that of the vehicle they’re mounted on, depending on how it’s driven. But, above all, carbon ceramic guarantees a reduction of about 3 metres in the braking distance from 100 km/h to 0 km/h compared with a traditional disc.

4.6g deceleration after the tunnel
Of the 11 braking sections of the Monaco Circuit, two are classified as very demanding on the brakes, another two are of medium difficulty, and the remaining 7 are light. The hardest for the braking system is the one that comes after the tunnel (Turn 10): the cars arrive at 307 km/h and have to get down to 90 km/h within just 121 metres. To do this, the drivers brake for 2.47 seconds, applying a load of 146 kgs on the pedal and experience a deceleration force of 4.6g.

870 braking points
Despite being the shortest World Championship track at just 3.337 kms, the Monaco Circuit has 11 braking points per lap (although only one of them is particularly intense). On 4 turns, the brakes need to be used for no more than 1.1 second. The drivers use their brakes for 18.7 seconds, corresponding to 27% of the total race time.

Notwithstanding the 7 braking points per lap where the load on the pedal is less than 90 kgs), the overall load exerted by each driver from the starting line to the checkered flag is more than 62 metric tons. Only in Singapore – also a street circuit – is the figure higher than this. It also has to be said that the braking system is used about 870 times on the Monaco track, from start to finish.

The 2021 Monaco Grand Prix will start at 3 pm in Monaco/9 pm in Malaysia tonight.

F1/Round 5: Preview & Starting Grid for 2021 Monaco Grand Prix

F1/Round 5: Preview & Starting Grid for 2021 Monaco Grand Prix

Race starts at 3 pm in Monaco/9 pm  in Malaysia

After a forced cancellation last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Formula 1 World Championship is able to return to the classic street circuit of Monaco this year for the fifth round. This will be the 67^th Monaco Grand Prix since the first one was held in 1950 as the second round of the inaugural Formula 1 World Championship. Although it was not run in the first half of the 1950s, when it resumed as a venue on the calendar, it would remain there every year with 2020 being the first time that there was no Monaco GP.

The Monaco circuit runs around the seaside resort city and is narrow with many tight turns, but the drivers love it. It is a challenging track with no run-offs, just concrete walls and barriers, and the relentless nature of the circuit is what makes it so special.

*This year, Aston Martin joins Mercedes-AMG to supply the FIA Official Cars. At Monaco, the Safety Car will be a Vantage (below) while the Medical Car will be a DBX SUV (above).*

“For me, personally, in terms of workload for the driver, Monaco is the toughest because there is no time to rest” said Mercedes-AMG’s Valtteri Bottas. “It is literally corner after corner, and even the straights aren’t really straight, you are always turning even just a little bit.”

“There’s really no race like it… it’s such a unique, intense weekend for the drivers and the team, with no margin for error. It puts the fire under your ass, and we love the challenge!” added his boss, Toto Wolff.

The 3.337-km circuit has been resurfaced in a number of locations and it’s in good condition, according to Mario Isola, Pirelli’s Head of F1 and Car Racing. “There’s significant track evolution, thanks also to the support events. We saw solid performance from all three compounds, with a similar time gap between all of them. We’ve seen nothing to suggest that teams will deviate from the usual one-stopper at Monaco, with the soft and the medium preferred,” he said.

The key to competitiveness is to gradually build pace through each session in order to peak during Saturday’s crucial qualifying session. That process is even more difficult this year due to the reduced duration of Friday’s practice sessions. With the narrowness of the track, it is vital to get a good position on the starting grid.

While completing a lap, the driver’s vision at high-speed and their ability to react quickly to any changes in the environment is crucial. This is especially challenging at a track like Monaco, which is narrow and twisty, with blind corners and potential surprises around every one of its 19 corners (8 left-handers and 11 right-handers).

As the weekend progresses, the drivers are filtering through different reference points to pick the quickest lines, the latest braking points and progressively build confidence. This is particularly crucial in Monaco, knowing any accidents in the practice sessions could limit their running and even their chances to take part in Qualifying.

Intense super-short, super-quick lap
With limited overtaking opportunities in Monaco, single lap pace in qualifying is vital which puts pressure on the outlap to ensure the car crosses the start line in optimum shape to begin the timed run. The driver will adjust their brake balance continuously through the outlap while weaving, accelerating and braking to generate temperature in the brakes and tyres, while also charging the ERS system so they have maximum power to deploy on the timed lap.

In Monaco, the challenge and intensity are crammed into a super-short, super-quick lap that requires maximum precision and maximum concentration. There’s no relenting… one slip of focus, and the driver and team’s hard work will be wiped away.

Hamilton at the top
Lewis Hamilton continues to lead in the Drivers Championship, as does his team. His closest challenger is Max Verstappen who is 14 points behind and whose Red Bull Racing team is also second, 29 points behind the Mercedes-AMG team.

The most successful driver at Monaco has been the late Ayrton Senna, with 6 wins that started when he was with Lotus in 1987. Senna also contributed 5 wins to McLaren’s total of 15 wins, the most of any constructor.

F1 – Turkish Grand Prix cancelled, 2 races to be run in Austria

The Turkish Grand Prix, which was to replace the cancelled Canadian GP, has also been postponed and will possibly be cancelled altogether. Most of the F1 teams are based in the UK and stricter travel restrictions (imposed recently by the UK) relating to Turkey make it difficult for the teams to travel there.

The race promoters hoped that the situation will change later on and a new date on the 2021 calendar can be scheduled. This development means that there will again be two races in Austria, like last year. The first will be the Styrian Grand Prix on June 27, and the second will be the Austrian Grand Prix on July 4. Both races will be run at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg.

*Last year’s Turkish Grand Prix was a wet one,*

*This weekend, F1 will be back on the streets of twisty Monaco street circuit after not being able to run in 2020.*

This weekend will see the fifth round run in Monaco, which was forced to cancel last year due to worsening COVID-19 pandemic conditions. It was one of 7 races on the 22-round calendar which had to be cancelled.

The National Vaccination Program in Malaysia is free of charge.

F1/Round 4: Highlights & Provisional Results For 2021 Spanish Grand Prix

♦ No incidents on the opening lap for a change but Lewis Hamilton lost his lead at the first corner to Max Verstappen, while Charles Leclerc slipped past Valtteri Bottas to take third place. Not a great start for the two Mercedes-AMG drivers.

♦ There was some puzzlement as Pierre Gasly seemed to have started in the wrong position, which the Stewards looked into. They later found that he had moved too soon at the start and gave him a 5-second penalty.

♦ Although Leclerc had gotten in front of Bottas, he could not run away and the Mercedes-AMG driver was cautious too. Meanwhile, Daniel Ricciardo and Sergio Perez ere getting closer to the front.

♦ On lap 9, Scuderia Alphatauri’s Yuki Tsunoda had to pull to the side of the track as his car seemed to lose power (it was later reported to be a fuel pressure issue). His parked position being hazardous brought the Safety Car out. The day before, the Japanese driver had made critical remarks about what he felt was difference in performance between his car and team mate Gasly’s – but later apologised to his team, saying he was frustrated by the way the car behaved.

♦ The Safety Car was only required for one lap and by lap 10, the race resumed, with Verstappen still ahead and trying to extend the gap from Hamilton again.

♦ While the Safety Car was on the track, Antonio Giovinazzi raced into the Alfa Romeo pits to get the tyres changed… but a delay saw him fuming for longer than necessary and when he rejoined, he had dropped all the way to the back.

♦ Lance Stroll was waiting to pounce on Fernando Alonso the moment the Safety Car moved off, and when he did so, he timed it perfectly and powered past the Spaniard on the outside of Turn 4 to take 10th position.

♦ Going to lap 20, Hamilton was still behind Verstappen but the gap was not changing much. However, the British driver had concerns about his tyres although he is well known at being able to manage them when things get tough.

♦ At the one-third mark – 22 laps – the watching began as the leaders waited to see who would head to the pits first. The Safety Car had made a one-stop strategy a realistic possibility but for Verstappen, the gap was still too small. Further back in the field, though, the rush to the pits started as one driver after another came in.

♦ Bottas came in on lap 24 and on the next lap, Verstappen decided to also come in and spent just 4.2 seconds getting the tyres changed. When he rejoined, he slotted into fifth, just behind team mate Perez. But it was only momentarily as Perez dutifully moved aside to let him start the chase. Hamilton, in spite of tyre concerns, decided to stay out a bit longer and see if he could get a good gap in the lead.

♦ Toto Wolff was unhappy seeing that Haas driver Nikita Mazepin making it difficult for Hamilton to get by. He informed the officials and asked for action to be taken to make sure the Russian driver did not cause unnecessary problems. When other drivers have complained about him, Mazepin has used his rookie ‘inexperience’ as an excuse.

♦ Hamilton was finally called in on lap 29 and a hard-charging Verstappen quickly took over the lead. The chase was on again for Hamilton, now with fresh tyres and a gap of 2 seconds to close. As an indication of his determination, he set the fastest lap as the race crossed the halfway point.

♦ At the other end of the field, Nicholas Latifi pushed Giovinazzi to make a mistake on lap 37 and swept by to take 16th position, just behind his Williams team mate Georg Russell. Sebastian Vettel and Alonso, both past world champions, were also engaged in a battle for 11th place.

♦ Ricciardo was trying whatever he could to prevent Perez from passing him and eventually, his weaving was noticeable and he received an official warning (via his team) to stop such driving tactics.

♦ On lap 43, Hamilton was asked to come in for a set of mediums which would be advantageous when the race entered its final stages. His position was taken by Bottas who kept the Red Bull in sight and when Hamilton got back, he was 22 seconds behind Verstappen. He was about a second quicker per lap than the Red Bull driver, and if he kept that pace, he would catch up by the last lap as 22 laps remained.

♦ By lap 48, Perez finally out-manoeuvered Ricciardo on the outside and grabbed fifth place, with Leclerc next on his list.

♦ On lap 53, Hamilton was trailing his team mate and ready to pass, but Bottas didn’t seem to want to give up his position readily. But he got called in for another set of tyres so Hamilton was able to see Verstappen right in his sights. The gap was around 10 seconds and the number of laps remaining in the race was 12.

♦ With 9 laps remaining, Bottas was in fourth but with fresh tyres, he would be able to displace Lerclerc (who had done only one tyre change) and get up on the podium. There was even the possibility of second place if the Red Bull tyres couldn’t last till the end.

♦ As the 60th lap started, Hamilton was slipstreaming Verstappen’s car and going into Turn 1, the Mercedes-AMG surged past on the outside and took the lead. Having dropped a place, the Red Bull team decided to bring him their car in for a new set of tyres, by which time the gap to Hamilton had stretched to 23 seconds. He therefore had to just keep ahead of Bottas who was about 11 seconds behind. The new tyres gave Verstappen to set a very fast lap so he could get that 1 extra point.

♦ Once again, it was Hamilton who took the chequered flag at the Spanish Grand Prix, the victory being his 98th in his 14 years of racing in F1. The top four finishers ended the race as they had started it, and Tsunoda was the only non-finisher.

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