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F1/Round 11: Preview & Sprint Race Results of 2022 Austrian Grand Prix

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

After the dramatic British Grand Prix at Silverstone last week, the F1 teams crossed the English Channel to head to the Red Bull Ring for the Austrian Grand Prix, Round 11 of the 2022 Formula 1 World Championship. For this round, a Sprint Race has been included which will be run on Saturday. This is the second Sprint race of the year, following the one at Imola in April.

The short race with a 100-km distance proved popular with drivers and spectators when it was first run at the British GP last year. Being run over a shorter distance, drivers will be flat out from start to finish, with no pit stops needed during the 24 laps. The best effort will be necessary as the finishing order will determine the starting positions for the main race (not the positions in Qualifying), so there is a chance to improve on the position gained in Qualifying. There are also points for the top three finishers of the race. There are also points for the top 8 finishers which are added to the overall championship points.

Although Austria has had a World Championship Grand Prix 35 times since 1964, it has not always been held at the Red Bull Ring. The Red Bull Ring was originally known as the Osterreichring and hosted the Austrian GP continuously from 1970 to 1987, as well as from 1997 to 2003. It was later bought over by Red Bull’s co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz and, after being renovated, renamed as the Red Bull Ring in 2013. From 2014, F1 rounds were held at the track as the Austrian GP and last year, the Styrian GP was also held there.

Each lap of the 4.318-km circuit is covered in two distinct sections. The layout has just 10 corners, so it is short and sharp and also a rollercoaster as it is on a hillside with constant elevation changes. Though it is not the shortest track, the Red Bull Ring has the shortest lap time of all the circuits in the 2022 calendar. The faster drivers will be crossing the start/finish line in just over minute. This allows them to do more laps, both in the practice sessions and in qualifying – provided they have enough sets of tyres.

“The asphalt at the Red Bull Ring offers reasonably low grip on a low-severity circuit, which makes it possible to bring the softest tyres in the range. This helps us in putting the focus on entertainment, at a venue that has often delivered exciting races in the past, thanks to a busy and compact lap that’s essentially a series of short corners. Our tyre nomination makes a variety of different potential strategies possible,” said Mario Isola, Pirelli’s Motorsport Director.

The track puts huge demands on a car’s handling while, at the same time, demands good mechanical grip at low speeds and excellent performance at high speed. Ultimately, the engineers have to find a compromise when setting up the racing car and dial in the right amount of downforce.

*Gear positions and cornering speeds of Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS cars.*

There are 3 very hard braking zones in succession on the approaches to Turns 1, 3 and 4, and the brakes are unable to cool down sufficiently over the rest of the track as the lap is relatively short. This impacts the maximum pressure and general wear and tear experienced. For that reason, teams have to apply as much cooling as possible to the brakes, so the front tyres hardly get warmed up at all.

The Red Bull Ring is also notorious for its aggressive kerbs and is considered to be one of the toughest tests for the suspension. This applies especially to the kerbs at the exits of T1, T6 and T7, which take an exceptionally high toll on the cars because of their frequency (ie the gap between the highest and lowest points of the kerbs) and the speeds at which they are taken.

THE SPRINT RACE
There was a bit of confusion as the race was about to start and there was a short delay which meant another formation lap for the cars. In that time, Alpine’s Fernando Alonso had his car pushed back to the pits and he would not race, while Alfa Romeo’s Zhou GuanYu had engine problems that saw him having to start from the pitlane.

So 18 cars were on the starting grid when the lights went out, and Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen – starting from pole position, got ahead of the rest. In the first few corners, the two Ferrari drivers exchanged positions with Carlos Sainz taking second initially and then losing it to team mate Charles Leclerc.

Sergio Perez, the other Red Bull, had cut through traffic to move 5 positions up from starting at 13th place. Mercedes-AMG’s Lewis Hamilton had a poor start and dropped back to 11th behind Williams Racing’s Alex Albon. However, the other Mercedes-AMG driver, George Russell, was taking on Sainz.

By the 7th lap, Verstappen was pulling away, taking advantage of the duel between the two Ferrari drivers for second place. Russell was watching and watching for a chance to slip past as well. On the same lap, at TuRn 3, Albon caught the attention of the Stewards as he pushed McLaren’s Lando Norris off the track and he was given a 5-second penalty.

Perez was working very hard to move forward, passing Hass F1’s Kevin Magnussen to get to sixth and having Alpine’s Esteban Ocon in his sights.

On lap 11, Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel slid into the gravel at the exit of Turn 6 after coming into contact with Albon’s car. Fortunately, he was not stuck and was able to get back onto the track but had dropped way down to 19th.

Down in ninth place, Hamilton was trying hard to overtake Michael Schumacher’s son, Mick, was who in the Haas F1. But the young German driver was able to hold off the 7-time world champion who must be finding it a new experience having to challenge youngesters.

With 3 laps remaining, Hamilton was still stuck behind Schumacher and complaining about it. Finally on lap 21, he managed to take over Schumacher’s position but the race was nearing the end anyway. But at least he would get one point at the end of the race which saw Verstappen taking the chequered flag.

F1/Round 10: Provisional results and highlights of the 2022 British Formula 1 Grand Prix

After a wet qualifying session the day before, the weather was dry though windy as the drivers took the places on the starting grid, with a 20% chance of rain being forecast. Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, Jr. occupied pole position for the first time in his F1 career, but Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen in P2 would be preparing to get to Turn 1 first. In fact, the Red Bull driver even slipped ahead during the formation lap! Sainz’ team mate, Charles Leclerc would also be looking for a way to cut through both drivers from his P3 position.

As the lights overhead went out, Verstappen was able to take the lead right away, displacing Sainz to second place. Mercedes-AMG’s Lewis Hamilton managed to get through ahead of Leclerc to grab an early third place.

But further back, there was a lot of drama – and when the cars stopped bouncing around, out came the red flags suspending the race even before the first minute had passed. At least 5 cars were involved and damaged – Alpine’s Esteban Ocon, Williams Racing’s Alex Albon, Scuderia Alphatauri’s Yuki Tsunoda, Alfa Romeo’s GuanYu Zhou and Mercedes-AMG’s George Russell.

The Mercedes-AMG, which started from P8, appeared to collide with the Alfa Romeo which was sent upside down and sliding off the track for some distance with sparks flying. The Chinese driver was extracted from his car (which had gone over the barrier and was stuck against the fencing) and carried on a stretcher. Zhou as well as Albon were taken to the medical centre for examinations.

There was also a rather silly episode after the red flags came out as a group of people attempted to get onto the track, apparently to stage some sort of protest by lying down. Track security managed to remove them right away and passed them over to the police.

It was 56 minutes after the 2022 British GP had originally started that the race resumed. However, Russell was not allowed to rejoin the race as FIA rules state that he cannot continue racing if he had received mechanical assistance (for a puncture) during the race. It was unfortunate for the British who had jumped out of his car the moment it stopped spinning and ran over to where Zhou’s car had ended up to try to help.

As the race had not even completed its first lap when it was suspended, the restart was done with the same positions as the original grid based on qualifying times. That put Sainz back in front of Verstappen as the cars followed the green Aston Martin Safety Car around the track to a standing start.

This time, Sainz managed to stay ahead of Verstappen, as Leclerc and Sergio Perez, the other Red Bull, other duelled behind. Leclerc managed to pull away and tried to pass Verstappen and contact occurred between the cars at Turn 6, with the Red Bull car getting some damage on the front wings. The Ferrari may also have got some slight damaged climbing the kerb. Perez meanwhile dropped to the back after returning to the pits to replace his wing, which was also damaged.

Hamilton would not have his team mate as wingman for this race and had to keep McLaren’s Lando Norris from displacing him from fourth position. While keeping an eye on Norris, he was also closing in on Leclerc. It took 4 laps before Verstappen finally passed Sainz on lap 10 as the Ferrari driver made a mistake and slipped off onto the grass. On lap 10 too, the two Alphatauris had a strange coming-together which saw Yuki Tsunoda going into a spin. The Japanese driver would later get a 5-second penalty for causing the incident.

Verstappen’s lead was brief as his car appeared to slow down and Sainz shot past him. Fortunately, it was a puncture and not a powertrain fault and he was able to get back to the pits for a quick replacement. When he rejoined the race on lap 12, he was down in sixth place and would have to work hard again. He was also unhappy (saying it was ‘100% broken’) as his car seemed to have some other damage that was preventing him from pushing it harder.

Lewis Hamilton was up higher than usual (for this year) in third place but still 5 seconds behind Leclerc who was following Sainz, the race leader. Porpoising or not, the 7-time world champion was putting in quick lap times in front of the home crowd, hopeful that he could add another Silverstone victory to his collection.

There was tension between the two Ferrari drivers up front. Leclerc was eager to get past Sainz to get away from Hamilton, who was closing in. But the team did not seem willing to ask Sainz to ease off; in fact, they were urging him to push harder. Verstappen was still holding sixth and could not push harder.

On lap 20, Sainz gave up his lead to Leclerc as he headed into the pits for new tyres. When he rejoined, he was behind Hamilton who was about 3 seconds behind Leclerc. Meanwhile, the second Alfa Romeo driven by Valtteri Bottas was out.

Verstappen was not having a good day and even after coming in again for hard tyres, he was finding that the grip was poor. Team mate Perez was two positions ahead in sixth which the Dutchman had held for a while.

A loud cheer went up as Hamilton moved into the lead at the British GP when Leclerc pulled into the pits on lap 25. He may have had bad luck all year but at the race which has has been won 8 times, he was in the lead. It was crucial for Leclerc to stay in touch so even though he had a damaged wing, he was asked to stay in the chase. He was within sight of his team mate and was given the go-ahead to compete for the second position with Sainz. But by lap 31, the team decided that Leclerc had the edge and asked Sainz to let him through. There was still an 18-second gap to reach the Mercedes-AMG.

On lap 32, Ocon skipped past Williams Racing’s Nicholas Latifi to slot into ninth place and then came right behind – and passed – Verstappen. But he was then pursued by both Haas F1 drivers. Mick Schumacher was eager to secure a position in the top ten to collect his first points in Formula 1.

On lap 38, Hamilton began to feel vibrations and he was asked to come in to get new tyres. 4.3 seconds at standstill and off he shot to rejoin in third place. He would need a little while to get his tyres warmed up before going after the Ferraris that were 4 seconds ahead.

Ocon leading the world champion Red Bull driver was a short pleasure the Alpine driver then had to pull over 3 laps later to retire from the race when his fuel pump failed. This brought out the Safety Car on lap 40. Sainz and Hamilton took the opportunity to come in for soft tyres but Leclerc remained running to gold on to the lead.

After 2 laps, the Safety Car pulled in and racing resumed. Leclerc was on hard tyres but the 4 cars behind him had moved to soft tyres. It was lap 42 and of the 20 cars that started, 6 had retired.

Perez had been ready for the restart and managed to get past Hamilton at Turn 5. Leclerc was forced to go wide by Sainz as the Spaniard got ahead of his team mate at Turn 6. As Sainz pulled away, Perez and Hamilton were getting closer even while fighting each other. Top Gun Maverick Tom Cruise, who was among the spectators, would have appeciated the ‘dogfights’ taking place.

Hamilton’s pursuit of Leclerc and Perez was distracted by the presence of Alonso and Norris coming up behind as well, so it was getting to be an intense race as 5 laps remained. On lap 47, Hamilton got past the Ferrari and began to go for Perez who was 3 seconds ahead. Further back, Schumacher was trying hard to get past Verstappen and get extra points by the finish line.

And on lap 52, Sainz managed to keep his lead to take the chequered flag for very first F1 win, after having also started from pole position for the first time as well. Try as he did, Hamilton just could not close the gap with the Red Bull driver in time, but at least got to stand on the podium as well to wave at the home crowd.

F1/Round 10: Preview & Provisional Starting Grid of 2022 British Grand Prix

Race starts at 3 pm in Britain time/10 pm in Malaysia

The British Grand is one of only two events that have been constantly on every season’s calendar since the inception of Formula 1. This weekend’s Round 10 of the 2022 Formula 1 World Championship will be the 73^rd British GP, and the 56^th time Silverstone has hosted the race. The other venues have been the Aintree Circuit in Liverpool and Brands Hatch.

Silverstone, built on a former Royal Air Force base 74 years ago, is a true power circuit, and drivers will spend 80% of each 5.891-km lap racing at full throttle. The layout, with 18 turns, is very tough on tyres, especially on left-front tyres which have huge loads imposed on them in Turns 1, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 15.

“Along with Suzuka in Japan and Spa in Belgium, Silverstone places the highest energy demands on tyres all year, which is why the hardest tyres in the range have been nominated: C1 as the P Zero White hard, C2 as the P Zero Yellow medium, and C3 as the P Zero Red soft. This is the third time that this combination has been nominated all year,” said Mario Isola, Pirelli’s Motorsports Director.

Suzuka, which will be back on the calendar later this year (in early October), puts even greater demands on tyres but distributes the loads equally to all 4 tyres as it is the only track on the calendar in the shape of a figure eight. At Silverstone, putting down the car’s energy is firmly focused on

Pirelli’s choice of its hardest compounds to cope with wear rates is based on past experience. However, with the new 2022 racing cars, the tyres are designed to provide less overheating, more stability, and increased driveability within a wider working window. “This year, the compounds and structures are completely different, and there’s no sprint qualifying either – which was a factor in the strategy last year,” Isola added.

*The gears and cornering speeds of the Mercedes-AMG racing cars.*

According to Brembo technicians, the Silverstone Circuit makes little demand on the brakes, in contrast to the tyres. This does not mean that the brakes are not important on this track. Grip is critical and depends on both the weather conditions and the number of consecutive laps run. As the grip increases, so does the braking power transferred to the ground.

The biggest risk at Silverstone is glazing of the friction material caused by problems bringing the carbonfibre discs and pads to the minimum operating temperature. However, the Brembo material has been specially designed to prevent this problem. There are 9 turns where the brakes are used for a total of 13.5 seconds per lap which amounts to 15% of the whole race.

The hardest one is on turn 6 because drivers come onto it with the throttle full on after turn 5 and reach a speed of 324 km/h. They use the brakes to reduce speed by 50% in 2.4 seconds and cover a distance of 142 metres. To do this, their leg must apply a load of 127 kgs on the brake pedal and undergo a deceleration of 4.2g.

Fittingly, Lewis Hamilton has been the most successful driver in the history of the British Grand Prix, the team’s home race. He has won 8 times, which puts him in the same league as Michael Schumacher for the most wins at the same event; the German driver’s record is for the French Grand Prix. Hamilton also has 8 wins at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

A non-British team – Scuderia Ferrari – has won the event the most times. Since its first F1 win in the 1951 British GP, it has won the event 17 times. Current drivers who have contributed to the string of victories are Sebastian Vettel (2018) and Fernando Alonso (2011).

Thanks to a victory in Canada, Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen starts at Silverstone with a 46-point lead over team mate Sergio Perez. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who has started the season with so much promise, seems to have had a string of bad luck, dropping him to third place, 3 points behind Perez.

Consistent wins by Verstappen and Perez have boosted Red Bull racing’s lead in the Constructors Championship to 304 points, 76 ahead of Ferrari. The Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS team is in third place, 40 points behind the Italian team.

F1: Provisional results and highlights for 2022 Canadian Formula 1 Grand Prix

Unlike the day before when there was a heavy downpour (and the pitlane was even flooded earlier in the week), race day greeted the drivers with sunshine and nice cool weather. The rain during qualifying resulted in a rather boxed-up grid with Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen and BWT Alpine’s Fernando Alonso on the first row, and it would be an interesting race as the faster drivers tried to move forward – especially Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc who was starting from the back due to a penalty.

All eyes were on Alonso as the race started but Verstappen started well and was ahead of Alonso into Turn 1. The Alpine driver had to instead deal with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, with Hamilton pushing forward alongside Haas F1’s Kevin Magnussen. At the back, Leclerc got down to work right away and moved up 4 places within the first 2 laps. But he was still 15 seconds behind the leaders.

On the third lap, after a close fight, Sainz moved into second position as he passed Alonso. Magnussen, who was trying to hold on to sixth, apparently sustained some damage to his wing and on lap 4, he was given a black and orange flag and came in on lap 8. Meanwhile, Scuderia Alphatauri’s Pierre Gasly and Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel were the first to come in to switch to hard tyres on lap 6.

14 minutes into the race (on lap 8). Red Bull Racing’s Sergio Perez reported power unit failure and he pulled over, fortunately at a safe spot. The yellow flags came out, as did the Virtual Safety Car (VSC). At that point, Verstappen had come into the pits and Sainz was in the lead with Alonso behind him. Most cars began coming in and changing to hard tyres as no rain was forecast. Fighting for fifth place were Mercedes-AMG’s Lewis Hamilton and Alpine’s Esteban Ocon.

With Perez out, Verstappen had a change of strategy as he went after the two Spaniards ahead. By lap 16, he had overtaken Alonso and was within 5 seconds of Sainz. He could bide his time as the Ferrari driver had not pitted yet and had to do so eventually. In fourth was Mercedes-AMG’s George Russell playing a steady game, as usual, while Hamilton was just 2 seconds behind.

Leclerc appeared at tenth place as lap 20 started, steadily moving up the field. For Haas F1′ Mick Schumacher, however, the race in Canada came to the end on that lap as he slowed the car and parked it to one side of the track. The VSC came out for a short while and Sainz gave up his lead to Verstappen. When Sainz rejoined, he was in third behind Alonso but very quickly got past the Alpine to grab second position.

On lap 29, Hamilton displaced Alonso for third, appearing higher than he has been for a long time. Russell has fallen back but would keep Alonso occupied while Hamilton went after the Dutchman.

China’s Zhou Guanyu was praying there would be no disappointment again like the last race as he moved into tenth place on lap 27. He was aiming for the Aston Martin of Lance Stroll but had to also watch out for Yuki Tsunoda and his Alphatauri. Alonso came in on lap 29 for new tyres. rejoining in seventh place, just behind Leclerc who was beginning to struggle with his tyres.

At the halfway point of the race, Verstappen was in the lead, 8 seconds ahead of Sainz and 16 seconds ahead of Hamilton, with Russell in fourth place some distance back. Leclerc was up to sixth but still fighting with Ocon. The question was when the Ferrari driver would come in replace his tyres which had done 35 laps already. Besides Leclerc, Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas and Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll were also on rubber that was over 35 laps old.

Leclerc finally came in on lap 42 and was frustrated by a somewhat slow stop (for the Ferrari team). When he rejoined, he was down to twelfth place, behind McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo. Two laps later, Sainz was in the lead as Verstappen came in to get new hard tyres. As he rejoined, he was alongside Hamilton, giving the spectators an exciting moment of the two drivers racing each other. But Hamilton would come in on the next lap, and Verstappen zoomed to second, 9 seconds behind Sainz.

Russell’s tyres were replaced on lap 45 and his departure from the race gave Hamilton a chance to slot into third place easily. But by then, Verstappen had gone way ahead in his pursuit of the Ferrari.

Just before the 50th lap, the yellow flags came out as Tsunoda crashed after Turn 1. The Safety Car was deployed and Sainz took the chance to pit. This gave Verstappen the lead but it might become difficult for the Dutchman as the Ferrari now had fresh tyres. Other drivers also rushed into the pits while the Safety Car was out. When its duty ended, there were 16 laps remaining.

As the pack resumed racing, the top five frontrunners jostled for position. Sainz did his best to keep close to Verstappen while Hamilton came up behind, just slightly ahead of Russell. Alonso was also eager to try for a podium position but had to contend with his own team mate first.

With 10 laps remaining, the top four cars were about one or two seconds apart, with Leclerc having made it to fifth but still hacing a gap of about 10 seconds to close with Russell. Verstappen was working very hard to keep his lead as Sainz kept looking for a way to displace him. The two Alfa Romeo drivers, just behind Alonso, were waitinf for him to make a mistake and take his seventh place.

As two laps remained, the order still had not changed and Sainz had already pushed hard enough to claim the fastest lap of the day. Less than a second and he just could not beat Verstappen and then the chequered flag came out and it was the Red Bull racing car that crossed under it first.

F1/Round 9: Preview & Provisional Starting Grid of 2022 Canadian Grand Prix


Race starts at 2 pm in Canada/2 am in Malaysia (Monday)

A Formula 1 race is being run again in Canada after 3 years of absence, and it is held at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve which has been the venue for the Canadian Grand Prix since it opened in 1978. Originally known as Circuit Ile Notre Dame (after the island it is situated on), It is one of three circuits that has hosted the Canadian GP since 1967. In 1982, after Canadian F1 driver Gilles Villeneuve (father of Jacques Villeneuve) died in an accident, the track was renamed in his honour.

The 4.361-km is similar in characteristics to the Baku City Circuit. In fact, long before Azerbaijan became part of the F1 itinerary, it was the circuit in Montreal that teams had to develop a special wing for. The wing was to minimize drag as much as possible on the straights but generate as much downforce as possible in the slow corners. That is the requirement at Baku today.

However, the circuit is also unique for its succession of chicanes and calls for a car that can ride kerbs. There are also frequent hard stops and Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve is traditionally regarded as very tough on brakes, similar to the Austrian GP. But there are usually fewer cooling problems in Canada than at Spielberg, because the lap distance is greater and there is more time for the brakes to dissipate temperature.

With the constant cycle of heavy braking and equally heavy acceleration, the track takes its toll on the hybrid components of the powertrain, with many long deployments followed by big charging events. In the course of a single lap, there are 3 strong braking events that generate forces greater than 4g for a duration of more than 0.4 seconds.

The 14 corners of the circuit comprise 6 left-hand turns and 8 right-handers. As in Baku, most of the corners are within a similar speed range, which is at the lower end of the scale compared to the rest of the circuits on the racing calendar. Unlike Baku, however, most corners in Montreal come as a double change of direction (left/right or right left combinations) that require good responsiveness from the car.

Apart from not having raced on this circuit for 3 years, there will be a number of question marks for the teams, according to Mario Isola, Pirelli’s Motorsport Director. “The weather is often variable, all previous data is 3 years old, and we have a completely different range of tyres with new compounds and structures, on a track that is hardly ever used. This will lead to a very high degree of evolution,” he said.

“Compared to their last visit to Montreal, the drivers should find compounds that are more stable with a wider working range, enabling them to push harder throughout each stint with a much lower risk of overheating. One interesting aspect to Montreal is that it has one of the lowest pitlane time loss penalties on the calendar, meaning that a car can be in and out of the pit lane in less than 20 seconds. This could open up a few options in terms of strategy,” he predicted.

The 404-metre pitlane (which got flooded recently after a heavy downpour) is among the top third of all circuits this season in terms of length. Even so, the time expended during a pit stop is relatively small, as the drivers are spared the inconvenience of going through the last chicane, instead entering the pitlane directly. Furthermore, the pit exit is in Turn 2, which means they don’t have to negotiate the first corner either.

With the long history of the Canadian GP, McLaren has been the most successful team at the event, with 13 victories, although that is just one more than Ferrari who are the most successful at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve specifically with 11 wins.

Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton have, over the years, collected 7 victories each so they are tied for the most successful drivers. Other drivers who have won the Canadian GP before and are in the race this weekend are Fernando Alonso, Daniel Ricciardo and Sebastian Vettel. Robert Kubica, Alfa Romeo ORLEN’s reserve driver also won in 2008.

F1/Round 8: Provisional Results and Highlights of 2022 Azerbaijan Grand Prix

After the frustration at Monaco, Charles Leclerc would have been eager to make sure that he took full advantage of his pole position on the Baku startline to get ahead. But as the lights turned green, Red Bull’s Sergio Perez was alert enough to shoot ahead when the Ferrari driver locked up at the first corner, and then began to pull away. As for Perez’ team mate, Max Verstappen, trying to also pass Leclerc was not the immediate objective as he has another Ferrari in his mirrors.

Further back, Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel, starting in ninth, managed to sneak past Scuderia AkphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda. The rest of the pack generally stayed in order of grid positions initially.

By lap 4, Perez was already 2 seconds ahead of Leclerc while Verstappen had closed in from behind. He could not afford to allow the Dutchman to get past because, when they hit the straight, the Red Bulls would use their superior speed to widen the gap. Sainz was already falling back to about 4 seconds from Verstappen and would soon have Mercedes-AMG’s George Russell coming up.

On lap 9, yellow flags appeared as Sainz departed from the track into the run-off area at Turn 4. He remained there and it was heard over the radio that there was a brake failure. The Virtual Safety Car was activated since the Ferrari was not obstructing and the marshalls got to work recovering the racing car.

With his team mate out, Leclerc quickly headed to the pits to get on hard tyres. Others who came in during the period were Russell, Pierre Gasly and Lewis Hamilton as well. Leclerc’s pit stop put him one place down behind Verstappen and about 14 seconds behind the race leader when he rejoined. The pit stops gave Alpine’s Fernando Alonso a chance to get up to fifth, while McLaren’s Lando Norris was in sixth with his team mate Daniel Ricciardo in seventh.

Hamilton’s pit stop also allowed Vettel to jump ahead and engage Alpine’s Esteban Ocon. However, on lap 13, the Aston Martin driver misjudged the corner at Turn 3 and had to go straight, losing his place to a few others. In his haste to rejoin, he nearly hit Tsunoda.

By lap 15, Verstappen was right up behind Perez and ready to overtake, which he did without drama as his team mate let him go by. Now Perez would have to watch for Leclerc who was still some 10 seconds behind. With that safe gap, Perez came in to get fresh and hard tyres. But the stop was a slow one and when he rejoined, Leclerc had gone past and he just managed to get in ahead of Russell.

Verstappen finally came in on lap 19 to change his tyres for the first time, also to hards. He had a 9-second gap when he came in but it was not enough to allow him to return and still be in the lead, which was taken by Leclerc. Meanwhile, further back, Hamilton’s patience paid off as he pushed past Ocon and got up to ninth.

And then disaster struck for Leclerc on lap 20 as smoke appeared from his car and he lost power. He managed to return to the pits – but his race was over. Another race to forget for Ferrari which had started the season looking good. So it was Red Bull in 1-2, with Russell 14 seconds behind the leader in third. But the race isn’t over till the chequered flag comes out and with the high temperatures, things could still happen to change the expected outcome.

Along with Leclerc, Alfa Romeo’s Zhou GuanYu also had to retire. On lap 24, he was asked to pit as there was ‘a technical issue’, preventing him from finishing another race.

As the 51-lap race crossed the halfway point, the three front cars were well ahead of the others. Behind Russell, the gap was around 20 seconds to Scuderia Alphatauri’s Pierre Gasly. Pursuing him were Hamilton and Ricciardo, with Tsunoda trying hard to stay with them.

While Leclerc was saying how ‘hurt’ he felt with the engine failure, Hamilton was really feeling hurt physically. He was heard to tell his team over the radio that his back was hurting badly due to the porpoising. This condition is occurring in the new 2022 cars as the ground effect aero causes them to ‘bounce’ at high speed. The alternating downforce and lack of it keeps pulling the car body up and down. While some constructors have found solutions, it seems that the Mercedes-AMG engineers still can’t overcome it and the drivers are getting suffering.

Another Ferrari-powered car also ended its race on lap 33. It was the Haas F1 of Kevin Magnussen who had been struggling to endure the porpoising and was about to get past Ocon. But then he dropped back and pulled to the side of the track. The Virtual Safety Car was again activated, giving the three front-runners an opportunity to get fresh tyres for the remainder of the race.

When racing resume on lap 36, Hamilton had gotten new tyres and was ready to push hard. He quickly got past Tsunoda who was on old tyres, nut would have to work hard to close the 10-second gap to Gasly. His team mate, Russell, was in a comfortable position in third and did not try too hard to go after Perez.

On lap 40, balck and orange flags were waved at Tsunoda as his car was spotted with a damaged rear wing. He was required to go back to the pits where the crew was waiting to fix the problem with tape. But the fix meant he would have no DRS although he did get new tyres.

Hamilton got past Gasly on lap 42 and was up to fourth, but still over 30 seconds behind Russell. It was a good position for a change but he still had to be alert for Gasly trying to take back the position from him. However, the Scuderia Alphatauri driver was also told not to try too hard as getting the points was important – no point engaging Hamilton and then making a mistake and have to retire.

With less than 10 laps remaining, both McLarens were in the top 10 and looking forward to taking home points from Baku. Ahead of them was Alpine’s Fernando Alonso, who was within reach but Alonso was not close enough to try to take on Vettel. Both McLarens were watching Alonso closely, waiting for just one mistake.

Verstappen must have been praying not to have any surprise like last year as he headed towards the finish. But for Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll, there would be no crossing the finish line as he was pulled out of the race on lap 48. Verstappen did have a moment of concern when he reported that he felt ‘something’ with his brakes but he took the chequered flag without incident and strengthened his lead, along with that of Red Bull Racing with Perez also picking up a big chunk of points.

F1/Round 8: Preview & Provisional Starting Grid of 2022 Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Race starts at 3 pm in Azerbaijan/7 pm in Malaysia

After the tight and twisty streets of Monaco in the previous round of the 2022 Formula 1 World Championship, the teams again face the challenge of any urban circuit. It’s the Baku City Circuit for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Round 8 of the championship, which has been a venue every year since 2016 except in 2020 when the event was cancelled due to the pandemic.

Like Monaco, Baku is also along a coast, in this case by the Caspian Sea. Its Old Town has twists and turns and the close barriers of a regular street circuit, which is one type of challenge for the drivers. Then there are also long and wide open boulevards which feed into a number of 90˚ corners, offering many overtaking opportunities.

*The cornering speeds and gears used by the drivers of the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS racing car at the Baku City Circuit.*

The length of the high-speed straight, however, pushes teams towards a low-downforce set-up, potentially making the streets of the Old Town section even more treacherous. Setting up a racing car for Baku is therefore a tricky task. Teams will look for a compromise in the setup, similar to Spa-Francorchamps, where reducing drag without losing too much downforce is a key consideration.

The tarmac on the Baku City Circuit is very smooth, and some sections of it are re-laid annually to completely cover the old town’s cobblestones. Furthermore, the tight confines of the buildings around the circuit mean that there are alternate areas of light and shade, varying the track temperature quite a bit around the lap.

Getting tyres up to temperature can be tough due to the very low average steer angle, which results in very little energy being put into the tyres. Teams have to rely more on the heat from braking to keep tyres warm since not as much energy is generated in the corners as at other circuits.

For this round, Pirelli has brought the three softest tyres in its range. This is the same selection as was made for the same event last year, but the compounds and constructions are completely new for 2022.

“Until Jeddah came along, Baku was the fastest street circuit of the year. But the demands of this city track are still relatively low, as none of the corners take a huge amount of energy out of the tyres due to the low levels of abrasion and contained lateral loads – which means that we can have the same nomination as Monaco,” said Mario Isola, Pirelli’s Motorsport Director.

Since the track is 6 kms long with 10 braking sections, the brakes are used for 20.5 seconds per lap: this may sound a lot but is only 20% of the entire race compared with 21% of the Monaco GP and 22% of the Singapore GP.

In the Drivers’ Championship, third place in Monaco means Red Bull’s Max Verstappen has a 9-point lead over Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc who finished fourth in the last round. Victory in Monaco has put Sergio Perez, Verstappen’s team mate, just 6 points behind Leclerc. In the Constructors’ Championship, Red Bull, with 235 points, now lead Ferrari by 36 points.

Since the first race (as the European GP) in 2016, Mercedes-AMG has won 3 times, making it the most successful team in Baku. Red Bull is next with two wins. No driver has managed a repeat win in Baku and last year’s winner, Sergio Perez, will certainly be aiming to go to the top of the podium again.

Championship gaps tighten as Jaguar TCS Racing’s Mitch Evans wins 1st Formula E Jakarta ePrix

The ABB FIA Formula E World Championship appeared this weekend for the first time in Indonesia, joining 16 races at 5 locations so far in Asia. In fact, the very first Formula E ePrix was held in Beijing while the 50th race was in Hong Kong. Other locations have been Putrajaya in Malaysia (twice) and Diriyah in Saudi Arabia. Seoul, Korea will join the list for the first time at the end of this season.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo and Governor of Jakarta Anies Baswedan joined over 60,000 spectators at the first-ever Jakarta ePrix, Round 9 of the 16-race calendar of Season 8. 11 teams and 22 drivers took part on the specially built Jakarta International e-Prix Circuit in Ancol Beach. It was uncharted territory for the participants with high humidity and searing heat. Also adding to the unknowns was the 2.37-km circuit’s unique banked sections, undulations, bumps and a mix of technical and high-speed sections.

*The 2.37-KM, 18 corner circuit layout was inspired by the horses of the Kuda Kepang traditional dance.*

After 8 rounds and 5 different race winners, Season 8 remains a thrilling battle. Going into Round 9 in Jakarta was championship leader Stoffel Vandoorne of Mercedes-EQ, ahead of ROKiT Venturi Racing’s Edoardo Mortara and DS TECHEETAH’s double champion Jean-Eric Vergne.

But it was Mitch Evans (Jaguar TCS Racing) who fended off the efforts of Vergne and Edoardo Mortara to take his third win of the season. The Kiwi made a late-race lunge that caught then-leader Vergne off-guard at Turn 7 on Lap 31 in an opportunistic move from way back.

From there, energy management became increasingly critical for the lead duo as they fought between themselves and against searing track temperatures. After an early Safety Car period, the race was extended and drivers posted 40 laps in total as a result.

That allowed Mortara to join the party as Evans and Vergne duelled. Evans had some 5 minutes plus added time to hold the pair off, with the race anybody’s heading into the final turn and his rear tyres fading fast. He held on to stay ahead of Vergne and Mortara home as all 3 drivers finished within a second of each other.

Antonio Felix da Costa (DS TECHEETAH) slipped from second at the start to be fourth across the finishing line. As for the championship leader, Vandoorne was able to make 3 crucial passes through the race to wind up fifth after starting from seventh. He has enough points to retain his championship lead though the gap is now reduced.

“That was hard. I was just happy to be in it at the end. We had a tough last race [in Berlin], and this track was similar with the climate being on another level! We put a lot of work into the set-up and the systems, but the team gave me what I need, gave me the goods,” said Evans. “It was really tight at the end with Vergne; I thought I was going to pull away but my tyres started going off as soon as I got past him. I was under a bit of heat but we got the job done. This is what we needed.”

With Vandoorne’s closest rivals all finishing on the podium, the Drivers’ standings are closer. Just 12 points now split the top four, with Vergne 5 points back from the Belgian, Mortara 2 points away from the Frenchman in third, and Evans another 5 points back in fourth.

Vandoorne’s team, Mercedes-EQ, still holds its position at the top of the Teams’ championship with 186 points. That’s 16 points ahead of DS TECHEETAH which, after the Jakarta ePrix, climbs above ROKiT Venturi Racing.

The teams leave Jakarta to head to Morocco for the Marrakesh e-Prix on July 2. It will be Round 10 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship and as in Indonesia, there will only be a single round run.

McLaren Racing to take over Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team for 2023 entry

F1/Round 7: Provisional Results and Highlights of 2022 Monaco Grand Prix

Just as the race was preparing to start, rain came down heavily, creating additional levels of stress. There was uncertainty about which tyres to start on, made worse by the fact that the street circuit is used by normal traffic at night, so it was a bit greasy too.

The formation lap was to start behind the Safety Car so everyone was required to be on full wet tyres. However, as the rain got heavier, there was a delay extending the start time to 16 minutes later than scheduled. After the cars moved off on the formation lap, the rain got even heavier and the red flags came out, so the race was suspended even before it started. There were remarks that the rainfall was unusually great… a climate-change message?

*Frustrated in the pits waiting for the rain to stop, Alfa Romeo ORLEN’s Valtteri Bottas sent this tweet out to the world.*

While safety considerations were understood, the teams were frustrated that they had to sit still waiting. As the rain suddenly ended 55 minutes after the race should have started, the race Director sent a message to the team to be ready to start in 10 minutes. The track was still wet, there were still dark clouds but it seemed that the race could get underway. A second message informed that the race would start at 4:05 pm – 65 minutes after the original scheduled time.

“For us, the preparation is before the start of the race and then the teams have the full allocation of tyres in blankets and can decide at the last minute what they want to do and the decision is up to the teams. The real problem here is the level of grip because we are on a street circuit. It is not the temperature because we tested the tyres in this temperature, but it is the level of grip that is really low. If the sun is coming out, the track is going to dry out very quickly, so it is another important choice for the teams’ strategists,” said Pirelli’s Motorsport Director, Mario Isola.

The 20 cars cautiously followed the Safety Car driven by birthday boy, Bernd Maylander, around the wet circuit. Two laps were completed as the race got underway with a rolling start. But even before the start took place. Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll had a rear puncture and Williams Racing’s Nicholas Latifi slid into the barrier.

Charles Leclerc had sprinted off and was holding the lead with his team mate Carlos Sainz protecting him from Red Bull’s Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen who were just seconds behind. Scuderia Alphatauri’s Pierre Gasly, in spite of a slide, set the fastest lap in the early stages. But just two laps later, on lap 9, Leclerc used the advantage of clear air to set a faster lap time.

By lap 12, the two Ferraris and two red Bulls were 8 seconds away from the rest, with McLaren’s Lando Norris and Mercedes-AMG’s George Russell duelling carefully for 5th place. Russell’s team mater, Lewis Hamilton was trying to move forward but it was hard to get past Alpine’s Fernando Alonso.

Hamilton came in on lap 16, switching to intermediate tyres. He managed to get back out in time to lose just one position to Alpine’s Esteban Ocon, slotting into ninth place. Meanwhile, Russell was asked to manage his tyres, possibly till slicks could go on. Right after Hamilton, Perez dropped out of third place and came in on the next lap for intermediates as well.

On lap 19, both Leclerc and Verstappen came in and took on intermediate tyres. However, Haas F1’s Mick Schumacher who also came in took on hard tyres, much to everyone’s surprise. The order then was Sainz in the lead, still on the first set of tyres, followed by Perez and then Leclerc.

As the 20th lap approached, Hamilton and Ocon were dicing and on one occasion, had contact. The Mercedes-AMG driver was uncertain if his car was damaged but did not report any unusual condition.

On lap 22, it was time to go to hard compounds and both the Ferraris quickly shot into the pits. Perez took over the lead as Sainz returned to the track behind him and Verstappen slotted into the space ahead of Leclerc.

Yellow flags appeared on lap 26 as Schumacher crashed and the Virtual Safety Car was activated initially and then the Safety Car went out. With Schumacher’s departure, both Haas cars were out of the Monaco GP as Kevin Magnussen had retired earlier. Sainz too had a heart-stopping moment as his car slid towards the barrier but there’s probably some rally DNA from his father and he managed to save the car from crashing.

As Schumacher’s car was being cleared, it was found that the barriers were quite severely damaged and more time was needed to make repairs. The decision was made to put out the red flag (which the Red Bull boss predicted) and stop the race, and the drivers headed back to the pits. The running order at that time on lap 29 was Perez, Sainz, Verstappen and Leclerc. Six seconds away from the Ferrari driver was Russell in fifth place.

The race was suspended for 19 minutes and resumed with a rolling start. The running order when the red flag had come out was Perez, Sainz, Verstappen and Leclerc. Six seconds away from the Ferrari driver was Russell in fifth place. The forecast was that there would be no more rain for the remaining 44 laps of the 77-lap race – but there was also the possibility that time might run out at the 2-hour limit.

The four frontrunners sped off but this time, Russell and Norris were also closer, just a few seconds further back and ready to take advantage of any slip the Ferrari or Red Bull ahead made. Behind Norris was a big 15-second gap to the next car.

Perez had the advantage of clear air but the race was not going to run for 77 laps and was likely to have only 29 laps remaining. Hamilton was again stuck behind Alonso and trying to take over 7th place. The Alpine driver seemed to be losing the pace although the team’s engineers said nothing was wrong. Still, it was difficult for Hamilton to get past on the narrow track.

Understanding that the race was shortened, Norris was beginning to plan for a more aggressive effort to take the fifth place from Russell before the race ended. The main consideration was whether the tyres could take the increased efforts and last for another 20+ laps – and Pirelli said that there was an outside chance of rain before the race ended.

And it was not only the Mercedes-AMG driver being frustrated by Alonso but others as well and the gap from the front got wider and wider. In fact, when Hamilton asked how far ahead the front-runners were, his team suggested that he not think of that and instead think of how far they were behind – which was about 30 seconds! By lap 51, Perez was already seeing the backmarkers not far ahead.

As Perez closed in on the lapped cars ahead, Sainz began to put the pressure on. Encountering traffic would make things tricky for the Mexican Red Bull driver who had to look ahead as well as watch behind. Verstappen and Leclerc were about 2 seconds away, also in a position to grab a better spot if the opportunity came up.

The pressure on Perez was very great as the Ferrari was right behind, almost under his wing. His tyres were not in great shape and at that point, no one was certain what the outcome of the race would be. The four leaders came up behind Alfa Romeo ORLEN’s Zhou GuanYu who got out of the way quickly to let them pass.

It was clear that with 5 minutes remaining, the front drivers were giving everything that had as there were moments when they looked like they would lose it. Sainz was pushing Perez and Verstappen was also pressuring from behind. Latifi was also in the way but moved aside and then there was some space to the next cars so the leaders began to push harder.

The clock stopped at lap 64 and Perez held on to his lead through 19 corners to cross the finish line and win the 2022 Monaco GP. Sainz was not letting up and neither was Verstappen so it was that order of finish, with a disappointed Leclerc coming up behind in fourth.

F1/Round 7: Preview & Provisional Starting Grid of 2022 Monaco Grand Prix

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

After the Spanish Grand Prix a week ago, Formula 1 is in Monte Carlo this weekend for the seventh round of the 2022 World Championship – the Monaco Grand Prix. This is among the oldest events and this year is the 68^th time the event has been held as a championship round. It was on the original calendar in 1950 and has only been cancelled once – in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic forced authorities to stop all public gatherings.

The Monaco GP is probably the most famous race of each season and for a while, its major attraction was being a street circuit. Because it uses public roads, the track is narrow with many tight turns. It is a challenging track with no run-offs, just concrete walls and barriers. Overtaking is nearly impossible, putting the emphasis on qualifying – but the drivers have always loved it.

*Somewhere in there is the Formula 1 racetrack that has been used since 1950.*

There is a high risk of incidents, and the Safety Car has often influenced the race outcome at this track in the past. However, as with the other tracks so far, the new generation of F1 racing cars this year will also present new challenges as their behaviour and performance will be different.

“Winning a race there in 2008, I felt like I was at the top of the highest mountain of the world,” said Mercedes-AMG’s Lewis Hamilton. “So many different things need to come together for that to happen and it is a track where you just can’t leave anything on the table.”

“Usually after that race, you are mentally destroyed for a good couple of days,” Hamilton said. Other tracks require a mix of physical and mental strength but, in Monaco, the focus is much more on the mental side, due to the levels of concentration needed to lap the circuit.

“Monaco is a circuit that’s probably the highest in concentration and mental focus,” he explained. “The street circuit nature, the fact it is quite short and there are not very long straights. It’s not a massively physical circuit because we are not doing really high speeds through corners and pulling the g-forces you would somewhere like Barcelona. But your mind is having to work so much faster.”

*The cornering speeds and gears used by the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS team drivers.*

Over just one lap in Monaco, there’s little time for drivers to rest, taking multi-tasking to the next level. Balancing the brake, throttle, steering, dealing with the forces and feeling what the car is doing through their body, and also paying attention to their surroundings – there’s a lot for drivers to deal with over a lap that is just 3.337 kms in length.

And then you have to consider the drivers making switch and steering wheel changes as they lap the track, too. With few straights, there aren’t many opportunities to take their hand off the wheel and make those adjustments. So teams have to really consider whether it’s worth the risk of drivers making switch changes, and also ensure they head out on track each time with the correct settings, to minimise the workload.

When it comes to the track layout, the circuit is dominated by slow and medium-speed corners, including some of the lowest corner speeds on the calendar. The slippery street asphalt (which is opened up to traffic each evening) and slow speeds mean that the energy going through the tyres is low, with minimal wear and degradation, but quite a high degree of track evolution each day.

All this means that a one-stopper is the norm in Monaco, but there’s quite a wide pit-stop window and the timing of the stops can be influenced by Safety Cars, which are very likely around the tight confines of the circuit.

The cars run a special high-downforce configuration for Monaco in order to maximise grip at low speeds, with combined grip generated both mechanically from tyres and aerodynamically from downforce. This is obviously the first time that the new generation of 18-inch Formula 1 cars has raced at Monaco though, so the teams will have a lot to learn about how they react in these unique conditions, with the weather on the Mediterranean coast sometimes hard to predict at this time of year.

“Monaco is often described as one of the most unpredictable races of the year,” said Pirelli’s Motorsport Director, Mario Isola. “We might see some different strategies this year, with some drivers picking harder compounds to begin the race to target running a long first stint, given the difficultly of overtaking. Others may choose a more traditional approach by starting on the softest compound, at a race where strategy can make a real difference.”

Piston.my

FIA

F1/Round 11: Preview & Sprint Race Results of 2022 Austrian Grand Prix

F1/Round 10: Provisional results and highlights of the 2022 British Formula 1 Grand Prix

F1/Round 10: Preview & Provisional Starting Grid of 2022 British Grand Prix

F1: Provisional results and highlights for 2022 Canadian Formula 1 Grand Prix

F1/Round 9: Preview & Provisional Starting Grid of 2022 Canadian Grand Prix

F1/Round 8: Provisional Results and Highlights of 2022 Azerbaijan Grand Prix

F1/Round 8: Preview & Provisional Starting Grid of 2022 Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Championship gaps tighten as Jaguar TCS Racing’s Mitch Evans wins 1st Formula E Jakarta ePrix

F1/Round 7: Provisional Results and Highlights of 2022 Monaco Grand Prix

F1/Round 7: Preview & Provisional Starting Grid of 2022 Monaco Grand Prix

F1/Round 11: Preview & Sprint Race Results of 2022 Austrian Grand Prix

F1/Round 10: Provisional results and highlights of the 2022 British Formula 1 Grand Prix

F1/Round 10: Preview & Provisional Starting Grid of 2022 British Grand Prix

F1: Provisional results and highlights for 2022 Canadian Formula 1 Grand Prix

F1/Round 9: Preview & Provisional Starting Grid of 2022 Canadian Grand Prix

F1/Round 8: Provisional Results and Highlights of 2022 Azerbaijan Grand Prix

F1/Round 8: Preview & Provisional Starting Grid of 2022 Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Championship gaps tighten as Jaguar TCS Racing’s Mitch Evans wins 1st Formula E Jakarta ePrix

F1/Round 7: Provisional Results and Highlights of 2022 Monaco Grand Prix

F1/Round 7: Preview & Provisional Starting Grid of 2022 Monaco Grand Prix

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