2017 FIA Formula 2 Round 2. Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain. Saturday 13 May 2017. Nicholas Latifi (CAN, DAMS) on the main straight in the reflection in the grandstand Photo: Jed Leicester/FIA Formula 2. ref: Digital Image JL2_0623
Barcelona ushered in the second round of the 2017 Formula 2 championship, and it brought with it a few changes to the series. A single change to the track, which affected all races taking place at the Circuit de Catalunya-Barcelona, was the extension of the DRS activation zone by one hundred metres, increasing the opportunities for overtaking on the main straight.
The second was the replacement of Stefano Coletti with Robert Merhi at the Campos Racing team. Ex-F1 driver Merhi tested for Campos before the season began, but the call to race came very late for the Spaniard, who drove wearing his old Manor Marussia racing overalls.
The race weekend also brought with it a first win this season for Honda junior driver Nobuharu Matsushita in the sprint race, and an increased championship lead for rookie Charles Leclerc who now leads the standings by twenty-six points.
In qualifying it was Prema who reigned triumphant once again, taking pole position for the second weekend running. But while Leclerc started the feature race at the front of the grid, his teammate and fellow Ferrari junior driver, Antonio Fuoco, sat in eighth position, his time half a second slower.
Qualifying did not pan out so well for the other race winner from Bahrain, Artem Markelov, who found himself all the way back in thirteenth. As far as one lap performances went for the other rookies, Rapax’s Nyck de Vries put in another good performance for third, and GP3 race winner Alexander Albon managed to slot himself into fifth, ahead of his more experienced teammate Matsushita.
2017 FIA Formula 2 Round 2. Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain. Saturday 13 May 2017. Antonio Fuoco (ITA, PREMA Racing) Photo: Zak Mauger/FIA Formula 2. ref: Digital Image _56I8934
Before Saturday’s feature race had even begun the field was divided in terms of strategy, with most opting to start on the soft tyres and switching onto the hard after the first round of pit stops, while others went for the alternate strategy, earning them a longer first stint on the harder compound.
It was a decent start for the pole sitter Leclerc, but second-placed Luca Ghiotto pulled away more cleanly, prompting aggressive defending from Leclerc who managed to hold his lead by the end of the first lap. De Vries’ trend of being unable to convert his promising performances in qualifying to the race continued when he struggled at the start, sending himself backwards before he had even reached the first corner.
It was a disappointing first lap for Louis Deletraz too, who seemed to have brought his bad luck with him from Bahrain—he got hit by Cecotto and spun, sending him down the order. A clumsy first lap meant Fuoco’s weekend went from bad to worse, as damage sent him into the pits and he emerged at the back of the field.
Albon, who had promoted himself to third at the start, managed to overtake Ghiotto on lap 4, whose tyres were already starting to fade, triggering a fierce battle for the lead between himself and Leclerc.
2017 FIA Formula 2 Round 2. Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain. Sunday 14 May 2017. Alexander Albon (THA, ART Grand Prix) leading Charles Leclerc (MCO, PREMA Racing) Photo: Jed Leicester/FIA Formula 2. ref: Digital Image JL2_1496
Those who started on the softer tyres were soon into the pits, whilst those who begun the race on the hard tyres carried on, the comparative lack of degradation enabling them to push for longer. But any advantage this alternate strategy might have won these drivers was wiped out on lap 10 when Sergio Canamassas came to a stop in the middle of track, bringing out the safety care. The field was bunched together rapidly, closing the gap between the early stoppers and those who had yet to pit.
At the restart on lap 13 Albon got away well, but by this point Leclerc was making his way back through the field with Ghiotto following closely. Deletraz redeemed himself from his earlier bad luck with a stunning move round the outside of Norman Nato. Once DAMS driver Oliver Rowland finally managed to take the lead from Albon, he was churning out very competitive lap times, despite still using the same set of tyres that he started on. Unfortunately, the safety car effectively ended any chance he had of a race win. But a strong resurgence after a late stop meant he managed to finish the race on the third step of the podium. Albon also recovered well to finish in fifth place, but it must have been hard not to dwell on what might have been, had strategy gone his way.
There was no stopping Leclerc and Ghiotto from claiming first and second place respectively. But they certainly had the strategic advantage. Markelov once again showed his development as a mature driver, and a measured overtake on Jordan King won him eighth place and reverse grid pole for the sprint race.
2017 FIA Formula 2 Round 2. Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain. Saturday 13 May 2017. Charles Leclerc (MCO, PREMA Racing) Photo: Zak Mauger/FIA Formula 2. ref: Digital Image _56I9134
The sprint race on Sunday morning was a dramatic affair. Markelov would have been hoping for a better result than he got on Saturday, and one that would help build his championship challenge after his win in Bahrain.
Unfortunately, it was not to be. The Russian got away very poorly, failing to capitalise on his starting advantage. Nicholas Latifi, on the other hand, got a fantastic start, immediately putting himself into the lead, and in a position to get his first win at this level after three previous seasons in GP2.
The safety car made a reappearance on lap 1 as Fuoco made an early exit from the race, bringing his miserable weekend to a close. He collided with Nyck de Vries at turn seven who also retired as a result of the shunt.
Latifi managed to command the race for the ensuing laps, and looked certain to cruise to victory. However, tragedy struck for the Canadian on lap 22, as he plunged his car incredibly deep into turn five, the gravel trap slowing him right down and allowing both Matsushita and Rowland to get past him, gifting the lead to the former.
In the closing stages of the race Leclerc finally managed to dispatch Albon and eventually worked his way up to fourth place, whilst the ART driver eventually finished down in seventh place as his tyres began to degrade badly. Despite starting the race on pole, Markelov could only do as well as ninth place, never managing to recover after his poor start. The win would have surely been Latifi’s had he not thrown it away before he could seal the deal. The only consolation is that DAMS managed to get both of their drivers on the podium, earning themselves some valuable points.
Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain. Sunday 14 May 2017 Nicholas Latifi (CAN, DAMS) Photo: /FIA Formula 2 ref: Digital Image JL2_1630
The stand out performer of the weekend was Oliver Rowland, who scored himself two podiums to promote himself to second in the championship standings. The Yorkshireman was positively dominant in the feature race, even with the misfortune of the safety car, and while he did benefit from the mistake of his teammate in the sprint race, he had the speed to bag himself that second podium regardless.
Another strong showing from Charles Leclerc extended his lead at the top of the driver standings, proving the speed and talent he showed in Bahrain was no beginner’s luck. Any doubts that he would not be a contender owing to his rookie status have been well and truly dismissed. His GP3 teammate Alexander Albon continued to perform well, and the two of them are demonstrating that experience is an optional component of a successful run in Formula 2.
2017 FIA Formula 2 Round 2. Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain. Sunday 14 May 2017. Oliver Rowland (GBR, DAMS) Photo: Zak Mauger/FIA Formula 2. ref: Digital Image _54I9611
Leclerc’s teammate Antonio Fuoco, by contrast, seems to still be struggling to get up to speed, and is hardly taking advantage of having one of the strongest cars on the grid. Time will tell if it is a lack of confidence and experience that is plaguing the young Italian, and whether he can challenge his teammate by the end of the season.
Barcelona was nightmarish for Frenchman Norman Nato as well, who was looking like a championship contender after the feature race in Bahrain. However, he leaves Spain empty handed, and sitting ninth in the championship standings.
Artem Markelov was overtaken by both Rowland and Ghiotto in the standings, but did manage to score some points. His performance was nowhere near as strong as in round one, but the races interrupted by safety cars prevented him from driving on his own terms. He can take positives from the fact that he has continued to look far more consistent and measured than in previous seasons. It would be too soon to discount both him and Nato from the championship fight already.
We head to Monaco for the third round of the F2 championship in just under two weeks’ time. It is a track that can always throw us a few surprises, so don’t count anyone out yet. Though we can expect Charles Leclerc to be a force to be reckoned with, as a man on a mission to win his home race.
Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain. Friday 12 May 2017. World Copyright: Andy Hone/LAT Images ref: Digital Image _ONZ4056
It’s time for the Spanish Grand Prix, 2nd race in a row, it’s one of our drivers home GP, this time its Sainz’s turn to be the hero and have thousands of fans cheering him on all weekend.
Thursday- Carlos had to attend the drivers press conference where he got asked many questions and got huge praise from Alonso saying “Sainz is a very talented driver one of the best and his preparation from the Red Bull junior driver program really helps young driver be ready for F1. While Kvyat was stuck answering the media questions outside in the paddock while it was raining. After that it was time for the home hero to meet his fans and sign many autographs, he also managed to get time to go the game zone and try to set the fastest lap on the F1 2016 game time trial of the circuit. And to finish the day off a group of drivers, including our two, got to meet some kids aged 7-12 karting stars hoping to be in F1 one day.
Friday- day of practice, day of collecting data. A day to show off our new enlarged numbers and drivers names on the car. FP1 started slowly for us completing 39 laps between our drivers with Sainz setting a 1.24.0 and Kvyat a +0.600 slower, then it was time for a quick spot of lunch and restroom brake maybe even a quick afternoon nap for Carlos as we are in Spain. FP2 was a bigger improvement for us doing 61 laps with our two guys in the much warming afternoon temperatures where we can collect more accurate data for race conditions.
Quotes from the drivers about Friday. Sainz- “It’s been a tricky first day here in Barcelona. I think the track conditions surprised us a bit as it was much slower compared to winter testing, but overall we end the day on a high making some improvements”.
Kvyat- ” The car has quite a few handling issues at the moment we need to be patient and try and do things overnight so the car will suit me more because it wasn’t the correct window for my driving style”.
Saturday- starts with FP3 a quick 1 hour session our last chance to make changes to the cars. We have done 33 laps in the session, now it’s time to get ready for qualifying. Q1 was a disaster for Kvyat has he struggled with the car and qualified P20. He said the car was undriveable its needs taking apart and rebuilding. Sainz managed to put his car on P12 for Sunday’s race. He said that the car still lacks engine power, but is great in the other areas.
Sunday- Raceday with Sainz lining up in P12 and Kvyat in P20 the lights went out it was go go go Sainz made a great start making up a few positions getting into P9. Kvyat was up to P14 with the cars that made contact on the first corner out of the way. Kvyat pitted on lap 1 fitting the medium tyres to the car. While Sainz made his first pit stop on lap 13 fitting another set of softs on. Both cars pitted once more on laps 33 and 34 fitting the opposite tyre on than before. Both strategies worked great allowing our cars with a bit of luck with the big teams all losing 1 car each, Meaning we could finish in P7 and P9 a double points finish great work from the boys.
Both our drivers were really happy with the performance of the car today and happy to score points, as both started outside the top 10 at the beginning of the day.
Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain. Sunday 14 May 2017. World Copyright: Andy Hone/LAT Images ref: Digital Image _ONZ6737
The fifth race of the season belongs to Formula One’s history book, Lewis Hamilton started the race from the pole and after a thrilling race, he secured his second victory of the 2017 season and closed the difference to Vettel, in the championship standings, to six points.
Lights out
Lights out, and one of the most exciting starts took place in Barcelona. Sebastian Vettel qualified behind Hamilton, but he had a quicker start and passed the British on the first lap. Valtteri Bottas tagged Raikkonen’s car, into the first corner, and Kimi’s Ferrari collided with Verstappen’s Red Bull.
Kimi Raikkonen forced to retire after a broken suspension, while Max Verstappen retired after a few more meters.
The other Ferrari, which was still on track, was increasing the lead from Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton. Sebastian Vettel had a comfortable lead, and his team called him into the pits on lap 14 for a fresher set of soft compounds. At that point Mercedes, decided to keep Hamilton and Bottas on track for a few more laps.
Mercedes’ strategy paid off, Hamilton pitted a few laps later, switched on mediums, while Bottas defended his leading position from Sebastian Vettel who was running on softs. The silver arrows, knew that Hamilton will have an advantage at the end, because Vettel had to go on mediums and Hamilton would be able to switch on softs and go faster than the German.
Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain. Sunday 14 May 2017. World Copyright: Charles Coates/LAT Images ref: Digital Image DJ5R0535
After a thrilling battle between Bottas and Vettel, the German managed to retain the lead and started to increase his gap by his competitors.
An incident between Stoffel Vandoorne and Massa forced the first driver in the gravel, which caused the deployment of the Virtual Safety Car.
Hamilton pitted, in order to switch on softs, whilst Vettel remained on the track and Ferrari called him one later, but Hamilton had an advantage at that point as green flags were waving and the race was on again.
Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain. Sunday 14 May 2017. World Copyright: Andy Hone/LAT Images ref: Digital Image _ONZ6499
When Vettel rejoined the track, Hamilton was already close and tried to take the outside, but Sebastian closed the way, they touched and Hamilton forced to run-off. The British remained very close to Ferrari and five laps later made a move, used the DRS, and passed the German.
Hamilton retained the lead of the race and secured his second victory of the season.
Daniel Ricciardo was the third driver on the podium, an easy afternoon for the Australian, he took advantage of Raikkonen’s, Bottas’ and Verstappen’s retirement and finished on the podium once again.
A very good day for Sahara Force India, both Perez and Ocon finished in the points, fourth and fifth respectively. Force India, have a good season so far, they are fourth in the constructors’ championship ahead of Toro Rosso and Williams.
Amazing race for Pascal Wehrlein, who, despite the five second time penalty, for failing to remain to the correct side of the pit entry bollard, he managed to finish eighth and scored four critical points for Sauber.
Positive evening for Toro Rosso as Carlos Sainz and Daniel Kvyat finished seventh and ninth respectively. Romain Grosjean, with Haas, was the final driver who finished in the top-10.
Sebastian Vettel remains first in the drivers’ championship with 104 points, followed by Lewis Hamilton who is just six points behind.
The next race will take place in Monaco in two weeks, it will be Red Bull’s chance to take the pole position and try to win their first race of the season.
Best moment of the day, Kimi’s reaction to invite a young fan, who was crying when the Finn retired, in Ferrari’s garage and give him the chance to meet him personally.
Sweden’s Mattias Ekstrom has extended his lead in the 2017 FIA World Rallycross Championship presented by Monster Energy after taking a lights-to-flag victory at the Cooper Tires World RX of Hockenheim. It is the EKS driver’s third win in a row – and made even more impressive as Ekstrom also raced in DTM during the same weekend. Twenty minutes after stepping off the World RX podium, Ekstrom was back in his DTM car to take part in race two qualifying.
Hockenheim RX runner-up Johan Kristoffersson had another strong weekend after winning his semi-final which allowed the PSRX Volkswagen Sweden driver to line up alongside Ekstrom on the front row of today’s final. Ekstrom was quickest to turn one and Kristoffersson remained second for the duration of the race. Team Peugeot-Hansen driver Timmy Hansen finished third in his Peugeot 208 WRX Supercar – two spots ahead of his team-mate Sebastien Loeb who won two qualifying races and was placed top qualifier at the end of Q4.
PSRX Volkswagen Sweden’s Petter Solberg finished fourth, slowed by a bad getaway in the final. EKS driver Topi Heikkinen finished sixth and also won the Monster Energy Super Charge Award – a prize given to the driver who had the quickest reaction off the lights during the final. EKS has won all three Monster Energy Super Charge Awards so far this season with Ekstrom winning the first two in Barcelona and Portugal.
“I am super happy for Audi and for the whole team – thanks to the guys for the all their hard work which has really paid off,” said Hockenheim RX winner, Ekstrom before jumping into his DTM car for his next race.
Ekstrom’s team-mate Heikkinen added: “Friday was really hard for us so overnight we made some changes to the car that were hugely important. As a team, we are working really hard and getting very little sleep over race weekends which is obviously paying off as Mattias has now won three events in a row. He is always wanting to make changes to the car until everything is perfect. EKS has won Belgium for the last three years in a row [Heikkinen 2014 and 2015, Ekstrom in 2016] so it is a obviously a good event for us – hopefully we can take some more silverware home for the team.”
Runner-up Kristoffersson commended Ekstrom’s efforts in today’s event. He explained: “Mattias had a very good start in the final, and I tried to follow and put the pressure on him but he did not make a single mistake for six whole laps – he was driving so well. For that, he deserves this win and I wish him all the best in the DTM race this afternoon too.
Reflecting on his own performance, Kristoffersson added: “Overall it was a good weekend for us – we struggled with the balance in the car during Q1 and Q2 but the launches were very good so that left me in a good position. Everything felt better for Q3 and in Q4, it was almost perfect and I was able to push the guys out front. I had a good battle with Sebastien [Loeb] in the semi-final and it was good to show we had really picked up the pace. Both myself and Petter have been in the final for the last three events and we continue to leads the teams’ standings which we are really happy with.”
Sweden’s Timmy Hansen was pleased to have secured his first podium of the year and complimented the performance of the car. “The car was so good today,” explained the 24-year-old. “Obviously I didn’t want any rain before today’s races but it was about trying to adapt to the situation as best as I could and the start line was very slippery. I was leading for most of my semi-final but I pushed a bit too hard and I went off at the Sachs Curve which was when Mattias got in front. The final was a big challenge, Mattias and Johan were tough competitors but I’m pleased to get my first top three of the year which is an important result for the team.”
Elsewhere, MJP Racing Team Austria’s Timo Schieder was seventh. Kevin Hansen – younger brother of Timmy – was eighth, the 18-year-old having suffered a setback earlier in the day when he damaged the rear of his car after an impact during the sighting laps. Kevin Hansen, Kevin Eriksson and Reinis Nitiss were then caught in a collision in turn two of their semi-final. Hoonigan Racing Division’s Ken Block spun in his semi-final.
After the first three rounds of the 2017 season, Ekstrom leads the overall standings with a total of 85 points – 16 points ahead of Kristoffersson in second. Solberg remains third with 62 points, while Loeb has moved up to fourth with 48 points – one point ahead of his team-mate Hansen. In the teams’ standings, PSRX Volkswagen Sweden lead the way with 131 points – 17 points ahead of EKS.
World RX Managing Director for IMG, Paul Bellamy, concluded: “We’ve had 79,500 fans attend the Hockenheim RX/DTM double header and once again the rallycross Supercars have put on a fantastic display. Congratulations to Mattias, Audi and EKS for another flawless performance this weekend. The fact that Mattias is able to swap from a rallycross Supercar to a DTM car in a matter of minutes and deliver so well in both championships is testament to his sheer talent behind the wheel. Well done to Johan and Timmy also – both drivers thoroughly deserve a spot on the podium. Now the teams have very little rest as it’s straight to Mettet in Belgium for round four of the season.”
PENALTIES
Kornel Lukacs “CsuCsu” #10, Q1, Reprimand for “causing a collision”
Kornel Lukacs “CsuCsu” #10, Q2, 30 second penalty for “pushing”
Andreas Bakkerud #13, Q2, Reprimand and 20 second penalty for “pushing”
For weeks, we have been promised huge upgrades from nearly every team. Red Bull were rumoured to be bringing a whole new car, whilst Ferrari had hinted at the improvements they were making on their engine. Well, now we have arrived in Barcelona and it is time to see what they have managed to bring.
With most teams using special engine modes for qualifying, the lowest levels of fuel and a brand-new set of tyres, there is no time in a weekend when a car should be faster. That means that Barcelona qualifying is a great barometer to allow us to judge the scale of each team’s improvements.
We’ve chosen two ways to assess the teams, comparing the cars against pole and then against their testing times.
Pole Comparision
Our first comparison is the difference in times to pole position. Taking the best placed car for each team and comparing it to the pole position time, allows us to see the relative improvement each team has made to each other.
With Mercedes sitting in pole for both Australia and Barcelona we can’t deem anything interesting using this method.
Ferrari have managed to pull two-tenths of a second back on the Mercedes and this was highlighted with Vettel’s pole in Russia. They are now genuine contenders during the qualifying sessions and if Vettel hadn’t made a mistake in the last sector in Barcelona, they might even have been in front of the Silver Arrows.
Interestingly, Red Bull’s ‘whole new car’ upgrade appears to have been worth the hours in the factory. Closing by nearly three-quarters of a second is a huge step, but when we can all see that the Factory Renault team have improved by only a tenth less, is this improvement coming from an engine upgrade?
Unsurprisingly enough, those with the most to work on, have been able to gain the most time. McLaren and Sauber were three and four back, respectively, in Australia, so had scope to make massive gains. Both teams have closed the gap to front of the grid by over a second and Sauber have closed up by over a second and a half.
The only team which hasn’t been able to keep up in the performance race are Haas. Compared to the other teams, they have taken a step backwards. Losing nearly three-tenths of a second to the pole time although they still seemed to be able to grab 11th and 14th this weekend.
Testing Comparison
Luckily for everyone involved in F1, we have pre-season testing in Barcelona. It means that no team is very far from their base and it makes it easy and quick to get parts back and forth from the factory. Luckily for us, the fifth race allows us to directly compare lap times with the pre-season testing.
What really came to light was that the teams have managed to lose lap time since the March tests. Somehow every team, with the exception of McLaren, posted slower qualifying times on Saturday compared to their fastest times during the testing sessions.
The difference in track conditions, the amount of rubber laid down after eight days of testing compared to a race weekend, the higher temperatures in May compared to March; there are many reasons and many excuses which could all be genuine.
But despite these, the differences in times is staggering.
To work out the comparative difference, where McLaren are the benchmark as the only team to be quicker. We can take McLaren and then work out the comparative difference from the McLaren improvement.
McLaren seem to have made over a second on Force India, Toro Rosso, Renault and Haas. They’ve even claimed two seconds on Williams and a large chunk of a second on Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull.
The best news for all racing fans is that it is getting competitive at the front and with Red Bull making gains on the front two, then McLaren closing in on Force India and Williams, we are looking at a really competitive season.
Lewis Hamilton secured his 64th career pole position ahead of Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix with a blistering time of 1.19.194 – nearly three seconds quicker than the time to beat last year, again set by the number 44 car.
The Mercedes man edged out nearest rival Sebastian Vettel, who will start alongside the Brit after crossing the line .051 seconds behind his title challenger and managing to split what looked set to be the Silver Arrows’ fourth consecutive lockout at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
It was a particularly impressive result for the German who, if it were not for his experience, would have been starting alongside Daniil Kvyat at the back of the grid after receiving team instructions to turn the engine off at the start of Q1.
This came as a result of Ferrari mechanics having to complete a full engine change before the beginning of qualifying in under two hours, and seemingly being unable to cure a water leakage which occurred at the end of FP3.
However, Vettel questioned the radio communications and managed to alter in-car settings to remain on track and boost his chances of maintaining the Driver’s Championship lead come the end of tomorrow’s race.
It was not the start Mercedes wanted in terms of reliability on Saturday morning either, with Valtteri Bottas also suffering from a similar engine issue overnight meaning the Finn had very little time out on track during FP3; a session in which Ferrari dominated with Kimi Raikkonen setting the fastest lap; .242 ahead of his teammate and .381 in front of Hamilton.
But the two countrymen will line-up together on the second row of the grid after both lost time in sector three whilst seemingly on course to pip pole position– with the chicane catching several drivers out throughout the weekend including Hamilton, Vettel, Max Verstappen and particularly Romain Grosjean – who starts 14th after abandoning his final lap in Q2 following a second lock-up of the afternoon.
The top six is completed by the two Red Bulls with, as has been the case all weekend so far, Verstappen coming out on top of their battle for supremacy, with Daniel Ricciardo seemingly struggling to match the pace of his Dutch teammate.
It was here 12 months ago the exciting youngster truly arrived on the F1 scene after a collision between Hamilton and Nico Rosberg allowed the former Toro Rosso man to take a maiden victory for the senior team. Something when asked if it could be repeated this year Verstappen joked would have to be involving the top four for him to stand any chance of taking away full points again.
Elsewhere, Fernando Alonso was somehow able to drag the McLaren up to seventh on the starting grid after more technical issues on Friday which forced the Spaniard to take some time way from the track to de-stress achieved by a game of tennis, seemed to be yet another episode in the long-line of disasters this season.
But the veteran was able to overcome no time on the track in FP1 and the colossal achievement sparked celebrations similar to those of the days the 35-year-old became a double world champion with Renault, leaving a sad comparison to see how much the great has fallen.
It was not all smiles in the McLaren garage however as Stoffel Vandoorne was unable to match the heroics of his teammate and lines up alongside Kvyat at the back of the grid – who claimed there was something broken on the car following the session.
There were similar looks of disappointment etched across the faces of Lance Stroll and Joylon Palmer, who both had Q1’s to forget and will begin Sunday’s race on the second row from the back.
It will be especially disappointing for the Renault driver after the Brit set a solid pace in Friday’s FP1 and FP2 and arrived in high spirits ahead of Saturday’s sessions only to comment after stating he was unhappy in the car and that it seemed to have lost its speed overnight.
Teammate Nico Hulkenberg was also unable to continue his good qualifying run which had seen him secure a place in Q3 for the last three consecutive races. The German’s 1.21.397 leaves him 12th on the tomorrow’s grid, again a disappointment following the weekend’s previous sessions.
A Look Ahead
The Silver Arrows and Hamilton will be hoping they can repeat the standings of FP1, FP2 and all of qualifying in which the three-time world champion secured top spot.
However, Vettel and Raikkonen will take spirit from their FP3 dominance and believe they have what it takes to force Mercedes all the way.
One thing that was certainly noticeable throughout both Friday and Saturday are the upgrades that have been placed on and in both the Mercedes and Ferrari’s ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix seem to have improved all four cars, however have not dampened the ferocity of the teams’ rivalry and it is sure to be another tense encounter in Barcelona.
2016/2017 FIA Formula E Championship. Monte-Carlo, Monaco Saturday 13 May 2017. Sebastien Buemi (SUI), Renault e.Dams, Spark-Renault, Renault Z.E 16. Photo: Alastair Staley/LAT/Formula E ref: Digital Image 585A1174
Sébastien Buemi has extended his championship lead by taking a commanding victory from pole in the 2017 Monaco ePrix.
The Swiss driver came into the event with much to prove, following a difficult last round in Mexico City, and immediately reestablished himself by topping both practice sessions before becoming the season’s fifth different polesitter in as many races.
From there, he rarely had cause to look back—a good start off the line saw off any challenge into Sainte Devote from front row rival Lucas di Grassi, and over the course of the opening stint he set about building up a five-second gap back to the rest of the pack.
Behind Buemi, Mexico City winner di Grassi settled into a rhythm in second place, whilst third became a hotly-contested duel between Nelson Piquet and Jean-Éric Vergne. Maro Engel, who qualified an impressive fifth in Venturi’s home ePrix, lost out to Nick Heidfeld at the start, as did Heidfeld’s teammate Felix Rosenqvist. Further back, Stéphane Sarrazin stalled on the grid and fell to the back of the field.
2016/2017 FIA Formula E Championship. Monte-Carlo, Monaco Saturday 13 May 2017. Maro Engel (GER), Venturi, Spark-Venturi, Venturi VM200-FE-02. Photo: Alastair Staley/LAT/Formula E ref: Digital Image _X0W0950
Piquet and Vergne continued to fight for position right from the off, but as the race approached its halfway mark their battle was brought to an abrupt halt.
Vergne had been making several attempts to pass Piquet around the outside of the Nouvelle Hairpin and appeared to finally make the move stick on lap 21, only to make contact with the NextEV on the exit of the corner and be forced into the barriers.
Piquet was able to continue on back to the pits, albeit after losing third place to Heidfeld, but Vergne’s race was over—to make matters worse, the Frenchman also picked up an injury to his right hand, which could hurt his chances in next weekend’s Paris ePrix.
2016/2017 FIA Formula E Championship. Monte-Carlo, Monaco Saturday 13 May 2017. Jean-Eric Vergne (FRA), Techeetah, Spark-Renault, Renault Z.E 16, walks back the pits. Photo: Malcolm Griffiths/LAT/Formula E ref: Digital Image MALC2047
Their accident triggered a safety car, which in turn caused a flurry of action in the pits as the entire field stopped within the first few neutralised laps.
On lap 26 the race resumed, and Buemi launched into a second’s advantage over di Grassi almost straight away. But this time, the Renault driver was unable to leave his main rival completely in his mirrors, and in the closing laps di Grassi managed to slash the gap down to mere tenths.
Formula E
However, despite forcing Buemi to defend through the Swimming Pool complex on the final lap, di Grassi was unable to find a way through and prevent Buemi taking his fourth victory in five races.
Nick Heidfeld finished some thirteen seconds behind in the third place he inherited from Nelson Piquet, taking his second podium of the season, whilst Piquet himself recovered from his contact with Vergne to take fourth.
Maro Engel fought off a resolute challenge from Felix Rosenqvist to cross the line in fifth, his best result in Formula E so far. Daniel Abt battled his way into the top ten after a disappointing qualifying to finish seventh, and Esteban Gutiérrez continued his profitable start in Formula E by taking four points in eighth, somewhat consoling Techeetah for Vergne’s retirement.
António Félix da Costa originally returned Andretti to the points for the first time since Hong Kong by finishing ninth, but was penalised for an unsafe release and dropped back to eleventh in the final classification. This promoted Nico Prost to ninth, and gifted the final point to Jaguar’s Mitch Evans.
Dragon and DS Virgin both endured torrid afternoons with both of their respective duos joining Vergne in retirement, although Sam Bird did manage to bring home a single point for his team by setting the fastest lap.
Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain. Saturday 13 May 2017. World Copyright: Glenn Dunbar/LAT Images ref: Digital Image _31I4862
Lewis Hamilton secured his 64th career pole position ahead of Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix with a blistering time of 1.19.194 – nearly three seconds quicker than the time to beat last year, again set by the number 44 car.
The Mercedes man edged out nearest rival Sebastian Vettel, who will start alongside the Brit after crossing the line .051 seconds behind his title challenger and managing to split what looked set to be the Silver Arrows’ fourth consecutive lockout at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
It was a particularly impressive result for the German who, if it were not for his experience, would have been starting alongside Daniil Kvyat at the back of the grid after receiving team instructions to turn the engine off at the start of Q1.
This came as a result of Ferrari mechanics having to complete a full engine change before the beginning of qualifying in under two hours, and seemingly being unable to cure a water leakage which occurred at the end of FP3.
However, Vettel questioned the radio communications and managed to alter in-car settings to remain on track and boost his chances of maintaining the Driver’s Championship lead come the end of tomorrow’s race.
It was not the start Mercedes wanted in terms of reliability on Saturday morning either, with Valtteri Bottas also suffering from a similar engine issue overnight meaning the Finn had very little time out on track during FP3; a session in which Ferrari dominated with Kimi Raikkonen setting the fastest lap; .242 ahead of his teammate and .381 in front of Hamilton.
But the two countrymen will line-up together on the second row of the grid after both lost time in sector three whilst seemingly on course to pip pole position– with the chicane catching several drivers out throughout the weekend including Hamilton, Vettel, Max Verstappen and particularly Romain Grosjean – who starts 14th after abandoning his final lap in Q2 following a second lock-up of the afternoon.
The top six is completed by the two Red Bulls with, as has been the case all weekend so far, Verstappen coming out on top of their battle for supremacy, with Daniel Ricciardo seemingly struggling to match the pace of his Dutch teammate.
It was here 12 months ago the exciting youngster truly arrived on the F1 scene after a collision between Hamilton and Nico Rosberg allowed the former Toro Rosso man to take a maiden victory for the senior team. Something when asked if it could be repeated this year Verstappen joked would have to be involving the top four for him to stand any chance of taking away full points again.
Elsewhere, Fernando Alonso was somehow able to drag the McLaren up to seventh on the starting grid after more technical issues on Friday which forced the Spaniard to take some time way from the track to de-stress achieved by a game of tennis, seemed to be yet another episode in the long-line of disasters this season.
But the veteran was able to overcome no time on the track in FP1 and the colossal achievement sparked celebrations similar to those of the days the 35-year-old became a double world champion with Renault, leaving a sad comparison to see how much the great has fallen.
It was not all smiles in the McLaren garage however as Stoffel Vandoorne was unable to match the heroics of his teammate and lines up alongside Kvyat at the back of the grid – who claimed there was something broken on the car following the session.
There were similar looks of disappointment etched across the faces of Lance Stroll and Joylon Palmer, who both had Q1’s to forget and will begin Sunday’s race on the second row from the back.
It will be especially disappointing for the Renault driver after the Brit set a solid pace in Friday’s FP1 and FP2 and arrived in high spirits ahead of Saturday’s sessions only to comment after stating he was unhappy in the car and that it seemed to have lost its speed overnight.
Teammate Nico Hulkenberg was also unable to continue his good qualifying run which had seen him secure a place in Q3 for the last three consecutive races. The German’s 1.21.397 leaves him 12th on the tomorrow’s grid, again a disappointment following the weekend’s previous sessions.
A Look Ahead
The Silver Arrows and Hamilton will be hoping they can repeat the standings of FP1, FP2 and all of qualifying in which the three-time world champion secured top spot.
However, Vettel and Raikkonen will take spirit from their FP3 dominance and believe they have what it takes to force Mercedes all the way.
One thing that was certainly noticeable throughout both Friday and Saturday are the upgrades that have been placed on and in both the Mercedes and Ferrari’s ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix seem to have improved all four cars, however have not dampened the ferocity of the teams’ rivalry and it is sure to be another tense encounter in Barcelona.
When I wrote that this is the modern-day Acropolis Rally, I meant it. It’s tough on the cars and drivers. We saw all sorts of problems, and through it all, the margin between first and second place came down to just seven tenths of a second.
A reminder then of the 18 stages that made this year’s Rally Argentina such a thriller!
FRIDAY 28 APRIL
7.00am: Service A (Villa Carlos Paz – 15 min)
8.38am: SS2 – San Agustin – Villa General Belgrano 1 (19.95km)
9.41am: SS3 – Amboy / Santa Monica 1 (20.44km)
10.24am: SS4 – Santa Rosa / San Agustin 1 (23.85km)
12.29pm: SS5 – Super Especial Fernet Branca 1 (6.04km)
1.09pm: Service B (Villa Carlos Paz – 30 min)
3.02pm: SS6 – San Agustin – Villa General Belgrano 2 (19.95km)
4.05pm: SS7 – Amboy / Santa Monica 2 (20.44km)
4.48pm: SS8 – Santa Rosa / San Agustin 2 (23.85km)
7.08pm: SS9 – Super Especial Fernet Branca 2 (6.04km)
7.43pm: Flexi Service C (Villa Carlos Paz – 45 min)
SATURDAY 29 APRIL
7.20am: Service D (Villa Carlos Paz – 15 min)
8.08am: SS10 – Tanti – Villa Bustos 1 (20.80km)
9.21am: SS11 – Los Gigantes – Cantera El Condor 1 (38.68km)
10.14am: SS12 – Boca del Arroyo – Bajo del Pungo 1 (20.52km)
12.04pm: Service E (Villa Carlos Paz – 30 min)
1.08pm: SS13 – Tanti – Villa Bustos 2 (20.80km)
2.21pm: SS14 – Los Gigantes – Cantera El Condor 2 (38.68km)
3.14pm: SS15 – Boca del Arroyo – Bajo del Pungo 2 (20.52km)
5.04pm: Flexi Service F (Villa Carlos Paz – 45 min)
SUNDAY 30 APRIL
7.15am: Service G (Villa Carlos Paz – 15 min)
9.13am: SS16 – El Condor – Copina (16.32km)
10.56am: SS17 – Mina Clavero – Giulio Cesare (22.64km)
12.18pm: SS18 – Power Stage El Condor (16.32km)
1.41pm: Service H (Villa Carlos Paz – 10 min)
2.01pm: Finish
On Thursday morning shakedown showed that once again the cars were pretty close to each other.
Stage one was held on the Thursday evening and the short 1,75km stage would confirm the close pace!
The leaderboard would look as so.
1. Ogier 1:53.8
2. Evans +0:00,9
3. Sordo +0:00,9
4. Neuville +0:01,6
5. Latvala +0:02,1
6. Ostberg +0:02,4
7. Paddon +0:02,5
8. Meeke +0:02,7
9. Tanak +0:03,1
10. Hanninen +0:03,8
It was a cold start on Friday morning and Elfyn Evans in his D-Mack shod Fiesta would power through and take the lead on the 19,95km stage at an average speed of 94,2km. Clearly road position would be an advantage to those further down in the championship standings. Ogier could only manage seventh fastest after sliding wide on a left-hander. Kris was the closest challenger to the young welsh wizard, just a few seconds behind in his Citroen C3. Dani was also enjoying a good start to the event! Ogier would slide wide after a wrong pacenote, and would drop some time. Hayden would roll in this stage, but not in a big way. He would lose two and a half minutes though.
SS2 – San Agustin – Villa General Belgrano 1 (19,95km)
1. Evans – 12:42,3 (94,2kph)
2. Meeke +0:04,6
3. Sordo +0:06,9
Stage three next of course, and there was drama for Dani, who ran wide and damaged a steering arm. Whilst he replaced it, he would lose 11 minutes!
SS3 – Amboy – Saint Monica 1 (20,44km)
1. Evans – 10:18,8 (118,9kph)
2. Meeke +0:02,3
3. Tanak +0:02,7
Stage four next, and there would be big drama for both Kris and Craig in their Citroen’s! Kris would roll in the stage after hitting a bump in the road which launched the car into a big roll. Incredibly, Craig would hit the same bump, and this would damage his gearbox leaving him stuck in fifth gear. With the demise of Kris, Jari-Matti would move into second place overall and Mads third! His secret plan was working well!
SS4 – Santa Rosa – San Agustin 1 (23,85km)
1. Evans – 13:44,8 (104,1kph)
2. Latvala +0:02,8
3. Tanak +0:05,6
The short six km stage before service was next. Elfyn was driving really well and now had increased his lead to thirty seconds!
SS5 – Super Especial Parque Tematico (6,04km)
1. Evans – 4:43,5 (76,7kph)
2. Neuville +0:02,2
3. Ostberg +0:03,4
Stage six then, and Jari-Matti would get some problems with overheating in his Toyota, and he just could not understand why there was a problem! It was a great time though for Mads, and he would move ahead of Jari-Matti into second place overall!
SS6 – San Agustin – Villa General Belgrano 2 (19,95km)
1. Evans – 12:35,9 (95,0kph)
2. Neuville +0:08,7
3. Ostberg +0:12,0
Stage seven next and Seb would start to push hard and move up as would Thierry in his Hyundai. Hayden would go well though here as well, clearly getting back in the groove.
SS7 – Amboy – Santa Monica 2 (20,44km)
1. Evans – 10:21,1 (118,5kph)
2. Paddon +0:00,0
3. Ostberg +0:00,1
Hayden would go one better in the next stage, becoming the first driver to beat Elfyn all day in a stage. The big mover was Thierry, who moved from fifth overall, into third and only ten seconds behind the flying Mads!
SS8 – Santa Rosa – San Agustin 2 (23,85km)
1. Paddon – 13:39,0 (104,8kph)
2. Evans +0:04,0
3. Neuville +0:07,1
So the final stage of the day, and this would be won by Thierry, but Elfyn would remain in the lead, from Mads, who was now just five seconds ahead of Thierry.
SS9 – Super Especial Parque Tematico 2 (6,04km)
1. Neuville – 4:49,4 (75,1kph)
2. Latvala +0:00,3
3. Ogier +0:01,4
Here’s the thoughts then of the top three at the end of the first day.
Elfyn Evans (1st) said:
“It’s been a really positive day for us – everything has been working well and we got ourselves into a pretty good rhythm from the word go. I’ve really enjoyed the driving and what more can I say…? The car has performed really well and the driver’s not been too bad either!
“We’re really glad to be here with no dramas and in such a strong position. But we need to remember that there is still a long way to go. The stages tomorrow are really nice, but quite challenging and we’re expecting another tough day out there which is always the case in Argentina.
“But right now, it feels pretty good. Tomorrow, we just need to go out there and continue to enjoy it. We’ll try not to think too much about the result and just focus on ourselves as if it’s a brand new day.”
Mads Østberg (2nd) said:
I had a good feeling before the start, but still a bit unsure of where we would find ourselves after the first stages as I have not competed since Sweden. But the day has been good and has confirmed that the development work we have done on the car, has been successful
The result today is a team effort. We have a small but competent team, and everybody is working in the same direction. I got a very good feeling during our test in Portugal in the beginning of April, when I felt that the whole team worked according to my own ideas for set-up of the car. We all have the same goal and that is to fight for podiums in the WRC, which is exactly what we are doing right now.
I really didn`t know what to expect, even if I felt the speed was good. Now I have got that confirmation and we will continue working to go even faster. Tomorrow will be a long and tough day and tyre choice and strategy will be important, but we will push as hard as we can to stay in the fight for a podium.
FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP 2017 -WRC Argentina (ARG) – WRC 26/04/2017 to 30/04/2017 – PHOTO : @World
Thierry Neuville (3rd) commented:
“We are pretty happy to end today in third place overall considering just how difficult it has been for everyone. Argentina has always been a demanding event but that is the case even more so this weekend. We had a hard morning loop. A lot of things happened in the stages so we were pleased to make it to service. We picked up some damage to the rear damper, which meant we couldn’t push and didn’t feel as comfortable. The mechanics did an exceptional job over lunchtime to get all our team’s cars ready for the afternoon. Although it was still tricky, I felt better and we could make up some positions to keep firmly in the podium fight. There’s a long way to go!”
M-Sport WRT
Sébastien Ogier (4th) said:
“Like expected, it’s been a tough day and difficult for everyone. Many people had a lot of trouble and, on top of that, we knew that we would suffer from opening the road. We were fighting as much as we could and I’m happy with where we are tonight. We’re still in a good fight for the podium and I’m really looking forward to tomorrow.
“We will keep pushing and tomorrow should be a much more enjoyable day. These long stages are very beautiful and I’m sure we will have good fun driving them.
“Elfyn has had incredible speed today and no one could match his performance. It’s been an impressive drive from him and Dan. If they continue like this then no one will have a chance of catching them. But of course, we always need to remember that there is still a long way to go.”
Ott Tänak (5th) said:
“It’s been a tricky day. We knew that this rally would be hard on the cars and my plan was always to drive quite safely and to look after the car. Maybe we were a bit too cautious in some of the rougher sections, but we made it through which has been the most important thing today.
“On the smoother sections, we’ve still been driving quite fast and the times have been okay so I don’t see any reason why we shouldn’t be able to fight for at least second place tomorrow.
“It’s still all very close and anything can happen. Tomorrow’s stages aren’t as rough as the ones we saw today and they should be easier on the cars – and for sure more enjoyable to drive.
“There’s still a long way to go but I’m looking forward to a good battle tomorrow.”
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Jari-Matti Latvala (6th)
“I was surprised by how rough it was right from the very first stage: we hit the sump guard hard in about five places, so I knew it was going to be tough. In the afternoon conditions were even rougher, with all the cars having already passed through the stage once, so we raised our car to play safe. This set-up was definitely safer, but I didn’t feel so confident with it. On stage eight we were avoiding a rock, went wide, and put the tyre off the rim. There were about 15 kilometres to go and we drove on the rim to the finish, which is where we lost the time. That was bad luck, but at least we are still here and ready to improve some more over the next challenging two days.”
Juho Hänninen (9th)
“It was really rough all day, which meant that you focused simply on getting through the stages. In the morning, we had a power loss, which cost us a bit of time, but we were able to find the problem and fix it at service easily. Then we had no issues for the rest of the day. In the morning, we also lost part of the aero package over the bumps: it made the handling quite tricky but it was still OK. Tomorrow, we will hopefully be able to make up some more places: this is definitely a rally of endurance.”
Hyundai Motorsport
Hayden Paddon (7th) said: “Things definitely went better in the afternoon! Conditions have been very rough out there today. It’s a lot tougher this year, especially with the extra speed for the new cars. In the first stage of the day, we were caught out at a hairpin and the car rolled. It was very slow and thankfully we could get out and get it back over. The car wasn’t quite as competitive as it was before but we were still in the rally. The team worked fantastically at service to get us ready for the afternoon. It is good to take our first stage win of the season, but we know this will be a rally of attrition so we have plenty still to fight for.”
John Kennard (NZL) seen after crash during the FIA World Rally Championship 2017 in Carloz-Paz, Argentina on April 28, 2017
Dani Sordo (13th) said: “It was really bad luck! There were lots of loose rocks and I knew it would be hard on the cars. We reached a fast-right-hand corner in the second stage this morning and touched something on the inside. The result was a broken steering arm, which we had to stop and fix. We just lost so much time. It’s hugely disappointing because I really enjoy this rally and the car felt quick. Thanks to the team, we could continue into the afternoon. My aim now is to try and make the most of the weekend and see what we can pick up.”
Citroen Abu Dhabi WRT
Kris Meeke
“This fourth stage turned into something of a nightmare for the team, since both cars were forced to retire at the same time. It’s a shame because before that, my pace was good and I was holding second place behind Elfyn. Then we were surprised by this bump in the road: it just launched the car and I couldn’t regain control before the next corner. We hit the bank on the outside of the corner and rolled. It wasn’t a massive crash, but it did a lot of damage to the car.”
Craig Breen
“Right from the start this morning, I had moments in several places, the road surface was just so difficult to judge. I wasn’t pushing that much, but I knew that’s what I needed to do and stay patient. On the fourth stage, I was caught out by this compression on a fast-left-hand corner. The bottom of the car hit the ground hard and that damaged the gearbox. We tried to keep going to make it to service, but oil leaked out and we had to retire. We’ll be back tomorrow to keep picking up experience.”
Top ten at the end of the first day
1. Evans 1:24:55,4
2. Ostberg +0:55,7
3. Neuville +1:00,7
4. Ogier +1:06,7
5. Tanak +1:11,3
6. Latvala +1:29,9
7. Paddon +3:41,8
8. Bertelli +4:13,9
9. Hanninen +4:48,6
10. Tidemand +6:32.3
Day two then and could anyone catch Elfyn and Dan in their D-Mack Fiesta with the six stages and 160km of stages? Seb didn’t have a good start and had to avoid a dog and then he got stuck in a water splash, losing him more time. Thierry had a huge moment on the exit of a right-hander, nearly spinning which caused a puncture on the rear right tyre. The sun was so low, that he couldn’t see the apex of the corner and went in too fast. In the same stage Mads lost his rear diffuser and then also started to spin in the same corner as Thierry. He’d also started to get hydraulic problems, meaning that his handbrake was not working and the centre diff was affected as well. Elfyn did a great stage and won it, extending his lead over Thierry, but how impressive was the Belgian, only eight tenths down from the young Welshman?! Kris returned to the fray with a rebuilt C3, going third fastest.
SS10 – Tanti – Villa Bustos 1 (20,8km)
1. Evans – 11:00,2 (113,4kph)
2. Neuville +0:00,8
3. Meeke +0:02,1
Kris would win stage eleven, showing good pace in his Citroen and Ott would go ahead of Seb in this stage as well and in doing so close on Mads who was really struggling without his rear diffuser.
SS11 – Los Gigantes – Cantera El Condor 1 (38,68km)
1. Meeke – 20:01,6 (115,9kph)
2. Neuville +0:00,6
3. Tanak +0:01,5
Stage twelve would see another mistake from Seb, running wide and having to rejoin the road, costing him more precious seconds. Kris won the stage, with Mads just behind, clearly getting a handle of his car woes. There was a little drama though for Elfyn who misheard a note from Dan and they picked up a puncture on the right rear.
SS12 – Boca del Arroyo – Bajo del Pungo 1 (20,52km)
1. Meeke – 13:18,2 (92,5kph)
2. Ostberg +0:01,1
3. Tanak +0:01,8
Stage thirteen now and Ott was on a mission targeting both Mads and Thierry ahead of him. The smoother roads were suiting his style and he got past Mads into third place and was only nine seconds down on Thierry.
SS13 – Tanti – Villa Bustos 2 (20,8km)
1. Tanak – 10:47,9 (115,6kph)
2. Ogier +0:01,2
3. Meeke +0:01,8
Stage fourteen would see the retirement of Mads. He hit a rock and damaged the right-rear suspension. A sorry end after a massively heroic drive. Thierry was right in the groove now and closing on Elfyn. Hardly a surprise given that he’d lost downforce at the rear of the car. Sadly, this was the stage which saw Kris roll spectacularly out. The car was totaled and they were out.
SS14 – Los Gigantes – Cantera El Condor 2 (38,68km)
1. Tanak – 19:45,5 (117,5kph)
2. Neuville +0:00,0
3. Paddon +0:02,0
Stage fifteen would see Thierry close even more, going nearly 19 seconds faster than Elfyn with Ott and Hayden second and third fastest.
SS 15 – Boca del Arroyo – Bajo del Pungo 1 (20,52km)
1. Neuville 12:59,5 (94,8kph)
2. Tanak +0:06,9
3. Paddon +0:10,4
That was the last stage of the day, and Elfyns’ lead was just 11.9 seconds. Could he hang on and take his maiden WRC victory, or would Thierry nick it?
1. Evans 2:40:27,3
2. Neuville +0:30,4
3. Tanak +0:38,8
4. Ogier +0:57,2
5. Latvala +1:25,1
6. Paddon +4:35,2
7. Bertelli +8:02,0
8. Hanninen +8:43,4
9. Sordo +13:20,3
10. Tidemand +13:57.5
Let’s hear then from all of the drivers, starting with the top three.
Elfyn Evans (1st) said:
“We’ve not had the best of days with a few issues here and there. Some small mistake from myself and a few little niggles with the car have dented our advantage quite a lot, but it’s still an advantage and it’s all to play for tomorrow.
“We’re here to do a job so we’ll focus on that and do the best we possibly can. There’s still a hard 50 kilometres to go and anything can happen, but we’ll be giving it our all.
“After all the hard work over the past two days, we didn’t come here to finish second. If Thierry wants this victory, we’re going to make him fight for it!”
Thierry Neuville (2nd) commented:
“We couldn’t have asked for more from our Saturday. The day didn’t start too well after I got caught out on the opening stage, and picked up a puncture. Things improved after that and we were able to catch Mads to extend our grasp on second place. The balance of the car was good and for the most part I felt comfortable. We gave a bit of a push in the final stages to try and reduce the gap to Elfyn, which we were able to do. The aim is always to win but it’s going to be a tough fight, not only for the victory but also to defend our current position from those chasing behind us. We will see what happens!”
Ott Tänak (3rd) said:
“It was always the plan to play it quite safe through the first day. Maybe we were a bit too cautious in places, but today it was a lot easier on the car and we could enjoy the driving a lot more.
“I think it was a good drive from us today. We made some quite big changes to the car during service and things got even better in the afternoon.
“Tomorrow will be a really tough day with two very tricky stages. In these stages, 20 seconds is nothing so we need to keep going and keep concentrated. Anything is possible so we’ll keep focused and keep pushing.”
Sébastien Ogier (4th) said:
“We’ve had some small issues today and struggled to find the speed that we wanted. This morning we had some problems with the rear of the car. It felt very unstable but the team changed everything during the midday service and it felt a lot better after that.
“We had a good first stage in the afternoon, but I started to struggle again towards the end of the loop. During the last stage, in particular we had massive wheel-spin which knocked our confidence.
“It’s not been the day we wanted and we’re not in the best position to fight for the podium, but with these two stages a lot can still happen. Our target will be to get through them without issue and then see what we can gain from the Power Stage. We still have to push, because anything can still happen.”
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Jari-Matti Latvala (5th)
“We started the day really well, although in the morning it was tricky to see because the sun was in my eyes. The second stage of the morning loop was actually where I had an accident last year, so I was maybe a little bit too careful. We’re more or less there on pace, but we’re missing just a little bit; I’m not entirely sure what it is. I seem to be losing small chunks of time to the leaders; I think maybe through being a little bit too aggressive in the corners. But still we’re going to keep the pressure on and see how it goes. The final day tomorrow is a bit shorter, but it’s still going to be one of the most challenging days of the whole rally.”
Juho Hänninen (7th)
“The car felt a bit nervous today in the rough conditions but it was reliable, although not so easy to drive. I just wanted to be careful and make sure that we got to the end with no problems. In the end, we managed to do that and even make up some places. I’ve obviously been talking with the engineers and we think we can make some changes to make the car better for me tomorrow. Again, the priority will be to have a clean day and try to score some points.”
Hyundai Motorsport
Hayden Paddon (6th) said:
“I was happy with our speed in the morning loop, considering our road position. We had a good feeling in the car and were preparing to push in the afternoon. A broken roll bar in the first stage of the repeat loop was definitely not what we wanted. We had to fix that and in doing so we were six minutes late to check-in for the following stage, incurring a time penalty. Generally, though, the stages today were smooth, flowing and enjoyable to drive. There was still a bit of frustration over what happened on Friday because without that we could have been in the fight for second place – and, from there, who knows what could have happened. We can’t dwell on that, though. We will instead aim to finish the rally strongly and secure some valuable Championship points for a top-six finish.”
Dani Sordo (9th) said: “Being first on the road today made it almost impossible to set good times, but these are the rules. We’ve had very little luck this weekend, but I am sure it will be better next time. We simply wanted to go out there and enjoy ourselves. We have benefited from other crews’ misfortune to make up some positions, and we are now inside the top-ten. Tomorrow, we will adopt a similar approach, trying to bring the car home safely and then look forward to Portugal.”
Citroen Abu Dhabi WRT
Kris Meeke
“This morning, I was pleased to be able to repay my mechanics for the incredible job they did in repairing the car last night with two stage wins. It was also good to be able to contest these stages, which are new for all the crews, and find some good pace with the car again. On SS14, I lost control of the car on a very fast corner. I oversteered, the car span and we hit a bank. We were then thrown into a series of rolls…”
The final day dawned bright and warm. Thierry was poised, but could Elfyn get that win?
Stage 16 beckoned and Ott continued his push, winning the stage. Elfyn lost more time, after experiencing brakes that would not work at first, but then came back to him later in the stage. His lead was now 9 seconds.
SS16 El Condor – Copina (16,32km)
1. Tanak 13:07,0
2. Neuville +0:01,3
3. Evans +0:03,8
Stage 17 and Thierry flew through the stage, an incredible 8.4 seconds faster and this meant that the gap was just 6 tenths of a second, with Elfyn just in the lead. Elfyn’s car started to overheat again. One stage remained.
SS17 Mina Clavero – Giulio Cesare (22,64km)
1. Neuville 18:05,0 (75,1kph)
2. Evans +0:08.4
3. Breen +0:11,7
It was time for the final stage and Thierry won the stage. The question was, could Elfyn do enough to keep the Hyundai driver behind? Well, 5.7km into the stage, Elfyn was 3.1 seconds up on Thierry! Mega drive! Coming to a bridge, the Fiesta rear slid and hit the post. He lost all of his advantage there sadly crossing the line 1.3 seconds slower in the stage. Thierry had won the event by seven tenths of a second, the closest finish for six years!
SS18 El Condor (16,32km)
1. Neuville 3:38:10.6
2. Evans +0.7
3. Tanak +29.9
It’s his second victory in a row and takes him closer to second place in the world championship. Let’s hear what the top three had to say then.
Thierry Neuville (1st) commented:
“I cannot believe it. I have never had such a nerve-wracking final few minutes of a rally in my career. It’s an amazing result and I have to say thanks first of all to the team for everything they’ve done. Congratulations also to Elfyn, who put up an incredible fight this weekend. I gave it absolutely everything I had in today’s final stages. After the difficult start to the rally, I would have been happy to take second but it’s a special feeling to win again. It has been an exciting but crazy rally from the start, so to come away with the victory is fantastic. We wanted to build up our momentum after Corsica and this was the perfect way to do just that. To have the Power Stage win is just the icing on the cake and gives us a very important boost in the Drivers’ and Manufacturers’ Championship. We could not have asked for more.”
2017 FIA World Rally Championship Round 05, Rally Argentina 27-30 April 2017 Thierry Neuville, Nicolas Gilsoul, Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC Photographer: Austral Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
Elfyn Evans (2nd) said:
“We’ve got mixed emotions at the end of this one. It’s obviously disappointing to have missed out on victory by such a fine margin but it was definitely a rally of two halves.
“Thierry had his own problems on Friday whilst we had a really good day and were able to establish a fairly reasonable lead. But it was a case of role reversal over the next two days.
“Thierry drove really well and no one can take that away from him, but we had a fair amount of problems – some self-inflicted and some not. To be honest, we didn’t have a clean run since the opening stage on Saturday morning so it was a big push to keep the battle so close.
“It’s a long story and I could probably write a list as long as my arm for why we didn’t manage to make it stick this weekend – but all credit to Thierry. He’s driven really well and from our side there are still a lot of positives that we can take away.
“When everything was working well, our speed was really strong. We just need to make sure that we learn from this weekend and come back stronger.”
FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP 2017 -WRC Argentina (ARG) – WRC 26/04/2017 to 30/04/2017 – PHOTO : @World
Ott Tänak (3rd) said:
“It’s been a very good weekend for us. In the past I’ve not been so lucky here so we decided to change the approach and had a clear strategy of what we wanted to do.
“We played it safe through the rough stages on Friday – maybe a bit too safe to be honest as we gave a lot of time away. But since Saturday morning when the conditions became a lot smoother we have been on the pace.
“The guys at the front have been really on it today so we weren’t able to build on third position, but we come away with another podium and some good points so we’re happy with that.
“Coming up next, Portugal is one of my favourite rallies. I’m really excited to get back to Europe and tackle some of the more ‘traditional’ gravel events. We’re in a strong position in both championships and the plan will be to build on that as the season continues.”
FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP 2017 -WRC Argentina (ARG) – WRC 26/04/2017 to 30/04/2017 – PHOTO : @World
The rest of the drivers
M-Sport WRT
Sébastien Ogier (4th) said:
“It’s been a very difficult weekend for us. For much of the rally we’ve had a strange feeling with the car and lacked confidence as a result. For the moment, we’re not sure what is causing the issue so we’ll have to look into that before the next event and ensure we get to the bottom of it.
“Regarding the hard weekend, we’ve had, to score 14 points is not too bad and we’re still leading the championship which is the most important thing.”
FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP 2017 -WRC Argentina (ARG) – WRC 26/04/2017 to 30/04/2017 – PHOTO : @World
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Jari-Matti Latvala (5th)
“The final day of the rally was consistent. I tried not to be a superhero and just finish the rally safely! Our car is very tough, we can say that for sure, and we certainly improved the performance compared to the last gravel round in Mexico. We got one point for the Power Stage and took fifth overall, but the most important thing was that we kept our consistent run of points that we had from Monte-Carlo, and so the championship stays open. It’s incredible, but in all of my career I don’t think I’ve ever been this close to the front after just five rallies. Now I’m looking forward to the next test and the next rally, so that we can keep on making the car better.”
Juho Hänninen (7th)
“Our last day went without a problem and that was good because I needed to finish. We drove quite carefully as there was some big gaps in front and behind us, so no point in taking any risks. El Condor was actually much rougher than I expected, so my goal was just to bring the car back in one piece. In general this has been an extremely tough and demanding rally, with some especially rough roads, but now we have got to the end of it, scored some points, and learned a lot, so I am happy.”
FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP 2017 -WRC Argentina (ARG) – WRC 26/04/2017 to 30/04/2017 – PHOTO : @World
Hyundai Motorsport
Hayden Paddon (6th) said: “You could not have written a script more opposite to what we had here last season. We’ve gone from a career high to a result that is much lower on the scale. I just can’t believe our luck. Our issue on Friday was long behind us as we started to show some improved performance. There was not much we could do about our position but we wanted to build a rhythm. I didn’t have the feeling with the car in this morning’s stages, and that culminated with a power steering problem in the Power Stage. We struggled to the finish but sixth place is not where we want to be.”
2017 FIA World Rally Championship Round 05, Rally Argentina 27-30 April 2017 Hayden Paddon, John Kennard, Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC Photographer: Austral Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
Dani Sordo (8th) said: “It has been a horrible weekend for us. The rally was over almost as soon as it had begun, really. When you lose so much time early on in the event, as we did, it is impossible to regain that. We just had to concentrate on bringing the car to the end but even that was difficult. The puncture on El Condor came at the beginning of the stage, and it typified our luck this weekend. Incredibly unfortunate and it’s a shame because I feel that we had the car to do better. I just want to put this behind us and look ahead to Portugal.”
Well, what an amazing event! Just incredible. Elfyn will win this season I believe. What about Thierry as well? He’s definitely offering up a challenge for this year’s title. Seb is doing just enough to remain in front with his fourth-place finish. Finally, Kris and Citroen, what must they be thinking? Their season has to be due some luck soon.
The fifth round of the 2017 Formula 1 championship beckons this weekend with the paddock descending on Barcelona for the start of the “European” leg of the F1 calendar. The trip to Circuit de Catalunya will see Sauber F1 introduce an aerodynamic upgrade to the car, as they hope to open their points tally at the Spanish Grand Prix.
The circuit should not spring any surprises given that its layout has been favoured for testing during the winter and both drivers are eager to see how the developments will pan out over the weekend as we head into busy period of the season:
Marcus Ericsson
“We will also bring first modifications to the car, which we will then enhance and further develop within the next GPs. I am looking forward to this weekend being confident that we make another step in the right direction.”
Pascal Wehrlein
“Considering the race weekend, it will be important for us to introduce some new aerodynamic parts on the car. I am positive that we can further develop the car in order to make progress, and thus improve the performance on track.”
Despite being a well-known circuit, given the extensive testing that takes place there, Barcelona can be tricky to set up for, given the cornering speed differentials seen at different points on the circuit layout. Downforce is an area that Sauber had struggled with in 2016 and hope to improve upon this weekend as the circuit places great emphasis on this area. Both drivers have chosen to go with 2 Hard Tyres, 4 Medium and 7 Softs for the race weekend.
Although the team is at a slight power differential, running the 2016 Ferrari power unit, by introducing upgrades alongside the other teams in 2017, they are light years beyond the gloom that faced them at this point in 2016. While Sauber may not necessarily score any points this weekend, we think the positive steps at Hinwil will see them ending the European leg with points in the kitty.
