Since 2015, wherever Max Verstappen has gone, controversy has followed. It was no different at this weekend’s Brazilian Grand Prix, when he got involved in a post-race scuffle with French driver Esteban Ocon.
Esteban Ocon. Image courtesy of Racing point Force India
Firstly, let’s go over how the messy chaos descended. Max Verstappen had taken the lead of the race from Lewis Hamilton, and was seemingly cruising home towards the finish, looking after his car and maintaining the gap back to the newly crowned five-time world champion.
Ocon pitted, but a slow stop put him well outside the points and a lap down to Verstappen. He was however, on fresh tyres, and quicker than a conserving Verstappen. As a result, his Force India team told him to un-lap himself, which is perfectly legal, so as to gain back some time. He went round the outside into turn one, but Verstappen defended the inside and was in front going into turn two. Ocon, however, stayed on the inside, and the two collided. They both span, resulting in there being absolutely no chance on Ocon scoring points, and costing Verstappen the win to Hamilton. As the two recovered back onto the track, Verstappen held a finger up at Ocon – you can probably guess which one.
Ocon, as a result of the incident, was given a 10-seond stop-go penalty, but this was of little consolation to Verstappen. After the race, as the drivers headed to obligatorily get themselves weighed, Verstappen stormed over to Ocon and pushed him several times. There were words exchanged between the two, and they were sent to the stewards – with Verstappen given a two “community service order”. They then, walked out of the office and shook hands, which was probably more for show than anything else.
If it was just for the cameras, should there really be any need for it? Do we honestly need to be made to think that the issue between them is resolved?
Whilst all of this was going on, social media erupted – along with the sports media too. Many chastised Verstappen for his actions, blowing the whole thing out of proportion, when in reality, it was something that in a sport played out at 200 MPH, we should actually be surprised we don’t see more often. A bit of heated argument between the drivers after the race is healthy for the sport in my view – it is a sign of the passion and hunger that these racers have, and it gives us something to talk about. F1 drivers work so hard on and off the track for each and every single race, and if something goes wrong, the work is all for nothing. If it is someone else’s fault, then of course there’s going to be an awful lot of anger and frustration.
The incident does not just stem from this race – Verstappen and Ocon have a storied history; They grew up racing each other in the junior categories. Which developed into an extremely strong and tense rivalry as they battled for championships. It was almost destined to reach boiling point in Formula One at some stage.
Max Verstappen after the Brazilan GP in which he came 2nd after a shunt with Esteban Ocon – Image courtesy of Getty Image/Redbull Content Pool
Furthermore, let’s look back at history. Ayrton Senna was applauded for punching Eddie Irvine after the Japanese Grand Prix of 1993, and Michael Schumacher got a similar reaction for making a beeline for David Coulthard after their crash in the 1998 Belgian Grand Prix. The fans also loved the fight between Nelson Piquet and Eliseo Salazar at the 1982 German Grand Prix, as it was yet further proof of how much the drivers exert themselves and how invested they are mentally, emotionally, and physically.
These were all examples of raw emotion in Formula One, and in a sport full of adrenaline as soon as the visor goes down and the lights go out, it’s really something we need to see more of.
Instead, these days, drivers have to follow extremely tight procedures following a race. Race winner get little time to celebrate with their team before being scuttled off to the podium, and there is almost a discouragement in society of sportsmen and women showing that raw emotion. Instead, everything gets very controlled and it becomes – frankly, boring.
Any showing of this emotion now seems to get punished instead of revered. Many fans feel it is zapping the passion out of the sport, and along with the controlled nature of F1 – if the truth be told, both fans and drivers are falling out of love for a sport which simply no longer allows for people to truly say what they think; even interviews are so calm – almost too calm at times.
Of course, it should not by any means be encouraged that drivers go round punching other drivers (or marshals, in James Hunt’s case), we’ll leave that to the likes of Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder, but the fact that Verstappen’s anger after the race was frowned upon so greatly by the media is a prime example of the processional nature that Formula One has unfortunately adopted.
Featured image courtesy of Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
Well, what a year we’ve had! Just the final round left, but what a humdinger we are set for! Three crews can win this weekend. Ott Tanak is the outsider, given that he is 23 points from Ogier. However, I believe he will win the rally and quite possibly the powerstage. Now Thierry and Seb are the two of the three that are most likely to win the championship, and their chances will come down to how the cars feel on the stages.
Can Ott Tanak jump past Thierry and Seb to win his first WRC Title? Photo credit, M-Sport.
Given that the teams cannot test outside of Europe, shakedown will be really important, particularly for the Hyundai team. The car they have built is very quick as long as the set-up is spot on. M-Sport have a very good car, and they have been very good this year. However, if Thierry can get the car as he liked it in Rally Italia, we know how that Sunday finished. All he has to do, which he mentioned in my interview with him last week, is score four more points than Seb, and he will be the champion.
The challengers will be looking to their teammates to get in the mix and take points away from their rivals, which makes the job of Elfyn, Teemu, Andreas, Hayden, Jari-Matti and Esapekka even more important.
Finally, Toyota and Hyundai are fighting for the manufacturers title, and it is Toyota’s to win, as they sit at the top. A quite remarkable feat, given it’s only their second year back!
Well, let’s take a look at the stages that they have to tackle. A total of 316km’s of stages are ahead of them, and they have very tricky small stones covering the roads. If dry, the dust can hang in the air, plus the road cleaning becomes very significant.
RALLY AUSTRALIA SCHEDULE (GMT+11)
THURSDAY 15 NOVEMBER
8.00am: Shakedown (5,07 km)
FRIDAY 16 NOVEMBER
7.15am: Start Coffs Harbour
8.03am: SS 1 – Orara East 1 (8,77 km)
8.43am: SS 2 – Coldwater 1 (14,12 km)
9.41am: SS 3 – Sherwood 1 (26,68 km)
11.14am: Service A (Coffs Harbour – 30 mins)
12.32pm: SS 4 – Orara East 2 (8,77 km)
1.12pm: SS 5 – Coldwater 2 (14,12 km)
2.10pm: SS 6 – Sherwood 2 (26,68 km)
5.17pm: SS 7 – Destination NSW SSS1 (1,27 km)
5.27pm: SS 8 – Destination NSW SSS2 (1,27 km)
5.57pm: Flexi service B (Coffs Harbour – 45 mins)
SATURDAY 17 NOVEMBER
5.50am: Service C (Coffs Harbour – 15 mins)
7.08am: SS 9 – Argents Hill Reverse 1 (13,13 km)
7.51am: SS 10 – Welshs Creek Reverse 1 (28,83 km)
8.59am: SS 11 – Urunga 1 (21,28 km)
9.47am: SS 12 – Raleigh 1 (1,99 km)
10.35am: Service D (Coffs Harbour – 30 mins)
12.08pm: SS 13 – Argents Hill Reverse 2 (13,13 km)
1.02pm: SS 14 – Welshs Creek Reverse 2 (28,83 km)
2.10pm: SS 15 – Urunga 2 (21,28 km)
2.58pm: SS 16 – Raleigh 2 (1,99 km)
5.17pm: SS 17 – Destination NSW SSS3 (1,27 km)
5.27pm: SS 18 – Destination NSW SSS4 (1,27 km)
5.57pm: Flexi service E (Coffs Harbour – 45 mins)
SUNDAY 18 NOVEMBER
6.00am: Service F (Coffs Harbour – 15 mins)
6.53am: SS 19 – Coramba 1 (15,55 km)
7.36am: SS 20 – Sapphire 1 (19,27 km)
8.38am: SS 21 – Wedding Bells 1 (7,16 km)
9.53am: Service G (Coffs Harbour – 30 mins)
11.01am: SS 22 – Coramba 2 (15,55 km)
11.44am: SS 23 – Sapphire 2 (19,27 km)
1.18pm: SS 24 – Wedding Bells 2 Power Stage (7,16 km)
2.20pm: Podium
Now, according to early weather reports, there is a small chance of rain on Friday and this will make the starting position very important, as it helps those at the front of the field. We shall see what happens.
Hear from the drivers then.
M-Sport Ford WRT
Sébastien Ogier
“The Championship could not be closer and we head to the final round in Australia with a slender three-point lead at the head of the standings. It’s a very positive place to be compared to where we were when we were 23 points behind two rallies ago, and the pressure is now on our rivals to overhaul the deficit.”
“Of course, we’re aware that opening the road will not be an easy task, but anything can happen and we are ready for the challenge. We’ve enjoyed a lot of success in Australia over the years and our goal is to add to that success next week.”
“We’re ready to do our best, ready to push for a sixth world title, and hopeful of ending what has been an enjoyable and rewarding two years with Malcolm and his team in the best possible way.”
FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP 2017 -WRC Australia (AUS) – WRC 16/11/2017 to 19/11/2017 – PHOTO : @World
Elfyn Evans
“I’ve always enjoyed Rally Australia and we’ll be aiming to bring our season to a close with another strong result next week. Following our podium in Spain, it would be great to end the year with another personal best in Australia.”
“There’s a friendly and relaxed atmosphere at this event and we’re made to feel welcome from the second we arrive in Coffs Harbour. But the event itself is a real challenge; and totally different from anything else we encounter throughout the year.”
“Visibility is often an issue and you have to have complete trust in your notes. Hanging dust isn’t uncommon and when the sun is low it can create a strobe effect through the trees which makes it difficult to read the road. The trees themselves also cast unfamiliar shadows and you really do need to be fully focused and concentrated throughout the weekend.”
“I can’t remember a more exciting time in the sport and I think everyone is excited to see what happens next week – ourselves included. We’re ready to give our best and will work hard to deliver the best possible result for the team.”
FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP 2017 -WRC Australia (AUS) – WRC 16/11/2017 to 19/11/2017 – PHOTO : @World
Teemu Suninen
“This will be my first time competing at Rally Australia, but my preparation is the same and I’ve been watching the videos to make sure we’re as prepared as we can be. I did the recce in 2016 but don’t have all the notes for this year’s stages. We’ll need to be concentrated on the recce to be ready to compete on the same level as everyone else.”
“As the last round of the season and with the championships being so close, this is also going to be a really interesting and exciting rally. Seb is still in with a strong chance of taking his sixth world title, and the team also have a chance in the manufacturers’ championship. I am ready to give everything in order to be a part of those fights and to end my season on a high.”
Hyundai Motorsport
Thierry Neuville
“Recent rallies have not gone our way and we now find ourselves involved in an incredible and intense championship fight. All manufacturers and crews have had ups and downs this season, but we need to put all of this behind us and to focus on a perfect weekend in Australia. The benefit of dropping to second in the drivers’ championship is that we won’t be opening the road on the dusty gravel. It offers only a small advantage but everything counts now. We won from that position twelve months ago and we’ll be targeting the same result next weekend. That will be the best way to take the title.”
2017 FIA World Rally Championship Round 13, Rally Australia 13-19 November 2017 Day 3 Atmosphere Thierry Neuville, Nicolas Gilsoul Photographer: Helena El Mokni Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
Andreas Mikkelsen
“Australia has always been a good rally for us. We won there in 2016 and were leading after the opening day in 2017 with Hyundai. Unfortunately, we had to retire on the second day but we are usually very fast. I hope for another competitive run this time around. We have not had the season that we’d hoped so I want to end the year with a strong result. All eyes will be on the title fight and we will do everything in our power to support the team and Thierry.”
Hayden Paddon
“I am looking forward to being back in the Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC for Rally Australia, one of the events to which we most look forward. As always, we will have fantastic support from the travelling Kiwi fans, which gives us a real boost. We finished third in the event last year to finish the season with a podium. I hope we can repeat that sort of result this time around. We’ve been building up our performance level as the season as progressed, so hopefully Australia will be the rally where we can pull the pin and really go for it. I want to end the season on a high.”
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Ott Tänak
“I am going to give it my all in Australia. I still have a mathematical chance in the drivers’ championship, and even though it is not really in my hands, I will keep pushing and not give up. In the manufacturers’ championship we have the advantage and I think we are in a very strong position. In particular, we can be confident in how our car has been performing on gravel over recent events. Rally Australia is always a challenging event but many of the roads are fast and flowing, and this suits us well.”
Jari-Matti Latvala
“I am really looking forward to Australia. It is a rally that I really enjoy a lot. Firstly, the atmosphere is relaxed and the weather is usually great, so it’s a nice place to end the season. Then there are the stages: they have made a lot of changes to the route this year, but we have driven most of the roads before and we know that they are usually quite fast, which is of course what I like! I am going there confident after the speed we have shown recently, and I hope to get a good result to help us to win the championship.”
FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP 2017 -WRC Australia (AUS) – WRC 16/11/2017 to 19/11/2017 – PHOTO : @World
Esapekka Lappi
“I really want to finish on a high in Australia, and to help the team to win the manufacturers’ championship. Last year, this rally for me was all about gaining experience, and hopefully I can use that to have a stronger performance this time. If the weather is dry then we know that the road sweeping will be a big challenge, as there is so much loose gravel on the surface. I got some practice running first on the road there last year, but we also found that it can rain quite heavily. Then, the grip levels can change a lot through the forests.”
Citroen Abu Dhabi Racing WRT
Mads Østberg
“Although I missed this round last season, I’m delighted to be competing here again, especially as I know the stages well, given that they don’t change that much from year to year. It’s a fast event, really enjoyable to drive. I’ve always been quick here, even though a bit of bad luck on occasions has meant that results haven’t always reflected my speed. I haven’t driven my C3 WRC for a little while now but I hope that I’ll adjust to it again as quickly as possible. With our road position, in theory, we have a very good chance to do something here. It’s up to us now to make the most of the opportunity.”
Craig Breen
“Although last year was my first appearance here in Australia, I had good speed on the stages, until unfortunately I got caught out by a heavy downpour on Sunday’s leg. This year, some older sections from 2014 to 2016 have been brought back into the itinerary, but I love this rally and I’ll be doing everything possible to compensate for my lack of knowledge of the stages. I have high hopes that I’ll be on the pace, as I was during the opening leg on gravel in Spain! Given that it includes parts of stages used in the rally, the shakedown is really representative, so it should help us get our bearings.”
Craig Breen made headlines last year after rolling out during Sunday’s stages. He’ll want to make the finish this year. Photo credit, Citroen Racing
Now, we are still waiting for some driver announcements, mainly about M-Sport. I don’t think we’ll hear anything about this until after the season has concluded though. The teams fighting for the titles have too much to focus on.
It’s been on the cards for a while now, but McLaren have today confirmed that they will be participating in the 103rd running of the Indianapolis 500 with Fernando Alonso. They’ll return to the ‘Brickyard’ as McLaren Racing with no confirmation as to which of the two IndyCar engine suppliers the team will be running with, though presumably it would be Chevrolet.
We have, of course been here before… last year McLaren shocked the world by allowing Alonso to run in the Indy 500 instead of the Monaco GP with the goal of winning the race and thus completing a third of motorsport’s ‘Triple Crown’. At the time, Alonso only had one part of the crown, the Monaco GP. This has, of course, changed since then with the Spaniard taking the win at the 24 hours of Le Mans, along with teammates Sebastien Buemi and Kazuki Nakajima. This, therefore means that he’s only missing the Indy 500 to take the crown – but this could be his toughest challenge yet.
Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City Friday 26 October 2018. Fernando Alonso, McLaren. Photo: Steven Tee/McLaren ref: Digital Image _1ST3356
When he last attempted the Indy 500, Alonso rocked up and was right up there contending for the win, only to be thwarted, rather ironically, by his Honda engine letting go. He took this defeat very graciously, delivering a very amusing speech at the gala after the race and drinking a carton of milk in the press conference.
Getting his hands on the real glass of milk, however, will not be easy by any stretch of the imagination. With the universal aero kits, the whole dynamic of oval racing has changed drastically, meaning that Alonso’s previous experience won’t count for all that much in the grand scheme of things. Pack racing is no more, and strategy is more important than ever, so it’ll be crucial that McLaren get some experienced IndyCar engineers on board.
With no Andretti teammates to rely on, things will be even tougher for Alonso, not to mention the fact that luck has to be firmly on your side to win the world-famous race; something that seems to have alluded Alonso in the past few years!
Another thing that will almost certainly be different is their engine supplier with the team expected to take Chevrolet engines instead of the Honda they used last time. This is because of a number of reasons, chief among which is the fractious relationship that McLaren and Honda endured throughout their most recent F1 partnership, leaving Honda unwilling to supply McLaren again. Also, Alonso’s WEC forays with Toyota don’t exactly help matters so Chevrolet is probably McLaren’s best option.
But anyway, this move is undoubtedly a positive thing for both parties. If IndyCar can’t have Alonso for the season, they’ll take him for the Indy 500, whether he wins, wrecks or does anything in between. Expect another announcement fairly soon, shedding some more light on the engine situation but, for now at least, McLaren and Alonso have got another two F1 races to focus on!
Thierry Neuville took some time out for me, ahead of the WRC title deciding finale down under to answer some questions. Here is what he had to say.
Warren Nel. After your second victory of the year in Portugal, you took the lead of the championship. How satisfying was this?
Thierry Neuville. It was good to get into the lead of the championship honestly. We knew running first on the road would be more difficult after that, but still I mean for more, still being competitive, with two wins in a row was quite good, so was quite satisfying, but it makes the end of the season more difficult.
2018 FIA World Rally Championship Round 06, Rally de Portugal 17-20 May 2018 Thierry Neuville, Nicolas Gilsoul, Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC Photographer: Austral Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
WN. Thinking back to Rally Italia Sardegna, when you caught and passed Seb Ogier for the victory on the Sunday, sum up your feelings about your performance in the car on that day.
TN. Actually, our car was working very well all day, and I was enjoying a lot, so felt comfortable heading into the last day, catching tenths by tenths, but very stressful before the last stage, obviously there were a lot of rumours about Seb losing or missing his timing card, makes it more stressful, but we kept calm, kept pushing and were able to win, so really proud of that, was actually the first time that I felt that feeling.
2018 FIA World Rally Championship Round 07, Rally Italia Sardegna 07-10 June 2018 Photographer: Helena El Mokni Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
WN. During Rally Finland, did you look to your teammates to stop Sebastian Ogier scoring a lot of points, as you seemed to not be able to fight near the front?
2018 FIA World Rally Championship Round 08, Rally Finland 26-29 July 2018 Thierry Neuville, Nicolas Gilsoul, Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC Photographer: Austral Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
TN. Of course I tried, but at the end they were not in a position to help me, I did the maximum I could, took the points in the powerstage. It was the only thing we could fight for as our car was really uncompetitive.
WN. Rally Turkey was a very rough event, and it led to your suspension breaking whilst in the lead at the start of Saturday. It meant that your only chance to score points was going to be in the power stage. Did you feel a lot of pressure going into that stage?
TN. Of course, you feel a lot of pressure, because every point is important, the championship fight is very close so you need to give everything you can, we did it, another five points in the power stage even if we could have easily won the rally, the car was working well on that surface, and I was going as fast as I could on the new ground, where everyone had to make new pace notes, we were just dominating, especially on the first day, being first on the road.
2017 FIA World Rally Championship Round 10, Rally Turkey 13-16 september 2018 Thierry Neuville, Nicolas Gilsoul, Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC Photographer: Fabien Dufour Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
WN. Which drive so far this year have you been most proud of this year?
TN. To be honest, there are plenty. We have been on it absolutely all the time, never really could release the pressure, obviously working really hard, but for sure the one to remember is Sardegna, final day.
WN. Thinking ahead to Rally Australia, an event that you won last year, you won’t be first on the road. How much of an advantage will this give you over Sebastian, and will you target victory as your best chance to win the championship?
2017 FIA World Rally Championship Round 13, Rally Australia 16 – 19 November 2017 Thierry Neuville, Nicolas Gilsoul, Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC Photographer: Sarah Vessely Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
TN. Obviously, yes. When you head to Australia leading the championship with only a small amount of points difference would be difficult, so now we are just behind. We need to score four more points, it’s not an easy target for sure, but I’m very sure we can do it, and really looking forward to it!
A big thank you to Thierry Neuville for his answers and many thanks to the PR at Hyundai Motorsport Nicolette Russo for her help and finally thank you Julia Paradowska, our PR for her help too.
After the Fiesta in Mexico, it’s Samba time in Brazil, and you would scarcely believe that it was 10 years ago that Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa had one of the most dramatic championship finishes in F1 history in Brazil – which Lewis Hamilton clinched the 2008 championship with seconds left of the race.
And, as the F1 Bandwagon rolls into Sao Paulo, Hamilton has since added four more to his tally, including this year, sealing the title in Mexico last time out, as he did last year, and he will aim to do what he has been unable to do the last two times he has won the championship before the last race; win.
Subconsciously perhaps, he switched off in 2015 and 2017 after winning the championship in both those seasons, and this trait is something that both Ferrari and Valtteri Bottas may be looking to capitalise upon in Brazil. Can Bottas finally win a race in what has been a desperately unlucky season for him, with strategies, punctures and team orders thus far costing him victories. However, with Hamilton already crowned, Bottas will surely be allowed to win should he be ahead.
Brazil GP infographics. Image courtesy of Pireli Media
We arrive at the 4.3 kilometre Interlagos circuit, which is situated in a rainforest; this particular rainforest has tossed up all sorts of whacky races at the track since its F1 inception in 1973, creating intense championship showdowns in 2008 and 2012.
This will be the first Brazilian Grand Prix in recent years not to feature a Brazilian driver, with Felipe Massa having retired from the sport last season. Considering the rich history Brazil has in F1, with incredible races along with some of the best racers F1 has ever seen, such as Emerson Fittipaldi, Nelson Piquet, and of course, the great Ayrton Senna – its quite sad not see a Brazilian replacement for Massa.
Daniel Ricciardo’s Red Bull will be in Brazil, but whether it will take the Aussie to the chequered flag is another issue entirely. Despite his comments in Mexico, he will of course be racing in Brazil, but he and Max Verstappen are not expected to be in contention for victory, at a track with far better suits Mercedes and Ferrari.
Ferrari took victory last year, with race winner Sebastian Vettel with third place going to Kimi Raikkonen sandwiching Valtteri Bottas. Hamilton missed out on a podium finishing 4th; due to a crash in qualifying, which meant he started the race from the pit lane due a gearbox and PU units change.
With both the US and Mexico grandprix, Ferrari have found their form that deserted them pre spa. Even with Mercedes on the back-foot, they still have a fifty-five point advantage over the Italian team in the constructors championship.
Besides the battle for the constructors, there is still a lot of pride at stake, Esteban Ocon will see this race as a hopeful audition for a seat at Williams alongside George Russell next year, Sergey Sirotkin will be hoping to show he deserves to stay at the British team, and Brendon Hartley is fighting to keep his drive at Toro Rosso.
The Drivers’ championship may be over, but there’s still a lot that needs to be settled as F1 reaches the penultimate race of 2018.
Image courtesy of Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
It was a dreamy race weekend for Jorge Martin (Del Conca Gresini Moto3) who started from pole position, won the race and clinched the Championship with one race to go. But it was commiserations for Marco Bezzecchi (Redox PrustelGP) who saw his Championship chances slip away as he settled for second position in the title fight and fifth in the race.
Ultimately, this sealed his position in the Championship, as even if his closest rival Fabio di Giannantonio (Del Conca Gresini Moto3) did win the final race of the season in Valencia, he would be one point shy of second place in the Championship. di Giannantonio managed to come back from 13th in qualifying to finish just behind his compatriot, Bezzecchi.
There seemed to be a flash of nerves from Bezzecchi, who had to scores better than fifth if he wanted to keep his Championship hopes alive until the next race. However, he just didn’t seem able to pick off one extra rider before the finishing line. Martin though managed to run away with his lead as soon as he got to the final few laps, whether that was tyre conservation or nerves too, he seemed to handle it better than his rival.
However, things could have been very different had Aron Canet (Estrella Galicia 0,0) not slid out of first place. Could the Spaniard have thrown a spanner in the works and forced the Championship fight onto Valencia? It just wasn’t his race.
It was a good weekend for Leopard Racing who got a double podium – Lorenzo Dalla Porta in second and Enea Bastianini in third. Very impressive for Dalla Porta who has had some solid results in the later half of the season, and Bastianini who would have been fighting for every point to catch up to di Giannantonio in the Championship. Their rivalry can continue though as they both move up to Moto2 in 2019, as well as Bezzecchi and Martin.
It was an Italian heavy top 10 with only four riders coming from different countries. But both of the SIC58 Squarda Corse riders (Italy’s Niccolò Antonelli and Japan’s Tatsuki Suzuki) managed to score tenth and ninth places respectively. This is of particular significance as the late MotoGP rider Marco Simoncelli passed away after an accident at the 2011 Malaysian GP. The team, started by Paolo Simoncelli, haven’t had a joint top 10 effort this season, so for both bikes to make it over the finishing line like they did was a special moment for them.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t the case for home favourite Adam Norrodin (Petronas Sprinta Racing) who finished last after he crashed out at the Sepang International Circuit having had an impressive run to 12th.
With the Championship done and dusted, Valencia will be an interesting race because all riders can relax and race for fun – could that mean that some new faces grace the last podium of the 2018 season? Or will Martin want to extend his record for pole positions achieved in a season?
The Malaysian Grand Prix certainly felt like a throwback race to about ten years ago; Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) was leading until four laps to go and Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda) was riding better than he has almost all season.
The only thing missing was Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati) – who withdrew from the weekend following Friday practice, still very much struggling with injury.
It was a race that most dream of seeing, Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda) was chasing down Rossi who had a great start and managed to thunder past Johann Zarco (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) but the gap between the two was lengthening. It felt like Rossi had the race in the bag until he slid out with four laps to go and then Marquez romped to the finishing line. Zarco was over taken by a keen Alex Rins (Suzuki), and Maverick Vinales (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) rather predictably had late race pace so only really performed near the end of the race.
It was a long race for most, there were no huge jumps like in Moto3, so instead it felt like riders would pick off a rider with each lap and slowly climb the leader board. It wasn’t fast paced, even though Marquez did set a new circuit record. Even though the Championship is all tied up for Marquez, Rossi would need to win in Valencia to secure second in the Championship, while Vinales could beat his team mate to third if he scores 3 points or more than Rossi does in the final round. So, there is still a lot to play for as the MotoGP class rolls into Spain one last time in 2018.
An area of great concern during the race however, was that Marquez had really abused his back tyre to gain on Rossi, so had Rossi finished the race – would Marquez be able to keep up or would his tyre have lasted at all until the end? Exploding tyres is not totally unheard of, but for someone as light as Marquez, it is rather surprising that the wear and tear was so evident. Repsol Honda probably would have looked into this but they’re most likely too busy celebrating their Constructor’s Championship title and Rider’s Championship.
Although, it was Hafizh Syahrin (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) who put in a stellar performance in front of his home crowd. The Tech 3 rider is the first Malaysian rider in MotoGP to race at the Sepang International Circuit, and to be in the top ten and the best Rookie is a feat in itself. He was probably hoping to secure more points again Franco Morbidelli (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS) who is ten points ahead of him in the Rookie standings.
All in all, it was a memorable race for Marquez and Rossi fans alike, albeit for very different reasons but the Malaysian fans got something truly special out of their home favourite. But if you felt like this race lacked anything, it was a good old fashioned fight for the podium, unfortunately it just wasn’t meant to be this time around.
As the 2018 season starts to come to an end, Moto3 rolls into town for the last of the fly-aways in Malaysia. With the Championship battle still well underway, the next race is vital to see if Marco Bezzecchi (Redox PrustelGP) will close the narrow gap between himself and front runner, Jorge Martin (Del Conca Gresini Moto3), or see if the Gresini rider will get one step closer to clinching the title.
But it’s not just down to those two, as Fabio di Giannantonio (Del Conca Gresini Moto3) could creep into first place if he has two stellar runs and Bezzecchi’s unfortunate luck continues.
With all to play for it will be an interesting weekend, but rather predictably Martin will be starting from pole position after clinching his record breaking 11thpole. Bezzecchi is right on his tail in 2ndthough, so no one will be playing catch-up like in Phillip Island.
The Italian Tony Arbolino (Marinelli Snipers Team) and Scotland’s John McPhee (CIP – Green Power) round out the top four, with last weekend’s breakthrough talent Celestino Vietti (SKY Racing Team VR46) qualifying in an impressive 12thplace. Could we see another top 10 finish, or even another podium? It would definitely spice up the Championship, if Martin and Bezzecchi weren’t enough.
Martin does have good form at the Sepang International Circuit, finishing 2ndlast year, behind Moto2’s Joan Mir (formerly Leopard Racing) and in front of Enea Bastianini (Leopard Racing). However, Bezzecchi finished in 19th, and he’ll be looking to improve on that if he wants to stand any chance of pipping Martin to the title – and his good qualifying will help with that.
Qualifying didn’t show any particular bike benefiting from the two long straights that the Sepang International Circuit is know for, with a results almost splitting perfectly between the Honda and KTM bikes – but all year long the KTM has had incredible speed in a straight line. So, this particular feature might help Bezzecchi but only if his fortunes change.
All riders will be looking to get some last-minute points in to improve their chances when they all descend upon Valencia for the last race of the season, but after riding three weekends in a row, they’ll be feeling a little delicate, especially the guys who’ve suffered some nasty crashes. Jaume Masia (Bester Capital Dubai), Gabriel Rodrigo (RBA BOE Racing Team) and Nicolo Bulega (SKY Racing Team VR46) will not be racing this weekend, but Bulega’s replacement could be the cat amongst the pigeons in terms of the Championship.
Carlos Sainz Jr (ESP) Renault Sport F1 Team RS18. Mexican Grand Prix, Friday 26th October 2018. Mexico City, Mexico.
Photo credits: Renault Mediacentre
2016 marked Renault’s return to Formula 1, A six year plan was put in place for the French marque’s comeback to the top of the grid. Three years into that timetable, things are going well for the team.
At the end of 2015, the Lotus team, powered by Mercedes engines, was in a constant demise. Poor results and a declining financial state had the British-Russian team on the ropes. Renault’s intention to return as a works team was rumoured around the paddock for quite some time, and on 28 September 2015, it was officially announced. The Enstone factory would be yellow again.
We have seen this scenario before, and the examples from recent history are profound. Red Bull did the same thing back in 2005, Mercedes, too, in 2010. And they all succeeded, because they all had a thorough plan.
The fact that the managerial positions in Renault are not being held by the same people anymore does not affect the fact that the French are a ‘work in progress’, with signs of improvement every single year.
Their driver line-up is improving little by little. Jolyon Palmer and Kevin Magnussen was just the beginning, although they would love to have Romain Grosjean on board, had he not left for Haas.
2017 saw Nico Hulkenberg joining the team, making him their number one driver, for some reason the German scored points on 7 occasions, finishing 10th on the standings. And for the 2018 season, Carlos Sainz joined him.
Next year Daniel Ricciardo will have the Renault badge on his chest, this shows the team’s determination to push through a really hard driver market and make the necessary moves, to ensure that it can have the drivers who will be able to extract the maximum potential out of the car. Does it ring a bell Red Bull did the same with Mark Webber firstly and Sebastian Vettel two years later; so did Mercedes with Michael Schumacher for its first ‘awkward years’ and Lewis Hamilton for its domination.
Apart from that, Cyril Abiteboul, team principal for Renault Sport, has done a fairly good job recruiting experienced and talented people at the team’s technical side. Marcin Budkowski, Ex FIA man, joined them last April, and James Allison is rumoured to make the step from Brackley to Enstone. It’s highly important for them to have staff that knows how to make the right choices and develop a championship-winning car.
2021 is the biggest chance for Renault to be in the contention for the world title. It is not an easy task, but they have already shown their progress from 2016 to 2017, and from 2017 to 2018. From 9th on the standings, they currently are 4th, having the ‘best of the rest’ car and the ‘best of the rest’ driver in Hulkenberg.
If they can continue like this, success is a matter of time.
After just over two months of teasing, Fernando Alonso and Jimmie Johnson have finally announced that they will be driving each other’s cars at the Bahrain International Circuit on the 26th November, the day after the Abu Dhabi GP. No more information than that is given in the admittedly cringe-worthy fifty-second clip posted on both driver’s social media accounts, but it does at least draw some sort of an end to the speculation that had been conjuring up ever since this was first hinted at in mid-September.
The first video, posted on 12th September, set up the idea of a car-swap scenario with both drivers expressing interest at the events on the opposite side of the Atlantic. Really, this goes back much further than September, in fact back to late January when the pair took part in a rather amusing photo-shoot at the Daytona 24 hours, which can be essentially described as a staring competition (with a cameo from Lando Norris).
The next teaser came nearly two weeks ago with another equally cheesy clip, showing Alonso and Johnson going about their training regimes while watching each other’s races, though both of them were winning their races so it must have been from quite some time ago!
This whole saga has been very typical of Alonso’s appearances on social media of late, generally communicating through the medium of cryptic GIFs and tweets. Basically, it’s made everyone do what we’re doing now, talk about both Alonso and Johnson, whose careers have taken respective nose-dives in recent years. Johnson hasn’t won a race all season in the NASCAR Cup Series, his last win was back at Dover in 2017 and many have been speculating about his future in the series. It’s a very similar story for Alonso whose winless drought stretches back to the 2013 Spanish GP, with his F1 career coming to a conclusion at the end of this season.
The car-swap could be seen as a publicity stunt for both drivers, both wanting to remind the world of their greatness despite their respective lulls. Equally, they could just be doing it for a bit of fun; they’re both of a similar ‘drive anything’ type of personality and have clearly formed a strong friendship over the years… This kind of thing has probably been on the cards longer than anyone else knew, they just had to work out how to make it feasible.
Alonso himself may view this as the start of his 2019 ventures which remain as of yet unannounced. He’s hinted that he’ll probably not be doing a complete season of anything but instead dipping in and out of various series with the Indy 500 obviously a target and rumours that he may be attempting the Daytona 500 as well.
Whatever the reason behind it, the car-swap will be very interesting to see with more focus probably on Alonso’s NASCAR performance than Johnson’s F1 run for a multitude of reasons, mainly that the Spaniard will almost certainly drive a NASCAR again whereas Johnson is unlikely to get another go in an F1 car.
