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  • Paul Ricard: A maze of a race

    French Gp 2018 race start. Image courtesy of Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool

    Last weekend saw the return of the French Grand Prix, this time at Paul Ricard. Overall the expectations for this race were low, as this is not particularly the best circuit France has. With all of its 167 different layout options, there were enough options to make the track more interesting for racing. Many did think though that this layout was not the best they could have chosen, and that it wouldn’t provide any good racing. How wrong many people were then when this race made up for the previous two races at Monaco and Montreal, which were criticised for being too boring.

    First of all, there were many debates even amongst the drivers about the track. One of the problems being discussed was the pit lane. Especially the exit was deemed very dangerous as drivers re-joining the track will get on the racing line of the upcoming drivers. The other problem was the chosen layout, with focus on the chicane on the Mistral straight. This, according to Brendon Hartley and Sergio Perez, would not provide many overtakes and thus asked for it to be removed. They were proven wrong, as this race with all of its 57 overtakes provided the most overtakes of this season yet. For sure it helped that the DRS zone before the chicane was 700 metres long, which helped Vettel and Bottas to regain some positions after their terrible start.

    Other drivers like Lewis Hamilton and Nico Hülkenberg complained about the confusing blue and red lines. These lines disorientated not only the drivers, but for fans watching it on TV it was very confusing too. The Free Practices on Friday demonstrated that the drivers struggled with the braking points due to the many lines surrounding the circuit. Vettel almost took a turn too early at the Mistral chicane and Hamilton almost drove straight into Vandoorne as he missed his braking point as well. It was not going to be an easy race for the drivers.

    For some drivers their weekend even started disappointing after qualifying. With both McLaren drivers in only P16 for Alonso and P18 for Vandoorne, it really was an embarrassing Saturday for the Woking team. This disappointing result in the light of rumours that employees are unhappy doesn’t help their situation at all. Another team that has to feel embarrassed was Williams. They didn’t stand a chance as they qualified in P19 and P20, filling up the last places on the grid. Luckily for them Hartley had to start in last position as he had a 35-place grid penalty, so both drivers moved up a place.

    Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet, France.
    Saturday 23 June 2018.
    Fernando Alonso, McLaren MCL33 Renault.
    Photo: McLaren
    ref: Digital Image SUT_French_Grand_P_1630069

    The race however, which started an hour later than normal because of the World Cup, didn’t disappoint at all. The start of the race was very chaotic. Vettel had a better start than Bottas in front of him, but couldn’t get past Lewis who seemingly didn’t have a good start as he held Vettel up. This all resulted in a crash between Vettel and Bottas, as Vettel locked up his brakes and drove into Bottas. Verstappen had to evade them and, as he said himself after the race, took ‘the fast chicane’. Vettel did get a five second penalty from the stewards for the incident. However, for Lewis and many fans alike this penalty was not enough as he still finished higher than Bottas. The crash looked like just a racing incident as Vettel locked up and as a result hit Bottas, which is something that can happen at the start of the race especially with a tight corner like the first at Paul Ricard. It got even worse when it was announced after the race that Sebastian was voted Driver Of The Day, which seems very strange after he caused a collision and many fans thus were surprised.

    French GP 2018. Image courtesy of Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool

    After the race no other than second placed Max Verstappen took this crash as the opportunity to joke about criticism towards him about his driving style. ‘’I think the next time you see Seb you should ask him to change his style, you know, because honestly it is not acceptable. That’s what they said to me in the beginning of the season so I think they should do the same.’’ Again he got a well-deserved podium, just like he did at Canada. It looks like Max has proven indeed that his driving style is the right one as his teammate Ricciardo didn’t get on the podium. Surely he didn’t have the best start of the season you could get, but now he has gotten himself two podiums in a row. With the home race for Red Bull coming up this weekend it will be his job to achieve this again, this time maybe even a win.

    The start crash between Vettel and Bottas did liven up the race though, as they had to fight their way through the field. However, this was not the only crash at the start of the race. Two of the three starting French drivers at their home Grand Prix crashed after just three turns, as Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon crashed into each other. Neither of them did get a penalty for it though, as the stewards decided that they were both at mistake and it wouldn’t matter anyway as they were both out of the race. In front of the cameras a seemingly very emotional Gasly explained that he hoped for a better result as this home grand prix means a lot to him. It was a disappointing weekend for the French fans, as Grosjean didn’t deliver too with just an eleventh place.

    Kimi Räikkönen on the french gp podium. Image courtesy of Ferrari

    Overall then this French GP was a good one. It saw the most overtakes of the season yet, delivered some chaos, controversy and drama. There were many doubts about this race as this circuit wouldn’t make for an interesting race, but instead we got one of the more interesting races of the season. Now the question is, after we’ve seen this race, should there be changes made to the track like some drivers suggested? It looks like it isn’t necessary. Will Vettel ruin his chances for the championship on his own again just like last year? Is the new Mercedes engine good enough for Lewis to dominate again? We shall see, as this week we head down to the second GP of the ‘triple header’ in Austria, the Red Bull Ring.

  • Tales of Woe: Whatever happened to two of F1’s most dominant teams?

    Tales of Woe: Whatever happened to two of F1’s most dominant teams?

    So far this season we’ve had a Mercedes winner, a Ferrari winner and Red Bull winner. This is completely normal and what we’ve come to expect, given that those teams have become F1’s ‘big three’. The only other team to get a podium so far was Force India at Baku, such is their stranglehold on F1. Two of the names most notably missing from that list are McLaren and Williams who are both having shockers of a season amid growing tensions.

    Ayrton Senna. Image courtesy of Paul Lannuier

    This was not always the way. McLaren are not only the second-oldest active team after Ferrari, they are also the second most successful team – also after the Italian marque. Over 52 seasons and 833 races entered, they’ve racked up 155 pole positions and fastest laps, 182 wins, 12 drivers’ titles and 8 constructors’ titles. That is quite some record! However, their last podium came back at Australia 2014 and you have to look even further back for their last win – Brazil 2012. So, where did it go wrong for McLaren?

    If you ask them, the first word you’ll get will almost undoubtedly be “Honda”. It’s true, through their most recent three-year partnership they scored no wins, no podiums and only had a best result of fifth. Throughout that time, McLaren repeatedly claimed to have ‘the best chassis on the grid’ which, rather sceptically at first, we all ended up buying into. Truth be told, they evidently didn’t as now they’ve switched to Renault engines, the same as Red Bull and Renault, for this season, they’ve been pretty awful. Best result of fifth, a lot of no-scores and DNFs… oh wait, this is sounding a lot like it did with Honda! The majority of the problem still lies with McLaren.

    Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet, France.
    Saturday 23 June 2018.
    Fernando Alonso, McLaren MCL33 Renault.
    Photo: McLaren
    ref: Digital Image SUT_French_Grand_P_1630069

    In truth, it all starting going downhill way before Honda came back on the scene. McLaren lost their star, their prodigy that they’d supported since day one, they lost Lewis Hamilton. Most people were puzzled, to say the least, at Hamilton’s move away from the race-winning McLaren to the struggling Mercedes for 2013 but, with countless race wins, three world titles and a lot of success, it all makes sense now! Hamilton not only wanted a new challenge, he knew the direction McLaren was headed and that direction was down.

    Under the year’s of Martin Whitmarsh, management structures had been put in place that just don’t fit F1 while Ron Dennis took a step back, removing some of the atmosphere of fear. When Whitmarsh went, Dennis came back into control and signed the Honda deal, citing that they would only be successful if they were a works team. We all know how that went but now Dennis’ has been pushed out of his own company in favour of Zak Brown and Eric Boullier. This seemed like it was going to be a new McLaren revolution, they’d signed with Renault, they’d kept Fernando Alonso (somehow!) and now they were going to get back to winning races. They believed it and, for a moment, we believed it but it came to nothing and this reflects the mood at McLaren now.

    The way out of this rather large hole seems a long one and they’ll probably have to wait for the 2021 rule change before they can even dream of being competitive again. But, with a diminishing amount of sponsors, a disgruntled star driver who’s looking for the door and general staff dismay, the question is if they can stay afloat until then?

    Williams’ story is equally tough and also lacks a clear way out. Now Williams hasn’t been quite as successful as McLaren in the past but their record is still one to be coveted. 128 poles, 133 fastest laps, 114 wins, 7 drivers’ championships and 9 constructors’ championship is nothing to be ashamed of for a racing record but, like McLaren, those tallies haven’t been added to for some time. Their last win was the 2012 Spanish GP where the much-maligned Pastor Maldonado surprised us all by winning over Alonso but that was a long time ago.

    For Williams, it has been a slow but constant demise. Founder Frank Williams was left with no choice but to reduce his roles as his health deteriorated, leaving the reins to daughter, Claire Williams. The team have been solidly in the midfield for the past few years, battling with Force India for fourth in the constructors’ championship and while that wasn’t where Williams wanted to be, they were still getting some podiums and decent points.

    This year, however, it’s all gone to pot. The season was troubled before it even got going with the questionable driver choice of Lance Stroll and Sergey Sirotkin. Both vastly inexperienced with patchy racing records and no real scope to develop a car. But really, their biggest problem this season has been the car, not the drivers. They still have arguably the best engine on the grid with the Mercedes but something has gone drastically wrong with the design of the car, meaning that they have been stone dead last all season.

    This is not how they used to be but equally, their last championship of any description came back in 1997 and they haven’t really been a factor in the championship since the dawn of the 2000s. Next year they’ll lose their title sponsor of Martini and, beyond that, even surviving in F1 could be a problem. They, like so many other teams, have pinned all their hopes on the 2021 regulation change and, if that doesn’t help, we may have seen the last of the Williams name in F1.

    It’s not been good, by any stretch of the imagination, for these two teams and it looks like it’s going to get worse before it gets better.

    Featured image courtesy of Andrew Hone/Williams F1 ref: Digital Image _ONY4604

  • IndyCar Road America Report; Newgarden dominates amid Penske resurgence

    IndyCar Road America Report; Newgarden dominates amid Penske resurgence

    It looked like Penske were going to be the ones to beat at Road America with Josef Newgarden and Will Power locking out the front row and, while one’s challenge ended before it even started, the other took his third and most dominant victory of the season, ahead of Ryan Hunter-Reay and championship leader Scott Dixon, to vastly improve his own championship position.

    After starting the season strongly, Newgarden had struggled in the last few races however, he turned that around at Road America to take the win, only failing to lead three laps which were all during the pit stops sequences. Hunter-Reay posed a constant threat throughout the race, always just a few tenths of a second behind Newgarden, shadowing him, waiting for a mistake but none came, and Hunter-Reay was unable to make a move. Power going backwards at the start helped Newgarden as everyone else had to dodge the slowing #12 Penske while his other Penske teammate, Simon Pagenaud, helped by forming a large train behind him and preventing any challenges from anyone below seventh. Despite the help, he still had Hunter-Reay, Alexander Rossi, Takuma Sato, Robert Wickens and Dixon to deal with – all of which put up strong, sustained challenges. Ultimately, it was Newgarden who had the better pace and therefore took the win with a victory that looks a lot more dominant on paper than it did in real life. That result puts Newgarden into fourth in the championship, overtaking teammate Power, and meaning that he’s now only 50 points back – a race win’s distance.

    Josef Newgarden, driver of the #1 Verizon Team Penske IndyCar Chevrolet V6, takes the checkered flag Sunday, June 24, 2018 winning the Verizon IndyCar Series Kohler Grand Prix at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Newgarden, the reigning series champion, is in fourth place in the driver point standings with seven races remaining. (Photo by Phillip Abbott/LAT for Chevy Racing)

    The other two Penske’s of Power and Pagenaud did not live up to Newgarden’s achievements at Road America. Power had started second, but he had an engine problem at the start which dropped him to last within half a lap and effectively ended his race. The Indy 500 Champion now finds himself in sixth in the championship and 65 points back, a large but not insurmountable gap. Pagenaud, meanwhile, finished the race but struggled for pace throughout, only getting up to seventh after barging past Ed Jones in the closing stages of the race. That tops off a sub-standard start to the season for Pagenaud who’s now 138 points astray in the championship; taking the #1 this season is looking more and more unlikely for the 2016 champion.

    Second in the race, and now the championship, was Hunter-Reay who spent the vast majority of the 55 laps staring at the back of Newgarden’s #1 Penske. He had good pace during the race but couldn’t quite find a way past race leader Newgarden while, at one point, it looked like he’d have to fend off the charging Dixon but that came to nothing. Overall it was a decent, if not frustrating, race for the 2012 champion who has very much announced himself in this championship.

    Still in the lead of that championship, with a much-increased margin of 45 points, is Dixon who took third after qualifying, rather disappointingly, in eighth. As ever with the Chip Ganassi crew, clever strategy was the name of the game and meant that Dixon jumped Rossi, Wickens and Sato, putting him in third. This was done by running an extra lap on the first stint then cashing it in on the second by having to stop for less fuel so less time. It was a masterstroke from the #9 crew which meant that Dixon didn’t have to waste time by trying to pass the three on track, which was proving difficult at best for everyone else.

    For a long time, one of the biggest challengers to Newgarden was Rossi who had sat in third right from the start, after pushing Wickens off on Lap 1 in a slightly questionable move which Rossi managed to avoid a penalty for. Sato nearly passed both Rossi and Wickens after the second stops however, Rossi put a stop to that by, you guessed it, pushing him off track! Again, Rossi went unpenalized which did nothing to please Sato or Wickens but, in the interviews after, Rossi saw no error in his ways – rightfully or not. After all that work, Rossi’s race fell apart when he suffered the same suspension issue that teammate Zach Veach had earlier in the race, meaning he actually finished in sixteenth.

    Season-long rival Wickens may have both started and finished fifth however, that doesn’t tell the whole story. After fighting with Rossi early on, Wickens had dropped back off the front group and had to work through the race to get back up to them. He was back with Rossi after the second stops, but any further dual was stopped by Rossi’s suspension issue. Graham Rahal got past Wickens and, after an incident with Pagenaud in the pit lane slowed Wickens down, it looked like it was going to stay that way; in the closing laps of the race, Wickens managed to get back past Rahal to take fifth but still meaning that the Canadian is 119 points back in the championship.

    Next up for the IndyCar paddock is Iowa Speedway after a weekend off, this race was won by Penske’s Helio Castroneves last year who won’t be returning to defend his win this year.

    Full Race Result

    1. Josef Newgarden
    2. Ryan Hunter-Reay
    3. Scott Dixon
    4. Takuma Sato
    5. Robert Wickens (R)
    6. Graham Rahal
    7. Simon Pagenaud
    8. Spencer Pigot
    9. Ed Jones
    10. James Hinchcliffe
    11. Marco Andretti
    12. Jordan King (R)
    13. Sebastien Bourdais
    14. Tony Kanaan
    15. Matheus Leist (R)
    16. Alexander Rossi
    17. Max Chilton
    18. Charlie Kimball
    19. Gabby Chaves
    20. Alfonso Celis Jr. (R)
    21. Zachary Claman De Melo (R)
    22. Zach Veach (R)

    DNF – Will Power

    Featured image courtesy of Michael L. Levitt/LAT for Chevy Racing

  • F1 VS Football

    F1 VS Football

    You might have seen that I went a bit viral this week, with my commentary of the England v Tunisia World Cup match. However, despite its players’ fine coiffures and fancy footwork, football is not my sport of choice. I much prefer motor racing. I’ve been a big fan of Formula 1 and other motorsport since I was a young child watching battles between Michael Schumacher and Mika Hakkinen. So, what’s the appeal? After all, there’s no diving in F1 (apart from Piquet Jr that one time, perhaps); the largely sub-par haircuts are hidden under helmets (although Marcus Ericsson and Kevin Magnussen are putting in valiant footballer-esque efforts); and, sometimes, the races are undeniably boring (recent visits to Canada and Monaco don’t so much spring, but limp, to mind).

    However, some races have more than their fair share of craziness. Two out of three visits thus far to Baku have resulted in bizarre crashes, last-minute drama and surprise podium appearances (Well Done Baku, indeed). Meanwhile, even in less exciting races there’s usually some drama to discuss, whether it’s a first lap clash or a teammate rivalry. Just like football then, not every race is exciting, but there’s usually still something to talk about.

    In place of the referee and VAR we have the all-powerful stewards and their sometimes questionable decisions, and there’s just as much fruitless protesting – only we get to hear it. This has given us gems such as “When did I do dangerous driving?” from an aggrieved Sebastian Vettel, who surely must have known that driving alongside, and then into, Lewis Hamilton under a safety car just might be considered dangerous.

    Instead of aerial duels we have, well, aerial duels, with more than a few cars being launched into the air over the years. Even when cars don’t make it off the ground there’s plenty of dramatic crashes and clashes. From Grosjean’s repeated trips into the wall this season to the numerous clashes between Force India teammates Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon last season, there’s always material for a heated discussion about who was at fault or how an incident could have been avoided.

    From a personal standpoint, this season hasn’t been the most enjoyable for me, mainly because I’m a Williams fan, and, unfortunately, they’ve produced a car so terrible it’s often slower than last year’s model. My second-favourite team, Force India, are going through some testing times as well, with poor results on track and financial problems away from it. They have, however, enjoyed a podium this season, with Perez standing atop the third step at Baku, so that has buoyed my spirits somewhat. However, it’s another reminder that, just as in football, you have to take the lows and the highs with your team of choice, and supporting a team or driver adds another level of emotion and intrigue into the sport.

    So, what else might we be missing in Formula 1? Football has their transfer season, and we have ours. Will Fernando Alonso stay or will he go? Will Daniel Ricciardo accept a cool 20 million to drive for McLaren? Will Robert Kubica ever return to an F1 race seat? These questions and more keep discussions interesting even when the racing is not.

    So, while my forays into football commentary have seen my tweets go viral, and years of tweeting about motorsport have done nothing of the sort, Formula 1 remains the sport closest to my heart. And while I might watch a few more football matches than I used to, nothing will hold my attention like Formula 1 has done for so many years of my life.

     

    Featured image courtesy of Sven Mandel

  • Can Anyone Stop Rea in Laguna Seca?

    Can Anyone Stop Rea in Laguna Seca?

    This weekend, the 2018 Superbike World Championship heads to California, and the Laguna Seca circuit, home of the famous “Corkscrew”. Negotiating turns eight and nine efficiently this weekend will be critical to achieving a good result, but the puzzle of Laguna Seca is not only limited to its most famous section. Coming over the crest of a hill at turn one on full lean angle and at around 160mph gives a breath-taking start to the lap, which leads straight into the second turn at the double-apex Andretti Hairpin. The complexity of this section means mistakes are inevitable across the weekend, so minimising having a setting to give good confidence when braking on angle is essential for this part of the track. Then the circuit flows right into turns three and four. Three is merely a kink, but it is important to take a good line to be able to make a good turn four. At the same time, in the race, the layout of this part of the track means that the fastest line also leaves you open to a pass, so finding the right compromise will be important in the early laps.

    Turn five is a fairly simple, flat right hander, but the radius combined with the relative lack of camber means that it is easy to get sucked in, but the important thing here is the corner exit, because there is then a reasonably long run to turn six through the un-numbered right kink. There is a lot of camber to offer a lot of support in turn six, meaning there is potential for a pass. Turn seven is very fast, on the left side of the tyre. As Always the riders are on the limit of the track boundaries on the exit, and track boundaries in Laguna are enforced not by the Race Direction but by the run-off areas themselves, which are largely gravel – rest easy Mr. Haydon. After the run down the Corkscrew, it is the tricky Rainey Corner, where the riders push the front hard as the downhill run continues before another heavily cambered corner at the penultimate turn. Finally, the last corner is the best overtaking spot, as highlighted by Eugene Laverty in 2013, but as Casey Stoner showed in the MotoGP race back in 2008, it is also quite easy to make a race-deciding mistake at turn twelve.

    Image courtesy of Honda Pro racing

    Chaz Davies best mastered the Californian circuit in race one last year, which was a remarkable victory, only two weeks after he was run over by Jonathan Rea in Misano race one. This year, it is not physical issues which have the potential to hinder Davies this weekend, but rather problems with the bike. Davies has struggled since Imola, and especially in Donington and Brno. In Donington, Davies suffered his worst weekend of the season, missing the podium in both races; then, in Brno he suffered again, but with some crashes in race two he was able to make the podium. Laguna has been a good track for both Davies and the Panigale in recent seasons, and the Welshman will be hoping to make a return to the top step.

    It was Jonathan Rea who took victory in the second Laguna Seca race last year, and the form he is in at the moment would suggest another double could be coming the way of the new ‘most victorious’ rider in World Superbike history. He took that record from Carl Fogarty in race one in Brno two weeks ago, but contact with his KRT teammate Tom Sykes left him as a spectator from lap three in the second race. The frustration from the incident was put to one side, though, as he put pen to paper on a new two-year deal to pilot the ZX-10RR until 2021. As for this weekend, Rea and Davies have been the two to beat around Laguna since 2015, and with the Welshman currently in a difficult moment, this weekend could well be a Johnny Rea domination.

    But maybe Marco Melandri can take it to the reigning World Champion. He should have won race two in Brno but made a mistake at turn three which put him out of contention. Melandri made the podium last year in race two, and may prove to be the only rider with any hope of stopping Rea taking yet another double. However, if his instability issues reappear this weekend, Melandri could have a bigger problem in Laguna than anywhere else – few places require total confidence, especially in the front end, as the Weathertech Raceway.

    What about Sykes? Well, he took two wins in Laguna – one in 2013 on his way to the championship, and the other in 2014 when he shared the winning that day with Melandri, the last time the Italian won in Laguna. He took a pair of second places in 2015 behind Chaz Davies and in front of Rea both times, before he took a third US win in 2016. A podium was followed by a crash two weeks ago, and with his record in Laguna Seca, this weekend could offer an opportunity for Sykes to expand on his solitary victory of 2018 so far.

    Perhaps the biggest question for this weekend is: what can the Yamahas do? Three race wins out of the last four races, across both riders, and including a double for Michael van der Mark in Donington one month ago leave the R1s under significantly more pressure to perform and achieve big results, especially with the Ducati riders having fairly large question marks over the heads of their competitiveness, as well as Sykes. The Pata Yamaha riders could be the biggest contenders to Rea this season, ad they have to be in a good position to be able to try to challenge the championship leader.

    The Aprilias could also have something to say this weekend, with Eugene Laverty making good progress at Brno a couple of weeks back, taking a sixth in race one and a fourth in race two. He was backed up, too, by Lorenzo Savadori who, despite having a bonfire underneath his rear tyre for most of both races, managed to shadow his Milwaukee Aprilia teammate to take seventh in race one and fifth in race two. Coming here, Laverty was confident of being able to achieve podium results, and the progress in the last races would point towards being able to get near that. Maybe they are quite far away, still, but with some luck they might be able to get themselves on the box. Laguna has been a good circuit for Laverty in the past. He only has two podiums, but has only ever raced there once on competitive machinery, in 2013 (when both podiums came), including a stunning win in the second race that year.

    There are also three Americans on the grid this weekend: the two WSBK regulars, Triple M Honda’s PJ Jacobsen and Red Bull Honda’s Jake Gagne; and the wildcard Josh Herrin on a Yamaha.

    Feature image courtesy of hondanews.eu

  • IndyCar Road America Preview

    IndyCar Road America Preview

    After a much-needed weekend off (for some at least) the IndyCar paddock are back in action, this time at the road course of Road America in Wisconsin. We are now over half-way through the season with clear title contenders starting to emerge but, as always with IndyCar, it’s still anyone’s game.

    Last time out was the night race Texas Motor Speedway where Scott Dixon took all the glory with a dominant win, giving him the championship lead after the previous leader, Will Power, came to blows in a collision with Zachary Claman De Melo which was ultimately the former’s fault. The as-yet miserably unlucky Simon Pagenaud finally got his break with a second-place finish ahead of Alexander Rossi who was once again risking it all with daring overtakes.

    Championship-wise, Dixon leads the pack with a 23-point advantage over Rossi who in turn has another 13 points on Indy 500 Champion Power. Ryan Hunter-Reay is the only other man who remains within a race-wins distance of Dixon, being 49-points back. Reigning champion Josef Newgarden is 68 points off the lead and then it’s a sizeable jump back to Graham Rahal and rookie Robert Wickens. Time is starting to become of the essence with a championship looking more and more unlikely for Newgarden or anyone currently behind him however, this is IndyCar… anything can happen!

    Josef Newgarden At Texas. Image courtesy of media.gm.com

    The last running of Road America was won by Dixon in what was a relatively even race for both Honda and Chevrolet, with the latter looking to have the slight edge – whether that will be the case this year remains to be seen. Following Dixon home was the eventual champion Newgarden who headed the Penske quartet of himself, Helio Castroneves, Simon Pagenaud and Will Power.

    Other than a few minor spins and brushes of the wall, the only major incident was when Tony Kanaan hit the wall quite heavily at Turn 11 following an unsuccessful attempt to pass Rossi. The grass margin between the track and the rather unforgiving walls helped quite a few drivers last year and, with no rain scheduled, it should do again this year.

    Road America is, as the name suggests, is a road course so qualifying will be split into the three normal parts starting with two groups of twelve, followed by a single group of twelve and then the all-important Firestone Fast Six.

    There are just two driver changes for this weekend; Jordan King is back in the #20 Ed Carpenter Racing car, taking over from the boss while Force India Junior Driver Alfonso Celis Jr. will be making his IndyCar debut in the solo Juncos entry.

    With nine races already done, there are eight to go, including Road America, so every race is getting that bit more important for the championship contenders. The usual lot of Andretti, Penske and Chip Ganassi should be strong along with Schmidt Peterson who will be hoping for a return to their better form after a run of harder races for the squad.

    After the unsociable times of the night race at Texas, this weekend’s IndyCar times are much more UK friendly with all the practice and qualifying sessions live on IndyCar’s streaming channels and the race being shown live on the BT Sport/ESPN channel. There will also be commentary for both qualifying and the race on our Twitter channel if you’re unable to watch them. The timings for the weekend are as follows:

    Friday

    Practice 1 – 5:00pm
    Practice 2 – 9:15pm

    Saturday

    Practice 3 – 5:00pm
    Qualifying – 9:00pm

    Sunday

    Race – 6:05pm

    Featured Image courtesy of media.gm.com

  • TrackGuide: Paul Ricard Circuit

    TrackGuide: Paul Ricard Circuit

    Location: Le Castellet, Marseille

    Built: 1969

    Track length: 3.63 miles

    Last F1 race: 1990

    Most Successful Driver: Alain Prost (4 x Wins – 1983, 1988, 1989, 1990)

    Paul Ricard was a famous pastis, and often saw sport as an effective tool in marketing. He was the first commercial sponsor of the Tour de France. He decided to invest into a track and saw it as a huge gap in the market. This track was built in 1969 and first used in 1970. Formula 1 had a contract from 1971, it was used on and off until 1990 generally sharing with Dijon.

    Paul Ricard sadly passed away in 1997 and some of his assets were sold on. In 1999 Excelis, owned by former chief executive of Formula 1 Bernie Ecclestone brought the track.

    The track had serious investment placed into it, as it hadn’t been used frequently. It was developed into one of the most advanced test tracks in the world. It was recently used for Formula 2 and their pre-season testing programme. The most recent use for Formula 1 though was for wet tyre testing in May. Pirelli manually drenched the track to get knowledge on a new wet tyre they were researching.

    France Gp tyre and circuit layout courtesy of Pirelli

    The majority of track when first opened was the Mistral Straight, it was 1.1miles long. Elio de Angelis in 1986 testing had a horrific crash which resulted sadly in his death. The track was not at fault, it was a failure on the car, but the straight was shortened to make it safer to prevent such high speeds. They ran on a shorter track for the Grand Prix for the remaining 5 years, 1986 to 1990.

    The track has been modified further for 2018, Mistral Straight’s length is what it was prior to de Angelis’ death but they have placed a chicane in the middle of it. This is to keep it safe with speeds down as well as with slipstreaming and DRS to create a further overtaking opportunity.

    The track is great for the F1 fans due to the high speeds and its flowing nature. Great for the paddock too as there are three French drivers on the grid, Gasly, Grosjean and Ocon.

    Looking at the circuit it should suit Mercedes better especially if the new engine is ready. With having a slight advantage on the straights expect to see Force India and Williams closer in the midfield battle.

  • F1 2018: French Grand Prix Returns After 10-Year Absence

    F1 2018: French Grand Prix Returns After 10-Year Absence

    The French Grand Prix returns to Paul Ricard this week, ten years after the last race in the country was held. Spare a thought for all the teams, who will no doubt be bracing themselves for the prospect of Formula One’s first ever triple-header, with the French, Austrian and British Grand Prix all taking place over the coming weekends.

    Last time out in Canada was something of a shock to the system for many. Past form would have suggested Mercedes were set to dominate the weekend, but that was not the case at all. It may not have been the most exciting race in the world – it was really so very, very far from that – but Sebastian Vettel was sublime all weekend and he cruised to victory from pole position, followed home by Valtteri Bottas and Max Verstappen. With Lewis Hamilton in P5, it means that Sebastian Vettel is now in the lead of the championship, by just one point.

    Ferrari won the last French Grand Prix – which was held at Magny Cours in 2008 and was won by Felipe Massa – and Kimi Raikkonen is one of only two drivers on the current grid, the other being Fernando Alonso, who have won the Grand Prix before. The power unit upgrades Ferrari introduced for Canada proved fruitful, and with Paul Ricard’s long straights you can expect the team to go very well again this weekend.

    Mercedes, meanwhile, are set to finally introduce the power unit upgrades that were originally meant to be brought in for Canada, but were ultimately delayed because of quality control issues. There is no getting away from the fact that they were very underwhelming in Canada, and will definitely be grateful for the upgrades in France given the nature of the track.

    Max Verstappen finished P3 in Canada – the first race this season that he has put in a weekend without incident – continuing Red Bull’s tradition in the hybrid era of performing better there than otherwise might be expected of them. With Daniel Ricciardo also finishing in the top five, and both drivers happy with the upgrades introduced, there is no apparent reason to suggest that Red Bull won’t be able to replicate that sort of performance in France.

    Force India’s Esteban Ocon’s first win in a single-seater was actually at Paul Ricard, and he believes that he is potentially on for a good result this weekend. “On paper, the track should suit us,” he said, “with a long straight and some slow corners where we can use our car’s mechanical grip really well. It’s a track which will be new for everyone and we’re usually good at finding a set-up quickly, so I’m not too worried.”

    Renault are currently enjoying their best start to a season since they returned to F1 as a works team in 2016, and they head into their home race having been bolstered by the power unit upgrade they brought in Canada. They are a respectable P4 in the WCC, 16 points ahead of McLaren. If both Renault and McLaren perform in France as they did in Canada, expect that gap to grow considerably.

    Last time out at the Canadian Grand Prix, Haas introduced a new front wing and floor plus a revised bargeboard, and they are optimistic that these will suit the layout of the Paul Ricard track after two consecutive races of not getting either car into the points. This will actually be Romain Grosjean’s first home race in F1 – his rookie year was in 2009, a year after the last French Grand Prix took place – so expect him to be especially keen for a good result.

    Both Toro Rosso drivers are similarly optimistic about what they might be able to achieve in the race. Pierre Gasly, for whom this is also a first home race in F1, has either won or at least gotten on to the podium every time he has raced at Paul Ricard, and Brendon Hartley, who crashed out of the last race in Canada along with Lance Stroll after contact between the pair, has said: “Paul Ricard is a circuit I know well, although not in a Formula 1 car. We did a lot of testing there with WEC in the LMP1 car and I won the LMP2 category in 2013. It was always a popular track for endurance testing and I’m also pretty handy round there in the night-time, although that’s not going to come into play in a Formula 1 car!”

    Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, Montreal, Canada
    Sunday 10 June 2018.
    Fernando Alonso, McLaren, and Stoffel Vandoorne, McLaren, on the grid.
    Image courtesy of  Andy Hone/McLaren ref: Digital Image _ONZ4265

    Speaking of the World Endurance Championship, there is no doubt that the majority of the off-track spotlight will be on McLaren’s Fernando Alonso, fresh from winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans alongside his #8 Toyota co-drivers Sebastien Buemi and Kazuki Nakijima. However, it may be a case of coming back to reality with a bump for Alonso, as well as for team-mate Stoffel Vandoorne. They struggled around Canada – Vandoorne finished two laps down in P16 and Alonso retired – and with Paul Ricard’s long straights it may unfortunately be more of the same for the Woking-based outfit.

    Charles Leclerc is on a very impressive run of performances at the moment. In Canada he finished ahead of Gasly, both Haas cars, the McLaren of Stoffel Vandoorne, Sergey Sirotkin and even Sergio Perez in the Force India, and managed to hold off Fernando Alonso in several wheel-to-wheel duels before the Spaniard retired from the race.

    Williams’ Lance Stroll is a lot more muted about the track than some of his rivals. “I know [it] from when I drove in Formula 3. I had a good time there and won a race, but I have to be honest because I can’t say I like it,” he said in Williams’ race preview. “It is just run offs everywhere and I am not a big fan.” As mentioned, he crashed out of the Canadian Grand Prix on the first lap – that just about sums up the luck he and the Williams team have been having this year – but maybe don’t expect the French Grand Prix to be the best place for a turn in fortunes.

    Featured Image courtesy of Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool

  • What does the French Grand Prix mean to Formula 1?

    What does the French Grand Prix mean to Formula 1?

    This weekend sees, for the first time ever in Formula One’s 68-year history, three race weekends on the bounce, starting at the returning French Grand Prix. Ahead of the weekend, let’s take a look at what the upcoming French GP means to our sport.

    In a word; everything. Paris was where motorsport was born; the first ever motor race was held in France, and it was from there that the idea of championship racing in single-seater race cars was formed. F1, without France just, well, wouldn’t be what it is today.

    It also sees a look back to the hallmarks of, unforeseen to us back then, a great rivalry in F1 today. In the last race in France in Magny Cours in 2008, Lewis Hamilton was given a penalty for an overtake on… yep, you guessed it, a young German by the name of Sebastian Vettel.

    It would have seen a dominant win for Kimi Raikkonen. However, with a massive lead, his exhaust came loose. It saw a remarkable scene of the exhaust pipe bouncing along the ground, causing a severe drop in power and the risk of the Ferrari donkey imploding. He was caught and passed by team mate Felipe Massa, and Ferrari remarkably still managed a one-two finish.

    This weekend will be the home Grand Prix for Pierre Gasly, who has made an extremely impressive start to his F1 career, Esteban Ocon of Force India,  and Romain Grosjean for Haas; what a time this would be to score his first points of the season and end his draught. It will also be Renault’s home Grand Prix, headed by French boss Cyril Abiteboul and advised by Alain Prost, this will be a big weekend for them. Look out also for the continuation of their exciting battle with Force India and McLaren for fourth in the Constructor’ Championship.

    This weekend, however, the race will be staged away from Magny Cours; at the Circuit in Le Castellet in South East France; just a short trip away from the beautiful city of Marseille. Paul Ricard last hosted a Grand Prix way back in 1990, won by home hero Alain Prost.

    So who are the favourites? On the face of it: Mercedes. Paul Ricard is very much a power track that will suit themselves and Ferrari very well, but perhaps more Ferrari with the location and the increased heat that is expected to suit their car. Looking at it now, it does not really appear as though Red Bull will be troubling them all that much, but as Murray Walker once said, anything can happen in Formula One, and it usually does, so let’s wait and see.

    Formula One has come a long way since then; heroes have come and gone, circuits have opened and closed; while some things have stood the test of time.

    Most of all, it represents a trip back to F1’s roots; a chance to appreciate the humble beginnings of what is now a global empire, and despite the changes since the takeover by Liberty Media, some things can never change. It’s good to have you back on the calendar, France.

    Featured image courtesy of Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool

  • Red Bull to Honda – why the change?

    image courtesy of Red Bull Content pool.

    Red Bull and Renault started off as the perfect love story; good performances, good results, the first win and one-two in 2009, and just the four championships in a row.

    However, this wasn’t to be the fairytale ending. The partnership between the Austrian team and the French engine manufacturer has ended up as a splattered mess all over the carpet, and now Red Bull, following three-and-a-half years of arguments, will now embark on a new relationship.

    Truth be told, it isn’t by choice. If you run through the list of options that Red Bull had for engine suppliers, you’ll find that Honda was the only name on it. Aston Martin, who not only have shares with the team but are now also incorporated in the name, are not expected to be able to supply engines until 2021. With the big engine regulation changes coming into force in three years, it would be a wasted investment for them, not mentioning the difficulty of coming into the sport and making an engine straight away, such are the technical and financial complexities of building modern day Formula One engines.

    Honda, therefore, will be supplying engines next year to Red Bull. The question is, will it work?

    Well, despite the torrid three seasons Honda experienced supplying McLaren, there is promise in that Red Bull junior team Toro Rosso have been using Honda engines this season, and have actually been a fairly competitive midfield team. Their relative performance has not really changed from last year. Couple that with the much tighter chassis that McLaren run compared to the Austrian and Italian Bulls, and Red Bull might just be alright.

    Furthermore, it looked from the outside as though Honda, when supplying McLaren were frankly incompetent, but with the news breaking out about McLaren employees forming a rebuke against the team’s management and even contacting former team Principle Martin Whitmarsh for support, it seems that a big part of the blame perhaps did have to fall to McLaren, with stubborn management an apparent lack of willingness to work with others. Let’s not forget that, under Renault power, McLaren have actually not improved much at all.

    So what happened with Renault? Well, it was all going smoothly until the end of the V8 era. The V6 turbo engines proved all too much for Renault; lack of performance and reliability led to limited and frustrating running in pre-season in 2014, and it all went downhill from there.

    After 2015, Infiniti, who were also working technically with Red Bull, parted ways with the team, and Red Bull, having salvaged some sort if supply deal with Renault, opted to replace the Renault name with Tag Heur on their cars.

    A series of reliability issues for Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo last year was the final straw. The inevitable happened, and Red Bull will now be racing with engines from the Japanese manufacturer from next season onwards.

    Who exactly will Honda be supplying? We know Max Verstappen will be one of the names, having signed a new contract With Red Bull late last year, but the other is less secure. Daniel Ricciardo, despite winning 2 races so far in 2018, is strongly considering a move elsewhere – perhaps to Ferrari to team up again with Sebastian Vettel if and when Kimi Raikkonen retires, which may well be at the end of this season. That could then see a move up to Red Bull for young Frenchman Pierre Gasly, or maybe Carlos Sainz, who is on loan at Renault from Red Bull.

    Honda, you have to feel, is very much a short-term solution for Red Bull as they wait for Aston Martin’s arrival, but let’s see what they can manage next season, and whether Honda can repair their reputation so badly damaged by their time with McLaren.