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  • WSBK Calendar Released – Brno Returns, Jerez Out and Another Lengthy Summer Break

    The 2018 World Superbike calendar has been released and it sees some small changes in comparison to this season’s.

    The first round will be in Australia at Phillip Island, the typical starting point for the season. We then have to wait 1 month before the next round of the championship, in Thailand, at the Chang International Circuit, Buriram.

    The first European round of the year is in Spain, at Aragon before Assen one week later. We then wait 3 weeks until Imola and then two weeks until Donington Park. Two weeks later sees a return to the Czech Republic and Brno – the first time since 2012 that the circuit has featured on the calendar.

    Two weeks after the Czech round, WSBK goes State-side and heads to Laguna Seca before Misano – again, two weeks later. This is the last round before yet another, lengthy summer break. There will be no racing in August and the gap itself is 10 weeks long.

    After the 10-week hiatus, WSBK heads to Portugal and the Portimao circuit – more of a success in 2017 than in many years before. The series stays in Europe for the French round of the championship at Magny Cours two weeks later.

    The final two rounds of the season are both fly-away races. Argentina has been pencilled in for mid-October – two weeks after Magny Cours – and will come from the new Vilicum circuit, although that remains subject to homologation. The final round of the championship will take place in the Middle East in Qatar, at the Losail International Circuit, under floodlights on the 25th – 27th October.

    Image by Yamaha WSBK

     

  • Throwback Thursday – Targa Florio 1906

    Cagno Wins The 1906 Targa Florio – (c) Pathe News

    In my second Throwback Thursday feature article I look at the next race in the 1906 Grand Prix Season, the Targa Florio.

    The Targa Florio was one of the very first and most challenging races. It was in 1906 when the inaugural race took place.

    This race was the brainchild of a wealthy Italian businessman, Vincenzo Florio. He had made a vast fortune in Sicily and he was obsessed with cars. He initially approached a journalist in 1905 in a view to running the race but it wasn’t until 6th May, 1906 when the first ever Targa Florio would take place.

    It would be a three laps of a 92.4 mile circuit in Sicily, near Palermo. Each lap would be treacherous as the roads were not designed for cars. Drivers would encounter wild animals during the race and were also at the risk of being held up by bandits in the Madonie Mountains. Most of the route was made up of mule tracks and paths.

    One of the main rules was that the entries had to be production cars, of which at that time only ten had been made. One of the entrants, Vincenzo Lancia, organised the betting which in those days was very common at motorsport events. Thirty cars had initially entered the race but due to a dock strike in Genoa travel plans were hampered and only ten drivers made it to the start line.

    There were ten minute intervals between cars, Lancia was the first away in his Fiat but he retired due to mechanical failure. The next driver away was Jacques Le Blon driving a Hotchkiss, accompanied by his wife and mechanic Madame Le Blon. They would be the last of the six finishers to cross the line due to a number of punctures suffered over the course.

    Maurice Fournier and his brother Achille entered two cars, both Clement-Bayard’s but they would not see the end of the race due to failures, as too would the British entry George Pope driving an Itala.

    The other five cars to finish ahead of Le Blon were made up of two Italians, two Frenchmen and a Belgian. Alessandro Cagno, an employee of Itala brought the car home in just over nine and half hours, averaging a speed of 29mph. He was followed by another Italian driving an Itala, Ettore Grazione. Paul Bablot driving a Berliet finished third and his fellow Frenchman Victor Rigal in an Itala was fourth. Finishing ahead of the Le Blon’s in fifth place was the Belgian driver Pierre de Caters.

    So much of a success was the Targa Florio that it is still run today, though not in a competitive form.

    The next race in the 1906 Grand Prix season would be the Circuit de Ardennes in Belgium and from this race only Paul Bablot would enter.

    Neil Simmons

    Twitter: @world_racing

     

     

  • Oliveira Wins in Malaysia as Morbidelli is Crowned Champion

    Two great winners and two exceptional sportsmen

    Miguel Oliveira took KTM to their 2nd consecutive victory on Sunday in the Moto2 race, beating teammate Brad Binder to give the Austrian manufacturer their first ever back-to-back 1-2. Franco Morbidelli was crowned champion before the race even got underway, due to Thomas Luthi being ruled out but he still celebrated in style, as he mono-wheeled across the line for 3rd.

    The race started and initially, it was Miguel Oliveira who led from Morbidelli and Alex Marquez, with Pecco Bagnaia pushing his way into 4th place. Carnage erupted at the back of the field though, as Andrea Locatelli knocked off Luca Marini who then took down Axel Pons and local hero, Khairul Idham Pawi. Simone Corsi also went ride to avoid disaster. Over at turn 2, Alex Marquez had crashed out, topping a difficult weekend for the Spaniard.

    More drama unfolded at turn 6, when Sandro Cortese got his Dynamo Intact GP Suter completely crossed up, ramming the back of Japanese rider, Takaaki Nakagami. Both riders cartwheeled through the gravel trap, with Cortese’s Suter catching fire. Nakagami rode his bike back to the pits and retired from the race. Both Idemitsu Kalex bikes had been innocently taken out in the first half a lap, in what was one of the team’s most important races of the season.

    Back at the front, Oliveira had already pulled out an early advantage over Morbidelli, Bagnaia, Brad Binder and local rider, Hafizh Syahrin. Front row starter, Fabio Quartararo, had dropped to 6th but it was the 7th place rider who gained much interest. Up from 17th on the grid, Stefano Manzi had made a sensational start and had got ahead of the likes of Marcel Schrotter and Mattia Pasini.

    By the end of lap 8, we saw our first change at the front of the field. Brad Binder forced his way past Francesco Bagnaia for 3rd and kept the position. He then set his sights on Italian, Franco Morbidelli. Further down the field, Xavi Vierge and Mattia Pasini were moving forward, demoting Marcel Schrotter and also Isaac Vinales.

    It wasn’t until lap 16 where we saw our 2nd change at the front. Brad Binder moved ahead of Franco Morbidelli, sending KTM into a frenzy in pit lane, as the rookie team now looked like they could be on for yet another 1-2 finish. Back in 4th, the battle was starting to close up, with Bagnaia being hunted down by a resurgent Fabio Quartararo and a hard-changing Matti Pasini. Isaac Vinales had also fought his way back through the field, as he occupied 7th.

    As the rain began to fall, Bagnaia was caught, passed and left behind by Fabio Quartararo and Matti Pasini. However, the rain didn’t last and before long, ‘Pecco’ was back ahead and it was Quartararo being dragged back into the clutches of first, Pasini and then, Vinales.

    As the rain dissipated, it was Portugal’s Miguel Oliveira who took the win ahead of his South African teammate, Brad Binder. Yet another win for Miguel and another 1-2 for KTM. This is the first time that a manufacturer other than Kalex has won back-to-back races in Moto2 since Suter in 2012, with Marc Marquez at Misano and Brno. Franco Morbidelli came home in 3rd to take his long-awaited Moto2 crown, with Mattia Pasini fighting to 4th.

    Image by: MotoGP

  • Quick 10 With……James Whitham

    His Twitter bio reads “Ex bike racer . . have been skilfully avoiding a proper job for 30 years .. stunt dad”

    Prior to gracing our screens, he has won the 80cc British Championship, the 1300cc Production British Championship and the TT Superbike Challenge.

    He is a British Superbike Champion having won the title in 1993, was BSB runner-up in 1996 and raced in World Superbikes from 1994 to 1998, a team mate of Carl Fogarty. He competed in World Supersport from 2000-2002 and held the track record at Donington Park until 2007.

    He runs trackdays with Paul Drinkwater Sports Motorcycling and his famous “6T9” logo can be seen on the leathers of big names in bike racing and around the circuits all over the UK.

    British and World Superbike viewers will recognise him from Eurosport as a TV commentator and pundit. His quick wit, humour and amazing technological insight into bikes is without doubt the best you will find on television. His commentary partnership with Jack Burnicle for British Superbikes is quite possibly the most entertaining TV motorsport duet on air.

    He is a true legend, a fantastic bike rider, a respected man on and off the circuit and a genuinely top bloke. His biography ‘What A Good Do!’ is a brilliant read (I highly recommend it).

    These are his Quick 10 questions and he is……James Whitham.

    What is your favourite racing circuit?

    You tend to favour the tracks you go well at, regardless of whether they’re interesting to ride . . my fave UK circuit is Cadwell Park and worldwide is Monza

    Who was your racing idol?

    Mike Hailwood

    Who would you regard as your toughest opponent?

    Carl Fogarty

    Considering racers of all time, you are a team principal and money is no object. Which two racers would you have in your team?

    Mike Hailwood and Jarno Saarinen

    If you could invite four famous people to dinner (past and present), who would you invite?

    Winston Churchill, Adolf Hitler, Nando Parrado and Muhammad Ali

    Your personal racing number? What was it and the reason behind it?

    69 – reads the same either way up !

    What is the best race you have been involved in?

    ’01 World Supersport race Monza . . . 6 of us glued together for the whole race

    Is there a race or series you have not competed in that you would like to or had wanted to?

    I would’ve loved a season on a 250cc (2 stroke) GP bike

    How did you get interested in motor racing? What ignited that spark?

    My dad was a motorcyclist and took me to spectate at some race meetings as a kid . . . I was doomed from there really !

    What is the best advice in racing you have been given?

    Mick Grant always said that I should leave a team or sponsor on the best of terms . . . Don’t burn your bridges I suppose . . . good advice.

     

    I have said this before, but when you get to interview somebody who you are a fan of and have great respect for then as a writer it is a dream come true.

    In this instance I am truly thankful for James taking the time out from his busy schedule to answer the Quick 10 and can’t wait to see him and hear his funny, intelligent and interesting insight on BSB next season. I want to wish James all the best of health and thank him and Paul Drinkwater for this opportunity.

    For more information on James and the track days on offer please visit http://www.jameswhitham.com/ and you can follow him on Twitter at  https://twitter.com/Jimwhit69

    Neil Simmons

    Twitter: @world_racing

  • Hamilton joined an elite list in Mexico, but the race offered a glimpse toward next season.

    Hamilton joined an elite list in Mexico, but the race offered a glimpse toward next season.

    Normally when a Formula One World Championship is decided, it answers all the questions you had throughout the season. Who’s the quickest? Who’s in the best form? Which team is the best?

    The Mexican Grand Prix was far more than F1 tying up loose ends as Lewis Hamilton joined an elite list of just four other drivers in winning the World Championship four times.

    Mercedes content pool.
    Lewis Hamilton is now a certified great after a fourth championship.

    Like Hamilton, Juan Manuel Fangio, Michael Schumacher, Alain Prost and 2017 rival Sebastian Vettel have all had their fair share of fortune, with all men in that list taking the title in consecutive years as their teams enjoyed spells of domination.

    But statistics and numbers is far from the point of this article.

    If Max Verstappen’s confidence had been hit after THAT penalty in the USA, he certainly didn’t show it at the first corner.

    The Dutchman offered up more bold overtaking as hung it out around the outside of Vettel’s Ferrari, as the German and Hamilton collided at the exit of turn three to leave the champion-elect with a rear right puncture.

    From there on, he simply drove away as Valtteri Bottas simply could not keep

    Credit: Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
    Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo have entertained all season

    up in his Mercedes, while he himself gapped Kimi Raikkonen easily.

    Verstappen and teammate Daniel Ricciardo have shown over the past month the potential that Red Bull has going forward, with the team now able to challenge and beat the two heavyweights at the front after falling back earlier in the season.

    However, it won’t be all plain sailing for Dietrich Mateschitz and company. The team will lose their Renault engines after 2018 as the French company have told the team that they do not want to continue their F1 partnership, while they will supply McLaren.

    Talking of whom, it was another encouraging weekend for the sleeping giants at Woking.

    Fernando Alonso set the quickest middle sector of anyone in the first qualifying session. And, as ever, he made everyone knew how well his lap had gone.

    There’s been more punch from the Spaniard recently and his rude move on the Ferrari-powered Haas of Romain Grosjean midway through the race told everyone the fire remained, while his attempts at holding off Hamilton

    Spa Francorchamps, Belgium.
    Sunday 27 August 2017.
    Fernando Alonso, McLaren, on the grid.
    Photo: Steven Tee/McLaren
    ref: Digital Image _R3I1331
    In poor machinery, Fernando Alonso once again showed why many regard him as an all time great

    towards the end entertained and enthralled.

    It is estimated that the Renault Power-Unit is about a second faster than the Honda unit. If that rings true, he would have been very close to the front of the grid and looking at podium in Mexico.

    Should McLaren have a chassis as good as this year’s, the good times might finally start returning to one of F1’s most popular teams.

    And what of Ferrari? Had Vettel not had an Asia from hell during which he retired twice and lost a probable 45 points, this title fight would still be well and truly on.

    GP UNGHERIA F1/2017
    © FOTO STUDIO COLOMBO PER FERRARI MEDIA (© COPYRIGHT FREE)
    Despite a poor Asia, don’t rule out Vettel and Ferrari next year either.

    It’s certainly not goodbye from Maranello as far as front running is concerned and with the driver hierarchy that appears to be in effect there, you wouldn’t bet against Vettel putting up another stern challenge in 2018.

    Mercedes will once again be in the conversion as they bid to extend their dominance to a fifth consecutive season.

    Hamilton claimed straight after the race that there is more titles left in him, so the motivation remains.

    If all these factors play out, 2018 could be a real treat.

  • Mexican Grand Prix Review, Viva Mexico

    Mexican Grand Prix Review, Viva Mexico

    The minute of silence in respect to the people who suffered from the earthquake in the Mexico City was one of the most emotional moments in the Mexican Grand Prix. People are above everything and we should always help and support each other.

    Max Verstappen took the chequered flag in Mexico, but Lewis Hamilton was the big winner of the weekend. Hamilton became the first British, F1 racing driver, with four world titles.

    On Saturday, Vettel set the fastest lap in Q3 of the qualifying session and took the pole position in Mexico, followed by Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton. Lights out, a brave start from the young Max Verstappen who added some pressure on Vettel, took the lead after a wheel to wheel battle with Sebastian, who forced to retreat, and had to fight with Hamilton for the second position. Vettel collided with Hamilton, damaged his front wing and caused a puncture to Hamilton’s rear left tyre. Both drivers pitted and dropped down to the back of the grid.

    Lewis Hamilton stuck behind Sainz’s car, whilst Vettel was pushing hard to gain position. Sebastian had to finish in the first two positions, in order to have chances for the championship in the two remaining races.

    For almost 30 laps, Hamilton, couldn’t find the speed to pass Carlos Sainz’s Renault, Brendon Hartley retired on lap 31 after an engine failure, gave the chance to Mercedes to call Hamilton into the pits, whilst the race was under VSC, and fit him the super-soft tyres.

    The new tyres gave the chance to Hamilton to start his counter attack and cover ground as Vettel was gaining places and was hoping for a miracle in order to get a place on the podium. The German, was far behind the first three drivers, he managed to move up to position four and placed behind Raikkonen, Bottas and Verstappen.

    A few laps before the chequered flag, Hamilton asked his team if Vettel could get the second position, Mercedes’ reply was “Negative” as Bottas was second and it would be hard for anyone to take it from him.

    Esteban Ocon had his chance to shine, especially after lights out, Ocon was third, but after the first pit-stop period Kimi Raikkonen moved up to the third place and forced Esteban to retreat to fourth. Ocon, had to defend his place from Vettel, but that was not easy, and the German took the fourth place. Ocon’s fifth and Perez’s seventh place, were enough to give the fourth position to Sahara Force India in the constructors’ championship.

    Lance Stroll had a quiet race, took advantage of Hulkenberg’s and Ricciardo’s retirements also gained an advantage from Hamilton’s and Vettel’s collision and managed to finish sixth and score eight points for Williams.

    The four-time world champion Lewis Hamilton had a tough start this season, but despite the difficulties that he faced, mainly during the first half of the season, he had the courage to fight back, and showed to everyone why he is one of the best drivers on the grid. Silverstone was the spark that led to Hamilton’s comeback and to his fourth world title (2008, 2014, 2015, 2017).

    Twitter @FP_Passion

  • Title Fight Goes to Valencia as Dovi Wins in Malaysia Again, Marquez 4th

    Incredible from Dovi. Against the odds in Malaysia but now, can he overcome them in Valencia?

    The 2017 MotoGP champion will be decided in Spain at the final round of the season, after Andrea Dovizioso won the Malaysian Grand Prix and Marc Marquez finished 4th, enough to prevent the Spaniard winning his 6th world title. Dovizioso scored 12 points more than Marquez, enough to bring the deficit to the defending champion down to just 21 points.

    After a downpour between the end of Moto2 and start of MotoGP, the premier class race got underway in terribly wet conditions, similar to that of 12 months before. Marquez ambitiously bounced down the inside at turn one from row 3 but ran out wide with Jorge Lorenzo, leaving Johann Zarco to lead for Tech 3 out front. By the end of lap 1, Lorenzo recovered to 2nd with Marquez 3rd. Championship challenger Dovizioso was 4th with pole-man Dani Pedrosa 5th.

    On lap 5, Andrea Dovizioso made his first move. He passed Marc Marquez to take third but that was not enough: the Italian needed to take 8 points or more away from Marquez; at the time, it was a mere 3. Marquez never looked like fighting back but he maintained the pace and held onto the shirt tails of the leading three at the time.

    With Zarco’s lead whittled down to virtually nothing, it was time for the Ducati of Jorge Lorenzo to move ahead. He made short work of Zarco and before long, Andrea Dovizioso followed his so-far-winless teammate, taking 2nd. This now meant that Dovi was taking 7 points off Marquez, 1 shy of the crucial 8 required. This introduced the possibility of two scenarios for the title to be kept alive: Marquez would have to drop back, which would include teammate Dani Pedrosa passing him – an unlikely scenario. The other scenario was Andrea Dovizioso passing his teammate, who, as we have already alluded to, is winless. Would Dovizioso be helped to keep the title alive by Lorenzo? The same multi-million Euro investment Jorge Lorenzo, who is the team’s number 1?

    Dovizioso pushed Lorenzo all the way, with the Bologna Bullets blasting off into the distance – over three seconds clear of Johann Zarco who in turn had a massive lead over series leader Marc Marquez.

    Perhaps the shock of everything was the fact that there were less riders interfering with Marquez and packing out the places in the order. Back in 2015, Rossi and Lorenzo, as close as it was come the end of the season, hardly met on circuit – either because they were too far out front from each other or there were riders separating them – Silverstone and Phillip Island examples of the latter. On Sunday, there were no signs of Rossi, who looked good in the dry. Likewise, for Petrucci, a demon in the wet – although he suffered a breakdown on the sighting lap. The Suzukis weren’t in the mix and Jack Miller was also out of the top 6. How vital will the lack of interference be at the end of 2017?

    We then saw a message from Ducati’s pit crew appear on Lorenzo’s dashboard. “Suggest mapping 8” it read. Whilst we all took to Twitter to ‘suggest’ what “suggest mapping 8” meant, Jorge Lorenzo lost the front of his Ducati at the re-profiled turn 15, allowing Dovizioso to power past Lorenzo and lead across the line. Dovizioso was now in a position where he would take a whole 12 points off Marquez, enough to keep the championship alive.

    Dovizioso won for a 6th time in 2017 and Ducati got their first 1-2 since Austria last season, as Lorenzo came home in 2nd – his best result on the GP17. Johann Zarco got his 2nd podium of the season, as he completed the top 3, giving Tech 3 their first taste of champagne in Malaysia.

    The championship moves on and heads back to Europe, where all is to play for in what is set to be some of the most high-pressured racing of the season. Who will be the winner of an incredible championship?

    Image by: MotoGP

  • Grand Prix of Mexico Race Reaction

    image courtesy of Pirelli Motorsports.

    After an exciting qualifying yesterday in which Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen outqualified current Drivers Championship leader Lewis Hamilton, anticipation was the order of the day. Mathematically, as long as Sebastian Vettel finished third or lower Lewis Hamilton would win the title today. Even if Vettel had been on one of the top two steps of the podium, Hamilton only had to finish in the top 5 to secure his fourth trophy.
    Despite his strong lead Hamilton was clearly on edge as the drivers got settled into their cars, complaining to his crew that his seat was too hot. One suspects he would’ve been happier in a different hot seat, namely that of pole position.

    Penalties also reared their head today, with Ricciardo the latest to receive a penalty due to an engine change. The idea of using penalties to coerce reliability has clearly gone off the rails with the teams opting for strategic penalties instead, and otherwise just taking them as they come.

    It would be hard to get a more exciting start, and if the Drivers Championship hadn’t been nearly done for Hamilton it would’ve been even more exciting. Hamilton made a tactical error by an opportunistic attempt to get around Vettel after the Ferrari driver’s contact with Verstappen. Had he hung back a bit he’d have likely been able to challenge for a podium spot, but instead wound up at the back of the field with Vettel. Vettel had to come in for a new wing, and Hamilton suffered a major puncture to his left rear tyre.

    Both drivers came in for soft tyres, which had the potential to carry them both to the end of the race. While Seb seemed anxious to get back to business and climb the field, Lewis seemed diffident at best.

    Despite his maturing over the past few seasons, Hamilton’s own worst enemy continues to be Lewis Hamilton. Despite rampant speculation of damage that wasn’t obvious on camera, Hamilton’s car appeared in good order (and the pit wall confirmed that his floor was good), yet he struggled mightily to regain his race pace. It took some time before he was able to begin overtaking the usual suspects among the backmarkers, and he was even eventually lapped by Verstappen before getting his act together. You certainly don’t see that every day. Once Hamilton began to get his head back in the game he was able to begin climbing the pack himself, and was able to salvage a few points by finishing in 9th.

    It seemed that Hamilton had activated the Conspiracy Switch, asking his engineer Peter ‘Bono’ Bonnington , “Did he hit me deliberately?” Social media was subsequently off to the races with that one, bit clearly Vettel had much more to lose in this situation than did Hamilton. Hamilton’s worries were clearly still getting the better of him, when asking later on what tyres the cars in front of him were using. Hamilton finally seemed to relax a bit later on when it was clear that Vettel wouldn’t be able to close the gap to the frontrunners.

    Fernando Alonso showed that he’s still a fighter, giving Hamilton a good deal of trouble overtaking on lap 66. Hamilton opted for a more cautious approach this time, and while he was able to eventually make the overtake stick Alonso put up a fantastic defense.

    Vettel himself had a few fraught moments, particularly following a mid-race tussle with ex-Ferrari driver Felipe Massa. It was quite something to hear his engineers talking him down, reminding him to remain calm. He certainly was able to get back down to business afterwards, though, and finished a very respectable 4th. He was certainly aided by a mid-race Virtual Safety Car brought about by Nico Hulkenberg’s exciting retirement, and took advantage of an opportunity to pit for ultrasofts. Sadly, despite delivering a much better race performance (including setting several fastest laps) and Hamilton finishing well out of the top 5, Vettel wasn’t able to finish high enough to keep his title hopes alive.

    Lost in all this was Max Verstappen’s masterful drive to finish 1st after setting the fastest lap of the race himself. Despite some early concerns over blistering on the left front, he drove an uneventful race staying substantially clear of second-place Valtteri Bottas. At one point his engineers had to chide him for not slowing down a bit, to which Max replied with a laughing apology. Watch this kid, he’s going places. Here’s hoping that Red Bull and Renault can deliver him a contending chassis and engine next year!

    Renault’s sudden lack of reliability, though overshadowed by the opening lap drama and the title contenders’ battle back up the order, was a dubious star of the show. Daniel Ricciardo’s penalty for his power unit change wound up being meaningless as he retired on lap 7 with an engine failure. Toro Rosso’s Brendon Hartley was forced to retire as well, his engine going out in a puff of smoke reminiscent of his woes in qualifying. Carlos Sainz of the Renault factory team also retired his car late in the race.

    Of the Renault retirements, the most spectacular was Nico Hulkenberg’s. Reporting a loss of power and boost, Hulkenberg was instructed to immediately stop the car: “The car is not safe, the car is not safe, you need to get out by climbing onto the front of the car and jumping off.” The battery systems store a considerable amount of energy, and one shudders to think what might’ve happened had Hulkenberg grounded himself while in contact with the car. Doubtless some will use this as another reason to move away from hybrid powertrains in the future.

    Apart from Verstappen, Toro Rosso’s Pierre Gasly was the final Renault-powered car left standing at the end of the race. While certainly better than Honda’s performance over the last several seasons, one can’t help but wonder if Renault is going to prove the best choice for McLaren in coming seasons – but then it’s not like McLaren had a lot of options.

    It’s worth noting that both McLarens saw the chequered flag this time around. Alonso even took home a point.

    Local favorite Sergio Perez certainly gave the home crowd some moments to cheer about, but a 7th place finish was doubtless a bit disappointing. Happily, with his Force India teammate Esteban Ocon finishing up in 5th the team has locked up 4th in the Constructors Championship and the boys will be free to race in the final two sessions. Bring us a good show, boys!

    Happy birthday to Lance Stroll, 6th place and the points to go with it should make for a nice present.

    As the sun sets on an eventful Grand Prix of Mexico, congratulations to Max Verstappen on his dominant victory! Congratulations as well to Lewis Hamilton for his 4th Drivers Championship.

  • Grand Prix of Mexico FP3 Reactions

    Image courtesy of Pirelli Motorsports (Andrew Home)

    Going into Free Practice 3 the big question remains, “Will Lewis Hamilton claim his 4th Drivers Championship?”
    High altitude and dust at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez makes life more difficult for the teams, and yesterday’s struggles for grip underscore the challenges. A stiff headwind leading into Turn 1 made for a good deal of excitement as drivers entered the braking zone, and the lower temperatures made for a struggle getting supersoft tyres up to snuff.

    The FIA has taken a more aggressive approach to track limits by putting additional measures in place to prevent drivers from gaining an advantage by playing fast and loose with the boundaries. Additional kerbing has been laid out to provide immediate consequences for running wide, with further markers being set up overnight at Turn 11. If drivers cut Turn 10, they’ll need to drive through the markers to ensure they don’t gain an advantage. The stewards will additionally remind the teams about certain corners of concern. Racing drivers are competitive in the same way that the ocean is damp, and curbing their natural tendencies to extract every advantage leads to stewarding being a thankless job at times. It’s thus important that they enforce the rules consistently.

    From the session, Scuderia Toro Rosso’s Pierre Gasly will face an uphill fight in tomorrow’s race, his FP3 (and later Qualifying) literally vanishing in a puff of smoke due to a mechanical failure after two laps. With only 10 laps completed yesterday due to an engine issue, and two today, he’s desperately short of real-world track time. Simulator time and study are important tools, but there’s no substitute for getting actual miles in the car.

    After losing the Super Formula championship by half a point when the race he skipped Austin for was cancelled due to Typhoon Lan, it feels like Gasly can’t win for losing. We hope his luck improves for the remainder of the weekend! With the Honda power supply deal looming next year, the cynical response would be to say, “Get used to it, kid.”

    On the other side of the Baby Bulls’ garage, Brendon Hartley put in another quiet, workmanlike performance to finish the session in 11th. Hartley continues to demonstrate his skill, and Toro Rosso wouldn’t go amiss with him on the roster in 2018.

    Mercedes AMG Petronas’ Valtteri Bottas seems to be finding his form again, setting a track record of 1:17.681 on ultrasofts near the midpoint of the session, only to top it with 1:17.537 moments later. Though his record wasn’t to stand, being topped by Ferrari, Red Bull, and his teammate Lewis Hamilton, Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez is just the sort of circuit Bottas enjoys, so here’s hoping for a good show from him both during Qualifying and the race.

    Championship leader Lewis Hamilton spent much of the session lurking near the top of the timesheet, but reported engine issues during the middle portion of the session. Happily for Lewis, the response from the pit wall was that it was something that’d just require a calibration adjustment. Hamilton himself went on to sit briefly atop the timings with a momentary record of 1:17.118

    Despite being the overall favorites for pace thus far, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen faced some struggles getting his supersoft tyres into shape. The first sector caused him particular trouble, and given Pirelli’s skittishness about lowering tyre pressure the main option to put more heat and grip on the front will be aero. Of course, Verstappen’s first sector times weren’t exactly bad, so one is left wondering if he simply got placebo changes. Whatever they did to resolve it, it seemed to work as Max went on to top Bottas’ and Vettel’s and Hamilton’s top fastest times to finish the session with the new track record of 1:17.113.

    Scuderia Ferrari concentrated much of their session on the supersoft compound, but when they switched to ultrasofts their true pace shone through. Sebastian Vettel briefly topped the timing sheets, with a lap time of 1:17.230. Barring quality gremlins, Ferrari will be a force to contend with tomorrow.

    Local boy Sergio Perez of Force India ran an uneventful session, finishing in 7th just ahead of his teammate Esteban Ocon. Should Force India conclusively lock up 4th in the Constructors Championship, ‘Best Name in F1’ winner Otmar Szafnauer has said that the drivers will be free to race again. Here’s wishing the team a solid weekend so we can enjoy the Perez-Ocon rivalry in the final events of the season. They’ve certainly done a good job of reining it in for the team, and it’d be great to see them unleashed.

    Though it is of course difficult to generalize from practice performance, there should be an exciting battle at the front of the pack between Red Bull, Ferrari, and Mercedes. Onward to Qualifying!

  • Grand Prix of Mexico Qualifying Reaction

    Image courtesy of Pirelli Motorsports

    The twin themes for Qualifying are excitement and disappointment. On the excitement front, watching the shootout for P1 was thrilling. While it’s certainly au courant to knock the current generation of power units, as the 2017 package hits high levels of development it’s fantastic to see the track records falling. Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in its current incarnation may not have much of a history to compare against, but it’s nonetheless exciting to see records fall.

    On the disappointment front, the luckless Pierre Gasly of Scuderia Toro Rosso will be starting from the back after missing Qualifying due to a power unit change, and Brendon Hartley’s promising start to qualifying was also cut short due to an engine failure of his own. Haas failed to perform to expectations, and even typical high performers Kimi Raikkonen and Daniel Ricciardo qualified below their proven potential. One can perhaps understand Ricciardo’s slower pace in comparison to his teammate as Verstappen has a more advanced power unit, but it’s still unusual to see him so far behind. McLaren continues to show how what could have been, and Williams continues in their inconsistent form.

    Renault and Force India occupied the middle ground between the extremes. Their drivers all delivered competent performances, qualifying in the lower half of the top 10, but apart from the crowd’s obvious love for Sergio ‘Checo’ Perez the highs and lows experienced by the other teams overshadowed their solid performance.

    Q1:
    It was no surprise to see Ferrari open with a strong performance on supersoft tyres, though while Sebastian Vettel finished the session in 4th his teammate Kimi Raikkonen fell to 7th, behind McLaren’s Fernando Alonso and Force India’s Sergio Perez.

    While Mercedes was able to beat Ferrari, they did it on ultrasofts. While Mercedes’ pace is generally undeniable, their need for the softer compounds this round shows that they’re not as safe as they might be.

    Red Bull’s Max Verstappen topped the Ferrari times – also on supersofts. Hamilton’s engine gremlins continued, with Hamilton reporting another engine cut during the latter half of the session. Regardless, his early time of 1:17.518 ensured he’d safely advance to Q2. His teammate Daniel Ricciardo completed the session in 10th.

    Force India’s Sergio Perez, the local favorite, put delivered a solid performance for his supporters the grandstands and occupied 6th.

    McLaren’s Fernando Alonso continued to demonstrate the sadly-unrealized potential of the car by climbing to 5th in the first half of Q1 following a forgettable series of practice sessions. The waning moments of Q1 showed Honda’s return to form as Alonso reported no power and no turbo. Despite this, he still managed to deliver excellent sector times as the flag fell.

    The flying laps after the chequered flag saw the usual last-minute excitement among the backmarkers. Alonso’s teammate Stoffel Vandoorne climbed to 13th. Toro Rosso’s resident Kiwi, the impressive Brendon Hartley, advanced, finishing the session in 14th. Williams’ Lance Stroll rounded out the Q2 field in 15th. Sadly, Haas and Sauber both failed to put together enough performance to advance to Q2. Given the disparity between Sauber and Haas’ power units, Haas’ finishing behind Sauber is troubling.

    Advancing to Q2: HAM BOT VER ALO PER RAI RIC HUL OCO SAI MAS VAN HAR STR

    Excluded: ERI WEH MAG GRO GAS

    Q2:
    Records continued to have a very short lifespan due to the battle at the top of the timing chart, and ultrasofts are the order of the session among the frontrunners. Bottas rocketed to the top of the leaderboard with an opening time of 1:17.161 on ultrasofts, but was topped by Vettel with 1:17.058 (incidentally setting a new track record). Hamilton, disregarding any worries over his engine, put in a blistering new record time of 1:17.035 in turn.

    Hartley’s Toro Rosso let him down in the early stage of the session with a sadly-familiar puff of smoke echoing Gasly’s FP3 misfortune. His radio message to the pit wall, “No power, no power,” signaled the end of a promising day and bringing out a yellow.

    The yellow flags caused Max Verstappen to back off a promising lap, but he recovered to set his own new record of 1:16.524. Vettel fought back and topped Hamilton, but wasn’t able to unseat Verstappen.

    Force India and Renault certainly took part in Q2, but apart from the crowd’s cheering for Checo there wasn’t much notable in their performance – but an unexciting advancement to Q3 is just as much an advancement to Q3 as an exciting one, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

    Williams continued to suffer from their ongoing inability to quite bring everything together, and elected to only run late in the session. The lower air pressure at altitude contributed to their woes thanks to the associated lack of downforce, and they weren’t able to rise out of the drop zone.

    While Vandoorne and Alonso did each put in an early lap, McLaren elected to not attempt to set times for Q2 to preserve tyres, and likely power units, for the race. After Alonso’s excellent Q1 performance it’s disappointing to see McLaren still making these decisions.

    Advancing to Q3: VER VET HAM BOT RAI RIC SAI HUL OCO PER

    Excluded: MAS STR HAR VAN ALO

    Q3:
    The crowd loves Checo, and their excitement seeing him in Q3 comes through.

    The battle for pole didn’t disappoint, and once again the boots of choice were ultrasofts. Bottas got a good start, but was forced to abort his early flying lap when he came up on a slower-moving Verstappen in the Foro Sol section. While Verstappen did move off to the left, Bottas wound up braking hard and locking up briefly before diving for the pits where he was to remain until the closing minutes of the session. The stewards announced an investigation into Verstappen for impeding Bottas, but in a move that will doubtless ease any sense of anti-Verstappen bias determined that no action was warranted.

    Hamilton put in a valiant effort and sat briefly in P1 himself with a repsectable-but-not-unbeatable time of 1:16.934. The churn in P2 was entertaining, with Hulkenberg, Raikkonen, Sainz, and Ocon occupying the position in turn until Sebastian Vettel coaxed his SF70H, Gina, into delivering a lap of 1:16.833, pushing everyone ahead of Verstappen down a spot.

    Verstappen responded with a fastest first and second sector, going on to set an excellent time of 1:16.574. For a moment it seemed that a record other than track time, namely youngest pole winner, might be broken, but this sadly wasn’t to be.

    After the mid-session lull, Bottas completed his flying lap with a 4th-place 1:16.958 shortly before the chequered flag fell. Hamilton was unable to improve his time.

    After the flag fell, Vettel completed his own flying lap to set a new record with a time of 1:16.488, securing his 50th pole position. Verstappen was unable to improve his own time, taking second. Bottas’s own final lap wasn’t enough to improve his position.

    As with Q2, the battle at the front overshadowed otherwise competent drives from Renault and Force India. And as with advancing to Q3, an unexciting top-10 starting position is just as much a top-10 as an exciting one. Ocon certainly had the best performance of the midfield, qualifying a surprising 6th ahead of Ricciardo.

    As the dust settled on an exciting qualifying session, the grid prior to penalties was VET VER HAM BOT RAI ECO RIC HUL SAI PER MAS STR HAR ALO VAN ERI WEH MAG GRO GAS.

    With Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen on the front row, one can only imagine the conversations in the Ferrari and Red Bull camps, hoping to avoid a repeat of the carnage at the start of the Singapore Grand Prix. Even though it’s quite possible that we’ll see the Drivers Championship locked up for Lewis Hamilton during the race session, it’s still exciting to see Red Bull and Ferrari bringing the fight to Mercedes at this late stage of the season. Hamilton’s engine gremlins certainly add an element of uncertainty, and Renault-powered teams will doubtless be keeping a wary eye on their engines following Toro Rosso’s troubles.