ThePitcrewOnline

Blog

  • Quick 10 With…..Max Pucher

    Born in Vienna, he is an Austrian businessman and rallycross driver, he is also co-founder of a Swiss-Austrian software company.

    He competed a full 2015 season in the World Rallycross Championship and selected events in last year’s European Rallycross Championship.

    He is responsible for pairing up Kevin Eriksson and Timo Scheider this season and has signed Andrew Jordan to compete at Lydden. He is the team boss of MJP Racing, these are his Quick 10 questions and he is…..Max Pucher

    1. What is your favourite circuit and why?
    My favorite track for fun driving is Hell, Norway.

    2. Who is/was your racing idol?
    I really do not have idols. I admire quite a few drivers for skill and personality and Timo Scheider and Patrick Sandell belong there.

    3. Who would you regard as your toughest opponent?
    In RX there are always 4 opponents in each heat and they are always the toughest right now.

    4. Considering racers of all time, you are a team principal and money is no object. Which two racers would you have in your team?
    In RX I would choose Kristofferson and Loeb for speed and marketing value. But Timo Scheider comes right afterwards.

    5. If you could invite four famous people to dinner (past and present), who would you invite?
    As I would cook myself I would invite Jamie Oliver, Gordon Ramsey, Wolfgang Puck and Giada De Laurentiis.

    6. Personal racing number? What is it and the reason behind it?
    My number is 31 and it is my birthday.

    7. What is the best race you have been involved in?
    My best race will always be the next one.

    8. Is there a race or series you have not competed in, that you would like to or had wanted to?
    I am really just interested in Rallycross.

    9. How did you get into motor racing? What ignited that spark?
    I did motorcycle racing when I was 20 and came back to car racing with 59 when I started RX. I raced the World Championship in 2015 at 60.

    10. What is the best advice in racing you have been given?
    Patrick Sandell: ‚All four wheels must point where you want to go when you hit the throttle!’

    I would like to thank Max for taking the time out to answer these questions and I will accepting his generous invitation to visit the team garage at Lydden Hill this weekend.

    Neil Simmons

    Twitter: @world_racing

    Images courtesy of MJP Racing

  • Monaco Grand Prix, Let the Party Begin

    GP MONACO F1/2016 – MONTECARLO 29/05/16
    © FOTO STUDIO COLOMBO PER PIRELLI MEDIA (© COPYRIGHT FREE)

    The famous race of Monaco is taking place this weekend in Monte Carlo, a race which almost every motorsport driver wants to participate and win it, it is like Indy 500 and Le Mans. It is not a very demanding circuit for the cars, but requires high concentration from the drivers. There is no space for overtaking and any mistake might be crucial for the driver and the car.

    The king of Monaco is Ayrton Senna with six victories, followed by the Mr.Monaco and Michael Schumacher who have won the race five times.

    Monaco Grand Prix is one of the oldest circuit on Formula One’s calendar, the first race held in 1950 and traditionally the first two free practice sessions held on Thursday instead of Friday.

    Lewis Hamilton holds the lap record with 1:17.939. Last year, Lewis stopped Rosberg’s domination in Monaco, the German have won the Monaco Grand Prix for three consecutive times, but the Brit despite that he started the race third, behind Daniel Ricciardo and Nico Rosberg, managed to take the chequered flag and celebrate a victory in Monte Carlo. The race started behind the safety car due to a rain which occurred before the race.

    Daniel Ricciardo finished second behind Lewis Hamilton, followed by the Mexican driver, Sergio Perez, who secured a podium finish for Force India.

    Circuit De Monaco

    Number of Laps: 78

    Circuit Length: 3.337 km

    Race Distance: 260.286 km

    Lap Record: 1:17.939 (Lewis Hamilton – 2016)

    Tyre allocations: Ultrasoft (Purple), Supersoft (Red), Soft (Yellow)

    Jenson Button will cover Fernando Alonso’s absence, who decided to take part in the Indy 500 and qualified 5th. The British driver will return to Formula 1 after a few months of absence and he will be able to complete some laps with the MCL32 during the free practice sessions before the race on Sunday.

    “It feels slightly surreal to be back in the cockpit for the Monaco Grand Prix, when the call came from Eric, there was no hesitation. It’s a totally unique situation and a great opportunity. I’m looking forward to stepping back behind the wheel for one of the most crazy, unpredictable and exciting races of the year.”

    Button promised to Alonso that he will do his best to look after his car. Alonso misses the Monaco Grand Prix for the first time since 2001.

    Monaco is a good opportunity for McLaren to score their first points of 2017, it will be interesting to see if Button will manage to do that in his 2017 debut with McLaren-Honda.

    GP MONACO F1/2016 – MONTECARLO 29/05/16
    © FOTO STUDIO COLOMBO PER PIRELLI MEDIA (© COPYRIGHT FREE)

    Monte Carlo will also give the chance to Red Bull to try to secure their first victory of the season, as it is a track which is not suitable for overtaking, so the qualifications plays a critical role every year.

    Max Verstappen – “There is no such thing as a low risk lap in Monaco, it doesn’t exist if you want to be fast because you have to be on the limit. Last year’s crash was very unfortunate but it doesn’t affect my confidence heading back there, it just makes me want to do better this year and learn from my mistakes. We still have a lot to learn from the car in terms of setup as it is always developing and we haven’t driven it on a tight street circuit yet. Preparation for Monaco is a little different, you definitely build up a little bit slower throughout the weekend and pace yourself. It’s important to find the limit carefully. With the new cars I think the chicane around the swimming pool will be the most challenging corner this year.”

    Daniel Ricciardo – “In theory I could walk to work while we are in Monaco, it is still a bit of a way but it could be done. Luckily for me though we get boats to the Energy Station which is a nice change. Being able to sleep in your own bed and complain about the noise is also a treat. Monaco is definitely my favourite track to drive, it is so tight and intimidating. From the outside some of the sequences look impossible to go through at the speeds we do. Once you are in the car it’s an amazing feeling. If you kiss the wall it actually makes you want to do it again as opposed to scaring you. The whole spectacle of the weekend just makes it something unique and special.”

    Victor Archakis- @FP_Passion

    Images Courtesy of Pirelli F1 Media

  • Winners And Losers

    2016/2017 FIA Formula E Championship.
    Qatar Airways Paris ePrix, France.
    Saturday 20 May 2017.
    Sebastien Buemi (SUI), Renault e.Dams, Spark-Renault, Renault Z.E 16, sprays the chanpagne on the podium after winning the race.
    Photo: Alastair Staley/LAT/Formula E
    ref: Digital Image _X0W5897

    What an action packed weekend this was, with the only inactive major motorsport series being Formula 1. Here’s a look back at who had memorable weekends – and who had days to forget.

    Winners

    Maverick Vinales

    What a weekend it was! The MotoGP at Le Mans is always a terrific watch. The practice let in for a fantastic qualifying session, with the likes of KTM showing pace, even managing getting into the second qualifying session for the first time this season.

    There was one rider that stood above the rest, Maverick Vinales on the factory Yamaha. Pole position for the Spanish rider, once more out-qualifying his team mate, ‘The Doctor’ Valentino Rossi. Rossi has improved his qualifying as of late, and with Frenchman Johann Zarco made it an all Yamaha front row.

    Maverick started well, but countryman Zarco made the crowd erupt taking the lead. The Spaniard was happy to wait to take the lead. Championship rivals Rossi & Marc Marquez were hot on his tail, Rossi managed to overtake Zarco and began to close in.

    Marquez fell and was out on the spot, and on the last lap Vinales battled hard with Rossi. Rossi led, reminders of Rossi & Lorenzo came flashing back. Vinales got the better of Rossi before the Italian legend fell at the final hurdle.

    Vinales won, and both main title contenders failed to score, and heading towards Mugello is Maverick heading towards his first title?

    Sebastien Buemi

    The ‘king’ of Formula E, Sebastien Buemi took another Formula ePrix victory around the streets of Paris. Few incidents stuttered his victory, and no driver really got anywhere near him. Vergne and Lopez pushed him but Buemi had answers to both.

    The safety car took away the 7 second gap he had, and home fans had expectation that Lopez could try for victory. Buemi had different thoughts, easily produced a gap to manage to coast home, taking another victory.

    Confidence must be on a high, the overall championship leader and also the fan favourite, having received the most ‘fanboost’ rewards in the series. Can only think dominance can continue, especially with rivals struggling.

    Losers

    IndyCar Series

    The thrill and hype of the 101st running of the Indy 500 cannot be any greater especially with one of the ‘rookies’ being Fernando Alonso, as global interest has been higher, spare a thought though for another race driver who has done Formula 1 & Indycar, Sebastien Bourdais.

    Bourdais was flying on Saturday, day one of the qualifying for next weekend’s event, averaging at 1mph quicker than anyone else. Bourdais on the second corner of his third lap then found trouble, crashing at 230mph. Bourdais was awake and alert, cameras saw his hands & head moving which resulted in the world breathing a huge sigh of relief and the safety crew at Indianapolis took only 11 seconds to be at his side. Bourdais suffered multiple fractures to his pelvis and dislocated his right hip, and underwent successful surgery. He won the first race at St. Petersburg and up until the previous few races was leading the championship, still a very competitive driver.

    For the forseeable future the series has lost a former champion, wish him a speedy recovery. We just hope that this doesn’t force Sebastien into an early retirement as happened to Dario Franchitti three years ago.

    Lucas Di Grassi

    When it rains, it pours, a phrase that could pretty much summarise Lucas’ weekend. A poor qualifying once more was not the best start to his Formula E weekend, sure he won in Mexico from near enough the back of the grid but still extreme circumstances and pinch of luck was on his side. Qualifying near the back would line him up to having a torrid time.

    Di Grassi got off the line clean and early on found out with the vote he will receive the ‘Fan Boost’ in the second car. Antonio Felix Da Costa would be a thorn in his side, Di Grassi got very impatient as he lap after lap failed to overtake the Portuguese driver.

    He tried an almighty lunge that looked from the outset it wasn’t going to work, thus resulting in a collision, albeit his car miraculously being undamaged. It brought a full course yellow out and decided to pit, the team and himself then put further problems by the time of the pitstop being extremely inaccurate under the minimum time. Di Grassi served a drive through due to this and tried as being out of contention for the fastest lap. Pushing hard he crashed, ruining any chances in doing so, he fell even further behind championship leader Buemi.

    Has he ended any hopes to win the championship due to this weekend?

    Tom Ingram

    Tom headed into the next round of the British Touring Car Championship with high hopes and at the top of the standings. He had to carry the full ballast into the race due to being Championship leader which resulted in poor qualifying.

    As a team they went for the softer compound of tyre in race one to try and gain advantage to move up the grid. On the first lap disaster struck as he got tangled in a collision, dropping him near enough to the bottom of the field. It went from bad to worse as technical gremlins and contact resulted in early Race One retirement.

    For Race Two, Ingram started in a lowly 31st position, and his awful weekend continued. Tom had a short race, on lap eight upon an incident involving two other drivers at the Island Hairpin ended any chances of a decent points finish and a chance for a reverse grid pole for Race Three. Gordon Shedden as a result managed to get the lead of the championship to a strong finish.

    In Race Three things got a little bit better, albeit Shedden managed to increase his lead and Robert Collard managed to overtake into second in the driver championship. Tom Ingram managed to get the fastest lap on the final race, showing his true pace but he finished outside the points once more. Shedden won the final race, further increasing the gap.

    Tom Ingram dropped to third in the standings, previous champions Colin Turkington and Matt Neal getting closer. Will he bounce back at Croft next time out?

  • Raw Emotion

    Prosperity. Positivity. Hope. Many things were bought to the MotoGP and World Superbike paddocks but it was Nicky Hayden who did it better than anyone else. From long hair to man-buns, hardcore riding to effortless speed, Nicky Hayden brought a breath of fresh air with him wherever he ended up. From his first MotoGP race at Suzuka in 2003, to his last WSBK race at Imola in 2017, the effervescent American was a charmer in every sense of the word. The world of sport warmed to him and now the world of sport mourns him.

    The first time Nicky Hayden was a name amongst the racing world was in 2001, after a stellar season in the AMA Superbike championship. Finishing 3rd behind the likes of championship victor Mat Mladin and runner-up Eric Bostrom was by no means something to be ashamed of – and of course, Nicky being Nicky, he wasn’t. The 20 year old Kentucky rider was starting to become a bit of a pest within the AMA hierarchy. But it was welcome. His warm personality and constant smile was something that disguised his fierce, tenacious nature on circuit. The reason for the number 69 was because he crashed so much as a kid, he needed a number that he could read upside down. If that wasn’t a personality, then seriously, what was?

    In 2002, Hayden became AMA Superbike champion, beating Mat Mladin to take his first big championship victory. Not only did he win the championship, but he won the Daytona 200, the motorcycle racing world’s answer to the Indy 500 or the Monaco Grand Prix. His efforts were rewarded with an outing in World Superbikes, at his home round at Laguna Seca, California. Finishing a strong 4th in race one before a collision in race two saw him finish in 13th, us as motorcycle fans knew we were witnessing something special. This young rider was sending shockwaves in all championships, rocketing through every paddock he welcomely stepped foot in.

    2003 would see Nicky Hayden make the big time. Not only had he joined the MotoGP family but he joined the Repsol Honda Team and Valentino Rossi in a season that would be remembered for a variety of reasons. Finishing the season in 5th position meant that not only had he become Rookie of the Year, but he had beaten proven talent such as former WSBK champion Troy Bayliss, reigning WSBK champion and fellow countryman Colin Edwards, WSBK superstar Noriyuki Haga, Alex Barros, reigning 250cc champion Marco Melandri and fellow American John Hopkins. Hayden was ruffling feathers in the biggest possible way. Taking his first podium at Motegi and following it up two races later at Phillip Island, the talent had been showcased in great quantity.

    Despite another two podiums in 2004, Hayden slipped down the leaderboard to 8th. But, it would be 2005 when The Kentucky Kid earned his corn. A return to Laguna Seca for the American Grand Prix would see Nicky Hayden dominate. Having not had a podium all season, times were looking hard. Pole position followed up by a classy, exuberant race win gave him America’s first win in the MotoGP era and Honda’s first ever at Laguna Seca. It was this race where a zest of Kevin Schwantz would come in, with the wild celebrations at the crowd’s demand. He was a hero. Hayden would go on and take five more podiums that season, finishing in the bronze medallist position at just his third attempt.

    2006 was always going to be special. Hayden started the season with four podiums and never dropped below 5th before his first race win of a truly unforgettable campaign. A last lap dual with Colin Edwards will go down as the day that America conquered The Netherlands. Taking his 2nd ever win after a rare Colin Edwards crash on the last lap at the chicane, we once more saw that emotion which Nicky emitted every single time he achieved his goal. Three races later and he did it again, his third and final MotoGP win at home again. 2006 was turning into a Nicky Hayden year but in Portugal, we saw emotion that Nicky had never shown before.

    Rookie teammate Dani Pedrosa wanted good results and needed them to stay in the fight for a top three placing. A pass on Nicky Hayden at the parabolica interior would send Repsol Honda spiralling to the ground, both on track and off. Management watched on in disbelief. All the effort of 2006. All the graft of the team. Every droplet of sweat and molecule of tear shed. It had all come to seemingly nothing. Dani Pedrosa wiped out his teammate with just one race left after Portugal. The swearing erupted from championship challenger Hayden. Fingers pointing and feet stomping. Tears streaming. Hayden wished he was only dreaming. A little boys dream to reign supreme was lying amongst the bits Repsol Honda in the gravel. Would this be his last chance?

    “Valencia 2006” – a sentence that every MotoGP fan gets goosebumps thinking about. All Valentino Rossi had to do was beat Hayden, or make sure Hayden did not finish in a position that was worth nine points more than him. But even five time champions make mistakes. Rossi crashed in the race, all but gifting Nicky Hayden the title. Whilst the Ducatis of Troy Bayliss and Loris Capirossi took first and second, Nicky Hayden finished third, enough for him to take the crown and the crowd by storm. Screaming his name they were, in awe at what they just witnessed. One of MotoGP’s finest 45 minutes. As former commentator Charlie Cox would say, “the only thing predictable about MotoGP is that it is completely, unpredictable!”.

    Defying the odds after despondently marching through the gravel across the border in tears of dejection two weeks previous, Nicky Hayden now celebrated in front of the longest continuous grandstand in the world, basking in the Spanish sun as the burnouts came surplus to requirement. And instead of tears of dejection, it was tears of joy. From the dirt tracks of Owensboro to the Grand Prix circus on the world stage, The Kentucky Kid had accomplished his childhood dream and ambition in becoming MotoGP world champion.

    Never once did he give up or question his ability. He never once was put off by Valentino Rossi’s hoards of fans or by the status of the man he was battling with. Nicky displayed one of MotoGP’s most determined rides ever, with his natural charismatic style blending with his on track resilience to conquer the world and reign the two-wheeled King.

    And that is how I want to remember Nicky Hayden. Not as someone who would only go on to achieve a handful more podiums. Not as a rider who was struggling on uncompetitive machinery in World Superbike. But as the champion of our hearts. The champion who was as common as the rest of us, just with that flamboyancy and individualism only Nicky could make work. A people’s racer with just one desire, he leaves us with some fantastic, irreplaceable and unforgettable memories. His ‘happy-go-lucky’ aura captivated millions of fans from across the planet as we watched one rider chase a dream before watching the same rider realise his dream had become a reality. Living on in our hearts and riding on above with some other stern opposition, you can be sure that Nicky Hayden will be remembered as a true legend, both on track and off it. The Kentucky Kid will never be forgotten, even if his visor has come down for the final time.

    Kiko Giles @MotoGPKiko

  • WRX Week – Quick 10 With…..Kevin Eriksson

    World Rallycross

     

    He started out in the RX Lites Cup before progressing to the European Rallycross Championship. He made his debut in the World Rallycross Championship racing at RX Argentina in 2014. Since 2016 he has been a full time driver on the Supercar grid where he burst onto the scene with Olsbergs MSE before signing for MJP Racing this season.

    He has also competed in Global Rallycross and RallyX On Ice.

    He has one WRX win to his name (World RX of Germany 2016) and is remembered for THAT move, ‘Round The Outside’, at Estering last season.

    These are his Quick 10 questions and he is……Kevin Eriksson.

    1. What is your favourite circuit and why?

    My personal favorite track is the more old school type RX track and to name 2 Montalegre and Estering. There’s more flat out and sideways action and that’s a lot more fun to drive if you ask me

    2. Who is/was your racing idol?

    Since I grew up in paddocks in both Rally and Rallycross whatching my father race I obviously looked up to him a lot and still is but another driver I always enjoyed is Kimi Raikkonen, for just being himself.

    3. Who would you regard as your toughest opponent?

    During the beginning of my career I had a lot of good battles with my namesake Kevin Hansen. Now we’re both in the top tier of RX and racing against guys like Ekstrom, Solberg, Loeb so I would say that those more experienced guys are the toughest at the moment.

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

    If I would be looking at results and making the choice I would go for Michael Schumacher and Sebastien Loeb for obvious reasons. Good mix of disciplines and a lot of championships.

    But back to this day I would go for youth and my little brother Oliver Eriksson and Mitchell DeJong.

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

    Hard question…. I would invite LeBron James, Zlatan Ibrahimovic just because I’m a big fan of them and their sports as well as Hmmm… Eminem and Michael Jackson because I like their music. This dinner wouldn’t last very long I guess, haha

    6. Personal racing number? What is it and the reason behind it?

    My number is 96 and it’s a real simple reason behind it. I’ve never really been the number guy but when I started with RX you needed to have a personal number so I just went with the year I was born. I also liked 96 because it’s say 96 if you look both from the front and back

    7. What is the best race you have been involved in?

    My best race so far during my career must be World RX of Estering last year where I grabbed my first World RX victory and did the Round the outside move around the guys in the first corner.

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

    I have always wanted to try one of the 4wd 900hp Pro 4 trucks they race over in the US. Those trucks looks like a lot of fun.

    9. How did you get into motor racing? What ignited that spark?

    My whole family have been into different types of Motorsport but the biggest influence was still my dad since he raced in high level in both Rally and Rallycross as I grew up.

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

    Oh there’s been a lot but the most recent one was connected to tennis and goes like this. “There’s only one ball and that’s the one your playing right now” which means that whatever happened in the heat before you need to forget that and focus on the next.

    I would like to thank Kevin for taking the time out from his busy WRX schedule to answer these Quick 10 questions and wish him all the best for the rest of the season. Thanks also to Max Pucher at MJP Racing for making this interview possible.

    Neil Simmons

    Twitter: @world_racing

    Images courtesy of MJP Racing

  • BREAKING: Brookes Replaces McGuinness at Jackson Racing in Supersport TT Bow

    Josh Brookes has joined Jackson Racing Honda for the 2017 Isle of Man TT, in place of the injured John McGuinness following the Morecambe Missile’s crash at the NW200.

    Former BSB champion Brookes has already been announced as a competitor on the Norton in the Superbike class at the TT and also as a rider for Ryan Farquhar’s KMR team in the Supertwins race.

    The Australian first rode the 37 mile ‘Mountain’ course back in 2013 for TAS Tyco Suzuki, with a best result of 10th place. At the time, he was the fastest ever newcomer, setting a lap time of 127.726. Only Peter Hickman went quicker on his debut.

    Brookes returned with the Shaun Muir Milwaukee Yamaha team for 2014, achieving a best result of 7th in the Senior TT which closed the week. He also achieved a 10th in the first Superbike outing.

    Having had two years away, Josh said that he will be looking to “rekindle the memories” of the TT, but insisted to me in an exclusive interview that a 2nd BSB title is still top of the list and that a Senior TT wouldn’t be higher on the priority list.

    There was talks of Brookes’ return to the road racing scene being slightly sooner, when the Anvil Yamaha Team he rides for in the BSB championship were contemplating the NW200 but the talks remained just that. Brookes and the Norton he will also be riding at the TT received backing to go to the NW200, with only insurance and homologation rules preventing such things.

    The effervescent Australian is 4th in the British Superbike championship, just 9 points ahead of Shane Byrne who occupies 7th; the Londoner just 1 place outside the all-important showdown positions.

    The TT will start on the 27th of May, finishing on the 9th of June.

    Kiko Giles @MotoGPKiko

  • Buemi brings Renault home glory in Paris

    Sébastien Buemi has extended his championship lead yet further with pole position and a commanding victory on his Renault team’s home soil in Paris.

    2016/2017 FIA Formula E Championship.
    Qatar Airways Paris ePrix, France.
    Saturday 20 May 2017.
    Sebastien Buemi (SUI), Renault e.Dams, Spark-Renault, Renault Z.E 16, sprays the chanpagne on the podium after winning the race.
    Photo: Alastair Staley/LAT/Formula E
    ref: Digital Image _X0W5897

    The Swiss driver became this season’s first repeat polesitter earlier on Saturday, narrowly seeing off the challenge of Jean-Éric Vergne by just six-thousandths of a second. Behind them a resurgent José María López qualified third for DS Virgin ahead of Super Pole first-timer Esteban Gutiérrez, who started from the second row thanks to a motor change penalty that demoted Oliver Turvey from fourth to fourteenth on the grid.

    At the race start Buemi used his pole advantage to hold the inside line against Vergne, as the Frenchman tried to seize the lead around the outside of Turn 1 but was forced to back off and settle into second.

    With the momentum lost so early, Vergne then seemed to stall—as Buemi streaked off into a three second lead, Vergne was unable to keep check and appeared to even be holding up López and Nick Heidfeld, who had taken fourth from Gutiérrez off the line.

    Further back, Daniel Abt made heady progress from sixteenth on the grid to twelfth despite picking up some slight contact damage in the first corner, whilst Felix Rosenqvist looked to follow in the tracks of his teammate as he put pressure on Gutiérrez for fifth.

    Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain.
    Saturday 20 May 2017.
    Daniel Abt (GER), ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport, Spark-Abt Sportsline, ABT Schaeffler FE02.
    World Copyright: Steven Tee/LAT Images
    ref: Digital Image _R3I3631

    In the early stages the race settled into something of a procession, as the four more laps than last year’s Paris ePrix put energy saving on the teams’ minds.

    But on lap 20 there was heavy contact between Lucas di Grassi and António Félix da Costa at Turn 7. Di Grassi—fighting in the lower points after a poor qualifying performance—was closing an out-braking move on da Costa for thirteenth, but when he moved across to claim the apex of the corner, da Costa’s nose was still alongside and the two entangled cars dragged each other into the barriers.

    Although di Grassi was able to keep going, da Costa’s race was over and his beached Andretti triggered a full-course yellow.

    So close to the halfway mark, most drivers opted to pit during the neutralised period to change cars. Initially the timing appeared to be a boon for di Grassi, with the stop negating any damage suffered in the crash with da Costa, but instead it only added to his troubles—after leaving the pits almost ten seconds below the minimum stop time, race control shortly handed di Grassi a drive-through penalty.

    Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain.
    Saturday 20 May 2017.
    Antonio Felix da Costa (PRT), Amlin Andretti, Spark-Andretti, ATEC-02.
    World Copyright: Steven Tee/LAT Images
    ref: Digital Image _R3I2891

    When racing resumed on lap 23, Buemi found his gap to Vergne had been slashed to under two seconds in the pits and, with a series of fast laps, the Frenchman rapidly set about reeling in the race leader.

    But on lap 34 an apparent steering issue left Vergne’s Techeetah unable to make the exit of Turn 13, and for the second race in succession he found himself exiting the car early as the safety car was deployed.

    Vergne’s retirement left second place to be inherited by López, improving what was already his best-ever Formula E result, and brought Heidfeld into position to repeat his podium finish from Monaco last week.

    But as far as the race lead was concerned, neither driver was close enough to assume Vergne’s pursuit of Buemi, and so when the chequered flag fell on lap 49 the podium positions remained unchanged.

    2016/2017 FIA Formula E Championship.
    Qatar Airways Paris ePrix, France.
    Saturday 20 May 2017.
    Jose Maria Lopez (ARG), DS Virgin Racing, Spark-Citroen, Virgin DSV-02.
    Photo: Sam Bloxham/LAT/Formula E
    ref: Digital Image _W6I8285

     

    There was more drama late in the race when di Grassi crashed out, bringing his unusually below-par weekend to a premature end. With his drive-through penalty already putting pay to any major points haul, the ABT team elected to call di Grassi back into the pits and retune his car for a fastest lap attempt—only for the Brazilian to put it in the barrier at Turn 8 just two laps from the end.

    The resulting safety car meant the race result was sealed, and by taking pole and the win whilst his rival failed to finish Buemi extended his title lead to 43 points over di Grassi, the largest it’s been all season.

    Renault e.Dams also extended its lead over ABT Schaeffler Audi to 75 points: with Nico Prost’s fifth place contributing to Renault’s biggest total points haul of the season, the gulf was widened even more when seventh-placed Daniel Abt broke down on the final lap and dropped out of the points altogether.

    Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain.
    Saturday 20 May 2017.
    Daniel Abt (GER), ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport, Spark-Abt Sportsline, ABT Schaeffler FE02.
    World Copyright: Steven Tee/LAT Images
    ref: Digital Image _R3I3631

    Mahindra also took a solid team finish with Felix Rosenqvist following Heidfeld home in fourth, which now puts them within 27 points of ABT in the teams’ standings. Robin Frijns took Andretti’s first points since Hong Kong in sixth, and Nelson Piquet claimed more valuable points for NextEV in seventh.

    Gutiérrez had been on course to claim at least a few consolatory points for Techeetah despite losing several places early in the race, but a five-second time penalty for speeding under full-course yellow meant the Mexican was classified in twelfth place instead.

    But Techeetah’s pain meant pleasure for the teams at the bottom of the championship. After a strong home race in Monaco, Venturi logged a double points finish with Stéphane Sarrazin in tenth and Tom Dillmann, making his series debut standing in for Maro Engel, taking his first Formula E points in eighth. Mitch Evans finished in ninth place between them—his and Jaguar’s third points finish in a row, which elevates the British marque to eighth in the teams’ standings above Dragon Racing.

    James Matthews, Deputy Editor

  • Spanish GP Winners and Losers.

    Images courtesy of Pirelli Motorsports

    Spanish GP winners

    F1 – After a disapointing Russian GP two weeks earlier, the fans finally got to see some action with plenty of overtakes and on track action with the help of Pirelli also we got to see 2-3 pit stops, allowing for different strategies to add to the intrigue. Also letting that small Kimi fan into the paddock was an excellent gesture from a sport looking to find its human side once again.

    Force India – Fantastic early season form continued for the pink panthers, with a strong race ending with Perez and Ocon finishing fourth and fifth. They kept their noses clean throughout the race while their rivals took each other out and had problems of their own. They extended their lead from over Williams in the constructors championship, and are on course for another superb season.

    Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel – What another fantastic battle we witnessed from these to great guys. Right from lights out when Vettel got the jump at turn 1. Then after Vettel made his pit stop rejoining the track squeezing Hamilton out wide fairly and then we had 6 laps of Lewis chasing down Seb finally getting past him in turn 1. Hope this battle will continue all season long.


    Nico Hulkenburg     – starting p13 finishing p6 and keeping out of trouble, it was another strong showing for Hulkenberg who scored more points for an upwardly mobile Renault team, with teammate Jolyon Palmer yet to open his account for 2017. The car seems to be getting better and better each race with the team bring small upgrades. Will we soon see him fighting Perez again.

    Pascal Wehrlein and Sauber- Wehrlein took eighth and the best finish of his career – as well as Sauber’s best finishing position since 2015 – mainly thanks to their strategy when the Virtual Safety Car was deployed to switch him to a 1 stop strategy. It was a very important points finish for the team and their battle with McLaren for ninth in the constructors championship.

    Losers

    Max Verstappen and Kimi Raikkonen – both men were unlucky victims of a chain reaction as Bottas tapped Raikkonen sending him into the path of Verstappen ending both of their races, with Ferrari falling behind in the Constructors’ Championship as a result.

    Valtteri Bottas – race winner two weeks ago in Russia for the first time, Bottas suffered a DNF with engine failure after technical problems throughout the weekend.

    Jolyon Palmer – It was another case offeast or famine in qualifying for the beleaguered Brit as he failed to get out of the first qualifying session for the fourth time in five events. Finishing in 15th while his teammate finished in a strong points finish will have done him few favours either. Palmer is a man fighting for his seat after an error-prone start to the season.

    Williams – This was a poor weekend all round for the team. They failed to score while Force India bagged 22 points. With Massa getting a puncture on lap 1 after contact with Alonso, he dropped right to the back of the pack and could only finish 13th. Teammate Lance Stroll struggled once again, and the 18-year-old looks ever more troubled during his first season in Formula One. In this unforgiving business, the young Canadian is under pressure to improve – fast.

    By Richard Hindson

  • Joe’s Midweek Round up…

    Hello and welcome to the second edition of The Crew’s Formula 1 Bitesize brought to you by The Pit Crew Online, and what a week it has been.

    Last Sunday gave us arguably the best race weekend of the season so far. From Fernando Alonso’s sublime qualifying, to the first corner overtakes and antics, strategic masterclasses from Mercedes and Sauber, and McLaren did not have any Sunday reliability issues – crazy I know.

    It wasn’t all good for McLaren Stoffel Vandoorne has received a grid penalty ahead of Monaco for his collision with Felipe Massa. It is not beyond the realms of possibility that he may have been caught out by the Williams’ Mercedes power.

    But this update is not about the races as such, the Crew have all of that covered already. This is for what you may have missed in the week surrounding race and non-race weekends.

    During this week’s bitesized report we cover some interesting Red Bull news, as well as comments from my favourite Austrian, Toto Wolff.

    So, without further ado, let’s get cracking!

    2021, The Four Numbers on Red Bull’s Lips

    Red Bull Racing chief Helmut Marko has stated that the team may quit F1 if there are not significant changes planned for engine regulations ahead of the 2021 season.

    Sport officials are already in talks regarding alterations for the power units after 2020, but the third-placed constructors’ championship sitters have some suggestions of their own after seemingly being left behind due to the Renault’s lack of power.

    “The idea is very simple”, the energy-drink boss told El Confidencial.

    “We want an engine that is 1000-horsepower, with a single standard KERS and battery, and development does not cost more than $15 million to $20 million.

    “They should have sound and allow the driver to make the difference. And independent companies like Ilmor and Cosworth should be able to enter so that we or McLaren can use them if we want.

    “Last year, Mercedes would not give us an engine; neither would Ferrari, and Renault was only forced by [Bernie] Ecclestone to give us one.

    “We want to have an equal situation where we are not blackmailed by a manufacturer.”

    It certainly would be a shame to lose Red Bull from the sport, however, these comments seem driven from a lack of progression in a season that offered promise in challenging Mercedes due to more focus on Aerodynamics.

    It appears then that Marko is unimpressed with how things have panned out, but it feels like he is holding F1 to ransom because they have not been able to take advantage of the rule changes in the same way the Silver Arrows or Ferrari have.

    The pinnacle of motorsport is certainly in transition under Chase Carey’s leadership and undoubtedly improvements will be made, however, Red Bull only have themselves to blame for the underwhelming start they have made to the 2017 season.

    RB13 is Still Some Time Away

    Staying with Red Bull and their underperformance, the team have announced that the major updates that were planned, but did not feature in Barcelona, will now not appear until the Austrian grand-prix in early July. All about Austria this week – great place.

    Minor changes will occur ahead of Monaco and a low downforce package will debut in Canada, however, it will not be until the energy-drinks’ home race in just under two months’ time before we see the big RB13 upgrade with the team hopeful that Renault’s improved power unit will also be available.

    “If we could turn the power up full, we would not be far from Mercedes and Ferrari”, an unnamed team member told F1i.com.

    “But because of reliability, we can’t do it yet.”

    Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo may as well have been racing by himself on Sunday, finishing over 75 seconds behind winner Lewis Hamilton – clearly emphasising how much needs to be done if Christian Horner and his team want to challenge for any titles again in the near future.

    Wolff: Alonso Could be a Mercedes Driver in 2018

    Mercedes chief Toto Wolff, my favourite Austrian, has not ruled out the king of frustration, Fernando Alonso, joining the current constructors’ champions ahead of the 2018 campaign.

    The two-time world champion has made no attempts in hiding his disappointment with this season’s McLaren car, particularly the sheer lack of power available from the Honda engine which averaged around 7mph slower over the 66 laps of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya compared to number 44.

    In the past Wolff and Niki Lauda have ruled out the fiery Spaniard joining the Silver Arrows due to a potential personality clash, particularly with ex-teammate Hamilton, however now the 45-year-old has now stated that nothing is off the table.

    “You cannot say ‘no’ in advance – that would be stupid”, the Merc boss told Spanish newspaper Marca.

    “What you can say is that if he is not the best, he is one of the best out there. His energy and motivation are still there.

    “He’s in the final stages of his career, but that does not mean he cannot win races and titles in the next two or three years.

    “If you could choose the Fernando today as he is, as a person, it would be much easier than to choose him with all the historical context.

    “Lewis plays a key role in this. I think a driver always accepts a challenge, and Fernando would be a challenge.

    “But it’s much more than just Lewis feeling right with Fernando. The whole dynamic of the team is important. Everything has to fit, but I think Fernando is a different person to how he was in the past.”

    Alonso has already shown he still has the passion to prove his capabilities by competing in the Indianapolis 500 and attempting to complete the motorsport triple-crown.

    It would certainly be interesting to see the old-timer back in the seat of a title challenging car, however with a number of leading drivers available in 2019, Wolff and co. may find it more beneficial to hold off for a younger superstar.

    Final Word

    It has been another hectic week in the world of F1, including a stunning Spanish Grand-Prix on Sunday. We will catch up again same time next week with more news and views on the biggest stories of the week, and, just in case you are wondering, no I am not Austrian.

    Until next time!

    18/5/17

    Images courtesy of McLaren Honda F1 Team

  • Zandvoort Return: Invest For Max?

    In article two of this mini-series we look at the possibility of Formula 1 to return to Holland.

    Teenage sensation Max Verstappen in his rookie season burst onto screen in Australia 2015, scoring first points in his second Grand Prix in Malaysia. Verstappen had a successful campaign. His do or die attitude on track made him at times the centre of attention. With events early in season of 2016 he moved from Toro Rosso to Red Bull mid-season. Driving for them it created iconic moments such as his win in Spain & drive in Brazil he truly became a crowd favourite. Max Verstappen undoubtedly looks like he has the talent to be a future world champion.

    Sergio Perez was similar to Verstappen, amazing drives earlier in his career at Sauber, especially at Malaysia, Canada & Monza of the season 2012. This rejuvenated the popularity of the sport in his home country Mexico. In following seasons a revival of Hermanos Rodrigues came to discussion, originally planned for 2014, but with time constraints placed on the calendar for 2015. Using that as a guideline could we see a return to the Netherlands in the next few years?

    Liberty Media are seeking an increase in the calendar, we have two possible options, being existing tracks of Zandvoort, hosting the Grand Prix in the past and Assen. Zandvoort would be the logical choice as Assen is steriotypically more focused on bikes, and it being closer to the capital of Holland, Amsterdam. The track is graded Level 2 as by the FIA as current, making Formula 1 the only series that isn’t compliant. The main event that is run annually at Zandvoort is the DTM series in August. Interest tends to be heightened around this race due to Formula 1 having its summer break and crowd levels are very high at the event.

    The track has changed in many ways since the most recent Dutch Grand Prix in 1985 which Niki Lauda won in the McLaren from starting tenth on the grid, he narrowly edged team mate Alain Prost by 0.2secs, which resulted in some great racing! On track from those changes though little needs to be looked at, the current track layout (See above) has high to medium sweeping corners to begin, in this age of Formula 1 would truly be a great spectacle. The latter half of the track is where downforce would be more key. Looking at the track, the long sweeping final corner could raise alarms, you could see something similar being put in place as like Catalunya/Barcelona in 2007. A slower chicane to break up the excessive speed, and also be put in place to increase the chance of overtaking along the pit straight. A possible DRS zone has been put in place on the current track layout on the picture earlier in the article.

    Recently off track since that year the start/finish grandstand and pit area has had substantial amount of work to it to bring up to modern standards. Further work around the area would certainly be something required to comply with level 1 FIA grading. Zandvoort currently has a half hourly train service to and from central Amsterdam, with a small population, areas around the track for usability and access to the track need to be looked at as this also comes into consideration with the grading system that is used.

    That is why Formula 1 could once more race in Holland, please keep an eye out for more articles in this series in the not too distant future, we will be looking at the possibility of Kyalami, Formula 1 returning to South Africa for the first time since 1993.

    Chris Lord
    16th May 2017.

    Picture courtesy of Pirelli Motorsports

    Andrew Hone photography