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  • Formula One Round 11 Austrian Grand Prix: Lando Norris Holds Onto The Win as Red Bull Score 0 Points In Their Home Race

    Formula One Round 11 Austrian Grand Prix: Lando Norris Holds Onto The Win as Red Bull Score 0 Points In Their Home Race

     

    Formula One returned to Austria this week for the Grand Prix of the former world constructor champions Red Bull, and it certainly delivered. From qualifying, the McLaren driver Lando Norris led the field away from P2 after obtaining the largest winning margin of the season so far by over half a second, albeit due to the Alpine of Pierre Gasly spinning and disrupting many laps, including the championship leader Oscar Piastri and the reigning world champion Max Verstappen.

    Chaos before beginning

    Prior to the start of the race, Carlos Sainz said his car was stuck in first gear and wasn’t able to start the formation lap. Once he got going, he went to the pit lane, and his brakes then caught fire. As a result, he was out prior to the 5 red lights going out, bringing the grid down to just 19 drivers. The race was also reduced by 1 lap as a result of this aborted start.

    Lap 1 Drama

    After the extra formation lap, we saw everyone get off the line, and Piastri managed to get up to P2 ahead of Charles Leclerc. Going into turn 3, Kimi Antonelli locked up MASSIVELY and collided with Max Verstappen, ending the race for both of them. 

    McLaren Battle

    After waiting 11 rounds, we finally got the battle we waited for: Lando Norris vs Oscar Piastri! They were cutting back and forth all race before Norris pitted before Piastri to emerge P4. Piastri extended his stint. 

    Pressure for drivers

    Tsunoda and Colapinto, both drivers whose futures are under pressure at their current teams, collided at turn 4 a few laps prior to the midpoint of the race. Tsunoda got a 10-second time penalty for this, adding the cherry to the cake for Red Bull and Tsunoda’s disastrous weekend. Colapinto is reported to be on a race-by-race basis, so any mistake or collision is not in his or his team’s best interest.

    To add insult to injury, Colapinto received a 5 second time penalty for forcing another driver off of the track. That driver? Oscar Piastri! Tsunoda and Colapinto were fighting, Piastri emerged from the pits, attempted to pass traffic, and Colapinto didn’t see Piastri and pushed him onto the grass. 

    Mercedes struggling

    With the temperatures being on the EXTREME side, Mercedes knew they would struggle here. Antonelli’s collision with Verstappen on lap 1 was not the struggle they wanted or needed. Antonelli will more than likely get a grid penalty for the British Grand Prix. 

    Russell managed to hold onto P5 to get some good points for the team but off the pace from both Ferrari and McLaren

    Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber Masterclass

    After a disastrous 2024 season with no points scored until the penultimate round with Zhou Guanyu, Sauber has scored a double points finish! Bortoleto finished P8 and Hulkenberg P9 . This is Bortoleto’s first point in Formula One and is an insane turnaround for the team about to become Audi in 2026.

    Red Bull Struggles At Home

    This weekend for the Red Bull team was one of the worst-case scenarios for the Austrian team. After Max Verstappen got tied up with Kimi Antonelli at turn 3, the pressure was on Yuki Tsunoda, who has been struggling ever since he joined the Red Bull team. The Japanese driver was keeping his nose clean until he collided with the Alpine driver Franco Colapinto and earned himself a 10-second time penalty for the collision. 

    Results

    Lando Norris managed to win the Austrian Grand Prix after a battle with his teammate Oscar Piastri, who finished P2. Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton finished P3 and P4, respectively. George Russell finished P5 to salvage what he could from Mercedes’ weekend, Liam Lawson finished P6 as the only Red Bull-powered driver to finish P6, and Fernando Alonso held off Gabriel Bortoleto to finish P7 and P8, respectively. Nico Hulkenberg finished P9, and Esteban Ocon finished P10! 

    Feature Image Credit: F1-Pirelli Press Area

     

  • F1 Rumours: Are Audi Pulling the Plug?

    F1 Rumours: Are Audi Pulling the Plug?

    Audi confirmed their entry in August 2022 after the announcement of the new power unit rules for 2026. They decided, unlike Ford, to not just make power units but to take control of Sauber, currently known as Alfa Romeo, and are in the first year of that phase as a minority stakeholder of the team. But according to some, all is not well with paddock rumours and media, is it over before a wheel has been turned? Does this mean Peter Sauber is staying or is it just rumours?

    F1 have been trying to get the Volkswagen Group back in the sport which Audi are apart of along with Bentley, Porsche and others. Audi itself have had recent changes within its own high organisation levels and supposedly the idea may have come to an end before it has started, which will cost the German manufacturer millions.

    Image courtesy of Audi Motorsport Media Centre

    In early 2024, Audi will become 50% joint owners with Sauber and then in early 2025 they become 75% owners of the team. However, the new board at Audi have supposedly concluded the venture may be too expensive.

    According to some of the German Media, the rumour is that the VW Group want to keep the programme in house with a potential switch to Porsche. With the venture still in the early stages in F1 terms, this could mean a simple switch of data and staff between the companies.

    However, within the paddock, the rumour is that Toyota will try their chances once again, having previous knowledge of the sport. Additionally this could be in collaboration with Mclaren to a certain extent, as the team from Woking don’t have power unit supplier for 2026 as of yet. Toyota are looking to become a manufacturer again and also return as power unit supplier for the McLaren for the first time in history.

    Despite all of this, Audi are still looking to join F1 in the future as nothing has changed officially or been announced. But murmurings suggest this is something to keep an eye on as we go into the final races of 2023. Will we get a Germany v Mercedes regardless or Toyota v Honda? Time will tell.

  • Rennsport – Revolutionary or Risky?

    Rennsport – Revolutionary or Risky?

    Rennsport has been on the minds of several high-profile esports teams of late, with the company introducing itself to the sim racing world with a publicity event late last year for their upcoming title. The Porsche-backed company made all the right noises and impressions with those that attended, the consensus is that the sim is “on the right track”. The sim is still in production, so that gives some wiggle room in the expectation level.

    The Munich-based outfit isn’t done with grabbing the headlines with a positive event, they are organising a championship alongside the very experienced hands at ESL, with some very heavy hitters in the sim racing world taking part, such as Williams esports, R8G and Apex Racing Team. There have been drivers even changing teams in readiness for when Rennsport gets underway.

    Manufacturer support, excellent skills of ESL and big names from esports taking part, sounds great. Rennsport’s Twitter account has been alive in the last couple of months with regular tweets about technical and graphic updates, and words from the CEO Morris Hebecker all showing strong signals for the title.

    The more sceptical in the community have voiced concerns about the readiness of the product for what Rennsport has in mind, and the scale for which they are aiming. Rennsport makes no secret that they have very lofty aspirations for their title, but the sim hasn’t even reached a Closed Beta stage yet, and they are already generating a lot of interest for a sim racing series. With the issues that the sim racing world has faced in recent times, in particular with the backlash following Max Verstappens / Team Redline’s disconnection from the lead of Virtual LeMans this year, the last thing people want is a rushed project.

    These concerns carry merit, as Rennsport is taking a huge risk in attracting so much attention to an unfinished product. Whilst the publicity event last year no doubt served as a valuable test session, with some highly experienced sim racers giving unique insight and guidance for areas to improve on, the Munich crew have sold the idea very well to the sim racing world to have attracted the teams to be taking part in the ESL run series.

    The question has to be asked though, why do this on a sim that hasn’t even got to the beta stage of development yet? It’s understandable to be excited about a new sim entering the scene with huge potential, however, if the game isn’t ready then the backlash is going to be magnified by the amount of attention that Rennsport has gathered so far.

    These concerns were further stirred by a tweet released by Rennsport on the 31st of January explaining that the closed beta has been delayed to resolve concerns regarding multiplayer servers, however, the ESL series seems to be going ahead, with the tweet going on to say that the series will provide “valuable insight that we will use to improve the current state of development”.

    If the expectation level of the ESL series is set at “it’s not finished yet” and it still holds up well, Rennsport will have pulled a master stroke in providing a product at just the right time to gain more interest in sim racing and ignite new passion (and reignite old passion) for the genre, but if Rennsport hits big issues in this event, Rennsport could face a mountainous uphill battle to regain the trust of the sim racing world.

  • Formula 1 to race at Melbourne until 2035

    Formula 1 to race at Melbourne until 2035

    Formula 1 will be racing at Melbourne for the Australian Grand Prix until 2035. The new 10 year contract starts in 2025 and comes with the addition of Formula 2 and formula 3 to the schedules from 2023.

    The crowds were excited for the Australian GP to be back. Image courtesy of Pirelli F1 Media

    Formula 1 raced in Melbourne for the first time in 1996 and has been entertaining us ever since. However, the pandemic meant that we missed out on the Australian Grand Prix for two seasons running but this year it saw 419,000 fans attend the race.

    We also saw all the upgrades made through investment from the circuit promoter and organisers. It brought lots of attention and came back with good reviews from fans and drivers. This looks to improve fan experience over the next decade.

    Stefano Domenicali, President and CEO, Formula 1, said “The race has always been a favourite for the fans, drivers and the teams and Melbourne is an incredible and vibrant international city that is a perfect match for our sport. I want to thank the Victorian Government, Daniel Andrews, Premier of Victoria and Martin Pakula, Minister for Tourism, Sport & Major Events for their tireless support for the event in Melbourne, as well as Andrew Westacott and Paul Little from the AGPC for making this already long-term partnership secure for the future. We are all looking forward to being back in Melbourne next season with all our fans.”

  • Dual in the desert Bahrain

    What a race…

    Image courtesy of Pirelli Motorsports

    After what seemed like an unusually long winter Formula 1 is back with a bang in the desert.

    After winter testing, three practice sessions and qualifying all that we knew for sure was the grid had indeed tightened up, especially for the top two teams in Mercedes and Red Bull.

    Max Verstappen had taken pole position from Lewis Hamilton by just under four tenths of a second with the sister Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas in third and Charles Leclerc in fourth.

    Even sitting thousands of miles away the anticipation at the start was palpable.

    The instillation lap did nothing to calm the nerves as Checo Perez loses power initialising a second instal lap.

    He did manage to power up the ailing Red Bull but had to start from the pit lane.

    Five red lights go out and we’re away for the Bahrain Grand Prix and indeed the start of the 2021 season. Unsurprisingly to many fans the number two Haas crashes out at turn one and his race ends before it can even start, leaving Mick Schumacher the sole Haas driver as the safety car is deployed.

    Leclerc had managed to snatch third from Bottas before the safety car was deployed! Sainz lost out at the start and is down in P10, with Alonso and Stroll both gaining a position from him.

    Verstappen leads the pack away from Hamilton who is left to defend from Leclerc into turn one.

    Bottas takes third place back as we settle into a familiar pattern.

    Verstappen pulls out a small lead of just under two seconds.

    Further down the pack Sergio Perez starts to haul the Red bull through the field.

    Mercedes are first to blink and try the undercut, putting the hard tyres on and it looks like a great decision as Red bull stays out as Lewis starts pumping in purple sectors and is the fastest man on track.

    Verstappen’s in at last! And goes from mediums to mediums, he will have to stop again. He exits the pits nearly seven seconds behind Hamilton!

    The top three are Hamilton, Verstappen and Bottas. Further down the field Vettel and Alonso are fighting it out for P8!

    Max is putting in the strong laps now on tyres ten laps newer than Hamilton’s. He closes to within two seconds or so, as Mercedes once again throws the dice and pull Lewis in for a new set of hard boots.

    He exits the pits in third behinds Bottas in second and Max in first.

    Bottas stops but there’s a problem with the front left! It’s a 10.9s stop and he comes out behind Leclerc in P5

    Verstappen pits for hards and is stationary for an incredible 1.9 seconds and leaves himself 8.7s to make up to Hamilton in the final 17 laps.

    Hamilton’s trying to keep his tyres going until the end, andy it’s falling back into Verstappen’s hands as he starts to take chunks off Lewis.

    Verstappen is eating into Hamilton’s lead like its an open buffet. Half a second out in the middle sector alone, and he can see the Mercedes on the straights now.

    Hamilton brakes another record this time for the most laps led in F1 with 5,112!

    Vettel and Ocon have come together. Both have got going again, but Vettel has some damage to his front wing. Looks like Sebs fault but that’s one for the stewards to decide.

    Max is like a lion hunting down his prey with only the odd back marker to hold him back, Lewis locks up and goes wide at Turn ten! He keeps the lead but Verstappen is just a second behind now and within DRS range.

    Lap 52 and Hamilton only has half a second over Verstappen as he tries around the outside of Turn one but Hamilton holds him off!

    Down to Turn four and Verstappen goes around the outside again, and this time he takes the lead!

    Max Is immediately told by his team to give the place back as he’s left the circuit whilst taking the position, if he doesn’t do it a penalty could be costly.

    Verstappen’s loses grip in Hamilton’s wake but he’s now out of DRS range on the start finish straight.

    Bottas stops for a new set of tyres as he attempts to grab the extra point for fastest lap.

    Hamilton starts the final lap and Verstappen is back within DRS range, no matter how well Max has driven this weekend he just can’t get passed the exuberant Hamilton who takes the win from Verstappen and Bottas.

    Norris, Perez, Ricardo and Yuki Tsunoda all make impressive debuts, Alonso and Seb looked good and should improve as we get further into the season.

    Mick Schumacher had a quiet race finishing last but that’s all that can be expected in the under developed Haas.

    HAM

    VER

    BOT

    NOR

    PER

    LEC

    RIC

    SAI

    TSU

    STR

    RAI

    GIO

    OCO

    RUS

    VET

    MSC

    DNF: GAS, LAT, ALO, MAZ

  • IndyCar Mid-Ohio Preview

    IndyCar Mid-Ohio Preview

    The NTT IndyCar Series returns this weekend for its fourth doubleheader with the Honda Indy 200 at Lexington’s Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. The undulating twists and turns of the thirteen-corner, 2.2-mile road course has seen the circuit become one of the favourite locations on the calendar for drivers and fans alike.

    What’s more, with just five races remaining, it’s up to the few remaining title challengers to step up this weekend if they wish to keep the championship alive.

    Scott Dixon heads into this weekend on 416 points, a 96-point advantage over Josef Newgarden, with Patricio O’Ward and Takuma Sato realistically the remaining two contenders, albeit around 150 points behind.

    Scott Dixon (Joe Skibinski / IndyCar Media)

    Looking Back to 2019 Mid-Ohio and beyond.

    The 2019 running was won by current championship leader Dixon in spectacular fashion. The New Zealander had rookie Felix Rosenqvist charging in the closing laps. In the final pass through turn two they had wheel contact. Both cars bobbled, but the drivers kept them straight, which led to a thrilling run to the chequered flag as Dixon drove with tires that had lost their effectiveness.

    The margin of victory was 0.0934 seconds, the closest IndyCar finish at Mid-Ohio and third closest on a road course in IndyCar history.

    Dixon and Chip Ganassi have proved a dominant force at Mid-Ohio in recent years. ‘Mr Mid-Ohio’ has a staggering six wins at the Sports Car Course, likewise Ganassi have won there 11 times, giving them a vast amount of confidence heading into the weekend.

    Other drivers who have enjoyed success at the circuit have been Newgarden, Alexander Rossi and Simon Pagenaud with a win apiece. Alongside them, look out for likes of O’Ward, Jack Harvey, Oliver Askew and Rinus VeeKay who have all had relative success at the track in the junior categories.

    Pato O’Ward (Joe Skibinski / IndyCar Media)

    What should I look out for this weekend?

    Dixon is the bookies favourite to win the IndyCar championship due to his commanding lead. However, the focus on this race will continue to be on his realistic championship rivals to see whether they can make a dent in that points deficit. Out of those only Newgarden has won here before, and he may be the most obvious challenge to the Kiwi.

    O’Ward will be coming into the weekend following some magnificent but bittersweet performances having narrowly missed out on a handful of wins this season. The Mexican has been a consistent qualifier and regularly puts himself in the frame to challenge for the win. It’s often been strategic calls that have stripped those opportunities away. He’ll be looking to rectify that here to claim his maiden IndyCar win.

    Sato, perhaps coming down from his second Indy 500 win, was in the fight arguably in both races last time out at Gateway. He’s somehow found a run of form that’s put him in his highest championship spot in his career. Although challenging Dixon in the standings is a tough order, to compete well against the likes of two-time champion Newgarden and up-and-coming superstar O’Ward will be all the incentive Sato needs to prove that experience sometimes trumps youth.

    Another driver with something to prove this weekend will be Andretti’s Rossi. His crushing performance in the 2018 running race saw him and the team take a dominant victory from pole with an incredible tyre strategy. Rossi has demonstrated that he has the speed and his team have the strategies to come out on top in Mid-Ohio and he’ll be determined to do so again to try and draw himself closer to the top five in the championship, after a season plagued by bad luck.

    Rinus VeeKay (Joe Skibinski / IndyCar Media)

    In terms of the battle for the coveted ‘Rookie of the Year’ title, VeeKay currently leads that fight, 13th in the standings on 181 points. His closest rivals are Alex Palou on 160 and Askew on 155. All three drivers have enjoyed a mixed bag of success and rotten luck, showing promising qualifying and race pace. VeeKay certainly has the momentum coming into the weekend and will be looking to replicate the win he had at the circuit during his time in the Pro Mazda Championship.

    Just a mention about Colton Herta. What a season he’s been having. I wrote about his incredible qualifying performances during my preview for Gateway and touted him as someone to watch out for. He then went on to finish in fourth and sixth across both races of the doubleheader putting him in fifth place in the championship on 250 points. In only his sophomore year in IndyCar he’s certainly proved that he’s a superstar in the making, and now has the consistency to mount a title challenge in the future. I wouldn’t put it past Herta to do something similarly impressive this weekend to try and break into the top four.

    Dale Coyne Racing‘s Santino Ferrucci is also on an impressive run of form. A fellow sophomore and a young American ‘hot-shot’, he is easily, like-for-like Colton Herta’s closest rival. After an amazing fourth at the Indy 500, followed by a top ten finish last time out at Gateway, Ferrucci is making somewhat of a name for himself. It wasn’t too long ago that he enjoyed a run of three top ten finishes between IMS and Iowa. He’ll be hoping to draw on his prior experience of racing single-seaters in Europe to try and get a similarly strong result on the Mid-Ohio road course this weekend so that he can impress further.

    Finally, keep an eye on Meyer Shank Racing‘s Jack Harvey, aiming to continue what has so far been relatively strong season so far for the British driver. He’s shown glimpses of brilliances with three consecutive top ten finishes (IOWA 1, IOWA 2, INDY) and a strong showing at Gateway before an unfortunate timing with the caution ruined a race where he’d been running in the top 5. He’s currently 14th in the standings, which is by far the highest he has ever been during his time in IndyCar. This weekend he has an opportunity to push for 11th in the standings as Ryan Hunter-Reay, Marcus Ericsson, VeeKay and Harvey are all separated by just 3 points.

    IndyCar at Mid-Ohio will be shown live on Sky Sports F1 with qualifying set for 7:30pm (GMT) on Saturday followed by the race at around 8:30pm (GMT) on Sunday.

  • Alonso returns to F1 with Renault

    (Image courtesy of Fernando Alonso Instagram)

    When Fernando Alonso announced in 2018 that he would be stepping away from Formula 1, very few of thought he would return. With the current status-quo as it is with the last few years dominated by Mercedes with only Red Bull and Ferrari able to hold a candle to them, and Alonso growing evidently tired of being in a lackluster McLaren, it was perhaps understandable that many of us didn’t believe these rumours of the two-time champion returning to F1 with the team that took him to those two world championships, Renault.

    But sure enough, it was confirmed by Renault that Alonso would make his F1 comeback next year partnering up with Esteban Ocon and replacing the McLaren-bound Daniel Ricciardo. The former Red Bull driver signed a two-year deal with the French automotive manufacturer which was estimated to be in the region of nearly €25 million per year. But the promise of a car being able to challenge for podiums in the coming years wasn’t convincing enough for Ricciardo, and he will now take the seat of Carlos Sainz who is off to Ferrari to replace four-time champion Sebastian Vettel.

    Alonso claimed he would not return to F1 unless he had a race winning car, and in a post on Instagram, he seems to be pinning all his hopes on the upcoming revolutionary 2022 regulations which will close the gap between the top three teams. With the teams having agreed to continue using their current cars for 2021, Renault certainly don’t look like a frontrunning team right now.

    The experience of Alonso will undoubtedly play a part in developing their 2022 car but even so, time isn’t on his side. He will be turning 41 in 2022 which means at the very most, he has at most three years if Michael Schumacher’s three-year tenure in his comeback with Mercedes is anything to go by. Will he still be at the top of his game? Even if by some miracle, Renault are consistent front runners and he’s challenging for podiums, wins and maybe even the championship, would Fernando still be capable?

    Then there’s the question of Renault’s academy drivers. With Esteban Ocon being out of F1 for 18 months prior to the Austrian Grand Prix and having only raced two full seasons prior with Force India as well as a couple of races with the Manor team in 2016, he’s far from being able to lead a team just yet so that undoubtedly factored in when finding who could take Ricciardo’s seat. However there’s still questions to be asked about where this leads the two probable F1 graduates in Renault’s academy right now.

    These two drivers are Formula 2 racers Guanyu Zhou and Christian Lundgaard. Zhou is entering his second season of F2, prior to his first season , he hadn’t been that impressive in the junior formula, although was runner-up in Italian F4 in 2015. He had been on the Ferrari driver academy before joining Renault’s for 2019, and despite his time in European F3 not being indicative of being potential F1 material, he stepped it up when it mattered.

    Zhou scored five podiums and a pole position on his way to seventh overall, and began the 2020 season with a pole at the Red Bull Ring, and was set for his first win before his Virtuosi F2 car let him down. Plus you have to think that Zhou is also a marketing goldmine for a manufacturer like Renault, since he would be the first Chinese driver and China is always a market that brands want to sell in so it would make sense from a marketing standpoint.

    Then we have Lundgaard, who won two F4 championships in 2017, finished runner-up in Formula Renault EuroCup and took a race win last year in FIA Formula 3 with ART Grand Prix. He’s now in F2 with ART and scored a fourth and fifth in his first F2 races. He has had a rapid rise through the lower ranks and undoubtedly has the ability, but perhaps it may have been too early and he could be in prime position to be in the Renault F1 drive after Alonso retires for good.

    Since we are talking about Renault juniors, it would be an insult if we didn’t talk about the driver who was perhaps in the best position for that seat alongside Ocon.

    Lundgaard may have remained in F3 for a title charge in 2020, but that ART F2 drive had already been paid for by Renault so he was promoted into the seat that most likely would have been occupied by 2018 GP3 champion Anthoine Hubert.

    Having won two sprint races last season in F2 at Monaco and Paul Ricard with BWT Arden, but tragedy struck at Spa-Francorchamps when Hubert was fatally injured. I would have put a lot of money on Hubert being champion in F2 this year had he been in that ART seat, considering the past two champions George Russell and Nyck De Vries raced with ART as well.

    (Image taken from F1 2020 Game Play)

    Nevertheless, it’s the return of Fernando Alonso with Renault for 2021. I can definitely imagine a few more iconic moments from him, especially in the Drive to Survive season focusing on the 2021 season, the combination of Fernando and Cyril Abiteboul is going to make for some interesting moments for us, that’s for sure.

  • Haas F1 Team Takes First – 2020 Contender Reveal

    Haas F1 Team Takes First – 2020 Contender Reveal

    Haas F1 Team gave the Formula 1 world a pleasant surprise yesterday by revealing its 2020 contender early. The VF-20’s new livery presents a welcome return of the design elements of the team’s first years in contention. The return to the gray, red, a different, lighter gray (I suspect we could be forgiven for thinking it white), and black color scheme presents a welcome evolution of the team’s 2018 livery as well as a return to the branding of Haas Automation.

    Haas F1 Media

    In the press release accompanying the reveal, it is entirely unsurprising that neither Haas Automation founder and team chairman Gene Haas nor team principal Guenther Steiner mentioned the debacle that was Rich Energy’s sponsorship. The usual nods to lessons learned were suitably dispensed, along with the hopes that 2020 will see an evolution of 2018’s form in both design and results.

    The livery suits the 2020 design well. For the sake of Haas fans, here’s hoping that the on-track performance will match its visual appeal.

    The VF-20 will make its physical debut as scheduled on 19 February 2020, the opening day of pre-season testing in Barcelona, with Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean in the cockpit.

    Haas F1 Media

     

    [Featured image – Haas F1 Media]

  • W Series: Gilkes wins by 0.03 seconds in reverse grid thriller at Assen

    W Series: Gilkes wins by 0.03 seconds in reverse grid thriller at Assen

    Sunday morning’s race ended in a nail-biting final lap showdown which saw reverse grid pole-sitter Megan Gilkes hold off the charging Alice Powell to win by just 0.03s.

    The grid was based on a full reversal of the championship points, including all twenty race and reserve drivers. The race, which did not offer points, saw Megan Gilkes and Sarah Bovy start on the front row, while championship contenders Beitske Visser and Jamie Chadwick lined up 19th and 20th.

    The race came down to an intense final-lap battle between Gilkes, the youngest driver in the field, and the experienced racer Powell who had overtaken her way through the field from 17th on the grid. Despite Powell’s relentless attempts to take the lead, Gilkes put up a robust defence each and every time, leading to a side-by-side finish, with Gilkes coming out on top by the smallest of margins. Sabre Cook rounded out the podium.

    Credit: W Series Media

    Gilkes, Bovy, and the American driver Cook, who had a great start to move from 8th to third, held their own out front for the first half of the race. Shea Holbrook, who had started third, struggled for pace and fell down the order, eventually spinning and bringing out the safety car. At the restart, Gilkes came under pressure from Bovy in second, but managed to stay in front.

    Alice Powell was among the early movers, jumping from 17th to 9th by the second lap, and refusing to stop there, continuing to climb the order until the very end. Emma Kimilainen also put in a commendable drive, finishing 5th from 15th on the grid and battling for a podium in the process.

    Lap 4 saw championship rivals Visser and Chadwick battling over 14th position, with Visser coming out on top, and Chadwick then falling back behind Fabienne Wohlwend. Undeterred, Chadwick was able to battle her way through to finish 8th, while a poor getaway in a safety car restart meant Visser had to settle for 14th.

    The race saw two safety car periods, with Gosia Rdest and Shea Holbrook failing to make the finish.

    Featured image: W Series Media

  • Kimilainen wins at Assen as W Series title battle heats up

    Kimilainen wins at Assen as W Series title battle heats up

    Emma Kimilainen won from pole after a close battle with Alice Powell, who led much of the race, as championship rivals Jamie Chadwick and Beitske Visser fought for third place.

    In her second race back after injuries kept her out of action earlier in the season, Kimilainen took pole in Saturday morning’s qualifying session with a time of 1:34.758. 

    Powell set the second fastest time, despite having the same car that had suffered a number of issues last time out at the Norisring, due to a rule that meant, while normally drivers swap cars at each round, she had to keep the same car going into this weekend.

    Championship leader Chadwick put in the third best time, with her closest title rival and local favourite Visser joining her on the second row of the grid.

    Further back on the grid, Norisring winner Marta Garcia and Lichtenstein’s Fabienne Wohlwend qualified 7th and 8th. Meanwhile, Vicky Piria lined up 12th after suffering a fiery failure, cutting her qualifying session short.

    W Series Media

    As the lights went out for the start of Saturday’s championship race, Kimilainen made a sluggish start, handing Powell the lead, and almost allowing a charging Chadwick through. Meanwhile, Visser dropped to fifth behind Caitlin Wood. Further back, Garcia tapped the rear of Tasmin Pepper, who then spun, making contact with Miki Koyama, bringing out the safety car on the opening lap.

    After the safety car period, pole-sitter Kimilainen pressured Powell throughout the race, with Powell eventually making a small mistake and running onto the kerb with 10 minutes remaining, allowing Kimilainen past. Kimilainen then quickly built up a sizeable lead, crossing the line 5.7 seconds ahead of Powell in second.

    Chadwick rounded out the podium, despite seemingly lacking in pace to Powell and Kimilainen ahead, but was able to hold off a strong challenge from title rival Visser, who finished in fourth and pulled off the move of the race, making an early decisive move to pass Wood down the inside.

    Wohlwend, still in mathematical championship contention at the start of this race, is now out of the title fight after running wide and damaging her front wing, forcing her to pit. Garcia is also now out of contention after finishing in ninth.

    Tomorrow’s race, which will not award points, will see an experimental reverse grid based on today’s race results. After today’s penultimate championship race, Chadwick leads with 98 points, with her sole remaining challenger Visser on 85 points going into the final round at Brands Hatch on 11th August.

    W Series Media