Open Wheel Racing

23rd April 202116th August 2021

Long Time No See: The Firestone IndyCar Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Preview

The 2021 NTT IndyCar Series kicked off with a bang last week as Chip Ganassi’s debutant Alex Palou took his maiden championship victory, holding off Penske’s Will Power in the process. As all eyes fall on the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg – they will also be Palou with high expectations for what this young Spaniard can do?

What is typically the opening race of the season, was moved last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 2020 saw the Grand Prix host the season finale for the first time in the history of the series. Once more, because of the pandemic the race was rescheduled in 2021, initially set for 7th March to the 25th April.

The Firestone Grand Prix is a highlight for many IndyCar and motorsport fans alike. This 2.9 km, high-speed and technical street course features picturesque views of St. Petersburg waterfront and utilises parts of the nearby Albert Whitted Airport.

WHAT HAPPENED LAST YEAR?

Last year saw the culmination of a season-long title battle between Scott Dixon and Josef Newgarden. Newgarden had gradually chipped away at the New Zealander’s advantage over a five race period and had the oppurtunity to snatch the title at the final attempt. However, both drivers failed to make an impression in qualifying and started in eleventh and ninth respectively. Will Power went on to take his ninth pole at St. Petersburg and led into the first corner.

Power’s lead didn’t last long, overtaken by Alexander Rossi who would dominate the race until lap 36, when Will Power brought out the first of a string of cautions by crashing out of the race.

Alexander Rossi’s race came to an end on lap 70, crashing from the lead and gifting the position to Andretti Autosport teammate Colton Herta. After a series of cautionary period due to the likes of Hinchcliffe, Harvey, Marco Andretti and Takuma Sato, Herta led with Alex Palou behind in second.

Newgarden and Dixon had been quietly navigating the chaos of the race, and found themselves in third and fifth respectively. With Palou and Herta in the lead, Newgarden took advantage when both drivers went wide on the next restart, gifting the American the lead while Dixon clambered up to third.

After an incident with Oliver Askew brought out the final caution of the race, the subsequent restart saw Josef Newgarden pull a significant gap, while McLaren SP’s Patricio O’Ward took Scott Dixon and Colton Herta for second place. Herta would eventually catch the tyre barrier and fall out of the top ten, leaving Newgarden, O’Ward and Dixon as the final top three.

Despite having cut almost 100 points out of Dixon’s lead across the secons half of the season, it would not be enough. Dixon finished the season just 16 points ahead of Newgarden to take his sixth IndyCar title.

WHAT TO EXPECT THIS WEEKEND?

Newgarden has won the last two consecutive races at St.Petersburg while Will Power holds an incredible nine pole positions, yet has failed to win since 2014. You wouldn’t look past any of these two drivers to be in the mix come qualifying. However, Newgarden will want to bounce back after a dissapointing showing last-time out at Barber Motorsports Park. After a terrifying crash on lap one, Newgarden needs a positive weekend to get his championship up and running.

Alexander Rossi’s race last time out epitomised his entire season, which was plagued with bad-luck, unfortunate circumstances, penalties and costly errors. Rossi qualified impressively in second last year – he knows he has the pace around this circuit. Barring any unfortunate incidents look out for the American seeking redemption.

Also ending the 2020 St. Petersburg Grand Prix with a costly error was Patricio O’Ward. However, after coming tantalisingly close to his first career win at Barber, the Mexican will be doing whatever he can to finish in victory lane.

A resident of St. Petersburg. A.J Foyt Enterprises’ Sebastien Bourdais has a tremendous amount of success at his home race. He’s won here two times and is coming off the back of two consecutive top five finishes. If you’re looking for an outside contender, he’s the man.

And lastly, who could not forget Chip Ganassi’s debutant winner Alex Palou. Having qualified in second at Barber Motorsport, he impressively mastered the two-stop strategy to take his first IndyCar win. To finish ahead of his six-time champion teammate Scott Dixon, not to mention Will Power – he caught the eye of many in the motorsport world. With significant road course experience Palou, and having narrowly missed out on a podium last-time out at St. Pete – keep your eyes peeled on this impressive Spaniard.

St. Pete will see quliafying take place on Saturday 24th April at 18:45 (BST) while the race will get under way on Sunday 25th April at 17:00 (BST).

You can watch the race on SkySportF1 in the UK. Alternatively, you can find live-text updates on ThePitCrewOnline Twitter account during the race.

18th April 202116th August 2021

Alex Palou wins on IndyCar debut with Chip Ganassi at Barber Motorsports Park

IndyCar fans were treated to a new race winner on Sunday, as Alex Palou stormed to victory at the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama season opener. The Spaniard managed to hold off the late-charging Will Power by half a second to take his first career win on his debut for Chip Ganassi Racing.

The race started in dramatic fashion with Arrow McLaren SP pole winner Patricio O’Ward leading Alexander Rossi, Alex Palou, and Will Power off the line. They didn’t even get to finish a full lap before Josef Newgarden brought out the first full course yellow after colliding with Colton Herta, Hunter-Reay, Felix Rosenqvist, Max Chilton, and Rinus VeeKay. The two-time IndyCar champion subsequently retired from the race followed by Herta and Chilton.

After the restart, O’Ward led with an incredibly difficult and tail-happy car until pitting on lap 18 of 90, opting to switch from his fresh set of red tyres for a used set of blacks and committing to a three-stop strategy. The drivers who committed to a two-stop strategy stayed out for 14 laps, during which O’Ward lost time in traffic. Alex Palou was the main benefactor who gained the ned lead from both O’Ward and Rossi.

Palou made his first put stop on lap 31, also choosing to go for used blacks and emerging ahead of Pato O’Ward. However, Palou struggled to get heat into the tyres and was promptly passed by the Mexican in turn five.

After the other two-stoppers including Power, Dixon and Ericsson pitted, O’Ward retook the lead looking far more comfortable on the black compound tyres. On lap 45, O’Ward made his second pit stop, swapping back onto the softer red compounds. This time, it was the Mexican who struggled with tyre temperatures and was passed by both Sebastian Bourdais and Rinus VeeKay.

This left the victory in the hands of those on the two-stop strategy. Marcus Ericsson was the first of those to take their final pit stop on lap 60, choosing to go for another set of blacks. This worked to the Swede’s advantage who passed O’Ward with ease before the McLaren driver made his final pit stop on lap 6, just four laps after Palou and Dixon.

After all the remaining pit stops this left Alex Palou with a sizeable margin ahead of Will Power, Scott Dixon and Pato O’Ward, separated by just ten seconds. However, with almost all of his push-to-pass still to use. Power set about chasing down Palou for the lead.

On the final lap of the race, Power used almost all of his push-to-pass and made it to within half a second of the leader. But it was one lap too late as Alex Palou crossed the line to take his first career win, holding off two series champions in the process.

Scott Dixon finished in third while Pato O’Ward had to settle for fourth, less than one second away from the podium position.

Bourdais, VeeKay were next, followed by Graham Rahal who passed Marcus Ericsson with a few laps to go. Ericsson only just made the chequered flag before running out of fuel.

Former F1 driver Romain Grosjean was the highest placed rookie. He was one of those who attempted the two-stop strategy and was able to round out the top ten.

Penske’s Scott McLaughlin finished in 14th, while seven-times NASCAR Cup series champion Jimmie Johnson struggled to adapt to his new machinery. He spun after the first few laps which brought out a full course yellow. He eventually finished several laps down from the leaders.

18th April 202116th August 2021

Pato O’Ward secures pole ahead of Alexander Rossi in IndyCar season opener

Arrow McLaren SP’s Patricio O’Ward kicked off his 2021 IndyCar campaign in style – taking pole position for the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama. The Mexican extraordinaire looked extremely quick throughout the day, topping all the sessions he featured in throughout qualifying. He narrowly edged out Andretti Autosport’s Alexander Rossi by nearly seven-hundredths of a second on route to securing his second career pole.

Third fastest and quickest of the Chip Ganassi drivers went to series sophomore Alex Palou in his first qualifying run for Chip Ganassi Racing-Honda, while four-time Barber polesitter Will Power was top Team Penske driver in fourth.

Six-time and reigning champion Scott Dixon, who is seeking his first Barber win, will line up fifth, alongside teammate Marcus Ericsson, making it three Ganassi cars in the first three rows.

Romain Grosjean, who drove with a custom helmet designed by his children, drove superbly to secure seventh on his debut. He will start ahead of two-time series champion Josef Newgarden in eighth and young superstar Colton Herta in ninth with Conor Daly rounding out the top ten.

The qualifying session was not without its drama. The second group session was first disrupted by James Hinchcliffe understeering off the track into the tire wall at Turn 5, bringing out the red flag. Pato O’Ward himself narrowly saved a huge moment at the top of the crest between Turns 13 and 14 on his way to topping the session.

However, his teammate Felix Rosenqvist was not so lucky. The Swede dropped it at the final turn which brought out the second red flag of the session. Despite crossing the line, the lap-time was deleted.

Other notable mentions include our other two star rookies, Australian Supercar Champion Scott McLaughlin and multiple-time NASCAR Champion Jimmie Johnson who will start 12th and 22nd respectively.

CLASSIFICATION:

Patricio O’Ward
Alexander Rossi
Alex Palou
Will Power
Scott Dixon
Marcus Ericsson
Romain Grosjean
Josef Newgarden
Colton Herta
Conor Daly
Jack Harvey
Scott McLaughlin
Ed Jones
Rinus VeeKay
Simon Pagenaud
Sebastien Bourdais
Ryan Hunter-Reay
Graham Rahal
Takuma Sato
Max Chilton
Jimmie Johnson
Felix Rosenqvist
Dalton Kelett
James Hinchcliffe

15th April 202116th August 2021

Sweet Home Alabama: The Honda IndyCar Grand Prix of Alabama Preview

Here we go. This is the 2021 IndyCar Preview from yours truly. A new season is upon us meaning another enthralling few months of exciting and dramatic wheel-to-wheel action from some of the best drivers on the planet.

We kick off with the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama after the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg (which has opened the IndyCar slate in 10 of 11 seasons before becoming the 2020 season finale) was delayed to April 25. It is the first time in IndyCar history that the season has opened on a permanent road course and the first at Alabama since the 2020 iteration was postponed due to COVID-19.

Now, this article was rather difficult to put together as there is so much to cover. So, if you are tuning in to IndyCar for the first time, we will do our best to hit all the important beats. Yes – you are going to have the usual players, meaning Chip Ganassi’s Scott Dixon and Penske’s Josef Newgarden are almost certain to be fighting for another championship. Scott Dixon will be chasing his seventh title in his bid to become the most successful IndyCar driver of all time. Only A.J Foyt sits on seven titles while Mario Andretti sits second on the all time wins record on 52 – only two more than Dixon.

Josef Newgarden will be looking to avenge his previous championship campaign, narrowly missing out on the title after a titanic second half of the season winning three out of the final six races. The American two-time champion ended the 2020 season on a high winning the Firestone St Petersburg Grand Prix and will look to continue that momentum this weekend.

Now, you also must consider his Penske teammates Simon Pagenaud and Will Power into the equation. Moreover, can Takuma Sato put a full season of top finishes together? He is the defending Indianapolis 500 winner and had one of his best campaigns to date with an impressive stint during the middle third of the season.

Takuma Sato sat on pole and dominated last time IndyCar visited the road course. Could he repeat the feat? Can teammate Graham Rahal mount a challenge? There are so many scenarios that could happen!

Takuma Sato on the top step at Barber 2019. Courtesy of Joe Skibinski

Spaniard Alex Palou is now driving for Chip Ganassi racing. He will be looking to make a statement of intent right from the get-go. Speaking of Ganassi drivers, he will have exquisite company in the form of former F1 driver Marcus Ericsson and a star-studded rookie who we will discuss later. The Arrow McLaren SP team could also return to the top step of the podium with Felix Rosenqvist and Pato O’Ward. They finished one-two at Road America last year and will undoubtedly be the dark horses for the championship.

Andretti Autosport will likely return in emphatic style with one of the strongest line-ups on the grid. Alexander Rossi was winless last year as was Ryan Hunter-Reay. However, a myriad of misfortune plagued both of their seasons and should not be underestimated. Moreover, James Hinchliffe has the ability to steal a win or two as does Marco Andretti, last years Indy 500 pole sitter.

However, if there is anyone to watch out for this year it will be Colton Herta who improved on his impressive debut season to finish third in the championship. His incredible qualifying pace and relentless race craft proved to be a successful combination finishing in the top five on seven occasions. Herta has won at Barber in the Indy Lights junior category and will be looking to stamp his mark on the Andretti team.

Other drivers who could steal a win this year are Jack Harvey with Meyer/Shank and Ed Jones at Dale Coyne. Sebastian Bourdais, in the newly sponsored Rockit A.J.Foyt entry, has shown promise in early testing. There is no doubt we could see the Foyt team snatch victory.

And who could forget the Ed Carpenter Racing’s Conor Daly who races alongside 2020 Rookie of the Year Rinus VeeKay. After a solid campaign which saw Rinus feature in the final qualifying shootout at the Indianapolis 500, can he take the next step in his sophomore season?

Now, let us get on to the rookies. Never have we seen such a roster of rookies who paradoxically come with pedigree, experience and titles. Formula One refugee Romain Grosjean joins Dayle Coyne Racing looking to cause a stir after a difficult campaign at Haas and a disastrous accident saw him leave the sport with certainly something to prove. His experience on road courses could prove vital this weekend.

Seven-time NASCAR Jimmie Johnson will have one of the biggest uphill battles who joins none other than Chip Ganassi Racing alongside Scott Dixon, Marcus Ericsson and Alex Palou.

The former Australian V-8 Supercar Champion Scott McLaughlin joins Penske but stands a decent chance at putting something together this weekend. Unlike Grosjean and Johnson who are forgoing the ovals, McLaughlin is also looking forward to running the ovals and the Indianapolis 500. Penske has an eye for drivers. In addition, Rick Mears will no doubt come into play as a huge help to the Australian as an advisor.

Rick Mears and Scott McLaughlin. Courtesy of Chris Jones

In a tweak to race weekend schedule Barber will be a two-day event which will see Saturday feature two practice sessions totalling 90 minutes and a qualifying session. Sunday will include a 30-minute warmup before the race goes green at around 7:40/7:45pm (BST).

There is so much to look forward to this weekend. A highly rated trio of rookies. Seasoned veterans going for glory. Young superstars looking to make a name for themselves. What is there not to love?

You can watch the 2021 IndyCar season opener on SkySportF1 in the UK. Alternatively, you can find live-text updates on ThePitCrewOnline Twitter account during the race.

28th March 202130th March 2021

F2 Sakhir: Zhou storms to victory in frantic feature race

Guanyu Zhou took the final win of Formula 2’s Sakhir weekend, in a feature race dominated by changing tyre performance and a dramatic late collision for title hopeful Oscar Piastri.

Zhou started the race from pole, but it was anything but an easy drive from the front for the Alpine junior. He was slow away off the line and lost the lead to Christian Lundgaard at Turn 1, then dropped to third behind teammate Felipe Drugovich at Turn 4.

After a brief safety car in the early laps when Roy Nissany was spun out by Robert Shwartzman, Zhou then found himself under pressure from Piastri. The Prema driver, who had started on softs as opposed to Zhou’s hard tyres, picked off Zhou for third on lap 4 and set off after Drugovich and Lundgaard, while Zhou lost another position to Marcus Armstrong on lap 8.

Christian Lundgaard, ART (Joe Portlock, Formula Motorsport Limited via Getty Images / FIA Formula 2)

By lap 12 Piastri had passed Drugovich and closed within half a second of Lundgaard, before overtaking the ART for the lead at the start of the following lap. By then the pit window was open and Lundgaard become the first to stop for hards at the end of lap 13, followed by Drugovich on lap 14 and Piastri himself on lap 16. Meanwhile, Zhou made his stop for soft tyres on the alternate strategy on lap 15, and came out of the pits just behind Drugovich.

Another safety car was deployed in the middle of the pit phase when Gianluca Petecof’s cockpit fire extinguisher went off and forced him to retire. The timing of this second safety car benefited Armstrong and Richard Verschoor, who had been shuffled to the head of the field and were able to stop while the pack was slowed down. Armstrong came out of the pits still in the lead, while Verschoor emerged in third between Piastri and Lundgaard.

At the restart on lap 19 however Armstrong immediately fell back, as Piastri and Verschoor both passed him for first and second respectively. Lundgaard also struggled for pace and lost fourth to Drugovich at Turn 4, then fifth to Zhou at Turn 10. Drugovich and Zhou then toppled Armstrong from third on lap 20, before Zhou overtook his teammate for the podium position a lap later.

Felipe Drugovich, UNI-Virtuosi (Bryn Lennon, Getty Images / FIA Formula 2)

As Zhou returned to the podium positions, Verschoor took the lead from Piastri on lap 20 and set about building a two-second gap as his softs had more initial pace than Piastri’s hards. That pace deficit allowed Zhou — as well as Dan Ticktum and Liam Lawson, who were also charging through on softs — to close up to Piastri and challenge him for second.

Zhou took the position from Piastri on lap 23 and started reeling in Verschoor, who was struggling as his softs then started losing grip. But despite being on the same compound, Zhou was able to keep his tyres in better condition than the MP Motorsport ahead and he took the lead of the race at Turn 4 on lap 28.

As Zhou then leaped clear in the lead, Ticktum started challenging Piastri for third as the Prema couldn’t find pace on the hard tyres. After being rebuffed at the inside of Turn 1 and the outside of Turn 4 on lap 29, Ticktum was much closer at the start of lap 30. He pulled to the inside and got momentarily ahead, before the two cars made contact and Piastri was spun into a stall and out of the race.

Ticktum continued on in third, and after a brief virtual safety car to recover Piastri he improved to second with a pass on Verschoor. Lawson also overtook Verschoor on the final lap to take his second podium finish of the weekend.

Dan Ticktum, Carlin (Clive Mason, Formula Motorsport Limited via Getty Images / FIA Formula 2)

Verschoor was able to hold onto fourth at the flag ahead of Armstrong and Jehan Daruvala. Shwartzman recovered from a drive-through penalty for hitting Nissany at the start to take seventh and the fastest lap, while Theo Pourchaire, Drugovich and Matteo Nannini rounded out the final points positions.

Zhou now leaves Bahrain in the lead of the championship by 11 points from Liam Lawson, and Piastri drops to fourth behind Daruvala. Carlin now lead the teams’ standings on 47 points, ahead of UNI-Virtuosi (43) and Prema (37).

Formula 2 returns on 20–23 May in support of the Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix.

27th March 202127th March 2021

F2 Sakhir: Piastri snatches last lap sprint race win from Zhou

Prema’s Oscar Piastri became Formula 2’s second rookie winner in as many races after a strategy gamble and a hectic race helped him to overhaul Guanyu Zhou on the final lap.

The race started with an incident at the first corner. As Juri Vips led away Lirim Zendelli and Zhou from pole, Robert Shwartzman hit Dan Ticktum at Turn 1 as he challenged for fourth place. Ticktum spun out and Shwartzman pulled over with terminal damage, and the safety car was deployed for the opening lap.

When the safety car pulled in at the end of lap 3, Zhou immediately took second from Zendelli. Once ahead, Zhou then started reeling in Vips, setting the fastest lap at the end of lap 4 and taking the lead from the Hitech on the following lap at Turn 4.

Guanyu Zhou, UNI-Virtuosi (Clive Mason, Formula Motorsport Limited via Getty Images / FIA Formula 2)

Meanwhile, Liam Lawson and Felipe Drugovich joined the podium battle. After moving past Piastri and Christian Lundgaard for fourth and fifth respectively at the restart, the pair then demoted Zendelli to fifth on lap 5 with Lawson ahead moving into the podium positions. Zendelli’s race then took another hit, as contact from Lundgaard at Turn 1 left the German with a puncture and dropped him to the back of the field.

At the front of the field, Zhou continued to stretch out a gap over Vips, and was running 2.5 seconds clear by lap 11. Behind them, Lawson and Drugovich were much closer in the battle for third, and on lap 15 Drugovich made a move to the inside of Turn 1. Lawson managed to hold off the Brazilian, but they were both passed instead by Lundgaard. Lawson and Drugovich continued battling through the next couple of corners, until they made contact at Turn 4 and Lawson was spun out of the race.

The safety car was deployed again while Lawson’s car was recovered, and Vips, Lundgaard and Piastri all took the opportunity to gamble on a switch to soft tyres. Despite dropping down the order, the trio had an immediate pace advantage over the rest of the field on hards or worn softs when the race resumed on lap 18.

After carving back through the field on the first green flag lap, Vips, Piastri and Lundgaard were back up to second, third and fourth respectively by the end of lap 19, and Vips had the gap to Zhou down to a second.

Juri Vips, Hitech (Dutch Photo Agency / Red Bull Content Pool)

But Vips’ hard work came undone just a few laps later when he lost power and started dropping through the field. Piastri assumed second and the pursuit of Zhou, and at the start of the final lap he and Lundgaard both lunged past their fellow Alpine junior at Turn 1.

As Zhou battled to repass Lundgaard, Piastri was free to pull away in the lead and take his first Formula 2 victory. Lundgaard finished second on the road, but a ten-second penalty for his collision with Zendelli dropped him back to ninth. Zhou therefore finished second, and Jehan Daruvala scored his second podium of the weekend in third.

Richard Verschoor finished fourth for MP Motorsport, ahead of Theo Pourchaire, David Beckmann, Marino Sato and Matteo Nannini.

UPDATE: Lundgaard’s second place finish was reinstated following the race, after the FIA confirmed he had already served his 10 second penalty during his pit stop. The updated result means that Zhou drops to third and Daruvala fourth, and Nannini loses his point as he drops to ninth,.

27th March 202127th March 2021

F2 Sakhir: Lawson dominates sprint race on debut

Hitech’s Liam Lawson opened his rookie Formula 2 season with a dominant win in the first Bahrain sprint race, holding the lead throughout after taking it at the start.

Lawson got a rapid start from third on the grid to get past fellow rookies David Beckmann and Theo Pourchaire, who started first. Pourchaire briefly dropped down to third behind Beckmann, but recovered by the end of the lap to retake second place. Just behind them, Jehan Daruvala jumped Oscar Piastri for fourth.

Jehan Daruvala, Carlin (Dutch Photo Agency / Red Bull Content Pool)

Lawson’s attempt to break clear of DRS range from Pourchaire was briefly halted on lap 3, when Marcus Armstrong’s DAMS stopped on track to bring out the virtual safety car. But by lap 6, Lawson pulled a second clear of Pourchaire for the first time and went on to build a gap in clean air.

As Pourchaire dropped back from the lead, he started coming under pressure from Daruvala, who’d passed Beckmann for third on lap 11. But on lap 13 Pourchaire suddenly slowed with a mechanical problem, gifting Daruvala second as he dropped out of the points and eventually stopped on track.

Now in pursuit of the lead, Daruvala looked to have much better tyres than Lawson. On his first lap in second, Daruvala took half a second out of the lead as his rival struggled for grip. Lawson then had a big lock up on lap 17, which brought Daruvala to within half a second of the Hitech.

But despite being in DRS range, Daruvala was ultimately unable to get close enough to Lawson to make a move for the lead. Lawson held on to win by 0.7 seconds over Daruvala, with Beckmann taking third on his F2 debut.

David Beckmann, Charouz (Joe Portlock, Formula Motorsport Limited via Getty Images / courtesy of FIA Formula 2)

Robert Shwartzman took fourth ahead of Piastri, after battling through the field from his starting position of 11^th. Christian Lundgaard and Guanyu Zhou were sixth and seventh, and Dan Ticktum took the final point in eighth after being demoted by a time penalty for spinning around Richard Verschoor early on.

Lirim Zendelli finished ninth but took two points for the fastest lap, and Juri Vips finished tenth to start on pole for the second sprint race.

25th March 2021

F2 Bahrain preview: New season, new format, same goal

The Formula 2 grid will take to the track this weekend in Bahrain, for the opening round of the 2021 championship.

It only feels like yesterday that Mick Schumacher was crowned the 2020 F2 champion, but a lot has changed since the series left Bahrain last December. For starters, there’s a new race weekend format for the teams and drivers to get their heads around this year.

Instead of a Saturday feature race and Sunday sprint race, the F2 weekend will now feature three races — two sprint events on Saturday, and a feature before Sunday’s F1 Grand Prix. Friday qualifying will still determine the feature race grid, while the first sprint race grid will be set by reversing the top ten from qualifying. The starting positions for the second sprint race will then be a reverse of the first race’s top ten finishers.

Robert Shwartzman, Prema (Courtesy of Prema Racing)

The weekend format might be different though, but for the eleven drivers returning to F2 this year, the goal of winning the championship and reaching F1 remains the same. And of those drivers, Robert Shwartzman is going to come to Bahrain with the most expectation on his shoulders.

In his rookie season last year, Shwartzman took the most wins of the field, helped Prema to the teams’ title, and was in championship contention himself for most of the season. He’s already proven he’s quick in Bahrain — one of his four wins last year came in the sprint race there — so Shwartzman will be the one with the target on his back in the opening round.

But there are plenty more drivers from the class of 2020 who will be out to prove this weekend that it’s not all about Shwartzman. Jehan Daruvala and Dan Ticktum have a great chance of opening the year with a win, as their Carlin team had rapid pace in Bahrain last year. Watch out for Marcus Armstrong too, who was also quick here last year and is starting a new partnership with DAMS.

And lastly, Felipe Drugovich will be a driver with plenty of attention on him in the opening round. After being one of last year’s revelations, the Brazilian has earned himself a move to UNI-Virtuosi alongside Guanyu Zhou and the perfect chance to prove he can challenge the likes of Shwartzman for the title.

Dan Ticktum, Carlin (Michael Regan, Formula Motorsport Limited via Getty Images / Courtesy of FIA Formula 2)

But while the returning field is strong, they’ll have a real fight on their hands to keep ahead of an equally impressive crop of rookies.

One of those new faces will be the 2020 Formula 3 champion and Alpine F1 junior Oscar Piastri. Coming into F2 with Prema, Piastri is expected to be a natural title contender this year — and if his F3 days are anything to go by, he won’t be taking any time at all to get his campaign underway.

Piastri isn’t the only rookie looking to impress an F1 academy, though. Hitech is fielding an all-Red Bull junior lineup this year with Juri Vips and Liam Lawson, both of whom were consistently rapid in pre-season testing.

A lot of the spotlight will fall on Vips after he made his F2 debut last year substituting for Sean Gelael in four rounds, and scored a podium at Mugello. But Lawson is no slouch either — he was a multiple race winner with Hitech in F3 last year, and is every bit as quick as Vips.

And then there’s Theo Pourchaire. Like Vips, Sauber F1 junior Pourchaire made his F2 debut in a handful of rounds last year — including Bahrain — before a full campaign for 2021. He came within three points of snatching the F3 title away from Piastri last year and has been widely tipped as a future F1 star. Driving for ART this year, he’ll be with a team capable of challenging for podiums and wins right from the off.

But as Drugovich showed last year, it’s not just the F1 juniors to watch for. Between Formula Regional European champion Gianluca Petecof, F3 race winners Lirim Zendelli, David Beckmann and Bent Viscaal, and F3 podium finishers Richard Verschoor and Matteo Nannini, there are plenty of lightning-fast rookies coming in under the radar this weekend.

Liam Lawson, Hitech (Dutch Photo Agency / Red Bull Content Pool)

2nd March 2021

Alpine’s 2021 F1 car officially unveiled

Alpine has unveiled its new contender for the 2021 season, the A521. The first car built by the newly rebranded team at Enstone.

Although a new name to F1, Alpine have been a part of motorsport since the 1950’s. After being bought out by Renault in 1973 they have developed a reputation as Renault’s ‘high performance’ brand. The Alpine name was used for Renault’s rallying and endurance endeavours, resulting in an Alpine-Renault World Rally Championship in 1973, and the 1978 Le Mans 24 Hours.

Alpine ceased production in 1995 but was revived in 2017, before the decision last year to elevate their long-forgotten brand to the pinnacle of motorsport.

During a virtual launch, the car was unveiled in a striking blue, white and red livery.

On the new livery, Laurent Rossi, Alpine CEO stressed the symbolism of French and British collaboration:

“This car identifies the Alpine identity. It’s livery conveys it’s values. The blue, white and red is a reference to both the French flag and Union Jack. Representing the soul of this multicultural team that merges flamboyant skills under one banner.”

At first glance, the A521 looks to have the trademark 2021 shrunken sidepods and more complex outboard vanes to the bargeboards – all because of the new floor and diffuser setup created by changes in the aerodynamic rules. The rear wing looks subtly different too with more complex endplates.

“We had to adapt, we had to innovate, but that’s what we do best.” said Marcin Budkowski, speaking on the new technical changes.

“This year’s car is an evolution of last years contender. […] we’ve worked and tried to improve every area that was left free to develop.”

“But also the FIA, to spice things up a bit, have changed the aerodynamic regulations that means we have lost a lot of performance which we’ve tried to recover.”

“Interestingly, they are in an area that normally doesn’t behave in the same way on track than our tool and simulations tell us. So it’s going to be very important to get the best collaboration between people at the factory and on track to develop the car aerodynamically and allow us to realise our ambitious development programme for the first few races.”

In addition, Renault will have a new and improved power unit, looking to maintain and improve it’s impressive position as one of F1’s most powerful units in terms of straight line speed.

On the team’s power unit, Laurent Rossi stated: “The delay in the technical (engine) regulations means we will be using an evolutions of our RE20A unit. There are a few developments with the power train and we have worked specifically for optimum performance and reliability.”

The team finished fifth in the constructors championship in 2021, with three podiums to there name, their first in almost a decade of racing.

With returning two-time champion Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon, they will be hoping to have similar success with what will be a formidable line-up with a mix of youth and proven championship winning pedigree.

“The team at Enstone are highly experienced and motivated” said Racing Director, Davide Brivio. “I’m very lucky to have two very excellent drivers.”

“The dynamic between Fernando and Esteban is going to be an interesting one, they can definitely benefit from each other. “

The Alpine A521 will make its first extended on-track appearance at the start of pre-season testing in Bahrain, which takes place from 12-14 March.

28th February 202128th February 2021

A Tale of Two Halves: The Diriyah ePrix in Full

Season 7 of Formula E officially kicked off this weekend for the season’s first night race in history. Set in the sprawling desert of Ad Diriyah, the historical old city under carbon-friendly lights, the double header was certainly a tale of two halves with Mercedes driver Nyck de Vries heading to Rome as the championship leader, but by no means are Mercedes running away with their first potential title in the electric series.

De Vries had shown a strong start to the weekend in topping both practice sessions and took a dominant pole in qualifying, by six tenths of a second from his nearest rival, Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein. Rene Rast was able to line up in P3 in his first full season in Formula E, whilst Edo Mortara was able to put the Mercedes powertrain to good use and claim P4 in the Venturi. Alex Lynn and Mitch Evans rounded out the top six, the pair promoted to the final two slots of superpole by a bizarre timing incident in the initial qualifying stages in which Sergio Sette Camara crashed at the end of qualifying. Nick Cassidy, Tom Blomqvist and Nico Muller’s laps were deleted by the stewards and they were not permitted to run again. The qualifying format again mixed up the grid with the reigning champions Techeetah and Mercedes’ Stoffel Vandoorne starting near the back having had to go out in the dreaded group one.

De Vries continued his dominance in the first race, pulling away almost immediately from a struggling Wehrlein at the start, and from there, he never looked back. The Dutchman controlled the race perfectly, dictating the pace even throughout two safety car periods. Behind him, Wehrlein and Rast fought for track position, but the pair never threatened De Vries’ building lead. Despite Mercedes’ dominance, the driver of the day was surely Mortara. Starting fourth, he pulled a stunning manouvre on Evans and Wehrlein – passing them both on the straight by darting past the Jaguar and squeezing himself into the gap left by Wehrlein. The Porsche faded in the latter stages of the race, with Evans able to claim P3 from Wehrlein. On the other side of Jaguar’s garage, Sam Bird’s first outing did not go to plan. The Brit was looking strong, battling for P6 with Alex Lynn when the two collided, bringing out the first safety car of the season. A second safety car followed to recover Max Gunther’s stricken car, allowing the battle for P2 to be ignited in the dying stages of the race, Mortara using his attack mode to sweep into the second podium position. But it was de Vries who claimed his first win for Mercedes, and all eyes were firmly fixed on the second race to see if the German team would continue their winning streak.

If Race 1 was heaven for Mercedes, then Race 2 was almost certainly hell. A horrendous crash in the sole free practise session for race hero Mortara saw the Venturi driver taken to hospital for additional checks and all Mercedes-powered cars were banned from taking part in the qualifying session. It was later discovered that this was the result of a software issue leading to brake failure. With Mercedes and Venturi out, qualifying became a mixed grid. Evans and Rast failed to set a time in the opening group as they didn’t reach the start-finish line in time, leaving them at the back of the pack. But it was another Dutchman – Envision Virgin’s Robin Frijns who stormed the field by half a second, joined in superpole by ex-teammate Sam Bird, the Dragon cars of Nico Muller and Sergio Sette Camara, and the Nio 333 cars of Tom Blomqvist and Oliver Turvey. Ultimately, Frijns took the first pole of his Formula E career ahead of Camara who took an impressive front row in the Dragon and Sam Bird slotting into P3. Turvey and Blomqvist filled P4 and P5, with Muller taking the final spot in the top six after a scrappy run. It was an excellent boost to Dragon and Nio to have both cars inside the top six after their previous struggles over the past few seasons.

With the likes of Mercedes and Audi starting further back, the second race was expected to provide fireworks and it certainly did. Frijns pulled away at the front, taking Sam Bird with him as Camara suffered an initial poor start – and the pair began their duel in the desert with Frijns leading the way. However, the Dutchman began to struggle with energy consumption and fell behind Bird on lap 21. However, the ex teammates were not the only ones caught in a duel. The tension that had simmered between current reigning champion Antonio Felix da Costa and former two time champion Jean-Eric Vergne was reignited as the pair began their rapid ascent through the pack in the opening stages of the race. However, after their initial harmony when arming themselves with attack mode, the pair came together at turn 23, narrowly avoiding an incident. Vergne never got to challenge Frijns for P2 after the race was red-flagged after a long safety car period with four minutes remaining on the clock.

Mahindra’s Alex Lynn was involved in a massive incident with Mitch Evans in the latter stages in which his car became airbourne at one stage. Lynn was taken to the hospital and thankfully, has now been released. Due to the severity of the incident, the stewards deemed the order the cars were in behind the safety car the valid result – with Bird taking his first win for Jaguar, Frijns collecting his first podium of the season, and Vergne rounding out the top three. However, the Techeetah man’s podium was taken away a few hours after the race when he was served a penalty for not taking his second attack mode during the race. Rast and Blomqvist too were penalised for failing to use their attack modes, whilst Nick Cassidy who had finished an impressive P5 was handed a time penalty for speeding infringements.

Riyadh’s first night race served up some interesting fireworks, and it’s almost certain that the action will continue in Rome in six weeks’ time.