2020 is fast turning into every Nico Hulkenberg fan’s dream. Despite not having a full-time place on the grid for this year, he’s been able to put himself front and centre in the driver market for 2021 with his impressive stand-in drives for Racing Point.
Now, Hulkenberg has been named by Red Bull as one of their prime targets for next year if they decide to let the struggling Alex Albon go. But as popular a signing as Hulkenberg would be, would he actually be the solution Red Bull is looking for?
Hulkenberg driving in the 2020 Eifel Grand Prix (Zak Mauger, Motorsport Images / Racing Point media)
The big complication is that Hulkenberg isn’t the only driver in contention for the seat. With Red Bull openly looking at Sergio Perez too, it’s not as simple as whether Hulkenberg offers an improvement over Albon.
And when it’s Hulkenberg against Perez, the Mexican arguably has the edge in terms of the overall package he offers.
The most obvious setback for Hulkenberg against Perez is that Perez has scored eight podiums throughout his career, while Hulkenberg has the record for the most F1 starts without one. When one of Red Bull’s criticisms of Albon is his lack of regular top three finishes, taking Perez over Hulkenberg seems the more sensible bet on this count.
The fact that four of Perez’s podiums came when driving the same Force India machinery as Hulkenberg only swings things further in the Mexican’s favour. And speaking of their time together as teammates, Perez’s top three finishes helped him outscore Hulkenberg across the season two years to one.
And then there’s the financial elephant in the room. With his personal backing from Carlos Slim and Telmex, Perez is said to bring anything between €15 million and €20 million to a team.
While Red Bull isn’t exactly hard up for cash, a number like that will still factor into their thinking—especially when they’re going to lose their Aston Martin title sponsorship next year, and are considering a costly move to take over Honda’s engine IP when the Japanese manufacturer leaves F1 at the end of 2021.
Perez celebrating P3 at the 2016 European Grand Prix (Force India F1 media)
So with Perez winning out in terms of top three finishes, year-long consistency and financial backing, is there any area where Hulkenberg can actually make a case for being the better choice?
Luckily, yes—in fact, there are two.
The first is qualifying pace. While Perez has the edge in terms of race craft, Hulkenberg is undoubtably the better qualifier. His Interlagos pole with Williams in 2010 springs to mind, but there are much more recent examples than that—specifically, his third on the grid at the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix this year for Racing Point.
You don’t get any points on a Saturday in F1. But Hulkenberg’s qualifying record would go a long way to addressing Red Bull’s need for its second car to start higher up the grid on Sunday than Albon is currently achieving.
With Perez, a driver who traditionally focuses more on race setup so he can battle his way back through the field, Red Bull could potentially end up with the same situation they currently have with Albon.
Hulkenberg after qualifying third for the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix (Steven Tee, Motorsport Images / Racing Point media)
Perhaps the biggest tick in Hulkenberg’s favour, however, is his fit within the team. Of course it’s impossible to say for sure how he’d gel with Max Verstappen and Red Bull without him being there. But historically Hulkenberg has had harmonious working relationships with all of his teammates—including Daniel Ricciardo and Carlos Sainz, both of whom famously clashed against Verstappen at Red Bull and Toro Rosso respectively.
Hulkenberg’s demeanour and approach in the last few years suggests a driver comfortably assured of how good he is, regardless of what the F1 record shows, and this stands him in good stead as a potential teammate to Verstappen. He’s not trying to build a reputation within the sport, and so isn’t likely to trip up over the finer details of proving himself a match for Verstappen in the same way Albon and Pierre Gasly have.
By comparison, Perez has a history of friction with teammates, particularly when trying to assert himself against them. We saw this first in his on-track clashes with Jenson Button at McLaren in 2013, but more notably with Esteban Ocon during their two years together at Force India.
With Red Bull wanting a supportive rear-gunner for Verstappen, scenes like Perez squeezing Ocon into the wall in Singapore or refusing to let Ocon by for a podium shot in Canada aren’t going to count in his favour.
At the end of the day, you could make a case for both Hulkenberg and Perez being the best option for Red Bull. And that’s assuming Red Bull are going to replace Albon—at time of writing, there’s still every chance they could choose to keep him for another year.
With no clear right or wrong choice, the second Red Bull seat is the Schrödinger’s Cat of the driver market. We might as well assume it belongs to Albon, Hulkenberg and Perez for now, because we just won’t know for sure until the box is opened and we see whose name is on the contract.
As Lewis Hamilton achieved his 90th career win at Mugello, the world sat and watched as their hero clambered out of the car, from what was one of the most action packed and extraordinary races in recent years. However, as the six-time world champion prepared for his podium interview, there were seven words printed on a shirt that shook Formula One to its very core. In principal, a simple message, in reality, a fissure that brought two worlds within the sport on a collision course. Those words read: “Arrest the cops that killed Breonna Taylor”.
The phrase “say her name”, the social media campaign slogan to maintain awareness of the emergency medical technician who was killed by plain-clothed police officers when they raided her home as part of an investigation into drug trading, and Taylor’s photo were shown on the back.
Hamilton has been fundamental in instigating a discourse in Formula One that is often ignored whether that be willfully or by negligence. Highlighting structural racism, a lack of inclusion and diversity in a sport that is made up of mostly straight, white men.
Hamilton has made no secret that Formula 1 has taken very few steps to improve diversity: “We have said things, and there’s been statements released, and we’ve made gestures such as kneeling,” he said. “But we’ve not changed anything, except for perhaps some of our awareness.”
Mugello was perhaps a step up in gears. While Mercedes have taken measures to race with their ‘Black Lives Matter’ livery, there has been very little change on face value. There has been poor organisation on getting a united message when taking the knee, a seemingly backward position when considering sports such as football, and cricket have been able to present a united message.
Mercedes unveiled their Black Lives Matter Livery in the wake of George Floyd’s killing by police officers – Courtesy of Mercedes Media
Hamilton’s support for Breonna Taylor shows that he is not afraid to use his platform to advocate for global change, within a sport that tries its best to stay apolitical.
And this should be celebrated, encouraged, and supported. We have become so used to seeing figures in Formula One constrained by responsibilities to sponsors, shareholders and other vested interests. One has become so used to the monotone grunts uttered by the likes of Kimi Raikkonen that resonate with statements such as: “I don’t care about the others” and “Leave me alone”. For once, we have a sporting icon who has agency in what he says, autonomy in what he does and power in what he can change.
For many, this is an uncomfortable position. They are not used to people ‘stepping outside’ of their bubbles. This is a position that many express to actors and musicians that try to contribute to a discussion. “Stick to what you know” (excuse the High School Musical pun) reduces people to repressed animals, only allowed to be what their public perception allows them to be.
Some argue that sport is an escapism that should not be corrupted by politics. However, I believe this position to be counterproductive as it creates spaces where people are scared to engage with challenging ideas and therefore propagates environments of intolerance and inequality.
The early days of Formula One were extremely white male dominated – Courtesy of Mercedes Media
Let’s face it. Formula One is built from a foundation of privilege. Its early years were dominated by only the upper classes who could afford to compete. If you had the money then you were welcome and more times that not, it was white men that benefited from this system. We could go into WHY that is the case, but we would be onto a complete tangent explaining the social-historical consequences of slavery that trickled down into our economies, housing and education, that we would need a encyclopedia to get deep into it.
For decades, the status-quo stated the same and to this day it remains so that you are far more likely to succeed in motorsports if you come from a privileged background that allows you to afford an expensive lifestyle that involves purchasing karts, spare parts, hospitality and transport around Europe.
This had led to a socio-economic norm in which mainly white, privileged men rise to the top of the sport. And this brings me on to a point that makes me excited about the future.
WIDENING THE ARGUMENT
This is why I believe that W Series has been a success in attempting to change the very fabric of motorsports. Many criticised it saying that sport is inherently egalitarian and if you’re good enough, you will make it regardless of your race or gender.
The W Series was introduced at the end of 2018 for the 2019 season – Courtesy of W Series Media
However, I do not agree with this statement, as that suggests that everyone starts at a level playing field. Which they do not. For example, female and BAME individuals have very little in the way of representation at the top of the sport, a result of a historically narrow demographic participation. For them, it is exceedingly difficult to see themselves participate in a sport that does not reflect the diversity of modern society, even harder to be accepted. Therefore, not only is it less likely for a women to be offered or encouraged into motorsport, but you will inevitably be up against a cohort of people who will ‘other’ you based on your gender. Now, I’m not saying all men discriminate against women, but what I am saying is that in any environment where a male dominated culture permeates, anything feminine will inevitably be targeted as weak.
I go back to an example at the theatre I work at. As a director I would ask the young people in my company why they are not engaged with theatre. Their response was two-fold. One was that they thought it was too expensive, another that they didn’t think theatre represented them. The programming was not diverse enough and catered only to an old, classist audience. Therefore, getting into theatre for working class students seemed out of reach. Sound familiar?
BACK TO THE MATTER AT HAND
This is why I admire Hamilton’s actions so much. He could sit back and enjoy his success. Race cars. Create clothing brands. Record music. All the while blissfully ignoring the injustices of the world.
Hamilton has been a heroic advocate for equality – Courtesy of Mercedes Media
However, he has shown time and time again that he believes in things larger than himself. Standing up for those without a voice and calling out the injustices in the world. This is what I believe he will be his lasting legacy. Not only to beak records, but also to create lasting change with the platform that he has.
Let’s not forget this is the same driver that in his early career had to endure spectators mocking him in disgusting black-face to the tune of horrendous monkey chants.
Now, while sections of the fans and media do not like Hamilton’s political advocacy, you have to consider why that is the case?
Some say that the Breonna Taylor case is a political one which I also refute. The killing of an innocent black woman by police officers is an injustice, clear and simple. Ignoring it by trying to make it a partisan issue, or by associating it to the ‘Black Lives Movement’ is willfully ignorant. I believe it is a human rights issue that transcends partisan squabbles. Anyone and everyone should be horrified by any killing of an innocent person, and I would hope that if someone you loved was shot in bed by police, you would be equally as enraged that justice had not been enacted.
Some argue that Formula One is escapism, and to some extent it is. However, maybe we should argue that it shouldn’t be.
If you go somewhere to hide from challenging questions about identity and society, perhaps the reason you go there is because that very place represents a past that is ‘safe’. Formula One is sometimes reluctant to change and relies on its history and practices to inform how it approaches the future.
This brings me back to my earlier statement: “Creating spaces where people are scared to engage with challenging ideas propagates environments of intolerance and inequality.”
Those trying to censor or silence him. I ask you to consider the aesthetics of what that looks like. If you are a white, male effectively challenging a black man’s experience of racism. If you are stopping the ability of a black man to speak out. You or I cannot know what it is like to live in a society where this happens. Therefore we are not in a position to tell someone of colour that their experiences is irrelevant. Yes your opinion matters, but racism and inequality is not something that hegemony experience. I certainly have never been discriminated from a job based on the colour of my skin. Therefore, it is only right that we listen, empathise, try to understand and come up with solutions together.
I believe Scott Mitchell summed it up perfectly by saying that the perceived: “Controversy is unfair given any problem that arises from such a pursuit is the fault of the person it irritates, not Hamilton.
Especially as it appears some people are more concerned with Hamilton wearing this T-shirt than they are the reason he is wearing it in the first place.”
THE FUTURE
Hamilton has already put his money where his mouth is to change this. Setting up the ‘Hamilton Commission’, a task-force dedicated to improving diversity and opportunity in the sport.
“I have been working with the Royal Academy of Engineering to create The Hamilton Commission, a research partnership dedicated to exploring how motorsport can be used as a vehicle to engage more young people from black backgrounds with Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects and, ultimately, employ them on our teams or in other engineering sectors,” said Hamilton.
“It will explore areas including lack of role models and career services at schools, opportunities to engage more black youth with STEM extracurriculars, barriers that prevent people from more diverse backgrounds joining the racing industry, and problematic hiring practices that result in fewer black graduates entering engineering professions.”
Hamilton paid a visit to Mercedes EQ Formula E Team last year – Courtesy of Mercedes Media
Not only that, but he has created his own Extreme E team (X-44) which has already dedicated a progressive approach to driver-line-ups in which one male and one female driver will compete. Alongside this, while advocating both climate change and renewable energy, Hamilton has proved that it is possible to be a racing driver and a politically minded thinker.
This is not some revolutionary doctrine. It is a movement based on fairness, kindness, empathy and opportunity.
That is why I am proud of what Lewis Hamilton is doing and will continue to champion his efforts of advocacy and diversity.
The Emilia Romagna region in Bologna plays host to round number 13 of the 2020 championship this weekend, as F1 makes a welcome return to Imola.
Having last appeared on the Formula One calendar 14 years ago, the 4.9 kilometre rollercoaster of a circuit has undergone several incarnations in its 40-year F1 history, for some reasons more pertinent than others.
Michel Schumacher won the last race here in 2006 – Courtesy of Ferrari Media
The deaths of Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger in the same weekend in 1994 rocked the world of racing, and left us with indelible and painful memories that, in many ways, have helped shape F1 into what it is today.
Having said that, we have seen plenty of other reasons to remember this track, and the high-speed, flowing and alluring nature of the track is certainly one of them. Michael Schumacher’s various different pole position laps are ample example of that.
And with this current generation of Formula one cars, which will of course be replaced at the end of next season, this track will surely provide all the thrills and spills we have already witnessed over the course of the 2020 season.
Surprise podiums and race winners have joined surprise additions to the calendar this season, and Imola was certainly one of said surprises. Last week in Portimao was a one-off race that we were left extremely grateful for.
Lewis Hamilton won a thrilling Portuguese Grand prix last time out – Courtesy of Mercedes media
Off the back of an outstanding weekend at the Algarve, Imola has a fair bit to live up to, and how Lewis Hamilton would love to take his 93rd win and claim victory at the 29th circuit in his career.
But not only is this a different track – it is a different weekend. If I may cast your minds back to when this race was announced in July, it was confirmed that it would be a two-day weekend, and here is how it will work.
There will be one practice session on Saturday morning, and as such the drivers will have 10 sets of slick tyres available as opposed to the 13 they are accustomed to. Qualifying and the race will go ahead as usual, but there will be a larger gap between practice and qualifying to allow for consultation between the teams and the FIA to consider any suggested changes.
Will this have any bearing on performance? Probably not, but it will be a test of adaptability to slightly different racing conditions for the drivers, and this may provide more shock results, such as McLaren and Renault podiums, and who can forget Pierre Gasly’s remarkable win in Monza a few weeks ago?
Pierre gasly’s remarkable win in Monza was the first of his career – courtesy of Red Bull Content Pool
And speaking of the Frenchman, he has this week signed a new contract for 2021 with his Alpha Tauri team, who also completed some pre-season testing at this track prior to the season’s start.
As for who is really expected to perform well though, it is rather interesting. Imola has a decent amount of straights, but the highly technical corners and chicanes littered around the place provide plenty of banana skins for the drivers to negotiate around, and this will provide the opportunity for Red Bull to close up to Mercedes.
Couple that with the fact that Ferrari, McLaren, Renault Racing Point are all showing marvellous signs of rapid improvement, this weekend could provide a mega battle for the podium, if not for the win.
Racing Point and Ferrari have joined McLaren and Renault in showing impressive improvement lately – courtesy of racing Point media
That top spot, however, is expected to be taken by Lewis Hamilton, and at the scene of the tragic accident that claimed his hero Senna, a 93rd win here would be on of the most personally significant of his career.
Over the Portuguese Grand Prix weekend, Max Verstappen was on the receiving end of some criticism after labelling Lance Stroll a “retard” and a “mongol” in which the two came together at the very fast first corner in practice. He was dismissive when pressed about it, and has since had a letter penned to him by the Mongol Identity Organisation requesting he apologise for his actions.
Now we have heard drivers say things in the heat of the moment. Infact Lando Norris during the race also had a run-in with Stroll at turn one in which he called him a few regrettable names in the wake of their clash, but apologised for saying them after the race. Though in Lando’s case, the words he referred to Stroll as may have been rude but not belittling.
We’ve all called someone a dickhead or a particular word beginning with C when frustrated with their actions, however Verstappen’s comments and his attitude afterwards cause some concern.
Firstly, I believe I’m not well versed enough to talk about his “mongol” comment, so I’m not talking about it not because I don’t think it’s important but I believe it wouldn’t be a good idea to talk about it when not completely able to understand the complexities. It’s better to not talk about something when you’re ignorant about it, than to try to talk about it and just ending up looking like so arrogant as to not know what you are talking about and trying to anyway.
I will however talk a lot about ableism and my own personal experiences being on the receiving end of comments like “retard”.
Full disclosure, I am on the autistic spectrum. Going through all my years in school, I always required extra support which was somewhat demoralising anyway but as a result of needing that extra support, I was always a target to mean spirited students. Of course, my experience isn’t exclusive to me and everyone regardless of the hands they’ve been dealt in life will have dealt with bullying in one form or another.
But in my personal experience, being part of a unit for kids with ‘special needs’ left me an open target to comments such as spacker and retard. These insults are derived from a place of believing someone is not of high intellect, and being at school when you’re the only one who needs support in class is already very demoralising.
So to then see people mock you by slapping their wrist with their tongue out when you are trying your best to fit in, it doesn’t matter what you did as to them, all you are is just some retard. Because of needing extra support, you are seen as lesser than them and will never be equal.
This is why when people use the word retard to describe someone doing an idiotic action, it further pushes this notion that the blatant accidental wrongdoings are associated as being the actions of someone who is mentally impaired. Now I could have chalked it up to a heat of the moment thing which we again have all been guilty of, but Verstappen’s dismissive attitude about it was very disappointing.
Now I’m not about censorship, and over the years I have appreciated Verstappen’s character and not being restrained by the overly monitored and polished media-friendly world. But I do draw the line when it comes to words that can fall back on others, because it’s not like a driver will say “piece of s***” and a toilet opens up somewhere in the world and some feces are going to pop out to say “I take issue with this!”.
The bigger issue comes about when you see people on social media who treat it like a non-issue and believe the “SNOWFLAKES ARE AT IT AGAIN!”. This is something that I really do take issue with, basic empathy is treated like an attempt to take away free speech and infringe on rights. It is seemingly born out of this need to be as far from “politically correct” as possible, but most of the time when it concerns you, people can change their tune. Even when confronted with the truth, some people seem so unwilling to concede that they were insensitive.
A couple of years ago, I would often misuse the word ‘triggered’, in line with the meme in which people get annoyed or angry about something. Someone told me that the word was insensitive because it mocks people who have post traumatic stress disorder. When these people are triggered, it represses awful memories that could really mess them up and they have to live with that.
Now if I was anything like the people who are like “LOOK AT ALL THESE SNOWFLAKES WHO JUST WANT TO GET OFFENDED BY EVERYTHING”, I’d have dismissed this person and sent an obnoxious amount of laughing-crying emojis and called them oversensitive. But instead, I listened and have attempted to educate others on this, and now I’ve adopted the term ‘Rattled’ in place of triggered in the context of someone getting angry.
Though all these people on the internet who don’t want to be educated on this and continue to spout ignorant and insensitive stuff, it’s very discouraging and disappointing for people like Max Verstappen to feed into this negative loop. Max has fans who receive these hateful remarks, and by failing to recognise the influence he has, he’s further alienating the people who live this reality every day and only giving the hate-spouting “i BeLiEvE iN fReEdOm oF sPeEcH” nonsense brigade all the time more fuel to further their toxicity.
If Max Verstappen went a step further, if he had someone crash with him and he said over the radio in response to it “This guy is 100% autistic” then I’d never forgive him. I’d rip my Max Verstappen flag off my wall, which I don’t want to have to do because I do like Max but also because the flag is from my best friend Nadine who is from the Netherlands and I don’t want to have to get rid of something that she bought for me.
We aren’t trying to cancel anyone here, but these people who have this reach on people, they need to recognise that their words can have major influence. We all know the phrase about sticks and stones, about how words can never hurt us, I do disagree with this notion. Words have power, words can tell us when we aren’t valued at a base level, and that you are not important.
There are pitiful attempts to look like you’re playing both sides as to not alienate anyone, but sometimes you need to call a spade what it is, a spade. You may think you’re being all hard with a silent H, by not caring about human rights, mental health, believing this has just been a ‘political’ post, that I’m preaching, telling you what to think, that you don’t care about what others think or what value you have towards others, you are kidding yourself when you think this is a non-issue.
Trident’s Jack Doohan set the fastest time in Formula 3’s final post-season test at Jerez, ahead of teammate Clement Novalak.
Doohan set his best time of a 1:29.041s during his qualifying simulations in the morning session. This session was interrupted multiple times with red flags brought out for Alessandro Famularo (Campos), Olli Caldwell (ART), Francesco Pizzi (MP Motorsport) and Jonathan Hoggard (Campos), but Doohan was still able to log a respectable 42 laps in between the stoppages.
Novalak came close to Doohan in the sister Trident, but was ultimately kept off the top of the timesheets by just 0.019s. However, Novalak recorded more laps than his teammate with 45 in the morning session, and a day’s total of 101 to Doohan’s 92.
Jenzer’s Calan Williams had another strong day of testing as he again finished the day third-fastest. Williams was also second-fastest in the second session, with his 1:30.238s being only 0.14s slower than afternoon pacesetter Igor Fraga.
Igor Fraga, Hitech (Joe Portlock / Formula 1 via Getty Images)
Hitech rookie Jak Crawford was fourth-fastest overall ahead of Charouz’s David Beckmann. Dennis Hauger (Prema) and Caio Collet (ART) were early pacesetters before Doohan’s run, but ended the day sixth and seventh respectively.
Hoggard was eighth fastest despite ending the morning session early with his spin into the gravel at Turn 5. Arthur Leclerc (Prema) and Enzo Fittipaldi (HWA) were ninth and tenth.
Leclerc logged the fewest laps of the day with 60, while Charouz rookie Konsta Lappalainen recorded the most with 103, despite finishing 28th in the overall times.
Roman Stanek topped the first day of Formula 3’s final post-season test at Jerez, pipping Prema’s Arthur Leclerc by 0.048s.
Stanek, driving for ART after testing for Prema himself in Barcelona, bucked the trend of the first post-season test by setting his best and the overall fastest time in the afternoon session. The Czech driver was only 11th in the morning session, but in the afternoon he was one of only two drivers to dip below 1:30s with a 1:29.928s.
Leclerc was the other driver to do so with a 1:29.976s. Jonathan Hoggard, driving for Hitech, picked up his impressive display from the first test by finishing the day third-fastest, just 0.086s off Stanek’s benchmark.
Jack Doohan, returning with Trident, finished fourth overall after topping the morning session. Dennis Hauger was fifth for Prema and second behind Doohan in the morning.
Enzo Fittipaldi (HWA), Clement Novalak (Trident), Igor Fraga (Hitech), Frederik Vesti (ART) and rookie Caio Collet (Prema) rounded out the top ten.
Jack Doohan, Trident (Joe Portlock / Formula 1 via Getty Images)
Dixon crowned six-time champion to outshine Newgarden victory
Josef Newgarden’s last gasp attempt to be crowned IndyCar champion could only be accomplished with a win. Anything short of victory on the streets of St Petersburg would leave almost no path to deny Scott Dixon his sixth world championship.
Image courtesy of IndyCar
Newgarden, who started in eight, carved his way through the grid culminating with a spectacular two-car pass to take the lead and indeed the win. However, this wasn’t enough as Dixon was able to follow through from eleventh to finish in third place and thus the title.
“Six is good. Seven sounds better, that’s the goal,” Dixon said.
Scott Dixon’s sixth championship title takes him into IndyCar folklore, residing amongst the very best in history. He now is only one championship off the most successful IndyCar champion of all-time, A.J Foyt (7).
With victory at St Petersburg Newgarden achieved his series-best fourth win of the season. The Tennessee born two-time defending champion now loses his title but was remarkably magnanimous in defeat.
Newgarden went to victory lane to congratulate his rival.
“We weren’t good enough,”Newgarden said. “We’ll reset, we’ll hit them harder next year and I promise you, we will be in the fight.”
It is indeed incredible that it was nearly seven months ago that the 2020 season was abruptly abandoned. St Petersburg was originally scheduled to take place in March but was postponed to the last race of the season. A sold-out crowd of 20,000 spectators was the largest crowd of the whole season, which lost races in seven cities, had just one street course event with Sunday’s finale, and still managed to complete a 14-race year.
It was a finale to remember which was plagued with error-prone ending mistakes which saw three different Andretti race leaders crash out and Newgarden there to capitalise.
The start of the race was dominated by Alexander Rossi who took the lead of the race from pole sitter Will Power with an apparent down-shift issue. Power who was in a tight race for third in the final standings, then made an uncharacteristic mistake crashing into the barrier and promptly retiring from the race thereafter. The Australian threw his gloves in anger and admitted to driver error.
“I just lost it. Had a moment,”he said. “I was definitely frustrated there, making a mistake and hitting the wall. It’s my bad. It put us out of the race and that’s a bad situation.”
What followed were three cautions over 10 laps, the third on the restart of lap 47 brought out by Australian Supercar champion Scott McLaughlin who spun on his debut. The debutant collected into Rinus VeeKay, who clinched the ‘Rookie of the Year’ title on the same day his contract was renewed for a second season with Ed Carpenter Racing.
Despite the crash and ultimately finishing in 22nd, McLaughlin hailed his experience in IndyCar as an exciting one:
“Awesome. Far out. The best day of my life, besides my wedding,”
After the first round of pit stops, it seemed Alexander Rossi was in control of the race followed by his two Andretti teammates Colton Herta and James Hinchliffe. However, Rossi went into a spin on lap 70 collecting both the
Rossi had been determined to extend a streak of at least one win a season that dates to 2006 when was Skip Barber’s youngest champion at 14-year-old.
His long and frustrating season ended with a 21st-place finish for the Andretti Autosport driver.
“Just lost it. It sucks, this is the first time I’ve crashed while leading,” Rossi said.
Chaos continued when Marco Andretti, who had magnificently fought his way from near the back to seventh, spun while racing for the final spot in IndyCar’s bonus programme which would have gifted an extra $1 billion to the Andretti team.
Moreover, there was a spin for Andretti’s James Hinchliffe who had been running in the top three for most of the race.
In a bizarre turn of events, the pace car which had been used for an unusually high number of caution laps reported it was on low fuel. Quickly after that, Andretti’s Colton Herta, who had inherited the lead from both Rossi and Hinchliffe spun making it a day to forget for the Andretti Autosport team.
Newgarden took control soon after, but soon had the McLaren SP driver of Pato O’Ward on his tail. Unfortunately, the Mexican could not gain on the American who stretched his lead to nearly 5 seconds by the chequered flag. O’Ward eventually settled for second.
All the earlier attrition helped Dixon slip through the field to third. There was nothing Newgarden could do, even on a day he did everything he had to, to deny Dixon a sixth championship.
Dixon, a 40-year-old considered the best of his generation, ranks third on IndyCar’s all-time wins list behind A.J. Foyt. His first title was in 2003, his first season with Chip Ganassi Racing, and his latest championship comes as the team has welcomed NASCAR’s seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson to the organization.
Colton Herta was able to finish the season in third in front of Pato O’Ward, who in his first full IndyCar season, finished fourth in the standings.
Race Classification
1. Josef Newgarden 2. Pato O’Ward 3. Scott Dixon 4. Sebastien Bourdais 5. Ryan Hunter-Reay 6. Simon Pagenaud 7. Marcus Ericsson 8. Charlie Kimball 9. Graham Rahal 10. Takuma Sato 11. Colton Herta 12. Max Chilton 13. Alex Palou 14. James Hinchcliffe 15. Rinus VeeKay 16. Oliver Askew 17. Conor Daly 18. Felix Rosenqvist 19. Jack Harvey 20. Marco Andretti 21. Alexander Rossi 22. Scott McLaughlin 23. Santino Ferrucci 24. Will Power
Round 12 of the 2020 MotoGP Championship took place on the 24-25 October at Aragon, Spain.
Takaaki Nakagami’s (LCR Honda Idemitsu) claimed a stunning first MotoGP pole, the first time since Makoto Tamada in the 2004 Valencia GP a Japanese rider has started from pole position. Nakagami was quicker than 2nd place rider Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) by just 0.063 seconds and claiming his first front row of the season in 3rd place is Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar).
With 23 laps of racing, the red lights go out and the racing begins with the pole sitter, Nakagami getting off to a great start going first into Turn 1 followed by Morbidelli, Rins and Zarco. Turn 2 sees Binder and Miller touch with both riders going down and out into the gravel putting a very early end to their races. Nakagami then runs wide at Turn 5 and goes off into the gravel, ending his race and hopes of a podium finish.
Morbidelli is up in front ahead of Rins and Zarco. By lap 2 Mir is up to 5th, Quartararo 6th, Crutchlow 7th and A.Marquez is in 8th place. Lap 3, and Morbidelli has put in the fastest lap but Rins is right on his tail.
The following lap A.Marquez has passed both Crutchlow and Quartararo up into 6th position and is now closing the gap on Mir. Morbidelli is holding a steady lead and both he and Rins are pulling out ahead of third place rider Zarco. On lap 6, Mir passes Vinales and then two turns later A.Marquez follows by too and is now up to 5th place.
The gap between Rins in 2nd place and Zarco in 3rd is now 1.8 seconds and by lap 8 both Mir and A.Marquez are closing in on the 3rd place rider. Coming into Lap 10 sees P.Espargaro pass Quartararo very quickly followed by Oliveira but by the end of the lap Quartararo has claimed the place back from Oliveira.
Alex Marquez and Fabio Quartararo at the 2020 Teruel GP MotoGp Race. Image courtesy of Honda Racing
Mir passes Zarco to take 3rd placed on lap 11 with A.Marquez also having a look too. By the end of the lap A.Marquez manages the pass but in Turn 1 on lap 12, Zarco takes the place back and three turns later A.Marquez passes again but this time he makes it stick and is now chasing down on Mir. Unfortunaely, two laps later at Turn 2, A.Marquez crashes out thus ending his race.
For the last few laps Quartararo and Oliveira have been having a great scrap in 7th and 8th and have swapped places several times with some brilliant racing going on between the two riders.
Lap 17 sees Dovizioso getting it very wrong in the corkscrew and dropping from 10th to 12th place. Morbidelli is still holding a steady lead by lap 18 with a 0.8 second lead, can he hold off the pressures from Rins for the last six laps?
On lap 20 P.Espargaro has passed Zarco up into 4th and Petrucci has passed Dovizioso up into 12th. Morbidelli has now pulled out a 1.3 second lead on Rins and the following lap sees A.Espargaro coming to a stop at the side of the track with what looks like mechanical issues.
Going into lap 23, Morbidelli now has a 1.3 second lead over Rins and is looking good to take the win having ridden a superb smooth and consistent race from the start and indeed takes the chequered flag to take his second win of the season followed by Rins in 2nd place and Mir in 3rd.
There are three rounds left of the MotoGP season, 1 in Portimao and 2 from Valencia with the Championship standings looking like this:
Mir : 137 points
Quartararo : 123 points
Vin : 118 points
Morbidelli : 112 points
Dovizioso : 109 points
Rins : 105 points
What a brilliant weekend of racing from Aragon. Don’t forget to set your alarms for the next round on the 7/8 November.
Ollie Jackson won his second race of the season in the third and final race at Snetterton.
Jackson pulled off an amazing first lap move and took the win from Adam Morgan and Colin Turkington profited from Ingram and Butcher colliding on the final corner on the final lap to take third.
Morgan had an incredible start as he flew into the lead. However he wasn’t in front for long as Ollie Jackson pulled off an incredible move around the outside to take the lead. There was slight drama as Josh Cook and Dan Cammish collided, neither seemed to lose out too much. Cook’s Honda suffered significant damage to the left front but was still running.
Lap two saw Sam Osborne retire in dramatic fashion as he went off onto the grass. His Honda Civic hit a dip and his splitter dug in and ripped the front of the car off.
Jackson’s team mate Rory Butcher was trying to take second from Morgan as it all sparked into action on lap five as Sutton dove down the inside of Chris Smiley, he couldn’t make the move stick and it opened the door to Tom Ingram, who snuck up the inside to take fourth.
There was a group of ten cars all fighting close and swapping positions. Turkington profited most from this battle as he managed to get to the front of the pack and take fifth place. Smiley the loser as he was hit by Cammish and spun off.
The trio up front were all racing close and charging hard. Jackson was soaking up plenty of pressure from Morgan while Butcher hung on his coattails.
Ingram caught up to the leading pack, trying to get onto the podium to keep his slim title hopes alive. He went to pass Butcher and looked to have had it done, but Butcher couldn’t stop as he was put onto the grass, and hit Ingram.
Lewis Hamilton absolutely demolished opposition on Sunday afternoon at Portimao to take the coveted win number 92 which has been the talk of the weekend. Hamilton lost out at the start to his teammate Bottas and the fast starting McLaren of Carlos Sainz and had to make his way back into the lead of the race, which he did in spectacular style.
It was a chaotic start to the race which started off in very light rain conditions meaning that the cars starting on the dirty side of the grid had their work cut out for them. This meant that both Mercedes cars lost out to the McLarens at the very beginning and the race briefly saw Sainz lead the proceedings for a few laps. Normality was restored after Mercedes drivers managed to get their tyres going and made it into the 1-2 positions and eventually ended up there.
Max Verstappen starting at 3rd also lost out at the start to McLarens and the Racing Point of Sergio Perez and later made his way back into the race, finally finishing at 3rd. It was not so simple for the Dutchman as he was involved in a first lap incident with Sergio Perez which saw the Mexican driver go spinning out of the track. This meant that Perez had to really work hard for a decent result and he did a stellar job and finished in points at 7th place.
Pierre Gasly’s excellent year continued at Portimao after the French driver put in another excellent performance to finish at 5th place. On an afternoon where almost every other driver struggled to make soft tyres work, Gasly made them work just right during his first stint which made the ultimate difference for him and provided that very strong finish.
McLaren were on course for a high points finish but it was all undone when Lando Norris was tagged by Lance Stroll in an overtake attempt but it did not come off well for the Canadian after he sustained damage on his car and also inflicted some on Lando’s car for which he received a time penalty as well, adding to the one he received for infringing track limits. The Racing Point had to retire towards the end due to damage and a wing change for Norris meant that he could not finish any higher than 13th.
Renault were the big winners in the battle for 3rd in the constructors championship after their Sunday afternoon earned them a double points finish with Ocon at 8th and Daniel Ricciardo at 9th. The former went an astounding 55 laps on medium tyres before finally switching to softs towards the end through which he was able to overcut most of his competitors and achieved a good finish.
It was a good day for Ferrari as well compared to how their 2020 has been going after Charles Leclerc finished at 4th place, producing yet another fantastic drive as he has been doing so far this season and Sebastian Vettel, finally after quite a few races, finished in the last points position following his battle with Kimi Raikkonen. The German driver was also closer to a 9th place finish after he got ever so close to Ricciardo but a major lock up prevented him from making that move.
It was an amazing start to the race for Kimi Raikkonen after he made up as many as 10 places on the opening lap to fins himself at 6th but the ultimate lack of pace from the Alfa Romeo meant that it was inevitable that he would drop down the order and finally finish 11th. His teammate Giovinazzi in the other Alfa Romeo finished 15th following his battles with Magnussen and Russell at the back of the field.
It was a flurry of time penalties in the race after both Romain Grosjean and Danil Kvyat were handed 5 seconds each when they breached track limits and this meant that they could not salvage much out of the weekend as they finished well outside points. George Russell drove a good race which saw him finish 14th but that elusive points finish still seems to evade him. His teammate Latifi could only manage an 18th place finish.
The one talking point among the out of points finishers has to be Alex Albon who has had yet another underwhelming weekend, With Christian Horner admitting that Red Bull are prepared to look outside their pool of drivers, a 12th place finish does not exactly make the case for Albon retaining his seat in the Milton Keynes based team and this means that the Thai driver will have to ensure a strong finish to his season.
Today’s race has seen yet another Schumacher record broken, this time the biggest one in the form of number of race wins. 92 is the magic number for Lewis Hamilton in car no.44, who extends his championship lead to 77 points over the car no.77 of Valtteri Bottas. The record equaling 7th driver’s championship is now a matter of when, rather than if, for one of the all time greats of F1.
image courtesy of Pirelli Motorsports