testing 123
WorldSBK: Razgatlioglu restarts title defence in Portugal after disastrous Australian opener
After a frustrating start to the defence of his Superbike World Championship title in Phillip Island five weeks ago, Toprak Razgatlioglu broke the lap record in Portimao to secure pole position before scoring a narrow victory over his main rival Nicolo Bulega in race 1. Although there were not quite as many changes of positions as Razgatlioglu has experienced with Alvaro Bautista in the past, the lead changed hands several times between the BMW and his Ducati nemesis before the Turkish rider crossed the line just 0.067 seconds in front.
Things got off to a bad start for Razgatlioglu as he fell to fifth by the first corner. A few seconds later, two of his Ducati-powered rivals crashed out as Bautista and Scott Redding came to blows as the field bunched up through turns 3 and 4, with Remy Gardner involved as well but surviving the contact.
There were six teams being represented in the top eight positions after the first lap. Bulega broke free at the front of the Ducati-dominated pack with Andrea Locatelli in an impressive second for Yamaha and Razgtlioglu on his BMW the only riders from different marques in the front eight.
Razgatlioglu is notoriously strong around the Algarve International Circuit and the Turkish rider began to plot his way back through to the front. His first victim was Danilo Petrucci who he swooped over the crest to pass around the outside in a sensational move before dispatching Sam Lowes and Locatelli by around one-quarter race distance.
It was not long before the reigning World Champion reeled in Bulega and the two began a 15-lap battle for the win that never looked certain until it was over. A common theme across the position changes for the lead would be Razgatlioglu leading into turn 14 before Bulega deployed his slightly superior Ducati power through the long turn 15 to blast ahead by turn one on the following lap.
The fight was fairer this time around for Razgatlioglu compared to when he was riding for the slower Yamaha against Bautista’s Ducati before his switch to BMW, with their 2023 battles around the Portimao track living long in the memory of all those blessed to witness it. However, Razgatlioglu still had to push as hard as he could to defeat a defiant Bulega in the sweltering Portugese Saturday afternoon sunshine.
The Ducati held a 2mph advantage on the BMW and it was at the end of the long straight on lap seven that Bulega first took his lead straight back from Razgatioglu, before Toprak finally cemented the lead for a while after an agressive move at turn 12 on lap 9.
Bulega was back in front briefly with a late move at the end of the start-finish straight on lap 10 but Razgatlioglu was back in front as the circuit tightened into turn 3 and the Ducati ran wide. However, Bulega made a move stick into turn one once again on lap 14.
This lead for Bulega lasted three laps before Razgatlioglu then finally got the better of the Ducati into turn one. Then came one last successful retaliation from Bulega with two laps to go before his Turkish rival once again got him back quickly and held onto win by 0.067 across the line at the end of a thrilling 20 laps.
There were just 17 riders who took the chequered flag. Both of the Lowes brothers crashed out while running strongly with Sam eliminating himself from the top five not long after being moved aside by a charging Razgatlioglu and Alex sliding out of ninth place after a stellar recovery from the back of the grid (after an incident in qualifying) that came to nought.
The TV footage seldom focused on the action further down the grid as the top two stretched their lead on the rest of the pack despite passing and re-passing each other. Locatelli was thrilled to take his and Yamaha’s first podium of the year – some eight seconds behind the two leaders and just one in front of top independent rider Petrucci.
Seven seconds behind Petrucci in fourth just five seconds then covered the rest of the top ten, with Gardner’s Yamaha being usurped on the run to the finish line by three of his rivals to end up in tenth. There should be more action to look forward to in tomorrow’s pair of races starting with the 10-lap Superpole, but Bulega will need to pray the BMW on pole messes up the start once again if he is to stand any chance of defeating the rejuvenated Razgatlioglu.
Results from Race 1:
Feature Image Credit: SBK
Red Bull swapping Lawson for Tsunoda is the worst of both worlds
Confirmation of the news that no one in F1 has been waiting for came on Thursday morning, as Red Bull announced that Yuki Tsunoda will replace Liam Lawson in the senior team.
Lawson will drive for Racing Bulls, the team he drove for in 11 races across two part season spells in 2023 and 2024, and returns after twice qualifying last at the Sprint weekend Chinese Grand Prix and 18th at the Australian Grand Prix, while crashing in the race in Australia and finishing 15th on the road in Shanghai.
Tsunoda gets his chance after over four seasons and 89 starts with the Red Bull junior team in the guises of Alpha Tauri, VCARB and Racing Bulls.
Red Bull are renowned for their ruthless handling of their young driver programme. Just ask Pierre Gasly, who in 2019 got half a season and despite obvious improvement in the junior team was never again considered for the senior team.
Even for Red Bull though, two races is a new low.
Not since Yuji Ide’s infamous four race spell for Super Aguri in 2006, where he lost his superlicense when three dreadful flyaway races were followed by the Japanese flipping Christijan Albers at the San Marino Grand Prix, has a stated permanent drive gone so wrong, so quickly.
Lawson will get a chance to go again.
What’s changed?
Much has and will be made of the decision to replace Lawson, a driver Red Bull believed had the mental fortitude to be teammate to four-time World Champion Max Verstappen with Tsunoda, who not three months ago was not believed to have the mentality to be able to cope with the same role he’s now been thrust into.
Team Principal Christian Horner said of Tsunoda when announcing the switch: “Yuki’s experience will prove highly beneficial in helping to develop the current car.”
When announcing Lawson’s move to Red Bull, Horner said: “Liam’s performances over the course of his two stints with Racing Bulls have demonstrated that he’s not only capable of delivering strong results but that he’s also a real racer, not afraid to mix it with the best and come out on top.”
Contrast that with this week:
“We have a duty of care to protect and develop Liam and together we see that, after such a difficult start, it makes sense to act quickly so Liam can gain experience as he continues his F1 career with Racing Bulls, an environment and a team he knows very well.”
How times change.
Red Bull’s muddled thinking
On the face of it, Red Bull have, completely by themselves, got the worst of both worlds.
The reality is worse than that.
When all meaningful metrics – race finishes, points, qualifying points – pointed to Tsunoda being the right choice to replace the shredded Sergio Perez for 2025, Red Bull chose Lawson based on being a “real racer” and other intangibles.
It then gave Lawson a full pre-season and two races in a car that, while tricky, is better than the New Zealander has been able to show at two tracks he’d not driven on before pulling the trigger.
In taking Tsunoda out of the Racing Bulls frying pan and throwing into the Red Bull fire this early on, it is giving Tsunoda almost a full season in a car notorious for being difficult to adapt to, while wasting the chance to ease him in and help the Japanese prepare with pre-season testing.
Tsunoda’s most recent meaningful time in a Red Bull was at the end of season test at Abu Dhabi last year.
He has carried on what was an impressive end to last season in 2025, and would have scored points in both Grands Prix were it not for poor strategy calls from Racing Bulls, after a 6th in the Chinese Sprint.
However, promotion to Red Bull this soon in the season with the media interest that will generate, plus the adaptation process that will inevitably come with joining a new team, in time for his home race will bring a pressure he hasn’t previously been under.
His fiery personality and some expletive-laden radio exchanges are ultimately what led to doubts at Red Bull about his ability to cope with pressure.
It is worth remembering that despite outshining every teammate since Gasly left for Alpine, Tsunoda was Red Bull’s third choice for this seat.
The team brought Daniel Ricciardo back to what was then Alpha Tauri for a shootout to join the senior team in the second half of 2023 before injury hampered his comeback.
A slow start to the 2024 season made Red Bull realise that the Australian – the first choice to replace Perez – was not the same driver as the daring, late-braking and often rabbit-out-of-hat driver that deposed Sebastian Vettel as team leader before leaving for Renault in 2019.
Masking a fundamental issue
The decision to drop Lawson and the circus around Red Bull’s second seat should not detract from the fact that since design genius Adrian Newey left Red Bull almost a year ago, they have gone backwards in competitiveness.
Verstappen won the World Championship with two weekends to spare in 2024, but he won just two of the last 14 races and one of those was at the wet Sao Paulo Grand Prix in Brazil.
The Dutchman has hinted that Red Bull have the fourth fastest car, repeatedly criticised the car’s balance and even hinted that Racing Bulls may have a faster car.
While the car is obviously better than Lawson has shown and should score points at every weekend, Verstappen has more than maximised the car’s potential and taken advantage of quicker rivals falling by the wayside.
Verstappen, the last true success of Red Bull’s once fabled young driver programme, is believed to view the decision to drop Lawson as the wrong call, and the fundamental issue is with the RB21 and not the second driver.
While in part that may be a Formula One driver talking up his own performance, the evidence backs up Verstappen’s view.
If finally giving Tsunoda a chance backfires, it will once and for all expose a team in complete disarray.
Safari Rally Kenya 2025, Sunday’s Report
Just a few stages left then to decide this seasons Safari Rally. Adrien and Alex returned to the action in their Hyundai and would open the road throughout the six stages. There would be extra points to grab for the final day as well.
First up was SS17 Mzabibu 2 – 8.27 km and Ott was fastest from Thierry and Kalle. Rally leader Elfyn was fourth and just bringing it home holding a one minute and fifty-one second lead over Ott. Worthy mention for Oliver in his Rally2 Yaris who was fifth fastest and ahead of a few Rally1 cars. This was impressive! Despite Kalle’s good pace he’s suffered another puncture. He also needed to change a part in the engine bay following the stage.
Onto SS18 Oserengoni 1 – 18.33 km and before the stage started we had a retirement in the shape of Kalle as he did not make it to the start of the stage. Takamoto was fastest from Adrien and Thierry. With the retirement of Kalle, Sami moved into fifth place.
Time then for stage SS19 Hell’s Gate 1 – 10.53 km and Adrien was fastest from Thierry and Takamoto. You could tell that this was not just a normal stage as Josh had a close call with a herd of zebra! The Irishman did well to finish the stage in sixth and continued to hold eleventh overall.
After a short service break came SS20 Oserengoni 2 – 18.33 km and Takamoto was fastest in this one from Adrien and Thierry. Elfyn continued to hold the top spot and just had one stage left.
Into SS21 Hell’s Gate 2[Power Stage] – 10.53 km and Adrien set the pace in this one from Thierry, Ott was third, Greg fourth and Sami fifth. There was drama for Takamoto early in the stage as he spun on a right-hander leading to a slow roll. Thankfully there were a few spectators nearby and once the car was back on it’s wheels they got underway again. They completed the stage, but there were huge questions about the possibility he would make it back to the service park. The car was not working well at all. All of this meant that Sami was now into fourth place. The podium looked like this however with Thierry third, Ott in second and Elfyn took victory, the first for a Brit since Colin won for Ford in 2002.
Let’s take a look at the finishing positions and hear from the drivers.
Safari Rally Kenya Final Classification
| 1 | E. Evans | S. Martin | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | 4:20:03.8 |
| 2 | O. Tänak | M. Järveoja | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | +1:09.9 |
| 3 | T. Neuville | M. Wydaeghe | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | +3:32.0 |
| 4 | S. Pajari | M. Salminen | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | +7:18.7 |
| 5 | G. Munster | L. Louka | Ford Puma Rally1 | +11:35.3 |
| 6 | G. Greensmith | J. Andersson | Škoda Fabia RS | +14:11.6 |
| 7 | J. Solans | R. Sanjuan | Toyota GR Yaris | +17:26.6 |
| 8 | J. Serderidis | F. Miclotte | Ford Puma Rally1 | +28:45.5 |
| 9 | F. Zaldivar | M. Der Ohannesian | Škoda Fabia RS | +35:38.8 |
| 10 | J. McErlean | E. Treacy | Ford Puma Rally1 | +37:15.8 |
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Elfyn Evans
“It’s amazing to have won this rally. It’s not quite sunk in fully yet but the Safari Rally is a special event to win. A huge well done to the team, who work very hard to give us an amazing car, and I’m proud to be a very small part of Toyota’s great history on this rally. It’s been a massively demanding weekend, probably the most extreme Safari we’ve seen since we’ve been coming here, and the weather added an extra twist on Saturday. It was not easy to manage the final day, having quite a big lead and needing to bring it home. There was the temptation of extra points to play for on Sunday, but in the circumstances it was important to get the car to the finish, and I’m very happy at the end of it.”
Sami Pajari
“It is really a big relief to cross the finish line, which was our only plan for the whole rally. It has been quite a long week, from the recce and through four days of rallying. It can be quite exhausting, but we managed it quite well. There were no big mistakes or issues, which is exactly what we wanted from this event, so I can be super pleased with that. I’m happy for the team to have won this rally once again and with the experience we gained here, we can be even stronger next time.”
Kalle Rovanperä
“It has been a difficult weekend, but we hoped to still try and take some good points from the final day. Everything was fine in the first stage this morning but on the road section to the next stage, we started to see some electrical issues on the car. We tried to fix them, but we couldn’t make it happen in the end and we had to retire from the rally. It’s really disappointing to leave without any points, but we will go again in the next rally.”
Takamoto Katsuta
“I’m devastated to end the rally in this way. Near the start of the Power Stage, we had a half spin, we caught the inside bank and then we started to roll. It was a very unexpected thing, and I don’t know exactly what happened. It has been a very difficult rally and of course I had to try to push, and this kind of thing can always happen. But I’m just very, very sorry for the team.”
Hyundai Motorsport
Ott Tänak
“Really happy with the result today. A difficult and demanding weekend, but we are happy to bring both cars safely home on the podium. Our chances of victory went on Friday, but after that we kept it clean and now we’ve scored strong points on Sunday. There’s a lot of positives to take from this weekend. Really thankful to the team and the mechanics for keeping us in the game, there was never an easy service so a massive thank you to them. The cars were really put on the limit, but the team has improved the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 and its reliability – we’ve been moving in a really good direction since Friday.”
Thierry Neuville
“We can breathe now; it was a very stressful day today, always thinking something could break. I think we have been rewarded for our hard work on Friday and Saturday. It was an enormous job between stages for me and Martijn fixing the car, and the team always had a massive job to fix it at every service. But we never gave up, even when things were looking bad, and that paid off. We finally got the result we deserved.”
Adrien Fourmaux
“A really tough weekend for us with the technical issues that started on Thursday, which was difficult to accept. I’m very proud of our performance on the stages today; we have scored some good points, and it is really positive to come home with those after a difficult event. I’d like to thank the team for giving me such a strong car today that allowed me to fight for maximum Power Stage and Super Sunday points.”
Round 03, Safari Rally Kenya
19-23 March 2025
Photographer: Dufour Fabien
Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
M-Sport Ford WRT
Grégoire Munster
“I wanted to do well for my grandfather this weekend. It didn’t start too well on Friday, we encountered so many issues between brakes, engine overheating, the steering arm, punctures and of course the gearbox on Sunday too.
“But we never gave up and that was the only thing I wanted to do, to finish the rally, and apparently with Taka retiring we will be in the top five, so we’ve come a really long way this weekend. We wanted to start the season how we ended last year, and I’m really happy we managed to secure that top five finish here in Kenya.”
Jourdan Serderidis
“It was very good because we have a top result here, ninth overall against those top guys is great, especially considering the conditions. It has been very difficult, the first and the second days with the rain were completely different but really challenging. We survived well, showed some pace as well, but we didn’t push too much when there were no reasons to anyway – we already had a good result.
“It’s been a great weekend with M-Sport, the three crews getting to the end has been nice. With the help of Romet [Jürgenson] as well, we have had a fantastic team.”
Josh McErlean
“It’s been quite crazy, quite surreal. Honestly, it’s really nice to get to the finish. Okay, we had our problems, but we persevered and made it through.
“You have to come to Safari Rally and expect these conditions, it’s part of what it’s about. Not only that but the people and everyone involved, from the organisers to the teams, it’s a huge effort to come out here and put on a show as a non-European event, it’s such a huge spectacle so congratulations to everyone for making it happen.”
Oliver Solberg (WRC2)
“It’s definitely a little bit of a bitter-sweet feeling. “Getting stuck in the fech fech on Friday was so disappointing. There was literally nothing we could do about it; we were the first Rally2 car into that section. That’s it, sometimes this is the way the sport is working.
“The positive we can take away from here is the pace we showed and to know that none of us could have done any more than we did. Honestly, I feel like me, Elliott and the team deserved this one. Like I said, sometimes it doesn’t go this way.
“This was the first time we drove the Yaris on gravel, and I have to say I was really impressed. I want to say a big thank you to everybody in the Printsport team and, of course, to Elliott. We know this event is probably the toughest of the year and we definitely felt that again this time.
“We did everything we could, we won a lot of stages and took some points, but now we look ahead to the next event in Spain. It’s always such a big pleasure to come here and drive these roads and to spend time in such a special country with such incredible fans. I love this place and these people.
“And next time, I will come back even more determined to win!”
2025 FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers’ Standings
After round 3
| 1 | E. Evans | 88 |
| 2 | T. Neuville | 52 |
| 3 | O. Tänak | 49 |
| 4 | S. Ogier | 33 |
| 5 | A. Fourmaux | 31 |
| 6 | K. Rovanperä | 31 |
| 7 | T. Katsuta | 25 |
| 8 | S. Pajari | 19 |
| 9 | G. Munster | 14 |
| 10 | M. Sesks | 8 |
2025 FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers’ Standings
After round 3
| 1 | Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team | 148 |
| 2 | Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team | 122 |
| 3 | M-Sport Ford World Rally Team | 47 |
| 4 | Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team 2 | 25 |
Summary
Well, what a fantastic rally this was. It had everything out there – fast flowing stages, tricky sections with huge rocks and also huge rain.
Elfyn and Scott conquered these conditions with a fantastic drive to their first win in Kenya. They set the pace required to take the lead and in the stages which were tricky they got through at the right pace and safe approach. With this win and the second this year, they now have thirty-six-point lead over the second placed crew in the championship, Thierry and Martijn.
Ott and Martin took second overall after a drive which saw them lead and have a big lead before issues with the driveshaft on one corner of the lost them time on the following two stages. They took the most stage wins as well and second place as well. It was a good recovery drive.
Thierry and Martijn did what they could out on the challenging stages dealing with technical problems with their car and somehow made it to the final podium place. It was a drive which was typical of the Belgian pair, getting something from a rally which could have finished in a very different way.
Looking ahead to the next rally which will be held called Rally Islas Canarias over the weekend of the 24 April to 27 April.
Rumours of a Liam Lawson demotion are Groundhog Day for Red Bull Racing
It’s Groundhog Day at Red Bull Racing.
The second, less heralded driver to partner Max Verstappen in the Prinha Club’s most ruthless team has come in and struggled to adapt.
Reports of Liam Lawson facing demotion from Red Bull Racing after two races in 2025 have emerged after the Chinese Grand Prix, with Yuki Tsunoda tipped to replace the New Zealander from as early as the Japanese Grand Prix.
Lawson has struggled early in this season having twice qualified last at the Sprint Weekend Chinese Grand Prix, having qualified 18th in Australia last week before crashing out.
Lawson could only manage 15th on Sunday having climbed to 14th in the sprint race on Saturday.
Post-race in China, Lawson alluded to not having time to improve for this season and a lack of testing in preparation for the season, while a typically curt Helmut Marko, Red Bull’s Motorsport Advisor, said in reply: “He is right.”
“Yuki is a different Yuki from the years before. He is in the form of his life. Obviously he changed managed. He has a different approach. He’s more mature. It took a while, but now it looks like it’s working.”
Such a move would raise serious questions about Red Bull’s driver management, with Lawson having been promoted with less than half a season’s F1 experience to the top team after previous failures with Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon, while Sergio Perez was paid off two years early just months after being given a new contract to 2026.
For over half a decade no driver has been able to convince that they can cope with the pressure of that now infamous seat across the garage from Max Verstappen since Daniel Ricciardo, sensing which way the wind was blowing within Red Bull, departed for Renault in 2019.
Lawson’s career to date
Lawson had a solid junior career including winning the New Zealand-based Toyota Racing Series in 2020, before fifth at the first attempt in F3.
He moved up to F2 for the following season, doubling up with the DTM sportscar series with 2021 ending with ninth in F2 and second in DTM, before 3rd place in F2 the following season.
He moved to Super Formula for 2023 and was in contention to win the series when got his chance in Formula One as a stand in for the injured Ricciardo.
Lawson fared well compared to Tsunoda including points at Singapore, before another six race stint at the end of 2024 saw the New Zealander get the nod ahead of the Japanese driver to replace Perez.
How did we get here?
Red Bull first demoted one of their drivers to the support team in 2016 after Daniil Kvyat was demoted after twice hitting Sebastian Vettel’s Ferrari at the Russian Grand Prix.
Verstappen, who along with Carlos Sainz had caught the eye as a rookie in 2015, got the call and promptly won his first race in Spain.
Ricciardo was then replaced by Pierre Gasly, who’d shown well for Toro Rosso after replacing Kvyat in 2017 while Sainz was released to go to McLaren.
Gasly made a terrible start by crashing twice in 2019 pre-season testing and ultimately failed to recover his confidence, only once finishing ahead of Verstappen in fortuitous circumstances at the British Grand Prix.
He only twice got within four tenths of a second in qualifying before being lapped by Verstappen in Hungary leading the Frenchman to be dumped in favour of Alexander Albon.
Albon initially started well with a strong recovery drive at the Belgian Grand Prix to fifth, and was only out of the top six once for the remainder of the season when Lewis Hamilton spun him out of a podium position late on in Brazil.
Albon was again spun from a promising position by Hamilton in Austria, but eventually took his first podium at the Tuscan Grand Prix at Mugello and took another at Bahrain. The damage was done a week later as Sergio Perez won from the back of the field while Albon crashed out.
Perez seemed an obvious answer to Red Bull’s problems but in truth the four seasons spent in that hottest of hotseats by Perez was for the most part a marriage of convenience, brought about by no credible alternative to a burnt Albon within Red Bull’s junior ranks at the end of 2020.
While Perez initially failed to match Verstappen in outright speed, he was an able back up to Verstappen and his contribution at the season ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was crucial as he cost Lewis Hamilton over six seconds with a feisty defence of the lead, meaning Hamilton couldn’t pit during that Safety Car period.
Perez started 2022 well and earned a new contract ahead of winning the Monaco Grand Prix, with further success in Singapore. From there, performance dipped and he was fortunate to take second in the 2023 Championship despite Red Bull winning all but one race.
Despite a new contract early in the season, reports and rumours surrounded Perez for over two years before he was finally put out of his misery at the end of a winless 2024 as Red Bull paid the Mexican off.
Red Bull had previously recruited Dutchman Nyck De Vries for 2023 on a whim of one off points finish for Williams at the Italian Grand Prix of 2022, before he was sacked after 10 races and replaced by Ricciardo.
What about those demoted drivers?
Drivers who’ve been burned by the top team have had mixed results since their ill-fated moves.
Kvyat’s F1 career was a strange one, being dropped completely in 2017 before coming back to race in 2019 and 2020 as Red Bull ran out of drivers.
Gasly has gone on to shine as a team leader at the junior including a win at the 2020 Italian Grand Prix before moving to Alpine, where he has since seen off the challenge of Esteban Ocon.
Albon disappeared for a year as third driver, notably being used to reconstruct a crash between Lewis Hamilton and Verstappen at the 2021 British Grand Prix, before ably leading Williams in their rise from the back of the grid to 2025 midfield leaders since 2022 while Perez may yet resurface with Cadillac in 2026.
Albon has spoken in the past of being “underprepared” by Red Bull to the High Performance Podcast, while Gasly in particular was critical of the environment during his half season with the team.
In an interview with PlanetF1.com, he referenced a lack of support after a tough start.
“From the moment I made my first mistake in a car, I felt like people there slowly began to turn on me. I’d had a crash in winter testing and from that moment on the season never really got going.
“Then I had a tough first two races with Red Bull and the media just ate me up. Anything I said in the press was twisted into an excuse for my form, and nobody really stuck up for me.
“The car wasn’t perfect and I was doing my best to try to improve and learn each week. But here’s what I’ll say about it – it was a difficult time for me at Red Bull because I didn’t feel like I was really supported and treated the same way as others there have been. And for me, that’s something I just can’t accept.
“I was working my ass off every day, trying to get results for the team, but I was not being given all the tools I needed to succeed. I would try to offer solutions but my voice wasn’t heard, or it would take weeks to see changes.
The Red Bull signals and issues it needs to address
It is important to state that nothing has been decided and Red Bull have been satisfied with Lawson’s approach and refusal to make excuses, but history suggests there’s no smoke without fire.
After the 2019 Hungarian Grand Prix, Team Principal Christian Horner said that the intention “was to keep Pierre in the car” before replacing him the next race with Albon, while late into 2020 the team were giving Albon “every chance” before he was demoted to third driver.
The pressure could increase further with another junior in Arvid Lindblad mooted for a promotion as early as 2026 depending on his F2 progress this season.
It was accepted within F1 circles that Tsunoda would have to leave Racing Bulls with no obvious team to go to at the end of this season, but were he to move to Red Bull and get closer to Verstappen, Lawson would have no time to readjust against an Isack Hadjar who, formation lap crash in Melbourne aside, has shown speed this season.
While it is true that Red Bull have a car that has been built around Verstappen’s unique driving style, that is something all drivers heading to a new team have to adapt to.
The issue is that Red Bull have often been slow take on feedback from the second driver, with Perez’s performances improving slightly after upgrades on the car in the autumn of last year known to have been as a result of finally listening to the struggling Mexican’s feedback from the summer of 2023.
Irrespective of when, or if, Lawson does move back to the junior team, seven seasons of struggle in Red Bull’s other car points not only to an issue with recruitment, but with the management of a driver programme that has produced Ricciardo, Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel to name three drivers.
That young driver academy has been reduced to a topic of debate and ridicule, producing drivers who in recent years have come through the ranks only to end up as cannon fodder to a Max Verstappen juggernaut.
Often drivers either been thrown in too early, lacked support during early struggles and have ended up destroyed by comparisons to Verstappen instead of nurtured and moulded to fit within the team.
Recruitment has often been hap-hazard at best, with De Vries getting ten races before his sacking after a signing based purely on a one-off appearance where circumstances favoured him while Tsunoda, into his fifth season of Formula One, has not had a Red Bull look in before now and should he complete a mid-season switch to will go in with little Red Bull testing and next to no preparation from the main F1 team.
Groundhog Day may come around again.
Images from Pirelli F1 Media
Chinese Grand Prix – Piastri dominates to win in Shanghai
Oscar Piastri took his third Grand Prix victory with an imperious win at Shanghai International Circuit.
His McLaren teammate Lando Norris had to manage a brake issue but managed second to complete a 50th 1-2 for the team, while George Russell was third for Mercedes and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen fourth.
The result leaves Norris eight points clear of Verstappen in the fledgling Championship standings, with Russell a point further back and Piastri a point behind in fourth.
.The Ferrari duo of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton were fifth and sixth, while Haas improved from a dreadful Australian Grand Prix with seventh for Esteban Ocon and tenth for Ollie Bearman.
Kimi Antonelli in eighth and Alex Albon in ninth completed the points positions.
It was the perfect start for McLaren as Piastri blocked off Russell to hamper his entry into Turn One, with Norris sweeping around the outside to take second.
Max Verstappen was another to go backwards as he was passed by both Ferraris of Hamilton and Leclerc, who lost a chunk of front wing hitting Hamilton, through ahead of the Dutchman.
A slow burner of a first stint was curtailed as the midfield, led by Pierre Gasly, Ocon and the Racing Bulls duo of Yuki Tsunoda and Isack Hadjar pitted before lap 12.
Expected high tyre wear throughout the race failed to materialise as the leading five cars – all of whom pitted before lap 17 – making it to the end of the Grand Prix on their hard tyres.
At the front, Piastri completed his most complete weekend with a race win during which he wasn’t troubled, with a difficult Friday giving way to a dominant display to underline his own World Drivers’ Championship credentials.
A strong undercut, where the car behind pits for fresh tyres to pass the car ahead when they pit, was prevalent in China and helped Russell briefly repass Norris, but the McLaren had regained second by lap 18 and gradually built a gap.
That gap became important for Norris, who in the last 15 laps reported a long brake pedal that was critical by the penultimate lap.
An eight-second gap became 1.3s by the end of the race as a quietly effective Russell maximised his weekend once again.
Behind that Verstappen grew into the race after an off-colour first stint in which he dropped back from the Ferraris in sixth.
The Dutchman salvaged fourth as Leclerc’s damage caught up with the Monesgasque driver with four laps to go.
Hamilton’s hard tyre performance fell away leading Ferrari to call him in for a second stop before Verstappen passed his old rival.
It was another chastening weekend for Liam Lawson at Red Bull, as he twice qualified 20th and last and could only manage 15th in the race, over a minute behind Vertappen.
Haas’ turnaround from an Australian Grand Prix weekend in which they were clearly the slowest team to an excellent weekend in China was remarkable.
Ocon expertly judged his one-stop strategy to pass and stay ahead of Antonelli’s Mercedes while Bearman, starting 17th, managed his tyres superbly for tenth.
Safari Rally Kenya 2025, Saturday’s Report
Onto the second full day then and the crews had 146km’s over six stages ahead of them. Adrien would not return as the Hyundai team decided to save his car for Sunday’s stages. This would mean Jourdan and Fred would open the road thought the day.
First up then was SS11 Sleeping Warrior 1 – 26.97 km and Elfyn would set the fastest time from Kalle and Takamoto. The three Toyota’s were making a very good start to the day’s stages. Elfyn had increased his lead over Kalle to almost 16 seconds. At Hyundai and M-Sport the crews all had either tyre or steering problems.
Onto SS12 Elmenteita 1 – 17.31 km and it was a top three fastest again for Toyota as Elfyn was fastest from Takamoto and Kalle. Kalle lost some more time to Elfyn as one of his tyres came off the rim of the wheel. It was a tricky stage as some sections had mud and standing water.
The final stage of the morning then, SS13 Soysambu 1 – 28.97 km and Takamoto was fastest from Ott and Elfyn. Kalle had yet more problems with tyres with another puncture. The result of this was that he lost one minute and twenty seconds and was still in second and now a minute and thirty-two seconds from Elfyn who was clearing the stages with no problems.
The afternoon stages started with SS14 Sleeping Warrior 2 – 26.97 km and the rain had hit the stage right as the first crews were starting. This meant the earlier crews would have more favourable conditions. Ultimately Takamoto would set the fastest time from Kalle and Elfyn. There was some more drama for Kalle as he suffered with broken rear left suspension though. Ott lost more time in this one and now Takamoto was only around sixteen seconds from him.
Next up was SS15 Elmenteita 2 – 17.31 km and yet more rain hit this stage. The two Pumas’ were able to take advantage of their early starting time and Greg won the stage with Josh second fastest. Sami was the highest placed Toyota with the fourth fastest time. Kalle took it very easy through the stage, protecting the rear left suspension which he and Jonna had made a temporary repair too on the road section. Kalle dropped from the podium and into fourth with Ott now second and Takamoto third. Greg’s stage winning pace took him up two positions and into seventh overall.
Time then for the final stage of the day then, SS16 Soysambu 2 – 28.97 km and there was more rain for all the crews in this one. Ott made the best of the conditions and set the fastest time from Thierry and incredibly Oliver was third in his Yaris Rally2. What a drive!
Let’s take a look at the top positions and hear from the drivers.
Classification after Day Two
| 1 | E. Evans | S. Martin | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | 3:38:39.3 |
| 2 | O. Tänak | M. Järveoja | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | +1:57.4 |
| 3 | T. Neuville | M. Wydaeghe | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 | +4:33.4 |
| 4 | T. Katsuta | A. Johnston | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | +5:06.6 |
| 5 | K. Rovanperä | J. Halttunen | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | +6:06.0 |
| 6 | S. Pajari | M. Salminen | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | +7:00.4 |
| 7 | G. Munster | L. Louka | Ford Puma Rally1 | +11:02.0 |
| 8 | G. Greensmith | J. Andersson | Škoda Fabia RS | +12:08.3 |
| 9 | J. Solans | R. Sanjuan | Toyota GR Yaris | +12:14.1 |
| 10 | J. Serderidis | F. Miclotte | Ford Puma Rally1 | +24:39.1 |
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Elfyn Evans
“It’s been remarkably difficult out there today. This has definitely been a proper Safari. Even this morning the conditions were really quite tricky after a lot of rain overnight. Then the rain came again immediately as we started the afternoon loop. The conditions were horribly inconsistent, and I was trying to treat everything with care but it’s easy to drop a lot of time. I couldn’t see much at all at the end with so much mud, but I’m happy we managed to get through it. Even with this gap, nothing is guaranteed on this rally. Tomorrow will be demanding and rough and anything can still happen, so we need to stay focused.”
Kalle Rovanperä
“Today was not an easy day for us. It started well this morning but then we had some bad luck with some punctures, and the afternoon was even worse; in Sleeping Warrior we hit a big loose stone in a muddy section, and it broke something in the suspension. We tried to make a small fix before each stage, and although it didn’t last we could at least get through the stages and get back to service. It’s still a long day ahead tomorrow with some tricky stages and a lot of points available, and we’ll do the best we can.”
Takamoto Katsuta
“It has been a really frustrating day. The last two days have been tough for me with sickness, but the team has been supporting me well and I’ve been able to keep driving. The pace was there, and I was enjoying the driving and doing some good times. It was really disappointing to lose time with the punctures, but there are still five more stages to go. Just over 30 seconds to the podium is not so much on a rally like this, so we will keep pushing and see what happens.”
Sami Pajari
“Today was extremely tricky with a lot of learning. Already this morning we faced some very different challenges to yesterday, with a lot of wet and muddy places and it was tricky for me to predict the grip, or to know exactly what speed you can carry and what line to take. This afternoon the conditions were even tougher, but the pace was better which was nice to see. I could see some improvement in my driving even in the extreme conditions, and with every kilometre the feeling is getting better.”
Hyundai Motorsport
Ott Tänak
“There has been a lot of action today, especially this afternoon – it was proper wet and tricky conditions. Unfortunately, we had some trouble with the windscreen again and water in the car, which made it a very demanding loop. The conditions changes from stage to stage, so you never really know what you are going to find. There is always a new challenge you need to fight and overcome. Tomorrow should be smoother, but the roads are still very rough in places.”
Thierry Neuville
“Today has been challenging – it’s hard to describe just how tough it has been out there today, for several reasons. I wasn’t feeling well at all after a bad night and struggled to keep my concentration and do my job, but we kept fighting and we were rewarded with third place overnight. Those were some extreme conditions this afternoon – I haven’t seen anything like it in my career. We’ve had some rough Safari Rally Kenya’s in the past, but this is the roughest so far.”
Round 03, Safari Rally Kenya
20 – 23 March 2025
Photographer: Austral
Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
Oliver Solberg (WRC2)
“Yesterday was tough. We did nothing wrong – I wouldn’t usually talk about luck, but I think we were unlucky to be the first car finding this fesh fesh. Today we came back to drive sensibly, stay in the middle of the road and take no risks. It was nice to be able to push a little bit harder where it was possible and winning Soysambu at the end was a good way to finish Saturday.
“Let’s see what Sunday brings. This is the Safari; it’s such a huge challenge and it will stay that way all the way to the final metre.”
Sunday
The final day then and anything can still happen. Let’s see if Elfyn and Scott can take victory in Kenya and be the first Brits to do this since Colin in 2002.
Six stages remain with a total of 65.99km’s.
Safari Rally Kenya 2025, Friday’s Report
Coming into the first full day of action there’d been two stages to start this year’s rally on Thursday. We had a top three which was Ott from Takamoto and Greg. In addition the top five were covered by just four and a half seconds.
First up then was SS3 Camp Moran 1 – 31.40 km and Ott was fastest from Thierry and Elfyn. The Welshman’s pace took him up three positions and into second overall, whilst Kalle moved into third. Ott now had a 13.1 second lead over his former M-Sport teammate.
Next came SS4 Loldia 1 – 19.11 km and Ott was again setting the pace from Thierry and Elfyn third. At this point there were three Hyundai’s in the top four fastest times. Setting good pace in his Puma was Josh who was holding fourth overall as his teammate fell nine positions to thirteenth overall.
The penultimate stage of the morning loop came next, SS5 Kengen Geothermal 1 – 13.18 km and Kalle was fastest from Thierry and Ott. Elfyn was sixth fastest and saw the gap to Ott grow to 19.3 seconds whilst Kalle was now 44.1 behind and holding third. Thierry was on the move up the leaderboard, past Josh and into fourth.
Onto the final morning stage then, SS6 Kedong 1 – 15.10 km with service to follow and Ott was fastest from Kalle and Elfyn. Further back Takamoto was gaining positions moving into seventh overall. He was climbing the field after his earlier puncture in the first stage of the day.
Into the afternoon stages then with a repeat of the morning loop and in the same order, first up was SS7 Camp Moran 2 – 31.40 km and Thierry took a stage win from Ott and Kalle. Takamoto was climbing some more passing Josh for fifth place. Also gaining quite a few positions was Sami in the fourth Toyota and he’d gained four positions thus moving into seventh overall. We lost Adrien in this one as the Frenchman tried to complete the stage with a puncture and ended up heavily damaging his front right suspension. He could not continue sadly and was out for the rest of the day.
Next up was SS8 Loldia 2 – 19.11 km and Ott was again fastest from Elfyn this time with Thierry third. Sami gained another position moving into sixth place overall. Ott now held a 46.1 second lead over Elfyn. This was some drive from the Estonian.
It was all change though at the end of SS9 Kengen Geothermal 2 – 13.18 km as the leading Hyundai suffered what would turn out to be a driveshaft problem the result being he’d lose over a minute on just this one stage and emerged 16.8 seconds behind new leader Elfyn and now in third overall. Kalle who was fastest in the stage from Elfyn was now second overall. Takamoto suffered a second puncture of the day.
Onto the final stage of the day then, SS10 Kedong 2 – 15.10 km and how would Ott get on? Well, it helped that he and Martin would be able to remove the driveshaft which had failed meaning he could push a bit more. He was twelfth fastest which doesn’t sound great but managed to keep the time loss down to 42 seconds meaning he’d keep third overall. Kalle won the stage from Takamoto and Elfyn.
Let’s take a look at the top positions and hear from the drivers.
Classification after Day One
|
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Elfyn Evans
“It’s been a clean and strong day for us. Maybe we were not always the fastest, but I’m happy to be at the end of the day with no trouble. It was a tough day, and this first stage of the loop was especially rough; the chance of damage was high with so many loose rocks. We definitely erred on the side of caution in places and that seems to have paid off, but there’s still a very long way to go. It can be a bit frustrating when you feel that you can go a bit faster and take more risk, but I just keep reminding myself where we are. Tomorrow might be slightly shorter but it’s still not going to be an easy day.”
Kalle Rovanperä
“It has been a good day. The morning could have been better as I was losing some time in the more narrow and technical roads in the first two stages, but when we went to the faster stages it was much better and I had a really good feeling. The afternoon was much better overall. The conditions were really tough, but we were able to take care of the car like we planned: it’s always important on this rally to manage your pace and stick to your plan. You can go quicker but you can run into trouble easily. Tomorrow the stages have a different style, and the weather could play a big part too.”
Takamoto Katsuta
“The day started badly in the first long stage this morning with a lot of rocks, and we got a double puncture. It was very frustrating, and we had no spares left for the rest of the morning, so we had to be very careful, but we managed to get through it and back to service. This afternoon was even rougher, and we were trying to avoid mistakes. Unfortunately, we got another puncture but the pace when I pushed was quite OK and the feeling is nice in the car. There’s still two days to go, which is a long way in this rally, and everything is still possible.”
Sami Pajari
“We knew that today would be challenging and it was the case already in the first stage this morning, where we stopped to change a tyre and again got a stone to the windscreen somehow. But we were able to regather ourselves with a couple of clean stages to end the morning, and then the afternoon was really good. The car is working really nicely with no issues and the times are also pretty solid, so I can be happy with that. I’m getting more used to the conditions and reading the changes in the road, and I’m starting to understand where I can push and where I need to be cautious, so it’s a good feeling to end the day.”
Hyundai Motorsport
Ott Tänak
“At the end of the second stage of the afternoon, I noticed we had a driveline issue, but we managed to finish the stage. We then realised it was an issue with the driveshaft, but we were unable to remove it before the penultimate stage, so we had to drive through it carefully to stop it from damaging the engine. Luckily, we managed to remove it for the final stage, so we didn’t have to nurse it. We will try to come back tomorrow but we know it’s rough, its demanding and its hard on the car.”
Round 03, Safari Rally Kenya
19-23 March 2025
Photographer: Dufour Fabien
Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
Thierry Neuville
“It has been a really challenging day, but we were giving our best. We had some cooling issues this afternoon that we tried to fix by dismantling the whole front end of the car and putting it back together, but it didn’t work as well as we wanted it to, so we had to take care on the stages. It was extreme conditions, but we are happy to be here at the end of a difficult day. If we take away our penalties and the time we lost from the puncture, we would have been leading the rally today, but it is what it is and there is still a long way to go.”
Adrien Fourmaux
“I was happy with the car and the balance today, and I was being careful in the rocky places but then pushing where I knew I could. I was feeling really comfortable but then everything went wrong this afternoon. We had a slow puncture, so we managed to continue for a few kilometres before the tyre started deflating, then in the fesh-fesh I didn’t see a rock and we had a big impact which broke the suspension. It is frustrating and we should have stopped to change the puncture, but it is easy to say this in hindsight. We will come back fighting tomorrow and target Super Sunday points.”
Oliver Solberg (WRC2)
“I came out of a hairpin and into the first fesh fesh section. The sand was so, so soft and so deep. Because we’d come from a slow corner, we weren’t carrying any speed to come through the fesh fesh and we got stuck. “We were the first Rally2 car in there, so it’s tough. There was no warning, nothing.
“It’s such a shame, everything was going really well. Me and Elliott [Edmondson, co-driver] were really controlled with no risk – just steadily building the lead and then this happened. There was literally nothing I could do, we tried to come through, but the car just dug in and bottomed out. The marshals tried to move us, but we couldn’t find a rope strong enough.
“It’s tough to go out like this, the car is just perfect. But OK, this is Safari, and it can do these kind of things to you, we have seen it before. We will keep pushing and come back tomorrow.”
Saturday
The second full day of action will see the crews tackle 146.5km’s over six stages. Who will be in the lead by the end of the day? We may see the rain out there and this can-do crazy things to the stages.
Safari Rally Kenya 2025 Preview
Time then for round three of this year’s championship and crews head to the wilds of Kenya. Elfyn and Scott lead the championship standings from their part-time teammates, Seb and Vincent by almost 30 points.
Of course, the British duo in their GR Yaris hold a very good lead over the regular crews such as Kalle and Jonne, Thierry and Martijn and Ott and Martin.
The crews have an incredible 384km’s ahead of them over twenty-one stages. The longest day is Friday at 157km’s whilst Saturday has 146km’s in total.
Let’s hear from the drivers!
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Elfyn Evans
“It’s been a good start to the year for us and we can be happy with how well the first two events have gone, but now the focus moves to gravel, where the learning starts again with another new tyre. While not representative of the roads in Kenya, our test last week was good familiarisation with this year’s specification of car on gravel and with the tyres. The Safari is a unique rally with a special set of conditions to face: it’s not easy even if it’s dry, but when you add the likelihood of rain and standing water, it can be a huge challenge just to get to the end. This has been an amazing rally for the team over recent years and while it’s not perhaps been my strongest event personally, we want to aim as high as possible and challenge for the win if it’s possible.”
Kalle Rovanperä
“It has not been the easiest start to our season, but we’re not too far from the fight and now we move onto gravel, it’s a new chance to push harder and try to get back to where we want to be. The team has been really strong so far, and we just need to put all the pieces together on our end so that we can be on the same pace. The test last week was really important to try some different things and to find a good feeling with the car and tyres on gravel. The Safari is definitely one of the most special rallies in the season. It’s always really cool to go there and we’ll try to do another good result, as we really need that this year. It’s a hard rally to predict but we’ll try to push really hard and do our best.”
Takamoto Katsuta
“Sweden was a nice rally for me, where I was able to show speed and finish with a strong result, and this gives me a good feeling for Kenya. The Safari is a special rally for me, and the team has been very strong there every year. They always prepare the car well and reliability has been our key strength. This year could be more challenging with the greater distance and new stages, so we need to prepare the pacenotes well during recce. We also have to find the best way to drive with this year’s car and tyres, but the feeling was quite good in our test. We always have a lot of support in Kenya, and I will try of course to finish on the podium again, but anything can happen there, and we need to prepare and manage it well.”
Sami Pajari
“The season has started with some very specific rallies, so it’s not been easy, but so far we have done some nice stage times and had many positive moments, and hopefully it can continue like this in Kenya. I was there for the recce last year, so I know a little bit what the roads are like, but it’s still going to be a huge challenge. The team has been really good there over the past few years, so I can expect the car to be strong, but I’m focused on my own performance as well. The target is just to gain as much experience as we can, but we’re also there to do our best and in a rally like this, anything can happen. It will be tough but I’m looking forward to the challenge.”
Hyundai Motorsport
Thierry Neuville
“Safari Rally Kenya is very different from any other rally. Despite being rough like Greece, Kenya’s conditions, weather and surface can change very quickly. It’s rainy season over there, so if there’s precipitation, it’s very demanding both for the cars and for our visibility. The roughness of the terrain changes year on year; in addition to that, there are a couple of new stages as well as others that are run in the opposite direction to last time. Nevertheless, we need to have a clever drive. Taking care of the car and staying away from trouble will be key to that. Obviously, you need a bit of luck, but hopefully it’s going to work this year. While we expected more from Monte Carlo, the pace was definitely there, and that was shown in our performance in Sweden. We want to take it one step further in Kenya and finish on the podium steps.”
Ott Tänak
“Safari Rally Kenya is the most testing rally we have on the calendar. Generally, the roads are very demanding and rough, but super-fast at the same time. As we discovered last year, stones can appear from anywhere, so it’s a rally where we need to expect everything. The key is to find the perfect balance of risk and reward, but it is never easy. We need trust in our car to be reliable so we could push ourselves, as well as the places in the rough sections where we can carry as much speed as possible. The speeds are high and often we are competing on open sections where there is not much around us other than zebras and giraffes. This makes it quite tricky to perfect the pacenotes. We want to leave Kenya having had a trouble-free event and with a big trophy.”
Round 03, Safari Rally Kenya
27-31 March 2024
Ott Tanak, Martin Jarveoja, Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid
Photographer: Dufour Fabien
Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
Adrien Fourmaux
“Finishing on the podium in Kenya last year, I learned that it’s a very different rally than the others: it’s all about endurance and managing both the car and the tyres. It’s a really long event and it’s very rough, so the fastest crew is not guaranteed to be on top every time – we need to be smart to get to the end. This is now my third different surface in three events with a new team, which is great as I can learn quickly the car in all the type of conditions. The car is prepared differently for Kenya: the suspension is really high to protect the car as much as possible, as well as us as a crew. My goal for the weekend would be to return to the podium, but I know it’s a big challenge. Anything can happen, so we will do our best to get the best result.”
M-Sport Ford WRT
Grégoire Munster
“I’m really looking forward to Safari Rally Kenya, it’s probably my favourite event on the calendar, just because you experience things there that you don’t see anywhere else – not only with the wildlife but also with the tricky conditions. The heavy rain can be really intense, and the terrain is always changing so you have to pick a small track in the middle of tall grass fields which really adds to the character of the event.
“I’m really looking forward to the challenge, I think we are well prepared with the team, and we had a good pre-event test in Greystoke earlier this week, so we just want to do well in Kenya and get a strong result.”
Josh McErlean
“This iconic event pushes drivers, co-drivers, and machines to their absolute limits, and I’m excited to take on its demanding terrain. The guys and girls at M-Sport have worked hard to prepare the cars into Safari spec, it’s pretty cool seeing the snorkel on the car. Both myself and Eoin are ready to face this adventure and whatever it throws our way.”
Jourdan Serderidis
“Kenya is where I have delivered my best results in WRC, with seventh in 2022 and ninth last year. I can’t wait to do it once again and to do my best to enter the top ten again! I know it is a tough rally and that we need to have a perfect run through the stages, and we also want to show our improvements that we have seen during the pre-event test.”
WRC2
Oliver Solberg
“The challenge from Sweden to here is so different,” said the Monster Energy driver. “This is one of the really cool aspects of the World Rally Championship: we go from minus 15 and proper snow and ice to this… Look at this place,” he smiles. “It’s incredible.
What a beautiful place to go rallying. We have done a few runs already today and everything is feeling good. We have worked a little bit with the suspension and the set-up, and the car is feeling really nice. “Since I joined this team and started driving the Toyota at the start of the season, I was feeling comfortable and really at home. Both the Yaris and the team is fantastic, it gives a lot of confidence coming to an event like the Safari.
“There’s no doubt, we have to take a different approach for this one – you can’t drive flat-out all of the time, there will be a rock waiting for you somewhere. But at the same time, you can’t afford to take it too steady, the competition is super-tough in WRC2. We need to find a quick and consistent speed this week.
“But also, we have to enjoy competing in Africa. It’s an incredible place with some of the best fans in the world – I love coming here! We came directly from competing at Race of Champions in Australia, that was a really cool event. I stayed on for a few days to relax in Sydney after the race and actually proposed to my partner Chloe. It was a cool moment on Bondi beach. What was even cooler was her saying yes!”
Summary
The action has already started with shakedown earlier today. Kalle led the way from Thierry and Ott whilst Welshman Elfyn was seventh fastest.
Who can win this weekend then? Well, it’s hard to not look past Kalle who won this rally last year and also in 2022 as well. Toyota have dominated this rally ever since it returned to the championship in 2021 winning every event as well.
Hyundai have led the event previously – can they take a victory and beat the Toyota team? Only time will tell…..
For the three M-Sport crews this will be a learning event in particular for Josh and Eoin. Greg and Louis will have some experience to rely on from. Jourdan keeps returning to this event which had seen his best result at the top level, and he clearly loves it.
MotoGP: Marc Marquez Wins in Argentina for his Second Clean Sweep
The brothers, who are still best friends, put on a brilliant show for the passionate MotoGP fans in Argentina, who could be heard cheering on their heroes every single lap of the race. They came home for their second 1-2 in a row, on a historic day for MotoGP in Spain.
Marc Marquez has equalled the legendary Angel Neito with his 90th win today. It was a stunning victory as he took his second clean sweep in as many races – he took pole, the sprint win and the race win for a perfect weekend in Argentina.
Despite the result, it wasn’t quite as easy as he would have liked. His brother, Alex Marquez, led most of the race as he fought hard for his first ever MotoGP win. Alex took the advantage when his brother made an uncharacteristic mistake on lap 4, turn 1, and looked set to take the victory.
Behind him, Marc was evidently pushing the bike to the limit as he wobbled and bounced each time he tried to make a move. The biggest moment happened on lap 15, at turn 11, when the rear of the Ducati bike stepped out and Marc very nearly went down. He then made a failed attempt for the lead on lap 18. He came from so far back that he was forced to go wide at turn 5, letting off the break to avoid contact.
Eventually, with 4 laps of the race remaining, Marc got past at turn 4, making it stick into turn 5 and quickly pulling out a 1+ second lead. That didn’t stop the brothers from celebrating in parc ferme, with both singing and dancing with their Ducati and Gresini crews.
Completing the podium today was Franco Morbidelli on the VR46 machine. He was able to steal this position away from Pecco Bagnaia early in the race and used the soft tyre to his advantage. He reported feeling unwell on Saturday but there was no sign of illness today.
Morbidelli celebrated so much during the cool down lap that he wasn’t able to get the bike started again and had to be pushed into parc ferme by the track marshalls. Once there, he treated us all to some dance moves as he celebrated his first podium since 2021.
Termas treble ✅ @marcmarquez93 🥇🏆#ArgentinaGP 🇦🇷 pic.twitter.com/5J24TTfWG6
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) March 16, 2025
Whilst he didn’t end on the podium today, it was a brilliant day for rookie rider Ai Ogura. There was a huge battle from 5th to 10th today, with riders jostling for position throughout the race. Shining through all this was Ogura who made brilliant moves to end the day in a solid 8th place.
It was a difficult day for Pecco Bagnaia who wasn’t able to capitalise on some of the early moves he made through the field. He started in 4th but had a great start and was quickly fighting with Alex Marquez for 2nd place. Once down in 4th, he then came under pressure from Johan Zarco on the Honda, but was able to just about hold off the frenchman.
Speaking after the race, Davide Tardozzi, Ducati team manager, told the media that Bagnaia was suffering with a “small problem on the bike which didn’t give him the right feeling on the left corner[s]”. The Italian rider was clearly disappointed and dejected when he returned to his garage after the race.
It was an even worse day for the other VR46 rider. Whilst Morbidelli was enjoying a podium, his teammate Marco Bezzecchi went down at turn 1 on lap 1. He let off the throttle to avoid contact with Mordibelli but ended up clipping the back of Fabio Quartararo’s machine. Bezzecchi went down into the kitty litter and Quartararo dropped down to the back of the grid. It was a horrible start for the Yamaha rider after starting the race in a fantastic 7th.
There was another crash, this time for Enea Bastianini, who’s 2025 season is going from bad to worse. He is already struggling to get comfortable on his new KTM machine but, after contact with Raul Fernandez, he crashed on lap 2. He was able to rejoin the field but could only get as high as 18th today.
RACE RESULT
CHAMPIONSHIP FIGHT
With back to back 1-2 results in the first two sprint and feature races of the 2025 season, the Marquez brothers are still leading the championship fight. Despite his tricky day, Pecco Bagnaia can take comfort that he is still well within this championship fight, sitting in 3rd and just 15 points behind Alex.
Feature Image Credit: MotoGP