ThePitcrewOnline

9th August 2021

Rookie reigns in Austria

Qualifying:

With the five week break finally at an end, the qualifying saw Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha) snatch pole from Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati), in the closing minutes. Only seconds later to find that he transgressed track limits on turn nine, which resulted in him ending in third.

Marc Marquez (Honda), was on a hot-lap but crashed out and finished in eighth.

But it was the rookie Jorge Martin (Ducati) who claimed pole, for the second time this season. Riding a sensational lap of 1:22.994, bagging pole and a new all-time lap record along with it.

The front row was now: J. Martin, F. Bagnaia and F. Quartararo. The Ducati’s looked dominant in Austria, with all four bikes on the front two rows. Jack Miller (Ducati), Joan Mir (Suzuki) and Johann Zarco (Ducati) rounded off the front.

Grey clouds over-head. Courtesy of: Moto GP website.

If fans were getting withdrawal symptoms from bike racing then this race was sure looking like it was going to quench that.

Race One:

All eyes may have been on Jorge Martin, in pole but all hearts were with Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) who, on just Thursday, had announced this was going to be his final season racing.

With rain clouds looming large overhead, the Styrian Grand Prix was about to be on its way, after being declared a dry race.

Bagnaia got a great start from Martin, but Martin was quickly leading the race. Marc Marquez (Honda) chose a more aggressive tactic, after having a poor start and trying to gather positions quickly, he made a move past Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia), nudging him in the process, causing him to go wide and also pushed past Quartararo to go into fourth place. This caused an on-track argument between the two Spanish riders later, on track.

Mir reacted well and quickly went from fourth to second as Bagnaia re-claimed first. Marquez seemed to be in all-out attack-mode but fell back to sixth place after his fiery start.

The championship leader, Quartararo picked up the pace and soon had fastest lap moments before red flags began to wave.

Flash back to 2020, Franco Morbidelli and Johann Zarco collided, causing their bikes to hurtle through the air, across the track and land cartwheeling in-front of the path of then team-mates Rossi and Vinales, understandably shaking both riders up before they re-started the race, after a red flag.

Since then, the track has been slightly modified. That should have been the only an odd occurrence however, this track seems to entice odd occurrences, only this time, lap 3 of 28 saw the wildcard and ex-Moto GP race winner Dani Pedrosa (KTM) fall leaving his bike stranded in the way of on-coming riders. Lorenzo Savadori (Aprilia) rode straight into the KTM, causing both bikes to immediately erupt into flames. The race was red-flagged, signaling an end to proceedings. The marshals were quick to respond and fortunately neither rider nor marshal were hurt.

Just another freak accident in Austria, has made some question the suitability of this track for racing.

All bikes returned to the pits as fire extinguishers, brushes and man-power set about cleaning up the mess caused on track.

Race officials check the track is okay for the re-start. Courtesy of: Moto GP website.

As the race was only on lap 3, it was re-started with just one lap being removed. The stewards allowed Pedrosa to start again but unfortunately for Aprilia, Savadori could not re-join.

A quick-start procedure took place during the second attempt, which meant pit lane re-opened for 60 seconds ahead of a sighting lap where all riders took their original grid positions and one mechanic met them at their lines. They then went out for their warm-up lap and the race continued thereafter.

Although, it was a disaster for Maverick Vinales (Yamaha), who stalled prior to the sighting lap on the grid and had to start his race from the pit lane, going from ninth to last.

Race Two:

The dark grey clouds still overhead had refrained from raining and continued to watch alongside the few spectators at trackside for take-two of the Styrian Grand Prix.

It was the Ducati power both times, this time Martin got another great start but Miller soon took the lead.

Quartararo nudged past M. Marquez, who in-turn nudged into none-other than Aleix Espargaro again and again he went wide.

Mir looked like he was on a mission, wanting to break up the Ducati rule. He was soon on the back of Martin and took second place on lap 2.

Mir hunts Martin. Courtesy of: Moto GP website.

Lap 3 saw Martin re-take second and Bagnaia went backwards into eighth place. The re-start did not go the same way for him.

With 24 laps to go, Martin re-took the lead from Miller, Mir and Quartararo.

Things went from bad to worse for A. Espargaro, on lap 6 he pulled to the side of the track and had to retire due to a mechanical failure.

Miller and Quartararo had a mini battle between themselves. And soon all five front riders took fastest lap within quick succession of each other.

Martin and Mir broke away from the pack as did Quartararo, Miller and Zarco, creating their own group. The gap between the two groups quickly extended to over 3 seconds.

Vinales also couldn’t turn his luck around and ended up getting a long-lap penalty, putting him back to last place again, in 21^st, due to exceeding track limits. Track limit warnings were thrown about to all sorts of riders, including the race leader Martin, who was still leading with 11 laps to go.

With 10 laps to go, Miller looked set to strike on Quartararo, closing him down on every corner. But then, he crashed out on turn 7. He returned to the track but had to end his race sooner than expected and pulled into the pits, leaving Fabio in third position, to race alone.

Another long-lap penalty was handed out to the other Espargaro brother – Pol, for also exceeding track limits.

Having led for most of the race, Jorge Martin, the rookie reigned supreme and took victory for the first time for himself and Pramac Ducati in the Moto GP class. Having come from a hospital bed earlier on in the season, due to an accident which left him with numerous broken bones he was now on the top step of the podium. Securing both the pole and the win! He is now the 6^th different winner in 2021.

Take a bow – Courtesy of: Moto GP website.

Brad Binder (KTM) rode a sensational last lap and finished an incredible fourth place, passing Zarco and Takaaki Nakagami (Honda) on the way to the line.

Bagnaia however was given a 3 second penalty on the last lap, for also exceeding track limits and was demoted out of the top ten, promoting Dani Pedrosa into tenth.

Top ten finishers:

1st	J. Martin
2nd	J. Mir
3rd	F. Quartararo
4th	B. Binder
5th	T. Nakagami
6th	J. Zarco
7th	A. Rins
8th	M. Marquez
9th	A. Marquez
10th	D. Pedrosa

Current Championship Standings:

1st	Quartararo	172 points
2nd	Zarco	132 points
3rd	Mir	121 points
4th	Bagnaia	116 points

Moto GP will be returning to Austria again next weekend, as will British rider Cal Crutchlow (Petronas), who even though didn’t produce a spectacular race result this weekend after stepping in for injured rider Franco Morbidelli, he will do so again for the next two races. Will we see a top ten or podium finish for fan favourite Cal?

(Featured image: courtesy of Moto GP website).

9th August 202116th August 2021

How Did Marcus Ericsson Win the Nashville Music City Grand Prix?

Marcus Ericsson crashed early, only to take his second career IndyCar victory in a chaotic Big Machine Music City Grand Prix, bringing himself into championship contention.

But how did he do it?

Colton Herta led from pole position. Photo Courtesy of Chris Owens.

All weekend long Andretti Autosport’s Colton Herta dominated the rest of the field, leading all practice sessions and claiming an incredible sixth pole position, the second of his season. He would lead the field convincingly from the start ahead of Chip Ganassi’s Scott Dixon and Andretti teammate Alexander Rossi. Or at least, he would have led convincingly had there not been a run of safety car interruptions.

One of the culprits came in the form of eventual race winner Marcus Ericsson who was lucky to escape a collision with Sebastien Bourdais without serious damage. The Swede made a dreadful misjudgment on the restart, collecting into the back of the Frenchman and launching himself into the air.

The TV cameras were able to pick up the underside of Ericsson’s car as he soured through the air so much was the scale of the accident. Luckily, he landed bottom down and continued to the pits (albeit with a broken front wing, which at one point was bending underneath the car and remaining in a *vertical* position)

Following repairs, he was forced to serve a stop-go penalty for his part in the Bourdais incident. However, importantly it was during this time his team made the interesting strategy call to put on the red sidewall tyres. He had already used the primary black sidewall tyres for his first stint, meaning he had fulfilled the need to use both compounds early on. The team still had one more set of red tyres for the rest of the race which offers more grip, with the risk of less life. But when he would have to pit again, it would be early, preempting any late safety cars.

As a result, Ericsson was on an off-set strategy to the rest of the field and able to capitalise through the series on ensuing caution periods.

So much so, on Lap 31, Ericsson emerged in the lead while under caution as the rest of the leaders (including Colton Herta) dove into the pits. Heading back out just as the safety car led the field through Turns One and Two. In fact, it was millimeters that decided the lead of the race as both Ericsson, Hunter-Reay, and Herta crossed the ‘Blur Line’ at almost the exact same time.

Would you believe it? Marcus Ericsson had soured through the air, served a penalty, and had somehow come out in the lead of the Nashville Music City Grand Prix, a place where track position is key.

Marcus Ericsson at the Music City GP. Photo Courtesy of Joe Skibinski.

The Swede would lead until Lap 45 when it was time to stop again which cycled Herta back out to the front. However, the constant flow of safety cars never gave the American a moment to build a gap. On the seventh caution, Herta would eventually pit again, rejoining down in ninth which would eventually become fourth as the pit stop cycles sorted themselves out. With twenty laps to go, he would have to make it past James Hinchcliffe, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Scott Dixon, and Marcus Ericsson for the win.

On the restart he set out to do just that, pulling off some audacious overtakes, the best one arguably on Scott Dixon into Turn Nine after getting a great run off the bridge. With 18 Laps remaining, it was just Ericsson left with neither having to stop again.

With ten to go, Ericsson was under incredible pressure, with his red-wall soft tyres falling away and with a significant amount of fuel-saving to do. However, he held firm, masterfully using his advantage of ‘push-to-pass’ to hold off Herta over the bridge. It almost came up to an abrupt end for both. Herta locking up coming into Turn Nine and almost running into the back of Ericsson.

Unfortunately, the resulting flat spot led to another, more catastrophic lock-up in the same corner, forcing Herta into the wall. Within a blink of a second, his dominant weekend came to an end. Overcome with emotion, the American was left languishing in the medical truck, head deep in his hands, and fought back the tears of what could have been.

The incident triggered the second red flag of the day, and as the field got back underway, it was Ericsson’s to lose. His teammate Scott Dixon seemed happy to settle for second leaving James Hinchcliffe to fend off Ryan Hunter-Reay for the final podium positions with three laps to go. Soon after, the fairytale comeback was achieved as Ericsson crossed the line to take a fabulous Chip Ganassi ‘1-2 ‘with James Hinchcliffe rounding out the podium. Ryan Hunter-Reay and Graham Rahal completed the Top Five positions.

Ericsson remains fifth in the championship but is now only four points behind Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden.

Ganassi team-mate Alex Palou, who salvaged seventh in Nashville, leads Dixon by 42 points with Pato O’Ward third for Arrow McLaren SP whose race was ruined after causing a collision with Alexander Rossi.

8th August 2021

Ypres Rally Belgium 2021 Preview

After the summer break, the championship returns to tarmac having had four rounds on the loose gravel roads, and we are getting to the business point of the championship with this event being the eighth of twelve rounds. Of course, Seb Ogier and his co-driver Julien lead the championship from their teammates, Elfyn and Scott and this will mean that the reigning champions will open the roads on Friday’s stages. Thierry and Martijn remain the closest challengers to the two Toyota crews. They will be aiming to take victory on their home event and close the gap to the leaders.

Here’s a brief look at the stages that the crews face –

After a shakedown on Friday morning in Langemark, Ypres Rally Belgium 2021 gets underway later that day with two loops of four stages: Reninge-Vleteren (15.00km), Westouter-Boeschepe (19.60km), Kemmelberg (23.62km) and Zonnebeke (9.45km).

A further eight stages will take place on Saturday, with Hollebeke (25.86km), Dikkebus (12.49km), Watou (13.62km) and Mesen-Middelhoek (7.99km) each being run once in the morning and once in the afternoon.

The final day consists of two passes of Stavelot (9.05km) and Francorchamps (11.21km). The second pass of Francorchamps will be the rally’s Power Stage, offering bonus points to both drivers and manufacturers.

Renties Ypres Rally Belgium itinerary:
Shakedown Langemark 0801
SS1 Reninge-Vleteren 1 15.00km (9.32 miles) 1336
SS2 Westouter-Boeschepe 1 19.60km (12.17 miles) 1425
SS3 Kemmelberg 1 23.62km (14.67 miles) 1515
SS4 Zonnebeke 1 9.45km (5.87 miles) 1609
Service Ypres 1634
SS5 Reninge-Vleteren 2 15.00km (9.32 miles) 1815
SS6 Westouter-Boeschepe 2 19.60km (12.17 miles) 1904
SS7 Kemmelberg 2 23.62km (14.67 miles) 1954
SS8 Zonnebeke 2 9.45km (5.87 miles) 2048
Service Ypres 2113

Saturday August 14
SS9 Hollebeke 1 25.86km (16.06 miles) 0911
SS10 Dikkebus 1 12.49km (7.76 miles) 1008
SS11 Watou 1 13.62km (8.46 miles) 1101
SS12 Mesen-Middelhoek 1 7.99km (4.96 miles) 1151
Service Ypres 1233
SS13 Hollebeke 2 25.86km (16.06 miles) 1411
SS14 Dikkebus 2 12.49km (7.76 miles) 1508
SS15 Watou 2 13.62km (8.46 miles) 1601
SS16 Mesen-Middelhoek 2 7.99km (4.96 miles) 1651

Sunday August 15
SS17 Bellevaux-Malmedy 1 16.62km (10.32 miles) 0830
SS18 Francorchamps 1 11.21km (6.96 miles) 0908
SS19 Bellevaux-Malmedy 2 16.62km (10.32 miles) 1040
SS20 Wolf Power Stage Francorchamps 11.21km (6.96 miles) 1218

Let’s hear from the drivers.

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Sébastien Ogier

“I’m very excited for Ypres and another new asphalt rally in the championship. It’s well known as a very challenging rally and I’m looking forward to discover those roads for the first time. Of course, it won’t be easy, but we had a good test last week in difficult conditions with a bit of rain and we have tried to do our best to be ready. Generally, the grip is changing a lot there and I think this will be the main difficulty when we are trying to find the limits without any previous experience of this rally. It’s nice to be in the position we are right now with a bit of a lead in the championship, but we have to stay focused with some difficult rallies – like this one – still to come.”

Elfyn Evans

“Like many of the drivers I’ve never competed in Ypres before, so it’s an all-new challenge and we can’t be 100 per cent sure what to expect. It will be nice to be back on asphalt again, but it’s very different to what we had last time in Croatia. Initially the roads can seem quite straightforward as there are not so many corners and just a lot of straights and very tight junctions. But what’s quite evident from our test is that there are a lot of surface changes, grip changes and quite a lot of cutting, so there’s a bit more to it in reality. I’ve not done as well in the last couple of rallies as I would have liked, so we’re definitely going to be targeting a strong result.”

Kalle Rovanperä

“It feels good of course to have that first win in Estonia under our belts and to not be waiting anymore for that result to come. Now I’m really looking forward to Ypres. It hasn’t been in the WRC before but it’s a really legendary event that everybody in rallying knows about. In the test we could already see that the conditions are tricky. Normally the drivers are taking really big cuts and there is a lot of mud and dirt on the road, so the conditions can be really demanding and changeable. One of the key points going there for the first time will be to know where the grip is and to see how we can include that information in our pacenotes.”

Hyundai Motorsport

Thierry Neuville

“We are all very much looking forward to be going to Ypres. It’s a rally I’ve done a couple of times in the past, and I won the event back in 2018 with a Hyundai i20 R5. It’s very challenging as the roads are quite narrow and slippery, and the ditches on both sides are always very deep, so you have to make sure to not make any mistakes and keep all four wheels on the road. I think we are going to see a lot of action; it has different characteristics to any other tarmac event we’ve seen so far. When we have competed in Germany in the past, there has been thousands of Belgian fans cheering us on, so with it being in Belgium, and in WRC, I’m sure it will be great atmosphere.”

Ott Tänak

“I’ve seen some footage from Ypres and it’s obviously a very famous rally. Even though the road look straight in sections, there are still dangerous ditches making it incredibly tricky to drive. We managed to do a one-day test there before the event was cancelled last year and our feeling was that it is certainly going to be a challenging weekend. It will be our first WRC round on tarmac since Croatia, which wasn’t a particularly comfortable rally for us. We have since had some time in the car at Rally di Alba, so I am certainly hoping for a better all-round feeling at Ypres.”

Craig Breen

“Ypres is one of the events I really like the most. I’ve been lucky enough to do it quite a few times across my career, and last time I was there in 2019 we managed to win the rally. It’s definitely one of the most interesting and specialised rallies you’ll ever do. On paper, it seems to be a strange profile of event but when you are in the car it is an amazing challenge. At pretty much every junction, the surface is a little bit different; it’s an event I really look forward to and it’s a rally worthy of World Rally Championship status.”

Oliver Solberg

“It’s been a real honour to be involved with the Hyundai i20 N Rally2. To be given the chance to drive this fantastic car for the first time in competition is so exciting. I can’t wait to show the world what Hyundai Motorsport has been so busy making. I have never competed in Belgium before; I’ve done some testing there and I know it can be a complicated rally. If the weather and the conditions are mixed, it will be a real tough one – to be honest, even if it’s dry it’s definitely not an easy place to go for the first time.”

Jari Huttunen

“I am looking forward to Ypres Rally Belgium and hope that we can bounce back after a difficult and disappointing weekend in Estonia. We have a lot to be excited about with the competitive debut of the Hyundai i20 N Rally2. We have carried out a lot of testing with the new car and we have a positive experience with it. Of course, we hope to do well and to enjoy a positive result. It will be a challenging new rally, for sure, so we’ll have lots to learn.”

M-Sport Ford WRT

Gus Greensmith

“From testing I was surprised how slippery and unpredictable the farmland roads can be and the changeable grip will be a big thing during the rally. We had wet and dry conditions in the test, so I got a bit of everything. I’m feeling well prepared and the car was handling very well.

“The roads are much narrower than what we’d find in Germany, for example, and there’s much less room for error. If you have a small slide in Germany, it’s nothing, but if you have a small slide in Ypres then you’re on the edge of the road so you need to drive straight and clean. You need a car that works well in the cuts because there are so many and you need a predictable car because you don’t want to be sliding when the edge of the road is so close.

“One of my main focuses on the test was to make sure I was nailing my braking points for the junctions and not giving away time. If you are not quite committing on the braking you are giving away a couple of tenths and that adds up, so you’ve got to be pushing the limits. But the grip is so changeable, even in the dry, and you’ve got to be careful because it can easily catch you out. Tarmac is a more natural surface than gravel for me because I grew up doing karting so my ambition is the top five.”

Adrien Fourmaux

“It’s a new rally for me but it’s like a home rally for me because it’s 40 kilometres from my house. The specificity of the road is therefore not new and I know about the really tight corners and the need to have big brakes and good traction for the long straights that come after. There are also some really fast corners and the roads are really narrow. There will be a lot of cutting and that means there will be a lot of mud on the road so road position will be very important.

“This rally is already a big challenge in the dry but if rain is coming to the party, it can be really difficult because it’s narrow and there is a lot of mud because we are in the middle of the fields. It could even be faster with gravel tyres!

“Competing in Ypres in a World Rally Car is even more extreme, but I am confident. We had a good test with a bit of rain, some drying roads and proper dry roads. It’s really nice to be so close to my house, my family, my partner’s family, my friends – and it’s the home rally of my co-driver Renaud. Of course, we want a good result and for sure we will do our best like always. Maybe I have a bit of an advantage because I know a bit about what to expect. But I’m not putting any pressure on myself, I just want to be in the fight.”

Teemu Suninen

“It’s going to be an interesting challenge. I’ve tried to watch and find videos from YouTube to get more understanding of the rally and this is where my focus will be in my preparation. I think the biggest challenge is the big cuts, how this will affect the car and how much dirt is coming on the road, especially if it’s raining. It’s a challenge to jump between the cars and I’m really motivated to make the Ford Fiesta Rally2 as strong as possible. At the beginning of my rally career, I was a lot stronger on gravel, but I have good results on Tarmac like in Corsica. But the challenge is to read the grip level, which is still challenging for me. The ultimate goal is to get back to my level where I have been before and be happy for the driving. I am not really setting the result targets.”

Tom Kristensson

“We will test on Monday and this will be very important because I need all the kilometres I can have in the car and to get an understanding of the kind of roads we will drive on during the rally. I need to realise the important points with the car, the surface and the speed and focus on finding a good rhythm and confidence with the car. We had some really good stages in Croatia and a good feeling. To be honest I was more confident on Tarmac than I expected. I am expecting the roads will be quite similar to what we had when I was driving in Germany, the cuts, the weather changes and reading the different Tarmac. To be honest I have not looked at the WRC2 entry because there’s nothing, I can do about it. I just need to focus on my own performance and be the best I can physically and mentally.”

My Thoughts

Well, as I already mentioned, we are really getting to the business point of this season’s championship and the crews looking to challenge Seb and Julien at the top will want to take the fight to the world champions, in the hope that they can take points away and close the points gap down. It’s fair to say that Hyundai’s best driver’s championship hopes lie with Thierry and Martijn, and the team led by Adamo will look to Ott and Craig to support their teammates I suspect.

Toyota have a simpler job, but will need to remain at the top of their game to hold on to their lead in both the driver’s and manufacturers titles. Elfyn and Scott will want to take victory in this event and close the points gap to their teammates. Kalle and Jonne who scored their first victory last time out, will come to this event and will look to push on. Could the young Finn’s take victory again?

At M-Sport Ford, the young crews piloting the Fiesta WRC’s will continue their development, and as they bid to remain with the team into next year and the new rules and cars due to be eligible for competition. It’s fair to say that all three of their drivers that have competed in the Fiesta WRC this year have done a very good job and I’m sure are on the list for Malcolm and Rich to be signed next year. Gus and Chris’ relationship has gone well to date and they will look to show some good pace on the tarmac, whilst Adrien and Renard who step back into the Fiesta WRC will look to show the good pace that they had in the last tarmac event.

In the WRC2 class, Oliver and Jari will compete in the new Rally2 i20 and it will be interesting to see what kind of pace that they can deliver on its first competitive outing. M-Sport will run Teemu and Tom in the class, and the Finn has always shown good pace on sealed surfaces in the past and is likely to challenge at the front of the field.

Well, enjoy the rally and pop back next week for my full stage by stage review.

8th August 2021

Round 6 WorldSBK Most Autodrom, Czech Republic, Race 2

Race 2 of the WorldSBK action took place on Sunday 8th August at Most Autodrom, Czech Republic – the earlier Superpole race saw Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha) claim the his 2nd win of the weekend, while Redding (Aruba.it Ducati), and Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) were 2nd and 3rd.

wsbk — Redding & Rea, Race 2 @ Most Autodrom 08.08.2021
Pic courtesy of Aruba.it Ducati

The Turk was on pole position for race 2, and was looking to make it a clean sweep of wins across the weekend, could he do it? The whole grid, except Rea, and Uribe had gone with the super soft SCX rear tyre, the former two deciding on the harder SC0 compound rear.

Lights out and both the Pata Yamaha riders made excellent starts, Razgatlioglu and Locatelli leading the pack into turn 1 in 1st and 2nd. Further behind was a massive crash involving 4 riders: Bassani (Ducati), Delbianco (Honda), Hanika (Yamaha) and Bautista (HRC Honda). Both Bassani and Delbianco retiring from the race.

A leading group of 5 riders had formed and was already beginning to pull away from the others. In 1st was Razgatlioglu, 2nd Locatelli, 3rd Redding, 4th Rea and 5th Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team).

Meanwhile further down the field other notable names included the BMW teammates of 6th Sykes (BMW Motorrad) and 12th Vd Mark. Eighth place is Rinaldi (Aruba.it Ducati) and in 9th Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team).

With 20 laps to go Razgatlioglu was trying to distance the group putting in a fastest lap of 1:32.827. Redding sensing the Turkish rider is pulling away, passes Locatelli into 2nd place, in the same corner Toprak passed him in race 1. The group of 5, now slowing becoming a group of 3 as the Kawasaki team mates of Rea and Lowes, were struggling with the pace being set at the front.

Next lap and now Redding puts in a new fastest lap of 1:32.674. The lead group of 3 riders now steadily pulling away from the Kawasaki team mates.

With 18 laps to go, Redding outbrakes Razgatlioglu down the straight, into turn 1 to take over the lead. Redding putting in a new fastest lap of 1:32.439. He was looking like he had a point to prove after getting pipped to the line in race 1.

Meanwhile further back, Vd Mark had moved up to 10th, 7 places better than his grid position. Gerloff was in 9th, while Rinaldi was in 8th.

Redding was increasing his gap to Raztaglioglu, it was now 0.5. The Kawasaki of Rea was again looking twitchy and unstable with changes of direction and through corners, his previous crash in race 1 still looming large in his mind no doubt.

With 13 laps to go Rea gets through around the outside of Locatelli trying to close the gap to 2nd. Redding was pushing the gap to nearly 1.0 to Razgatlioglu in 2nd, the gap now at 0.8.

Meanwhile further back Sykes in 6th had now been caught by a group including: 7th Haslam ( HRC Honda ), 8th Rinaldi, 9th Vd Mark and 10th Gerloff.

With 8 laps to go Haslam loses 3 places to go back to 10th, possibly having tyre issues. The Honda Team mates now sitting in disappointing 10th, and 11th places.

Six laps remaining and Redding had increased his lead to 2nd to 1.5, while the gap from 2nd to Rea in 3rd was now 6.6. Meanwhile further down the field the battle for 6th was still ongoing, with Vd Mark in 7th doing a great job from a grid position of 17th, getting past Gerloff again.

With 4 laps remaining it was all Redding’s to lose, the gap to 2nd now at 2.6, Razgatlioglu looking to have resigned himself to a 2nd place. Lowes ( Kawasaki Racing Team ) in 5th had now been caught by the group of 6th Rinaldi, 7th Vd Mark and 8th Gerloff.

Final lap now, and Redding doesn’t let up his pace, crossing the finish line to take his first win in Most. Razgatlioglu crosses in 2nd with Rea in 3rd, Locatelli in 4th, 5th Rinaldi who gets past Lowes.

Top 5:

Scott Redding ( Aruba.it Ducati )
Toprak Razgatlioglu ( Pata Yamaha )
Jonathan Rea ( Kawasaki Racing Team )
Andrea Locatelli ( Pata Yamaha )
Michael Ruben Rinaldi ( Aruba.it Ducati )

Top 3 championship:

Rea ( Kawasaki Racing Team ) 266 pts
Razgatlioglu ( Pata Yamaha ) 263
Redding ( Aruba.it Ducati ) 216

8th August 202117th August 2021

Round 6 WorldSBK Most, Czech Republic, Race 1

Most Autodrom welcomed WorldSBK for the first time for round 6 of the championship.

Superpole saw Jonathan Rea (KRT Kawasaki) claim his 6th consecutive pole, leaving 2nd and 3rd places for Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha) and Scott Redding (Aruba.it Ducati) respectively.

Track conditions looked excellent for race 1 with most of the Yamaha and both Honda riders opting for the super soft X rear tyre. The rest of the riders going for the slightly harder SC0 compound rear tyre.

Lights out and its Rea with a great start, Razgatlioglu gets the hole shot into turn 1 and Redding in 3rd. Rinaldi (Ducati) also has a great start from 8th on grid into 4th. Sykes (BMW) runs off into turn 1, but manages to rejoin in 5th.

The leading group of Razgatlioglu, Rea and Redding were beginning to pull out a gap from the rest of the field. Meanwhile further down were the two Honda riders, Bautista and Haslam, with Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) in 8th, 9th and 10th respectively.

With 20 laps remaining, positions in the front were starting to shake up, with Redding first going through on Rea, then out braking Razgatlioglu into turn 1 to take over the lead. Rea then retakes 2nd as Razgatlioglu goes wide into turn 10. Meanwhile Redding was putting the hammer down, trying to distance his chasers by posting a new fastest lap of 1:33.076.

With 18 laps to go, bizarrely both Lowes (KRT Kawasaki), and Davies (Aruba.it Ducati) both went down into turn 1 separately, Lowes losing the front end. Both riders were able to rejoin.

Meanwhile back with the leading group, Rea’s Kawasaki was looking increasingly unstable through corners and Razgatlioglu would take advantage of this going through on Rea into turn 20 after Rea goes wide. The response from the world champion was immediate, as he powered around the outside of the Yamaha rider to retake 2nd.

Out in the lead Redding was taking advantage of this scrap behind him to further increase his lead out to Rea in 2nd to 1.8. Razgatlioglu showing his skill on the brakes by out braking Rea at the end of the straight into turn 1 to retake 2nd. As it has all season, this battle between the Turk and the Brit was showing no sign of let up.

With 9 laps remaining, Redding now had a 0.9 gap to Razgatlioglu in 2nd. Then disaster for Rea who loses the front going into turn 1, sending his Kawasaki unceremoniously ploughing into the gravel. He rejoins in 11th place, but his race is effectively over in terms of challenging the lead group.

This new racetrack was proving tricky for some, with 5 riders now having crashed out so far.

Razgatlioglu was now hunting down Redding in 1st, with 4 laps to go the gap was now down to 0.4. Then unbelievably into the fast turn 20, for the 2nd time Rea loses the front end of the Kawasaki, sending both the bike and himself catapulting into the gravel. It was a high speed crash, and looked nasty, but thankfully he was able to walk away.

With 4 laps to go, Razgatlioglu has now caught up to Redding and makes the pass on him into turn 14, after Redding goes wide. Redding responds by using the top end speed of the Ducati to power past Razgatlioglu down the straight, and retakes the lead into turn 1. Neither rider was backing down and this battle would go down to the wire.

Meanwhile further down the field the Texan – Gerloff, Haslam and Sykes had all moved up to 6th, 7th and 8th respectively.

Last lap now, and Redding knew Razgatlioglu would be planning to make a move on him, but where would it come? Into the last few corners and Razgatlioglu makes the perfect block pass up the inside of Redding. It’s a tough move, but Redding can’t complain as there is no contact between them. Razgatlioglu cranks the throttle of the Yamaha wide open to cross the line in 1st. Redding stays in his slipstream trying to use the power of the Ducati to try to get by, but is unable and has to settle for 2nd, a very close finish by both riders.

The top 5:

Toprak Razgatlioglu ( Pata Yamaha )
Scott Redding ( Aruba.it Ducati )
Andrea Locatelli ( Pata Yamaha )
Michael Ruben Rinaldi ( Ducati )
Axel Bassani ( Ducati )

The top 3 of championship:

Jonathan Rea ( KRT Kawasaki ) 243 pts
Toprak Razgatlioglu ( Pata Yamaha ) 231
Scott Redding ( Aruba.it Ducati ) 182

6th August 2021

F1 heats up before the summer break

Formula One heads for its traditional summer break after the Hungarian Grand Prix, and a few of the drivers will be glad to see some sun after a sprinkling of rain caused chaos on lap one at Budapest.

It looked like a mistake from one Mercedes had created the perfect opportunity for the other. Valtteri Bottas’ wet-weather prowess has come into question after disappointing performances over the last twelve months, and taking out Lando Norris – as well as both Red Bulls – will give extra ammunition to those who think his time at the Silver Arrows should come to an end this season. The fact that George Russell is taking part in this week’s Pirelli test for Mercedes will only add fuel to the fire.

The events of Budapest have increased the pressure on Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas – Courtesy of Mercedes F1 Media

With Lewis Hamilton being the only front-running car left unscathed, it should have been straightforward for the Brit to claim his hundredth victory in Formula One after the red flag. But nothing is ever simple in Formula One. Out on his own in the record books, Hamilton was left out on his own on track as all the other cars came in for slicks. One lap later, the reigning champion was last with it all to do. Mercedes have history for making strange strategy decisions when forced to think on their feet (for example, pitting Lewis at Monaco 2015 and handing victory to Nico Rosberg), and this was another case of them being caught out when things go astray from the plan.

At this point, Hamilton would have snapped your hand off at the opportunity to take a podium, but it was another performance that took the fans (and his) breath away, dicing his way through the field on one of the trickiest tracks for overtaking on the calendar. Red Bull will certainly be hoping that Lewis’ usual post-summer break performance boost is not as potent this year, otherwise Max Verstappen may have his work cut out if he is to retake the championship lead.

Hamilton’s marvelous recovery to the podium in Hungary saw him re-take the championship lead – Courtesy of Mercedes F1 Media

Although Bottas’ first lap catastrophe didn’t lead to retirement for Verstappen, the damage done to the floor and barge board pretty much ended any chances of a competitive finish for the Dutchman. Crash damage in this cost-limited season is much more problematic than usual, and with Max’s engine from Silverstone being irreparably damaged, at least one grid penalty after the break is almost a certainty.

For the second race weekend in a row, Red Bull suffered from a first lap incident – Courtesy of Red Bull Content Pool

All this drama allowed a young gun and an old hand show exactly why they belong in Formula One. Esteban Ocon drove superbly to keep Sebastian Vettel at bay, the Frenchman taking Alpine’s first ever win in the sport as a constructor, and the first since 2013 for the team based at Enstone. This may not have been possible were it not for the dogged defending from his teammate, Fernando Alonso. Almost inch-perfect with his car placement until a lock up at turn one allowed Hamilton through, Alonso showed the kind of performance he was known for in his original F1 foray, and a performance which will quiet those detractors who believe one of Alpine’s juniors should be in that seat. Yes, it’s a shame for Christian Lundgaard, Oscar Piastri and Guanyu Zhou that their path is blocked by a 40-year-old, but you aren’t going to find many 40-year-olds who can perform like the Spaniard.

Fernando Alonso superbly, and crucially, kept Lewis Hamilton away from the lead battle for several laps – Courtesy of Renault Sport Media

The drivers get a chance to recuperate for four weeks before the final twelve races of Formula One’s longest ever season. Thanks to a Mercedes resurgence and some bad luck for Red Bull, it looks like we may need every one of those to decide the championship.

4th August 2021

Moto GP season update

The massive five week gap is finally at it’s end. Moto GP is soon to return to our TV screens this Friday 6^th August, with the qualifying on Saturday 7th and race on Sunday 8^th.

Even though racing was on a break, news stories kept on coming in.

Since the fantastic Assen weekend with the two Yamaha teammates finishing first and second, one of them decided to pull out of his contract with Yamaha earlier than expected. Maverick Vinales will be parting ways with the factory team at the end of the 2021 season. Unfortunately, this may not come as much of a surprise as Vinales has been quite open about his feelings within the team recently and has been seen to be dejected many times in interviews. It has been rumoured that he will be joining Aprilia in 2022, as of yet, nothing has been confirmed or denied.

More news from Yamaha, but this time from Petronas Yamaha. It was announced that Franco Morbidelli will not be competing in the next three rounds due to a knee injury, sustained in a training accident, prior to the Assen race. Morbidelli has had knee trouble in the past, hopefully this time the injury can be corrected for good. Wishing him all the best of luck in his recovery.

Morbidelli is not expected to return to racing until September at Aragon

With Morbidelli out for three races, Petronas Yamaha have recruited British racer Cal Crutchlow. Having retired from Moto GP last year in 2020, Cal has been a test rider for Yamaha, so it did seem like the obvious choice. Crutchlow is a massive fan favourite and an all-round good guy and rider. He will be racing in Styria, Austria and his home track at Silverstone. So be sure to show your support for him.

When Franko returns to the paddock there will be some changes to the 2021 calendar:

For the second time in a row Australia and Thailand will not feature in the Moto GP season. Due to the on-going Covid 19 pandemic and travel restrictions, creating difficult decisions to be made. As a result of this the Malaysian Grand Prix has been brought forward a week, Portimao replaces Phillip Island and the Algarve GP has been added in November, for a second year in a row.

Updated 2021 Season Calendar (courtesy of Moto GP website).

This weekend though also sees the return of the Spaniard Dani Pedrosa. After, retiring back in 2018 from Repsol Honda, Dani has been a test rider for KTM ever since. He has been hailed as a massive part of their recent success in 2020 and 2021. He will be stepping in as a wildcard rider for the one-off race. Could this be the first of many appearances from the number 26?

From retirements to returns there has been one consistent in the whole of Moto GP for the past 25 years. The nine-time World Champion Valentino Rossi will be celebrating this amazing anniversary.

Young Rossi on the podium in 1996 (courtesy of Gazetta).

Sunday 15^th August will be the Austrian GP and in 1996 Rossi took his first ever podium, in third place, competing in the 125 class. His 200^th podium is still eluding him though, will we finally witness history being made in the second part of this season?

Reminder of the current championship standings as of the last race weekend at Assen:

First	Quartararo	156 Points
Second	Zarco	122 Points
Third	Bagnaia	109 Points
Fourth	Mir (Current Champion)	101 Points

All information is current and correct on date of publication – 04-08-21

Featured imaged (courtesy of Moto GP website).

2nd August 20212nd August 2021

IndyCar Nashville Grand Prix Preview: The Title Race Takes Shape

IndyCar returns this weekend for the tenth round of the season at the inaugural Big Machine Music City Grand Prix, which aims to add to an already enthralling IndyCar season at the newly designed Nashville City course.

The Grand Prix will take place along a 2.17-mile temporary circuit, the first of its kind for over a decade. The circuit will take place around the Nissan Stadium campus and the Korean Veterans Memorial Bridge eventually finishing back at the stadium that is home to the Tennesse Titans NFL team.

For fans, a three-day weekend of food, entertainment, and support races await them, including the GT America, Trans AM, and Stadium Super Trucks series. But importantly, after a hefty four-week break IndyCar picks up where it left off with an unbelievably tight championship battle with plenty of contenders looking to steal a march on the second half of the season.

Championship Battle Becomes Clearer

Championship battle rages ever on between Alex Palou and Patricio O’Ward. Photo courtesy of Joe Skibinski

The ninth round of the season left us with a fascinating picture of the next generation of drivers vying for championship glory.

Chip Ganassi’s Alex Palou came away with the upper hand and taking a well-earned podium and extending his lead in the championship while his closest competitor Patricio O’Ward settled for an eighth-place finish.

Both have claimed wins at both Detroit and Road America and are likely to be in contention again this weekend.

Ganassi’s Scott Dixon and Penske’s Josef Newgarden aren’t far behind, with the Kiwi only 17 points away from O’Ward with a win and a podium to his name already this season. Newgarden, who was born and raised in the suburbs of Nashville, has overcome his early-season struggles and sits 13 points off Dixon after a second and first place in the last three races.

Unless something dramatic occurs, it seems incredibly likely that the championship will ultimately be between these four drivers, presenting an incredibly intriguing contest between the established veterans of the sport, and the next-generation superstars. Dixon and Newgarden are seeking to add to their illustrious list of championships, while O’Ward and Palou both are pushing for their first in their sophomore seasons.

Nashville presents a great chance for one of these drivers to change the championship picture, depending on who can adapt to the new circuit. It will also be important to make no mistakes, qualify well, and keep track-position. Although, we may well see a significant amount of cautionary periods which will provide opportunities to move up through the field as we saw with O’Ward at Detroit, who pulled of some incredibly impressive moves to ultimately steal the win from Newgarden in the closing laps.

Helio Castroneves Returns After Signing Full-Time for 2022

Helio Castroneves will race the final rounds of the IndyCar season with Meyer Shank Racing. Photo courtesy of Chris Owens

Helio Castroneves returns to the IndyCar paddock as part of his six-race deal with Meyer Shank Racing, the team which saw him claim victory at this year’s Indianapolis 500. It is understood that he will run in all five of the season’s remaining road and street course races this year.

The Brazilian recently announced that he will race with the team full-time in 2022, in place of Britain’s Jack Harvey whose destination is unknown. It is unclear as to the reason’s behind the separation, but it is likely that they were coming to the end of a contract together. Rahal Letterman Lanigan is being touted as a potential destination for Harvey.

In the recent mid-season IndyCar test at Portland International Raceway, both Harvey and Castroneves were second and third respectively behind Arrow McLaren SP’s Patricio O’Ward.

As the most experienced driver on the grid alongside Scott Dixon, Castroneves will be an exciting driver to watch on this newly-designed track.

Power on Energy Save?

Will Power is still winless in 2021. Photo courtesy of Joe Skibinski

Will Power is one of a range of drivers seeking their first win of the 2021 season at Nashville. However, the Australian is extremely unfortunate to not have taken victory at Detroit. He has one of the longest winning streaks in the series, having taken the top spot of the podium in every season since 2006, then known as Champ Car.

Rossi and Pagenaud are also seeking their first win of the year, while the likes of Colton Herta and Rinus VeeKay are also in desperate need of a strong weekend to restart their title charges. However, Power will be a man on a mission this weekend and may have returned well-rested from the summer break with the mental reset he needed.

With Penske securing their first win of the season last time out at Mid-Ohio, and getting something of a ‘monkey off their back’. The momentum could be with them heading into the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix.

1st August 2021

BTCC Oulton Park – Proctor secures second BTCC win with dominant race

Senna Proctor secured his second BTCC race win and his first since 2018 in the third and final race at Oulton Park.

He led from the start despite making contact with Ash Sutton on lap one, and secured the win as a red flag on lap ten ended the race early.

Before the race, the WSR team pulled off a miracle by getting Tom Oliphant’s BMW out for the third race following his huge shunt in race one.

Pole sitter Proctor made a good start and held off Ash Sutton into turn one, however the reigning champion had the inside line for turn two and took the lead.

Further back Sam Osborne was tipped into a spin by Chris Smiley and he caused chaos, collecting Jack Butel and Jade Edwards, as well as sending a few other cars off who were attempting to avoid incident. This brought out a red flag.

On the restart Proctor again made a good start and held off Sutton, before Sutton made a move around the outside at Cascades, and contact was unavoidable. Sutton spun, and was collected by his team mate Carl Boardley and he spun out.

Thankfully for Sutton, championship rival Tom Ingram had more woes, pitting on lap one and ending the race pointless.

In a somewhat less action packed race than the previous two, Proctor pulled out an impressive lead before the race was ended early due to a collision on lap nine between Boardley and race two winner Rory Butcher.

Stephen Jelley finished 2nd with Shedden 3rd, Moffat, Morgan, Rowbottom, Hill, Turkington, Chilton and Smiley rounded off the top ten.

Pos	Driver	Car	Team	+/-
1	Senna Proctor	Honda Civic Type R	BTC Racing	11:40:464
2	Stephen Jelley	BMW 330i M Sport	Team WSR	+2.183
3	Gordon Shedden	Honda Civic Type R	Team Dynamics	+4.313
4	Aiden Moffat	Infiniti Q50	Laser Tools	+7.478
5	Adam Morgan	BMW 330i M Sport	Ciceley	+7.999
6	Dan Rowbottom	Honda Civic Type R	Team Dynamics	+9.136
7	Jake Hill	Ford Focus	MB Motorsport	+9.475
8	Colin Turkington	BMW 330i M Sport	Team WSR	+10.215
9	Tom Chilton	BMW 330i M Sport	Ciceley	+12.280
10	Chris Smiley	Hyundai i30N	Excelr8	+13.471
11	Dan Lloyd	Vauxhall Astra	Power Maxed	+13.769
12	Josh Cook	Honda Civic Type R	BTC Racing	+14.415
13	Jason Plato	Vauxhall Astra	Power Maxed	+14.871
14	Tom Oliphant	BMW 330i M Sport	Team WSR	+15.298
15	Aron Taylor-Smith	Cupra Leon	Team HARD	+16.156
16	Jack Goff	Cupra Leon	Team HARD	+16.491
17	Ollie Jackson	Ford Focus	MB Motorsport	+18.774
18	Sam Smelt	Toyota Corolla	Toyota Gazoo	+19.342
19	Rick Parfitt Jr	Hyundai i30N	Excelr8	+21.356
20	Jade Edwards	Honda Civic Type R	BTC Racing	+22.744
21	Tom Ingram	Hyundai i30N	Excelr8	+49.238
22	Rory Butcher	Toyota Corolla	Toyota Gazoo	Crash
23	Carl Boardley	Infiniti Q50	Laser Tools	Crash
DNF	Ash Sutton	Infiniti Q50	Laser Tools	Crash
DNF	Nicholas Hamilton	Cupra Leon	Team HARD	Crash
DNF	Jack Mitchell	Cupra Leon	Team HARD	Crash
DNF	Jack Butel	Hyundai i30N	Excelr8	Crash
DNF	Sam Osborne	Ford Focus	Motorbase	Crash

1st August 20211st August 2021

Ocon on top in a dramatic race at Hungary

Esteban Ocon took his first Formula 1 victory and the first for the Alpine team in a chaotic race at the Hungaroring, after multiple drivers were taken out at the first corner.

15 minutes before the race start, rain started to fall on the track. Adding to the anticipation, it started light but was due to continue for the first 30 minutes of the race and get heavier before mostly drying out by the end of the race. Intermediate tyres on to start, Lewis Hamilton indicating on the radio he was ready for the fight in the rain. Hamilton and Max Verstappen are both known for performing well in the wet, possibly a leveller but definitely exciting!

Lights out and all eyes turned to Verstappen and Hamilton. Both got a great launch, but Valtteri Bottas had an absolutely dreadful start with wheel spin from third. Lando Norris got in front of him off the line but was tapped by Bottas from behind who had missed his breaking point. Norris then crashed into Verstappen and Bottas hit Sergio Perez. Norris and Verstappen managed to carry on with significant damage, but Bottas and Perez were out.

Further back in turn 1, Lance Stroll tried to avoid some cars by heading towards the apex, but ended up on the grass and collected Charles Leclerc who hit and spun around Daniel Ricciardo. Unfortunately, that was the race over for Leclerc.

Ricciardo kept going and Stroll was able to keep driving after damage to the front of his car. A red flag was called to gather the debris left around turn 1. This allowed the Red Bull team to fix Verstappen’s car, potentially saving him from retirement. Norris and Stroll then had to retire due to the damage from the incident.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull (Mark Thompson, Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool)

Hamilton was still in P1, but others had benefited from a high attrition first corner. Ocon and Sebastian Vettel were the biggest winners, starting P2 and P3 respectively. Yuki Tsunoda was in P5, Carlos Sainz P4 and the Williams’ were P6 and P8 whilst Verstappen had really lost out and started in P13. A fight from the back was on after quick recovery work by Red Bull. There was a standing re-start as the sun came out to a now quickly drying track, but the question then was slicks or inters?

Hamilton was the only one starting on the grid, so the race was in the pits with everyone coming in for slicks. George Russell came out on top, and with Hamilton pitting after it looked like Russell would lead the race, but Russell was told by the FIA to give back the places he’d taken in the pitlane. Mercedes didn’t come out well with Hamilton boxing after the restart and ending up last and importantly behind Verstappen. So, on lap 5 Ocon was leading the race, with Vettel P2 and Nicholas Latifi P3. Hamilton was catching Verstappen who still had damage, so the race was on!

Verstappen managed to get past Pierre Gasly but then became stuck behind Mick Schumacher for five laps before passing him with a daring move through Turns 1, 2, 3 and 4. They did touch but both were able to carry on. Meanwhile Hamilton was struggling behind Gasly, locking up a few times but both Gasly and Hamilton managed to pass Schumacher in the next two laps.

Hamilton stopped for hard tyres on lap 20 in an attempt to change the strategy and go longer. Red Bull and Verstappen responded so made the stop just one lap later. Ricciardo pitted at the same time as Verstappen, and he came out in front of the Red Bull. Hamilton was coming down the straight as the pair came out of the pits. Hamilton took advantage and got past not only Verstappen but also Ricciardo, putting a vital car between the Championship rivals.

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes (Wolfgang Wilhelm / Mercedes AMG)

On lap 32, Hamilton was the fastest car in the race passing Tsunoda into P5 with a fantastic move while Verstappen was still behind Ricciardo in P12. This move caused Ferrari and Sainz to react, and with enough gap Sainz pitted and came back out in P4 with fresh tyres ready to defend against Hamilton.

Meanwhile Schumacher was doing a great job in the Haas to keep 4 drivers behind him. However, after many laps of battling, Russell finally made it past Schumacher on lap 33 with a brave move on the outside of Turn 2. Schumacher then begun to lose places rapidly to Ricciardo and Verstappen on the next lap, very important for Verstappen in terms of the championship.

From the front, Vettel pitted with a slow stop but came out in P3, ahead of Sainz and Hamilton. Ocon told to push but Alpine appeared to have the advantage with both cars in the podium places fight. A good stop meant Ocon came out ahead of Vettel, but Vettel tried to fight it into Turn 4. Sadly for him nothing came of it and with only Fernando Alonso in front of Ocon it looked to be an Alpine win from lap 39.

It wasn’t over at the front though. Sainz and Hamilton in P3 and P4 were catching the leaders at a rapid pace. However, Hamilton pitted on lap 48 for the mediums. He came out behind Alonso, but this would mean he could push to the end of the race, with flashbacks to Hungary 2019 and Spain 2021. Vettel got closer to Ocon through the back markers in an attempt to pass him for the lead. On lap 50 the fight was not over with Vettel having DRS and the pressure piling on Ocon.

Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin (Courtesy of Aston Martin media)

Verstappen finally made a move on Ricciardo for P10 on Lap 61 and the final points position. This could be an important point for the championship and impressive driving considering the significant damage still on his car from lap 1.

On lap 57 a brilliant battle between Hamilton and Alonso began, Alonso defending and making the Alpine the widest thing on the track. This epic battle continued for over 10 laps, but Hamilton was eventually close enough when Alonso made a rare mistake and locked up into Turn 1. This did create problems for Hamilton though, who was on a mission to get to the front. However, catching Sainz on older tyres in P3 meant that just two laps later, Hamilton was in the podium places, but the gap was too big for Hamilton to catch Vettel in P2.

Esteban Ocon won the Hungarian Grand Prix! The first win for him and a great turn around since a relatively poor run of form. Vettel was in P2 after a great drive from the restart. Sainz was P4 ahead of Alonso, Gasly sneaked in a fastest lap right at the end in P6, and Tsunoda was P7. Both Williams finished in the points with Latifi P8 and Russell P9, which is vital for the constructors and their first double points finish since 2018. Russell finally managed to get those illusive points in a Williams!

For the championship Hamilton gained points on Verstappen, who finished P10, and leads going into the summer break. This has been a real swing in momentum after the British Grand Prix in the favour of Mercedes and Hamilton. It is all to play for as the teams regroup and look to improve for Spa at the end of August.