Category: Open Wheel Racing

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F3 Macau: Horror crash for Floersch

The Macau Grand Prix has always been  a dangerous event. This year it  would be no exception: A massive airborne crash took place during the F3 race. Sophia Floersch,  went backwards at full speed, hitting the car of Japanese Sho Tsuboi which caused her car to fly into the air. The Van Amersoort driver then flew Some distance, searing the top of the fencing at  Lisboa Corner and straight in to the very crowded area full of photographers and marshals.

An official statement by FIA, later removed from their website, said: “A serious incident has occurred on lap 4 of the 2018 FIA World Cup at Macau involving car #25 Sophia Florsch (GER). Following evaluation by the medical staff, the driver is conscious and has subsequently been taken to the hospital for further evaluation.”

In a later statement by the MacauGP Organizing Committe, it was confirmed that “Five individuals were involved in the accident at Lisboa Bend. All were conscious during transit to the hospital and are now receiving medical treatment: Two drivers, two photographers and one marshal.”

Floersch confirmed she was conscious, sending out a tweet:

In the latest statement by Van Amersfoort Racing, it became clear that she was diagnosed with a spinal fracture.

The accident caused a red flag, which lasted over an hour, after the restart,  Dan Ticktum was the eventual winner.

Featured image: Thomas Suer/Van Amersfoort Racing

 

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Formula E Testing: Day Two Report

The second day of the Formula E testing got underway on Wednesday at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit. Having held the top spot in the first two sessions yesterday, BMW Andretti continued to dominate once again during the morning by snatching the top spot and breaking the unofficial track record in the process, courtesy of António Félix da Costa.

Alexander Albon grabbed many of the headlines on Tuesday as he seemed to disappear midway through testing, leaving Buemi to test both cars in the afternoon session. He too was absent from the media duties later that evening. The plot thickened further, as it was declared that car number 22 would not run in this particular session, leaving the prospect of Albon staying with Nissan looking slimmer and slimmer.

Antonio Felix da Costa (BMW i Andretti Motorsport), Valencia pre-season testing – Credit: LAT/Formula E

Battery issues blighted many of the drivers Tuesday and Wednesday morning, was no exception. Both Virgin’s Robin Frijns and Mahindra’s Pascal Wehrlein both seemed to suffer with battery issues but these were quickly resolved and had little impact on their session. Stoffel Vandoorne of HWA seemed to recover from the previous battery problems and scooped P2 in the early stages.

Felipe Massa was the first man on the track to turn the sectors purple with a time of 1.18.511 but Da Costa wasn’t far behind, edging the ex-F1 man out with a time of 1.18.496 as the temperature began to rise and conditions became more favourable. Quite a few of the drivers had problems with the chicane, including BMW’s Alexander Sims who bumped one of the edges with his front wing and André Lotterer and Lucas di Grassi avoided it altogether.

However, the morning session again went to BMW Andretti for the third consecutive P1 position in the testing session so far, Da Costa’s time four tenths away from the nearest competitor, Techeetah’s Jean-Éric Vergne. Such success so far in testing is a surely welcoming prospect for a team that struggled so much last season.


Lucas di Grassi (Audi Sport Abt Schaeffler) and Andre Lotterer (DS TEC …
Lucas di Grassi (Audi Sport Abt Schaeffler) and Andre Lotterer (DS TECHEETAH), Valencia pre-season testing – Credit: LAT/Formula E

The afternoon session in comparison, was filled with drama. The paddock was treated to a 45 minute racing simulation, which did not fail to disappoint. Daniel Abt slammed into the problematic chicane early in the race and Stoffel Vandoorne suffered some more bad luck, stopping on track which brought out the red flag. Racing soon resumed, only for Piquet, Wehrlein, Dillmann and Massa to collide at the chicane.

As the green flag waved once more, da Costa began to close in on race leader Vergne and managed to get through with five minutes of the session to go. Sims, however, began to close on da Costa and passed him as the dying moments drew nearer. However, despite BMW’s dominance throughout the season, they were beat in the last few corners as di Grassi managed to push past da Costa and finally, Sims to take P1 in the simulation race.

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HWA ‘convinced me straight away’ – Stoffel Vandoorne

Last week, it was announced that McLaren man Stoffel Vandoorne would be joining Formula E next season with the HWA outfit, Mercedes’ precursory entry into the electric series. Today, he said that he was ‘convinced straight away’ to join up the developing sport after losing his Formula One drive.

“I had my initial contact with Toto, which was before McLaren decided what they were going to do. Toto explained the project and as soon as I thought about it, there was no real hesitation”

Vandoorne was plagued by battery issues in the first day of testing which significantly reduced his running time in the car but on the second day of testing, he was able to utilise more time on track. ”We had a better day than yesterday.” The Belgian stated. “We had more laps this morning which was quite productive for me. The focus for us is to push through all the difficulties we’ve been having and learn from those.”

He admitted that the issues did not reveal themselves during the private testing that Venturi had been afforded to both himself and new teammate Gary Paffett.

“For us, it’s a new challenge, there’s a lot of processes we have to go through and from my side, I’ve also been combining this with Formula One. It’s like jumping from one ship to another for the past few months but the team is now focused on Formula E.”

Stoffel Vandoorne (HWA RACELAB), Valencia pre-season testing – Credit: LAT/Formula E

In reference to the additional Venturi testing that he had received, he said that it put him in a much better position. 

“You always want to do more testing and I would have liked for [this test] to have gone a lot smoother. But the two days I had before definitely helped to come here and have an idea of what everything feels like.”

When asked how Formula E compares to Formula One, the Belgian was very open that there was a difference and also spoke of his inexperience within the series.

“It’s very different to what I am used to, and compared to any other series, it’s quite different the way you drive the car and how the car handles. It’s all different challenges. I have no reference of the Gen 1 car but the car seems a big step forward in terms of the previous generation. You can set up the car in a number of ways and make a big difference with those. I had no expectations. I went into it very open minded and tried to maximise what we have.”

Stoffel Vandoorne (HWA RACELAB), Valencia pre-season testing – Credit: LAT/Formula E


Vandoorne did not think that despite having a new Gen 2 to contend with and new regulations in the fifth season that he would have an advantage against those much more acquainted with the previous generation car.

“I don’t think there is a big difference. A lot of the drivers have been here a while working with their teams so they’ll have a bit of a head start. It’s not easy as a new driver to step in and perform straight away. From our team perspective, we need to manage our expectations and be competitive as I want to be successful.”

Speaking of his opinions of the sport before he joined, Vandoorne always had a open outlook on the series. 

“It’s an up and coming series and I think if you look, they have only existed for four seasons. In that timespan, many manufacturers have joined and I think it shows that they see a future in this sport. It has huge potential and the electric development is still in such an early stage so I think that cars will keep progressing. There’s already been a huge step between the two generations of cars and I am sure they’ll be another step forward.”

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Formula E Pre-Season Testing: Day One Report

The Ricardo Tormo circuit, situated on the outskirts of Valencia, hosted the Formula E collective test this week for the second year running in preparation for the new season. For some of the drivers such as Stoffel Vandoorne and Gary Paffett, it was the first opportunity for them to get to grips with the car and with race performance.

André Lotterer going out in his DS TECHEETAH durring the 2018 Formula E testing. Image courtesy of Sarah Jarvis

Audi set the initial pace as to be expected, coming off the back of a strong season in winning the constructor’s championship with Daniel Abt setting the sectors purple in the first phase. Virgin also looked strong despite their lack of pre-season testing as a customer team, occupying P2 and P3 in the early stages of the session.

However, as the track began to heat up, the track times tumbled and with it, BMW Andretti’s Antonio Felix Da Costa and Venturi’s Felipe Massa battled for top spot as the clock ticked over the first hour. Mahindra also looked competitive after a torrid season last year with experienced stalwart Jerome D’Ambrosio at the helm, putting in a respectable time of a 1.19.535.

Gary Paffett of HWA was the first unlucky driver to bring out the red flag, having misjudged the tricky chicane installed on the pit straight to imitate the tight street corners the drivers will fight on next year. After racing resumed, Virgin again took the top spot and dominated proceedings. However, as the time ticked away, it was BMW Andretti that were the surprising victors, heading a one two finish in the first session. Several of the drivers reported battery issues, including Stoffel Vandoorne who did not run in the afternoon.

In the second session, it was Venturi who again impressed in the beginning of the session with Felipe Massa taking top spot with a time of 1.20.273. However, the gaps between drivers were much closer in the afternoon. After the first hour, D’Ambrosio was in the coveted P1 spot with less than one second separating the top four cars.

Felipe Massa heading out in Formula E testing. Image courtesy of Sarah Jarvis

Audi continued to look impressive this afternoon with di Grassi being held off the top spot by only three tenths of a second and Abt  occupying P1 for a time during the session. D’Ambrosio and Abt continued to exchange blows throughout the afternoon with the former being the first man into the 1.17 minute mark.

However, it was BMW Andretti that continued their success first day with Da Costa setting the pace towards the latter end of the season. The performance of both drivers is certainly showcasing the development that BMW have made after taking over the team in a full capacity. Da Costa was soon joined at the top of the table by new recruit Alexander Sims, who impressed this morning by finishing in P1 and finished the second session in the same position.

 

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Felipe Massa: “A completely new challenge for me.”

Felipe Massa has an enormous challenge ahead of him, coming out of retirement to race for Venturi in Formula E. We caught up with him to discuss the journey ahead and how different driving in the all-electric series is in comparison with Formula 1.

The ex-Williams man highlighted the challenges of moving into a completely new sport, particularly one as complicated and different as Formula E. Having completed an allocated number of testing days already, Massa said that there were still many aspects of the sport to learn.

“It is a completely new challenge for me,” The Brazilian stated. “I am learning the car and the new tracks. I don’t know any of the new tracks I am going to race. Every session I am learning new things.”

| Photographer: Shivraj Gohil| Event: Collective preseason testing| Circuit: Circuit Ricardo Tormo| Location: Valencia| Series: FIA Formula E| Season: 2018-2019| Country: ES|| Session: Day 1|| Driver: Felipe Massa | Team: Venturi Formula E Team| Number: 19| Car: VFE-05|

Massa admitted that he was still getting to grips with the new Gen 2 car and the sport in general in comparison with what he is used to.

“It is a big challenge for me to drive this car in the right way. It is a completely different car – different tyres, no downforce, and a low-grip track which makes the car move around than what I am used to. There’s so many things to understand, how to brake the car for instance and it behaves differently. I like a new challenge and I really hope I can learn as quick as I can to try to be competitive.”

When questioned about the scepticism surrounding Formula E, Massa stated that he was always in favour of the electric series.

”A championship needs at least three years to understand how it is going to be. I think the idea was always great since they started. In the fourth season, I think they made a big step forward and it should be the same for the fifth season. So now, I think Formula E has nothing to be afraid of, it is well established and it will stay for a long time. I hope it’s a championship I can enjoy myself in for many years.”

| Driver: Felipe Massa | Team: Venturi Formula E Team| Number: 19| Car: VFE-05|| Photographer: Shivraj Gohil| Event: Collective preseason testing| Circuit: Circuit Ricardo Tormo| Location: Valencia| Series: FIA Formula E| Season: 2018-2019| Country: ES|| Session: Day 1|

Massa said that despite the challenges of the new series, the new car was a enormous step forward and he experienced no ‘culture shock’ at the immersion into Formula E.

“I am learning to drive this new car as I have no comparison with the old one [the Gen 1 car] but there are so many challenges. I am enjoying myself and ready for the new season.”

No Brazilian race was announced on the calendar and Massa admitted his disappointment, but was hopeful for the future.

“I think [myself] being in the championship can be a huge help but it would be fantastic to have a race in Brazil.”

 

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British F3: Reaction – Silverstone meeting abandoned as Race Three is cancelled, Linus Lundqvist wins Sunoco Whelen Challenge

Racing has been abandoned at Silverstone, meaning that the British F3 Championship has been shortened to 23 races for 2018 as Round 24 has been cancelled as a result.

Race Two on Sunday morning was an effective non-event as reverse grid polesitter Josh Mason was declared the winner after two laps behind the Safety Car. The announcement means that 2018 British F3 Champion Linus Lundqvist wins the Whelen Sunoco Challenge and has a fully paid for seat at the Daytona 24 Hours in January.

As expected, there was a variety of opinions about whether it was the right decision.

Lundqvist, who wrapped the championship up on Saturday with a victory, was circumspect about the decision.

“The rain has decreased and they had ran cars around the track but they’ve obviously decided it was too wet. If it was as much rain as we had in the first race earlier then I 100% agree. That was undriveable, we were aquaplaning in a straight line behind the Safety Car so you couldn’t race.

“If the rain had decreased and track had got better then maybe we could have had a go, but as hard as it is to say sometimes it is safety first and if conditions are as bad as this morning, then it’s certainly the right call.”

On hearing the news that he had won the Sunoco Challenge, the Swede was almost overcome.

“Oh MAN, this feels unreal. I’ve just got the news and I don’t know what to say. This is….I’ve never been to the States to begin with, Jesus Christ! I’m going to live my dream and I’m going to enjoy every second of this.

“2018 could not have gone any better. I said it was an unreal feeling after winning the British F3 Championship yesterday but this is an unbelievable feeling and a cherry on top.”

Krish Mahadik’s challenge for third place was halted as a result of the decision to cancel racing, and he felt that drivers should have been allowed to sample conditions once again.

“Conditions are quite bad but the rain has slowed down quite a lot. I think we should have been given the chance to do what we are here to do and get out on the circuit and see what it was like.

“Declaring Race Two after two laps was a bit annoying because I was fighting for third in the Championship, I was two points behind and because full points were awarded I have now ended the season eight points away because we finished the way we started. It’s a bit bizarre if I’m honest because the guy who’s last in race one wins.”

Fellow Indian Kush Maini, who claimed third place in the championship as a result, was unsurprisingly less dissatisfied with the decision.

“Race Two was a disaster, I was aquaplaning on the straight at 30mph. I didn’t see any racing happening then. It calmed down for a bit but then it started raining again. At the end of the day it’s not my choice, it’s the organisers and if that is what he says then that is what it is.”

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British F3 – Race Two thwarted by the weather: Josh Mason declared the winner

The second race of the final British F3 round of the season has been declared null and void, after an attempt to start behind the Safety Car was abandoned with two laps completed in torrential rain at Silverstone.

Lanan Racing’s Josh Mason was declared the winner after leading the race by default after starting on pole for the fully reversed grid from race one on Saturday ahead of Ben Hurst and Arvin Esmaeili.

Full points have been awarded for the race despite only completing two laps of a scheduled ten, and seven minutes of a scheduled twenty minutes.

Double R Racing’s Linus Lundqvist wrapped up the title yesterday with a win in the first race of the weekend to take an 85-point lead with 72 available from the next two races.

A Clerk of the Course Decision, signed by Clerk of the Course David Scott states:

‘Race two of the BRDC British Formula 3 Championship on Sunday 14 October was started behind the Safety Car in accordance with MSA Regulations.

‘The race was abandoned due to heavy rain and standing water and the cars were returned to the Pit Lane.

‘The results show that the leader had completed TWO laps. In accordance with BRDC British Formula 3 Championship regulation 1.6.4 full points are awarded.’

Mason therefore is awarded the victory, with the top-three completed by Hillspeed’s Ben Hurst and Douglas Motorsport’s Arvin Esmaeili. With the race run entirely behind the Safety Car, the finishing order is exactly the same as the starting positions.”

Race Three is scheduled to get underway at 2:10pm.

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British F3 – Gamble: A good start to the Silverstone weekend

Fortec Racing’s Tom Gamble declared himself satisfied with his start to the final weekend of the BRDC British F3 season after qualifying third and finishing second for the first race of the weekend.

Gamble challenged for the lead on the first lap but was edged out by winner and eventual champion Linus Lundqvist after deposing Billy Monger from second place.

Gamble chose to back out of a risky first lap manoeuvre but couldn’t land a blow thereafter.

“Gaining position from where you start is always great. I got a good run on Linus on the run into turn two, but I didn’t want to make it stick as I was on the outside for Becketts so I thought better of it really and settled for second. I hoped that I could get a good run on him down the Hangar straight but it didn’t happen, it was a great race and we have a good lap for race three so far so it is a good way to start the weekend.”

Gamble has been involved in a tight battle for third in the Championship for most of the season with Lanan driver Kush Maini.

Maini has had a poor start to this weekend, qualifying in 15th before racing to 11th in race one, but Gamble also has an eye on another rival

“It has been really close for third this season and now Krish Mahadik is in the fight as well and it’s all to play for. As ever we’ll be trying our hardest tomorrow to get on the podium and seal maybe another win.”

After two jet-propelled getaways in an ultimately disappointing Donington Park weekend, Gamble made up another position today at the expense of Monger, although the teenager from Nottingham insists there is no secret to the start.

“I’ve always had quite good reactions and I’ve been good this season at gauging where the lights are and getting the perfect jump, which is good. That helps a lot obviously with single seaters being very difficult to overtake in with the aero you have. The more positions you get at the start, the better.”

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British F3 – Monger: We’re making steps forward

Billy Monger was satisfied with his Saturday work after missing out on pole position and taking his fourth podium of the season at an unsettled Silverstone.

Monger took two pole positions in wet conditions at Donington Park three weeks ago and feels he could have secured another one in a wet Silverstone qualifying in the morning.

£The progress we’ve been making in the last few rounds has been good, we got the double pole at Donington and today in qualifying we had potential for pole. I lost about six tenths on the data as I caught a backmarker on my best lap so that was a pole chance.

£The fact that I know that in my heart of hearts I can get on the front row is a really good showing for the improvements I’ve made. Hopefully tomorrow we can pray for some rain.”

Despite two poles and a podium at Donington, Monger left the East Midlands frustrated after missing out on victory in all three races.

The man from Kent was less annoyed at being denied in the first half of this weekend

“At Donington I had double pole and I was the fastest by two tenths in every session so the fact that we didn’t win a race really, really annoyed me and really wound me up.

“Qualifying today without that backmarker, we could have been in a different position and that race could have been different but if I’m honest, we didn’t have the pace of that front two. There’s nothing wrong with that, it just shows that we need to work harder overnight to find some pace for tomorrow.”

With Carlin teammate Nicolai Kjaergaard now out of the title race after his DNF and Linus Lundqvist’s seventh victory of the season, Monger gave short shrift to the idea that there was ever any agreement between the teammates to help the Dane.

“It was always every man for himself. I’m here to race and I’m here to win races and I don’t think that Nicolai would want to win a championship with my help, he’d want to because he was the best over the season. Unfortunately Linus has been the most consistent. Nicolai has had bad luck along the way, overall it has been a good battle for the title between them two and I’m sure Nicolai will come out tomorrow and finish strongly.”

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British F3 – Lundqvist: We’ve put Donington behind us

Linus Lundqvist says he and his Double R team have forgotten about an awful Donington Park weekend with pole position at the British F3 Silverstone Shootout.

While Lundqvist has a Championship lead of 50 points over Nicolai Kjaergaard, a terrible round in the East Midlands saw him qualify 14th and secure finishes of 9th and 15th coupled with a DNF.

“We proved at Rockingham earlier this year that we were quick in the wet and we are happy to prove that again today.

“It was a really exciting session, the car was really good and I am happy with my performance especially going into this weekend with questions about how we would perform after Donington, but we have put that one behind us and came into this one with a clear mind.”

While it would be easy to look to score good points and not worry about winning in the name of safeguarding the Championship, Lundqvist won’t be doing maths in the cockpit.

“I don’t try to focus on where Nicolai is at, I’m at the front and that is all that matters. We want to finish this year on a high with more wins and that will definitely be the target for the first race regardless of whether it is wet or dry.”

Lundqvist shrugged off his wet weather struggles at Donington to take charge of qualifying on Saturday morning.

“It’s always a bit tricky in the wet, especially when it’s a drying track because the speed you can carry differs from lap to lap and you know towards the end you can push more but you don’t want to overheat the tyres too much. I got into a good rhythm, set a quicker lap and then a few cool down laps before pushing again.”

The Swede was happy with the feel of his Double R Tatuus machine and feels that was a contributing factor to a relatively big gap by BRDC British F3 standards.

“Towards the end, it was the second to last lap that I set my best time so the track was constantly drying. It was four tenths between me and the guy in second, it was good to feel comfortable from lap one and be able to push for the rest of the session. We spoke about tyre pressures and getting into the mindset of cooling the tyres if you feel them getting too hot. Everyone did a good job.”

 

IMAGE: Jakob Ebrey via www.britishf3.com

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