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Moto3: Win No.7 for Alonso in Spielberg!

Image Credit: @AsparTeam on X

David Alonso (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team) with a long lap penalty (LLP) charged his way back through the pack to take victory here in Austria. It was a superb comeback after taking his first ever LLP and punished the rest of the field. Alonso celebrated and showed us the dance moves to match his riding skills  in the LLP loop.

It will take something monumental now for the rest  of the season for any rider to stop Alonso winning the championship this season. 71pts adrift to Alonso in the championship, Ivan Ortola (MT Helmets – MSI) had a perfect Saturday but a nightmare Sunday starting from the back of the grid for the race.  Ortola fought hard though to finish 9th and clearly would of had a chance at victory today had Ortola started from pole.

David Munoz (BOE Motorsports) after a manic battle snatched 2nd place away from Daniel Holgado (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) on the line who finished in 3rd. It was a great race today in the Styrian mountains!

AS IT HAPPENED

Ortola was nowhere to be seen at the front of the grid as the riders got underway in the overcast conditions. Joel Kelso (BOE Motorsport) with a great start and into the lead on the first lap as Alonso was up and attacking Holgado for 2nd after starting 6th on the grid.

Alonso and Holgado diced with each other and was enough for Munoz to dive by and up into 2nd. At the end of lap 1 it was both BOE Motorsports riders leading the way in Austria.

Lap 2 and a lead group started to develop in the race with 6 riders at the front. Alonso and Piqueras took their long lap penalties and re-joined the race in 10th and 11th places. Across the line and to start lap 3, Munoz with the slip stream looked at the inside line for turn 1, but Kelso full of confidence defended the move last on the brakes.

Championship leader Alonso now up into 8th place and had a mountain to climb 3.5seconds back to the leaders. Holgado seemed to be relaxed at this point in 3rd, keeping pace with the squabbling BOE Motorsport teammates ahead of him.

As Ryusei Yamanaka (MT Helmets – MSI) had a scare almost losing the front, Alonso went by up into 6th. Pole sitter and race winner last time out at Silverstone, Ortola set the fastest lap of the race at the quarter race distance. Ortola still keen to get on with business despite the nightmare start.

Lap 7 and into turn 1 Kelso was late on the brakes and held onto the lead but Holgado’s patience had left him staring at the back of Munoz’ wheel. Holgado went by Munoz up into 2nd into turn 1 and was now gunning for Kelso. As a track limits warning was issued for Kelso, Holgado into the last sector  of the lap blasted up the inside of Kelso into the lead of the race.

As we approached the half way race distance, the 3 way fight for the win became a 7 way fight for the win with newly promoted to Moto2 Collin Veijer (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) catching and dispatching Kelso up to 3rd.

11 laps to go, Holgado lead to Munoz 2nd and Veijer in 3rd. Kelso, Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo), Alonso and Angel Piqueras (Leopard Racing) were all still with a shout of taking victory at this point. Veijer continued his charge and up into 2nd going by Munoz,

Lap 11 of 20 and Veijer down the hill into turn 9 hit the front of the Grand Prix for the first time. Rueda shoulder barged his way by Kelso which shoved Kelso to the back of the lead group.

Turn 9 seemed to be a favourite spot for everyone as Veijer went by Holgado to retake the lead of the race. Every rider in the lead group were fighting and dicing with each other in an epic battle in Spielberg.

Alonso even with a long lap penalty was back now up into 2nd as Munoz and Piqueras fought with each other through turn 1.

Into the last quarter of the race, pole sitter Ortola fought his way back up to 9th after starting in the pit lane. Veijer lead from Alonso in 2nd and Munoz in 3rd. Holgado and Piqueras went by Munoz as the lead group order was ever changing. Down the hill into turn 9 Alonso went by Veijer to take the lead of the race for the first time.

Into the last few laps and Alonso lead the field through turn 6 as Munoz and Holgado were on the back of Alonso’s wheel. A couple of tenths separated Holgado to Veijer and Piqueras behind. The lead group shrunk to 5 at this point all still in contention to take the win in the last couple of laps.

THE LAST LAP

Championship leader Alonso took us across the line to start the final lap. Both Munoz and Holgado bombed into turn 1 with Munoz coming off worse and ran wide re-joining into 4th place.

Piqueras now up into 3rd and looked to go up to 2nd by Holgado but unable to make it stick in the early part of the lap. Dropping down through turn 6 it was still Alonso leading from Holgado fending off Piqueras in 3rd.

Munoz out of nowhere rubbed shoulders and barged by Piqueras into 3rd.  Across the line Alonso held on to take victory and Munoz snatched 2nd place away from Holgado who took 3rd.

Alonso on fire today and danced in the long lap penalty loop. What a rider and what a race in Moto3!

Race Classification 

Image Credit: MotoGP
Image Credit: MotoGP

 

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Moto3: Ortola Takes Pole in Spielberg!

Image Credit: MotoGP

Fresh off his promotion into Moto2 for next season and in the form of his life. Ivan Ortola (MT Helmets – MSI) took pole position today in the Syrian mountains! The 3rd pole position of the season for Ortola and will be eager to catch David Alonso (CFMOTO Aspar Team) in the championship in the second half of the season.

It was a 6th front row start of the season for Collin Veijer (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) in 3rd and Aussie Joel Kelso (BOE Motorsports) qualified in 2nd. Championship leader Alonso starts from 6th on the grid in tomorrow’s race.

AS IT HAPPENED

Qualifying 1

Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing) and Taiyo Furusato (Honda Team Asia) were some of the big names in Q1 in the glorious Austrian sunshine.

Scott Ogden (MLav Racing) took a tumble early on in the session at turn 2 and quickly got back up to his feet in frustration. As sector 1 waved yellow flags, the first batch of riders crossed the line with Furusato sat at the top of the timings.

After the first few spins on the circuit, the top 4 with half of the session remaining headed through to Q2 were Furusato, Fernandez, Nicola Carraro (MTA Team) and Vicente Perez (MLav Racing).

3mins left of the session and all of the riders headed back out of the pits for their final attempts. As per usual in Moto3, the riders all slowly made their way out of the pits and picked who to follow on the lap.

Riders nearly pushed each other onto the grass in their final flying lap, but only 1 change in the top 4 as Furusato topped the session with a 1:40.882. The top 4 headed through to Q2 were Furusato, Fernandez, Tatsuki Suzuki (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) and Luca Lunetta (SIC58 Squadra Corse).

Qualifying 2

The battle for pole position was on in the Styrian mountains and after the first batch of laps tumbled through, Daniel Holgado (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) sat a the top for a moment briefly before Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) marched to the top of the timings. We were still waiting on championship leader David Alonso (CFMOTO Aspar Team) to post a time at this point.

Alonso crossed the line and went up onto the front row after the first run into 3rd. Holgado sat on provisional pole with 7mins still left of the session.

Back out for the 2nd runs and Kelso blasted his way up to provisional pole just as Rueda crashed at turn 10. Rueda quickly got back on his KTM Ajo machine and back into the action. Veijer went up to 2nd with all to play for now as the final seconds ticked away in the session.

Into the last attempts at pole and with a slipstream to the line Ortola jumped up into pole as Kelso went down at turn 2. No final pole attempt for Kelso as Alonso went through but only qualified in 6th place. As David Munoz (BOE Motorsports) crossed the line into 9th, Ortola celebrated another pole position. A great qualifying session for the MT Helmets – MSI rider.

Classification

Image Credit: MotoGP
Image Credit: MotoGP
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Formula E Season 10 Finale: Wehrlein snatches the Drivers Championship from Jaguar’s Kiwis at nail biting finale

 

Formula E Season 10 concluded this past weekend and it is fair to say that it went down to the wire. Ultimately, Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein claimed his maiden FE title of the series, beating both Nick Cassidy and Mitch Evans.

Race 1

  • Mitch Evans led the field away from Sebastian Buemi in P2 and Pascal Wehrlein in P3.
  • Robin Frijns and Jake Dennis had a lap 1 accident and the safety car was deployed.
  • By the time the safety car came in on lap 4, Cassidy made up two  places after a terrible qualifying and Nico Mueller had a puncture so he went into the pits.
  • Two incidents occurred at once as former champion Dennis and Jean-Eric Vergne came together, whilst Oliver Rowland took Antonio Felix Da Costa out of title contention.
  • Evans and Buemi battle for the lead on lap 14.
  • Cassidy and Stoffel Vandoorne had a coming together but the Kiwi ended up
  • Wehrlein took the lead on lap 22 and he managed to take both attack modes and stay P1 while Max Guenther was battling Evans for P2.
  • Norman Nato and Sacha Fenestraz ended up colliding bringing out another safety car.
  • After we went green, Wehrlein went for the lead as did Guenther but he had a gearbox failure and had to stop on track from P2, bringing out a full course yellow.
  • Wehrlein managed to hold on and take the win from Evans in P2, Buemi claimed P3, with Nyck De Vries P4 and Edo Mortara in P5. Mueller took P6 ahead of Cassidy P7.  Bird finished P8 ahead of Vandoorne and Nato snatched the final point.

  • Race 2:

    • Championship hopeful Cassidy claimed pole position after missing FP3 with a BBW failure.
    • Evans made it a Jaguar 1-2 on lap 2, until Mortara and Dennis made contact bringing the safety car. However, he was soon disposed.
    •  Bird, Nato, Dan Ticktum and Jehan Daruvala are all involved in an incident, which brings out the safety car. Daruvala and Bird collided and collected both Nato and Ticktum.
    • Cassidy stays in lead after taking his attack mode, but Evans is not going to give up the championship without a fight and he soon retakes the lead.
    • Wehrlein begins to pile the pressure on the Jaguars ahead, nipping past Cassidy in his quest for the title.
    • Dennis got a 5 second time penalty for that collision with Mortara, however it could turn into a grid drop for Brazil.
    • Evans and Wehrlein made contact but attack mode still had to be taken.
    • Da Costa and Guenther had a battle which allowed the German up to P6.
    • Disaster struck for Cassidy as he got a puncture from Da Costa, ending his title hopes and bringing out the safety car.
    • Rowland snatched the lead from Evans and Wehrlein, as Evans missed attack mode.
    • Three added laps due to the safety car, however, Evans was in a position that he could not attack the leaders as he had to ensure his attack mode was used up before the end of the race.
    • As Rowland took the win, it was Pascal Wehrlein, snatching P2, who became the ABB FIA Formula E World Champion!
    • Evans finished in P3 which sealed Jaguar the manufacturer’s championship.

    Final Formula E Season 10 Championship

    Position Driver Team Points
    1st Pascal Wehrlein Tag Heur Porsche Formula E Team 198
    2nd Mitch Evans Jaguar TCS Racing 192
    3rd Nick Cassidy Jaguar TCS Racing 176
    4th Oliver Rowland Nissan Formula E Team 156
    5th Jean-Eric Vergne DS Penske 139
    6th Antonio Felix Da Costa Tag Heur Porsche Formula E Team 134
    7th Jake Dennis Andretti Formula E 122
    8th Maximilian Guenther Maserarti MSG Racing 73
    9th Robin Frijns Envision Racing 66
    10th Stoffel Vandoorne DS Pesnske 61
    11th Sebastian Buemi Envision Racing 53
    12th Nico Muller Abt Cupra 52
    13th Sam Bird Neom McLaren Formula E Team 48
    14th Jake Hughes Neom McLaren Formula E Team 48
    15th Norman Nato Andretti Formula E 47
    16th Edoardo Mortara Mahindra Racing 29
    17th Sacha Fenestraz Nissan Formula E Team 26
    18th Nyck De Vries Mahindra Racing 18
    19th Dan Ticktum ERT Formula E Team 12
    20th Sergio Sette Camara ERT Formula E Team 11
    21st Jehan Daruvala Maserati MSG Racing 8
    22nd Taylor Banard Neom McLaren Formula E Team 5
    23rd Lucas Di Grassi Abt Cupra Formula E Team 4
    24th Joel Eriksson Envision Racing 2
    25th Sheldon Van Der Linde Abt Cupra Formula E Team 0
    26th Jordan King Mahindra Racing 0
    27th Paul Aron Envision Racing 0
    28th Caio Collet Nissan Formula E Team 0
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BRITISH GP: Arise, Sir Lewis Hamilton!

Sir Lewis Hamilton emerged as the winner on Sunday afternoon at Silverstone in a classic British GP as he took his record 9th win at a single venue. It was a Mercedes front row to start the race with George Russell on pole and Hamilton in 2nd. The race had a threat of rain hanging over it right from the start and it became real from as early as lap 6.

George Russell taking the lead from pole. Image courtesy of Pirelli F1 Media

Russell started the race well and the top 4 kept their order until lap 6, as the rain began and the conditions changed quickly for everyone’s liking. Lando Norris in the McLaren and Max Verstappen in the Redbull picked up right where they left off in Austria, albeit a lot cleaner this time. As the rain picked up, Hamilton pipped his teammate Russell to the lead of the race before Lando Norris was quickly over the back of both the leading Mercedes’ as they went off in turn 3 due to tricky conditions.

Norris was leading the race in wet weather with both the Mercedes and Verstappen chasing him. The rain intensity increased as Verstappen and Sainz in the Ferrari were the first ones to pit for inters. McLaren were 1-2 at this point before they got it horribly wrong with Piastri’s pitstop timing and the Australian was relegated to P6. He ultimately salvaged P4 towards the end of the race but could’ve been much higher if not for the mishap. It was the switching of the conditions from wet to dry that changed the fate of McLaren as a brilliant Mercedes undercut meant that Hamilton assumed the lead of the race on lap 40. It was a three-way fight to the finish as Hamilton was in the lead on soft tyres, Norris was 2nd on soft tyres with Verstappen chasing them both on hard tyres. At a stage it seemed that Verstappen would take the win but he just about ran out of laps towards the end and could only finish 2nd to Hamilton.

Perez with the first stop on to inters. Image courtesy of RedBull Content Pool

Elsewhere, George Russell’s day ended in a horrible fashion as he started from pole but had to retire on lap 34 due to a water system issue in his car. Sergio Perez in the other Redbull and Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari had a bad day out in rainy Silverstone as they were experimented with tyre strategy to battle in changing conditions. Perez finished a lowly P17 while Leclerc could only manage a P14 and the Monegasque will hope for a much better showing in Hungary in 2 weeks time after a sorry couple of weeks in the Ferrari.  Carlos Sainz in the other Ferrari managed a quite race amidst the chaos and racked up a handy P5.

Haas continued their good showing with Hulkenberg finishing P6, not losing any ground from yesterday’s qualifying. Kevin Magnussen in the other Haas could not manage a points finish and could only manage P12. Aston Martin had a decent home race as they finished in double points with Lance Stroll at P7 and Alonso at P8.  Among the points, were ‘home’ team Williams with Alexander Albon at P9, the Thai driver suffered early damage to the bodywork of his car but had an impressive drive afterwards. Logan Sargeant in the other Williams was just one position shy of points as he ended up in P11. It was Yuki Tsunoda who claimed the final points spot after a P10 finish, while his teammate Ricciardo finished P13.

Alpine had a day to forget, with Gasly retiring on the formation lap and Esteban Ocon only managing a P16 finish. Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas finished P15 while his teammate Zhou finished P18.

Max Verstappen has increased his lead at the top of the championship standings in his bid for the 4th title but  with about half the season to go, it would be wise to not think that the title is wrapped up, as McLaren seem promising in fighting for wins alongside Mercedes, who have picked up back to back race wins. A lot at play awaits in 2 weeks time in Hungary before the summer break, as Mercedes will be looking for a hatrick of wins and Verstappen himself will be itching to get back to the top of the podium.

 

The top 3 and Bono on the podium. Image courtesy of RedBull content pool.

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Formula E Season 11 Portland EPrix: Championship Battle Horrors for Cassidy as Da Costa Bounces Back in America

Round 13 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship introduced some hope for Nick Cassidy and Jaguar at Portland until a  penultimate lap error caused Cassidy to fall down the grid, leading to his teammate Mitch Evans taking the win on the road but falling down to P8 due to a 5 second time penalty.

As for round 14,  chaos ensued as there was more contact, more penalties but another Da Costa win!

Roundup of Round 13:

  • Hughes led into turn 1 after starting P2.
  • Sebasitan Buemi pitted very early on due to a penalty for taking extra components.
  • The start of the race saw something common to Formula E in the gen 3 era: no one wanting to lead!
  • Many drivers took attack mode on lap 5.
  • Hughes and Evans collided which led Evans to receive a 5 second time penalty and Hughes dropped down the grid.
  • Cassidy went up to the lead on lap 12.
  • Collet missed the chicane on lap 17 and dropped down the grid.
  • Da Costa went for the lead but Cassidy retook it!
  • Daruvala spun later on in the race but got going again.
  • 3 laps to go and Evans made it a Jaguar 1-2.
  • Guenther retired from the race later on.
  • Nick Cassidy then lost his car on the penultimate lap and lost the race win!
  • Evans took the win but his 5 second time penalty dropped him down to P8!
  • Da Costa took the win!

 

Roundup of Round 14:

  • Vergne started on pole ahead of Da Costa.
  • Da Costa took the lead from Vergne with both McLarens going up to the top 5.
  • Hughes made his way from P5 to P1 on 1 lap!
  • Both Vergne and Vandoorne had issues which led them to falling down the field.
  • Early on in the race, the 2 Andretti cars, Collet and Guenther had issues as they were all at the back of the field.
  • Later on, Wehrlein got his front wing stuck under his car! It eventually became dislodged but it when it did, Sam Bird was caught it and that ruined the Brit’s race.
  • Mueller led on lap 9 with the 10th lap having Wehrlein with no front wing.
  • Cassidy was still P16 by lap 11 with Wehrlein making up places.
  • MULTIPLE drivers made pitstops including Cassidy, Dennis, De Vries, Collet and Hughes.
  • Mortara ended up onto the grass on lap 15 and had to pit while Hughes and Fenestraz were under investigation.
  • Fenestraz received a 5 second penalty for pushing a driver off the track.
  • The Safety car was then deployed for debris on the track and brought many drivers back into the race.
  • The safety car came in on lap 21.
  • We received 1 added lap due to the safety car.
  • It was all quiet despite Cassidy not making up enough ground, Frijns managing to get P2 from Evans and multiple notes inclduing Da Costa on Mortara and Dennis on Mortara.
  • On the last lap, Di Grassi received a 5 second time penalty for pushing a driver off the track.
  • Da Costa make it 3 wins in a row ahead of Frijns and Evans!

     

    Antonio Felix da Costa, TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team, Porsche 99X Electric Gen3
    Image Credit: Formula E Media Bank

    Formula E Season 10 Championship Standings after Round 14

    Position Driver Team Points
    1st Nick Cassidy Jaguar TCS Racing 167
    2nd Mitch Evans Jaguar TCS Racing 155
    3rd Pascal Wehrlein Tag Heuer Porsche Formula E Team 155
    4th Antonio Felix Da Costa Tag Heuer Porsche Formula E Team 134
    5th Oliver Rowland Nissan Formula E Team 131
    6th Jean-Eric Vergne DS Penske 129
    7th Jake Dennis Andretti Formula E 122
    8th Maximilian Guenther Maserati MSG Racing 73
    9th Robin Frijns Envision Racing 60
    10th Stoffel Vandoorne DS Penske 55
    11th Jake Hughes Neom McLaren Formula E Team 46
    12th Norman Nato Andretti Formula E 46
    13th Sam Bird Neom McLaren Formula E Team 44
    14th Nico Mueller Abt Cupra Formula E Team 36
    15th Sebastian Buemi Envision Racing 26
    16th Sacha Fenestraz Nissan Fortmula E Team 26
    17th Edoardo Mortara Mahindra Formula E Team 19
    18th Dan Ticktum ERT Formula E Team 12
    19th Sergio Sette Camara ERT Formula E Team 11
    20th Jehan Daruvala Maserti MSG Racing 8
    21st Nyck De Vries Mahindra Formula E Team 6
    22nd Taylor Barnard Neom McLaren Formula E Team 5
    23rd Joel Eriksson Envision Racing 2
    24th Lucas Di Grassi Abt Cupra Formula E Team 2
    25th Kelvin Van Der Linde Abt Cupra Formula E Team 0
    26th Jordan King Mahindra Formula E Team 0
    27th Paul Aron Envision Racing 0
    28th Caio Collet Nissan Formula E 0
           
           

    Driver of the Weekend:

    The driver of the weekend has to be Da Costa. After so many rumours of him leaving Porsche after a hard start to the season and losing that win in Misano to win 3 races in a row and have an outside chance of the championship is very impressive.

    Driver who needs to improve the most:

    I think this has to go to Nick Cassidy. While he still has a 12 point lead over Evans and Wehrlein, he could have tied up the entire championship in Portland but a few mistakes could cost him and Jaguar BIG TIME! 

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Formula E Season 11 Driver Line Up Predictions: Staff and Community

As the 10th Season of Formula E draws to a close, I thought it would be fun to go through the grid and see what driver changes could happen based on my (Kieran) opinion and the Formula E Community!

Andretti Formula E: Jake Dennis and Zane Maloney

With the American team of Andretti, I believe a big change will be made in terms of the seat beside the world champion of Jake Dennis with Norman Nato not fullfilling up the expectations, in my opinion, that FIA Formula 2 current championship contender Zane Maloney will be unable to find a seat in F1 and move to Formula E. As Maloney has been with the Andretti for some time, taking part in rookie FPO sessions.

Jaguar TCS Racing: Mitch Evans and Nick Cassidy. 

With the strongest lineup in Season 10, there is no reason for Jaguar to change its New Zealand lineup. They are both doing as they want and even though Evans is significantly down in comparison to Cassidy, changing the line up with arguable the strongest lineup would be insane.

DS Penske: Jean-Eric Vergne and Stoffel Vandoorne

After a somewhat optimistic season with podiums for DS Penske, I suspect they will be maintaining consistency throughout the first season of Gen3Evo.

Maserati MSG Racing: Maximilian Guenther and Jehan Daruvala

Over at Maserati, I don’t anticipate a change for the Maserati team as Guenther is a proven team leader and Jehan Daruvala is picking up speed and pace with multiple points scoring finishes in his rookie season. 

Nissan Formula E Team: Oliver Rowland and Caio Collet

Over at the Japanese manufacturer team of Nissan, I am anticipating a BIG change with Rowland being a top team leader over there with Sacha Fenestraz being let go from the team after a…less than optiminal season sophmore season and then Caoi Collet joins the team after taking part in Indy NXT over in America. 

Abt Cupra Formula E Team: Antonio Felix Da Costa and Lucas Di Grassi

Over at AbtCupra / Lola, I am fully expecting Da Costa to replace Mueller who will leave the team but remain on the grid. I’m sure you can see where I am going with this…

Tag Heur Porsche Formula E Team: Pascal Wehrlein and Nico Mueller

Yes, I am saying Mueller will join the Porsche manufacturer team. I think Porsche will want to prepare for the future if Wehrlein wants to leave the team due to his expectations not being met or various reasons.

NEOM McLaren Formula E Team: Sam Bird and Jake Hughes

McLaren is a really interesting one due to Taylor Barnard taking over from Sam Bird when Bird had that accident in Monaco. It is a very similar scenario to Visa CashApp RB where 3 into 2 will not go. However, I expect Barnard to take part in a second season in F2 in order to get more experience while also 

ERT Formula E Team: Dan Ticktum and Sergio Sette Camara

For ERT, it is difficult to see if they can get anyone apart from their current lineup of Ticktum and Sette Camara. I cannot see them moving or ERT getting anyone new or experiences in.

Mahindra Racing: Nyck De Vries and Edoardo Mortara

When Mahindra announced Nyck DeVries and Edoardo Mortara, they were signed on a multi year deal and there is no reason why they would replace them as they are performing as much as they can. 

Envision Racing: Paul Aron and Robin Frijns

Envision is a very tricky one as both of their drivers left during the double header in Berlin to race in the World Endurance Championship which, while Joel Erikkson scored during that weekend, the result wasn’t maximised. So I can see Paul Aron, a FIA Formula 2 championship contender like Maloney, move to Formula E with Envision with Robin Frijns next to the young Estonian. 

Paul Aron, Envision Racing, Jaguar I-TYPE 6 Image Credit: Formula E Media Bank

Fan Predictions

Here are a few fan predictions!

https://twitter.com/theniki94/status/1792642944026988594
This prediction doesn’t seem to be very different to season 10 with Dan I am presuming is Dan Ticktum.

This person DMed their prediction so I will respect their privary but it sounds like they are going down a similar route with rumours of Porsche dropping Da Costa. 

 

What are your predictions for Formula E Season 11? Let us know!

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A Resurgent Toprak… Ducati Under Attack

After successive championship titles with Ducati, reigning champion Alvaro Bautista seemed untouchable at one point. Everyone remembers the absolutely insane dual between Alvaro and Toprak at Portimao at the end of last season. For me, it was the best race I’ve ever seen and I’ve been watching motorcycle racing for the best part of two decades, through the glorious Valentino Rossi battles with everyone in sight. Toprak gave everything in that race and still came away second best, Bautista onboard the factory Ducati, ultimately prevailing for a second world championship title.

Toprak Razgatlioglu Picture courtesy of ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team

Fast forward to a new season and a highly motivated Toprak, with a point to prove. Toprak may not come across as a rider with a chip on his shoulder, or appear outwardly angry, at least his demeanour seems to be that of the complete professional. However, it wasn’t that long ago where a test with the MotoGP factory Yamaha team didn’t prove to be as impressive as many thought. Certainly Monster Energy Yamaha Team Manager, Massimo Meragalli was very diplomatic when asked about the lap times Toprak had set. Toprak himself, had been open about his desire to move into the MotoGP paddock and no doubt felt disappointed a move never transpired for the 2024 season.

Signing a contract with the Rokit BMW Motorrad Factory team for 2024, many thought the move would be a disaster given the form of the BMW team, with both then factory riders Scott Redding, and Michael Vd Mark struggling to reach consistent form. Toprak’s manager and close friend, Kenan Sofuoglu hinted at the nature of these dismissive comments when being interviewed by Eurosport commentator, James Toseland on the grid for the WorldSSP race on Sunday.

If extra motivation was required, Toprak certainly didn’t look like he needed it over the Misano round. With a first triple win for BMW and a first triple for Toprak since the Indonesian round in 2022, Ducati are now very well aware they’re in a dog fight.

Toprak Razgatlioglu Picture courtesy of ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team

Race 2 saw rookie Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), get an impressive launch off the line securing the hole shot into turn 1. Toprak however, ended up down in 5th. Never one to get ruffled, you always felt the outcome of the race was still well within the grasp of Toprak.

Hunting down Bulega lap by lap, Toprak was beginning to ramp up the pressure, up to 2nd, Toprak was putting in blisteringly fast laps, a fastest lap of 1:33.3 saw him slash the gap to the young Italian ahead. Towards the halfway point of the race Toprak had caught and passed Bulega and didn’t slow down. With 7 laps remaining, Toprak held a lead of 3.5s to Bulega.

The final lap saw Toprak with an unassailable lead of 5s, doing a stoppie across the finish line perfectly summing up what we all love about watching Toprak race. A flawless weekend for Toprak and a marker laid down. If there was any further doubt about his achievement you only had to look further down the field for the rest of the BMW’s. Scott Redding (Bonovo Action BMW) 12th, Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) 18th, and Michael Vd Mark (Rokit Motorrad BMW) with a DNF.

Toprak Razgatlioglu Picture courtesy of ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team

In his post race interview, Toprak said that he was “relaxed and enjoying the bike“, however, saying that chatter was affecting him in the final two corners and improvements could still be made. Toprak leads the championship with 179 points, 21 points clear of Bulega in 2nd, something not been done by a BMW rider for 12 years. Up next, Donington Park, and a favourite track for Toprak, no doubt a rather scary thought for the rest of the field given his recent dominance.

When pressed about the future of Toprak and whether or not he will stay in WorldSBK, Kenan Sofuoglu hinted at a potential move to MotoGP, telling James Toseland “it will happen sooner, rather than later.”

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An Action Packed Canadian GP

Verstappen came out on top in a race that saw changing weather conditions, lots of incidents, close racing and interesting strategies. 

With the track drenched just an hour before the race start, the spray looked bad as the drivers made their way to the grid, but it dried up enough for a normal standing start on intermediates, or full wets if you are driving a Haas.

Starting in the wet. Image courtesy of RedBull content pool

Lights out and the slowest getaway we have seen this season as they made it down to turn one without colliding. Russell managed to pick up pace out of turn two and kept the lead from Verstappen. Hamilton made up places but the Ferrari’s struggled, with Sainz ending up down in P15 at the end of lap 2.

Haas looked to have played a great strategy game, with Magnussen and Hulkenberg making it to P4 and P8 by lap 5. However, it wasn’t to last as the sun came out and the track started to dry making the inters the best tyres to be on.

As Norris closed the gap on Russell and Verstappen, the conversation began to turn to the forecast. Rain was expected about lap 30 but the track was drying in sectors two and three. Turns one and two were still wet though, Verstappen experiencing a wide moment on lap 17 which allowed Norris to position his car ready for a move.

The McLarens looked quick in the wet so when DRS was enabled, Norris was able to enhance his pace. On lap 21 he made a move on Verstappen into P2, just one lap later he passed Russell for the lead. As he completed the same move Russell lost downforce and went straight on at the final chicane, letting Verstappen through and coming back to the track in P3. Piastri looked to be following his teammate as he closed the gap on the front three. However, the safety car stopped his progress.

The safety car. Image courtesy of RedBull content pool

Sargent dropped it on the inside of turn four and hit the wall on the exit, causing his car to become stranded. This brought out the safety car on lap 25. With rain due in just a couple of minutes, most of the top ten pitted for new inters, apart from Norris. He was too far past the pitlane entry as the safety car came out. This meant that when he did pit a lap later, he came out in P3 with Verstappen leading the race.

Just before the end of the safety car period, Ferrari pitted Leclerc for a change of tyres. However, they put him on the slicks—hard tyres to be more precise—despite rain due imminently. He also had a known engine issue, which caused further delay in the car leaving the pitbox. It was not a surprise when he pitted just 2 laps after the restart for inters.

The restart got away with no issues as they behaved themselves, knowing more rain was on the way. A shout out to Albon, who made an incredible double overtake on Ricciardo and Ocon at the final chicane.

The rain stopped, the sun came out, and the dry line started to form. But for Ferrari, when it rains, it pours. On lap 42, Sainz made contact with the back of Bottas, which caused front wing damage, while the team called in Leclerc to retire the car.

Norris taking on the drying track. Image courtesy of Pirelli F1 Media

On lap 43 it was time to switch to slicks, Gasly was the first car in, followed by Magnussen and Bottas. Hamilton was the first of the frontrunners to pit for medium tyres. It wasn’t long before the rest of the grid was in, apart from Norris again. This time, the team decided to see what the other teams would do.

Norris stayed out and took the lead, meaning he now had a pit stop in hand over second place Verstappen. Despite this, Norris pitted one lap later, but Verstappen and Russell now had warmer tyres and were on the dry line, while Norris had to tiptoe out of the still extremely wet pitlane, ending up in P2.

All seemed calm for a couple of laps when a yellow flag appeared and disappeared again. The camera switched to Perez, who now had a very broken rear wing. He dropped his rear right tyre out of the dry line at turn six and spun into the wall. He was able to get back to the pits but retired the car.

However, a safety car was called, but not for Perez. Sainz dropped it on the same corner but managed to avoid the wall. He spun in the middle of the track and collected Albon in the process, pushing him into the wall. A double DNF for Williams and a double DNF for Ferrari as Sainz drove to the pits and retired.

Both Mercedes with fresh tyres. Image courtesy of Mercedes Benz

On the restart, both Mercedes had fresh tyres in an aggressive strategy, but everyone got away in order. The race was now dry, with no more rain on the way. This enabled a five-way battle for the lead.

Russell closed in on Piastri in P3, and using DRS, he was alongside into the final chicane, but there was not enough room for both cars. It was very close, and Russell went wide, allowing his teammate through. Hamilton made a clean move on Piastri the following lap, giving Russell a second chance, but this time with no issues.

With only 3 laps to go, the Mercedes were allowed to race each other, with Russell making it up into P3 with a nice move using DRS. It remained close between the pair all the way to the line but Russell held on.

He wasn’t the only one holding on with Gasly, Ocon, Magnussen and Hulkenberg fighting all the way to the line for the final two points positions. The Alpines finished P9 and P10 with the Haas cars in P11 and P12, respectively.

Verstappen controlled the final few laps to take the win, with Norris in P2. It was a fantastic race with action at every point. Three teams finished in the top five, Aston Martin with a double top ten finish and battles on every lap.

The podium celebrations. Image courtesy of Pirelli F1 Media

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Formula E Season 10 Rounds 11 and 12: Evans and Da Costa Turn P3 to P1 in Both Races in Shanghai

Rounds 11 and 12 of Formula E Season 10 saw a new venue added to an old classic and a return to Formula E’s original debut: China. This time, the electric series travelled to Shanghai, it is safe to say it brought us dramatic moments and high tension!

Round 11 Highlights

  • Jean-Eric Vergne leads the field away from pole position ahead of Oliver Rowland and Mitch Evans
  • Round 11 was a peleton style race again primarily due to the energy saving methods used by drivers
  • Championship leader Nick Cassidy went from P10 to P13 within the early stages of the race
  • There was MANY changes for the lead including Robin Frijns and Nyck De Vries
  • Porsche were playing the team game with Pascal Wehrlein and Antonio Felix Da Costa in P1 and P3, with P2 taken by Evans
  • Rowland and Vergne made contact half way through the race which was noted by the stewards
  • Nato fell down the grid down to P16.
  • Conntact between Mortara and a Maserati lead to Mortara having to retire from the race
  • There was a yellow flag on lap 19 due to the debris and it was swiftly removed
  • Replays toward the end of the race showed that Frijns had a spin which explains his fall down the grid
  • On lap 24, that was the “go” moment for the drivers. Cassidy had more energy than the others
  • With 2 laps remaining, Cassidy was asking his team if he could attack or defend.
  • Last lap battles saw Evans defending from Wehrlein and Cassidy attacking Wehrlein all of the way to the final corner

Round 11 Classification

Position Driver Team Points
1st Mitch Evans Jaguar TCS Racing 25
2nd Jake Hughes (Pole) NEOM McLaren Formula E Team 21
3rd Norman Nato (Fastest Lap) Andretti Formula E 16
4th Nick Cassidy Jaguar TCS Racing 12
5th Mitch Evans Jaguar TCS Racing 10
6th Stoffel Vandoorne DS Penske 8
7th Jean-Eric Vergne DS Penske 6
8th Maximilian Guenther Maserati MSG Racing 7
9th Robin Frijns Envision Racing 2
10th Oliver Rowland

Nissan Formula E Team

 1
11th Jake Dennis Andretti Formula E  0
12th Sebastian Buemi Envision Racing 0
13th Edoardo Mortara  Mahindra Racing 0
14th Sacha Fenestraz Nissan Formula E Team 0
15th Nico Mueller Abt Cupra Formula E Team 0
16th Nyck De Vries Mahindra Racing 0
17th Jehan Daruvala Maserati MSG Racing 0
18th Sergio Sette Camara ERT Formula E Team 0
19th Lucas Di Grassi  Abt Cupra Formula E Team 0
20th Pascal Wehrlein Tag Heuer Porsche Formula E Team 0
21st Dan Ticktum ERT Racing 0
DNF Sam Bird NEOM McLaren Formula E Team 0
Mitch Evans, Jaguar TCS Racing, Jaguar I-TYPE 6, leads Pascal Wehrlein, TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team, Porsche 99X Electric Gen3, Antonio Felix da Costa, TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team, Porsche 99X Electric Gen3, and the rest of the field Image Credit: Formula E Media Bank

Round 12 Highlights

  • Jake Hughes took pole ahead of Stoffel Vandoorne and got pole position by 0.001s! 
  • Once we went racing, it was 3 wide with Vandoorne making his way up to P1 with Nato up to P4 and the 2 Jaguars of Cassidy and Evans P6 and P7 respectfully
  • Similar to Round 11, no one wanted to lead and took a very conservative approach
  • Da Costa climbed the order early on
  • Cassidy was annoyed to find out that his car was different compared to Round 11 on lap 5
  • Lap 9 saw the energy of every driver at or below 70%
  • Cassidy attempted to overtake Vandoorne on lap 10 but it didn’t work out
  • Disaster struck for Pascal Wehrlein as he got a puncture for a collision with Sam Bird
  • Ticktum pitted on lap 16
  • Lap 17 saw an interesting development where Da Costa was told only the Jaguars had more energy than he did
  • Bird pitted just before lap 20 due to a collision with De Vries which resulted in the Dutchman falling out of the points and Bird ended up retiring
  • Towards the end, the DS Penskes began to battle
  • Da Costa won the Shanghai EPrix! Jake Hughes got his first Formula E podium and Norman Nato finished in P3! 

 

Round 12 Race Classification

Position Driver Team Points
1st Antonio Felix Da Costa  Tag Heur Porsche Formula E Team 25
2nd Pascal Wehrlein (Pole) Tag Heuer Porsche Formula E Team 21
3rd Nick Cassidy (FL) Jaguar TCS Racing 16
4th Oliver Rowland

Nissan Formula E Team

 12
5th Jake Dennis Andretti Formula E  10
6th Jean-Eric Vergne DS Penske 8
7th Nyck De Vries Mahindra Racing 6
8th Sebastian Buemi Envision Racing 7
9th Stoffel Vandoorne DS Penske 2
10th Lucas Di Grassi  Abt Cupra Formula E Team 1
11th Sacha Fenestraz Nissan Formula E Team 0
12th Robin Frijns Envision Racing 0
13th Sergio Sette Camara ERT Formula E Team 0
14th Norman Nato Andretti Formula E 0
15th Nico Mueller Abt Cupra Formula E Team 0
16th Jake Hughes Neom McLaren Formula E Team 0
17th Sam Bird Neom McLaren Formula E Team 0
18th Jehan Daruvala Maserati MSG Racing 0
19th Antonio Felix Da Costa Tag Heuer Porsche Formula E Team 0
20th Dan Ticktum ERT Racing 0
21st Maximilian Guenther Maserati MSG Racing 0
DNF Edoardo Mortara  Mahindra Racing 0
Antonio Felix da Costa, TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team, Porsche 99X Electric Gen3, leads Norman Nato, Andretti Global, Porsche 99X Electric Gen3 Image Credit: Formula E Media Bank

Championship Standings After the Shanghai EPrix

 

Position Driver Team Points
1st Nick Cassidy Jaguar TCS Racing 25
2nd Pascal Wehrlein Tag Heuer Porsche Formula E Team 21
3rd Mitch Evans Jaguar TCS Racing 16
4th Oliver Rowland

Nissan Formula E Team

 12
5th Jake Dennis Andretti Formula E  10
6th Jean-Eric Vergne DS Penske  8
7th Antonio Felix Da Costa Tag Heuer Porsche Formula E Team 6
8th Maximilian Guenther Maserati MSG Racing 7
9th Stoffel Vandoorne DS Penske 2
10th Jake Hughes Neom McLaren Formula E Team 1
11th Norman Nato Andretti Formula E 0
12th Sam Bird Neom McLaren Formula E Team 0
13th Sacha Fenestraz Nissan Formula E Team 0
14th Sebastian Buemi Envision Racing 0
15th Robin Frijns Envision Racing 0
16th Nico Mueller Abt Cupra Formula E Team 0
17th Dan Ticktum ERT Racing 0
18th Sergio Sette Camara ERT Formula E Team 0
19th Jehan Daruvala Maserati MSG Racing 0
20th Edoardo Mortara  Mahindra Racing 0
21st Nyck De Vries Mahindra Racing 0
DNF Taylor Barnard Neom McLaren Formula E Team 0
23rd Joel Erikkson Envision Racing  
24th Lucas Di Grassi Abt Cupra Formula E Team 0
25th Kelvin Van Der Linde Abt Cupra Formula E Team 0
26th Jordan King Mahindra Racing 0
27th Paul Aron Envision Racing 0

Driver of the Weekend

The driver of the weekend for me is Nyck De Vries. After taking the last 2 rounds off for WEC, scoring his maiden Gen3 points was critical for him. 

Driver with the most improvement needed

I think Sacha Fenestraz is the driver who needs the most improvement. Going into Portland, Fenestraz will need to do a lot to prove to Nissan that he should say at the team for Gen3 EVO.

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Formula E Season 10 Round 9 and 10: Cassidy and Da Costa Both take Victory in Berlin as Title Battle Heats Up

Berlin is an all time classic on the Formula E calendar. Round 9 and 10 were no different with dramatic races happening on both Saturday and Sunday!

Key Moments from Race 9

  • Edoardo Mortara started on pole ahead of Stoffel Vandoorne.
  • Sette Camara tried to take P3 away from Vergne
  • There were big battles for the final points paying positions from Ticktum,Evans, Cassidy, Rowland and Van Der Linde
  • Vandoorne, Vergne, Da Costa and Mortara were all battling for the lead into the tight double right turns of 6 and 7. 
  • Racing was brought to a halt when a full course yellow was brought out due to a stopped Envision on track of Joel Eriksson. This was an eventual safety car. 
  • The safety car came in on lap 17 and Vergne tried to hold the lead while Wehrlein went for the overtake in the double right turns before the hairpin and made it stick. 
  • Di Grassi spun due to contact with Sette Camara after the restart.
  • Guenther ended up in the wall after the restart and on lap 30, the safety car came out again.
  • The safety car came back in on lap 34 and at the restart, there was 4 wide for the lead.
  • Da Costa came out in the lead.
  • Lap 41 saw Wehrlein take the lead before more overtakes occuring to see Vergne lead and Cassidy holding his nerve.
  • Once Cassidy was in the lead, there was no looking back as he took victory!

 

The cars pull away at the start of the race Image Credit: Formula E Media Bank

Race 9 Results

Position Driver Team Points
1st Nick Cassidy Jaguar TCS Racing 26
2nd Jean-Eric Vergne DS Penske 18
3rd Oliver Rowland Nissan Formula E Team 15
4th Mitch Evans Jaguar TCS Racing 12
5th Pascal Wehrlein Tag Heur Porsche Formula E Team 10
6th Antonio Felix Da Costa  Tag Heur Porsche Formula E Team 8
7th Stoffel Vandoorne DS Penske 6
8th Edordo Mortara Mahindra Racing 7
9th Sacha Fenestraz Nissan Formula E Team 2
10th Taylor Barnard NEOM McLaren Formula E Team 1
11th Kelvin Van Der Linde Abt Cupra 0
12th Jordan King Mahindra Racing 0
13th Paul Aron Envision Racing 0
14th Dan Ticktum ERT Formula E Team 0
15th Jake Hughes NEOM McLaren Formula E Team 0
16th Sergio Sette Camara ERT Formula E Team 0
17th Jehan Daruvala Maserati MSG Racing 0
18th Norman Nato Andretti Formula E 0
DNF Jake Dennis Andretti Formula E 0
DNF Maximilian Guenther Maserati MSG Racing 0
DNF Lucas Di Grassi Abt Cupra 0
DNF Joel Eriksson Envision Racing 0

 

Key Moments from Race 10

  • Dennis started on pole but Cassidy lead the grid down to turn 1
  • Further on into the race it was a Porsche 1-2.
  • Guenther crashed early on in the race and brought out a safety car. He got going again but it was to retire the car.
  • On lap 18, Rowland had a damaged front wing and Mortara had not taken either attack mode.
  • Vandoorne went for a dive between lap 20 and 21 but got damage with his front wing going under his car.
  • He ended up losing control and put Fenestraz onto 2 wheels.
  • Da Costa had a large advantage by the beginning of the end of the race.
  • Nato and Fenestraz ended up in the wall with the Andretti driver managing to get away but the safety car was brought out.
  • By lap 27, we had Da Costa P1, Rowland P2 abd Evans P3.
  • When the safety car came in, there was big battles between Dennis and Wehrlein and Evans and Da Costa.
  • Nato ended up with a 10 second time penalty for his collision with Fenestraz.
  • We had 3 added laps while Barnard overtook his teammate and Dennis.
  • Cassidy overtook Rowland when we headed into added laps while Evans lost 2 places in 2 corners.
  • Da Costa took victory in Berlin with Cassidy P2 and Rowland P3.

Race 10 Results

Position Driver Team Points
1st Antonio Felix Da Costa  Tag Heur Porsche Formula E Team 25
2nd Nick Cassidy Jaguar TCS Racing 19
3rd Oliver Rowland Nissan Formula E Team 15
4th Pascal Wehrlein Tag Heur Porsche Formula E Team 12
5th Jake Dennis Andretti Formula E 13
6th Mitch Evans Jaguar TCS Racing 8
7th Jehan Daruvala Maserati MSG Racing 6
8th Taylor Barnard NEOM McLaren Formula E Team 4
9th Joel Eriksson Envision Racing 2
10th Jean-Eric Vergne DS Penske 1
11th Lucas Di Grassi Abt Cupra 0
12th Jake Hughes NEOM McLaren Formula E Team 0
13th Sergio Sette Camara ERT Formula E Team 0
14th Paul Aron Envision Racing 0
15th Kelvin Van Der Linde Abt Cupra 0
16th Edo Mortara Mahindra Racing 0
17th Dan Ticktum ERT Formula E Team 0
18th Jordan King Mahindra Racing 0
19th Norman Nato Andretti Formula E 0
20th Stoffel Vandoorne DS Penske 0
DNF Sacha Fenestraz Nissan Formula E Team 0
DNF Maximilian Guenther Maserati MSG Racing 0
Antonio Felix da Costa, TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team, Porsche 99X Electric Gen3, leads Oliver Rowland, Nissan Formula E Team, Nissan e-4ORCE 04 Image Credit: Formula E Media Bank

Championship Standings After Round 10

Position Driver Team Points
1st Nick Cassidy Jaguar TCS Racing 140
2nd Pascal Wehrlein Tag Heur Porsche Formula E Team 124
3rd Oliver Rowland Nissan Formula E Team 118
4th Jake Dennis Andretti Formula E 102
5th Mitch Evans Jaguar TCS Racing 97
6th Jean-Eric Vergne DS Penske 84
7th Maximilian Guenther Maserati MSG Racing 65
8th Antonio Felix Da Costa Tag Heur Porsche Formula E Team 59
9th Stoffel Vandoorne DS Penske 43
10th Sam Bird NEOM McLaren Formula E Team 38
11th Sacha Fenestraz Nissan Formula E Team 26
12th Jake Hughes NEOM McLaren Formula E Team 25
13th Norman Nato Andretti Formula E 24
14th Robin Frijns Envision Racing 21
15th Sebastian Buemi Envision Racing 20
16th Nico Mueller Abt Cupra 18
17th Dan Ticktum ERT Formula E Team 12
18th Sergio Sette Camara ERT Formula E Team 11
19th Jehan Daruvala Maserati MSG Racing 8
20th Edoardo Mortara Mahindra Racing 7
21st Taylor Barnard NEOM McLaren Formula E Team 5
22nd Joel Eriksson Envision Racing 2
23rd Lucas Di Grassi Abt Cupra 1
24th Kelvin Van Der Linde Abt Cupra 0
25th Nyck De Vries Mahindra Racing 0
26th Jordan King Mahindra Racing 0
27th Paul Aron Envision Racing 0

Driver of the Weekend

For me, the driver of the weekend is a very tough one. However, I think I will give it to Joel Eriksson. The rookies this weekend have been VERY surprising (and in a good way) which will probably give a lot of team principals headaches as after FULL 1 race weekend, 2 have  already stored in Taylor Barnard and Joel Eriksson. Even though I have have chosen a mix of about 5 drivers, Joel gets my pick. 

Driver with the most improvement needed

I think Norman Nato needs to pick up his pace in terms of racing after this weekend. While he can have some good moments like in qualifying and some bad luck, ultimately, his collision with Fenestraz was not a good light for the French driver, especially as there are only 6 races left and Andretti will more than likely be starting to think about the seat next to Jake Dennis for 2025 and beyond as we head into Gen3 EVO. With the rookie test happening tomorrow with Zane Maloney and Jak Crawford at the team too, the pressure is building on Nato. 

Prediction for Shanghai

The next 2 rounds of Formula E are at the Shanghai International Circuit. While a lot of the circuit is similar to the Formula 1 model, there are only 12 corners and cuts out the long right hander and long straight from the Formula 1 model. I have a feeling this could be a Jake Dennis win on either day. 

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