Tag: 2019

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F1 2022 Season Track Check

Track Check: Circuit Of The Americas

Welcome to Formula 1 in America! We visit the vibrant, the energetic Circuit Of The Americas here in Austin. I’m Dev and let’s go for a tour of the track we will race on this weekend.

Alright that’s enough of me trying to be a commentator. Let’s do it the way we have conversations, let’s begin!

Designed by F1 track super-designer Hermann Tilke in partnership with homesoil company HKS. This 5.513km circuit hosted its very first F1 weekend in 2012. It marked the return of the pinnacle of racing to the North American continent after a long 5 years, with Indianapolis hosting the last American race in 2007.

The track draws inspiration from other classic tracks including Silverstone, Japan’s Suzuka and from the land of automobiles Germany. Inaugurated by Mario Andretti an icon in the American motorsport scene (although still able to participate in F1, but that’s for another day), remarked about this purpose built track serving as a platform for promoting F1 and its support series in America.

With the race running the cars in circles for a whole 56 laps, the 20 turns paired with 2 DRS Zones provide an entertaining race; with the total elevation change of 30.9m assisting plenty of overtakes and on the edge driving. The track is built upon 800 acres of land with an immense number of amenities and attractions. Multiple celebrities have performed as part of the F1 weekend. The drivers and teams often comment upon the lively and passionate atmosphere of the crowd.

The pole position list was established with Sebastian Vettel in 2012. However Vettel was not able to convert it to a race win, as Lewis Hamilton won the inaugural United States Grand Prix in 2012. Lewis also holds the record for most wins on this circuit with 6 to his name. On the team’s side, Ferrari holds the most wins in COTA with 10 (Kimi is the latest one :). Curiously the lap record here is standing from 2019, a 1:35.169 by Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari.

So fasten your seat belts and grab our seats, as we prepare for the United States Grand Prix!

Thank You for reading!

Find me at @devaslooper on Twitter

And

our team at https://linktr.ee/Thefastestsector

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Flashback Friday

Flashback Friday: 2019 Belgium GP

The 2019 Belgian Grand Prix was a roller coaster of emotions for me as a Ferrari fan as well as a motorsport fan. The weekend started off normal with F2 and F1 looking to put on another incredible weekend for us fans.

That was until the incident that shook the racing world. During the F2 race, an incident at the infamous Eau Rougue and Radillon section of the track saw F2 prospect and F1 hopeful Anthoine Hubert spun off into a barrier which kicked him onto the track where he would be hit by Juan Manuel Correa killing him and severely injuring Correa.

The news of Antoine’s death shook the racing world, and the next day under a somber tone, the show went on… for Antoine.

Charles Leclerc would line up on pole followed by the Mercedes duo. For Charles, it would be difficult enough having to hold back the raging arrows on a normal day, but with the added stress of losing a dear friend, Sunday would be a difficult hurdle.

While the race is often overcast by loss, it was a beautiful moment to watch as Charles would take the checkered flag and get his first win in F1, a childhood dream for us all under the most unfortunate circumstances.

That infamous race weekend holds a lot of negative memories but we can look back on it thankful for one thing, that weekend we saw a united sport. The rivalries were left behind us all for that weekend and we were all brought together.

Source: skysports.com
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F1 2022 Season Track Check

Track Check: Circuit Paul Ricard

Cover Source: f1.com

For the 2018 Formula 1 season, the French Grand Prix made a comeback at Paul Ricard. It was the first French Grand Prix at Circuit Paul Ricard since 1990 and the first since 2008, when the race was last contested in Magny-Cours.

Built at Le Castellet in France, the Circuit Paul Richard is also called “Le Castellet”. With a length of 5.84 km, the track is on the longer side of F1 tracks; behind Spa-Francorchamps which has a length of 7 km.

Source: https://www.lrs-formula.com/c/80-pdt_1920/circuit-paul-ricard.jpg

Having 15 turns in the current configuration being used in F1. This track is one of the most versatile with 167 configurations possible, out of which 5 have been FIA Grade1 certified. The track is built on a plateau which limits the elevation changes to a minimum.

The track record for the fastest lap in a F1 car is currently held by Sebastian Vettel in the Ferrari in the 2019 French Grand Prix with a 1:32.740 lap. However, taking by the times set by these new generation cars in the practice sessions (A 1:32.272 lap by Max Verstappen in the RedBull, during the FP3 session) this record would be re-written during the race on sunday.

This track has been one of the highest tracks in the number of overtakes in the past F1 races it has held. Even if the public opinion of the track is boring, it has been an active place for track battles.

One of the aspects the fans do however have liked are the trophies for the Grand Prixs. With a monkey/gorilla theme being held throughout. 

The track is quickly identified by the blue and red stripes that run around the corners. These stripes being in the colours of the french flag give the track a distinct look. With massive amounts of runoff these stripes do a great job of covering the boringness of big empty patches of asphalt, all the while having a safety feature. These stripes are a mixture of asphalt and tungsten with a colouring agent. The blues stripes are abrasive to slow the car down, the red ones are super abrasive and generate a lot of friction which grips the tyre aggressively. The blue stripes cause less abrasion on the tyres than the red ones. This slow the car down significantly to aid the tecpro barriers installed the edge of the circuit.

Source: https://dustinthepitlane.com/stripesatpaulricard/

The circuit is a well rounded track with the likes of Circuit de Catalyunya, consisting of a mix of slow, medium and fast corners with the straights coupled in. This along with good year round weather makes the track a really good choice for testing vehicles. In fact this circuit was once so popular among testing teams that it was called Paul Ricard High Tech Test Track until 2016. 

These characteristics of the circuit, along with ease of accessibility with an airport and sea port close by makes it convenient for the teams to have cargo shipped. The circuit is hosting around 25 motorsport series this year.

Source: https://www.gpfrance.com/en/circuit-paul-ricard/

Paul Ricard has been awarded a 3-star FIA Environmental Accreditation. In a 2021 report, it was ranked the second most sustainable racetrack in the world, tied with Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya and after Mugello Circuit.

Paul Ricard, a major pastis owner, owned the area where the racetrack is now located.

Ricard wanted to gain experience planning and constructing a roadway, as he was fascinated by large scale projects. Advisers convinced him that a racetrack would be extremely comparable and be better financially than a highway.

Thank You for reading!

Find me at @devaslooper on Twitter

And

our team at https://linktr.ee/Thefastestsector

Categories
Flashback Friday

Flashback Friday – Germany 2019

Credit: Formula One

Flashback Friday this week goes back to Hockenheim 2019, a weekend which celebrated Mercedes’ 125th anniversary, but ended up going down in history for a number of other reasons.

Qualifying

While the Ferrari looked set to take pole position in Hockenheim, the SF90’s of both Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc suffered reliability issues which allowed the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton to claim the top spot. Vettel failed to set a lap time throughout Q1, meaning he was unable to progress further. He was joined in the bottom five by Robert Kubica, George Russell, Alexander Albon and Lando Norris.

There was a close battle in Q2 for the coveted spots in the final session. However, Antonio Giovinazzi, Kevin Magnussen, Daniel Ricciardo, Daniil Kvyat, and Lance Stroll were knocked out of the session and unable to continue to the pole position shoot-out. 

As previously mentioned, Lewis Hamilton achieved the fastest time and pole position, with teammate Valtteri Bottas in third, and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen sandwiched between the two in second place. Charles Leclerc was unable to set a time in the Ferrari, and as a result started the race in tenth place.

Credit: FormulaSpy

Race

Hockenheim provided the fans and teams with dreary, wet conditions on Sunday – which meant more pitstops, more tyre compounds, and buckets full of drama (and water). Due to the weather, the race began behind the safety car and continued to follow for three laps. When the cars were let by and allowed to race, allowing Hamilton to shoot into the lead, almost immediately backed by teammate Bottas, while the Red Bull of Max Verstappen was slowed down by wheelspin. This allowed Alfa Romeo driver Kimi Raikkonen to pass the Dutch driver for third place. However, Raikkonen and teammate Antonio Giovinazzi would go on to be penalised after the race due to the use of driver aids at the start.

In the end, Max Verstappen was able to redeem himself by keeping control of his car through the conditions (which even Lewis Hamilton could not do, after a spin and damage caused him to pit and lose places) and eventually went on to win the race. Verstappen pit a total of five times, always making the right calls when they were needed.

While Hamilton suffered losses through losing track position, long pitstops and unfortunate penalties, his teammate Valtteri Bottas suffered just as much, having to retire his car when it slid off the track and into the barrier, ending in a dismal weekend for the team which should have been celebrating their anniversary.

It was an incredible race for Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel – after a disappointing Saturday the German driver was able to make his way through the grid, from last place to second, in front of his home fans. However, the same lucky fate did not exist for teammate Leclerc, who retired from the race after a collision with the barriers. 

Toro Rosso’s Daniil Kvyat took a joyful (if surprising) third place on the podium after a particularly strong race for the Russian driver, topping off an excellent weekend for him following the birth of his daughter, Penelope. 

In the end, only 13 drivers finished the race in the awful conditions. Perez, Ricciardo, Norris, Leclerc, Hulkenberg, Bottas and Gasly all failed to finish the race and left the weekend with no points to their names. However, surprises presented themselves in the point-scoring places too – a notable example being Lance Stroll finishing strongly in fourth place. Hockenhein 2019 really did give us a race to remember!

Credit: Formula One

Written by Tara Gardener