Car FYI

Photo Credit: Jiri Krenek for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd. untitled Varying weather conditions shaped what was one of the more memorable Russian Grand Prix race weekends. As part of the 2021 Formula 1 schedule, the Sochi Autodrom featured Saturday and Sunday competition in a combination of dry and wet conditions. Qualifying started after rain soaked the 5.848-kilometer track with Lando Norris prevailing with his first Formula 1 pole when his McLaren Racing team mounted soft compound slick tires on a drying track late in Q3. Sunday’s 53-lap main event started as a dry race but late rainfall resulted in a gamble that saw Norris losing and Lewis Hamilton hitting the jackpot. Lando Norris’ McLaren and the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz Jr. led the field to the starting grid for the Russian Grand Prix. As the lights went out, Norris shot-out to an initial advantage but Sainz successfully chased down the orange and blue McLaren to take the lead into the second corner o...

Photo Credit: Unnamed Photographer/Pirelli untitled In Formula 1's last race in Monza, the sport’s long-running McLaren Racing team completed its gradual return to the top echelon of the sport when Daniel Ricciardo spectacularly took the Italian Grand Prix . Lando Norris finishing second reinforced McLaren’s triumph with the 21-year-old British driver comforted by the likeliest case scenario that he’s in the early stage of a long career in Formula 1 where he stands close to his own success. While that was a thought two weekends ago in Italy, Norris wasted little time after the strong Italian Grand Prix performance to add a major professional milestone. Rain prior to Saturday’s qualifying at the 5.848-kilometer Sochi Autodrom for the 53-lap Russian Grand Prix made the time trial session tricky for competitors. The showers were so heavy that they caused the cancellation of the third and final practice earlier in the day but qualifying took place af...

Photo Credit: Mark Sutton/LAT Images/Pirelli untitled Formula 1's oldest race track on the current schedule, Autodromo Nazionale di Monza is recognized as a venue of speed. The 11-turn, 5.793-kilometer (3.6-mile) track layout hosting the 2021 Italian Grand Prix has some of the lowest downforce expectations of many event on the circuit. The unusual performance attributes of Monza where aerodynamic grip is de-emphasized in favour of top speed have given some drivers and teams a taste of glory. Last year’s event won by Scuderia AlphaTauri pilot Pierre Gasly was achieved by the combination of utilizing the team’s Honda engine power and taking advantage of lucky breaks. Gasly’s win in the 2020 Italian Grand Prix also featured fending off a McLaren race car driven by Carlos Sainz Jr. who finished in the runner-up spot. With some extraordinary circumstances occurring in last year’s race, it seemed less than likely that similar unorthodox matters would cre...

Photo Credit: Mark Sutton/LAT Images/Pirelli untitled The week between the Dutch Grand Prix and this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix has involved a series of major announcements ahead of the 2022 Formula 1 season. The biggest domino was British driver George Russell tapped to pilot an entry for the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team as a teammate to Lewis Hamilton. This move for next season occurred as Alexander Albon was announced to return to Formula 1 in the Williams Racing team while current Mercedes-AMG Valtteri Bottas would depart for the Alfa Romeo Racing organization. In the case of Bottas, his final races with the German factory team are widely expected to be his last, best chances at Formula 1 glory. Formula 1's second sprint qualifying weekend at the Autodromo Nationale de Monza was an opportunity for the Finnish driver to leave a lasting impact on the 2021 season. The Italian Grand Prix is one of the three events in the 2021 Formula 1 season to use the league...

Photo Credit: Sam Bloxham/LAT Images/Pirelli untitled Born in Belgium, Formula 1 driver Max Verstappen competes with the flag of the Netherlands just like his father Jos did throughout his grand prix career. Enthusiasm behind the success of the Dutch pilot for Red Bull Racing played an extra part in an aggressive push to bring back the top open wheel racing to Holland’s Circuit Zandvoort. Awarded a date on the Formula 1 calendar last year but cancelled due to COVID-19 health pandemic, the 2021 season would finally welcome the return of the Dutch Grand Prix set to attract a race-day audience of 70,000 with a majority of support going to the driver of the #33 Red Bull Racing machine. Saturday’s qualifying for the event generated the result many native fans were hoping for as Max Verstappen topped the session with a 1-minute, 8.885-second lap time securing pole by a very tight 0.038-second margin over the Lewis Hamilton’s #44 Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team ca...

Photo Credit: Steve Etherington for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd. untitled Despite the best efforts of the 20 Formula 1 drivers and teams, the ultimate winner of this weekend racing at Belgium’s Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps was the weather. Complicating Saturday’s qualifying for the 2021 Belgian Grand Prix by soaking the fast Eau Rouge section of the popular race track, rain continued into Sunday greatly hindering what was supposed to have been a 44-lap event. Instead of pole sitter Max Verstappen leading the field with his #33 Red Bull Racing RB16B race car, the vehicle at the front during the limited laps around the course was the safety car. In fact, the lap count at the end of the Belgium Grand Prix would be a series record for the shortest grand prix ever to be run by Formula 1. Conditions ahead of the start Belgian Grand Prix instantly signalled how miserable the weather competitors, track workers and race fans would have to endure as Formula 1 attempted ...

Photo Credit: Charles Coates/LAT Images/Pirelli untitled The duet performance of 20 high-performance turbocharged gasoline and an electric power unit takes to the stage at Belgium’s Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps after nearly a month-long hiatus. A favourite track among Formula 1 drivers and fans, the 20-turn, 7.004-kilometer (4.352-mile) race track is a venue many would like to claim victory. Spa-Francorchamps is also known for being tricky and potentially dangerous place to compete. A six-car accident in qualifying for the W Series companion event on the Belgian Grand Prix weekend highlighted the course’s fast and challenging Eau Rouge section. Formula 1 cars’ Saturday qualifying combined the element of rain showers reducing the predictability of grip on the track surface and would contribute to some major surprises for setting the grid for the 44-lap main event on Sunday. With the conclusion of the Q1 and Q2 in qualifying at Spa-Francorchamps, Bri...