#Pirelli Catalunya Round

[42bakery]

Fuck. I don't like when a rider crashes and can't get up on his own.

And I hate when marshals just ignore them to take care of the bikes and is another rider who goes and check them. Kudous to the riders, but that's not their job

[opelman]

Yamaha / Jonathan Rea / GBR / Pata Prometeon Yamaha by Artes Max Via Flickr: Superbikes Barcelona Motorfest – Pirelli Catalunya Round 2024 / Circuit de Barcelona

[totalmotorcycle]

Pirelli Catalunya Round ends with decidedly convincing result for Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team http://dlvr.it/T4W7cL

[f1]

Need to know ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix

Need to know ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix By Balazs Szabo on 04 Jun 2023, 08:00 Following a nail-biting qualifying session that saw the rise of Max Verstappen and the fall of the likes of Charles Leclerc, George Russell and Sergio Perez, the field is getting ready to compete at today's Spanish Grand Prix at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. F1technical.net's Balázs Szabó reveals what to know ahead of Round 7 of the 2023 F1 season. Long history – The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is one of the longest serving venues on the Formula 1 calendar, having held the Spanish Grand Prix every year without interruption since it was opened in 1991. Today’s Spanish Grand Prix will mark the 53rd time that a Formula One race takes place in Spain. The event first appeared on the calendar in 1951, and has been held at five venues. The 1951 and 1954 races took place at Barcelona on the Pedralbes street circuit before the race moved to Madrid where the Circuito del Jarama hosted the race between 1968 and 1981. The third venue was Barcelona’s Montjuic Park, playing host to the event in 1969, 1971, 1973 and 1975. The Spanish Grand Prix had a short stint at Jerez between 1986 and 1990 before moving to the Circuit de Catalunya in the following year. Stewards – Garry Connelly, Felix Holter, Derek Warwick, and David Domingo will form the group of FIA stewards at today’s Spanish Grand Prix. The most successful team – Scuderia Ferrari is the most successful constructor at the Spanish Grand Prix with 12 victories. However, the Italian team recorded its most recent triumph long ago, back in 2013 when Fernando Alonso took a popular home win. McLaren is the second most successful outfit with eight victories with Mercedes being the third most successful thanks to their seven triumphs in the history of the Spanish Grand Prix. Average length – The Circuit de Bacelona-Catalunya features a layout that has a length of 4657m. The start line-finish line offset is 126m. Drivers will need to rack up a total of 66 laps at today’s Spanish Grand Prix, which is equivalent to 307.237km. Pit lane – Drivers will need to adhere to a speed limit of 80 km/h in the pit lane. Schumacher and Hamilton – The German and the Briton are the most successful drivers at the Spanish Grand Prix with six victories each. Schumacher first won in 1995 with Benetton, followed by five victories for Ferrari (1996, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004). Hamilton won here in 2014 for the first time, and was unstoppable in the years between 2017 and 2021. Two DRS zones – As in the previous years, two DRS zones will be in use. The first has a detection point 86m before Turn 9 and an activation point 40m after. The second detection point is at the Safety Car line, with activation 57m after Turn 16. Modifications – The track has been updated since the field last visited the venue last May. The most significant change is that the track reverts to the previous layout that results in the removal of the final chicane. Instead, cars will take the faster route, rushing through the extremely fast second-to-last corner. Two-stop strategy - For today’s 66-lap Barcelona round, Pirelli expects a two-stopper. This is down to the relatively high levels of tyre wear and degradation seen at the Barcelona circuit, with its abrasive asphalt and high-energy corners. Another reason is the fact that not so much time is lost in the pits, which makes a two-stopper much more viable, as well as the fact that the hard tyre is slower here. via F1Technical.net . Motorsport news https://www.f1technical.net/news/

[sbknews]

Bautista caps off perfect weekend in Barcelona

The current Championship leader, Alvaro Bautista, won three races of out three in Catalunya. He took the win in Race 2 ahead of teammate Michael Ruben Rinaldi. He leaves Barcelona with 236 points and a 69-point advantage over Toprak Razgatlioglu. Second place goes to Toprak Razgatlioglu who claimed Yamaha’s 400th podium finish. He stands in second place in the standings with 167 points. Michael Ruben Rinaldi was third, bouncing back after Race 1 DNF. He finished 8.643s behind his teammate. Alex Lowes was the lead Kawasaki rider in fourth place. Teammate Jonathan Rea took fifth place. Local hero Xavi Vierge completed Race 2 top six as the lead Honda rider. The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship action concluded at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for the Prosecco DOC Catalunya Round as Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) claimed a Barcelona hat-trick to extend his Championship lead, while Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) pipped Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) on the line to deny Ducati a 1-2 finish in Spain.

Bautista lost out initially as the lights went out but recovered heading into Turn 1 to retake the lead although Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) did briefly take the lead on the opening lap, although it did not last long as Bautista recovered the lead of the race before building out a gap over teammate Michael Ruben Rinaldi in second place, with Rinaldi able to build a gap over Razgatlioglu in third in the first half of the race. Rinaldi overtook Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) at Turn 1 on Lap 5 to promote himself into second. It had looked like Rinaldi would finish in second place to lead home a Ducati 1-2, but his final lap was around two seconds slower than Razgatlioglu and the 2021 Champion was able to overtake Rinaldi on the run to the line to take second place and secure Yamaha’s 400th WorldSBK podium, which demoted Rinaldi to third as he ended his Catalunya Round on the podium. As the race progressed, Razgatlioglu was able to pull out a gap over Lowes with the gap over a second by the start of Lap 17, allowing Razgatlioglu to claim his third podium of the weekend. As the laps ticked down, Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK), who started tenth, closed in on his teammate in the fight for fourth place but Rea was unable to make a move on his teammate. The KRT pair finished in fourth and fifth after Rea battled back from tenth place; he started there as a result of his Tissot Superpole Race crash. WorldSBK returns for the Pirelli Emilia-Romagne Round at the Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli” from the 2nd to the 4th of June.

WorldSBK Race 2 Results 1. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 2. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) +8.583s 3. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +8.643s 4. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +11.366s 5. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +12.824s 6. Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) +15.242s WorldSBK Championship standings 1. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 236 points 2. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) 167 points 3. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) 133 points WorldSBK Tissot Superpole Race Results 1. Alvaro Bautista | Ducati 2. Toprak Razgatlioglu | Yamaha | +2.110s 3. Andrea Locatelli | Yamaha | +2.385s

P1 | Alvaro Bautista | Aruba.it Racing - Ducati “The weekend has been perfect. We won three races and each race was a bit different, especially the Superpole Race. It was a bit scary in the last few laps because it started to rain, but not regularly. It was sometimes raining in the first sector, the next lap in sector three, the next one in four and two… leading the way was quite difficult because you never knew what to expect, the amount of water is on the track, so I was discovering the track every lap. It was the longest three laps of my life! For Race 2, the conditions were similar to Race 1 but maybe the grip was a bit lower because of the rain in the morning. I understood the track and I can keep my pace. I’m really happy especially to win three races here in Spain, in front of all the fans and my family, is always more special." For more info checkout our dedicated World Superbike News page World Superbike News Or visit the official World Superbike website WorldSBK.com

Read the full article

[waru-chan8]

My commentators are making fun of Fabio for what happened in the last race 😭😭😭😭. At least they explained why he threw the chest protector. Apparently the windy would move that piece against his neck and Fabio would be uncomfortable, or at least is their theory.

[junker-town]

F1 schedule: How to Watch the Spanish Grand Prix

Photo by Clay Cross ATPImages/Getty Images

Formula 1 returns to where the 2022 era began with several teams expected to arrive with major upgrades.

After a one-week break following the inaugural Miami Grand Prix, Formula 1 turns its attention to Barcelona for the Spanish Grand Prix. The new era of technical regulations made its on-track debut at the Catalunya circuit back in February for the first round of testing. With that benchmark, familiarity with the track, and its proximity to most teams' home operations in Europe, at least half the grid is expected to bring major updates this weekend.

The Miami GP was filled with hype and spectacle but delivered the TV ratings that ESPN and those backing the American market were hoping for. With an average viewership of 2.6 million the 2022 Miami GP became the highest-rated live F1 race in US television history (and second all-time behind a 2002 tape-delayed Monaco GP on ABC).

On Wednesday, F1 announced that they would not be replacing the canceled Sochi GP event in Russia, leaving the 2022 season with a well-balanced 22 race schedule. As the series shifts gears to Spain, it’ll be a packed weekend in Barcelona with Formula 2, Formula 3, and the W Series all running in support of F1. In this new era of cost restrictions, can Ferrari land a meaningful upgrade to put them back at the top of the podium or will Red Bull and Max Verstappen continue their recent domination?

Where Things Stand

Max Verstappen (85) maintained his record of winning every race he has finished and in doing so has cut Charles Leclerc’s (104) lead to just 19 points. A further 19 points back finds Red Bull’s other driver Sergio Perez (66) followed closely by George Russell (59) and Carlos Sainz (53). Lewis Hamilton currently sits 6th with 36 points.

In the Constructor standings, Ferrari’s early lead is nearly gone thanks to Red Bull's control at the last two circuits and Sainz’s unfortunate run of results prior to Miami. Ferrari has 157 compared to Red Bull’s 151, both well ahead of the 8-time reigning Constructor Champions Mercedes who are back in a distant third at the moment with 95 points.

The Circuit

Formula 1

Built ahead of the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, the Catalunya circuit has been home to the Spanish Grand Prix since the 1991 season. It’s the eighth location to hold the Spanish GP and was dominated by Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes in the last generation of F1 regulations. Hamilton has won at the track a total of six times, including the last five in a row.

There are two DRS zones, including a long front stretch, and 16 turns. With high, medium, and low-speed corners, plus two long straights, the Barcelona circuit delivers quite the challenge but also offers a bit of everything for the various team setups. Formula 1 visited the track earlier this year for the first on-track tests of the new vehicle regulations which will give everyone a clear idea of their development progress. Expect temperatures in the 80s this weekend, which should provide a fair amount of tire degradation. Pirelli is expected to bring their three hardest tire compounds in an attempt to balance this effect.

How To Watch

Practice 1 - Friday 5/20 - 7:55 am - ESPN2/ESPN Deportes/WatchESPN

Practice 2 - Friday 5/20 - 10:55 am - ESPNU/ESPN Deportes/WatchESPN

Spanish GP Preview Show: Friday 5/20 - 2:00 pm - ESPN3/WatchESPN

Practice 3 - Saturday 5/21 - 6:55 am - ESPNU/ESPN Deportes/WatchESPN

Qualifying - Saturday 5/21 - 9:55 am - ESPN2/ESPN Deportes/WatchESPN

Grand Prix Sunday (Pre-race Show) - Sunday 5/22 - 7:30 am - ESPN2/ESPN Deportes/WatchESPN

Grand Prix Race - Sunday 5/22 - 8:55 am - ESPN2/ESPN Deportes/WatchESPN

For those without cable looking to watch the Spanish Grand Prix weekend, you can subscribe to F1TV directly to catch every race, qualifying, and practice session throughout the 2022 season.

DraftKings Sportsbook is offering odds on the race. Thanks to his second straight win, and third so far this season, Max Verstappen enters the Spanish Grand Prix as the clear favorite at -105. Charles Leclerc remains his closest competitor (+135) followed by his Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz who is at +1400 to pick up his first-ever F1 victory at his home track. Sergio Perez (+1600) and both of the Mercedes drivers (+3500) round out the top six. The Cinderella story of Fernando Alonso picking up his first F1 win since 2013 sits at +25,000

What to Watch For:

Upgrades! Ferrari is expected to bring several upgrades, including a new floor to improve their porpoising issue. Red Bull is reportedly bringing a lighter car, while Alpine, Aston Martin, and Alfa Romeo are all planning multiple upgrades to their 2022 design which could lead to a shuffle in the midfield.

If the Ferrari upgrades can push them back in front of the Red Bull package, might Sunday bring the first-ever F1 win for Carlos Sainz? In front of huge home support and looking to erase misfortunes earlier this season, could Sainz pull off an upset and make this a three-way battle for the driver’s title?

Will Red Bull’s reliability issues arise again? In Miami, Verstappen had issues limiting his practice time on Friday, while Perez saw an energy issue mid-race impact his ability to challenge Sainz for the podium.

George Russell has been the only driver to finish in the top five at each race this season. His consistency has been a bright spot for Mercedes who still struggled to keep up with the top two teams in Miami. If notably slower than the February test, might Mercedes revert back to their no-sidepod design?

McLaren would love to rediscover their day one testing pace from Barcelona back in February. The first look at the new 2022 cars saw Lando Norris top the charts by more than half a second over the Ferraris and over a full second ahead of both Mercedes and Red Bulls. That proved a false start for McLaren after finishing 14th and 15th to start the season in Bahrain. Can a return to the Catalunya circuit help them return to podium contention?

Before you leave make sure to check out this week’s Grill the Grid where the F1 drivers attempt to sort the field by height in two minutes.

It's called Grill the Grid, not Roast the Grid @LandoNorris is a lot taller than his friends think!#F1 pic.twitter.com/cF0XTIIHm9

— Formula 1 (@F1) May 14, 2022

[ultrasfcb-blog]

Lewis Hamilton is as soon as once more benefitting from Sebastian Vettel marginal errors

Lewis Hamilton is as soon as once more benefitting from Sebastian Vettel marginal errors

Lewis Hamilton is as soon as once more benefitting from Sebastian Vettel marginal errors

Lewis Hamilton leads the drivers’ championship by 14 factors from Sebastian Vettel

Was the French Grand Prix the race at which the 2018 Components 1 drivers’ championship took a decisive flip?

Lewis Hamilton left the Circuit Paul Ricard on Sunday – probably discovering some technique to keep away from the visitors jams that blighted the observe’s return to the calendar for the primary time in 28 years – with a 14-point championship lead, and after about as dominant a efficiency as has been seen on this extremely shut season.

The title battle between the Mercedes driver and Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel will, as Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff stated after the race, presumably proceed to swing because the season develops.

However in such a decent battle, drivers must maximise their outcomes as a lot as doable. And Vettel was responsible in France – not for the primary time this yr, or final – of giving factors away needlessly. Will it come again to hang-out him by the top of the yr?

Vettel’s important error

Vettel was all the time more likely to lose factors to Hamilton at this race; the Mercedes was simply too fast to count on the rest, particularly as soon as the Briton had put it on pole.

However Vettel nonetheless would have completed on the rostrum had it not been for the incident on the primary lap that outlined the race.

The German, as so usually, received an ideal begin from third on the grid, and was rapidly tucked up proper behind Hamilton, and alongside the sister Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas, on the run to the primary nook. After which all of it went unsuitable.

Though in a robust place, and briefly into second forward of Bottas, Vettel realised that he was trapped, and tried to again out of it. However he misplaced management and spun into the Finn’s automobile, damaging each, forcing them into the pits and consigning them to a battle again by the sphere.

“It was my mistake,” Vettel stated. “I attempted to brake early and get out of it as a result of I had nowhere to go, however I had no room. When you’re so near a automobile forward and in addition the automobile subsequent to you, you lose… it felt like all of the grip.

Regardless of being caught up within the mayhem, Valtteri Bottas recorded the quickest lap of the race – 1:34.225 on Lap 41

“With hindsight, I want to have had a worse begin as a result of then it’s clear for Flip One. However I used to be a bit squeezed, could not actually go wherever, misplaced the automobile, it snapped and I needed to make contact with Valtteri, which is a disgrace for him, he did nothing unsuitable.

“It was a sequence response. At the least we each might proceed however it was not the race we wished.”

Vettel produced a stirring fightback drive and, regardless of a five-second penalty for inflicting a collision, nonetheless managed to complete forward of Bottas, who clawed his manner again to seventh in a automobile with a badly broken diffuser, affecting grip and steadiness.

At Mercedes, they felt the penalty was not sufficient, contemplating the impact Vettel had on Bottas’ race.

Hamilton, watching the incident within the inexperienced room after the race, stated: “Oh, man, that is loopy.”

Later, he added: “You should not be capable to take somebody out after which end forward of them and form of get away with it. If it was me, if I used to be Sebastian, I might really feel: ‘Jeez, I received away with that.’ And if I used to be Valtteri, I might be very sad proper now.”

Bottas was sad – he actually shouldn’t be having the rub of the inexperienced to this point this season.

As for Hamilton, maybe his feedback have been colored by final yr’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix, when Vettel had his notorious ‘red-mist’ second and intentionally drove into Hamilton in response to erroneously pondering the Briton had ‘brake-tested’ him.

Vettel was given a 10-second stop-and-go penalty for that. Hamilton ought to have gained, however as a result of his headrest got here unfastened and he needed to pit to have it secured, he ended up a spot behind Vettel.

The small issues matter

That Baku incident was considered one of two final yr through which misjudgements price Vettel dearly – the second being his over-aggressive defensive move at first in Singapore.

It is questionable whether or not they price him the championship – as a result of the 2 engine issues that hit him in Malaysia and Japan have been additionally enormously damaging. However they actually did not assist, and now he has made two this yr, as effectively.

The primary was, once more, in Azerbaijan – like France, a small error, however with massive penalties.

In Baku, Vettel locked up, broken a entrance tyre and ran huge making an attempt to go Bottas for the lead at a re-start after a security automobile interval. Had he not, he would in all probability have gained – Bottas retired with a puncture brought on by working over particles shortly afterwards – and would definitely have gained factors on Hamilton.

Because it was, he misplaced floor to Hamilton, who had been behind Vettel on the re-start, however handed him after his error, after which went on to win whereas the Ferrari dropped right down to fourth.

So, too, in France, what would possible have been second or third was fifth.

Vettel noticed his title hopes slip away after a misjudged defensive transfer in Singapore final season

Prior to now, Hamilton has not been shy about declaring the errors Vettel generally makes underneath strain. This time, although, he was not about to rub it in.

“It’s actually a racing incident in Flip One and people issues can occur,” he stated. “We’re all going into that first nook at nice speeds, it is not all the time straightforward to… I imply I went deep and huge as a result of I noticed them actually near me so I believed I used to be going to get rear-ended, to be sincere, so I went fairly deep.

“No, I do not really feel that he is notably made extra errors than (others). We’re all on the sting, we’re preventing for the world championships. We’re not pootling round. We’re on the market placing our lives on the road.

“We’re on the market placing the vehicles as far past the sting as we are able to within the most secure method. It is not like a prepare observe, you do not simply keep on the rails. Generally you may go off. We’re solely human.”

He has a degree. However, as Hamilton is aware of solely too effectively, championships are generally as a lot about making fewer errors than your rival as they’re about successful essentially the most races. And Vettel has already used up his justifiable share.

Verstappen again to his finest

An incident-free weekend for Verstappen ended with a second place podium end

The dialog within the post-race information convention about Vettel’s error introduced a pointed response from Purple Bull’s Max Verstappen, who completed second behind Hamilton and has now produced two flawless race weekends to finish the run of errors that blighted his begin to the season.

“Subsequent time you see Seb it’s best to ask him to alter his model, y’know?” Verstappen stated, in a sarcastic reference to lots of the questions which were directed at him this season. “As a result of, truthfully, it is not acceptable.

“That is what they stated to me originally of the season, so I believe they need to do the identical! After which, after all, Seb should not do something, and simply drive once more and study from this and go on. That is my recommendation to everybody on this room.”

His level was clear, and it’s not onerous to know the place he was coming from, or why he would say it. However the reality stays that not less than one incident each single race for six weekends in a row is one thing a driver must attend to, even when he doesn’t wish to admit it.

He additionally appears to be conveniently forgetting that each his crew bosses stated he wanted to make adjustments to chop the errors out.

As was all the time more likely to be the case in the end, Verstappen is now producing the kinds of races everybody all the time knew he was able to, and appears to have put the errors behind him. However, if he has a nasty patch like that, it is naive to suppose he isn’t going to get requested about it. Whether or not he likes to be reminded of it, or felt his remedy was honest, or not.

Mercedes type – a blip or a pattern?

Hamilton takes a 14-point championship result in Austria

One other function of the weekend in France was the return to type of Mercedes, after two barely off-colour weekends in Monaco and Canada.

Hamilton’s dominant efficiency in France was not dissimilar to that in Spain originally of Could, and it raised some attention-grabbing questions in regards to the causes of it.

The Circuit Paul Ricard has precisely the identical asphalt because the Circuit de Catalunya, and in consequence, Pirelli took to France the thinner-gauge tyres which have been additionally utilized in Barcelona, to keep away from issues with overheating and blistering. Do these go well with the Mercedes greater than the Ferrari, individuals marvel?

However Mercedes additionally launched an upgraded engine in France, after reliability issues delayed its scheduled debut in Canada, the place all three rival producers had enhancements. Because it turned out, Mercedes stated the two-week delay had allowed them to make the engine that ultimately launched even higher than it might have been had it made its debut when supposed.

Or was it the circuit traits? Ricard abounds with lengthy corners, identical to Spain, and maybe the Mercedes fits these varieties of bends greater than the shorter-radius corners on different tracks, like Monaco and Montreal.

Nearly actually, all three components performed a task. Within the meantime, the results of it led to a different attention-grabbing shift within the sample of the season.

After France, Mercedes can, for the primary time this yr, declare to have the quickest automobile, when judged on a mean of the quickest lap every automobile achieved over a weekend.

Till now, that honour had been Ferrari’s – by about 0.05secs. Now, it’s Mercedes. By 0.001secs. Which is a sign of simply how shut this title battle is, and the way races – and in the end the title – will swing on the smallest of things.

“The battle goes to proceed to the top of the season,” Wolff stated. “Marginal good points matter.”

Marginal errors, too.

BBC Sport – Formula 1 ultras_FC_Barcelona

ultras FC Barcelona - https://ultrasfcb.com/formula1/7256/

#Barcelona

[zeroviraluniverse-blog]

F1 2018 preview - Mercedes, Ferrari, Red Bull, Force India, Williams

Visit Now - http://zeroviral.com/f1-2018-preview-mercedes-ferrari-red-bull-force-india-williams/

F1 2018 preview - Mercedes, Ferrari, Red Bull, Force India, Williams

The second part of ESPN’s team-by-team preview for the 2018 Formula One season looks at the top five from last year’s championship standings, including the three teams most likely to fight for the title.

Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes are favourites for more championship glory in 2018. Octane/Action Plus via Getty Images

Drivers: Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas Engine: Mercedes 2017 points: 668 Fastest lap in testing: 1:18.400 (seventh fastest) Title odds: 1/2

Following two weeks of testing at the Circuit de Catalunya, ESPN analyses the battle at the front between Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull.

The reigning world champions appear to be the team to beat again in 2018. Pre-season gave little reason to expect otherwise and nor do the preceding four years of the V6 turbo era. Mercedes’ championship last season was perhaps the most impressive as it came despite a sweeping overhaul of Formula One’s regulations, highlighting why this is one of the sport’s all-time great dynasties.

Spearheaded by Lewis Hamilton, who at times last year appeared to be operating at the peak of his talent, the German manufacturer will be a formidable opponent for anyone close enough to challenge. Hamilton is likely to secure a contract extension in the early part of the year and goes into the season as the odds-on favourite for a fifth world championship.

But 2017 proved Mercedes is not unbeatable. Despite a strong second half of the season, Ferrari’s implosion in the final rounds basically handed Mercedes the championship when the fight looked to be going to the wire. The W08 car the team labelled “a diva” was tricky to understand and struggled to find the same performance gains on Pirelli’s softer tyres as Ferrari and Red Bull did. With Pirelli introducing altered compounds for the 2018 and pre-season suggesting the W09 is little better on the softer tyres, Mercedes has a lot of work to do to ensure its latest car stays at the front end of the grid.

Ferrari

Ferrari will need to match its rivals’ strong development in 2018 to claim a title. Mark Thompson/Getty Images

Drivers: Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen Engine: Ferrari 2017 points: 522 Fastest lap in testing: 1:17.182 (fastest) Title odds: 10/3

Ferrari used last year’s overhaul of aerodynamic regulations to mount a serious championship challenge, only to see its season fall apart late on after a series of engine failures. Having proved it has not forgotten how to build a title contender, the Italian team seemed quietly confident coming into the new campaign. Pre-season gave mixed messages about the order at the front but Ferrari is clearly going to start the year in the mix. Sustaining an aggressive and successful rate of development throughout the season — all while avoiding the failures of 2017 — will be key to its success this time around.

Sebastian Vettel drove as well at certain points last year than he ever did during his dominant spell at Red Bull. The German driver clearly relished being back in title contention and there’s little reason to think he will not be operating at a similar level in 2018. However, by keeping Kimi Raikkonen despite his frustrating inconsistency, Ferrari appears content not to win the constructors’ championship — Mercedes and Red Bull both have a more rounded driver line-up to take that accolade. Despite occasional flashes of the old Raikkonen, the 2007 world champion was very rarely on the same level as Vettel. A repeat of that this season could be damaging to Vettel’s title ambitions if Red Bull is also in the hunt for big hauls of points throughout the year.

Red Bull

Red Bull is in the best shape its been in since the start of the V6 turbo era. Mark Thompson/Getty Images

Drivers: Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen Engine: Renault (Branded as TAG Heuer) 2017 points: 368 Fastest lap in testing: 1:18.047 (third fastest) Title odds: 10/3

Red Bull could finally be back in title contention if the team is as close to Mercedes as pre-season suggested. Despite never having a package capable of winning the championship since F1 swapped V8 engines with the current V6s turbos, it has continually shown its aerodynamic prowess by finishing each season since with an aggressive upwards development curve. The problem has always been the gap to overhaul has simply been too big.

Analysing Red Bull’s gap to the front at the Australian Grand Prix will give some idea about how the rest of the season will play out and how likely the team is to be in the mix. If its tight at the top in Melbourne, it will very much be game on for 2018.

If the package is good, we also know its driver line-up is up to the challenge. In Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull likely has the best and most competitive pairing on the grid. This will also provide a fascinating narrative if Red Bull is in the title hunt — the two ultra-competitive drivers have so far enjoyed a good relationship, barring a brief spat after colliding in Hungary last year. Given the nature of F1 that harmony is unlikely to continue if both Red Bull drivers feel they can win a maiden championship this season. Managing that, and ensuring it does not derail a championship bid, will be just as important to Red Bull’s chances of winning as its car development plans.

Force India

The Force India didn’t shine during testing but the team is looking to bring a big upgrade to Melbourne. Mark Thompson/Getty Images

Drivers: Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon Engine: Mercedes 2017 points: 187 Fastest lap in testing: 1:18.967 (eighth fastest) Title odds: 300/1

Formula One’s serial overachievers face a big task in 2018. The team which has made out-performing its limited budget a habit in recent seasons had an underwhelming pre-season where it appeared to be lacking performance. Last year it was consistently best of the rest by some margin ahead of a packed midfield battle, but that cluster of teams is likely to make a step forward this year.

Renault and McLaren, both equipped with an improving engine and big budgets, are likely to close the gap to the top three. Force India faces a big task in competing with both over a 21-race season but if any of the grid’s smaller outfits can do it, the one emblazoned with a striking pink livery seems the most likely. Force India’s supply of Mercedes engines means it has a good baseline if it can get everything right with its car, and we know it is a team which relishes the sort of challenge ahead this year.

Rumours still exist about a name change ahead of the season, one which the team hopes will open it up to new and improved sponsorship opportunities in future, but that is unlikely to cause too much distraction to one of F1’s most efficient race operations.

Williams

Williams has a lot of work to do in 2018 to understand its radical new aero concept. JOSE JORDAN/AFP/Getty Images

Drivers: Lance Stroll and Sergey Sirotkin Engine: Mercedes 2017 points: 83 Fastest lap in testing: 1:19.189 (tenth fastest) Title odds: 500/1

By contrast to Force India, Williams has struggled over the last two years to improve a car during the season. A radical new aerodynamic concept was unveiled this year, spearheaded by Paddy Lowe and Dirk de Beer, and that rarely leads to an immediate upswing in performance. During testing, Lowe admitted the team is still a long way from understanding the true potential of the revamped FW41. With development likely to be what defines Williams’ season, attention naturally turns to the two men chosen to pilot this year’s car.

Ever since the launch, deputy team boss Claire Williams has been defiant about her team’s selection of the grid’s most inexperienced driver line-up, F1 sophomore Lance Stroll and rookie Sergey Sirotkin. The team has taken a huge gamble by investing in youth for its race squad and its ability to learn about and develop the FW41 will rest largely on their shoulders. Robert Kubica is a popular addition to the team as reserve driver but his knowledge of Pirelli’s notoriously tricky tyres is also limited after seven years out of Formula One, though his input is likely to be invaluable as the season progresses.

If Williams struggles early in the year, questions about the decisions made in the months leading in to the season are likely to be rife. Given how tight the midfield is expected to be at the start of the season, Williams cannot afford to have made a fundamental error in judgement.

[42bakery]

Toprak is a fucking smart (and ballsy) rider

[opelman]

Kawasaki / Alex Lowes / GBR / Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK by Artes Max Via Flickr: Superbikes Barcelona Motorfest – Pirelli Catalunya Round 2024 / Circuit de Barcelona

[jaeame-blog]

Ferrari follows Mercedes with F1 start tweaks | Formula 1

Haas Formula 1 development driver Arjun Maini won an entertaining GP3 sprint race at Barcelona after breaking free of the advances of Trident's Dorian Boccolacci. There are many photographers covering the hugely popular world of Formula One racing, but none of them shoot it quite like Joshua Paul of Lollipop Magazine. Lewis Hamilton will lead off the Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday, and the Mercedes driver has Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari as company next to him. It will be another Mercedes vs Ferrari showdown at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

McLaren's Stoffel Vandoorne will start from the back of the grid for this afternoon's Formula 1 Gran Premio de Espana Pirelli 2017 after the team made changes to elements of his Honda power unit. They've both thrown everything they could muster at upgrading their cars in preparation for this weekend, yet just 0.051s separated Mercedes and Ferrari after qualifying. McLaren driver Stoffel Vandoorne has been handed a 10-place grid penalty for Formula 1's Spanish Grand Prix as Honda was forced to change two engine components.After detecting a sensor issue on Sunday morning, the Japanese manufacturer changed. With the rules requiring drivers to run two different compounds in the race, F1 teams will have to work out ways to use the medium tyres for the shortest time possible.

Now we just need to keep pushing on the car side and wait to see what comes from the engine. "We cannot control that. Starting grid from the Formula One Spanish Grand Prix at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on Sunday 1.Mclaren driver Fernando Alonso of Spain touches a tire in the team garage after the qualifying session for the Spanish Formula One Grand Prix at the Barcelona Catalunya racetrack in Montmelo, Spain, Saturday, May 13, 2017.

[f1]

Verstappen leads Perez by seven-tenths as times tumble at revised Catalunya track | 2023 Spanish Grand Prix first practice

Championship leader Max Verstappen led team mate Sergio Perez by seven tenths of a second as drivers familiarised themselves with the revised layout of the Circuit de Catalunya. Verstappen set the pace for Red Bull with a 1’14.606, while Alpine’s Esteban Ocon was the quickest of the team’s rivals. Despite a 30% chance of rain being forecast for the opening hour of running of the race weekend, the teams were treated to clear skies and temperatures in the mid-20s. With so many teams introducing new parts on their cars for this weekend, all were quick to head out on track and get some early data on their upgrades. Aston Martin sent Fernando Alonso out the moment the green light appeared at the end of the pitlane with a large aero rake installed on his AMR22. He performed some slow laps to generate some base data for his team on their new front and rear wings parts before returning to the pit lane. Ocon gave Alpine encouragement with third Teams were also testing the new construction of tyres from Pirelli which are due to be introduced at the British Grand Prix in three rounds’ time. The vast majority of teams opted to run those prototype tyres for their initial laps, although the two Mercedes drivers of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell both decided to complete runs on the revised rubber. Verstappen set the early benchmark time of a 1’16.583 on medium compound tyres, before Perez moved to the top with a 1’16.420. Not to be outdone, Verstappen shaved four tenths of a second off Perez’s time to break into the 1’15s for the first time in the weekend. Many drivers had their first experience of the much faster turn 13 as they bypassed the chicane which was introduced in 2007. However many drivers, including Verstappen and Russell, reported some porpoising in their car as they rounded the final right hander at speeds of 250kph. The Red Bull drivers switched onto the soft tyres and immediately went much quicker. Perez posted a 1’15.374 to move to the top of the times, before Verstappen reclaimed the top spot with a 1’14.606 to go seven-tenths faster than his team mate. That would remain the fastest lap of the session as no one would threaten his time for the remainder of practice. Teams spent the rest of the hour focusing on longer runs, with Alonso complaining about the viability of racing on the soft tyres he had been sent out on. In the closing moments, Pierre Gasly and Logan Sargeant made contact at the left hander of turn 10, but with no major damage done to either car. At the end of the session, Verstappen was comfortably quickest from team mate Perez. Ocon finished the session in third, less than half a tenth behind Perez, with Nyck de Vries fourth-fastest in the AlphaTauri. Pierre Gasly was fifth in the second Alpine, with Alonso sixth and Kevin Magnussen seventh. The two Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jnr were eighth and ninth, though race control noted the latter may have committed an infringement when he performed his practice start. Sainz lined up directly behind Leclerc then pulled away before his team mate. The top 10 was completed by Russell’s Mercedes. Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free 2023 Spanish Grand Prix first practice result Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free 2023 Spanish Grand Prix Browse all 2023 Spanish Grand Prix articles via RaceFans - Independent Motorsport Coverage https://www.racefans.net/

[sbknews]

Hat-trick of wins at Assen for reigning World Champion Bautista

Alvaro Bautista took his eighth victory in nine starts as the 2022 WorldSBK Champion stamps his authority with Assen hat-trick, which was also Ducati’s 400th win. Toprak Razgatlioglu secured second place in Race 2 for his sixth consecutive podium finish. The 2021 WorldSBK Champion stands in second place in the Championship standings with 118 points. Race 2 saw Jonathan swap places and trade paint once again with Bautista and Razgatlioglu. In the heat of the battle, Rea crashed out at Turn 9 from a podium position as he pushed for a first win of the year. Andrea Locatelli was third, claiming his fourth podium of the season so far. After nine races, he has already equaled his best podium tally from 2021. Locatelli maintains his third place in the standings and sits only 14 points behind Razgatlioglu. Rookie Dominique Aegerter crossed the finish line in fifth place but finished fourth following Axel Bassani’s penalty for a track limits infraction on the final lap; Bassani was demoted one place. Today’s fourth place is the Swiss rider’s best result in WorldSBK. Teammate Remy Gardner completed Race 2’s top six. Dutch rider Michael van der Mark crashed at Turn 16 and was taken to the medical centre for a check-up following the crash. He was subsequently transported to hospital for further assessments on a suspect left femur fracture, and this injury was confirmed following his checks at hospital.

The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship had more history written at the TT Circuit Assen during the Pirelli Dutch Round as Italian manufacturer Ducati claimed their 400th victory in WorldSBK history after Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) claimed a hat-trick in the Netherlands. Ducati become the first manufacturer to reach this milestone. The battle for the lead involved Bautista, Razgatlioglu and Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) in the early stages of the race with all three taking their chance to lead throughout the race. Razgatlioglu made his move for the lead on Lap 3 but Bautista responded quickly, before Rea made his move on Lap 5 at the same Turn 8. Bautista was able to respond almost immediately to re-claim the lead and Rea’s race would come to an end on the following lap. He lost the front of his Kawasaki machine at Turn 9 on Lap 6 which put him out of the race.

It meant the fight for victory became between Bautista and Razgatlioglu, but the reigning Champion was able to pull out a gap over Razgatlioglu as he claimed his 40th WorldSBK win and Ducati’s 400th win in WorldSBK. Razgatlioglu was unchallenged as he took second place in Race 2 to continue his run of podium finishes, now at six races. He was directly ahead of teammate Andrea Locatelli in third, matching his podium tally from 2021 and doubling his count from 2022. Locatelli had to fend off a challenge from Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) who took fifth place. WorldSBK will return with the Prosecco DOC Catalunya Round taking place from the 5th to the 7th of May at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

WorldSBK Race 2 Results 1. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 2. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) +3.915s 3. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) +7.416s 4. Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) +9.445s 5. Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) +9.500s 6. Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) +12.279s WorldSBK Championship standings 1. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 174 points 2. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) 118 points 3. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) 104 points WorldSBK Tissot Superpole Race Results 1. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 2. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +0.916s 3. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) +1.757s

P1 | Alvaro Bautista | Aruba.it Racing - Ducati « It’s a fantastic feeling I’m having now. It’s an incredible milestone for Ducati with 400 victories. Congrats to Ducati for all the history they are making! On my side, I’m happy. More than the result, I’m happy because the feeling with the bike is amazing. Yesterday, I felt good, but we had some problems in the race that maybe because you cannot notice from the outisde, but I felt it on the bike, and I know when I am able to go faster, or when I can have a better feeling and when I cannot. So, today we made a change on the bike in the set up, and already in the morning I felt much better. In in the Superpole race, I started to push harder and harder and I see the limit of the bike was more far than yesterday.

“I was able to go really fast in the Superpole Race. Also, in Race 2, I was able to be more precise in my riding, and it was more enjoyable. I could also manage better the wind because today it was a bit stronger, and its direction was different, especially in the first part of the race. I must understand in which area the wind helped me to close corner and in which area I had to be careful too because push me out. And at the end I could get a good pace, I was able to be on the limit and I could pull the limit of the bike and I'm happy because I did that. This is, I think, the maximum. So, I'm happy because I gave my best, despite the circumstance. It has really been a perfect weekend for us.” For more info checkout our dedicated World Superbike News page World Superbike News Or visit the official World Superbike website WorldSBK.com Read the full article

[42bakery]

I can't believe that with this new weird format there's no parc fermé for the WSSP300 riders. Give me my parc Fermé

And it also sucks that only the risder on pole get to be interview and it's just 1 question

[42bakery]

Hold on, they confirmed the podium and then when it ended they handed a penalty that send the winner to P13? What was race direction thinking? They could just wait a bit longer and really confirm the podium