The popular night race in Singapore makes its return to the F1 calendar; Mercedes-AMG Motorsport teams and drivers meanwhile continue to rack up successes around the world
- This is what happened: Results and facts
- News from the Mercedes-AMG Motorsport teams
- Social media news: What’s new online?
This is what happened: Results and facts
- ADAC GT Masters: One-two finishes for the Mercedes-AMG GT3 in the two races at the Sachsenring
- DTM: Mercedes-AMG GT3 drivers Luca Stolz and Maro Engel both on Sunday podium at Spielberg
- GT America: George Kurtz wins both races at Sebring International Raceway
News snippets
Singapore, here we come: Next weekend, the Marina Bay Street Circuit in Singapore plays host to F1 for the first time since 2019. The 13th Singapore Grand Prix will once again be staged as a floodlit event. The team has won the night race four times so far, three times courtesy of Lewis Hamilton (2014, 2017, 2018) and once with Nico Rosberg at the wheel (2016). The most recent winner in Singapore was Sebastian Vettel while he was still racing for Ferrari. Now with Aston Martin, he is due to retire from the series at the end of the season; his tally of five victories on this street circuit makes him the most successful driver in the Singapore GP. There are only three other drivers who have lifted the winner’s trophy here so far: Lewis (four times), Fernando Alonso (twice) and Nico (once). Sebastian Vettel and Lewis are joint best qualifiers with four pole positions each. Ferrari have more wins than any other team (five) ahead of Mercedes-AMG on three and McLaren and Red Bull on two each. Mercedes-powered cars have won five races – the same number as cars with Ferrari engines. The lap record is 1:36.015 minutes, set by Lewis in 2018. The fastest race lap so far – 1:41.905 minutes – was clocked by Kevin Magnussen in a Haas, also in the 2018 season.
Raffaele Marciello underscores GT Masters title ambitions with two podium finishes: The tradition-steeped Sachsenring was the venue for the penultimate race weekend of the 2022 ADAC GT Masters. Championship aspirant Raffaele Marciello (SUI) in the #48 Mercedes-AMG GT3 of MANN-FILTER Team LANDGRAF immediately stamped his authority on the proceeding, booking pole position for Saturday’s race. Fabian Schiller (GER) partnered by Jules Gounon (FRA), who also went into the weekend as a title contender, qualified in second position. An uncharacteristic error by Marciello at the start opened a gap for Schiller, which the Drago Racing Team ZVO driver gratefully exploited. Schiller and Gounon went on to win the race ahead of Marciello and Dani Juncadella (ESP) who had to settle for the runner-up spot.
The Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing teams produced another one-two finish in Sunday’s race. While Marvin Dienst and Jan Marschalkowski (both GER) in the #8 Mercedes-AMG GT3 of Mercedes-AMG Team ZVO celebrated a well-deserved first win of the season, the number 48 pairing took a significant step towards the Drivers’ Championship with another P2. Marciello now goes into the season finale at the Hockenheimring (22 – 23 October) having extended the lead over his closest pursuer to 42 points.
Lucas Auer remains second in the drivers’ championship after stormy DTM weekend: Austria’s Lucas Auer (AUT) experienced a rollercoaster of emotions in his home race on the seventh and penultimate DTM weekend hosted by the Red Bull Ring. The Mercedes-AMG Team WINWARD driver had managed to work his way up from seventh on the grid to fourth on Saturday when he was handed a ten-second penalty by the race stewards for allegedly exceeding the speed limit in the pit lane. After the video evidence was reviewed, the penalty was withdrawn and Auer was allowed to keep his fourth place.
In Sunday’s race on a drying track, strategy was the decisive factor. Auer waited until the last moment before bringing his number 22 Mercedes-AMG GT3 in for the mandatory pit stop, which initially dropped him down to 14th place. On slicks, he was then the fastest driver in the field, working his way up to P6 and setting the fastest race lap in the process. Luca Stolz (GER) in the number 4 Mercedes-AMG Team HRT car meanwhile had success with contrary tactics, coming in at the start of the pitstop window to bolt on new rain tyres and subsequently finishing second. Maro Engel (GER) of Mercedes-AMG Team GruppeM Racing was third. Auer is just eleven points behind the overall leader ahead of the season finale at the Hockenheimring in a fortnight’s time.
Successful weekend at Sebring International Raceway: US-based Customer Racing teams remain on course for the title in more than one series after good results at Sebring International Raceway. With two wins in GT America, one of which was the 333rd overall victory for a Mercedes-AMG GT3, CrowdStrike Racing’s George Kurtz (USA) secured the championship in the SRO3 classification. In the GT World Challenge America, this time partnered by Colin Braun (USA), Kurtz secured second place in class, which keeps the duo in contention for the Pro-Am title. Gavin Sanders (CAN) and Michai Stephens (USA) of Conquest Racing / JMF Motorsport are likewise in with a chance of taking the Silver class title thanks to a win and a podium in the GT4 America series.
Three championship titles for Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing in the GT World Challenge Asia: The 2022 GT World Challenge Asia concluded with two races at the Okayama International Circuit last weekend. Triple Eight JMR were crowned team champions in the GT3 class, while H.H. Prince Abu Bakar Ibrahim and Jazeman Jaafar (both MAS) secured the Pro-Am drivers’ title. With two class wins, one of them by the razor-thin margin of 0.001 seconds, Brian Lee (TWN), Hideto Yasuoka (JPN) and the GTO Racing Team also claimed the team and driver championship in the GT4 category.
Social Media News
#MyJobF1: In the latest instalment of our ‘My Job in F1’ series, we introduce our graphic designer Katherine whose areas of responsibility range from merchandise and licensed products to Esports, commercial prospects and social assets. In graphic design, no two days or projects are ever the same.
Watch video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebKwx9L9gWs
#F1MotorhomeTour: We take a video tour of our F1 motorhome in the paddock – and inadvertently barge in on Lewis conducting a private meeting.
Watch video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZM5qtW9h9k
#HamiltonEngineeringSchool: It’s every aspiring engineer’s dream – over the summer we challenged 85 eleven-year-old students from UBS Hamilton Engineering School to design, build and test their own model car. Chief Technology Officer James Allison was there to give them advice and support, and he ultimately chose the winning entry.
Watch video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfrLmfd8YB0
