Stoffel Vandoorne wins the prestigious Monaco E-Prix; Formula One prepares for Grand Prix debut in Miami
- This is what happened: Results and facts
- News from the Mercedes-AMG Motorsport teams
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This is what happened: Results and facts
- Formula E: Stoffel Vandoorne wins Monaco E-Prix for the Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team
- DTM: Lucas Auer and Luca Stolz make it a one-two finish for the Mercedes-AMG GT3 in the season opener at Portimão
- GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup: Timur Boguslavskiy and Raffaele Marciello victorious in Race 2 at Brands Hatch
News snippets
Miami, here we come: The fifth race weekend of the season takes F1 to Miami for the first time in the history of the sport, as the Miami International Autodrome prepares to make its Grand Prix debut. The semi-permanent circuit is 5.412 kilometres in length and the race distance will be 57 laps, equivalent to just over 308 kilometres. The track runs around Hard Rock Stadium, home to the NFL team Miami Dolphins, and features 19 turns. Miami is the eleventh circuit in the USA to stage an F1 race, previous venues having been Watkins Glen, Austin, Indianapolis, Phoenix, Riverside, Sebring, Dallas, Detroit, Las Vegas and Long Beach. In the 2023 season, there will be no fewer than three races in the USA, with Las Vegas joining Miami and Austin which will once again host the U.S. Grand Prix.
Victory on the streets of Monaco: Last weekend, the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship held a round in the Principality of Monaco for the fifth time since its inception. This was the first occasion on which the complete Grand Prix Circuit was used. It was outing number two on the legendary street circuit for the Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team. Last year’s E-Prix weekend had been a frustrating one for the team, so Stoffel Vandoorne, Nyck de Vries and the entire team set their sights much higher this time – especially with it being the home race for both drivers who have their permanent residence in the Principality. And race day was not to disappoint. After booking P4 on the grid in qualifying, Stoffel steadily worked his way forward over the course of the first half of the race and eventually took the lead after a full-course yellow, a position that he successfully defended through to the chequered flag. It was his first win of the 2022 campaign and his third in the all-electric race series. It was the second win of the season for the team and the sixth in Formula E. With six rounds of the season now complete, the Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team leads the Team Championship by 15 points ahead of DS Techeetah. Stoffel tops the Drivers’ World Championship with a six-point lead, while Nyck is in eighth place overall after his P10 finish in Monaco.
Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing starts the 2022 DTM season with a one-two: Lucas Auer (AUT) of Mercedes-AMG Team WINWARD won the first race of the new season on the DTM opening weekend at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve. In a thrilling qualifying session on Saturday, which saw the top 24 of 29 cars finish within one second of each other, the Mercedes-AMG Performance driver took third place. DTM debutant Mikaël Grenier (CAN) sensationally reserved a place on the front row of the grid. His number 55 Mercedes-AMG GT3 had been decked out with a special livery to commemorate Mercedes-AMG’s 55th anniversary.
The Portuguese circuit, which was included in the DTM itinerary for the first time this year, does not readily lend itself to overtaking, so an increasingly tactical race developed. A restart on lap 19 ultimately turned out to be the decisive factor. Because the front runner was struggling with technical problems, Lucas Auer in the number 22 Mercedes-AMG GT3 was able to move into the lead. Mikaël Grenier of Mercedes-AMG Team GruppeM Racing, on the other hand, was impeded and dropped out of the points. After a neat pit stop and immediately posting the fastest race lap, Luca Stolz (GER) of Mercedes-AMG Team HRT moved up to second place. GT3 specialist Auer made good use of his extensive experience of the series to secure a personal eighth DTM victory. He was followed across the finish line by runner-up Stolz in the number 4 Mercedes-AMG GT3.
In Sunday’s race, the previous day’s winner Auer was also well in the running for a long time, but a defective wheel gun on his pit stop dropped him back to the rear of the field. Reigning DTM Champion Maximilian Götz of Mercedes-AMG Team WINWARD Racing finished the race in fifth place.
Victory for AKKODIS ASP in GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup opener: AKKODIS ASP got their 2022 GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup season off to a great start with an overall victory and four further class podiums at the iconic Brands Hatch Circuit. Raffaele Marciello (SUI) and Timur Boguslavskiy (FIA) driving the number 89 Mercedes-AMG GT3 secured overall victory on Sunday afternoon after finishing third in Race 1. Jules Gounon and Jim Pla (both FRA) sharing the cockpit of the number 88 GT3 took third place in the PRO classification in the second of the two one-hour races. Thomas Drouet (FRA) and Casper Stevenson (USA) in the #87 car meanwhile registered a P2 and a P3 in the Silver Cup.
As part of the supporting programme, four races of the GT Cup Championship were also held on the historical British circuit. The number 16 Mercedes-AMG GT3 of RAM Racing and the #69 of Make Happen Racing each made it onto the class podium twice.
Customer Sports teams deliver multiple Top Ten finishes at Raceway Laguna Seca: Racing in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge took place at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterrey, USA, over the weekend. There were Top Ten finishes in the GTD class for the #32 Korthoff Motorsports (fifth), the #79 WeatherTech Racing (sixth) and the #28 Alegra Motorsports (ninth) at the end of the 160-minute WTSCC race. In the Mazda Prototype Challenge (MPC) class, Murillo Racing likewise posted respectable results, with the #72 Mercedes-AMG GT4 in sixth and the #56 GT4 just behind in seventh.
Overall podium, three class wins and two podiums at the International GT Open: Adam Christodoulou (GBR) and Reema Juffali (KSA) of Theeba Motorsport secured wins in the PRO-AM classification in the first two races of the International GT Open at the Circuito do Estoril in Portugal. After their number 18 Mercedes-AMG GT3 crossed the finish line in fourth overall in Saturday’s race, they went one better the following day to claim the third podium spot. Yannick Mettler and Dexter Müller (both SUI) driving the #54 of SPS automotive performance likewise took third place in the PRO-AM classification in Sunday’s race. Alexander Hrachowina and Martin Konrad (both AUT) in the #25 of MANN-FILTER Team LANDGRAF and Kiki Sak Nana (THA) and Adam Osieka (GER) in the #786 of GetSpeed Performance celebrated a one-two victory in the AM classification.
Social Media News
#MyJobInF1: To open our new series of ‘My Job in F1’, we introduce Stuart, our Head of Health and Safety. He reveals what the team does to ensure that all team members are able to do their jobs in hazard-free conditions and to return home at the end of the day as safe and sound as when they turned up for work.
Watch video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqH11QVeqGA
