Formula One prepares for one more double-header before the summer break; Stoffel Vandoorne meanwhile rewards his crew for their Herculean efforts with a podium finish.
- 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
- Formula E: Sunday’s race in New York City ends with Stoffel Vandoorne taking the runner-up spot
- GT World Challenge Asia: Podium finish for a Mercedes-AMG GT3 in both races at Suzuka
- GTC Race: A P2 and a P3 for the Mercedes-AMG GT3 at the Lausitzring
News snippets
France, here we come: France will host its 62nd F1 race next weekend. For the 18th time, the French Grand Prix will be contested at Circuit Paul Ricard, which puts the venue on level pegging with Magny Cours, hitherto the most frequently used track for the premier class of racing. Since F1 returned to the revamped Circuit Paul Ricard for the 2018 season, three races have been held there, of which Lewis Hamilton has won two and Max Verstappen one. The most successful contestant on French soil is Michael Schumacher with eight wins, followed by Alain Prost on six. In terms of team victories, Ferrari’s total of 17 victories puts them well clear of Williams (eight) and Lotus (seven). The Silver Arrows have won on three previous occasions in France – in 1954 courtesy of Juan Manuel Fangio and in 2018 and 2019 with Lewis at the wheel. The absolute lap record on the 5.842 km track variant is 1:28.319 minutes clocked by Lewis in Q3 2019, while the fastest race lap is Sebastian Vettel’s 1:32.740 minutes, likewise set in 2019.
Pulsating weekend in New York City: The Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team travelled to New York City last weekend for rounds eleven and twelve of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship season. The third-to-last race weekend of Season 8 involved a lot of extra work for the team, but ultimately brought a just reward. Stoffel Vandoorne was battling in the leading group in the first race on Saturday when a sudden downpour sent the Top Three aquaplaning into the barriers. The ensuing chaos led to the race being red-flagged and the team facing a lot of extra work, as Stoffel’s car had been severely damaged in the crash. The race was not resumed after the red flag, so Stoffel and his team-mate Nyck de Vries were classified fourth and eighth. A night shift followed as the mechanics rebuilt Stoffel’s car with a new chassis and a different power unit. They put in a Herculean effort in the few hours between the end of the race and the free practice session on Sunday morning.
The crew were then rewarded for all their hard work when Stoffel took the runner-up spot in the second race, while Nyck contributed further valuable points with a P7. But the three points-scoring finishes and a podium were not the only positive outcome from the weekend, as Stoffel (155 points) has now moved back into lead in the Drivers’ Championship after twelve of the sixteen races on 2021/22 calendar. He has an eleven-point lead over second-placed Edoardo Mortara (144 points). Nyck (83 points) is in eighth place. The Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team (238 points) has fought their way back to the top of the Team Championship in New York City, which they now lead by a ten-point margin over Venturi Racing (228 points). The racing action resumes in a fortnight’s time (30 and 31 July 2022) when the next two rounds of the 2021/22 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship take place in London.
Triple Eight JMR surge into overall lead in GT World Challenge Asia: On the second race weekend of the GT World Challenge Asia, Nick Foster (AUS) and Prince Jefri Ibrahim (MAS) made two podium appearances at the Suzuka International Racing Course and took over at the top of the drivers’ standings. The Triple Eight JMR duo, who share the cockpit of the number 99 Mercedes-AMG GT3, started Saturday’s one-hour race from twelfth position but then made a strong recovery to finish third. They followed that result up in the Sunday race with a P2 finish to register their third podium in the four races so far contested. Foster and Ibrahim go into next weekend’s races at Fuji International Speedway leading the drivers’ championship standings by 25 points. Triple Eight JMR are eight points clear of their nearest challenger in the team championship.
It was also the first time that the Mercedes-AMG GT4 saw action at Suzuka. On Saturday, the number 55 and 14 cars fielded by Team Scala and GTO Racing Team respectively made it a Mercedes one-two in the GT4 Silver-AM classification. The following day, it was the turn of the Team GMB number 33 Mercedes-AMG GT4 to take the win in this particular class. The result took the Japanese outfit and their driver pairing of Hiroaki Hatano and Shinya Hosokawa (both JPN) to the top of the GT4 drivers’ and team standings.
Dramatic last-minute upset for WINWARD Racing at Lime Rock Park: In the ninth round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season hosted by Lime Rock Park, the fans witnessed drama on the final lap. Philip Ellis (SUI) and Russell Ward (USA) in the number 57 WINWARD Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 were cruising to an almost certain victory in the GTD category when a faulty fuel pump suddenly slowed the car’s forward momentum. Although Ellis managed to free-wheel to the finish, he had to let several cars pass and ended up fifth in his class.
One of the beneficiaries of WINWARD’s misfortune were Team Korthoff Motorsports. Mike Skeen (USA) and Stevan McAleer (GBR) in the #32 Mercedes-AMG GT3 finished fourth, thereby extending their lead over the second-placed contenders in the GTD Team Championship to 40 points. WeatherTech Racing’s #79 GT3 with Jules Gounon (FRA) and Cooper MacNeil (USA) at the wheel also made it into the Top Ten with a P7 finish.
The 2.41-kilometre circuit in Connecticut, which consists of only seven corners, had earlier in the day staged a two-hour race in the 2022 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge. The Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing Teams achieved an outstanding double success in the GS Bronze category, with Brent Mosing and Tim Probert (both USA) in the #65 Murillo Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4 finishing first in their class, just ahead of second-placed Gary Ferrera and Kris Wilson (both USA) in the number 11 car of Capstone Motorsports.
Further positive race results from Germany, Italy and Lithuania: Space Drive Racing delivered two podium finishes for the brand on the second race weekend of the GTC Race series at the Lausitzring. Maximilian Götz and Carrie Schreiner (both GER) in the #31 Mercedes-AMG GT3 finished second in Saturday’s 60-minute race. In the solo runs on Sunday, Götz contributed another Top Three finish for the team with a P3. The Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing teams sealed one-two wins in the GT4 class in all three rounds contested over the weekend. The number 85 car of CV Performance Group won Races 1 and 3 and also finished as runner-up in Race 2. Meanwhile, the number 40 car of Zakspeed Racing took second-place twice and the victory in Race 2.
On Sunday, the Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello was the venue for the fourth round of the 2022 Italian GT Championship. Antonelli MotorSport entered two Mercedes-AMG GT3s for the two-hour race and were rewarded for their efforts with a double podium in class. Kikko Galbiati (ITA) and Florian Scholze (GER) in the number 17 GT3 won the Pro-Am classification, while their team-mates Francesca Linossi, Emidio Pesce (both ITA) and Jop Rappange (NED) finished third in the #44 sister car. Nova Race took another class win in the GT4 Pro-Am category courtesy of Fulvio Ferri, Alberto Naska and Giacomo Parisotto (all ITA) in the #207 Mercedes-AMG GT4.
The unique Palanga Street Circuit on the Baltic coast of Lithuania hosted the annual Aurum 1006km Powered By Hankook at the weekend. Nemunas Dagilis, Deividas Jocius and Egidijus Valeiša (all LTU) in the number 20 Mercedes-AMG GT3 entered by Nebankrutuok.lt-Balpol by Club Exit finished in seventh place overall at the end of the 357-lap distance, which was enough for them to take third place in the GT3 class.
Social Media News
#RaceDebrief: As the team prepares for the impending double-header in France and Hungary, we take a look back at the key aspects of the Austrian GP. Mike Elliott talks about crashes in qualifying, vehicle repairs, race pace and much more besides.
Watch video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEMeGg8W2Ng
