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Former top Arab rally driver Mohammed Ben Sulayem elected President of FIA

The 21st century is regarded as the ‘Pacific Century’ with the ascent of China into a global economic power. This decade might also be the ‘Middle East Decade’ in motorsport with the recent election of Mohammed Ben Sulayem from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as President of the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), the 117-year old governing body for world motorsport and the federation of the world’s leading mobility organisations.

Ben Sulayem, 60, received 61.62% of the votes from FIA Member Clubs, which are from 245 Member Organisations in 146 countries on 5 continents. The closest other candidate for the position was Britain’s Graham Stoker, who received 36.62% of the votes (with abstenstions of 1.76%). Ben Sulayem takes over from Frenchman Jean Todt, who was President since 2009 and served 3 terms, the maximum permitted.

Ben Sulayem has a strong motorsports background as a rally driver, having been14-time FIA Middle East Rally Champion and would be among the most successful motorsport drivers from the Arab world. He won 61 international events from 1983 to 2002, some of them when he was with the Toyota works team participating in the World Rally Championship. Towards the end of his rallying years, he also drove Fords.

Apart from being President of the Emirates Motorsports Organisation since 2005, he has had a presence at the council level in the FIA since 2008 when he became the first Arab named as Vice-President of the FIA, and the first to be elected to the FIA World Motor Sport Council (as Vice-President for Middle East). He campaigned under the banner ‘FIA for Members’, committing to double motorsport participation worldwide, strengthen diversity and inclusion and be a leading opinion-former on sustainable mobility.

“I am very honoured to have been elected FIA President at the conclusion of the Annual General Assembly in Paris today. I thank all the Member Clubs for their esteem and trust. I congratulate Graham for his campaign and his engagement to the Federation. I wish to express my infinite gratitude in the name of the FIA and that of its Members to Jean Todt for all that has been achieved over the past 12 years. I am committed to pursuing the important work and make motorsport and mobility take further steps forward,” said Mohammed Ben Sulayem.

Elected for a 4-year term, the new President’s team will include Carmelo Sanz de Barros as President of the Senate, Robert Reid as Deputy President for Sport, and Tim Shearman as Deputy President for Mobility and Tourism.

There will also be Vice-Presidents to represent various regions, just as Ben Sulayem represented the Middle East before. Taking on his role is Abdulla Al Khalifa from Bahrain), while Rodrigo FERREIRA ROCHA from Mozambique will cover Africa. North American activities will come under Daniel Coen from Costa Rica, with Brazilian Fabiana Ecclestone (wife of Bernie Ecclestone) looking after South America. Lee Lung Nien from Singapore will be responsible for Asia-Pacific motorsport, and Sweden’s Anna Nordkvist with Spaniard Manuel Avino looking after Europe.

India lost its seat on the World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) for the first time in more than three decades. The incumbent Gautam Singhania was unable to retain his position on one of the 14 WMSC seats.

*Jean Todt was President of the FIA for the past 12 years.*

Speaking on departure from the role as FIA President, Todt (husband of Tan Sri Michelle Yeoh) said: “A chapter has come to an end. We can be collectively satisfied of our achievements in motor sport and safe and sustainable mobility over the past 12 years. I would like to warmly thank my team, our administration and all our Member Clubs for their unwavering commitment, enthusiasm and resilience. I congratulate Mohammed on his election as FIA President and wish him, his team, and the Federation the best of success for the years to come.” Todt has been conferred the status of Honorary President of the FIA in recognition of his contributions.

FIA research finds solutions to reduce spinal injuries in cross-country events

F1/Round 22: Highlights & Provisional Results For 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2021

As the 19 cars (Haas F1’s Nikita Mazepin could not start due to COVID-19 infection) slowly took their places on the starting grid for the final round of the 2021 Formula 1 World Championship, the air was full of tension. Tonight’s result would decide who the new champion would be. It could well be the race of the century.

As the lights went out, the Red Bull driver got a good start but was not quick enough to outrun Lewis Hamilton to the first turn and coming out on the other side was the Mercedes-AMG. But the first controversy started by Turn 6 as Hamilton ran wide and Verstappen alleged that he had been pushed off the track. However, the Stewards did not see anything wrong and decided not to investigate… much to Christian Horner’s frustration again.

While McLaren Lando Norris slipped back and was overtaken by Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, it was Verstappen’s team mate, Sergio Perez, who managed to slip into third place about 4 seconds behind Hamilton. It was a good position to be where he could take over when the two leaders headed into the pits.

By lap 11, Hamilton was 3,5 seconds ahead but coming in was something that would need to be carefully considered as there was a risk in giving up the place too soon. Meanwhile, Verstappen was beginning to struggle with the soft tyres he started with, as opposed to Hamilton who had mediums from the start.

On lap 14, Verstappen had to come in and took on hard tyres. As usual, Mercedes-AMG followed next and when Hamilton rejoined, he was ahead enough to be in second place behind Perez who had taken over. However, Verstappen was further down and rejoined as Norris passed by. He had a 9-seconds gap from Hamilton who was ahead of Sainz.

With everyone more careful not to be the cause of any incident that could impact either of the championship leaders, Sainz didn’t put up a fight when the Red Bull was about to pass. Verstappen was up into third place but Hamilton had been pushing harder to reach Perez, and the gap was still 8 seconds.

On lap 20, Hamilton began to dice with Perez who had been instructed to delay the Mercedes-AMG driver enough so that Verstappen could close in. And as Hamilton had to be careful, he lost out as Verstappen shot forward unimpeded by his team mate who was ready to head for the pits. This put the Dutchman in second position and ready to fight for the title.

16 seconds behind Verstappen was Tsunoda, pursued by Bottas, while Perez slotted into fifth place after getting his fresh tyres. However, the Japanese drivers position was lost when he pitted, dropping him to tenth.

Alfa Romeo ORLEN’s Kimi Raikkonen did not get to finish his final F1 race as his car had braking problems around lap 26 and he had to limp back to the pits. Fans of the Finn, who was among the senior drivers, were saddened that the 20-year career had to end on a low note.

At the halfway point of the 58-lap race, Hamilton was still in the lead, 4 seconds ahead of Verstappen but without the security of having Bottas near enough. Though his team mate was in third, he was some 20 seconds behind. In any case, he had to come in for a tyre change and rejoined in tenth. His place was taken over by Perez who had a comfortable gap from Alpine F1’s Fernando Alonso, so he could focus on staying in the race.

Raikkonen’s team mate, Antonio Giovinazzi, also had an unhappy ending with the team as his car came to a stop on lap 36, triggering the Virtual Safety Car to enable clearing. Verstappen came in for hard tyres and rejoined still in second place as Hamilton did not want to lose his top spot. Twenty laps remained and Hamilton looked like he would keep the hard tyres till the end and take another world championship.

The Virtual Safety Car had given Verstappen a chance to close in on Hamilton and by lap 43, he had gained 4 seconds, though the gap was still over 12 seconds. His steady progress to close the gap meant that it was going to be a thrilling finish. And with 12 laps remaining, Hamilton was also getting close to backmarkers which could make things tricky.

With his tyres having been in use for over 37 laps, the team was warning Hamilton to be careful on the kerbs. A puncture would be disastrous at this point with the remaining laps.

7 laps from the end, Hamilton finally got past the traffic but Verstappen still had to carefully find his way past at least 5 cars, some of whom were also battling each other. The delay kept the gap at around 12 seconds.

And then Williams Racing’s Nicholas Latifi crashed at Turn 14 while duelling with Haas F1’s Mick Schumacher, and the Safety Car had to come out. Just 6 laps remained and with the cars unable to race, the release of the Safety Car would certainly be a dramatic moment as the two leaders tried to sprint to the finish. Verstappen decided to come into the pits to get fresh tyres – certainly the last time in the race – but Hamilton was unwilling to take any risk of losing his position right at the front.

With 3 laps remaining, the gap was just 3 seconds between Hamilton and Verstappen. Everyone was biting their nails as the outcome was going to be very tight. Verstappen still had 5 slower cars in front of him.

On the 57th lap, the cars were still behind the Safety Car so it seemed like a real shoot-put to the finish line. Then race control told the 5 cars between Hamilton and Verstappen to overtake the Safety Car as it was about to leave the track – and it would be Hamilton and Verstappen going for it as they were side by side. An incredible setting to the end of the season!

The moment racing resumed, Hamilton had a slight edge but Verstappen grabbed the lead – and held it to the chequered flag to become the new World Champion. Crossing the line, the Dutchman was about 2 seconds ahead of the Mercedes-AMG driver, whose boss was unhappy at the circumstances. But his team does win the Constructors Championship again, which makes it 8 times in a row. But for the Red Bull Racing team, the hard work finally paid off and for Honda, their engine supplier, it was a great way to end F1 involvement.

*Valtteri Bottas leaves the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS team to take over the spot vacated by Kimi Raikkonen, while Williams Racing’s George Russell will become Lewis Hamilton’s team mate in 2022.*

Guanyu Zhou 2022 F1 Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN — *Guanyu Zhou will join Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN in 2022 to partner with Bottas.*

F1/Round 22: Preview & Starting Grid For 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Race starts at 5 pm in Abu Dhabi/9 pm in Malaysia

And so its down to the final round of the 2021 Formula 1 World Championship which takes place at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi. It’s been a dramatic year with the two leaders – Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton – having a battle between themselves only. And now, as they face each other for the final time this year, their points are tied so this is a crucial race to decide who takes the crown. Tensions are so high that the Race Director has warned both drivers not to indulge in any unsporting behaviour otherwise the winner could be decided by the Stewards – which no one wants.

Last time was 1974
The last time two drivers were tied for the title was in 1974, when Emerson Fittipaldi of Lotus and Clay Regazzoni of Ferrari had 52 points each. But it was a different era too, with faster and more powerful cars, and the business of the sport also far more intense. Hamilton already has a string of 7 titles going back to 2008 and would certainly like to add another. But there are also some who would like to see a new champion although Verstappen has gained a ‘bad boy’ image of late.

“The final race will be intense… the fact that both championships will be decided at the season finale proves just how hard both sides have been challenging each other and pushing each other forward. It’s all or nothing for the season finale and that’s amazing for the sport, amazing for the fans and amazing for all of us, too,” said Mercedes-AMG’s Toto Wolff.

*‘May the best man win’ as the team bosses of Mercedes-AMG and Red Bull Racing shake hands before the race.*

Circuit substantially altered
The Yas Marina Circuit has, for some time, held the season-closing race. In fact, 9 of the 12 times it has had a F1 race, it has been the finale round. The cumulative data the teams have gained over the years will not be so applicable as the circuit has also been substantially altered for this year’s race. For one thing, it has 5 less corners – 16 instead of the 21 in last year’s layout. The hairpin complex from Turns 5 to 7 has been replaced with a wider hairpin bend at Turn 5, with the aim of promoting overtaking.

The changes have shortened a lap by 273 metres, which sees the number of laps increased from 55 to 58, all run after sunset. The changes to the track will also increase speeds and loads through some corners. However, as the circuit will still be smooth, with average stress on the tyres in terms of wear and degradation, the three softest compounds in the P Zero range remain a suitable choice, according to Pirelli.

The pitlane is the only one in F1 to feature a tunnel, with drivers passing under the circuit at the pit exit and re-joining on the left-hand side of Turn 2. It can prove tricky to see other cars when feeding back onto the track mid-corner.

*The last outing for the F1 Safety and Medical Cars which have been supplied by Mercedes-AMG (above) and Aston Martin (below) and used in different races.*

F1/Round 21: Highlights & Provisional Results For 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2021

With this being the second last round, tensions were very high on the starting grid. Lewis Hamilton had to put in everything he could to secure a win while Max Verstappen, with just a narrow lead, could take the title tonight too. The Constructors title was even closer – just 5 points apart – and with the new circuit, there were still unknowns that could affect the way the race would end.

As the lights went out, Hamilton got a good start and team mate Bottas, who had started next to him, did his duty by preventing the Red Bull driver from going after Hamilton. No major incidents as the cars got to the first corner other than an incident between Williams Racing’s George Russell and Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll.

Further down, Yuki Tsunoda, Scuderia AlphaTauri’s Japanese driver, challenged Alpine’s Esteban Ocon going into the first corner but the high wall forced him to back off and in the process, he lost 5 places, with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz slipping past him as well.

The gaps were close in mid-field with the most aggressive driver being Sainz, fighting pushing other drivers as he moved further up from his 15th starting spot. However, the frantic pace cooled off when the Safety Car appeared after Haas F1’s Mick Schumacher’s spun and crashed crashed at the spot where Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc had also had the same misfortune in FP2.

As the Safety Car led the convoy, Hamilton and Bottas came in for a tyre-change that could be their only one in the 50-lap race. Verstappen, however, remained on the track to try to open up a gap and hold on to his inherited lead. When the two Mercedes-AMG drivers rejoined, they were about 3 seconds behind. Besides Hamilton and Bottas, 8 other drivers also came in to change tyres.

For this race, it was the Safety Car provided by Aston Martin and messages heard on the radios seemed to suggest that the speed of the green car in front was not fast enough. And then a Red Flag signal came out on lap 14, and all cars had to return to the pits. The barriers that Schumacher had it at Turn 23 were too badly damaged and time was needed to get them fixed properly. Hamilton was furious, suggesting that the appearance of the Red Flag was not necessary…

When the race was allowed to restart (standing start) about 18 minutes later, Verstappen had the ‘pole position’ he did not get on the starting grid, his decision to stay out having paid off – just by luck. He could also get fresh tyres and push as hard as his rivals for the remaining 36 laps.

An angry Hamilton was well prepared for the restart, this time behind Verstappen and both cars raced side by side to the first corner. However, Bottas locked up and Red Bull’s Sergio Perez went into a spin. In the chaos, three cars crashed – Haas’ Nikita Mazepin, Russell and Perez – all had their race end there. Out came the red flags again and racing stopped again. What a way for Saudi Arabia’s first ever F1 race to go!

Only 15 laps had been completed when the race was allowed to restart after the mess was cleared. Earlier, when the two frontrunners were charging into the first turn, Hamilton had reached it just a slight bit earlier and was trying to hold the lead. However, the Red Bull forced him off and wide, which many felt was not right, and Ocon slipped by.

The Race Director saw what happened and told the Red Bull team that Verstappen would start in second place. It was assumed that Hamilton would be the first car but Red Bull stated that it was Ocon. The race was suspended for 15 minutes again and the restart saw Ocon as the first car, Hamilton second and Verstappen third, an arangement Mercedes and Red Bull accepted.

The restart saw Ocon, briefly enjoying his pole position as both Hamilton and Verstappen charged with him int Turn 1 . Hamilton didn’t take chances and eased off while Ocon decided to avoid both of them… and it was Verstappen who emerged on the other side in the lead again. However, he felt that he was not getting sufficient power when he saw how Hamilton was closing in.

As the race neared the halfway mark, Tsunoda couldn’t make the first turn as he battled with Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel, and went straight off, destroying his front wing as he went into the barriers. And out came the yellow flags with the Virtual Safety Car (VSC) being activated. Four cars were already out of the race – would the AlphaTauri be the fifth? Tsunoda would be deemed to have been in the wrong and got a 5-second penalty.

As the VSC ended, the cars had finally reached the halfway mark of 25 laps. Verstappen was in the lead, just barely ahead of Hamilton, with Ocon some 11 seconds behind.

But the VSC came back on again a few laps later as there was too much debris on the track from the various collisions, including one between Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen. The risk of a puncture was great, Alonso was warning, especially with the cars hitting up to 300 km/h. So the officials decided to activate the VSC to clear the debris, which slowed down all the cars again.

The VSC was switched off on lap 33 and racing resumed, with Hamilton still holding the fastest lap and the 1 precious point. He pushed harder to set an even faster time 2 laps later. And then it happened as both cars arrived at Turn 1 again and Hamilton went into the back of Verstappen, damaging his front wing badly! But the Mercedes-AMG driver stayed in the chase although his car’s performance was compromised with the damage.

On lap 42, Verstappen was told to slow down and let Hamilton pass to take the lead, as it seemed to be recognised that the collision was the Dutchman’s fault so the team was probably trying to ‘resolve’ things before the Stewards made their decision. The Stewards decided to let the race proceed and would review the incident after the race. With 4 laps remaining, Hamilton regained the lead and was on course to take the chequered flag.

It was by no means easy for both the drivers in the remaining few laps. Hamilton’s front wing was self-destructing and Verstappen had to keep his tyres intact till the end. Hamilton crossed the line comfortably in the lead and had 25 points plus 1 point for fastest lap, so it was going to be a close fight in the final round.

Bottas had put in a superb effort and just on the last lap, he managed to get past Ocon and slot into third, adding much-needed points to the team to secure its title again.

F1/Round 21: Preview & Starting Grid For 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

Race starts at 8:30 pm in Jeddah/1:30 am (Monday) in Malaysia

This weekend, for the 21^st round of the 2021 championship, Formula 1 goes to Saudi Arabia for the country’s first F1 event at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit. The circuit, newly created, is a street circuit situated 30 kms outside the historic city of Jeddah, the second largest city in Saudi Arabia. It is the second venue to join the calendar this year, following Qatar a fortnight ago.

While this is the first time an F1 race is being held, Saudi Arabia is no stranger to international top-level motorsports and, in recent years, has hosted rounds of the Formula E series and the Dakar Rally. Saudi Arabia also joins three other countries in the Middle East – Qatar, Bahrain and the UAE – to host F1 rounds.

Second longest circuit
The streets have been specially prepared to meet FIA’s strict standards for a Formula 1 circuit, with 34 tonnes of new asphalt and 550,00 tonnes of cement used. At 6.175 kms, it is the second longest circuit in the 2021 calendar, just 800 metres longer than the circuit at Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium.

The Jeddah Corniche Circuit will be the fifth track to run a F1 race at night. The total number of lights is estimated at over 600 to achieve lighting levels have to be 1,500 lux, and there is more than 20 kms of electric cabling.

There are 27 turns around the track with one (Turn 13) banked at 12 degrees. That’s three degrees steeper than Indianapolis’ banked corners and 7 degrees less than those at Zandvoort. This will add stress for the drivers who will experience a high g-load (around 4.9 lateral g) as they circulate for 50 laps.

As the track is totally new, the top speed that the cars will reach is not known but simulations put it as 322 km/h, with an average speed as high as 252.8 km/h. On this basis, Jeddah has billed its circuit as the ‘fastest street circuit in the world’.

The waterfront location presents similar challenges to Abu Dhabi, blowing sand onto the track and experiencing wind shifts from daytime to the evening. Because of the long track length, energy management is very difficult, which puts more focus on the performance of the MGU-H and hybrid systems.

Hard work for tyres
The circuit has more corners than any other track on the calendar, which will keep the tyres working hard. As it’s never been used before, drivers can expect a slippery and ‘green’ track at the start of the weekend. “Jeddah is probably the biggest unknown we face all year, as with the track being completed very close to the race. As a result, we can only rely on simulations from F1 and the teams, along with other information we’ve collected, to come up with our nomination of tyres to supply,” said Mario Isola, Head of F1 and Car Racing at Pirelli. “This street circuit looks set to be quite different to anything else, and the high speeds with fast corners will obviously play a big part in the way that the tyres behave.

Blind corners, unforgiving track
Many parts of the circuit are quite narrow and unforgiving, with the walls close to the side of the track. “Blind corners are obviously an issue whenever someone is cooling down and you are on a push lap because of the huge speed difference so we all need to be super focused even when we are not pushing. The track leaves very little margin for mistakes and Charles Leclerc was unfortunate to crash,” said Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz.

“It is unforgiving; there is no room for any mistakes. The most challenging part is getting into the right rhythm with all the blind corners there are. But as soon as you do, it’s even more exciting to drive,” added Leclerc.

With the exceptionally high speeds, stopping power will be of great importance and the expert at Brembo have classified 2 braking sections as ‘very demanding’ on the brakes; 2 are of ‘medium difficulty’; and the other 3 are ‘light’. The hardest on the brake system is the last corner because the racing cars come to it after braking for the last time on turn 22 (they don’t have to brake in the other 4 corners). As they come onto Turn 27, the cars will be at around 317 km/h when the brakes will need to be used for 2.6 seconds. This is the time needed to slow down to 110 km/h. In the meantime, they cover a distance of 127 metres and the drivers experience 4.3g of deceleration.

Can Verstappen be champion?
Following Lewis Hamilton’s victory in Qatar, Max Verstappen’s lead had been cut to just 8 points. The Red Bull Racing driver still has a chance to take the 2021 title and he must outscore Hamilton by 18 points. This requires the Mercedes-AMG driver to finish 6^th or lower. Clocking the fastest lap with its precious point – and holding it till the end – will also be an important factor. If he finishes second with the fastest lap and Hamilton is down in 10^th place at the end of the race, then the Dutchman can be confirmed as 2021 champion.

In the Constructors Championship, the gap is narrow – just 5 points – so the drivers of each team will be working hard to collect as many points as possible. Ferrari looks set to take third overall this year, with McLaren in fourth.

Guanyu Zhou – first Chinese driver in F1, to race with Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN team in 2022

Guanyu Zhou – first Chinese driver in F1, to race with Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN team in 2022

Ever since Deng Xiaoping’s economic reforms of the 1980s transformed China’s and opened it to the world, the country’s presence in the auto industry has kept growing, to the extent that it is now the world’s largest motor vehicle market. And even in motorsports, the country has steadily become more involved, initially providing world-class racing circuits.

Where drivers have been concerned, this has been slower as racing was non-existent before, let alone private ownership and use of cars. The only people who were able to drive back then were mostly drivers in the military and commercial vehicle drivers. In fact, even as the auto industry modernised and opened up in the 1990s, only a small number of people could qualify as motoring journalists as most had no experience of driving. In one instance, one global carmaker assisted a group of Chinese reporters with a short driving course before they attended a media event for a new model outside China.

Of course, there have been racing drivers in Hong Kong and Macau for decades as these two regions had developed independently from mainland China. They operated with western-style economies and so there were some drivers who could purchase racing cars and go overseas to participate in races or rallies (many coming to events in Malaysia).

But as with many things, China has been progressing rapidly and next year will see the first Formula 1 driver from the country. Guanyu Zhou is one of the new drivers who will replace Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi when their contracts end with Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN at the end of the 2021 season.

Started in karting
Zhou is by no means a rookie in racing, especially since you can’t get to F1 without making progress through the various stages of the sport. Like many F1 drivers, he started in karting (in 2007) and was Karting China Champion from 2008 to 2010. He finished second in Italian F4 in 2015, before collecting victories in Euro F3 and F2 events, Formula 1’s feeder series. The Chinese youngster has been a multiple race winner in the FIA F2 Championship with success at all levels of racing in his career. He made his F2 debut in the 2019 season and finished seventh with one pole position and five podiums, winning an award for highest-placed rookie. His Race win in Sochi also made him the first mainland Chinese driver to win an international single-seater race.

As an official the driver for the Renault F1 Team, which became the Alpine F1 team, Zhou had a chance to drive Fernando Alonso’s A512 racing car in FP1 of the Austrian GP this year. He says that Alonso (below) inspired him to pursue a career in racing when he was young.

2021 in particular has been a breakthrough year for the driver, who is currently in second place in the standings in F2 and is ready to mount a challenge for the title in the final two events of the season in Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi. He is racing with the British UNI-Virtuosi team this year.

On the radar of F1 teams
Zhou, 22, has been on the radar of most F1 teams for some time. He was an official test driver for the Renault F1 team in 2020 and this year, he took over Fernando Alonso’s A521 for FP1 in Spielberg, making him just the second driver from mainland China to take part in an official F1 session, and the first in 8 years.

“From a young age, I dreamt of climbing as high as I could in this sport that I am so passionate about. Now the dream has come true. It is a privilege for me to start my Formula 1 career with such an iconic team, a team that has introduced so much young talent into Formula 1 in the past. I feel well-prepared for the immense challenge of Formula 1, the pinnacle of my sport, alongside a proven, world-class talent in Valtteri Bottas,” said Zhou, who is called ‘Joey’ by his team mates at UNI-Virtuosi.

*Zhou has been racing with the British UNI-Virtuosi team for the past 3 years.*

“Next year, the target will be to learn as much as possible and as quickly as possible. To be the first ever Chinese driver in Formula 1 is a breakthrough for Chinese motorsport history. I know a lot of hopes will be resting on me and, as ever, I will take this as motivation to become better and achieve more,” he said.

*Zhou will have Valtteri Bottas (above left), who is 10 years older, as his team mate, taking over from Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi (right).*

Zhou will join a team with extensive heritage and tradition, completing a highly competitive line-up alongside Valtteri Bottas, who comes from the successful Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Racing Team. Thus there will be a combination of youth and experience for Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN to move forward, at a time when the sport embraces a completely new set of regulations, and all teams start from scratch in their quest for glory.

Guanyu Zhou will be the 28^th driver from Asia to race in Formula 1 since the championship series began in 1950. The first driver from Prince Birabongse Bhanudej Bhanubandh from Thailand, who was among the racers in the first ever F1 race and would continue until 1954. 65 years later, Alexander Albon, another Thai, would enter F1 with the Toro Rosso Team.

Of the 28 drivers from Asia, Japan is the one with the most – 21, with Hiroshi Fukuda being the first to take part in 1975. Albon (above right) and Yuki Tsunoda (above left) have been the most recent Asian drivers, with Tsunoda currently racing with Scuderia AlphaTauri.

Drivers from three other Asian countries have also taken part in F1 – 2 from India, 1 from Indonesia and of course, Alex Yoong from Malaysia.

*With a Chinese driver racing in F1 next year, we should see an increase in attention by motorsport fans in China.*

Alfa Romeo’s global branding
“Alfa Romeo is delighted to welcome Guanyu Zhou into its family as the first Chinese driver in Formula 1. The decision to recruit Zhou has been made in complete agreement with the Alfa Romeo Racing team and is the result of a specific objective and a clear strategy; for Alfa Romeo to become a global premium brand,” said Jean Philippe Imparato, CEO Alfa Romeo.

“Guanyu Zhou represents a key opportunity to take full advantage of the potential offered by the global F1 platform and serves as a privileged entry point into the Chinese market that plays a notable role in Alfa Romeo’s future. Welcoming Zhou to the team speaks of the inclusive power of a brand that inspires visceral and universal emotions, shared the whole world over,” he added.

F1/Round 20: Highlights & Provisional Results For Ooredoo Qatar Grand Prix 2021

Max Verstappen and Valtteri Bottas received grid penalties and were repositioned them at the start, moving the Red Bull driver to 7th and Bottas to 5th, But the moment the race started, Verstappen was ready to remove the disadvantage of starting further back and was up 3 places by Turn 3. However, Bottas got caught in traffic and feel to 11th instead,

Scuderia AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly had been promoted to 2nd on the grid but it was short-lived. From the start through the first few corners, Alpine’s Fernando Alonso dueled with him and eventually took over second spot behind a quickening Lewis Hamilton. Knowing that the Dutchman was working very hard to reach him, he had to open up the gap as wide as possible while Verstappen had to get through traffic.

By lap 4, about 9 minutes after the start, Verstappen was past Gasly and then Alonso and 4 seconds behind Hamilton. Sergio Perez, the other Red Bull driver, was also making progress up the field, having moved up to 8th after passing Scuderia AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda. Next target – the Red Ferrari of Carlos Sainz, Jr.

Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and Bottas both managed to pass a seemingly weakened Tsunoda who eventually came into the pits on lap 10, the first driver to do so in the inaugural Qatar GP. Bottas moved ahead to 9th while Stroll took over Tsunoda’s 10th place. As for Sebastian Vettel, the other Aston Martin driver, from 10th place on the starting grid, he had dropped back to 15th.

Alfa Romeo ORLEN’s Kimi Raikkonen also came in shortly after Tsunoda and like the Japanese driver, Raikkonen also switched from the soft tyres that had been on at the start to mediums.

With a quarter of the race done, McLaren’s Lando Norris was up to 4th and had Alonso in his sights. The Alpine driver did not need to work any harder to move forward since he was 30 seconds behind Verstappen, so he would be focussed on defending his position and at least get to the podium for a change. But for Norris, trying to stop a hard-charging Perez from passing was occupying him and eventually, he lost his place.

On lap 18, Verstappen came into the pits and left with hard tyres within 2.2 seconds. As expected, Hamilton came in next and took just a tenth of a second longer to depart, also with hard tyres. Neither driver lost their positions. Apparently, Hamilton had been reluctant to come in so early as he felt his tyres were fine but he was obeyed orders – this time.

Other teams did not have the super-quick put stops like the Mercedes-AMG and Red Bull Racing teams, so as their drivers came in, they returned to lower positions from which they had to work their way up again. Alonso, for example, was running in third and after coming in and then rejoining the race, he was done at 8th, his place taken over by Bottas (who had still not pitted).

Tyre wear, as expected, was quite high and teams were bringing in their cars for new tyres regularly. Sainz missed coming in as he seemed to miss his call, and continued past the pits to circulate another round before pitting.

On lap 31. it was Verstappen chasing Hamilton and about half a minute behind, Bottas watching out for Perez as he kept closing in. But for the Mercedes-AMG driver, the risks were increasing as he still had not changed his tyres. And it happened on lap 34 – a puncture on the front left wheel. He slid into the gravel and managed to get back onto the track but had about 2.5 kms to reach the pits. After getting new tyres, he rejoined in 14th place.

With 15 laps remaining, Verstappen slipped back into the pits for another set of tyres and the Mercedes-AMG team brought Hamilton in right after that. The British driver had maintained a lead of about 8 seconds for many laps, while Verstappen had a huge gaps behind him so there was no distraction from aiming to beat his rival this time.

On lap 47, as a precaution, Red Bull brought Perez in for a new set of tyres, losing him his third place and he fell to seventh. Alonso was thus back in third and had a good chance at the podium with 10 laps remaining. However, Perez was determined to regain his positions and within 3 laps, he was just a corner behind the Alpine driver. Bottas, meanwhile, couldn’t complete his 51st lap and had to retire as the damage sustained earlier was too problematic.

Lap 55 saw the Virtual Safety Car (VSC) activated as Nicholas Latifi’s Williams pulled over to the side and had to be moved by marshalls. Verstappen shot into the pits for a precautionary change and maintained his positions, while Alonso looked like he was on his way to the podium for the first time in 7 years.

As Hamilton crossed the finish line to win the race, the VSC was still active and then it went off, so Verstappen had a chance to go for the fastest lap and get a 1 more precious point – which he succeeded in getting.

F1/Round 20: Preview & Starting Grid For 2021 Qatar Grand Prix

Race starts at 5 pm in Qatar | 10 pm in Malaysia

With the 3 events in the western hemisphere completed, the final leg of the 2011 Formula 1 World Championship takes place in the Middle East this month and next month. This weekend will be the Ooredoo Qatar Grand Prix in Qatar, a small country in the Persian Gulf. This race, which is Round 20, will be special as it is the first F1 race held in Qatar, and it is held at night. Each year until 2032 (except for 2022 as it coincides with Qatar’s hosting of the 2022 FIFA World Cup), the country will be one of the venues.

The Losail International Circuit for the race is not unknown in the motorsport world. It is FIA-certified as it has been a MotoGP venue since 2004, so some technical data is available although it would be related to motorcycle racing. It has also hosted car races, such as the GP2 Asia Series and WTCC, but clearly no car has reached the speeds that the Formula 1 cars will hit, both on straights and in turns.

Sergio Perez is the only current F1 driver to have raced at Losail. The Mexican driving for Red Bull Racing contested 2 rounds of the 2008 – 2009 GP2 Asia series at this circuit. Nico Hulkenberg won that year so if he was also racing in F1 today, he would be the other driver with experience on the circuit.

“This is the first time Formula One has raced in Qatar, so it’s a step into the unknown for everyone. We have no historical data of the Losail International Circuit, so much more focus in the build-up to the event is in the virtual world, working on the computer simulations and driver-in-loop simulator running with the limited information we do have for the track,” said Mercedes-AMG’s Toto Wolff.

“The workload around the simulations is obviously higher, because we’re more dependent on them, and the simulator program will be hard at work all through the week, including running on Friday to maximize the fresh learnings we receive from practice,” he explained.

The 5.38-km track still has its original surface from 2004, which offers high grip and has become quite abrasive over time, accentuating wear and degradation. Despite the presence of strategically-placed artificial grass around the circuit to keep away the sand from the desert, the surfaces could still become very dusty thus affecting grip. Pirelli classifies the circuit as high severity, and have chosen their 3 hardest compounds for this race.

The dominant characteristic of the circuit is the close sequence of 16 corners, many of them taken at high speeds. Downforce levels will be high, but whether or not they are at maximum will depend on how many of those corners are power rather than grip-limited.

“I really like the track here at Loisail, it is great. It’s always interesting to mix things up and see a new venue on the calendar. What will be key is balancing the first and last sectors, due to tyre overheating that is caused by the high temperatures here,” said Scuderia Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.

“Qatar is just one of four races held in the evening under floodlights this year. This means that the evolution of track temperature over the course of the race should be quite different compared to a standard afternoon race, with the potential for a big drop-off as the race goes on. In the desert, there’s a big difference in temperature between day and night,” explained Pirelli’s Mario Isola.

The championship titles are still not confirmed. Victory for Lewis Hamilton in the previous round in Brazil saw the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS team extend their lead over Red Bull Racing to 11 points. In the Drivers Championship, Max Verstappen still has the lead but with the 25 points he collected, Hamilton cut that lead to 14 points.

F1/Round 19: Highlights & Provisional Results For 2021 Sao Paolo Grand Prix

With the engine change, Lewis Hamilton’s fifth place finish in the Sprint Race put him 10 places behind his team mate who was on pole position but that was at least better than the back of the grid that he had started from for the Sprint Race due to disqualification of his Qualifying times.

Valtteri Bottas was quicker off the start line and first into Turn 1 but by Turn 2, it was Max Verstappen who emerged in the lead. As Bottas had to run wide, an alert Sergio Perez immediately passed by to trail his team mate. Meanwhile, Lando Norris was struck with a puncture (after hitting Carlos Sainz’ Ferrari’s wing) and had to limp back to the pits.

Within the first 3 laps, Hamilton was up to 5th and had Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc to pass before reaching Bottas. Two laps later, he appeared behind his team mate and got past easily and into third place, ready to go for the two Red Bulls.

Further back, Scuderia AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda collided with Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin and with much damage to the front wing, the Safety Car had to come out to control the field while marshalls cleared the debris. It stayed out for 3 laps before racing was allowed to resume.

Just as the drivers were starting to pick up speed, Haas F1’s Mick Schumacher radioed that his wing was dragging under his car after contact with Kimi Raikkonen’s Alfa. The Virtual Safety Car was activated as he crawled back to the pits. Only 13 laps had passed after about 20 minutes since the race had started.

When the Virtual Safety Car ended, Verstappen wasted no time in extending the gap and sped off to a 2-second lead from Hamilton, with his team mate Perez acting defence. Bottas meanwhile was doing the same thing behind his team mate but he wasn’t under pressure like Perez was.

On lap 18, Hamilton made it past Perez but the Mexican managed to regain his position, The next time round, the Mercedes driver tried again and this time, he kept his position was prepared to do battle with Verstappen. Perez now had to focus on Bottas right behind rather than chase Hamilton and was falling back.

On lap 25, Verstappen was still holding on to his lead with a gap of almost 4 seconds from Hamilton. But the Red Bull driver was also starting to feel his tyres going, and the question was whether to come in for a single stop and switch to hard tyres for the rest of the race.

The first of the frontrunners to come in for a tyre change was Hamilton on lap 27, and Verstappen came in on the next lap. Both cars switched to hard tyres. Perez was also brought in but the Mercedes-AMG team decided to leave Bottas running for a while more. So the Finn took over the lead from lap 29, as Verstappen raced towards him with Hamilton not too far behind.

Stroll’s car still had some loose bits that started to fall off on lap 31, activiting the Virtual Safety Car. Bottas was brought in for his tyre change but the VSC ended and when he rejoined, he just managed to get ahead of Perez. Verstappen meanwhile had taken over the lead.

At the halfway point in the race, many drivers were coming in. Pierre Gasly was trying hard to keep his 8th position as McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo kept snapping at him.

Hamilton took over the lead on lap 40 as Verstappen shot into the pits to make another tyre change. His return to the track was slowed down by Williams’ Nicholas Latifi who was just reaching the end of the pit lane. Bottas was brought in but when he rejoined, he was down in 5th, over 25 seconds from the front so there was not much he could do to help.

An incident between Verstappen and Hamilton on lap 49 attracted the attention of the Stewards. He had challenged Verstappen for the lead going into a turn but was unable to get past and forced to go wide. However, no irregularity was found and the Race Director told the teams that no action was going to be taken. The Mercedes-AMG team didn’t like that as they believe the Red Bull driver had forced Hamilton to run wide.

In spite of the various collisions, no one retired until lap 50 when Stroll’s car – which had earlier come in contact with Tsunoda’s – had to pull out, making him the first driver to end his race early. Around the same time, Ricciardo also pitted and never came out again, becoming the second retiree of the day with a Power Unit problem.

10 laps later, on lap 59, Hamilton finally moved into the lead at Turn 4. Verstappen had to work very hard to prevent his rival from collecting those 25 points, which would make it trickier for his championship chances. The Dutchman had also to watch out for Bottas who was running third by then.

With 3 laps remaining, Hamilton could still keep the lead and maintain a gap of about 7 seconds from Verstappen. Bottas has fallen back a bit but would be ready to take over if anything happened to the two duelling drivers ahead.

On the remaining lap, Perez was quickly brought into the pits and fitted with soft tyres to try to get at least one more point for fastest lap. Verstappen wasn’t going to get by Hamilton who would be first to cross the line after 71 laps.

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F1: Valtteri Bottas wins Sprint Race to get pole position in Sao Paolo GP

It was another Sprint Race win for Valtteri Bottas again in the Sao Paolo Grand Prix as he got off to a good start ahead of Max Verstappen who had moved into pole position after Lewis Hamilton’s qualifying times were disqualified. The Mercedes-AMG driver’s car was found to have a technical infringement in the rear wing and without a qualifying time, he was placed at the back of the grid.

Nevertheless, Hamilton worked hard for the short 24-lap race around the old-school Interlagos circuit to finish fifth. While the starting order for the main race is determined by the finishing order of the Sprint Race, Hamilton already knew he would have to add 5 grid positions – the penalty for changing an engine – to whatever position he finished in, so he had to work hard for the highest position.

The decision to take the 5-grid penalty was made with the hope that, for the main race, Hamilton will stand a stronger chance (or not having engine failures) of winning with a new engine. However, starting from 10^th place for the race today means he will have to contend with traffic in the early stages before he can challenge his Red Bull rival.

The top three finishers of the Sprint Race were awarded extra points with 3 going to Bottas, 2 to Verstappen and 1 for Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz who finished third. The 2 points for Verstappen move him slightly further to a 21-point lead over Hamilton in the Drivers Championship. While the 3 points that Bottas collected could be added to the Mercedes-AMG team’s lead in the Constructors Championship, the gap is only 2 points.

While the technical infringement on Hamilton’s car lost him his qualifying time, Verstappen’s case of having broken the rules of the Sporting Code by inspecting and even touching his own car and that of Hamilton’s right after the qualifying session resulted in a 50,000 euro (about RM238,000) fine imposed by the Stewards.

The action was not deliberate, as Red Bull’s Christian Horner argued, and it is likely that Verstappen did it without realising the actions broke rules. It’s like if there was a rule that forbade drivers from coming into physical contact (as in hugging) after a race and they still do it because they forgot the rule at the moment of jubilation. But rules are rules and a penalty has to be imposed to remind everyone that they cannot break rules and get away with it.

Incidentally, the Mercedes-AMG team won’t be making an appeal regarding the action taken for the technical infringement which had been brought about after Red Bull had made a complaint with the FIA about the rear wing on the car. After inspection, there was evidence that the gap for the wing was greater than the maximum permissible even though the design met the regulations. The team suggested to the Stewards that there might have been some fault and while they accepted this point, they still felt that a penalty was necessary and that was to just disqualify the pole-capturing time that Hamilton achieved in Qualifying.

Race starts at 2:00 pm in Brazil/1:00 am in Malaysia (Monday)

F1/Round 19: Preview & Provisional Sprint Race Starting Grid For 2021 Sao Paolo Grand Prix

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FIA

Former top Arab rally driver Mohammed Ben Sulayem elected President of FIA

F1/Round 22: Highlights & Provisional Results For 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2021

F1/Round 22: Preview & Starting Grid For 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

F1/Round 21: Highlights & Provisional Results For 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2021

F1/Round 21: Preview & Starting Grid For 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

Guanyu Zhou – first Chinese driver in F1, to race with Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN team in 2022

Of the 28 drivers from Asia, Japan is the one with the most – 21, with Hiroshi Fukuda being the first to take part in 1975. Albon (above right) and Yuki Tsunoda (above left) have been the most recent Asian drivers, with Tsunoda currently racing with Scuderia AlphaTauri.

Drivers from three other Asian countries have also taken part in F1 – 2 from India, 1 from Indonesia and of course, Alex Yoong from Malaysia.

F1/Round 20: Highlights & Provisional Results For Ooredoo Qatar Grand Prix 2021

F1/Round 20: Preview & Starting Grid For 2021 Qatar Grand Prix

F1/Round 19: Highlights & Provisional Results For 2021 Sao Paolo Grand Prix

F1: Valtteri Bottas wins Sprint Race to get pole position in Sao Paolo GP

Former top Arab rally driver Mohammed Ben Sulayem elected President of FIA

F1/Round 22: Highlights & Provisional Results For 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2021

F1/Round 22: Preview & Starting Grid For 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

F1/Round 21: Highlights & Provisional Results For 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2021

F1/Round 21: Preview & Starting Grid For 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

Guanyu Zhou – first Chinese driver in F1, to race with Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN team in 2022

F1/Round 20: Highlights & Provisional Results For Ooredoo Qatar Grand Prix 2021

F1/Round 20: Preview & Starting Grid For 2021 Qatar Grand Prix

F1/Round 19: Highlights & Provisional Results For 2021 Sao Paolo Grand Prix

F1: Valtteri Bottas wins Sprint Race to get pole position in Sao Paolo GP

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