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Belgium’s 56-year old Ypres Rally finally included in World Rally Championship

Belgium will become the 35^th country to host a round of the World Rally Championship (WRC) when the 2021 Ypres Rally Belgium is run. This should have happened last year but the event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is the 8^th round of the 2021 WRC and will take place next week (August 13 – 15).

Rally started in 1965
The Ypres Rally is not new and was in fact first run in 1965, 8 years before today’s WRC began. The event started one year after the town’s historic Market Square was chosen as a location for a time control during a Rallye Monte-Carlo concentration run. Since then, it has grown in stature, being a round of the European Rally Championship.

It is an asphalt rally and driving precision is a vital ingredient for a success. The farmland roads around Ypres are narrow and twisty, with many tight junctions. Brake too late or push too hard and a diversion into one of the many drainage ditches is often the result.

Corner ‘cutting’ is also commonplace, which results in mud and other debris being dragged onto the road. In the event of rain – a constant menace – an extremely slippery surface is created with the challenge multiplied on cobblestone sections.

New to most competitors
As well as being a new addition to the WRC calendar, Ypres Rally Belgium is new for many of the World Rally Car competitors. Only Thierry Neuville (who is from Belgium) and Craig Been have competed in Ypres before. Having won in 2018 and 2019 respectively, the Hyundai team-mates will be expected to set the pace when the 20-stage event begins.

“I’m really looking forward to Ypres. It hasn’t been in the WRC before but it’s a really legendary event that everybody in rallying knows about. In the test, we could already see that the conditions are tricky. Normally, the drivers are taking really big cuts and there is a lot of mud and dirt on the road, so the conditions can be really demanding and changeable,” said Kalle Rovanpera, winner of the last round in Estonia. “One of the key points going there for the first time will be to know where the grip is and to see how we can include that information in our pacenotes.”

Current WRC positions
The current positions in the WRC have TOYOTA GAZOO Racing’s Sebastien Ogier topping the chart. Having won 4 of the 7 rounds this year, the Frenchman has a 37-point over team-mate Elfyn Evans, with Neuville 15 points further back. Ogier is set to benefit from running at the front on the first pass through Friday’s sealed-surface stages, which are expected to be in a clean state.

With the WRC2 championship top five either not competing in Ypres or not eligible for points, several rivals have the opportunity to make up lost ground in the title chase. They include Nikolay Gryazin, who was a competitor in the ERC Junior Championship when he made his one and only Ypres start to date in 2016, plus Jari Huttunen and Oliver Solberg. The Nordic pair will be giving the Hyundai i20 N Rally2 its competition debut.

In WRC3, which has attracted 19 entries, Frenchman Yohan Rossel will be aiming to extend his lead at the top of the standings but faces strong opposition from a number of leading local drivers, many of whom have extensive Ypres knowledge. Among them are former Ypres winner Pieter Tsjoen, whose last WRC appearance was as a co-driver in Rallye Monte-Carlo in January, Belgian champion Adrian Fernémont and current Belgian championship leader Ghislain de Mevius.

The route
Located in the Flanders region of northwest Belgium, legs one and two follow ultra-compact routes north and south of Ypres respectively and comprise tight and twisty farmland roads lined by drainage ditches and telegraph poles. Following morning Shakedown, 8 stages – including the classic Kemmelberg complete with a cobblestone climb – are scheduled on Friday from early afternoon until late evening. Hollebeke, the rally’s longest stage at 25.86 kilometres, is run twice on Saturday August 14, while Dikkebus and Watou are among the Ypres favourites to also feature on day two.

The deciding leg on Sunday is all-new and located some 300 kms to the east with roads in and around the famous Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, home of the Belgian F1 Grand Prix, providing the challenge. While they are more flowing in nature, they are not to be underestimated.

New Rally1 category with hybrid technology for World Rally Championship in 2022

F1: Vettel disqualified, Hamilton moves to second in Hungarian GP

The celebrations for the Aston Martin COGNIZANT F1 team were cut short after the Hungarian Grand Prix yesterday when Sebastian Vettel lost his second placing due to disqualification. The team had been unable to provide a full sample of 1 litre of fuel from the AMR21 racing car for inspection, as required by FIA regulations.

Cars are inspected before as well as after each race to ensure that they fully comply with the regulations and even the drivers are weighed. In Vettel’s case, the team could only provide 0.3 litres although it said that it was sure there was more in the fuel tank but could not be extracted. They were given some time to resolve the matter but after 5 hours, the Stewards made the decision to disqualify Vettel. The Aston Martin team will review the matter and may make an appeal.

*A short-lived celebration for the Aston Martin COGNIZANT team.*

His disqualification moved Lewis Hamilton to runner-up position, while Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz gained third place. This puts the Mercedes-AMG driver back on top of the championship race with 8 points ahead of Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen who finished tenth but moved up to ninth with Vettel’s disqualification. The Mercedes-AMG driver gets enough points to take him past Verstappen and lead the championship.

Hamilton suffering from ‘long COVID’?
Hamilton was seen to be unwell at the trophy presentation ceremony and when asked about his condition later, he revealed that he has been facing a challenge in training after a COVID-19 infection last year. He could be suffering from what is known as ‘long COVID’ which refers to the continued effects a person experiences after recovering. These effects could go on for many weeks and there are some people who still suffer after a year. Hamilton said that he felt a lot of fatigue but was not sure if it was due to dehydration at the track as temperatures were high and he had a strenuous race, having had to fight from 14^th place to finish 3^rd overall.

F1/Round 11: Highlights & Provisional Results For 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix

Even after you recover from COVID-19 infection, your quality of life may be affected and you may suffer for a long period after that. So do your best to avoid being infected by taking the necessary measures to protect yourself as well as others – and get vaccinated.

F1/Round 11: Highlights & Provisional Results For 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix

Rain had already started to come down before the cars began to get into position, with Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas at the front of two Red Bulls. The weather forecast was for up to 30 minutes of rain, which suited the two title rivals fine as they like such conditions.

Hamilton got a good start and as his team mate was slow to get off, Max Verstappen shot past him into second. But then came another incident as Lando Norris (McLaren) got bumped by Bottas who must have been too eager to get going, and Norris hit Verstappen before the first corner. The other Red Bull driver, Sergio Perez also went off as Bottas slid into him.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc got bumped by Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll, which ended his race, while Daniel Ricciardo was a helpless victim of the collision. Meanwhile, Alfa Romeo ORLEN’s Antonio Giovinazzi had slipped into the pits as the race started to take a gamble on different tyres. However, he was at the back of the pack when he joined the race and 25 seconds behind the leader as the Safety Car zoomed to the front.

When the situation became clearer, at least 4 cars were potentially out of the race as the red flags came out by the third lap, and the race had to be stopped. The Safety Car was in motion while the debris was cleared and the immobile cars removed. Hamilton had managed to escape the collisions, along with Alpine’s Esteban Ocon and Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel.

The Red Bull team was obviously very unhappy – after Silverstone, another incident again, this time with Bottas and Perez (who suggested the Finn had made a ‘big mistake’). Verstappen’s car was fixed in time but he had a lot of work ahead of him as he was in 13th place when the race was stopped.

The race resumed after 15 minutes but only Hamilton seemed to start off as the rest of the cars were in the pits. He returned to change the tyres and when he rejoined on lap 5, he was at the back and Ocon was at the front – a rare instance of an Alpine leading the rest. The early drama had continued in the pits as well, with Nikita Mazepin (Haas) colliding with Kimi Raikkonen’s Alfa Romeo as the Finn suddenly came out of his box. The Russian driver was the sixth retirement of the Hungarian GP. Raikkonen’s team mate, Giovinazzi, got a 10-second penalty for speeding in the pitlane and it was likely that Raikkonen would also get a penalty.

Williams’ George Russell, holding seventh on lap 11, impressed with his spirit of teamwork as he told his team that if his own position had to be compromised, they should go ahead as it was more important for his team mate, Nicholas Latifi, to maintain his third position behind Vettel and Ocon.

Verstappen’s progress through the field was not easy and even to get past Haas’ Mick Schumacher was tricky and the two cars were seen to touch. Hamilton was just two places behind on the 15th lap but experiencing brake problems. It was an unusual race this time with drivers usually further back being up front and battling for the best positions with points.

Hamilton came in again on lap 19 to get onto hard tyres, a strategic move as the track was drying out by then. He only lost one position but was still some 50 seconds behind the leader and had at least 10 cars – including Verstappen’s – to pass before he reached Ocon. Verstappen came in on the next lap and dropped 2 places behind his arch-rival. Ocon had come in before Vettel and was able to do his tyre-change in 2.3 seconds and kept his lead.

The battles up front were between Ocon and Vettel, and about 16 seconds behind, between Latifi and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz. Latifi and Sainz came into the pits on the same lap and the Ferrari raced back out to grab third place, as Latifi lost 4 places. Now it was Sainz who had to defend his position from another Alpine driven by Fernando Alonso.

Halfway through the 70-lap race, Ocon and Vettel were still up front, separated by a second or two. Alonso had passed Sainz and was in a fairly secure position with generous gaps in front and behind. Hamilton had moved up to fifth and was pushing harder than ever.

Vettel came in on lap 37 and lost just one position, giving Alonso the second place. Hamilton was still busy duelling with Sainz to get within range of Alonso. Verstappen, down in twelfth and over a minute from the leader was still unable to move into a points position. On lap 43, he made his fifth visit of the race to the Red Bull pits to switch to medium tyres. His stop took an incredible 1.8 seconds – the fastest pit stop this season.

On lap 45, Sainz was still under attack from Hamilton and thought that the Mercedes-AMG driver would go back into the pits again. However, Hamilton decided his tyres were still good enough and did not allow the Ferrari driver to get any relief.

As 10 laps remained, an announcement was made concerning the Stewards’ findings on the first lap incidents and Bottas was deemed to have been responsible for “causing an avoidable collision in Turn 1”. The penalty for him was a drop of 5 positions on the starting grid for the next race in Belgium as well as 2 penalty points.

While Alonso was trying hard to prevent Hamilton from getting past, Verstappen had managed to finally overtake McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo and get back into a points position at tenth. Less than 10 laps remained so he would only be able to improve his position another one or two places, the only Red Bull driver to bring home some points this time.

As the lap counter got closer to the 70th lap, Hamilton got more desperate to pass Alonso, with at least one instance of contact between cars. Vettel was not under threat from Sainz who was 7 seconds behind so he was focussed on trying to get his first win with Aston Martin.

Despite being a 2-time world champion, Alonso must have let the pressure get to him as he locked up and Hamilton immediately slotted into fourth place on lap 65. The Spaniard had also been having a tough time with his older tyres.

And it was Esteban Ocon’s day as he won the Hungarian Grand Prix, his first ever F1 win too. Vettel also had reason for a celebration in the Aston Martin camp as he finished second, and Hamilton coming in third. However, in spite of the speed of the Mercedes-AMG, it was Pierre Gasly of AlphaTauri’s Honda who got a bonus point for the fastest lap of the day. In the Williams camp too, there was jubilation as both Latifi and Russell finished within the top ten to give the team their first points of the season.

Even after you recover from COVID-19 infection, your quality of life may be affected and you could suffer for a long period after that. So do your best to avoid being infected by taking the necessary measures to protect yourself as well as others – and get vaccinated as well.

F1/Round 11: Preview & Starting Grid For 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix

Race starts at 3 pm in Hungary/9 pm in Malaysia

Round 11 of the 2021 Formula 1 World Championship at Hungaroring in Budapest, Hungary, will be the last round in the first half of the championship. It is a familiar circuit to the teams as it has been part of the calendar since 1986, so there’s a lot of data to refer to from 35 races with different weather conditions.

After the high speeds and flat expanses of Silverstone, the twists and turns of Hungaroring present the drivers with a different challenge. Featuring flowing sections of closely linked corners, the tight 4.4-km layout provides a good test of car balance. With aerodynamic stability accented, the engineers will set downforce levels similar to those applied at Monaco.

In contrast to the sweeping and fast corners of Silverstone, Hungaroring feels almost like a kart circuit: the track is narrow, old-school, and has a non-stop series of corners. Overtaking is tricky, and this is an important factor when planning the race strategy, as track position is key.

Past races here have seen a number of different strategies. Last year, the wet and intermediate tyres were run at the start of the race because of rain but before then, in 2019, both one-stop and two-stop strategies were used, with a two-stopper from Lewis Hamilton winning the race in a thrilling finale.

There are tight corners in quick succession, with no long straights to cool down the tyres, and hot weather. This makes the Hungaroring actually more demanding on tyres than it initially seems, so some degree of management is likely to be needed on the soft compound in particular.

“As a result, the best strategy is not always obvious – with different approaches often yielding a similar overall race time, depending on the individual circumstances. That’s why we’ve often seen some tactically intriguing races at the Hungaroring, keeping the final result in doubt right up to the end and providing an interesting challenge for the engineers,” said Mario Isola, Pirelli’s Head of F1 and Car Racing.

The summer temperatures are also high, plus the fact that the circuit is situated within a natural amphitheatre, so there’s very little airflow. This makes the Hungarian Grand Prix hard work for both the cars and the drivers.

Pirelli’s Isola said that this week some of the hottest track temperatures ever, causing thermal degradation. “However, it’s far from certain that the weather will remain the same, with a forecast of rain at some point adding yet another unpredictable element to what is always a strategically complex race,” he said.

The controversial clash on the opening lap at Silverstone between championship leader Max Verstappen and reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton saw the latter’s eventual victory. This closed the gap that had been widening between the two drivers and as they start this round, 8 points separate them. Lando Norris, also from Britain, lies in third but 64 points behind.

Besides damage to the racing car that was said to cost 1.5 million euros (about RM7.512 million) to repair, Red Bull Racing took home just 3 points after the last round, while Mercedes-AMG collected 43 points. This means that the defending champions cut the difference from 44 points before Round 10. to just 4 points before the start of this Sunday’s race.

Formula E/ Round 13 – Mahindra Racing’s Alex Lynn wins on home ground

It’s always a thrill for the home crowd when the winner is from the same country and British driver Alex Lynn sparked celebrations in the Mahindra Racing garage as he won the Heineken London E-Prix Round 13. Behind him were Mercedes-EQ’s Nyck de Vries and Mitch Evans (Jaguar Racing) who joined him on the podium.

Lynn had navigated a frenetic encounter that had it all, and the decisive moment of the race took place with the pack released from a spell under the Safety Car (a MINI Electric Pacesetter) on Lap 13. Down at the double hairpin, Oliver Rowland (Nissan e.dams) made a move for the lead with a surprise lunge on Stoffel Vandoorne (Mercedes-EQ) who had started from pole position.

A bump in the braking zone left the Nissan driver a passenger as he speared into the side of the Belgian’s Mercedes. The pair were left all tangled up, allowing de Vries to pick up the pieces and pinch second – and then first when Lucas di Grassi (Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler) leapt for ATTACK MODE.

With the track cleared, the Mercedes’ seized the initiative. Vandoorne led Rowland and de Vries away, and the latter was able to jump by the Nissan in the middle of the Silver Arrow sandwich to take second – thanks to that extra lap of ATTACK MODE relative to Rowland.

Another appearance for the Safety Car followed on Lap 11, with da Costa in the wall at Turn 1 after contact with Porsche’s Andre Lotterer. The Mercedes duo at the head of the pack did manage to sneak in their second ATTACK MODE activations just prior, crucially before Rowland this time.

Heading into the final quarter hour, di Grassi had made the most of that 35kW boost to slip by de Vries into Turn 1. On the next circuit, Lynn followed with what would ultimately be the race-winning move – the Mahindra driver also in ATTACK MODE. De Vries’ early dart for his second activation had not paid dividends, and he’d have to settle for second spot, while Evans picked his way through from fifth on the grid to an eventual third at the chequered flag.

Di Grassi had led on track for more than half of the race, and crossed the line first. The Brazilian was ultimately shown the black flag for failing to serve a drive-through penalty – deemed to have illegally taken the race lead by audaciously driving through the pit-lane, and crucially failing to come to a stop in his pit-box, under Safety Car conditions on Lap 12.

De Vries followed Lynn home with Evans 5 seconds back. Frijns crossed the line fourth – having climbed the order from eighth – while Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein and BMW i Andretti Motorsport’s Maximilian Guenther completed the top six.

The weekend’s results put de Vries at the top of the Drivers’ World Championship heading into the final race weekend of Season 7 in Berlin in 3 weeks, while Robin Frijns’ points haul with fourth – up from eighth on the grid – proved vital and sees him second in the table, just 6 points behind the Dutchman. Sam Bird (Jaguar Racing) holds third in the standings.

Among the teams, Envision Virgin Racing still heads the way in the Teams’ running by 7 points from Mercedes-EQ, with Jaguar Racing third.

MINI Electric Pacesetter inspired by JCW is the new Formula E Safety Car

F1/Round 10: Highlights & Provisional Results For 2021 British Grand Prix

With Max Verstappen winning the inaugural Sprint Race yesterday, the pole position was taken by the Dutchman of Red Bull Racing, Lewis Hamilton had been on pole after qualifying on Friday but had to settle for second place today as the outcome of the Sprint Race decided the grid for this race.

Verstappen got a good start and sped ahead of Hamilton but even before the first lap was completed, contact between the two cars saw the Red Bull Racing driver bouncing off into the barriers. Out came the Safety Car while Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc managed to slip into the lead. A red flag was out as the barriers needed to be repaired, so the cars could pit for tyres and repairs (Hamilton’s car needed a new front wing). lthough Verstappen had seemed unhurt and got out of the car, he had later to be taken to a hospital for additional examination.

The blame game started almost immediately with Red Bull boss Christian Horner furiously suggesting to officials it was Hamilton’s fault, and the British champ saying he had given enough space but the contact had occurred. Horner’s anger was understandable, of course, since Verstappen’s race was over. Toto Wolff, Horner’s counterpart in Mercedes-AMG also put up a defence of his driver.

The restart (after about 40 minutes of Safety Car and red flag) saw Leclerc at the front, the Ferrari driver having passed Valtteri Bottas early and able to slip past the Hamilton-Verstappen incident. As the race had been suspended, it was just the fourth lap, with another 48 to go. Sebastian Vettel, who had slipped all the way to the back, was eager to move up but spun as he started off.

As the race got underway, the Stewards decided that Hamilton was at fault and informed his team that he would have a 10-second penalty, which he could serve during a pit stop. Needless to say, the home crowd was very unhappy when news of the penalty started to be known in the stands.

Track temperatures were high and apart from the effect on the tyres, the brakes were also worrying, so teams had to think of revising strategies.

On lap 16, Leclerc, who had just managed to stay ahead of Hamilton, began to have power loss and was trying to find out if some settings were off. Hamilton began to close in and further back (5 seconds), Lando Norris was watching from third place after having passed Bottas.

The cars began coming into the pits for new tyres at lap 20, and as Norris pulled in, Bottas pulled ahead into third place but some 7 seconds behind his team mate. Bottas came in on lap 23 and with a 2.2-second stop, he lost just one position which was taken by Carlos Sainz.

At the halfway point, it was still Leclerc in the lead but still having occasional engine problems. Hamilton was safe enough to just trail him and not take chances as Sainz was some 18 seconds behind. However, by lap 28, Hamilton had to come in for new tyres and do the 10-second penalty, slipping down behind Bottas and Norris as he rejoined the race. He was about half a minute behind Leclerc.

Although Leclerc seemed to be comfortable continuing a bit more, his team brought him in on lap 30 for a change of tyres to hards. He was in and out in less than 3 seconds and still kept his lead, with a gap of 6 seconds to Bottas. Meanwhile, McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo was trying hard to hold on to his fifth place as the red Ferrari of Carlos Sainz kept appearing in his mirrors.

With 11 laps remaining. Bottas was requested to let his team mate pass by and he did so again, as he did before. The pass out the reigning champion within 7 seconds of Leclerc. Bottas was pretty assured of a place on the podium anyway, with Norris some 10 seconds behind. The battle between Ricciardo and Sainz continued for fifth place.

With 2 laps to go, Leclerc was readying for the chequered flag but then his car went wide and it was the moment Hamilton was waiting for, and he swept past to take the lead. It was close but he was more cautious to avoid another incident like what happened with Verstappen. And then it was a straight run to the finish line and finally, a win for Hamilton at Silverstone again – on home ground.

Vaccination does not make you immune to COVID-19 infection. You can still get infected and you may not show symptoms but spread the coronavirus. Do not stop taking protective measures such as wearing a facemask, washing hands frequently and social distancing.

A look at the Formula 1 racing car of 2022

The FIA Formula One World Championship will run for the 73^rd time in 2022 and as has been the case periodically over the decades, the technical regulations set by the FIA have changes. Often, these changes reflect changing economic, social or technological circumstances. The changes for 2022, which took some 2 years to formulate, were originally meant to be introduced in 2021 but because of the COVID-19 pandemic, they were postponed to 2022.

“The regulations have been a truly collaborative effort, and I believe this to be a great achievement,” said FIA President Jean Todt when they were announced in late 2019. “A crucial element for the FIA moving forward will be the environmental considerations – Formula 1 already has the most efficient engines in the world, and we will continue to work on new technologies and fuels to push these boundaries further.

However, the restriction to a US$175 million budget for each team took effect in 2021. This meant that much of the development work to meet the new regulations had to be done with the budget cap in mind. This restriction helps to level the playing field between the less rich teams and the well-funded teams like Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS and Red Bull Racing Honda which are known to have spent US$550 million and more during a racing season.

“The 2022 regulations from the FIA will create the conditions for closer racing where the cars can get closer to each other,” said Stefano Domenicali, Formula 1 President & CEO, echoing Ross Brawn, Formula 1’s Managing Director of Motorsport who said that ‘we want much closer competition. We want them battling wheel-to-wheel’.

*The new regulations are expected to make racing closer, which is what spectators and fans want.*

Powerplants will not change and the new generation of F1 cars will still use the same 1.6-litre hybrid V6 turbo engines. Hybrid engines were introduced in 2014 in place of the unturbocharged V8 units. The hybrid units have been complex and expensive to develop and by 2025 or so, the FIA will come out with new powertrain regulations that will use completely sustainable fuel. F1 cars currently run on a 5.75% blend of biofuel, and next year, they must use E10 (10% ethanol blend).

“Formula 1 has long served as platform for introducing next generation advancements in the automotive world. We are delighted by the momentum on sustainable fuels which perfectly aligns with our plan to be net zero carbon as a sport by 2030. Our top sustainability priority now is building a roadmap for the hybrid engine that reduces emissions and has a real-world benefit for road cars. We believe we have the opportunity to do that with a next generation engine that combines hybrid technology with sustainable fuels,” said Brawn.

The cars have evolved visually, and this is for commercial as well as technical reasons, the former being to have more appeal to spectators. The technical reasons include having to extend the front end to improve crash protection, while the rear end of the car must also be able to absorb 15% more energy. Romain Grosjean’s terrifying crash at the 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix and the way the car broke had engineers working hard to ensure that the power unit will separate in a way that will not allow the fuel tank to be exposed and leak.

Chassis strength has also been increased for better resistance to side impacts and inevitably, these changes have added weight to the car. The regulations have therefore been adjusted to allow the minimum weight to be 790 kgs, about 5% from the 752 kg limit for this year’s cars.

The F1 cars will also use bigger wheels in 2022; until now, they have been running on 13-inch wheels but next year will see them rolling on 18-inch wheels. While these may have a certain visual appeal – big wheels usually do – the drivers and engineers are not excited about this change. They have various implications on performance, including a possible increase in lap times, apart from adding weight.

Pirelli, the tyre-suppliers for F1, have developed new low-profile tyres which they say will not be as disadvantageous as the general view suggests. The new Pirelli compounds and constructions for are said to reduce the amount the tyres overheat as they slide along the track surface.

Bigger wheels, while also allowing for bigger brakes, will require close study of aerodynamics in those areas. And aerodynamic performance has always been a crucial element in the design of a F1 car. Designers in each team will have their own styling ideas for the various sections of the car while adhering to regulations, of course.

Downforce has been vital since the 1970s when people like Colin Chapman used aerodynamic principles to make the car ‘stick’ to the road more. However, in racing conditions, especially at the speeds of F1, the ‘dirty air’ from the car ahead can impact the car behind, with up to 35% of downforce being lost – even when 20 metres apart. If closer, this loss can even be as much as 47%.

The 2022 car, developed by Formula 1’s in-house Motorsports team in collaboration with the FIA, has given a lot of consideration to the ‘ground effect’ and can reduces the loss to just 4% at 20 metres and 18% at 10 metres.

Winglets are a clever aerodynamic feature on aircraft and over-wheel winglets will appear for the first time on F1 cars, along with wheel covers, last seen in 2019. While the covers can help in the aerodynamics, they have little to do with the actual tires. As a physical seal on the wheel, they will also help to reduce the dirty air coming off the car and the turbulence it causes in its wake.

The winglets will manage airflow coming off the front tyres and direct it away from the rear wing. Again, this is being introduced in the interests of reducing the negative effects on cars behind. This is expected to allow closer racing.

The 2022 car has fully shaped underfloor tunnels rather than the stepped floor used currently. This can generate and preserve large amounts of useful downforce through ground effect. As for the rear wing (which still has DRS), this also has a revised shape and position to move airflow higher up as it departs from the car so that the following car has more ‘clean air’ and can come closer.

Formula E returns to New York City this weekend for Rounds 10 & 11

The ABB FIA Formula E World Championship continues with Rounds 10 & 11 of Season 7 being run in New York City this weekend. As with the other rounds and a unique feature of the all-electric series, the circuits are created just for the event, mostly around cities. This weekend, the circuit for the New York City E-Prix will wind around the streets of Brooklyn’s Red Hook neighbourhood

The circuit is a familiar one and a favourite of the drivers, teams and fans alike. Its 2.320-km, 14-turn layout remains largely unchanged from Formula E’s last visit in 2019. The circuit, which goes around the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal site in the heart of the Red Hook area, is a real test – it is lined with many kilometres of unforgiving concrete. The drivers will have to familiarise themselves with the revised ATTACK MODE activation zone to negotiate, though, with the loop moved from the exit of Turn 5 to the outside of Turn 10 this year. This may sound like a minor detail, but optimising ATTACK MODE has proven to be crucial at previous races this season.

New race leader after Mexico
In the race for championship honours, 12 drivers now sit within 24 points – one race win – of Edoardo Mortara (ROKiT Venturi Racing) who leads. Eight found themselves in the same bounds after Round 7 in Monaco but as the Puebla weekend in Mexico showed, everything’s liable to change, and fast, in Formula E. Mortara rocketed to the top of the standings after following up a podium in the Puebla E-Prix (Round 8) with a long-awaited return to the top step in Round 9 to take the lead with a huge 40-point haul.

Nick Cassidy (Envision Virgin Racing) steered to his first Formula E podium in the second race in Puebla and Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler’s long wait for its first silverware of the year came to an end via a Lucas di Grassi-Rene Rast one-two in Round 8. That all meant the championship table saw a shuffle with a number of drivers joining the title battle, rather than any breakaways at the top.

The rivals gunning for Mortara
So Mortara’s huge points advantage means he’s the man with the target on his back in New York City. The Swiss-Italian went to Mexico 13th in the running and 30 points behind then-leader Robin Frijns (Envision Virgin Racing). The Dutchman will be hoping for a better race in New York and he’s every reason to be encouraged following his 2019 win in the city – his most recent in Formula E.

Reigning champion Antonio Felix da Costa (DS TECHEETAH) may have struggled to secure the results they’d have hoped for in Mexico but both he and double title-winning teammate Jean-Eric Vergne left relatively unscathed, in pretty much the same situation as they’d arrived. It was a net gain for the champion despite his struggles, with the Portuguese sitting third.

Audi’s 1-2 saw Rast fire himself into fourth in the standings, Jaguar Racing’s Mitch Evans is fifth after a double points score last time out, while de Vries currently places sixth having led the Drivers’ running heading into Round 7 in Monaco after a measured victory in the DHL Valencia E-Prix Round 5 and that storming opening-round drive in Diriyah.

The official Safety Car for the current season of Formula E is the MINI Electric Pacesetter. It is developed from the new MINI Cooper SE and serves as a ‘bridge’ between MINI‘s historic motorsports legacy and its venture into electrification. The New York event will see the car being used for the fifth time this season.

More spectator involvement
Formula E blurs the lines between the real and virtual worlds of motorsport and there are other opportunities to engage with the championship in Season 7 even if you can’t be at an E-Prix in person. It’s the only motorsport event in the world that lets fans play an active role in influencing the outcome with FANBOOST.

FANBOOST for Round 10 remains until 15 minutes into the race, while voting for Round 11 opens shortly after Round 10 has finished. To give your favourite driver an extra boost of power, visit FANBOOST and the Formula E app.

Formula E Rounds 8 & 9 – Puebla ePrix sees Edoardo Mortara extend lead to 10 points

Peugeot 9X8 hybrid hypercar to join 2022 World Endurance Championship

Peugeot, which won the Le Mans 24 Hours in 1992 and 1993 as well as in 2009, will return next year to the World Endurance Championship (WEC) with its new-generation hypercar, the 9X8. Now under development, the 9X8 showcases Peugeot’s Neo-Performance strategy which combines technology and sportiness in both the carmaker’s road and racing cars.

A project between Peugeot Sport and Peugeot Design, the 9X8 is a direct successor of the Peugeot 905. The designers worked closely with engineers to explore new aerodynamic solutions and styling ideas. Greater flexibility, allowed by the WEC’s new technical rules regarding aerodynamics, permits new thinking that favours the emergence of innovative cars, allowing for new creative processes and a break away from established procedures to produce a hypercar for a completely new era.

What ‘9X8’ means
‘9X8’, the designation, is derived from a combination of the brand’s motorsport heritage and vision for the future. The ‘9’ continues the series used by Peugeot on its previous endurance racing cars. The ‘X’ refers to the all-wheel drive technology and hybrid powertrain. The ‘8’ is common across all of Peugeot’s current models – from the 208 and 2008 to the 308, 3008, 508 and 5008.

The 9X8’s front and rear lighting signatures, which take the form of three claw-like strokes, are familiar Peugeot trademarks, while the brand’s new lion’s head logo features at the front and on the sides of the car. “Since the 9X8 is a Peugeot, the original sketch that steered our work portrayed a big cat ready to pounce, a stance which we have suggested by the slightly forward-tilting cockpit. The overall lines of the Peugeot 9X8 express the brand’s styling cues, while its sleek, racy, elegant forms inspire emotion and dynamism,” explained Peugeot’s Design Director, Matthias Hossann.

No rear wing necessary
The finely-chiselled details of the rear-end design includes the quip ‘We didn’t want a rear wing’ above a wide diffuser. Rear wings were first seen at the Le Mans 24 Hours on the Chaparral 2F which contested the race in 1967, meaning this is the first time their use has been questioned in more than half a century. The 9X8’s innovative rear stems from research carried out by Peugeot Sport’s engineering team as they worked to ensure the model was as aerodynamic as possible, whilst maintaining an eye-catching style.

“The absence of a rear wing on the Peugeot 9X8 is a major innovative step. We have achieved a degree of aerodynamic efficiency that allows us to do away with this feature. Don’t ask how, though! We have every intention of keeping that a secret as long as we possibly can!” said Jean-Marc Finot, Motorsport Director of Stellantis (Peugeot is part of the Stellantis Group).

Distinctive cockpit colour scheme
“Inside, we wanted to take a special approach to the cockpit which, until now, has tended to be a purely functional and indistinctive aspect of racing cars, with no brand identity whatsoever. The combination of our colour scheme and Peugeot’s i-Cockpit interior styling signature have provided the 9X8’s cockpit with a distinctive feel and make it immediately identifiable as a Peugeot.”

Peugeot HYBRID4 powertrain
The 5-metre long racing car has a rear-mounted, 2.6-litre, bi-turbo, 680-bhp 90-degree V6 as part of the Peugeot HYBRID4 powertrain. The system output gets another 200 kW from the front-mounted 200kW motor-generator unit powered by a high-voltage 900V high-density battery pack.

The battery pack is located in a carbonfibre casing inside the car’s monocoque structure, behind the driver and underneath the fuel tank. It has been designed to combine durability with consistent performance during races of durations of up to 24 hours, and even beyond.

Although the system output is over 500 kW, the regulations set a maximum power output of just 500 kW during races. The regulations also forbid the use of electrical energy below 120 km/h, so the motor generator unit only engages once this speed has been reached. The car must pull away from standstill under the power of its internal combustion engine alone.

At full power, the power output is limited to 300 kW and adjusted as a function of the power delivered by the motor generator unit at 200 kW which is directly dependent on the battery level. When the motor generator unit comes into use, the car automatically switches to 4-wheel drive, thereby modifying its drivability.

When the battery pack is empty, the engine reverts to 500 kW power output and the drivetrain reverts to rear-wheel drive. During races, the battery will be fully charged prior to the start by means of a mains-connected plug-in hybrid charger. Once on the track, the battery will function completely independently and be charged only by the kinetic braking energy recovery system.

‘An extreme laboratory’
Peugeot’s CEO, Linda Jackson, says there’s more to the company’s involvement in endurance racing than the sporting aspect. “Endurance racing is a form of motorsport that provides us with an extreme laboratory, which explains why our association with Le Mans is so strong. More significant perhaps than the results we obtain on the racetrack are the opportunities it provides to prove our technology and the fruit of our research work in a race that throws extreme conditions at you for 24 hours,” she said.

“Le Mans gives us a competitive environment to validate the hybrid systems and technologies we are currently developing to reduce the fuel consumption – and therefore CO₂ emissions – of our road cars. The teams at Peugeot Sport are proud when they see their research carried over to our production models,” she added.

*Peugeot last raced and won at Le Mans in 2009 with the 908 HDi FAP which had a 5.5-litre V12 turbodiesel.*

Ferrari to officially take part in Le Mans Hypercar class from 2023

F1/Round 9: Highlights & Provisional Results For 2021 Austrian Grand Prix

As the cars lined up on the starting grid, Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel did not take the eighth position he qualified in as he was given a 3-place penalty due to obstruction to Alpine’s Fernando Alonso during qualifying. This moved him down to 11th place.

Spectators were allowed into the Red Bull Ring, a big contrast from last year when the stands were empty. A large contingent of Dutch fans were cheering for Max Verstappen, who started from pole position.

As the lights turned green, the Red Bull driver got off to a great start up the slope, as McLaren’s Lando Norris dived in behind. However, Turn 3 saw Esteban Ocon caught between Haas F1’s Michael Schumacher and Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi, which resulted in his suspension being damaged and disabling his car.

Out came the Safety Car to convoy the racers as crews worked to get the Alpine out of the way, the first non-finisher of the race. Pirelli said the early Safety Car would favour the soft tyre runners by reducing wear and degradation at a crucial point in the race, when the cars were full of fuel.

The clearing operation was quick and by lap 4, the Safety Car was back in, and racing resumed. Verstappen shot off, and Norris found Sergio Perez, who had closed in while in convoy, starting to pressure him for the position. But the McLaren driver held his place tight and Perez had no choice but to go wide – into the gravel – and dropped down the field to around tenth. His departure allowed Lewis Hamilton to slot into third place.

The incident between Norris and Perez attracted the attention of the Stewards who discussed it and decided that the McLaren driver would receive a 5-second penalty. The news probably distracted Norris and additional bad news was that Hamilton had managed to sneak past him as well. As Hamilton took over second place, his team mate Valtteri Bottas started to close in on Norris as well, aiming to move him another place down.

Verstappen was 10 seconds away from Hamilton and was nearing the back markers, so things would get tricky.

On lap 31, Norris and Bottas came into the pits together. With the time penalty Norris had to serve, Bottas was able to get off ahead of the McLaren back onto the track. Verstappen also came in for hard tyres.

At the halfway mark, only two drivers – Carlos Sainz and Kimi Raikkonen – had yet to come into the pits. Both had started on hard tyres. All the other drivers had come in and returned, and Verstappen had a lead of 15 seconds.

The duel for seventh was a close fight between McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo, Perez and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. As the Ferrari driver tried to get past Perez, contact occurred and Leclerc got bumped off into the gravel. Commentators expected that Perez would – or should – get the same penalty as Norris as the incident was largely similar.

On lap 47, Leclerc had caught up with Perez and tried again to get past – and the same departure from the track occurred! Perez was simply refusing to give up his sixth position.

As for Hamilton, damage to the rear end of the car was affecting his progress and the 20-second gap from Verstappen was way too big. Bottas was right behind and was asked not to hassle his team mate. In the end, the team decided that Nottas would go after Verstappen and Hamilton would try to prevent Norris from getting past.

But on lap 54, Norris slipped past Hamilton and that brought Hamilton in to switch to hard tyres. The pit stop didn’t lose him the fourth place but extended the gap to 21 seconds.

Scuderia AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda Tsunoda was having a bad day. After one 5-second penalty for a pit lane infringement, he was again given a second one on lap 57 as he left the pit lane incorrectly.

With a 26-second lead, Verstappen could even come back in for another set of hard tyres to be on the safe side, and kept his position as 10 laps remained.

Leclerc’s forced excursions into the gravel had let Ricciardo grab sixth position and he was desperately fighting to move up as Perez kept moving further away.

As 4 laps remained and Verstappen’s win was almost assured, attention was on Williams’ George Russell who was performing impressively to move up to tenth, but Alonso was aiming to displace him. Alonso, the old driver had the experience but Russell was showing a lot of determination too. But on lap 68, the Alpine driver outsmarted him at Turn 4 and got by, denying the British driver of the points position.

In the closing stages of the race, as attention was focussed at the front, there was drama at the back as Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen collided, with both cars heading off into the gravel.

The Dutchman took the chequered flag again, making it four wins and though his race was fairly easy, he still set the fastest lap to claim and extra point.

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