FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP

Present:
Sébastien Ogier (FRA), Citroën Total World Rally Team
Andreas Mikkelsen (NOR), Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team
Jari-Matti Latvala (FIN), Toyota Gazoo Rally Team
Teemu Suninen (FIN), M-Sport Ford World Rally Team

Q:
Sébastien Ogier, a brand new event and a brand new country to discover here in Chile. What have been your first impressions?
SO:
The first impression is that we are not disappointed. We were told there were beautiful roads and a nice rally from the recce. It is like this. We have smooth roads as well as nice flowing and fast sections. We should not compare with other rallies, because each one has its own DNA and characteristics. I am looking forward to drive.

Q:
This event has been compared to many gravel events but what elements would you say are unique to Chile?
SO:
It has been completely challenging: two days of recce with the weather and the fog made it harder at some points. I like this kind of challenge. We did our best in two days. We will see if we have done a good job. The profile is nice and I am looking forward to the weekend.

Q:
In Argentina, you struggled with traction and feeling, yet put some good points on the board. How did the car feel at Shakedown this morning and do you feel it could be a different weekend “performance-wise”?
SO:
In Argentina, we made the best of it with the speed we had. To score 20 points, it was a good weekend in the end. We have made big changes on the car. We have a different car set-up to the previous rally and my first impression is good. I had a good feeling on Shakedown. I hope to keep this on the weekend and fight at the top. Basically, the chassis and suspension set-up has changed. It was quite different to drive the car this morning. I was happy to see that the time was good as well.
 
Q:
Andreas Mikkelsen, back on the podium for you in Argentina after delivering a fine performance. Can we see the same level of pace and consistency here on Rally Chile?
AM:
I hope I can bring the momentum from Argentina to here. Coming here to drive these roads was really nice. Friday is going to be important but the feeling on Shakedown was good. The first run was tricky and then we did some changes. We were on the pace, we were faster and faster and it dried up in the end. We should be ready. Friday’s first pass will be tough, with the crests and the notes have to be very precise because it was foggy when we made them. You do not want a bad Friday because then Saturday is screwed.

Q:
How tough was the recce making brand new pace-notes, sometimes in low cloud? Did you make the coffee for Anders?
AM:
Anders doesn’t like coffee. The stages are also quite shaky when you are driving a lot so the co-drivers have a lot of work to do.

Q:
Jari-Matti Latvala, you are the driver with the most FIA WRC events (201 including Rally Chile) under your belt and the best descriptive commentator out of all our drivers. How would describe the event here?
JML:
Friday, the first stage reminds me of Rally Portugal, then in the second stage, you are in New Zealand, and the third stage is a mixture of New Zealand and Wales. Saturday looks like Rally GB in dry conditions with open stages from Australia and a little bit of Kielder forest. And then on Sunday, we have Finland and Wales. All in all, a lot of different countries… and the nature is beautiful here! I think everyone will like the roads. They are not rough and have a good base, so we can focus on the driving and not on the car and impacts. Here it is pure rallying! There are also some blind crests – especially on Sunday, there are some nasty ones. You come up, you see nothing, then the road appears and it is hard to find the braking points. I have put a ‘danger’ warning in my pace-notes, There are two of those!

Q:
We’ve seen pace from you but we haven’t seen you on the podium this year. How would you assess the season so far?
JML:
Basically, the car’s performance and the speed is there. When you’ve been in the championship for a long time, if you have a bad start in a couple of rallies, the hopes are high and you know you are facing a difficult season when the first two do not go according to plan. The motivation drops. I felt bad on Rally Corsica and Mexico. Something needed to be done, a bit more thinking… I came back in Argentina and i am happy for that. It’s in your head. When you are young and have two bad rallies early on, it is no problem. But when you drive a lot over many seasons, a couple of bad rallies and you know it is going to be a problem for the championship. The target is to win the championship and, when the hopes go away, it is difficult to motivate yourself. I keep going now.

Q:
Teemu Suninen, another South American experience but this one is brand new – you stayed out between events, how was your trip to Chile?
TS:
Hopefully we’ll have a good pace. The profile is different from Rally Argentina and I really enjoy these technical and fast stages. These roads suits me better.
 
Q:
Hard work putting the pace notes together for a brand new event. Did the recce go well?
TS:
I felt it went well. The fog was not easy. You only see 20 metres into the corners. In the rally, we will see if the pace-notes were okay or not. We try to do our best. I stayed in South America after Rally Argentina. It was a first holiday for me for a long time. I had a nice time and still have my focus rather than travel five days back and forth to Finland.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Criistobel Dbello, Rally Inside (CHL)
Q:
What are all the drivers’ expectations for this first FIA WRC rally in Chile?

SO:
That is a very open question. Pretty simple: to win the event. I will go for it. That is the plan. I expect a rally with a lot of people coming to support us. In South America, there is a lot of passion.

AM:
I expect it to be a good rally. Coming from Argentina, I want to fight for another podium. We have to take it in baby steps. The feeling is good. We will build on that.

JML:
The same as the other guys. To get to the top and have a good fight for the victory. That is the call. What I have seen so far is that many people are excited. It looks very nice and very positive. It should be a good rally.

Click Here: liverpool mens jerseyTS:
I expect it to be a great show for spectators. Friday, all drivers want to push and take some risks to get a good starting position… or the next days with a lot of loose gravel.

Ignacio Psijas, S Motors (CHL)
Q:
What are the drivers’ thoughts on hybrid technology in the future in WRC?

SO:
Hybrid is important but I will not be here…

AM:
I hope I will be there. It is important to get new technical development and new manufacturers in to make it interesting. Our motor sport is the most spectacular of them all and the man test for manufacturers on the ultimate terrain, on snow and ice. We need new technology sooner rather than later.

JML:
Not sure myself whether I will be there because of my age. Maybe one year with a hybrid car would be nice to see. We see that the world is going green and we need to see how it makes the transition. It will not be easy in rally sport. We cannot go full electric. Our sport is about sound. A hybrid system would be a good solution.
 
TS:
I hope to be there when electric cars come. I wonder though how it comes. There are long road sections in rallying and the second thing is the safety.

FIA WRC 2 PRO CHAMPIONSHIP

Present:
Mads Østberg (NOR), Citroën Total
Marco Bulacia (BOL), Škoda Rally Team

Q:
Mads Østberg, a great result for you in Argentina and now we come to a new event here in Chile which is unknown by everyone. First impressions?
MO:
The stages are very nice, to be honest, and a positive surprise to see. On the recce, it was difficult to discover the roads in the fog. It was easier watching the videos. There are amazing surfaces. I am sure it is going to be a nice, enjoyable weekend with big smiles and everyone having a crack.

Q:
How challenging are the stages? Fast? Flowing? Do any stand out as being particularly tough?
MO:
I think today showed that it felt like on the Wales Rally GB. We also see a lot of Rally Australia and a little bit of Finland and Sardinia. Generally, we can call it Chile made up of the whole of Europe… From the pace-note side, compared to other European events, it is like the Algarve Rally in Portugal. The rally is the same here – up and down – and you never really know where you are. There are some flat, blind crests and not too many trees to follow for reference. It is like driving blind on pace notes and, if there’s fog, that is extra interesting!

Q:
How much of a challenge is it to come to a brand new event and make new pace-notes etc.?
MO:
Yes, it is definitely challenging! I think it is going to be a very enjoyable weekend. I think also local Chilean drivers have quite a lot of knowledge and we will have local drivers doing well and fighting at the top. This will be great to see. In Argentina, we saw some Chile drivers doing well. It will be a huge fight and local smiles.

Q:
Marco Bulacia Wilkinson, firstly, you had a big accident in Argentina two weeks ago. How are you feeling after that? No knock to your confidence?
MB:
I have much confidence for this rally. We think we can do the same pace as Argentina. It was not exactly my mistake for the crash, so we are easy and trying to know this new rally and take some good results.

Q:
Can you compare the stages here to anything you have rallied on? How big a challenge will it be this weekend?
MB:
There are slow parts, fast parts and jumps… It is very tricky in parts. Keeping the pace of Argentina is my goal. We have a new car after Argentina as the other one was destroyed. The Puma special stage is the longest one but all the stages are very similar in difficulty.
 
FIA WRC 2 CHAMPIONSHIP

Present:
Jorge Martínez (CHL)

Q:
Jorge Martínez, it’s your home event also and we see you compete in a Škoda R5. What does it mean to you to have the FIA World Rally Championship come here to Chile?
JM:
I am really happy. It is a special event. I am from here in Concepción and I am happy and excited to be here for my first event in the FIA WRC. I will drive as fast as I can. Local knowledge is a factor. We know about the roads. They are tricky and technical and we have a little advantage there.

Q:
The FIA WRC 2 field is strong, made up of very competitive drivers. What can you achieve this weekend? What are the toughest stages?
JM:
I don’t know, as it is my first event in the FIA WRC. There are many experienced rally drivers and this is a big challenge for us.  We will go as fast as we can. The toughest stages? Good question. Puma is a long stage with a lot of up and down and very technical. Saturday, Maria Las Cruces is a fast and tough stage. Sunday, there are a lot of fast stages.

Norbert Kiss and Jochen Hahn scooped a win apiece after two thrilling FIA European Truck Racing Championship races at Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli on Sunday.
 
Kiss claimed his first win since October 2017 as he took his Tankpool24 Racing Mercedes-Benz to a comprehensive win in full wet conditions in race three.
 
The final race of the weekend was arguably the most exciting as reigning champion Hahn surged from sixth place on the reverse grid to take a fine victory.
 
While drama whirled around him with multiple incidents throughout the field, Hahn drove away from the opposition to claim another impressive maximum points score.
 
Hahn’s win ensured that the early season points standings make for interesting reading as he trails Buggyra Racing’s Adam Lacko by just two points.
 
40,000 people attended the weekend at Misano enjoying on and off track excitement as Europe’s elite drivers and teams presented another action-packed show.

Race 3
 
Norbert Kiss took a lights to flag win in rain-hit third race of the 2019 FIA ETRC season-opening weekend held at Misano this afternoon. It was the Hungarian’s first victory in the FIA ETRC since the third race at Jarama in October 2017.

The 12-lap encounter started behind the official FIA ETRC Mercedes-Benz Pace Truck due to the heavy rain that hit the 4.408-mile Italian track just before the start. 

Once the green flag flew, it was Kiss who remained in control as he quickly opened up a 2.4s gap over second-placed Adam Lacko of Buggyra Racing and third placed Jochen Hahn in his Team Hahn Racing IVECO.

The top three runners played a game of cat and mouse as they explored the conditions. With even gaps between them for most of the race they crossed the line in the same order as they stared despite best efforts to get within striking range of each other.
 
For more on Race 3 click HERE
 
For the Race Result from Race 3 click HERE
 

Race 4
 
Jochen Hahn came through from sixth on the starting grid to take his second race of the FIA ETRC season-opening weekend held at Misano this afternoon.

Staying out of trouble in a fraught few opening laps was key to Hahn’s success on a drying track that featured contact between some of his competitors.
 
Hahn only needed a couple of corners to move up to fourth position as Rene Reinert and Race 3 winner Norbi Kiss came together on the approach to Turn 6. As a result of the contact Kiss first fell to the back of the pack and later retired his Team Tankpool24 Racing Mercedes-Benz after crawling back to the pits.
 
At the start pole sitter Jose Rodrigues led away but the Portuguese racer made a mistake under pressure from Sacha Lenz and ran out wide at Turn 13 and ending his chances of a good result.
 
Hahn then went after first Anthony Janie and then Sascha Lenz. He quickly despatched both and settled into building a healthy lead in his Team Hahn Racing IVECO to ensure it was a memorable weekend for the Italian based manufacturer.
 
For more on Race 4 click HERE
 
For the Race Result from Race 4 click HERE
 
For the championship standings after four races click HERE

DAMS driver secures pole in Le Castellet

It was Sérgio Sette Câmara’s day in France as the Brazilian followed up P1 in Free Practice with his second FIA Formula 2 pole position. The Brazilian ran riot in a chaotic Qualifying session that included two red flags. He was followed by the continually impressive Guanyu Zhou and a resurgent Jack Aitken.

The session was almost immediately brought to a halt as Louis Delétraz and Giuliano Alesi came to blows on their out lap. The former was able to return to the pits where his Carlin team worked miracles to get him back out on track. The Trident racer wasn’t as lucky and his day ended in retirement.

When the session resumed, Nyck De Vries was first out onto the colourful Circuit Paul Ricard, but it was Callum Ilott who took the reins, lapping at 1:43.660 for first. He was swiftly usurped by the man of the day, as Sette Câmara resumed his place at the top of the pile.

Aitken had struggled out in Monaco, but early indications pointed to improvements here in France and he briefly leapfrogged Sette Câmara in the standings, who reacted with another fastest lap to knock him into second. Nicholas Latifi was looking to improve on eighth place in FP, but could only manage third in behind them.

The second red flag of the afternoon was brought out as mechanical gremlins forced Ralph Boschung to a halt on track and ended his day early. The session got back underway with five minutes to go and Championship hopefuls De Vries, Latifi and Luca Ghiotto all required a massive push with them dotted down the grid. Instead, it was UNI-Virtuosi rookie Zhou who pulled a scorcher out of the bag, lapping at 1:43.344 to score his best ever F2 qualifying result of P2.

It wasn’t quite as an enjoyable final lap for Sette Câmara who spun to a halt in his attempts to improve on his best laptime, but the Brazilian had already done enough, putting in the hard yards earlier on to secure a well-deserved pole position, lapping at 1:43.024. Aitken claimed third, ahead of De Vries, Ilott, Latifi, Nobuharu Matsushita, Mick Schumacher, Dorian Boccolacci and Sean Gelael.

 

2019 FIA Formula 2 – Round 5 Qualifying

 

  DRIVER

TEAM

LAPTIME

LAPS

1

Sergio Sette Camara

DAMS

1:43.024

12

2

Guanyu Zhou

UNI-Virtuosi Racing

1:43.344

13

3

Jack Aitken

Campos Racing

1:43.401

13

4

Nyck De Vries

ART Grand Prix

1:43.453

14

5

Callum Ilott

Sauber Junior Team by Charouz

1:43.565

13

6

Nicholas Latifi

DAMS

1:43.650

13

7

Nobuharu Matsushita

Carlin

1:43.763

13

8

Mick Schumacher

PREMA Racing

1:43.768

12

9

Dorian Boccolacci

Campos Racing

1:43.812

14

10

Sean Gelael

PREMA Racing

1:43.895

13

11

Luca Ghiotto

UNI-Virtuosi Racing

1:43.983

12

12

Louis Deletraz

Carlin

1:44.025

13

13

Juan Manuel Correa

Sauber Junior Team by Charouz

1:44.120

13

14

Ralph Boschung

Trident

1:44.371

10

15

Anthoine Hubert

BWT Arden

1:44.612

12

16

Jordan King

MP Motorsport

1:44.882

13

17

Tatiana Calderon

BWT Arden

1:47.006

12

18

Mahaveer Raghunathan

MP Motorsport

1:48.374

13

            Not Classified

                  Giuliano Alesi

Trident

      Nikita Mazepin

ART Grand Prix

   

THOUGHTS FROM VIPS, DARUVALA AND ARMSTRONG

FIA Formula 3: Hello and welcome to today’s FIA Formula 3 press conference following Race 1 here at Silverstone. Joining us today we have our top three finishers from the opening race – our race winner Jüri Vips from Hitech Grand Prix, in second place Jehan Daruvala from PREMA Racing and in third place Marcus Armstrong from PREMA Racing. Jüri congratulations. A magnificent lights to flag victory out there today, highlighted by a really intense fight with Jehan at the front of the field. Could you talk us through that battle with him and some of the defensive moves?

Click Here: liverpool mens jerseyJüri Vips: I think I was struggling with my rear tyres a bit more than them through the whole race so first of all it was almost impossible to break the DRS without safety cars and everything. It was tough in the corners, very tough, and I really had to defend and fight for the victory but in the end I’m really happy that I got it. I’m really happy at the progress we’re all making, myself and Hitech, to start putting these weekends together and really have a clear direction on how to close the gap to the PREMA drivers. I’m really happy.

FIA Formula 3: The safety car towards the end of the race cooled the battle down a little bit but it set things up for a final sprint to the flag. How did you deal with that? I guess it was quite an intense pressure towards the end?

Jüri: Yeah. I think I did a better job with warming up the tyres and I think the safety car also kind of saved me because I got to cool down my rear tyres which were much hotter than the PREMA drivers behind me. I think that helped me to win and the tyres were a bit more ready, especially the front tyres at the safety car restart. I managed to pull a little gap in the last few laps and I don’t think Jehan got to attack after the safety car so that was good.

FIA Formula 3: Congratulations. Jehan moving on to you now. Another podium finish and a hard fought race. Could we get your view of the fight with Jüri out there?

Jehan Daruvala: It was a good battle. All race long I was close but just not close enough when I was catching him right at the end of the straight with the DRS. The virtual safety car was disappointing because that was the closest I was all race when coming out of Maggotts and Becketts. I thought that would be my best opportunity to overtake him but in the end, after the virtual safety car, I could stay within his DRS but I think he was pretty clever when he was in Maggotts and Becketts making sure he was always fast on the exit. Then we’d come close in the middle but I didn’t really have enough downforce on the last part of the circuit. He drove well. He didn’t really make any mistakes apart from one on the opening lap where he went off in Maggotts Becketts but he had a safe gap at that point. To be honest the car was great, I could follow him a bit better than I thought in all the corners except the most crucial corner.

FIA Formula 3: Another podium though, and that puts you into the lead of the Drivers’ Championship now. How much of a boost has this recent run of podiums and high finishes been for you?

Jehan: It is a boost, but like I said yesterday my main focus was to win the race. I wasn’t thinking at any time that I wanted to finish second even though I knew Robert was sixth at one point. Obviously I’m fighting Jüri and Marcus for the championship as well so my goal was to try and take the lead. I tried a couple of times but his defence was quite strong.

FIA Formula 3: Well done today. Marcus moving on to you now. You recovered after dropping off the front row at the start to get into that fight for the lead at one point, how much did that safety car stump your charge? You were so close but did it pull you back a little bit?

Marcus Armstrong: Yeah. As a whole it’s a bit of a disappointing race. The start was strange. I sort of had a shocking launch and everyone just went past me. To be honest I wasn’t too worried at the time because I knew that we had the pace. Obviously quali was quite strong so it wasn’t the end of the world. Once I got past [Christian] Lundgaard quite early in the race it was clear that the car was good and the pace was strong. Then I think there was a VSC straight after that just as I was starting to get on the back of these guys. I think the two, the virtual safety car and the safety car, was not ideal for me just because it kept, as you say, stunting the momentum that I had. In saying that it is difficult to overtake once you arrive to the front two. As Jehan said, Jüri’s not making many mistakes and obviously Jehan’s not making many mistakes, so it was never going to be an easy fight to get past.

FIA Formula 3: We spoke yesterday about it possibly being a race of management out there, how did that match up with your expectations?

Marcus: It wasn’t mental. It’s pretty cold outside so it wasn’t dramatic. In the end I don’t think I’d do anything differently. It was quite a predictable race which is not what I expected yesterday.

FIA Formula 3: Well done on your result. Jüri back to you now. You received high praise from both of your fellow drivers here, how much are you enjoying this fight against PREMA? It’s a really intense battle that we’re seeing at the front of the championship right now.

Jüri: The first few races not so much because the battle for the championship didn’t look so good then, but I’m really happy with how things went at the Red Bull Ring. We put a very strong weekend together and I know we still have Race 2 to go but this is also looking like a very strong weekend, or maybe even better because we got pole position as well. There’s still little things to improve, the pace wasn’t as good as I wanted, but I need to check the data and improve for Race 2 because tomorrow will also be very crucial to make up as many positions as possible and gain as many points on these two as possible to close the gap in the championship. That’s my aim.

Sebastian Vettel claimed the 57^thpole position of his career as Ferrari locked out the front row at Suzuka in a delayed qualifying session for the Japanese Grand Prix. Mercedes will start from row two, with Valtteri Bottas third ahead of team-mate Lewis Hamilton. 

The arrived of Typoon Hagibis yesterday caused the cancellation of all track action at the Mie Prefecture track and qualifying got underway on Sunday morning. 

The first segment began in disjointed fashion with two red flags in quick succession. First Williams’ Robert Kubica went onto the gras at Turn 18 and slid off into the barriers and then, after an eight-minutes halt, Haas’ Kevin Magnussen did almost the same. The Dane got out of shape on the exit of the final chicane and then simply spun out in Turn 18 before slapping the barriers with both end of his car. Magnussen managed to keep his Haas going, however, and limped to the pits, though he was not seen for the rest of the session. 

When the green lights went on again the segment was straightforward for the front runners. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc led the way ahead of Hamilton and Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen. However, eliminated at the end of the session were Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo in 16^thplace, followed by Racing Point’s Sergio Pérez, Williams’ George Russell and the unfortunate Magnussen and Kubica. 

The second session saw Vettel set the early pace with a lap of 1:28.174, though that was soon beaten by Hamilton who set a time of 1:27.826.

The kept the title leader on top until the late in the session when Bottas jumped ahead of his team-mate with an improved lap of 1:27.688. Red Bull’s Alex also improved on his final run of the session, gaining almost seven tenths of a second over his first attempt to steal P3 with a lap of 1:28.156. Ferrari, meanwhile, chose to skip the final runs and Q2 ended with Vettel fourth ahead of Leclerc with Verstappen. Behind the Dutchman, McLaren’s Lando Norris made it into Q3 ahead of team-mate Carlos Sainz, Toro Rosso’s Pierre Gasly and the Haas of Romain Grosjean. 

Eliminated at the end of Q2 were 11^th-placed Alfa Romeo driver Antonio Giovinazzi, followed by Racing Point’s Lance Stroll, the second Alfa of Kimi Räikkönen, the second Toro Rosso of Daniil Kvyat and Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg. 

It was Vettel, though, who rose up through the ranks to claim pole position. The German set blistering pace to set a outright track record of 1:27.064, almost two tenths of a second quicker than team-mate Charles Leclerc. 

Behind the Ferrari front row lockout Mercedes seized row two with Bottas ahead of Hamilton. Red Bull locked out row three, with Verstappen and Albon posting identical times of 1:27.851, with the Dutchman only securing P5 by virtue of setting the time first. It was impressive performance from Albon on his first F1 weekend at Suzuka. Behind the Red Bulls, McLaren took row four with Carlos Sainz ahead of Lando Norris, while Pierre Gasly was ninth for Toro Rosso ahead of Haas’ Romain Grosjean. 

2019 FIA Formula One Japanese Grand Prix – Qualifying
1 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:27.064 6 240.113
2 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:27.253 0.189 6 239.592
3 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:27.293 0.229 6 239.483
4 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:27.302 0.238 6 239.458
5 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda 1:27.851 0.787 6 237.962
6 Alexander Albon Red Bull/Honda 1:27.851 0.787 6 237.962
7 Carlos Sainz JrMcLaren/Renault 1:28.304 1.240 6 236.741
8 Lando Norris McLaren/Renault 1:28.464 1.400 6 236.313
9 Pierre Gasly Toro Rosso/Honda 1:28.836 1.772 6 235.323
10 Romain Grosjean Haas/Ferrari 1:29.341 2.277 3 233.993
Click Here: liverpool mens jersey11 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1:29.254 1.566 6 234.221
12 Lance Stroll Racing Point/Mercedes 1:29.345 1.657 6 233.982
13 Kimi Räikkönen Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1:29.358 1.670 6 233.948
14 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso/Honda 1:29.563 1.875 6 233.413
15 Nico Hülkenberg Renault 1:30.112 2.424 4 231.991
16 Daniel Ricciardo Renault 1:29.822 1.417 8 232.740
17 Sergio Pérez Racing Point/Mercedes 1:30.344 1.939 9 231.395
18 George Russell Williams/Mercedes 1:30.364 1.959 10 231.344
– Kevin Magnussen Haas/Ferrari 2 
– Robert Kubica Williams/Mercedes 1 
 

 

 

Shanghai has seen a combined 206 cars start the previous seven runnings, with 22 of those failing to see the chequered flag, making an 89.3% finish rate.

 

The 206 starters at Shanghai have raced for 31,332 laps in all, or 170,791 km. The most came in 2016, with the 31 entrants covering 27,849 km, for the only time more than 5,000 laps have been covered in China.

 

Click Here: liverpool mens jerseyThe LMP1 podium at Shanghai 2018 hosted a reunion of former F1 World Champions and McLaren F1 team-mates Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button, the pair sharing a podium for the first time since the 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix. Alonso’s Toyota TS050 featured Kazuki Nakajima and Sebastien Buemi, whilst Button’s SMP Racing BR1 crew contained Vitaly Petrov – all former F1 drivers.

 

All four class lap records were broken in 2017, with Sebastien Buemi lapping the 5.451km circuit in 1m45.892s to set a new WEC race lap record.  Because of the heavy rain during the 2018 race, none of the 2017 records were broken.

 

Pedro Lamy (LMGTE AM) has both the race in Shanghai four times and in two different cars (Corvette in 2012 and Aston Martin in 2014 / 2016 / 2017).  The Portuguese driver has also the most class pole positions with five, all for Aston Martin (2014/2015/2016/2017/2018).

 

Julien Canal is the only driver to have won the race in Shanghai in two different classes (LMGTE Am in 2012 and LMP2 in 2014 and 2017)

 

G-Drive Racing has won the LMP2 class three times (2013, 2014 and 2016). 

 

Jackie Chan DC Racing won the LMP2 class in 2018, becoming the first Chinese flagged team to win at home in Shanghai.

 

The longest race distance was in 2016 with Timo Bernhard, Brendon Hartley and Mark Webber winning after completing 1062.95km (195 laps).  This race distance was equalled in 2017.  

 

Ferrari has never won in the LMGTE Pro class at Shanghai.  Aston Martin won in 2012, 2013 and 2018, Porsche won in 2014 and 2015 and Ford in 2016 and 2017. 

 

Chevrolet won the LMGTE Am class in 2012 with Larbre Competition, in 2013 it was Ferrari with 8 Star Motorsports, Ferrari with AF Corse in 2015, Aston Martin Racing in 2014, 2016 and 2017, with Porsche taking their first class win in 2018 with Dempsey-Proton Racing.

 

Stefan Mucke has secured the LMGTE Pro pole position three times for two different manufacturers.  In 2013 and 2014 the German driver took pole position with Aston Martin, alongside Darren Turner, and in 2018 he took pole position with Olivier Pla for Ford in the American manufacturers final season in the WEC.

 

Pedro Lamy secured the LMGTE Am pole five times in the seven editions of the Shanghai race, four with Canadian driver Paul Dalla Lana. In 2019 Dalla Lana is looking to secure his fifth consecutive pole with his new teammates Darren Turner, who has three LMGTE Pro class poles in Shanghai, and Ross Gunn. 

 

Mike Conway, Nicki Thiim and Olivier Pla have all secured pole position for the race in Shanghai in two different classes.  Conway in LMP2 (2013) and LMP1 (2017/ 2018), Thiim in LMGTE Am (2013) and LMGTE Pro (2017) and Pla in LMP2 (2014) and LMGTE Pro (2018). 

 

Aston Martin has been the most successful brand in LMGTE qualifying taking the class pole on no less than 10 occasions from a maximum of 14 (6 in LMGTE Am and 4 in LMGTE Pro).

 

In LMP1 Alex Wurz secured pole position for Toyota in 2012 and 2013 (with Nicolas Lapierre), in 2014 Neel Jani and Romain Dumas and in 2015 and 2016 Mark Webber and Brendon Hartley took pole position for Porsche. In 2017 and 2018 Kamui Kobayashi and Mike Conway took pole for Toyota

 

The fastest pole position average lap was set in 2015 with a 1m42.719 by Brendon Hartley (1m42.621) and Mark Webber (1m42.818)

 

Lap Records

LMP1

S. Buemi

Toyota TS050-Hybrid

1m45.892

185.3kph

5 November 2017

LMP2

B. Senna

Oreca 07 – Gibson

1m51.793

175.5kph

5 November 2017

LMGTE Pro

O. Pla

Ford GT

2m02.154

160.6kph

5 November 2017

LMGTE Am

M. Dienst

Porsche 911 RSR (991)

2m03.531

158.9kph

5 November 2017

 

Shanghai International Circuit

Work started in April 2003 and in 18 months the area was transformed from swampland to an international racetrack with a team of 3000 engineers working around the clock.

 

The track layout was inspired from the Chinese character shang  (上) the first character in the name of the city Shanghai, meaning “above” or “ascend”.

 

Circuit Length:  5.451 km (3.387 miles) / 1170m: The length of the back straight at the Shanghai International Circuit.

 

Shanghai

With a population of 24,256,800 (in 2014), Shanghai is the largest Chinese city by population and the largest city proper by population in the world.

 

Shanghai municipality area is 6,340.5 km2 or 2,448.1 sq miles

 

The two Chinese characters in the city’s name are 上 (shàng, “above”) and 海 (hǎi, “sea”), together meaning “Upon-the-Sea”.

 

Shanghai also has various nicknames in English, including “Pearl of the Orient” and “Paris of the East”.

Kimi Raikkonen’s long-time manager Steve Robertson says he was certain that the driver would find some way to stay in Formula 1 when his time at Ferrari finally came to an end.

“I knew that he would keep driving,” Robertson insisted. “If he did not stay at Ferrari, he would like to look at another option. And there are not many alternatives.”

The Finn began his F1 career at Sauber in 2001 before moving first to McLaren and then to Ferrari.

After a two year sabbatical from the sport he returned in 2012 with Lotus, before heading back to Ferrari in 2014 for another four seasons at Maranello alongside Sebastian Vettel.

With the Scuderia’s decision to promote Charles Leclerc next season, the 38-year-old took the chance to ‘swap’ places with the youngster and head back to Sauber in a surprise two-year deal rather than retire.

“Kimi loves driving,” Robertson explained. “He could have stopped, but he just loves driving at the top in Formula 1.”

“He has been with F1’s iconic team for eight years, which is incredible,” he added. “Now he may decide to end his career at the team where he started it.

• Vettel admits he’ll be sad to see Raikkonen go

Raikkonen admitted that this was likely to be his last deal in F1. “There’s a big chance for sure. I will stop when I feel it is right for me,” he said last week.

Raikkonen had been told by Ferrari boss Maurizio Arrivabene before the Italian Grand Prix that they weren’t renewing his contract for another year.

“This is what happened. It’s not up to me and it’s not my decision,” Raikkonen replied when about the process. “This is the outcome. At least we have an outcome.”

The idea that he would head back to Sauber had been at Kimi’s instigation, and it came together remarkably quickly.

“I obviously know people from the past and it started after that,” commented Raikkonen.

“Kimi had a meeting with them first and then he handed over to me,” Robertson told C Morelle. “They were interested and Kimi made it clear that he was interested.

“Then he gave me a job and we did [the deal] as we have throughout his career,” he added.

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Artur Kubica, the father of Williams driver Robert Kubica, sees his son’s return to the F1 grid in 2019 as a “miracle” given the ordeal he was forced to surmount.

The Polish driver’s return to Grand Prix racing has been well chronicled and was made effective recently when Williams announced that the 33-year-old would be included in the team’s line-up for next season.

Since almost severing his right arm eight years ago in a horrendous rally crash, it’s been a long and painful road back to the grid for Kubica, marked by a massive physical and mental battle.

“If miracles happen, then yes, it is a miracle,” Artur Kubica told Polish broadcaster TVN24.

“It was an uphill struggle for him. I remember when after six months, his leg had healed and then he broke it again. Such cases can destroy you psychologically.

Williams: Reserve role in 2018 key to Kubica’s return to F1

Professor Mario Igor Rossello, the surgeon who led the team that oversaw Kubica immediately after his tragic crash remembers the uncertainty surrounding the driver’s medical situation.

“We had to fight to keep him alive,” said the Italian doctor. “The fact that we saved his hand was an additional reward.”

Kubica’s return to F1 is perhaps the greatest comeback in the history of the sport, but the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix winner admits that there were days when he almost lost hope.

“Nobody knows exactly how much surgery I had,” he said.

“Certainly more than there are races in Formula 1, and many that were unsuccessful and put me back six months.”

When the lights go out in Melbourne next March, a beaming Artur Kubica will be watching.

“Today I’m happy that he is where he is. I am proud to be his father.”

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