Bottas’ performance is not poor for Mercedes to drop him

Valtteri Bottas would need to be driving “extremely badly” to be dropped mid-season, that’s according to former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher. And the German says he isn’t there, but it is “slowly becoming difficult” for the Mercedes driver. Bottas entered this year’s championship promising to be selfish and demand what he needs to achieve his goal of winning the World Championship. Instead he has found himself once again lagging behind his team-mate Lewis Hamilton, resulting in a first round of team orders as the Spanish Grand Prix. With 47 points to Hamilton’s 94, there is speculation in the media that the Finn’s time at Mercedes is fast running out, some even suggesting he could be replaced mid-season. Schumacher doesn’t see that happening, conceding that while Bottas isn’t doing that poorly at this stage of the season. “There was talk of Valtteri having to leave his place during the season,” the Sky Germany commentator told Speedweek. “I don’t see that. “To do that, he would have to drive extremely badly, and he isn’t.” That, though, doesn’t mean he’ll be a Mercedes driver for much longer with Schumacher saying his seat should go to George Russell next season. “In the medium term, I would allow George Russell to drive a Mercedes,” he said. “I also think the Englishman would do a better job there than Bottas because after all the setbacks, the whole thing is slowly becoming difficult for Valtteri.” The German also weighed in on Daniel Ricciardo, who made the move to McLaren at the start of the year. Although it was thought the Aussie would get the better of his team-mate Lando Norris, at present it is the Brit who is leading the charge for McLaren. “McLaren has to do the construction work,” said Schumacher. “Formula 1 is developing very quickly, Daniel Ricciardo is behind, and we’ve seen his usual smile get a little lost. “Of course it stinks to him, as he was inferior to his team-mate Lando Norris until Barcelona. Ricciardo knows: Actually he, Daniel, should be the team leader. “Maybe that will change this weekend, because Daniel has captured two of his three pole positions in Monaco, he should have won in 2017, a mistake by the team when changing tyres cost the triumph, and in 2018 he made up for it. “This is a driver who feels very comfortable in Monaco. The question will be how comfortable he feels in the McLaren in order to be able to play to his full strength. ”

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2010 Lewis Hamilton’s race winning Mclaren MP4-25A to be auctioned at an estimate of $5m-$7m

A race-winning Formula 1 car driven by Lewis Hamilton is to be auctioned for the first time at this year’s British Grand Prix. The McLaren MP4-25A, driven by Hamilton during the 2010 season, will be auctioned by RM Sotheby’s on the Saturday afternoon of the British Grand Prix. It is the first time any of the Formula 1 cars raced by Hamilton during his 14-year career has been auctioned for public sale. An estimate of $5m-$7m has been placed on the car. The MP4-25A is set to be demonstrated around Silverstone while the auction takes place prior to the inaugural Sprint Qualifying session. Hamilton claimed victory at the Turkish Grand Prix using the chassis that is up for sale. RM Sotheby’s outlined that it is an “unrepeatable opportunity given the model’s scarcity.” It added that “while client confidentiality precludes knowing exactly how many cars exist in private ownership it is believed to be only a scarce few. “As such these examples remain highly coveted and largely in private hands, unlikely to be sold in the near future.”

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Aleix Espargaro undergoes arm pump surgery

Aleix Espargaro has had surgery to correct his arm pump following the French MotoGP. The Aprilia rider completed only 12 laps in the Jerez post-race test, early this month, due to the ailment but was running sixth at Le Mans when his RS-GP suffered an apparent engine failure. Espargaro had to wait until after the French round to be operated on due to health protocols related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and was into hospital in his native Barcelona next morning. The 31-year-old is the fourth MotoGP rider to undergo such a procedure this year, after Jack Miller, Iker Lecuona, and Fabio Quartararo. Espargaro currently sits seventh in the championship and looked to be on for a fifth top 10 finish in as many races to start the season until the aforementioned technical problem. Round 6 is the Italian Grand Prix, at Mugello, on May 28-30.

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VR46 set to be a satellite team for Ducati in 2022

Valentino Rossi’s VR46 team has concluded a deal with Ducati for the 2022 MotoGP season, according to Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport. An announcement of VR46’s new status as an official Ducati satellite is expected in the coming weeks. There were initially three offers on the table for Rossi’s team, with deals from Aprilia and Yamaha also available for him to choose from. It’s believed that the Yamaha one in particular was financially lucrative for Rossi – who won four of his MotoGP titles with the firm – and would have cost VR46 only €5million for full factory support. That’s a considerable discount on the €9m deal offered to his current team Petronas SRT Yamaha for the same level of support. The official confirmation of the news is expected to come not at next weekend’s Italian Grand Prix at Mugello but one week later in Barcelona at the Catalan Grand Prix, with a three-year contract due to be announced for Rossi’s Saudi-backed team. The reason for the delay in announcing the deal is that there is other news to first be confirmed at Mugello. Ducati will also announce a three-year contract extension for second tier team Pramac Racing and will then confirm that factory rider Jack Miller will activate the second-year option in his contract – no surprise after the Australian’s back to back wins in the past two races. The VR46 deal leaves Ducati with something of a quandary, as it attempts to line up more riders than it currently has bikes for. Both Miller and Pecco Bagnaia will remain in the factory team, while Jorge Martin and Johann Zarco will stay with Pramac. However, reigning Moto2 world champion Enea Bastianini (pictured above) is signed to a Ducati contract rather than with his current Esponsorama team – which will lose its place in MotoGP to Rossi’s expanded squad. It remains to be seen if Ducati will be able to place him alongside current team-mate Luca Marini in Rossi’s new set-up, or if the second bike there will be reserved for Rossi protege Marco Bezzecchi. Gazzetta dello Sport has also confirmed that Gresini Racing has a €3m offer on the table from current partner Aprilia, with the Rossi news all but set to confirm that Gresini will remain a part of the Aprilia set-up as a satellite squad following the end of its deal to be the official partner. Gresini is already believed to have a contract in place with its Moto2 rider Fabio Di Giannantonio to move to MotoGP next year, but it also offers Aprilia a chance to potentially poach Bastianini from Ducati for a bargain price, should Ducati and Rossi be unable to agree terms to retain Bastianini’s services. But Aprilia’s future rider line-up remains more than anything hinged on the decisions made in the coming weeks by Andrea Dovizioso. Though he completed another test of the RS-GP last week as he continues to assess a full-time return with the team for next season, wet conditions at Mugello meant that he will now wait until riding the bike for a third a time at Misano before making his call. The other repercussion of the VR46/Ducati deal is that Petronas SRT looks set to remain with Yamaha for next year despite the higher price it’s going to be forced to pay. That deal remains on the table. Franco Morbidelli has already indicated that Petronas staying with Yamaha would mean he will be promoted to factory-spec machinery, but whether Rossi will remain alongside him as his team-mate or whether retirement is on the cards after a poor start to 2021 is perhaps the next big question of the silly season.

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Giving Australian GP a go ahead would be ‘premature’ – Prime Minister

A question mark is still hanging over this year’s running of the postponed and rescheduled Australian GP. While other countries are making progress in moving out of the pandemic, it’s a different situation in Australia – where the country is locked up tight to keep out all international cases of covid-19. Prime Minister Scott Morrison says it is “premature” to say whether the grand prix and other similar events can go ahead this year. “I would note how different it is coming to Australia, because in most of the countries they (Formula 1) are moving around in, covid is riddled through them,” he said on Tuesday. “Australia is not riddled with covid, so the risk profile in other countries is very different. That is something that we certainly want to protect.” Nonetheless, race promoter the Australian Grand Prix Corporation’s chief executive Andrew Westacott insists it is “all systems go” for the rescheduled Melbourne race in late November. “As you can imagine, it’s something very, very complex, it’s very, very much a work in progress, and we’re working with the government on every one of the details right now,” he told local broadcaster ABC. Westacott also played down rumours that Melbourne could follow Austria’s example with a second race in 2021, especially with a big question mark hanging over the Brazilian GP. “I think the people in Brazil are very, very dead-set on hosting their grand prix two weeks earlier than us,” he said. However, he also told SEN radio that a realistic deadline for clarity about whether the 2021 Australian GP will go ahead is mid September. “The current date we’re looking at is around the 13th or 17th of September from a build commencement point of view,” said Westacott.

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Alfa Romeo and Alpine also have ‘bendy wings’

At least two other Formula 1 teams will have to change the design of their rear wings in 2021, according to Red Bull’s Dr Helmut Marko. The FIA’s new clarification about rear wing flexibility has been reported as directly implicating Red Bull, after Lewis Hamilton referred to the “bendy” wing on Max Verstappen’s car in Barcelona. “Our rear wing has passed all the required load tests,” team official Marko told motorsport-magazin.com. “Now there is a new criterion that has different parameters regarding downforce,” he added. “This happens normally when new regulations are introduced and teams discover grey areas. “But we are not the only ones to do it,” Dr Marko insisted. “This will affect other teams as well. Both Alpine and Alfa Romeo are using rear wings that flex at high speed. “They will also have to make changes,” he said.

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Williams not yet done with developing their 2021 car

The fact that Williams is already working on the 2022 season is not that surprising. Just like every other F1-team on the grid, the British team is already busy preparing for next year. Dave Robson, head of vehicle performance, sees his team in the same situation as Ferrari. This is what he says in conversation with Autosport. According to Ferrari sport director Laurent Mekies the Italian team is already 90 to 95% committed to 2022. Robson thinks Williams will be close to that as well. “We’re probably not too far away from that I think. Certainly, the time in the windtunnel is almost entirely next year’s car. The vast majority, a massively high proportion of the aero department are all working on next year’s car. The same goes for the design office. So, we’re just in the final throes of the last few new bits for this car. Yeah, we’re probably very similar to Ferrari in those percentages.” Robson said. Still, Robson thinks there’s a bit more to come from the car this year. “There are a few bits and pieces we’re not fully on top of – a few test pieces that we’ve had on the car, we’ve taken back off and we’re still refining. So, I think there’s still a bit more to come from it. It probably isn’t going to change our world massively as the season goes on, but there’s still more to come. Definitely. We will keep pushing that. I think we can eek a bit more out of it.” So expect a few more minor updates for Nicolas Latifi and George Russell this year.

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Marquez disappointed in missed opportunity after French GP crash

Marc Marquez is disappointed at a missed opportunity after crashing while leading the French Grand Prix, just three races into his comeback. The six-time premier class champion led a MotoGP race for the first time since last year’s fateful Spanish Grand Prix when he was first out of the pits to commence Lap 6 as rain fell at Le Mans. Marquez got out to two seconds clear of Fabio Quartararo before he crashed at Raccordement on Lap 8. He remounted his Repsol Honda and had climbed to 11th before another spill, at La Chappelle, on Lap 18 saw him finally retire from the contest. It was the latter crash that particularly upset the 28-year-old given he felt it ‘unnecessary’. “Obviously today we didn’t take the opportunity that the weather gave to us and I’m disappointed about this,” said Marquez. “I knew if I was patient in the first three to four laps, then it would be a good race for me. “But anyway, I crashed when I didn’t expect, obviously. I was not pushing a lot but anyway it was like this. “It was quite difficult to get temperature in the rear tyre, especially on entry to the corners, off the gas and brakes, just I missed the rear where I didn’t expect. This first crash can happen and many riders crashed today. “The good thing was that I got back on the bike and I was the fastest guy on the track, but I’m angry with myself because the second crash was not necessary. “This was my fault and I was not able to control myself. I was not full concentrated, I was riding fast, maybe too fast. I didn’t know that the front riders were riding slower than me after the first crash. “Just I was thinking about the arm and about other things, because on that lap I just informed my team that I was going into the box to change to slicks because the track was ready, I believe. “Anyway, for that reason I’m disappointed with the second crash.” Marquez is still building back to full fitness after almost nine months off a motorcycle due to the broken arm, and was mostly encouraged by his latest performance. “The good thing is that this weekend we showed, in damp conditions, when I don’t have the limitation of the physical condition, the speed is there,” he explained. “It’s true that I did a mistake but it’s part of the comeback. Today I felt the opportunity, I tried to be there but maybe I pushed too much and I was too fast. “Checking now the pace of all the riders, riding much slower the race was there. “But we didn’t use the opportunity that the weather brought me. “Now it’s time to go home, analyse this weekend, try to continue with the recovery and let’s wait for the next races to feel better.” Marquez is now 17th in the championship, 64 points behind leader Quartararo, ahead of Round 6 at Mugello on May 28-30.

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Red Bull will tweak ‘bendy wing’ – Marko

Dr Helmut Marko admits Red Bull will need to make tweaks to its allegedly ‘bendy’ 2021 rear wing. After Lewis Hamilton made the observation about Max Verstappen’s “bendy” wing after the Spanish GP, the FIA warned that it would clamp down on the issue of flexible wings with extra checks. “This is an old story,” Red Bull top official Dr Marko told motorsport-magazin.com. “In our world championship years, I think we had to make changes to our front wings two or three times in one season. “The FIA draws up regulations and the teams try to use them as optimally as possible,” the Austrian explained. “But this is not just a Red Bull issue – other teams are just as affected,” he said. Indeed, there are reports Alpine may be even more affected by the FIA move than Red Bull. Marko admitted: “We are assuming that we may have to make minor adjustments in relation to the interpretation that is coming out now. It is a different interpretation than the previous one.” But he insisted that any rear wing tweaks will not overly affect Red Bull’s performance. When asked how much pace Verstappen’s car will lose, Marko said: “We are currently calculating that. But it’s not as if it will be decisive for the championship.”

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Mclaren reveals new Gulf livery for Monaco GP

McLaren has revealed an incredible one-off livery in the iconic Gulf colours that will be run by the team at the upcoming Monaco Grand Prix. When McLaren welcomed Gulf Oil International as its strategic partner in July 2020, the two revived a relationship that dates back to 1968 and the days of team founder Bruce McLaren. For the Monaco weekend, Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo’s cars will sport the distinctive blue and orange paintwork that previously adorned the #41 McLaren F1 GTR Longtail at the 1997 24 Hours of Le Mans. Both drivers will also sport helmets with “bespoke retro designs” that will be raffled to raise money for the team’s mental health charity partner, Mind. McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown said: “This will be McLaren’s homage to Gulf’s celebrated race car design. We’re enormous fans of brave and bold design, and the striking Gulf blue is among the most loved liveries in racing, a celebrated piece of culture which transcends the world of motorsport. “Design has always been important to McLaren – you see this in everything we do from our return to papaya to our stunning headquarters, the McLaren Technology Centre. “We’re excited to exhibit this as a team and celebrate our proud association with Gulf in Monaco.” The Gulf ‘theme’ will extend across the team’s social media platforms with team personnel also set to be fitted in one-off kit. Gulf Oil CEO Mike Jones added: “Gulf and McLaren have a relationship that dates back to 1968 and is one of the most successful partnerships in motorsport. We are incredibly excited to pay tribute to this heritage with our classic livery at the Monaco Grand Prix, the most spectacular and stylish event on the Formula 1 calendar. “To see the reaction of both Lando and Daniel as well as the whole McLaren team to this livery has been really special and we are thrilled to unveil it to motorsport fans around the world. “The distinguished racing blue and fluro orange Gulf colourways are iconic, so to mark our return to Formula 1 and showcase the livery in Monaco with McLaren is a great celebration of our bold and colourful place within the sport.”

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Russell is very close to Hamilton’s early career level – Williams’ head of vehicle performance

Dave Robson, Williams’ head of vehicle performance, believes George Russell is achieving “very close” to Lewis Hamilton’s early Formula 1 career performances and “has the potential” to emulate his subsequent success. Robson worked at McLaren during Hamilton’s time as a junior driver with the team – where he would go on to make his F1 debut in 2007 and win his first world title a year later. When discussing Hamilton’s achievement of sealing 100 career F1 pole positions at last weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix, Robson explained how it had been clear from early in Hamilton’s time with McLaren that there was “something” he “always had” that suggested the Briton had potential to succeed in motorsport. Robson also said he had seen similar traits in Russell – a junior driver for Hamilton’s Mercedes operation and regularly tipped to follow in his footsteps with F1’s leading team – when he first met Russell ahead of his rookie F1 season in 2019. “I think there are definitely some similarities there,” said Robson, who was Jenson Button’s race engineer while he competed against Hamilton at McLaren from 2010-2012, with Robson remaining in that role until he joined Williams for 2015 to be Felipe Massa’s race engineer. “And they were obvious from the first time I met George and we ran him in the simulator in Grove. Then we went up and ran him around the airfield in a road car. “Again, there was something. There was something there. “I think the talent is there. I think he is very close to Lewis and has the potential to get there. For sure.” Robson also called Hamilton’s 100 poles record a “phenomenal achievement”. “And to do it against some fairly impressive teammates along the way as well [is impressive],” he added. “I’ve obviously not worked with him for quite a few years, but it’s something he’s always had, I think. “There is just that something about him. That special quality that you can’t really define. “That was obvious right from when he was just a kid and [McLaren] took him testing at Elvington [airfield, for a straight-line aerodynamic test run] – going up and down the runway. “He was bored stiff after 10 minutes. Whereas most kids, when you took them to Elvington, they were just chuffed to bits to be in an F1 car – even though they were just going up and down the runway. “And he was different right from the beginning. He just has that talent and that tremendous attitude. So, take your hat off to him. “He’s an annoying customer to have on the other side of the garage, for sure. But yeah, he’s a phenomenal talent.”

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Jack Miller wins French MotoGP as Mir and Marquez crash out of race

Jack Miller joined Fabio Quartararo as the second double MotoGP race winner in 2021 after taking a chaotic victory at Le Mans. Miller mastered what can only be described as treacherous conditions as the race started on dry tyres before rain hit the Circuit de la Sarthe after four laps. The Australian who used the Ducati’s holeshot devices after saying it was unlikely to be the case early in the weekend, took the lead off the start before Maverick Vinales got back ahead on lap two. But as the rain hit, Vinales struggled and therefore slipped back down the order as team-mate Fabio Quartararo, Alex Rins and Marc Marquez all made their way past. As riders approached pit lane on lap six, Marquez was easily the fastest man on track and went past Rins while Miller ran wide into the gravel – managing to stay aboard his Desmosedici machine. Marquez entered the pits alongside race leader Quartararo but was able to come out in the lead after a brilliant bike swap. Rins also managed to make his way past the Frenchman in pit lane, however, the Suzuki rider crashed immediately as he turned right at the Dunlop chicane. This meant Marquez led from Quartararo as the eight-time world champion started to pull away from the Yamaha rider. It was reminiscent of previous flag-to-flag races where Marquez went on to dominate, but that was not to be the case at Le Mans as he crashed in the final corner from the lead with a quarter of the race gone. Miller was promoted to second following the crashes of Rins and Marquez, but just as he started to close the gap, the Ducati rider was given two long-lap penalties as did Francesco Bagnaia for speeding in the pits. But with Miller having a clear speed advantage over Quartararo, the Jerez race winner still managed to close the gap and take the lead – a position he kept until the end. Further back the drama continued to unfold as both Aprilia’s of Lorenzo Savadori and Aleix Espargaro suffered mechanical problems, while Rins and Marquez crashed again. Other riders to crash included Franco Morbidelli on lap one as he needed to take avoiding action of Pol Espargaro who had a big moment in the third sector, while Joan Mir also crashed on lap six before he could make his way to pit lane on the dry tyres. Just after mid race distance Zarco became the fastest rider on track as he got passed Takaaki Nakagami before hunting down the two men out front. Zarco’s pace was unrelenting as he chipped off two seconds a lap from Quartararo ahead, before making his way past instantaneously after catching his fellow countryman with five laps remaining. And while he was going quicker than Miller in the lead, the margin wasn’t sufficient enough for him to catch the 26 year-old. The win for Miller is his third MotoGP career victory, while Zarco also took his third podium of the year. Third place for Quartararo sees the Monster Energy Yamaha rider regain the championship lead, but only by one point as Bagnaia produced a great ride through the field to claim fourth after being 21st on lap one. Danilo Petrucci got his and the Tech 3 KTM team’s best result of the year as he finished fifth. The Italian made a late move on Alex Marquez to claim that spot, while the Spaniard finished sixth which is also his best result of 2021 so far. Nakagami was unable to hold onto his early race position of fourth, as he eventually finished in seventh, while the Repsol Honda of Espargaro was eighth, Iker Lecuona ninth and Vinales rounded out the top ten. MotoGP race results: Round 5 at Le Mans Position Number Rider Team Bike Time/Gap 1 43 Jack MILLER Ducati Lenovo Team Ducati 47’25.473 2 5 Johann ZARCO Pramac Racing Ducati 3.97 3 20 Fabio QUARTARARO Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha 14.468 4 63 Francesco BAGNAIA Ducati Lenovo Team Ducati 16.172 5 9 Danilo PETRUCCI Tech 3 KTM Factory Racing KTM 21.43 6 73 Alex MARQUEZ LCR Honda CASTROL Honda 23.509 7 30 Takaaki NAKAGAMI LCR Honda IDEMITSU Honda 30.164 8 44 Pol ESPARGARO Repsol Honda Team Honda 35.221 9 27 Iker LECUONA Tech 3 KTM Factory Racing KTM 40.432 10 12 Maverick VIÑALES Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha 40.577 11 46 Valentino ROSSI Petronas Yamaha SRT Yamaha 42.198 12 10 Luca MARINI SKY VR46 Avintia Ducati 52.408 13 33 Brad BINDER Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM 59.377 14 23 Enea BASTIANINI Avintia Esponsorama Ducati +1’02.224 15 53 Tito RABAT Pramac Racing Ducati +1’09.651 16 21 Franco MORBIDELLI Petronas Yamaha SRT Yamaha 4 Laps Not classified 93 Marc MARQUEZ Repsol Honda Team Honda 10 Laps Not classified 41 Aleix ESPARGARO Aprilia Racing Team Gresini Aprilia 12 Laps Not classified 88 Miguel OLIVEIRA Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM 15 Laps Not classified 42 Alex RINS Team SUZUKI ECSTAR Suzuki 15 Laps Not classified 32 Lorenzo SAVADORI Aprilia Racing Team Gresini Aprilia 16 Laps Not classified 36 Joan MIR Team SUZUKI ECSTAR Suzuki 23 Laps

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Quartararo beats Vinales taking pole for Le Mans

Rain, shine, or something in between? Saturday at the Grand Prix de France presented quite a challenge for the MotoGP grid, but the final few minutes of Q2 eventually delivered a stunning shootout for pole on a dry track. And who came out on top? Home hero Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP), the Frenchman taking back-to-back poles at Le Mans to pip teammate Maverick Viñales to the top and make it a factory Yamaha team 1-2 on the grid for the first time since 2017. Third went to Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team), the Jerez winner just a tenth off pole. In Q1, a drying track made it anyone’s game and there were a few spills, some thrills and definitely a couple of surprises. Crashing early on despite his impressive pace in a damp FP3, Lorenzo Savadori (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) was jogging back to the pits as the rest got down to really testing out the conditions… but there was a real phoenix moment on the way. As the track improved more and more, so did the laptimes at the top. But none more than Savadori. The Italian was back out and flexing his wet weather prowess once again as the clock ticked down, and crossing the line the Italian topped the session by a whopping eight tenths of a second. From whom? Fellow rookie Luca Marini (Sky VR46 Avintia). Tagged on to the back of Championship leader and compatriot Francesco Bagnaia, Marini improved and then improved again on his final push to top the session, just before Savadori’s final wonder. The two rookies moved through then, leaving Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) just knocked out by his teammate, as well as reigning Champion Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) next up and his teamma Alex Rins. Championship leader Bagnaia? He’ll be 16th on the grid… And so Q2 began, with no more rain having come down. Decisions needed to be made for the Q2 runners at the beginning of the pole position fight, and we witnessed Valentino Rossi and Petronas Yamaha SRT teammate Franco Morbidelli gamble on slick tyres. Had they taken inspiration from fellow VR46 Acadamy rider Andrea Migno (Rivacold Snipers Team) after his stunning Moto3 qualifying gamble? It looked like the Petronas Yamaha SRT squad had made the right call as Miller, Quartararo and Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) pulled straight back in to switch. Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda Team), Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) and Savadori were also all on slicks, but Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) wasn’t and was soon on his way back to pitlane for a tyre change – as was Viñales. By then, the riders on slick tyres were lighting up the timing screens. Rossi was out of the seat at the final corner; his lap was ruined and Morbidelli eclipsed Zarco’s best wet tyre lap, but then Miller demolished them all to go 1.2s quicker than anyone. Pol Espargaro slotted into an early P2 as Quartararo and Savadori clocked into P3 and P4, Morbidelli next to improve to move back up to second. Incredibly though, Miller then cut his best by a second again, and Pol Espargaro once more came through as the Aussie’s closest challenger. It was far from over. Everyone was constantly improving, and Zarco briefly went provisional pole, Miller beat him by nine tenths and then Pol Espargaro finally demoted Miller to second by 0.157s. Marc Marquez then joined his teammate on the front row with four minutes to go, and Nakagami made it three Hondas in the top four for the time being. Morbidelli hit back next for second, but not for long. Marc Marquez beat teammate Pol Espargaro by 0.113s, before Nakagami split the two to make it a Honda 1-2-3… and rain then started to fall at Turn 1. It looked like the three HRC men had timed their laps to perfection, but no. Suddenly, Viñales and Zarco set red sectors, before Quartararo did too. Viñales was the first to cross the line and break Repsol Honda hearts to grab provisional pole position off Marc Marquez, Zarco then took second and Morbidelli also got the better of the number 93’s time. Quartararo was the rider to watch though and, laying it all on the line in the final sector, it was going down to Yamaha vs Yamaha for pole. Could he hold on? he could. El Diablo beat his teammate’s time by 0.081s, and a shadowing Miller came through to snatched a late front row as well. The first factory Yamaha 1-2 since 2017, when a certain Viñales went on to win, joined by the most recent race winner? Another stellar Saturday that – for the third time in a row – belonged to Quartararo. Arm pump surgery to home GP pole is the story of his last couple of weeks, that’s two in a row for Quartararo at Le Mans to boot. Morbidelli and Zarco’s final flying laps ensure they have solid grid positions for the French GP, in fourth and fifth, with Marc Marquez left down on the outside of the second row by the end of the shuffle. Nakagami and Pol Espargaro – who suffered a late crash at Turn 7 – will also have to settle for les than it seemed had been promised, taking P7 and P8 respectively. Rossi was able to better his time on the last lap to earn P9 and his best grid position since the season opener with Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) completing the top 10, despite a crash, ahead of Q1 graduates Savadori and Marini. With Bagnaia and the Suzukis looking for quick progress too… Sunday promises plenty. A French GP qualifying session for the ages, with a Frenchman on pole again. What will Sunday bring? 14:00 local time (GMT+2) is when we’ll find out, with Ducati primed with their holeshot devices, the skies uncertain… and history at stake once again.

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Talladega offering COVID-19 vaccine and a drive around the track this weekend

The unique offer is sure to attract race fans with the chance to take on the high banks, running two full laps at highway speed around the 2.66-mile superspeedway. The event is being organized by the race track along with the Alabama National Guard, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the CDC Foundation and the Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH). Free COVID-19 tests and vaccinations will be offered between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. local time. The drive-through event is part of continued efforts to get the majority of United States population vaccinated. This is just the latest of many incentive-driven programs with the goal of protecting people from COVID-19. The pandemic has claimed nearly 600,000 American lives since it began. At the moment, just over 35% of the country is fully vaccinated.

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Austin Cindric wins Dover Xfinity race as Josh Berry takes $100,000 Dash for Cash bonus

After steadily making his way forward for most of the race, reigning NASCAR Xfinity Series champion Austin Cindric wrangled the lead from Justin Allgaier with 51 laps remaining and then checked out on the field to claim his third trophy of the season in Saturday‘s Drydene 200 at Dover (Del.) International Speedway. Josh Berry passed his JR Motorsports teammate Allgaier with 28 laps to go finishing runner-up and winning the prized Xfinity Dash 4 Cash $100,000 bonus check. Allgaier held onto third, followed by Kaulig Racing driver AJ Allmendinger and Joe Gibbs Racing‘s Ty Gibbs, who led all 125 laps en route to the ARCA Menards Series win at the Dover one-miler on Friday. For much of the race it looked like the JR Motorsports teammates, Allgaier and Berry, would settle the trophy between themselves. Allgaier won the first stage and Berry the second stage – their first stage wins of the season. Allgaier, a two-time Dover winner and the only driver in Saturday‘s field with a previous win at the track, led a race best 94 of the 200 laps. Berry led 48. But it was the methodical work of Cindric, 22, who was eighth at the end of Stage 1 and third in Stage 2 — who ultimately rallied for his series‘ best third victory. His 3.786-second margin of victory indicative of what the No. 22 Team Penske Ford was able to do once Cindric got out front. “I‘m fired up man, I love this race track more than anywhere else we go,” said a smiling Cindric, who now has 11 career Xfinity Series wins. “I love coming here.” “It is hard to believe but starting 16th at this joint, it isn‘t easy to pass,” Cindric continued. “We just kept at it the whole time. We made the right adjustments on pit stops and I feel like I have learned a lot about this race track, enough to get the Car Shop Ford Mustang into Victory Lane.” Harrison Burton, Michael Annett, Ryan Sieg, Daniel Hemric and Brandon Brown rounded out the top-10 finishers. There were eight caution periods on the afternoon — including a 10-minute red flag period to clean-up after a wreck involving Jesse Little, Matt Mills, Matt Jaskol and Josh Williams. But it was a caution-free affair once Cindric wrestled the lead from Allgaier in a tight door-to-door battle. Allgaier, who won his second race of the season last week at Darlington and joins Cindric as the series only multi-time winners of 2021, told his team he had some tire rub in that close-quarter racing with Cindric for the lead. And Allgaier‘s JR Motorsports teammate Berry was able to get by 22 laps later, settling the Dash 4 Cash prize. “It could have been one spot better, we were so good today,” Berry said. “That last run we just fired off too free. Me and Justin got racing each other and the 22 (Cindric) got away. We just weren‘t quite as good in that last run as the run before. It‘s tough. But when you‘re in the top-two or three all day, there‘s still a lot to be proud of.” Berry was the top finisher in a field of four eligible drivers in the final race of the year for the Dash 4 Cash program. Berry topped JR Motorsports teammates Allgaier and Gragson (who placed 15th), plus Joe Gibbs Racing’s Brandon Jones — the first retiree among the group. Jones completed just 68 laps after contact with Zane Smith’s No. 11 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet sent both cars into the outside retaining wall. Smith was a late fill-in for Justin Haley, who is sitting out Dover’s doubleheader weekend because of COVID-19 protocols. This marks the first win at the notoriously tough Dover “Monster Mile” for Cindric and it‘s his first win since a torrid streak to open the year including wins in the season-opener at Daytona and another at the Phoenix one-miler. “Every win means so much and of everyone that is in this series — I have the unique opportunity to know what I‘m doing in the future,” Cindric said. “I respect that the guys that I am racing around are trying to get to the top level. I know I have that for me down the road, but I have to bring that same energy that I am racing against. “These wins are really hard to come by. It sucks that we have had some bad races recently, but that makes this one feel so much better.” With the victory, Cindric increased his Xfinity Series championship lead to 62 points over Hemric in second and 74 over Harrison Burton in third.

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Teams much more slower compared to 2020 due to new regulations

How big is the impact of the new regulations? That question was on the minds of fans and teams after the 2020 season. It was feared that the cars will be a lot slower as there is also a lot more downforce lost due to the floor being subjected to major changes. Auto, Motor und Sport reveals that the difference is not even as big as expected. After the first four Grands Prix, it is clear that the F1 cars have taken a step back in lap time. This is the first time since 2017 that the regulations have made for slower cars. By comparing the fastest times with 2020, AMuS has made an estimate of the loss. They arrive at a loss of three tenths by kilometres. The biggest difference in lap times was in Bahrain, where the drivers were 1.7 seconds slower. Per kilometer however this comes out to three tenths per kilometer. Also in Portugal this difference is the same. In Spain the difference is more than two tenths and in Imola the difference is only one and a half tenths per kilometer. In the race the drivers are mostly faster. In Imola the fastest time was three seconds short, due to the weather conditions. In Barcelona Max Verstappen’ s fastest time was even faster than the fastest race lap of 2020. AMuS expects to see this more often, now that the importance of each point is so high for the top teams.

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