10 things we learned from F1’s 2021 Italian Grand Prix

After a long-awaited return to Zandvoort, F1 headed to one of its spiritual homes in Monza to complete its gruelling post-summer trio of races.
While the F1 driver market went into overdrive during the week between the Dutch and Italian rounds, it was the action on the track which dominated the headlines – both for the right and the wrong reasons.
Here are 10 things we learned from the …Keep reading
Cross-Country – Al Rajhi and Orr claim victory in Italy as the title fight hots up

Cross-Country – Al Rajhi and Orr claim victory in Italy as the title fight hots up

Sport news

Yazeed Al Rajhi and Michael Orr claimed a solid victory on the Italian Baja, the penultimate round of the FIA World and European Cups for Cross-Country Bajas. The Toyota Hilux crew won two of the five selective sections to reach the finish with a winning margin of three minutes and three seconds over Tiago Reis and Valter Cardoso. The Lithuanian/Portuguese duo of Benediktas Vanagas and Filipe Palmeiro finished third, making it a podium lockout for the Hilux.

Saudi Arabian Al Rajhi, who won in 2014, and Orr were fastest in the opening qualifying stage and opted to run first on the road, a strategy that paid off with the threat of hanging dust. They then won the second stage to establish a three minute and 25 second overnight lead, their nearest series rivals – Yasir Seaidan and Krzysztof Hołowczyc – having hit problems. While stage victories eluded them on the second leg, top three placings and a trouble-free run in all three sections was sufficient to secure victory and the lead in both the FIA World and European Cups for Cross-Country Bajas.

Reis and Cardoso bettered their best result of the season – fourth in Spain – with a fine second overall, the Portuguese crew only once outside the top three in any of the sections. They dropped time during leg one with a couple of navigation problems but bounced back with a solid performance in the final three stages; a fine result for Reis who was competing for the first time in Italy.

Vanagas and Palmeiro were on the podium for the second consecutive event, the Hilux crew third in both Poland and Italy. They suffered in the dust on the second section but otherwise had a clean run, other than changing a wheel in the final stage, maintaining their third position since SS2.

Erik Van Loon and Sébastien Delaunay climbed from fifth to fourth in the final stage, the Dutch/French pairing with a couple of overshoots earlier in the event and then benefitting in the closing kilometres when Xavier Pons and Armand Monleon dropped from fourth to 10th overall after a slow roll.

Miroslav Zapletal and Marek Sykora brought their Ford F150 home in fifth ahead of Abdullah Saleh Alsaif and Kirill Shubin who finished sixth overall and claimed the win in T4. They were in the thick of a battle throughout, but category victory in two of the five sections was enough to secure their third win of the season in the BRP Can Am Maverick. Rallying brothers Alexandre and Pedro Re were a mere 5.1 seconds behind with two stage wins to their names, but more importantly their result provisionally secures the T4 drivers’ title in the newly-created FIA European Cup for Cross-Country Bajas*.

Amerigo Ventura and Mirko Brun finished the highest placed Italian crew, third in T4 and eighth overall ahead of Santiago Navarro/Marc Sola who also claimed victory in the T3 category in the Overdrive OT3. Dania Akeel, in her debut season in cross-country, finished fourth in the category but has provisionally taken the T3 drivers’ title in the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Bajas*.

The Polish crew of Krzysztof Hołowczyc and Lukasz Kurzeja were gunning for a hat-trick of World Cup wins, having taken the plaudits in both Hungary and Poland. However, the MINI crew struck problems in the Qualifying Stage, when a gentle roll on the soft surface amassed them heavy penalties. They did however go on to win all three of the stages on the second leg. Yasir Seaidan and Alexei Kuzmich had a difficult start on Friday with navigation and dust problems; they did not restart the second leg due to mechanical problems.

The final round of the FIA World and European Cups for Cross-Country Bajas takes the contenders to Baja Portalegre (October 28-30).

* Subject to confirmation of the results by the FIA

Italian Baja – Final Classification

1

Yazeed Al Rajhi/Michael Orr

Toyota Hilux Overdrive

5hr 02min 47sec

2

Tiago Reis/Valter Cardoso

Toyota Hilux Overdrive

5hr 05min 50sec

3

Benediktas Vanagas/Filipe Palmeiro

Toyota Hilux

5hr 13min 34sec

4

Erik van Loon/Sébastien Delaunay

Toyota Hilux Overdrive

5hr 13min 44sec

5

Miroslav Zapletal/Marek Sykora

Ford F150 Evo

5hr 26min 07sec

6

Saleh Abdullah Al Saif/Kirill Shubin

BRP Can Am Maverick (T4)

5hr 26min 37sec

7

Alexandre Re/Pedro Re

BRP Can Am Maverick (T4)

5hr 26min 43sec

8

Amerigo Ventura/Mirko Brun

Yamaha YXZ 1000R (T4)

5hr 31min 15sec

9

Santiago Navarro/Marc Sola

Overdrive OT3 (T3)

5hr 35min 34sec

10

Xavier Pons/Hernando Armand Monleon

Toyota Hilux Overdrive

5hr 37min 38sec

Photo: Massimo Zuin

World Cup for Cross Country Bajas

Cross-CountryAll fia sportSEASON 2021SportCross-Country1SportWorld Cup for Cross Country BajasCross-CountryAll fia sportSEASON 2021Cross-Country01Monday, September 13, 2021 – 3:10pmMonday, September 13, 2021 – 3:10pm

Ricciardo: Monza F1 win was mine before Hamilton/Verstappen crash

The Australian scored McLaren’s first triumph since 2012 with a surprise win at Monza, as he led home team-mate Lando Norris.
Key to his success was getting past pole position man Max Verstappen on the run down to the first chicane on the opening lap, and then holding his advantage in the early stages.
And while he was concerned about losing his lead during the critical pitstop phase …Keep reading

Autosport Podcast: Italian GP review

Ricciardo dominated the race after taking the lead from Verstappen at the first corner to secure his first F1 win since the 2018 Monaco GP and McLaren’s first win since the 2012 Brazilian GP. With Lando Norris claiming second, it also marked McLaren’s first 1-2 finish since the 2010 Canadian GP.
But the biggest talking point of the weekend was the second high-profile crash of the year …Keep reading

Norris: Verstappen/Hamilton clash put me off fighting Ricciardo

Norris followed Ricciardo home in a sensational 1-2 win for McLaren, its first victory since 2012.
After the race, Norris said being part of that historic feat for the Woking team was “incredible” but also admitted he was thinking about how he could snatch the win himself.
But Norris said the high-profile clash between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen halfway through the race, which forced …Keep reading

How the halo’s London bus load requirement saved Hamilton

Verstappen’s Red Bull was launched into the air by the array of sausage kerbs, precipitating contact between the underside of his car and Hamilton’s halo.
Had the halo not been introduced to F1’s regulations in 2018, there is a very real chance that Hamilton would not have walked out of the incident unscathed.
However, the strength of the secondary roll structure ensured that Hamilton’s head …Keep reading