Ferrari explains why it let Red Bull “off the hook” with safety car tyre call

A crash between Pierre Gasly and Lando Norris towards the end of Miami’s inaugural F1 race triggered the safety car and appeared to hand a golden opportunity for Ferrari to take a strategy gamble.
By the time race control had switched from a virtual safety car to full safety car, race leader Max Verstappen had passed the pits, but Ferrari duo Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz had still not done …Keep reading

Verstappen: Red Bull still too “hit and miss” with issues despite Miami F1 win

While Red Bull’s 2022 on-track performance has hit a new high, Verstappen defeating Ferrari’s polesitter Charles Leclerc by virtue of better top speed and tyre management on Sunday, the Milton Keynes outfit continued to suffer from various problems across the weekend.
After being limited to 14 laps in FP1, Verstappen only completed one lap of Friday FP2 when first a gearbox change caused him to …Keep reading

Russell admits he was “fortunate” with Miami F1 safety car gamble

He also expressed his frustration at having to hand a place back to Lewis Hamilton after going off track during their late battle, although he soon regained it and finished ahead of his teammate.
However, the episode cost him any chance of gaining ground on the cars ahead.
Russell had started on the hard tyres with the intention of running long. As those who started on the mediums began to …Keep reading

Vettel: Schumacher Miami GP F1 collision “stupid for both of us”

Vettel and Schumacher were squabbling over ninth place in the closing stages of the inaugural Miami GP, with Haas driver Schumacher closing in on his first-ever points in F1 and Vettel on his way to a second consecutive top 10 finish.
But on lap 53 the two Germans collided in Turn 1 when Schumacher made a half-hearted move while Vettel was turning in, not expecting to find his compatriot on his …Keep reading

Autosport Podcast: F1 Miami Grand Prix Review

The Florida city welcomed F1 with open arms to its all-new Miami International Autodrome street circuit, constructed around the Miami Dolphins NFL team’s Hard Rock Stadium, that even featured a fake marina.
F1’s first visit to Miami created plenty of hype pre-event and it resulted in a bumper crowd witnessing Verstappen overhaul polesitter Leclerc, in a race spiced up by a late safety car …Keep reading
ETCR: Ekström leads CUPRA coup in Pau

ETCR: Ekström leads CUPRA coup in Pau

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The sun shined down on Pau as Ekström was crowned King of the Weekend after a near-flawless display from the winner of the FIA ETCR’s predecessor PURE ETCR. Indeed, Ekström’s only faux pas over the weekend was for reversing in the pit lane for which he coped a fine from the Stewards.

The Swede powered through Saturday’s Qualifying sessions with the top time in both Q1 and Q2 of his Pool FURIOUS then won his Quarter Final with ease as his rivals clashed. Sunday dawned cool and humid and despite both earlier Pool FAST pole-sitters in the Semi Finals losing their advantage off the line, Ekström found no issue from his pole and cruised to a win whilst the action took place behind him between Azcona and Spengler.

Second in the standings over the weekend was Ekström’s CUPRA EKS team-mate Adrien Tambay in Pool FAST, who impressed all weekend with his approach and aptitude at a track he loves. Tambay was perfection off the line in his morning Semi Final and won his DHL Super Final in peerless fashion as behind him things didn’t go quite so well as Battles ensued.

Third in the standings was Tom Blomqvist who impressed all weekend but was a victim to Tambay off the line from his morning Semi Final pole and finished behind Tambay in the Super Final, withstanding constant pressure from Maxime Martin.

The Pau Motors Festival of which Infinite Reality Race FR was an element saw over 100,000 people visit the charismatic city of Pau on the northern edge of the Pyrénées in south-west France. The Pau Motors Festival highlighted was a revival of and highlighted new technologies most notably represented by the inaugural FIA ETCR eTouring Car World Cup event.

Whilst the sun certainly shone for three-quarters of the CUPRA EKS squad it wasn’t quite so rosy elsewhere. The highest-placed non-CUPRA EKS driver was Hyundai Motorsport N’s Mikel Azcona who tried his hardest to take the fight to former team-mate Ekström in the final and leaves Pau seven points adrift of Blomqvist.

Bruno Spengler was the top Romero Ferraris driver, enjoying great Battles and winning his Semi Final heat. His team-mate Maxime Martin also adapted well to the series, also on his debut.

Hyundai Motosport N’s Jean-Karl Vernay wasn’t able to have home glory thanks to his Saturday disqualification from his Quarter Final due to an incorrect power setting, but was to be involved in the biggest and most controversial incident of the weekend when he clashed with Romeo Ferraris’ Luca Filippi in an incident which retired the Giulia from the rest of the day, denying Giovanni Venturini the opportunity to compete in his Super Final.

The incident was adjudged to require no further action from the Stewards despite the fury expressed by the Romeo Ferraris squad.

Elsewhere, Vernay’s team-mate Norbert Michelisz had to start his Super Final from the pit lane due to a technical woe. Jordi Gené didn’t enjoy the end to the weekend he would have wanted in terms of finishing position and Kevin Ceccon was happy with his season start.

FIA ETCR eTouring Car World Cup action resumes in two weeks with Race TR at Istanbul Park on May 20-22.

POINTS STANDINGS

1

Mattias Ekström

100

2

Adrien Tambay 

92

3

Tom Blomqvist

79

4

Mikel Azcona

72

5

Bruno Spengler

61

6

Maxim Martin

56

7

Jean-Karl Vernay

45

8

Norbert Michelisz 

43

9

Jordi Gené

30

10

Kevin Ceccon

28

11

Giovanni Venturini

24

12

Luca Filippi 

15

Video of Pau 2022 – Semi Finals and DHL Super Finals recap

 

FIA ETCR eTouring Car World Cup

FIA ETCR eTouring Car World CupTouring CarAll fia sportSEASON 2022SportCircuit1SportFIA ETCR eTouring Car World CupCircuitAll fia sportSEASON 2022FIA ETCR eTouring Car World CupTouring Car00Monday, May 9, 2022 – 12:01pmMonday, May 9, 2022 – 12:01pm