Page 94 - Free Practice News Today

A masterclass performance from Lewis Hamilton on race day of the Portuguese Grand Prix secured his second win of the season, ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. But was it enough to secure Hamilton the top marks from the judges in this weeks Aramco F1 Power Rankings? The scores are in… HOW IT WORKS Our six-judge panel assesses each driver after every Grand Prix and scores them out of 10 according to their performance across the weekend – taking machinery out of the equation Our experts’...

1 May, 2021 Lewis Hamilton has admitted that his fastest lap during Free Practice 2 for the Portuguese Grand Prix “wasn’t perfect”, adding that he will need to make improvements before qualifying. Speaking after the completion of FP2, Hamilton said that the margins between Mercedes and Red Bull looked “close” and predicted an “exciting qualifying and race” to come. “It’s a little grippier here this year but it was very windy today so I think everybody was struggling with balan...

Alpine were already looking good on Friday at Portimao, when Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon found themselves P5 and P6 at the end of Free Practice 2. But Ocon insisted that his sixth position on the grid for the Portuguese Grand Prix had nonetheless required a huge overnight step from the Anglo-French team. Ocon and Alonso’s FP2 performances had raised both eyebrows and expectations after the team found a good set-up from the opening laps of the weekend. And with Ocon then securing his best...

“A happy Friday” was how returning two-time champion Fernando Alonso described his and Alpine team mate Esteban Ocon’s efforts at Portimao, with the pairing finishing Free Practice 2 in an unexpected P5 and P6 – and hopeful of remaining in those positions come qualifying for the Portuguese Grand Prix. Ocon and Alonso finished FP1 in just 10th and 14th place respectively on Friday morning, their pace not giving any real indication that updates brought to the A521 for this weekend had had...

Mercedes may have completed their second consecutive clean sweep of Friday practice times at the Portuguese Grand Prix – but according to both Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas, it’s too close to call as to whether they, or rivals Red Bull, have the real advantage going into qualifying at Portimao. It was Bottas who headed Free Practice 1 from Red Bull’s Max Verstappen by just 0.025s, while Hamilton led the Dutchman by a more comfortable 0.143s in FP2 – the team following up their clea...

The Lewis Hamilton-Max Verstappen battle looks poised to define the 2021 season, and it was that pair who found themselves at the top of the times after Free Practice 2 for the Portuguese Grand Prix – Hamilton heading Verstappen by 0.143s to complete a clean sweep of Friday practice sessions for Mercedes. At a gusty Portimao track – with winds of up 30km/h recorded around the circuit – and after a 10-minute delay to the session start, Hamilton ended up with a 1m 19.837s fastest lap, nearl...

As the only driver to break the 1m 28s barrier in Barcelona, Felipe Drugovich demonstrated his devastating one-lap pace in testing, ahead of Round 2 in Monaco, where Qualifying is crucial. Taking pole from eight of the twelve rounds in 2020, UNI-Virtuosi’s Qualifying pace was unrivalled last season, and the team have started on a similar footing this year with Guanyu Zhou snapping up pole in Round 1 and new recruit Drugovich sealing P3. Asked for the team’s secret around one lap, Dr...

TYRE ALLOCATIONS AND USAGE RULES FOR GRANDS PRIX WITH SPRINT QUALIFYING VisualSprintQuali-EN Following the recent announcement from Formula 1 and the FIA, Pirelli can add some extra detail on tyre allocation for Sprint Qualifying. For the three grand prix weekends that will also host a Sprint Qualifying this year (a 100-kilometre race that will take place on Saturday) the tyre allocation will be as follows: A total of 12 sets of P Zero slick tyres per driver (instead of the usual 13 for the o...

F1 sprint race: When, where and how will they work? Date published: April 27 2021 Formula 1 Sprint Qualifying will be tested three times in 2021, which could potentially pave the way for an F1 sprint race to become a more regular feature on the calendar. The move has been made by the FIA and FOM to try and add another dimension to the Grand Prix weekend, and ultimately improve the fan experience throughout the three days of action. By shaking up the weekend’s schedule to include meaningful s...

Roadracing World Magazine | Motorcycle Riding, Racing & Tech News © 2021, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc. From a press release issued By Dorna: Stopping Quartararo: the contenders get ready for Jerez The Frenchman is on a charge and his rivals will be delighted to look back at his domination at the venue last season. But this is 2021, and nothing is guaranteed… Monday, 26 April 2021 Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) is a man on a mission. After not even starting the season w...