With all the up to date news, including the action from this weekend's French Grand Prix, TrackDays gives you our summary of all the latest developments in Formula 1…
- "Grand triomphe" for Verstappen at French GP
It seems odd to suggest that something approaching normality has resumed in the current F1 season. But at this Sunday's French GP at the Circuit Paul Ricard in Marseille, after the dramatic curve balls that were thrown at the Monaco and Azerbaijan races in the last month, that's precisely what we got.
Once again, the Max Verstappen - Lewis Hamilton rivalry that's been the running story of the Championship so far was off again at full tilt, with a thrilling last minute overtake in the final two laps settling the race in the former's favour, as Verstappen, racing for Team Red Bull, finished with a lap time of 1:27:25, meaning he now draws equal for most wins so far this year.
Hamilton, racing for Team Mercedes, finished back in runners up slot again, whilst Sergio Perez, Verstappen's team mate, who emerged victorious at Baku a fortnight ago, completed the top 3. All this now means that Verstappen has edged ahead by four points on the overall Championship leadings to date for this season on 105 points, with Hamilton close behind on 101 points.
Team Aston Martin continues to make impressive progress up the current season-to-date rankings as well, following their shaky start to the season. Sebastien Vettel finished 9th on Sunday, and is rewarded with a two point boost into the top 10, his teammate Lance Stroll not far behind who finished 10th and currently ranks 13th.
- Historic Hesketh F1 car goes under the hammer
A bit of Formula 1 history was sold at auction this last week for an undisclosed six figure sum. James Hunt memorably drove the last Hesketh F1 car before he made the move to Team Mercedes with whom he won.
Now, that very same 308C No 1 Chassis, which was designed by Harvey Postlethwaite, has been sold on. It's more significant than anyone probably realises, as it was driven by Hunt at the last two races of the 1975 F1 Championship, finishing fourth and fifth on those occasions, and all without sponsorship as many of the other teams were.
Team Hesketh had to sell it on to Team Wolf-Williams Racing the following year, 1976, due to lack of financing, and eventually carried on with sponsorship in the next season. It was also unique in that it was the only F1 car at that time to not have an airbox and also have a rear suspension set-up, which was pretty uncommon then.
- Abu Dhabi track improvements approved
This year's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix - also the last one of the season, as it happens - is currently scheduled to go ahead on 12th December at the Yas Marina Circuit. And we've just received confirmation today that modifications to the track layout have now been given the green light.
It follows on from criticism that last year's leg there - which was also the final race of the 2020 season - was an unexciting one. Bosses have subsequently taken on feedback from fans and teams alike since then, and have announced that they will be making significant improvements to certain corners on the track.
The hope is that it will allow better opportunities for overtaking - that's according to acting CEO for Abu Dhabi Motorsports Management, Saif Al Noaimi. Speaking this morning, he said: "We will be undergoing some modifications to the track over the summer in time for this year's edition of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix … we're really looking forward to seeing some overtaking and action, and hopefully the championship will come down to the wire and be determined here."
Make sure you keep visiting our News page here on the TrackDays website to get all the very latest updates on the current Formula 1 season. To book your next Formula 1 Single Seater driving experience via available dates or purchase of our open gift vouchers, visit our dedicated Formula 1 Experiences page today.
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