Brazil’s Sao Paolo Set to Sizzle
Posted on November 11, 2022 Tags: Sao Paolo
Lewis and George in the Frame
Image courtesy Mercedes.com
TIME IS QUICKLY running out for seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton to notch his first win this season as the circus descends on Interlagos for the Sao Paolo Grand Prix.
The knighted Brit seems on a determined charge, after a dismal year, and has been vying for podium spots lately, claiming second at his last two starts. He still trails teammate George Russell by 15 points though and Lewis has no wish to finish the year behind the youngster, 13 years his junior.
Although with 20 winless starts done and dusted and just this weekend’s Sao Paolo and then Abu Dhabi to come, that’s a darned sight easier said than done.
Lewis looks back to near-best and his Merc W13 seems ever closer to the mark. But speedy George has clearly demonstrated he is no slouch, and it would be monumental for him if he rides his handy lead home!
Remember, Mercedes is still hurting bigtime after failing for the first time in nine years to win the massively important Constructors’ Championship. Red Bull has landed in Sao Paolo with a massive 206 points lead over Ferrari, while Mercedes still languishes in third – 40 points behind the Scuderia.
It will be some consolation for Toto’s Team if they’re able to head off Ferrari by season’s end.
But I wouldn’t be betting on it!
Daniel’s Den
Heidi, pictured above centre, in one of Daniel’s Instagram holiday happy snaps.
While Daniel’s resigned to no Formula One seat next season, it seems he’s in a much happier place now he’s settled with girlfriend Heidi Berger – a 25-year-old aspiring actress current enrolled at New York University – and daughter of former Austrian F1 champ Gerhard Berger.
And Jolly Good Luck to Him!
Always seriously secretive about his private life, the 33-year-old Aussie went public with Heidi during the Summer break when he shared a gallery of photos of the couple to Instagram while on holiday in the US.
Daniel, who has won eight grand prix (two fewer than Ferrari peddler Gerhard) since his F1 debut in 2011, spoke about his private life after being asked whether being in love ‘eliminates stress’.
His relationship was helping him, he said, through the angst of losing his drive: “I think love eliminates stress, yeah absolutely.
“Yeah mate, I’m in love,” the McLaren driver added. “I’ve got a good thing going on. So yeah, I’ve got a good balance in life right now.”
Daniel was also asked about his relationship with Heidi’s father, the retired Austrian Formula 1 champion Gerhard Berger, who still goes to many F1 races.
And yes, he was and is a big fan of Berger: “When I was young, I mean I’ve followed F1 since I was a kid. And I had a Berger hat,” he said.
“Any ex-sportsman, anyone who’s been through it – I just love speaking to them and gaining knowledge and insight through their experience. There’s so much wisdom.”
Mercedes Hasn’t Yet Ruled a Line Through Daniel
Whether or not the Aussie is still in the reserve role frame remains to be seen, with team boss Toto Wolff saying Merc are not yet ready to confirm their decision.
“For us, we very much like him, he’s a great character,” said Wolff.
“But we are not in a position to decide who is going to be reserve and third driver.
“I don’t want to put any rumours out there, because we haven’t decided.”
Meanwhile rumours persist that Daniel night ends up in IndyCar.
Pirelli brings the three compounds in the middle of the range to the Brazilian Grand Prix – the C2 White hard, C3 Yellow medium, and C4 Red soft – the same selection as the previous two races in Austin and Mexico City.
Sao Paolo and Interlagos host the season’s third and final F1 Sprint race, after Imola and Spielberg. I’ve noticed an increasing number of F1 drivers arcing up the Sprints. And there’s some seriously heavy hitters among them!
• The Autodromo José Carlos Pace, named after the famous Brazilian driver of Italian origin, runs anti-clockwise and contains 15 corners, which place medium lateral demands on the tyres.
The Sao Paolo Grand Prix is well-known for plenty of overtaking and frequent appearances from the safety car.
SAO PAOLO, BRAZIL
And the weather is always another question mark, with torrential rain as well as high temperatures and sunshine seen in previous years. However, this year it looks particularly hot and steamy which won’t make many of the pilots happy.
During last year’s race the teams used varying strategies in 2021 but the drivers on the podium all stopped twice. Lewis Hamilton, the winner, finished on P Zero White hard ahead of Max Verstappen and Valtteri Bottas on the same compound.
“The three compounds in the middle of the range for a circuit where we expect a lot of overtaking.”
“Formula 1 is at Interlagos this weekend – at 4.309km it’s the shortest lap of the year, after Monaco and Mexico.
“It’s a historic track run anti-clockwise, which alternates some quick sections as well as medium-speed sequences of corners, such as the famous ‘Senna esses’.
“There aren’t any big demands on the tyres in terms of traction and braking because it’s a very flowing layout, and the lack of slow corners means that the teams are able to control the degradation on the rear tyres.
“Brazil hosts the last Sprint round of the season, and we expect it will be particularly interesting with this car package to see what will happen on the track and, once again, the key role of the different strategies that can be used: in 2021 the grid on Saturday was equally split between drivers starting on the medium and the soft tyres.
“Despite the short length of the track, there’s normally plenty of overtaking.
“Just think of Lewis Hamilton who was the protagonist of a comeback that brought him to victory from 10th place, using a two-stop strategy.
“So, the new generation of cars and tyres seems set to provide us with another thrilling race this year.”
MARIO ISOLA
Top Guns Ready for ARDC Action
THIS WEEKEND’S GOLDENSTATES at the Perth Motorplex hosts the latest round of the Australian Drag Racing Championship for Top Doorslammers, Top Fuel Motorcycles, and the postponed ‘slammers finals from Alice Springs.
The action-packed event features stars Rob Cassar, Kelvin Lyle and John Zappia.
Cassar who was round one winner for Top Fuel bikes at the Hidden Valley Drag Strip in June, travelled to Perth from Victoria for the event.
“Any one of our field can take it out on the day, it just comes down to how the planets align on that day, but we are feeling pretty confident that we can challenge for more event wins and the championship even, but for now we are just taking it one day at a time,” he said.
“The Perth Motorplex is a great place to race, this will be my first Goldenstates, but I have raced in Perth a few times before and I love the atmosphere and the facilities.”
Like Cassar, Kelvin Lyle got his season off to a winning start in Darwin, and he heads to the Goldenstates ready to do battle for the local victory, as well as the postponed Alice Springs final against fellow West Aussie, John Zappia.
Lyle is hot off an extraordinary run in his Direct Mining International ’67 Ford Mustang Doorslammer, winning in the Territory, securing an A-Final berth in the Alice, and a recent win at Perth Motorplex’s PowerPalooza.
Local hero and 11-time national champion John Zappia – and his Dananni Hot Shots/Fuchs Lubricants Monaro Doorslammer – is always an intimidating force any time he rolls out on track. And he expects no less at his home track this weekend.
“I am excited heading into the Goldenstates, with the car running well. We ran a 5.69 second pass at PowerPalooza then followed that up with a 5.71 at the NitroMax event on October 29, despite absolutely freezing cold conditions,” Zappia said.
Friday night’s qualifying for round three of the ATFC will also double as the finals for the series’ earlier Alice Springs event, after that event was concluded prematurely.
Check Out: www.motorplex.com.au, www.andra.com.au, www.topfuelchampionship.com.au
Thanks to: Amanda Cobb – Jigsaw Communications – amanda@jigsawcomms.com.au
Targa West Heads to Bunbury
REIGNING CHAMPION Troy Wilson has won the GT Fabrication Targa Bunbury Sprint four times and is hot favourite here after winning last weekend’s opening Targa Sprint series at Perth Motorplex in his 2010 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X.
In fact, the only Targa Bunbury Sprint the former West Coast Eagle Wilson hasn’t won was 2019 when he had a 15-second lead but snapped the diff at the start line of the second half of the event.
Event Director Ross Tapper said the short, sharp Rallysprint format – where competitors race the clock along closed roads – was so popular driver numbers had to be capped
“The Halifax Street circuit is exciting for competitors – it’s fast with technical sections and they love putting on a show for the thousands of spectators who come along,” he said.
Wilson agreed: “The atmosphere is amazing in Bunbury with locals who show so much support, the crowds that go along to watch are pretty awesome. I love this event because it’s like the street circuits you see on television – you’re allowed to cut loose as fast as you can on the streets, legally.”
Check out:
www.targabunburysprint.com.au, www.targawest.com.au, www.facebook.com/targawest
Thanks to: Dianne Bortoletto – Pronto PR, 0439 997 075 – dianne@prontopr.com.au
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WA Sprintcar Series
JASON KENDRICK is the early leader in the 2022-23 Maddington Toyota Sprintcar Series, following a second in the first round and a fourth in Saturday’s City of Kwinana Westernapolis at Perth Motorplex.
Kendrick now has 288 points, eight clear of Dayne Kingshott who claimed his second ever Sprintcar feature race on the weekend ahead of Robbie Farr and David Priolo, with Taylor Milling and Brad Maiolo equal third on 272 points.
Porsche Back at Bathurst
PORSCHE MICHELIN Sprint Challenge Pro Class gun Thomas Sargent leads Ryan Wood by 39 championship points heading into the final two rounds and six races around the Mount Panorama at Bathurst this weekend.
The penultimate round of the Sprint Challenge Series (formerly known as GT3 Cup Challenge) sees teams head to the mighty mountain, arguably the highlight of the 2022 calendar, after a 12-year hiatus.
The Supercheap Bathurst International event marks the longest ever gap in Series history between visits to any given circuit since its inception.
The Sprint Challenge has only raced at Bathurst twice – in 2009 and 2010 – out of the76 rounds and 223 races contested in the series history. And only four of the drivers entered for Round 5 this weekend – Madeline Stewart, Sam Shahin, Indiran Padayachee and Graham Williams – have raced at Bathurst previously in one-make Porsche racing.
Remarkably, Tony Quinn still holds both the race and qualifying records at Mount Panorama for Sprint Challenge competition, and they remain the oldest records among active circuits currently used by one-make Porsche racing in Australia.
A single practice session, qualifying and the first sprint race is scheduled for Friday November 11. Both Saturday’s 25-minute Sprint races will be broadcast LIVE on Stan Sport. Check local guides.
Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Lap Record:
Tony Quinn (Porsche 996 GT3 Cup Car) 2m16.7271s – 2009
*991.2 GT3 Cup Car: Jaxon Evans (Porsche 911.2 GT3 Cup Car) 2m06.2285s – 2018 (*Cited for a current day reference).
Porsche Aussie Champ in Bahrain
HARRI JONES, recently crowned Australian Carrera Cup Champion, joins Lechner Racing this weekend for the opening round of Porsche Sprint Challenge Middle East in Bahrain.
Just two days after claiming the 2022 Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia Championship at the Gold Coast 500, the Sunshine Coast based 23-year-old headed to the airport to depart to the Middle East. Over the weekend, Jones took part in two days of official Preseason Testing with the 2022 Supercup Teams Champion, Lechner Racing.
For more Porsche Motorsport Australia news and content follow the Porsche Motorsport Australia social pages: Instagram – @PorscheMotorsportAU / Twitter – @PorscheMspAU / Facebook.com/ PorscheMotorsportAU
THANKS TO: Angus Thompson Motorsport Communications Manager – Porsche Cars Australia
+61 403 233 548 angus.thompson@porsche.com.au
World Rally Championship
THE WRC concludes in Japan this weekend with Pirelli as sole tyre supplier. The special stages of Rally Japan are split around five different cities in the prefectures of Aichi and Gifu.
Toyota clinched the 2022 WRC constructors’ title at the previous round in Spain, which was won by the legendary Sebastien Ogier.
GT Masters
ITALIAN DRIVER Raffaele Marciello has won the German ADAC GT Masters championship, exclusively supplied by Pirelli. The Mercedes driver clinched the title at the final round in Hockenheim, adding to his 2022 GT World Challenge title.
Team Italy Wins FIA Motorsport Games
TEAM AUSTRALIA did the country proud at the 2nd FIA Games at the famous Circuit Paul Ricard last weekend, involving drivers and teams from 28 different nations.
Matt Campbell, driving his Earl Bamber-supported Porsche 911 GT3 R as part of the Grove Racing team, won our one and only gold – in the GT Sprint category – as the Aussies finished a creditable sixth overall on the medal tally.
Italy won the 2022 edition, collecting three gold and one silver medal. Pirelli was the event’s official tyre supplier, bringing 3300 tyres for all the different disciplines.
EDITED by AC
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