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It's that time of year already when the Formula One social media accounts bless us with next season's race calendar. And, although, in places, it has a relatively similar lay out to 2023, there are some obvious differences. So, without further ado, let's dig deeper into 2024.


The 2024 season will begin in Bahrain at the Sakhir Circuit on the 29th February with the race taking place on the Saturday evening, rather than the Sunday. This will be repeated one week later in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Elsewhere, Japan moves to April and Azerbaijan to September in an attempt to "regionalise" the races and reduce the sport's carbon footprint. Also, in addition to the Summer break, an Autumn break has been added in September/October. Everything else is pretty much staying static with the season ending in Abu Dhabi on the 8th December. With 24 scheduled races, a number of these being double or triple headers, as long as no race is cancelled, we're in for the longest season of F1 ever.


So, what do I make of this newly released schedule? Keep reading on to find out.


Firstly, let's address the number of races. I, like every other F1 fan, craves race day. However, is 24 races one too many? For fans, maybe not, but for teams, drivers, F1 personnel; most definitely so. It makes for a very long year, logistically and personally. In previous years, 20 races was the average but, with the ever increasing global popularity of the sport, Formula One see's a gap in the market and if they can cater for more races, which in time creates more footfall, then of course they will. It is a business after all.


And, what about these Saturday races? What's going on with that? Technically, a Saturday race is nothing new with the 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix taking place on Saturday 18th November. But still, a Saturday race, unless it's the Sprint, is unusual for Formula One and a quite leap away from tradition.


Initially, I was against the idea but then I looked into it a little bit more and learnt that the Middle Eastern Saturday races were to respect Ramadan which begins on Sunday 10th March. A fair enough reason to change precedings, I must add. It's important for F1 and other motorsport series to respect the cultures and traditions of the countries they visit. If fans don't like it, well, tough.


F1 has become quite notorious over the years for how they schedule races within a calendar season. For example, we quite regularly see a back-to-back race that usually involves Canada and a European race. With the increased use of social media, many fans have made the call for F1 to "regionalise" the races, especially with the sport so adamant about making a change environmentally. And, to be fair, F1 has heard and has made changes for 2024. The Japanese Grand Prix has moved from the Autumn to the Spring and vice-versa for Azerbaijan, slotting them into the relevant places where F1 will be at that time of year. For me, that makes a lot of sense. However, not all race venues were up for a change. Canada still sits in the middle of the European leg but can their reasons be justified as to why they won't move? I suppose so. Their reasoning? Weather and wildfire season. Maybe it's not so easy to change races around as we thought. Regardless, having Japan in Spring and Azerbaijan in Autumn will be weird but when the time comes, I doubt we'll even realise the difference.


As we've already established, this is F1's longest season to date and they've no doubt packed it full of action. However, what went unoticed by myself at first, is a cheeky, little Autumn break at the end of September/beginning of October, which is brilliant for everyone on the road with the F1 circus. Although if I was apart of this so-called circus, I think I'd rather power on through to the end of the season and instead have a longer Winter break. But, that's just me.


The last thing I want to mention is that Abu Dhabi is the season finale and has been for some time now. If I was to change anything in the calendar it would be this. Remember the 2012 season finale in Brazil? That was pure, epic racing. A real adrenaline rush to end the season on. With Abu Dhabi, we don't really get that excitement anymore. I guess it is what it is.


In all honesty, it's not a bad calendar. It's just really busy. Bin off some boring, street circuits and change the season finale and it's pretty much there. What are your thoughts? Let me know in the comments.


Now, I better start planning for 2024 else it'll be here!

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F1 was back in Austria this weekend for the second sprint race of the season. With Max Verstappen and Red Bull still on their winning streak, many were asking the question as to whether this would be the race weekend that someone, anyone, would stop them.


First up was the Sprint race. It was a damp and soggy Saturday, so there was no surprise that the starting grid had quite the shake up earlier on in the day, with the Haas of Nico Hulkenberg lining up on the grid in 4th. However, the weather had no implications on Verstappen, claiming yet another pole position. His teammate; Sergio Perez would start 2nd.


As the five lights go out, the rain starts to come down, albeit lightly. Both Red Bulls have a strong start with Perez taking the lead from Verstappen into the first turn. It's not all over as the Dutch driver takes it back going into turn three. Perez attempts to attack his teammate back but instead gets squeezed and looses a position to the Haas of Hulkenberg. Perez, clearly unhappy with this, tells his team; "What's wrong with Max?" Further back, Lando Norris, in the McLaren, drops to 10th after starting an incredible 3rd.


A battle starts to brew from 10th downwards as a number of drivers try to fight for the last point. Ferrari driver; Charles Leclerc, is one of them. He's battling it out with the Alpine of Esteban Ocon but struggles to make any further impressions on the field.


Verstappen stretches his lead to over four seconds from second place man; Hulkenberg. Perez, who still sits in third, isn't really catching the Haas. He is, however, being chased down by Carlos Sainz as the Spaniard pushes his Ferrari ever so closer to the Red Bull.


Things are a little bit more difficult for the Mercedes drivers of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton with both of them down in 12th and 13th, respectively. Hamilton manages to catch his teammate who is being held up by the second Haas of Kevin Magnussen. By lap eleven, Hamilton has cleared both his teammate and the Haas. Magnussen isn't the only Haas loosing places. Hulkenberg is caught by Perez at turn seven and looses second. The Haas driver's tyres are quickly degrading and he also looses third to Sainz.


By lap fourteen, the track is starting to dry and many drivers are being asked about tyres over team radio. Russell indicates to his team that "it's not far off slicks." The British driver pits and is the first to appear on slick rubber. Russell's purple sectors start a chain reaction and pretty much everyone, who isn't in the points, comes in.


Both now on slicks, the Mercedes drivers find themselves squabbling again. Russell sets the fastest lap of the race. But, with only a handful of laps remaining, can he make much of an impression?


Alex Albon, in the Williams, pits from 6th. However, this isn't looking like a good idea. Most of those in front have already pitted or won't be pitting. To put salt on the wound, Hamilton gets past the Thai driver for 11th. A few laps later, Albon is then caught by Oscar Piastri's McLaren as the two bump wheels into turn four.


Back at the front, it's Verstappen that takes the chequered flag who finishes over twenty seconds ahead of his teammate and second place man; Perez. Sainz finishes in third. Then comes the Aston Martins of Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso to make up the top five.


With the sprint completed, next up was the main race.


Sunday was a brighter, calmer day, with a minutes silence to remember young Dutch driver; Dilano van't Hoff, who sadly lost his life in a FRECA crash yesterday at Spa. The Austrian and Styrian national anthems played and the drivers made their way to their cars. Due to car changes, Kevin Magnussen and Nyck de Vries will start the race from the pitlane. Max Verstappen is, again, on pole position.


With all drivers lining up on either medium or hard tyres, it's Verstappen, on the mediums, who leads away for the formation lap. And, as soon as they are back in formation on the grid, they're off.


Verstappen gets a decent start but Charles Leclerc, in P2, challenges him for the lead. It's the former who wins this battle. Sainz is in third, Hamilton 4th and Norris in 5th as they head up to turn three. But, it's in turn four where the trouble starts. Alpha Tauri's Yuki Tsunoda is in the gravel. He gets going again but there is debris all over the track towards the first corner. Replays show that he was involved in an earlier incident as he bounced off the kerb and into the side of the Alpine of Esteban Ocon going into turn one. The safety car is deployed. Both Tsunoda and Magnussen pit at the end of lap one. It's a new front wing for the Alpha Tauri and new tyres (plus an ERS problem) for the Haas.


As the safety car peels back into the pits, Verstappen takes off, dragging the rest of the field behind him. The order stays pretty static but, it's not long before Verstappen pulls out of DRS range from Leclerc. The second Red Bull of Perez, who had yet another disastrous qualifying session, is making up ground after starting P15. He's up into 12th after passing Ocon.


Norris, who is catching Hamilton, notes the amount of times he see's his countryman go off the track. "Track limits again, Hamilton! That's his third time," the McLaren driver informs his team. Just ahead of the two, Sainz seems to be gaining on his teammate; Leclerc. He wants Leclerc to let him through so he can go after Verstappen. Ferrari don't seem too keen on the idea, advising their driver not to attack his teammate.


Perez is all over the back of Russell's Mercedes. He makes a lunge into turn three and takes 11th, with a quick heart in mouth moment as the two momentarily touch. Hamilton, in the other Mercedes, is the first driver to receive the black and white flag for track limits. However, he seems more concerned with how slow his car is. At the back of the field, Hulkenberg pits, dropping to 19th. He's not back out on track long before he has to pull over with smoke billowing out of the back of his Haas. A Virtual Safety Car is deployed.


With the VSC in progress, a number of drivers pit for new tyres with Ferrari choosing to double stack. Both of the stops are slow which results in Sainz falling behind Hamilton and Norris. Both of who have already stopped the lap before. Neither Red Bull pits which brings Perez back into play in 3rd.


The track goes green and Hamilton is the first of many drivers who are eventually slammed with a time penalty. Five seconds for track limits. Within moments, Tsunoda is handed one too. Aston Martin seems to be the biggest loser during the VSC. Stroll found himself in the pitlane when the track went green. He's now down to 15th. Alonso is in 7th. Sainz, another loser during the VSC, is making up ground. He gets past Norris to move up to 5th. Next up for the Spaniard is Hamilton.


Further down the field, there are drivers battling everywhere. Ocon radios in to his team to tell them that the Alfa Romeo of Bottas has front wing damage which could fall off at any moment. Bottas, however, stays out. Back at the front, Sainz passes Hamilton who puts up a defense but it's around the outside at turn four where the Ferrari driver makes the move stick. It's not long before he's on the move again with Perez as his next victim.


The stewards, who are already busy, are now busier. A pitlane incident between Ocon and Logan Sargeant has caught their attention, with the latter having to slam the breaks on to avoid contact with the Alpine. Black and white flags are also consistently making an appearance with Sainz being the latest recipient. Hamilton, who is now challenging Perez, tells his team that Perez has been off at turn ten. Coincidentally, Perez gets pinged at the same time for turn nine.


After 249 consecutive laps led, that's every lap since lap 48 of the Miami GP, Verstappen pits and concedes his lead to Leclerc. He come's out just behind Sainz who he quickly disposes off. His next challenge is Leclerc, six seconds up the road. Tsunoda has also pitted and serves his time penalty. Talking of time penalties, Ocon gets five seconds for an unsafe release during the VSC.


The order of the top ten continues to change with Perez being the next driver to pit. He comes back out in 10th and is chasing the Williams of Albon. Norris barges his way past Hamilton who is struggling with brakes and Sainz gets hit with, wait for it, a time penalty. Tsunoda, who has recently served his penalty, finds himself under investigation for not serving the initial penalty properly. Albon and Pierre Gasly may be the next two on the stewards hit list. They've both had several recently deleted laps.


Things seem to be flowing quite nicely at the front of the field with Verstappen less than three seconds behind Leclerc and catching. However, Leclerc is informed that tyre deg is higher than expected. The team offer him a new three stop strategy, one that Leclerc declines with a simple "no." On lap thirty five Verstappen makes the move with the help of DRS. The two drivers swap places and Verstappen leads once again.


After both receiving track limit warnings, Albon and Gasly get time penalties, adding their names to the ever growing list. Things then get even worse for Gasly when Perez overtakes him for 7th. At the back of the field, Magnussen and de Vries are battling it out. The Alpha Tauri driver pushes Magnussen off track with the Haas taking a trip through the gravel. This incident is referred to the stewards with de Vries getting the blame. Another five second time penalty is dished out.


The second round of pitstops begin with Norris starting the chain reaction. Both Hamilton and Sainz pit, carrying out their penalties in the process. Verstappen also dives into the pits. He retains his lead as he returns to the track. The Dutch driver gets on it straight away throwing in purple sectors and the fastest lap of the race. However, this doesn't stand long as his teammate has also pitted and takes the fastest lap away from him. Another penalty is also handed out. Tsunoda get's his second one of the race; ten seconds.


Not far off the end of the race now and it's Perez vs Sainz for 3rd. Perez attempts to use turn three to get past the Ferrari but Sainz has DRS which he has gained from a backmarker. Perez has to bide his time wisely here. He tries it again on the next lap but finds himself ahead at the DRS line giving Sainz the extra help instead. Sainz fights back and pushes past the Mexican going into turn four. A few more laps past by with some stunning attack/defense action from the two. On lap 62, Perez finally gets the job done. A cracking job done by both drivers there. However, Sainz doesn't seem too sure, telling his team "the stewards should have a look at that. He was intimidating me a lot." In the meantime, the battle for third has given Leclerc some breathing space. He's nearly thirteen seconds ahead of Perez.


With only a handful of laps remaining, two more drivers get hit with a time penalty. This time they're for Sargeant and Magnussen. That takes the total penalties up to nine. At the rear of the field, the action is coming in thick and fast. Zhou Guanyu, de Vries, Bottas and Piastri are battling hard. Unfortunately, it's not for points. But, for P14.


Perez currently has the fastest lap but with a pit stop in hand, Verstappen decides he wants to go for fastest lap. The team are hesitant but the stop goes smoothly and he returns four seconds ahead of second place man, Leclerc. Talking of Perez, he's just been shown the black and white flag.


Verstappen pushes on the final lap and takes the chequered flag with the fastest lap. Leclerc comes home in 2nd, giving Ferrari their 800th podium in Formula One. Perez completes the podium after starting in 15th.


Sainz finishes in 4th and he is followed in by Norris, Alonso, Hamilton, Russell, Gasly and Stroll. Phew. You'd think it's all over. But it's not.


Aston Martin has decided to protest the race result believing many more drivers should have been penalised. The stewards look into this and agree. With over 1000 deleted laps throughout the race, it's going to be a long night. But fear not, they get through this quickly and announce a handful of extra penalties which are as follows:


  • Carlos Sainz - 10 seconds - Drops to 6th

  • Lewis Hamilton - 10 seconds - Drops to 8th

  • Pierre Gasly - 10 seconds - Drops to 10th

  • Alex Albon - 10 seconds - 11th

  • Esteban Ocon - 30 seconds! - 14th

  • Logan Sargeant - 10 seconds - 13th

  • Nyck de Vries - 15 seconds - 17th

  • Yuki Tsunoda - 5 seconds - 19th

What a day! And, it's not long before the next one. See you all next weekend for the British Grand Prix!


















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Formula 2, or GP2 as it was once known, has always been perceived as the final stepping stone for young drivers before Formula One. In reality, however, this isn’t always the case. For starters, not every driver gets the opportunity to showcase their talents in F2. They instead do this elsewhere in series such as Formula 3/GP3, Formula E and, the now defunct, Formula Renault 3.5; for example. As for the lucky few that do find themselves putting on a show for the F1 team bosses, a championship win doesn’t necessarily mean an F1 seat is theirs. So, where are the previous GP2/Formula 2 champions today? Let’s take a look at the three who have never made the step up to race in the pinnacle of motorsport.


Davide Valsecchi



After joining GP2 in 2008 with the Durango team, it would be four years later, in 2012, when Davide Valsecchi would take his championship win. The Italian driver had already spent some time in Formula One; taking part in the 2010 Young Driver Test, before acting as a test driver for Team Lotus in 2011, which included a stint in the car for FP1 at that year’s Malaysian Grand Prix.


After winning his GP2 title, his main aim was a full time drive in F1. And, although for 2013 he was hired as Lotus F1’s test and reserve driver;  he wasn’t picked by the team to replace Kimi Raikkonen, who would be sitting out the final two races of that season. Instead it was ex-Formula One driver; Heikki Kovalainen, who was chosen to fill the void. A move in which Valsecchi was extremely critical about and no doubt played a part as to why he was replaced as reserve driver for the following season. Instead, Valsecchi drove for Lamborghini in the 2014 GT Open Series Championship.


From 2016 onwards, Valsecchi found himself in front of the camera rather than behind a steering wheel, appearing regularly as a commentator and analyst for Sky Sports F1 and Formula 2. He quickly gained recognition for his excitable personality. However, in 2023, after the Spanish Grand Prix, Valsecchi, along with another journalist, found themselves suspended from Sky Italia after making sexist comments in the post-race show.


He has not raced professionally since 2016.


Fabio Leimer



Swiss driver; Fabio Leimer, made his GP2 debut with Ocean Racing Technology in 2010. After a move, in 2011, to the Rapax team, Leimer clenched the title with them in 2013.


The following year, having no connection with an F1 team, Leimer raced in the World Endurance Championship, which included a stint in the Le Mans 24 Hours. A year later, in 2015, he was due to race in the Super Formula in Japan. However, he found himself without a contract after financial issues arose. It wasn’t all “doom and gloom” for the Swiss in 2015. Not only did he join Formula E’s Virgin Racing team, he also found himself as the new reserve driver for Formula One’s Manor Marussia F1 Team; getting a stint in the car during FP1 at that year’s Hungarian Grand Prix. Leimer would not continue with the team in 2016 after they received new owners. The team folded at the end of 2016.


Unfortunately, Leimer’s time in Formula E was nothing to shout about either, having replaced Jaime Alguersauri for the final two races of the season. He came away pointless and wasn’t retained for the following year. In 2016 and 2017, he raced in the Ferrari Challenge Europe series before stepping down as a professional racing driver.


He has since done some work as a commentator but seems to live a relatively quiet life away from social media.


Felipe Drugovich



Felipe Drugovich is the reigning Formula 2 Champion who joined the series in 2020. With his championship win being so recent, the Brazilian driver has yet had the chance to establish himself in F1.


Two days after he won the championship, Drugovich was announced as a new member of the AMF1 Driver Development programme. He also became Aston Martin F1 Team’s reserve driver, getting his first taste of the machinery at a test in Silverstone during November 2022. He was retained by the team for 2023 in a joint reserve role with Formula E World Champion; Stoffel Vandoorne.


Aston Martin race driver; Lance Stroll, was unable to partake in the first session of the 2023 pre-season test due a bike injury. Instead, Drugovich got the call, competing a total of 117 laps.


He has also since raced in the 2023 Race of Champions and taken part in a Formula E test as well as some stock car racing in Brazil.


So that’s that. The only three GP2/Formula 2 champions to never race in F1. Were their championship wins at the wrong time? Possibly. Will we see another champion added to this list at the end of this season? It’s hard to tell. With so many Formula 2 drivers associated with F1 teams and only 20 F1 seats available; who knows what will happen.

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