Formula One triple-header culminates at Monza; Mercedes-AMG racks up further successes in GT racing
Best result of the season for George: Formula One travelled to Circuit Zandvoort in the Netherlands last weekend for the second instalment of a triple-header that marked the resumption of action after the summer break. Following the return of the Dutch Grand Prix to the racing calendar last year, the premier class of motorsport was back again in front of sold-out grandstands and the amazing backdrop of the North Sea sand dunes. After the disappointment of the Spa-Francorchamps race weekend, the W13 put in a much-improved performance. In an action-packed race compromised by one virtual and one regular safety car deployment, George Russell made his sixth podium appearance of the season, this time for a P2 which also happens to be his best result to date for the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team. By contrast, fortune did not smile on Lewis Hamilton. The team took a gamble on strategy when a late safety car was deployed, taking their only option to challenge Max Verstappen for victory by opting to retain track position on six lap old Medum tyres, rather than pitting for Softs in an attempt to keep the Dutchman behind. Ultimately, however, the tyre offset between the Medium and newer Softs was too great and Lewis dropped to fourth behind Verstappen, George and Charles Leclerc, who all pitted.
Monza, here we come: The third part of the triple-header takes the team to yet another fabled circuit, the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza. The 16th round of the season will be the 73rd iteration of the Italian Grand Prix. There has been only one occasion on which the event was held at an alternative venue, namely at Imola. The honour of having secured the most victories there is shared by Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton (five each). The most successful team is Scuderia Ferrari who have chalked up 19 victories at their home race in the Royal Park of Monza, ahead of McLaren (11) and Mercedes (seven). Juan Manuel Fangio delivered the first two victories for the Silver Arrows in 1954 and 1955. The Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team has claimed four wins courtesy of Lewis and one with Nico Rosberg at the wheel. In the engine manufacturer stakes, Ferrari leads on 20 wins (one of them for Sebastian Vettel in a Toro Rosso) ahead of Mercedes on 13. The lap record stands at 1:18.887 minutes and is held by Lewis (2020). The fastest race lap is 1:21.046 minutes, held by Rubens Barrichello (Ferrari, 2004).
Top Five finish and class podiums in the GT World Challenge Europe at the Hockenheimring: The early omens seemed anything but propitious for the Customer Racing teams at the penultimate race in the Endurance Cup of the GT World Challenge Europe 2022. The best-placed of the Mercedes-AMG GT3 contingent in qualifying for the three-hour race at the Hockenheimring was the number 2 car fielded by Team GetSpeed, starting from 12th on the grid, but the driver trio of Maro Engel (GER), Steijn Schothorst (NED) and Luca Stolz (GER) went on to prove their fighting spirit. After battling their way through the field over the 101-lap duration of the race, they eventually finished in fourth place. Their fellow Mercedes drivers in the rival AKKODIS ASP team were sadly out of luck over the weekend. Jules Gounon (FRA), Daniel Juncadella (ESP) and Raffaele Marciello (SUI) at the wheel of the #88 Mercedes-AMG GT3 were forced to retire early and consequently came away with zero points, but they still retain their position at the top of the championship table.
Second place in the Pro-Am class, was enough for the SPS automotive performance trio of Dominik Baumann (AUT), Ian Loggie (GBR) and Valentin Pierburg (GER) to defend their lead in the team standings. And in the Gold Cup there was also cause for celebration on Sunday as Hubert Haupt (GER), Arjun Maini (IND) and Florian Scholze (GER) in the number 5 Haupt Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 also crossed the finish line in second place.
The various title contenders now await with nervous anticipation the season finale due to take place on 2nd October at the Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya.
Overall and class victory in the GT4 European Series: In the supporting programme to the GT World Challenge Europe, it was the teams fielding Mercedes-AMG GT4s who were setting the benchmark. In the first of two one-hour races of the GT4 European Series, NM Racing essentially blew away the opposition. Despite starting from sixth place, Lluc Ibañez (ESP) and Enzo Joulié (FRA) in the #15 car drove to overall victory. The team and its drivers thus further extended their lead in the Silver classification ahead of the season finale in Barcelona. And in the Pro-Am classification, there was no getting past the Mercedes-AMG GT4 in Race 1. The AKKODIS ASP pairing of Jean-Luc Beaubelique and Jim Pla (both FRA) in the number 87 car took the class victory to further consolidate their position at the top of the standings.
Further overall victories and class wins for the Customer Racing teams: Last weekend, the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari at Imola played host to the Italian GT Championship. There were two 50-minute sprint races on the programme, the second of which went very much according to plan for the Antonelli Motorsport driver duo of Matteo Cressoni and Kikko Galbiati (both ITA). Galbiati took the lead on the last lap of Sunday’s race to claim victory and move to within eight points of the overall championship leader. In the GT4 Pro-Am class, Alessandro Marchetti (ITA) and Aleksander Schjerpen (NOR) of Nova Race, an outfit based in the north-west of Italy, were on top form all weekend, easily winning both races.
The Customer Sports teams in the Japanese Super Taikyu also had good reason to celebrate at the end of the five-hour race hosted by Twin Ring Motegi last weekend. The Grid Motorsport quartet of Martin Berry (AUS), Shinichi Takagi, Daisuke Yamawaki (both JPN) and Shaun Thong (HKG) driving the number 888 Mercedes-AMG GT3 put in a flawless performance to claim victory in the general classification. Team Endless Sports with its Japanese trio Shintaro Kawabata, Ryo Ogawa and Riki Tanioka in the number 3 Mercedes-AMG GT4 were meanwhile cruising to victory in the ST-Q class.
Additional information, entire press article(s), directly from its original source: Daimler AG
- This is what happened: Results and facts
- News from the Mercedes-AMG Motorsport teams
- F1: George Russell takes runner-up spot in Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort, Lewis Hamilton fourth
- GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup: Maro Engel, Steijn Schothorst and Luca Stolz finish in fourth place
- GT4 European Series: Mercedes-AMG GT4 wins Saturday race at Hockenheimring
- Italian GT Championship: Podium finish for the Mercedes-AMG GT3 in the second round at Imola
- Super Taikyu: Victory for the Mercedes-AMGT GT3 at Twin Ring Motegi
Best result of the season for George: Formula One travelled to Circuit Zandvoort in the Netherlands last weekend for the second instalment of a triple-header that marked the resumption of action after the summer break. Following the return of the Dutch Grand Prix to the racing calendar last year, the premier class of motorsport was back again in front of sold-out grandstands and the amazing backdrop of the North Sea sand dunes. After the disappointment of the Spa-Francorchamps race weekend, the W13 put in a much-improved performance. In an action-packed race compromised by one virtual and one regular safety car deployment, George Russell made his sixth podium appearance of the season, this time for a P2 which also happens to be his best result to date for the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team. By contrast, fortune did not smile on Lewis Hamilton. The team took a gamble on strategy when a late safety car was deployed, taking their only option to challenge Max Verstappen for victory by opting to retain track position on six lap old Medum tyres, rather than pitting for Softs in an attempt to keep the Dutchman behind. Ultimately, however, the tyre offset between the Medium and newer Softs was too great and Lewis dropped to fourth behind Verstappen, George and Charles Leclerc, who all pitted.
Monza, here we come: The third part of the triple-header takes the team to yet another fabled circuit, the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza. The 16th round of the season will be the 73rd iteration of the Italian Grand Prix. There has been only one occasion on which the event was held at an alternative venue, namely at Imola. The honour of having secured the most victories there is shared by Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton (five each). The most successful team is Scuderia Ferrari who have chalked up 19 victories at their home race in the Royal Park of Monza, ahead of McLaren (11) and Mercedes (seven). Juan Manuel Fangio delivered the first two victories for the Silver Arrows in 1954 and 1955. The Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team has claimed four wins courtesy of Lewis and one with Nico Rosberg at the wheel. In the engine manufacturer stakes, Ferrari leads on 20 wins (one of them for Sebastian Vettel in a Toro Rosso) ahead of Mercedes on 13. The lap record stands at 1:18.887 minutes and is held by Lewis (2020). The fastest race lap is 1:21.046 minutes, held by Rubens Barrichello (Ferrari, 2004).
Top Five finish and class podiums in the GT World Challenge Europe at the Hockenheimring: The early omens seemed anything but propitious for the Customer Racing teams at the penultimate race in the Endurance Cup of the GT World Challenge Europe 2022. The best-placed of the Mercedes-AMG GT3 contingent in qualifying for the three-hour race at the Hockenheimring was the number 2 car fielded by Team GetSpeed, starting from 12th on the grid, but the driver trio of Maro Engel (GER), Steijn Schothorst (NED) and Luca Stolz (GER) went on to prove their fighting spirit. After battling their way through the field over the 101-lap duration of the race, they eventually finished in fourth place. Their fellow Mercedes drivers in the rival AKKODIS ASP team were sadly out of luck over the weekend. Jules Gounon (FRA), Daniel Juncadella (ESP) and Raffaele Marciello (SUI) at the wheel of the #88 Mercedes-AMG GT3 were forced to retire early and consequently came away with zero points, but they still retain their position at the top of the championship table.
Second place in the Pro-Am class, was enough for the SPS automotive performance trio of Dominik Baumann (AUT), Ian Loggie (GBR) and Valentin Pierburg (GER) to defend their lead in the team standings. And in the Gold Cup there was also cause for celebration on Sunday as Hubert Haupt (GER), Arjun Maini (IND) and Florian Scholze (GER) in the number 5 Haupt Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 also crossed the finish line in second place.
The various title contenders now await with nervous anticipation the season finale due to take place on 2nd October at the Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya.
Overall and class victory in the GT4 European Series: In the supporting programme to the GT World Challenge Europe, it was the teams fielding Mercedes-AMG GT4s who were setting the benchmark. In the first of two one-hour races of the GT4 European Series, NM Racing essentially blew away the opposition. Despite starting from sixth place, Lluc Ibañez (ESP) and Enzo Joulié (FRA) in the #15 car drove to overall victory. The team and its drivers thus further extended their lead in the Silver classification ahead of the season finale in Barcelona. And in the Pro-Am classification, there was no getting past the Mercedes-AMG GT4 in Race 1. The AKKODIS ASP pairing of Jean-Luc Beaubelique and Jim Pla (both FRA) in the number 87 car took the class victory to further consolidate their position at the top of the standings.
Further overall victories and class wins for the Customer Racing teams: Last weekend, the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari at Imola played host to the Italian GT Championship. There were two 50-minute sprint races on the programme, the second of which went very much according to plan for the Antonelli Motorsport driver duo of Matteo Cressoni and Kikko Galbiati (both ITA). Galbiati took the lead on the last lap of Sunday’s race to claim victory and move to within eight points of the overall championship leader. In the GT4 Pro-Am class, Alessandro Marchetti (ITA) and Aleksander Schjerpen (NOR) of Nova Race, an outfit based in the north-west of Italy, were on top form all weekend, easily winning both races.
The Customer Sports teams in the Japanese Super Taikyu also had good reason to celebrate at the end of the five-hour race hosted by Twin Ring Motegi last weekend. The Grid Motorsport quartet of Martin Berry (AUS), Shinichi Takagi, Daisuke Yamawaki (both JPN) and Shaun Thong (HKG) driving the number 888 Mercedes-AMG GT3 put in a flawless performance to claim victory in the general classification. Team Endless Sports with its Japanese trio Shintaro Kawabata, Ryo Ogawa and Riki Tanioka in the number 3 Mercedes-AMG GT4 were meanwhile cruising to victory in the ST-Q class.
Additional information, entire press article(s), directly from its original source: Daimler AG
