| April 2021 News |
04/27 - F1 Adds Short Saturday Races
04/21 - Fans Allowed at Indy 500
04/18 - F1 Italian Grand Prix at Imola
04/06 - Indy 500 Tests Televised this Week.
04/21 - Fans Allowed at Indy 500
04/18 - F1 Italian Grand Prix at Imola
04/06 - Indy 500 Tests Televised this Week.
| RACE NEWS & VIEWS |
| News Index |
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Indy 500 Test Televised
Apr 6 - in preparation for the 105th Running of the
Indianapolis 500, 32 IndyCar drivers will participate in an
open test this week at the Indy Speedway.
The tests will stream live to race fans exclusively via
NBC’s new streaming service, Peacock. The test is
closed to the public.
Testing will take place from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. (ET) Thursday
April 8 and 10-4 p.m. Friday, April 9
Veteran testing will take place from 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
Thursday, with Rookie Orientation Program and Refresher
testing from 1-3 p.m. Open testing will resume from 4-6
p.m.
Apr 6 - in preparation for the 105th Running of the
Indianapolis 500, 32 IndyCar drivers will participate in an
open test this week at the Indy Speedway.
The tests will stream live to race fans exclusively via
NBC’s new streaming service, Peacock. The test is
closed to the public.
Testing will take place from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. (ET) Thursday
April 8 and 10-4 p.m. Friday, April 9
Veteran testing will take place from 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
Thursday, with Rookie Orientation Program and Refresher
testing from 1-3 p.m. Open testing will resume from 4-6
p.m.
IMS IndyCar Test
Apr 9 - 32 IndyCar drivers showed up for a two day test on
the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in anticipation for the Indy
500. Not much got accomplished Thursday due to rain early
in the day. The morning was cool and windy and the first
driver to come up to speed, Rinus Veekay, spun in T1 and
hit the wall. He ended up with a broken finger.
Apr 9 - 32 IndyCar drivers showed up for a two day test on
the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in anticipation for the Indy
500. Not much got accomplished Thursday due to rain early
in the day. The morning was cool and windy and the first
driver to come up to speed, Rinus Veekay, spun in T1 and
hit the wall. He ended up with a broken finger.
Things dried out by late afternoon and rookies and those
needing a refresher course took to the track. Sebastien
Bourdais was quickest.
Better weather on Friday allowed all the drivers, except
VeeKay, to take laps. The average number of laps was 128
per driver.
The fastest of the day were Josef Newgarden, Juan
Montoya and Takuma Sato, who all reached average
speeds over 226 mph. The slowest was rookie Cody Ware,
who went 218 mph.
needing a refresher course took to the track. Sebastien
Bourdais was quickest.
Better weather on Friday allowed all the drivers, except
VeeKay, to take laps. The average number of laps was 128
per driver.
The fastest of the day were Josef Newgarden, Juan
Montoya and Takuma Sato, who all reached average
speeds over 226 mph. The slowest was rookie Cody Ware,
who went 218 mph.
Simona de Silvestro will be back for the Indy 500 for the
first time since 2015. Her new race team - Paretta
Autosport, is shown below. 9 of the 17 people in the
photo are women.
first time since 2015. Her new race team - Paretta
Autosport, is shown below. 9 of the 17 people in the
photo are women.
F1 Italian Grand Prix at Imola
April 18 - The 2nd race of the Formula 1 season began with
a wet track and some rain. Max Verstappen made a
fantastic start, moving by his teammate, Sergio Perez and
pole-sitter Lewis Hamilton in the Mercedes for the lead.
Hamilton quickly tried to regain the lead, was unable and
may have damaged his car.
Williams driver Nicolas Latifi smashed into the wall
bringing out a yellow. Then Mick Schumacher spun on
the moist track, crashed and lost his entire front wing. He
got back on track, but had to circle track twice to wait for
the pits to reopen. Not that it mattered as both Haas cars
would spend the day at the back of the field.
Through out the race, slick conditions and cold tires would
cause many offs and trips through gravel traps.
As the tires wore down, drivers tried to stay out on track
as long as possible, waiting for track to get dry enough to
switch to intermediates. But when Verstappen’s 4-5
second lead suddenly dropped to under 2 seconds, he pit
for tires. Hamilton stayed out another lap, going for the
over under. With a slow 4-second pit stop, that goal did
not come to fruition and Verstappen kept the lead and had
a 4.8-second advantage over Hamilton.
A few laps later (Lap 31) Hamilton went off track, into the
sand and kissed the wall. He evaluated the situation and
carefully reversed out all the way across the trap and back
onto the track, where he got back under way.
April 18 - The 2nd race of the Formula 1 season began with
a wet track and some rain. Max Verstappen made a
fantastic start, moving by his teammate, Sergio Perez and
pole-sitter Lewis Hamilton in the Mercedes for the lead.
Hamilton quickly tried to regain the lead, was unable and
may have damaged his car.
Williams driver Nicolas Latifi smashed into the wall
bringing out a yellow. Then Mick Schumacher spun on
the moist track, crashed and lost his entire front wing. He
got back on track, but had to circle track twice to wait for
the pits to reopen. Not that it mattered as both Haas cars
would spend the day at the back of the field.
Through out the race, slick conditions and cold tires would
cause many offs and trips through gravel traps.
As the tires wore down, drivers tried to stay out on track
as long as possible, waiting for track to get dry enough to
switch to intermediates. But when Verstappen’s 4-5
second lead suddenly dropped to under 2 seconds, he pit
for tires. Hamilton stayed out another lap, going for the
over under. With a slow 4-second pit stop, that goal did
not come to fruition and Verstappen kept the lead and had
a 4.8-second advantage over Hamilton.
A few laps later (Lap 31) Hamilton went off track, into the
sand and kissed the wall. He evaluated the situation and
carefully reversed out all the way across the trap and back
onto the track, where he got back under way.
But immediately after, George Russell tried to pass
Valtteri Bottas, was pushed out into the grass, lost control
and collided with Bottas. They flew off the track and
crashed. Both were out of the race, each blaming the
other. This caused much debris on track and the red flag
was waved.
Drivers returned to the pits and exited their cars while they
waited for the track to be cleared.
Hamilton was in 9th during the single file restart - Lap 34
of 63. Verstappen and Kimi Raikkonen both had scary
moments during the warmup when they lost their back ends
and almost spinning.
As the laps ran down, Verstappen continued to pull out a
lead, while Hamilton methodically picked off one driver
after another. By lap 60, Hamilton’s faster car propelled
him by 2nd place Lando Norris in the McLaren. By this
time, Verstappen had over a 20-second advantage and
continued on for his first win in Italy. He would have been
tied in points with Hamilton, but Hamilton gained another
point for having the fastest lap. Verstappen has yet to
have the F1 points lead in his career.
Multi-year champions Sebastian Vettel (now with team
Aston Martin) and Fernando Alonso (Alpine) finished out
of the points.
Valtteri Bottas, was pushed out into the grass, lost control
and collided with Bottas. They flew off the track and
crashed. Both were out of the race, each blaming the
other. This caused much debris on track and the red flag
was waved.
Drivers returned to the pits and exited their cars while they
waited for the track to be cleared.
Hamilton was in 9th during the single file restart - Lap 34
of 63. Verstappen and Kimi Raikkonen both had scary
moments during the warmup when they lost their back ends
and almost spinning.
As the laps ran down, Verstappen continued to pull out a
lead, while Hamilton methodically picked off one driver
after another. By lap 60, Hamilton’s faster car propelled
him by 2nd place Lando Norris in the McLaren. By this
time, Verstappen had over a 20-second advantage and
continued on for his first win in Italy. He would have been
tied in points with Hamilton, but Hamilton gained another
point for having the fastest lap. Verstappen has yet to
have the F1 points lead in his career.
Multi-year champions Sebastian Vettel (now with team
Aston Martin) and Fernando Alonso (Alpine) finished out
of the points.
Fans Allowed at Indy 500
Apr 21- The Indianapolis 500 will welcome 135,000 fans
into the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to watch the 105th
edition of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing on May 30.
The news comes as a welcome change after last year’s
Indy 500 was held without fans due to COVID-19.
The sum of 135,000 represents 40-percent of normal race
day capacity.
Apr 21- The Indianapolis 500 will welcome 135,000 fans
into the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to watch the 105th
edition of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing on May 30.
The news comes as a welcome change after last year’s
Indy 500 was held without fans due to COVID-19.
The sum of 135,000 represents 40-percent of normal race
day capacity.
• Masks will be required
• Temperature checks will be performed at entry gates
• Some spacing will be used for social distancing between
customer groups in rows to either side
• No infield parking or mound usage
• All concerts have been cancelled
• Suites will be used at reduced capacity
• Bronze and Silver badges are available, but buyers must
be vaccinated to use them
• Fans can access Tower Terrace seats for practice and
qualifying days, and other outside stands will also be open
• Temperature checks will be performed at entry gates
• Some spacing will be used for social distancing between
customer groups in rows to either side
• No infield parking or mound usage
• All concerts have been cancelled
• Suites will be used at reduced capacity
• Bronze and Silver badges are available, but buyers must
be vaccinated to use them
• Fans can access Tower Terrace seats for practice and
qualifying days, and other outside stands will also be open
F1 Adds Saturday Races
Apr 27 - Formula One is moving qualifying from Saturday
to Friday at Silverstone and Monza this year, and perhaps
one other race.
This qualifying will determine the grid order for a short race
to be held on Saturday. That race will only be about a third
of the distance of a normal grand prix. A pit stop won't be
required. Points will be awarded to the top three finishers -
three for first, two for second and one for third.
Apr 27 - Formula One is moving qualifying from Saturday
to Friday at Silverstone and Monza this year, and perhaps
one other race.
This qualifying will determine the grid order for a short race
to be held on Saturday. That race will only be about a third
of the distance of a normal grand prix. A pit stop won't be
required. Points will be awarded to the top three finishers -
three for first, two for second and one for third.
The results of this race will determine the starting order for
Sunday's grand prix. They are calling this short race "Sprint
Qualifying."
It is thought this change to the F1 weekend will increase
viewership. If this experiment succeeds, it may be
expanded in 2022.
Sunday's grand prix. They are calling this short race "Sprint
Qualifying."
It is thought this change to the F1 weekend will increase
viewership. If this experiment succeeds, it may be
expanded in 2022.