Weekend tip: Formula 1 premiere 🎥
THIS IS HOW YOU'RE IN IT At Silverstone, the grid positions for a Grand Prix will be determined for the first time in a sprint race on the day before. And in Monza, the last Endurance World Championship race before Le Mans will take place. This is how you can be there live on TV or on the Internet. The Mercedes GP drivers and chief strategists comment on the new format in English. This will also be available in [...]
The Mercedes GP drivers and chief strategists comment on the new format in English. This is also explained in graphics.
Great Britain is the first of three 2021 GP weekends where this new format will be used to try out a new way of determining the starting order for Sunday's race.
Only one training session before the first race
On Friday, the teams have only one 60-minute free practice session to set up their cars. After that, it's straight into the usual three-part qualifying session. The outcome of this session will decide the starting grid for the 100-kilometer qualifying sprint.
Before the start of the race, there will be a second one-hour practice session on Saturday before the starting order for the Grand Prix on Sunday is determined in the 17-lap race. After that, all cars have to return to the parc fermé until the main race.
Does it bring more variety?
The new format was introduced by F1, the FIA and the teams to spice up the weekend, add some new variables and create an extra challenge.
In any case, there are more factors that can influence the racing on Sunday - apart from the weather. It remains to be seen whether the hierarchy will change.
Full house at Hamilton's home game
On his home track, Sir Lewis Hamilton won six of the last seven F1 races with Mercedes, but Red Bull Honda won the last five Grands Prix in a row this year. Silverstone Circuit will also be the first GP track with full grandstands in times of the Corona pandemic.
Swiss television will therefore begin its live coverage as early as Friday evening, July 16, on SRF2 with qualifying from 6.55 to 8.15 pm. Michael Weinmann and GP expert Marc Surer will then also report on the qualifying sprint race on Saturday on SRF info from 5 to 6.10 p.m. and on Sunday on SRF2 from 3.20 to 5.55 p.m. from the tenth Formula 1 World Championship round in 2021.
Fabienne wants to return to the podium
In the supporting program, the third race of the season of the W Series will take place alongside the FIA Formula 2 (no live TV pictures). Fabienne Wohlwend hopes that the data will have taught her the lessons of a rather disappointing tenth place at her second appearance in Spielberg, after a brilliant third seven days earlier.
The women's formula race will start at 1:25 p.m. local time on Saturday. The British TV station Channel 4, which can also be received in Switzerland, will broadcast it live from 2.05 p.m. CEST.
Monza on the WEC calendar for the first time
The FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) is also experiencing a premiere. For the first time since 1992, when Group C was still the top class, there will be a world championship round for GT and sports cars in Italy.
Since then, the WEC has only visited Monza for tests before the start of the 2017 season. With the 6-hour race on July 18, the Autodromo Nazionale, which virtually all drivers know from other racing series, will finally return to the WEC calendar. And for the first time since the end of the 2019 season, a limited number of spectators will also be at the race.
The Temple of Speed at Monza will be the venue for the third WEC championship points in 2021 on Sunday.
Buemi defends championship lead with Toyota
Toyota Gazoo Racing and its six drivers have traveled to Monza as championship leaders. Sébastien Buemi, Kazuki Nakajima and Brendon Hartley lead the drivers' standings after two wins with the new hypercar at Spa and Portimão.
Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and José María López achieved a podium finish in the sister car in both races.
Last race before Le Mans
The high-speed track at Monza is also ideal preparation for the Le Mans 24 Hours. Both circuits feature long straights followed by chicanes. Monza thus perfectly replicates some of the technical challenges of the Circuit de la Sarthe. The season highlight at Le Mans will take place this year on August 21/22.
Alongside Buemi, Neel Jani in the factory Porsche 911 RSR and Fabio Scherer in the Oreca LMP2 from United Motorsport are two other Swiss drivers who have already won a race in 2021. Due to a positive coronation test, Scherer had to forgo the race in Portugal.
The race will start at 12 p.m. on Sunday. The free-TV station Sport1 will show the second hour of the race live, as well as the final phase from Monza from 5.30 p.m. onwards. On the website sport1.de the race can be seen in full length.
