2021 Spa-Francorchamps W Series round
2021 W Series Spa-Francorchamps round | |||
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Event 5 of 7 of the 2021 W Series | |||
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Race details | |||
Date | 28 August 2021 | ||
Official name | 2021 W Series Spa-Francorchamps round | ||
Location | Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Spa, Wallonia, Belgium | ||
Course | Permanent circuit | ||
Course length | 7.004 km (4.350 miles) | ||
Distance | 12 laps, 84.048 km (52.200 miles) | ||
Pole position | |||
Driver | Veloce Racing | ||
Time | 2:18.074 | ||
Fastest lap | |||
Driver |
![]() | Écurie W | |
Time | 2:43.401 | ||
Podium | |||
First | Écurie W | ||
Second | Veloce Racing | ||
Third | Puma W Series Team |
The 2021 W Series Spa-Francorchamps round was the fifth round of seven in the 2021 W Series, and took place at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium on 28 August 2021.[1] The event was an undercard to the 2021 Formula One World Championship round at the same circuit.[2]
Report
[edit]Background
[edit]Irina Sidorkova returned a positive coronavirus test prior to first practice and was replaced in the W Series Academy team with Gosia Rdest.[3]
Jamie Chadwick led the championship on 73 points, 1 point ahead of Alice Powell.
Race
[edit]A six-car crash involving Sarah Moore, Ayla Ågren, Belén García, Abbie Eaton, Beitske Visser and Fabienne Wohlwend at Radillon de l'Eau Rouge marred the qualifying session held the previous day. Ågren and Visser were taken to hospital for precautionary checks where it was revealed the Dutchwoman had suffered a minor leg injury; both drivers were withdrawn from the race.[4]
The race began under safety car due to inclement conditions, but after 4 laps it pulled in and Chadwick led the field away to green. Caitlin Wood, who had qualified fourth and started third in her second event of the season, cut across the top of Radillon and allowed Emma Kimiläinen to draw close and eventually pass at Bruxelles. Wood's team-mate Marta García capitalised on the Finn's pass and made an initially unsuccessful move herself into Pouhon before sealing fourth around the outside of Campus.
Wohlwend – who had sat on provisional pole prior to the crash in qualifying – initially struggled in the conditions having outbraked herself in a move on Vittoria Piria for 10th at La Source, but recovered quickly and took the place a lap later. This began a charge through the field for the Liechtensteiner, disposing of Bunker team-mate Sabré Cook and Miki Koyama with ease. Kimiläinen and Marta García also had pace to burn, reeling in the leading duo by 2 seconds a lap – the former passing a grip-limited Alice Powell for second before setting off after Chadwick. The weekend was not going to plan for Bruna Tomaselli – the Brazilian was given a two-place grid penalty for missing the paddock entry gate at the end of practice, and was now dropping back behind the hastily-repaired cars of Eaton and Moore at a rapid rate.
Having cleared Powell, Kimiläinen was unleashed – with lap times 3 seconds quicker than Chadwick, she stormed around the outside of the Veloce Racing entry at turn 13 with four minutes remaining to take the lead. García meanwhile had struggled to get around Powell initially but undercut the Brit at Stavelot for the final podium place on lap 10. Wohlwend's fightback wasn't finished either, rounding up Nerea Martí on the last lap for seventh in an identical move to Kimiläinen's for the lead.
Kimiläinen took her first win of the season in dominant style, finishing eight and a half seconds ahead of Chadwick. Marta García closed on Chadwick after her move on Powell but ran out of time to improve her position, while Powell lost ground in the title race with her fourth place finish. Caitlin Wood rounded out a fine weekend in the top five some seventeen seconds behind Powell, with Jessica Hawkins barely hanging on to sixth ahead of Wohlwend. Tomaselli dropped behind Belén García before the flag to finish 15th, with Gosia Rdest the last car across the line nearly 1 minute 15 seconds behind the leaders on a difficult return to the championship.
Classification
[edit]Practice
[edit]Session | No. | Driver | Team | Time | Source |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Practice 1 | 55 | ![]() |
Veloce Racing | 2:31.966 | [5] |
Qualifying
[edit]Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Time/Gap |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 55 | ![]() |
Veloce Racing | 2:18.074 |
2 | 27 | ![]() |
Racing X | +0.721 |
3 | 32 | ![]() |
W Series Academy | +1.127 |
4 | 20 | ![]() |
Puma W Series Team | +1.163 |
5 | 7 | ![]() |
Écurie W | +1.484 |
6 | 19 | ![]() |
Puma W Series Team | +1.752 |
7 | 21 | ![]() |
Racing X | +2.018 |
8 | 11 | ![]() |
Sirin Racing | +2.019 |
9 | 54 | ![]() |
Sirin Racing | +2.087 |
10 | 97 | ![]() |
Veloce Racing | +2.180 |
11 | 37 | ![]() |
Bunker Racing | +2.566 |
12 | 3 | ![]() |
W Series Academy | +2.742 |
13 | 5 | ![]() |
Bunker Racing | +5.134 |
14 | 17 | ![]() |
M. Forbes Motorsport | +7.013 |
15 | 95 | ![]() |
M. Forbes Motorsport | +7.462 |
16 | 44 | ![]() |
Écurie W | +7.528 |
17 | 26 | ![]() |
Scuderia W | +8.331 |
18 | 22 | ![]() |
Scuderia W | +11.597 |
Source:[8] |
- ^1 – Martí received a four-place grid penalty for a cooldown lap procedure infringement at the previous round.
- ^2 – Tomaselli received a two-place grid penalty for failing to follow the race director’s instructions at the end of practice.
Race
[edit]Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 7 | ![]() |
Écurie W | 12 | 35:21.478 | 4 | 25 |
2 | 55 | ![]() |
Veloce Racing | 12 | +8.489 | 1 | 18 |
3 | 19 | ![]() |
Puma W Series Team | 12 | +11.949 | 5 | 15 |
4 | 27 | ![]() |
Racing X | 12 | +18.182 | 2 | 12 |
5 | 20 | ![]() |
Puma W Series Team | 12 | +35.832 | 3 | 10 |
6 | 21 | ![]() |
Racing X | 12 | +39.596 | 6 | 8 |
7 | 5 | ![]() |
Bunker Racing | 12 | +40.095 | 13 | 6 |
8 | 32 | ![]() |
W Series Academy | 12 | +40.880 | 7 | 4 |
9 | 54 | ![]() |
Sirin Racing | 12 | +41.757 | 9 | 2 |
10 | 44 | ![]() |
Écurie W | 12 | +42.989 | 14 | 1 |
11 | 37 | ![]() |
Bunker Racing | 12 | +43.701 | 10 | |
12 | 11 | ![]() |
Sirin Racing | 12 | +46.332 | 8 | |
13 | 26 | ![]() |
Scuderia W | 12 | +47.178 | 15 | |
14 | 22 | ![]() |
Scuderia W | 12 | +47.780 | 16 | |
15 | 97 | ![]() |
Veloce Racing | 12 | +58.499 | 12 | |
16 | 3 | ![]() |
W Series Academy | 12 | +1:13.855 | 11 | |
DNS | 17 | ![]() |
M. Forbes Motorsport | 0 | Qualifying crash | ||
DNS | 95 | ![]() |
M. Forbes Motorsport | 0 | Qualifying crash | ||
Fastest lap set by Emma Kimiläinen: 2:43.401 | |||||||
Source:[9] |
Championship standings
[edit]Pos. | Driver | Pts | Gap |
---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() |
91 | |
2 | ![]() |
84 | -7 |
3 | ![]() |
60 | -31 |
4 | ![]() |
41 | -50 |
5 | ![]() |
40 | -51 |
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "SPA RACE REPORT". W Series. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
- ^ "W Series to support F1 in 2021 and beyond". ESPN.com. 12 November 2020. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
- ^ "STATEMENT ON COVID-19 TEST RESULT FOR W SERIES ACADEMY DRIVER IRINA SIDORKOVA". W Series. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
- ^ "Agren and Visser transferred to hospital after Spa W series crash". Motorsport.com. 28 August 2021.
- ^ "W Series 2021 Spa-Francorchamps Classification – Practice". Motorsport Stats. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
- ^ "Fabienne: Ein Podium für die Nachbarn". Autosprint.ch (in German). 27 June 2021. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
- ^ "FIA International Sporting Code" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 13 October 2013. p. 34. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 January 2015. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
9.5.2 All Drivers, irrespective of the nationality of their Licence, participating in any FIA World Championship Competition, shall retain the nationality of their passport in all official documents, publications and prize‐giving ceremonies.
- ^ "W Series 2021 Spa-Francorchamps Classification – Qualifying". Motorsport Stats. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
- ^ "W Series 2021 Spa-Francorchamps Classification – Race". Motorsport Stats. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
External links
[edit]- Official website Archived 2022-04-14 at the Wayback Machine
- Race replay