Motorsport Roundup: Hamilton Takes 100th Win, Podium For Daruvala At F2 Russia, And MRF MMSC INRC Season Opener

This past week, there was no dearth of racing action thaks to Formula One and Formula 2 in Russia.  Back home, we also had the season opener of the MRF MMSC INRC . Here’s the low-down :

Formula One

The 2021 Formula One Russian Grand Prix saw a thriller take place in Sochi, with the weather gods causing a dramatic finish. In the end it was Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton who took his 100th win, followed by the Red Bull Honda of Max Verstappen in second place, and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz taking third place. In the title race, Hamilton now takes the lead over Verstappen by just two points in the driver’s standings with seven rounds to go. 

Formula 2

The sixth round of the 2021 Formula 2 championship was a bit of a topsy-turvy weekend for Carlin’s Jehan Daruvala. Qualifying second, the Indian driver had an incident towards the end of the sprint race which dropped him from fifth to 12th position. Daruvala more than made up for that difficult result, scoring a podium in third place at the feature race. Off the track, Formula 2 will be reverting back to its 2020 race format for the 2022 season, where there will be only one sprint race, and a feature race.  

MRF MMSC INRC

After a season-long break due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 MRF MMSC FMSCI Indian National Car Racing Championship commenced at the MMRT in Chennai. Taking top honors in the opening round of the season was Anindith Reddy (Rayo Racing) in the ITC class, with Shahan Ali Mohsin dominating the MRF 1600 class. In the Volkswagen Polo class, it was Pratik Sonawane winning the final race of the weekend.

Goodwood Revival

The motorsport world also took a trip back to the past with the 2021 Goodwood Revival event. It not only saw race cars of the 1950s and 1960s go head-to-head for the Stirling Moss Memorial Trophy, but also had the drivers, mechanics and spectators dressed in a similar retro-fashion. It also celebrates Rolex's 90-year association with motorsports, partnering the event as the offical timepiece. 

Others 

Team Red Rabbit Racers held a talent scouting programme in Pune with a total of 46 participants turning up at the KartDrome go-karting circuit. The event saw Arjun Khaire come out on top with Neythan McPherson and Aniket Hazare joining him on the podium in second and third places. The winners will get an opportunity to train with the team along with Level 1 karting training at Meco Kartopia Bangalore, along with Level international, Formula LGB 1300 and even the Indian Touring Car Championship.

Next week, we will see MotoGP resume in Austin, USA for the Grand Prix of the Americas. WRC will also return to racing action with Rally Finland.