Motorsport Roundup: Thrilling F1 French GP, Marquez Is Back, Controversial Puebla E-Prix, And Arjun Maini’s First DTM Outing

The motorsport world saw several races over the last seven days that dominated headlines. It ranged from a surprisingly thrilling F1 French Grand Prix, a MotoGP legend scoring an emotional comeback win, a drama-filled Puebla E-Prix, and India’s first DTM driver kicking off the DTM season. Here’s more on what transpired:

Formula One

The 2021 French Grand Prix at Circuit Paul Ricard saw varying strategies make for an action-packed race. Red Bull Racing Honda repeated what Mercedes did at the Spanish Grand Prix by pulling off a two-stop strategy to help Max Verstappen pip Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton for the race win with just one lap to go. His teammate Perez also managed an unconventional one-stop to nick the other Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas for the final spot of the podium in third place. The result extended Verstappen’s lead over Hamilton in the drivers standings to 12 points, while Red Bull Racing Honda led Mercedes in the constructors standings by 37 points. 

MotoGP

The German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring saw one of the greatest sporting comebacks of all time. It was none other than six-time MotoGP champion Marc Marquez who scored an emotional win after over 500 days of being off the podium. Starting 4th on the grid, the factory Honda rider took the lead early on and crucially made a 1.5-second gap on the field. Despite a close challenge by the factory KTM of Miguel Oliveira, Marquez held on, to score his 11th consecutive win at the Sachsenring and retain his title of ‘King of the Ring’.

With the factory Yamaha of Fabio Quartararo finishing third at the chequered flag, he extended his lead over Pramac Ducati’s Johann Zarco in the riders standings by 22 points. 

Formula E

Formula E’s double-header set of races at the Puebla E Prix saw plenty of action and some controversy as well. While Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein crossed the line in first place in Race 1, he was controversially stripped of his win and disqualified alongside teammate Andre Lotterer and the two Nissans e.dams due to incorrectly declaring tyre allocation on the car's technical passport. This meant, the two Audis of Lucas di Grassi and Rene Rast made it a 1-2 finish, with the Venturi of Edoardo Mortara finishing third. That being said, Porsche has appealed against this disqualification. 

In the second race, a close fight between Mortara and Wehrlein led to the Venturi driver coming out on top, with the Envision Virgin Racing of Nick Cassidy in third. But bad luck once again struck Wehrlein as a 5-second penalty for improper use of Fanboost dropped him to fourth place. This elevated Cassidy to second place and the Nissan e.dams of Oliver Rowland to the final spot on the podium. Mortara’s strong points haul has catapulted him into the lead of the drivers standings. 

DTM

 

This race weekend also saw Arjun Maini begin his maiden DTM campaign as India’s first DTM driver at the season opener in Monza. The GetSpeed Mercedes driver qualified 13th and finished 14th in Race 1. In the second race, the Indian driver was on for a points-paying finish, until an ABS issue forced him out of the race. Overall, a low key but consistent showing for the Indian driver’s first DTM outing. 

Next week is set to be another action-packed one for motorsports as MotoGP will head to Assen for the Dutch Grand Prix with Formula One heading to the Red Bull Ring and Austria for the Styrian Grand Prix. The 2021 World Rally Championship will also return to racing action at Rally Kenya for the sixth round of the season.