Month: August 2020

Max Verstappen has clarified his discontent with the scheduling of Formula One’s 2020 Season. It’s not surprising that the Red Bull Aston Martin Racing driver expressed his displeasure, with Verstappen often being vocal against incorrect decisions made by the FIA. Reporters questioned Max on his thought process behind 2020’s F1 scheduling, where the Dutch native would indicate that nine Grand Prix’s in eleven weekends in the absolute limit of Formula One’s grid. Verstappen noted his hope that 2021 will return to their conventional 20 Grand Prix schedule over ten months.

The COVID-19 Pandemic forced Formula One to postpone all Grand Prix’s for 2020, not knowing if they’d be permitted to reschedule under international law. The F1 grid learned in June that seasonal races would resume in July, which was an announcement highly praised by teams & supporters. At that time nobody knew that additional races would be confirmed, increasing the schedule of Grand Prix’s in eleven weeks. Crews have reached their limits on what’s possible with updating their vehicles, managing engineering workforces, and travelling from nation-to-nation. After nearly hitting the halfway point of this unexpected adventure, Max Verstappen appears to be losing his patience.

Three Grand Prix’s were maintained back-to-back in July, with two located at the Austrian Red Bull Ring & one located at Hungary’s Hungaroring. It’s the first time in years that Formula One has given their teams such a close schedule of races, with breaks commonly permitted after two back-to-back GPs. This imposes notable challenges onto F1 team managers, drivers, engineers, pit crews, and all other employed personnel on the Formula One grid. These individuals understand the contractual & commercial obligations that F1 must maintain, which is why there wasn’t any pushback against the odd schedule.

Team Required Breaks

Max Verstappen emphasized to the FIA publicly that Grand Prix’s must be raced in 2020, but that moving forward into next season, things must change. Verstappen cannot imagine another season where teams could account for the weekly demands without being permitted breaks. Max did mention that regardless they’ll accept what’s announced by the FIA, with contractual obligations requiring the team’s participation. It should be said that the FIA hasn’t announced any Grand Prix’s yet for the 2021 F1 Season.

The UFC is well into the resuming of its events after COVID-19 saw it bring a halt to fight nights. The latest promotion being touted by the UFC will see Aleksandar Rakic and Anthony Smith being featured on the 29th of August for its Fight Night main event.

Originally, the card was scheduled to see Yair Rodriguez versus Zabit Magomedsharipov. However, Rodriguez dropped out of the fight after suffering an unspecified injury. Due to the limited notice, the UFC was unable to find a replacement and therefore cancelled the fight.

As Aleksandar Rakic and Anthony Smith were already scheduled to fight during the event, they were upgraded to the main event but will retain the same scheduled three-round bout. Anthony Smith’s last fight against Glover Teixeira resulted in a loss leaving him with only one win in his previous three bouts. Smith’s latest victory came against Alexander Gustafsson, and his other loss was to the current champion, Jon Jones.

Aleksandar Rakic is considered of the top prospects in the heavyweight division but fell short of earning a victory in his fight against Volkan Oezdemi during December’s UFC Busan. At 28, he has racked up a dozen back to back wins before the loss, and that included a first round knockout in December 2018 against Jimi Manuwa.

UFC 252 Update

The UFC Fight Night will take place in Las Vegas at the Apex and will feature welterweights Robbie Lawler taking on Neil Magny and featherweights Ricardo Lamas vs Ryan Hall. Sean O’Malley failed to retain his undefeated record while fighting Marlon Vera at UFC 252 after being knocked out in the first round.

Early in the fight, O’Malley seemed to injure his foot and battled to stay standing before being knocked out and taken out on a stretcher. O’Malley fell to the may early into the first round, and Vera unloaded a vicious series of elbow shots. While O-Malley wasn’t out for the count, he was visibly injured, and referee Herb Dean called an end to the bout.

O’Malley came out strong in the opening seconds of the fight and was able to keep Vera at bay. However, once Vera picked up on O’Malley’s injury, he took over and scored the win. Vera now has a 6-1 record, while O’Malley fell to 4-1.

Those that stand against the dominance & formidable skillsets of Lewis Hamilton were pleasantly surprised on August 9th when Max Verstappen stole the 1st place podium from the British Six-Time F1 Champion. This is a substantial loss for Lewis Hamilton, with Silverstone’s recent race being the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix for Formula One. This historic moment in motorsports is now owned by Max Verstappen, someone that wasn’t expected to become victorious.

Max Verstappen now stands as the single F1 Driver to have won a Grand Prix in 2020. It comes after a formidable strategy was implemented by Red Bull – Aston Martin Racing, which included starting the Grand Prix on the Hard Tyre Compound. Verstappen would immediately gain a single placement after the 1st corner, taking P3 from Nico Hulkenberg.

Max would then manage his Tyres & Pace better than Lewis Hamilton or Valtteri Bottas throughout the 52 Laps. After the 10th Lap, Max would begin pressuring Bottas once learning Mercedes AMG-Petronas was experiencing blisters. He’d overtake Valtteri at the Luffield Corner, with his domination over Lewis Hamilton coming once Mercedes pitted their star driver. It marks the 1st victory for Red Bull Racing at Silverstone since 2012.

Lewis Hamilton found himself struggling throughout the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix, maintaining a resurgence into the later laps. This unexpected resurgence prompted Lewis to acquire 2nd Place on the Podium, which was obtained after overtaking Valtteri Bottas at Brooklands. Lewis Hamilton now maintains the same number of Podium Finishes as Michael Schumacher.

The Placements for Fan Favourite Drivers

Fan favourite drivers like Sebastian Vettel, Charles Leclerc, Alex Albon, Nico Hulkenberg, Pierre Gasly, and Lando Norris found themselves maintaining notable positions on the grid by the 52nd Lap. Scuderia Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc should’ve received “Driver of the Day” after obtaining P4 on a One-Stop Pit Strategy. Charles got this position with his 2020 SF1000, which is considerably slower than competing cars from Red Bull & Mercedes. This was proven with Sebastian Vettel’s P12 Placement.

Alex Albon from Red Bull Racing garnered P5, making his final overtake on Lance Stroll on the Last Lap. Lando Norris for McLaren Racing maintained 97, and Pierre Gasly with AlphaTauri maintained P11.