Category: Media

CRL S4:R5 Recap – Williams Triumphs in Home GP

By ghost_726

The fifth race of the CRL F1 season saw the grid go to the historic Silverstone track in Great Britain. While only 14 drivers made the race, with notable absences from The_562KING (now retired) and both Ferrari drivers, the race was action packed and featured plenty of wheel to wheel battles. And the action got started early, with a weather-changing qualification session that set an interesting grid.

Qualifying Recap

  • The qualifying session started with a light rain that had the grid running on intermediates, before drying just in time for most drivers to run a single lap on the slick tires.
  • Bigryeguy98 put his Williams on pole with a 1:27.999, 0.414 seconds faster than the P2 qualifier
  • McLaren had a stellar qualifying, with PCC-Godly qualifying P2, and KENNYHITMANHART earning P5
  • MUDDUCK09 positioned Alpine well, despite the loss of The_562KING, by putting his car into P3
  • Several drivers had their best qualifying performance this week, including; MUDDUCK09 (P2), xINCIDENTx (P4), KENNYHITMANHART (P5), jmtitan10 (P7), Wizbang02 (P9)
  • Ghost_726 and ChrisKYU62 started the race in P12 and P13 after failing to set a time on their slick compounds

Race Recap

  • Bigryeguy98 returns to the top step of the podium with a dominant pole to P1 performance and an almost 8 second margin of victory
  • jurdiS09 and isiboy23 would cross the line P2 and P3 after a tense battle, but were relegated to P4 and P5 due to a 3 and 6 second time penalties
  • PCC-Godly enjoyed a steady drive from P2 on the grid to finish P2 for the third time this season
  • xINCIDENTx picked up one position from the grid to finish P3 for his first podium of the season
  • KENNYHITMANHART put together a consistent drive to finish P6 after starting P5
  • Ghost_726 and ChrisKYU62 both made up for their poor performances in qualifying, gaining 5 positions to finish P7 and P8, respectively
  • Jmtitan10 finished P9 after a couple of tense battles and contact with Alexicucco27 and ghost_726
  • Wizbang02 was able to secure a P10 finish to score his first point of the season

Standings Update

  • PCC-Godly jumped jurdiS09, moving into P2, and provisional first place in the championship (due to The_562KING retiring)
  • Bigryeguy98’s 26 point performance moves him into P4, only 12 points off PCC-Godly
  • xINCIDENTx’s first podium of the season moves him into P7, only 3 points behind teammate ghost_726 in P6
  • KENNYHITMANHART overtakes both Mercedes drivers for sole possession of P9
  • ChrisKYU62’s first points of the season move him into P14 in the championship
  • Wizbang02 scored his first point of the season to move into a tie for P16 with Maple_Bro and Aleixcucco27

Team Standings Update

  • With Alpine’s #1 driver now retired, they failed to score in Britain, and saw their championship lead shrink to a mere 4 points

  • McLaren edged Haas for P2 in the championship by 3 points, in what could be a tight battle all season long

  • Williams’ race win propelled them into P6 in the standings, only 6 points off Aston Martin in P5

  • Mercedes 2 points have them a mere 3 points off Ferrari for P7

Race at a Glance

Podium – Bigryeguy98, PCC-Godly, xINCIDENTx

Team Win – Williams (26 points)

Pole Position – Bigryeguy98 (1:27.999)

Fastest Lap – Bigryeguy98 (1:28.994)

Most Positions Gained – ghost_726 (P12 > P7), ChrisKYU62 (P13 > P8)

Driver of the Day – Bigryeguy98 (7/12 votes)

F2CRL Magazine – Netherlands

Welcome to the first edition of F2 CRL Magazine, the weekly media publication for all things related to the F2 Champions Racing League. In this edition, we’ll take a look back at theDutch Grand Prix, review the driver and constructor standings, update you on the trophy watch, some drivers interviews.

Dutch Grand Prix Recap – 3/2/2022

By Sayayines4ever (graphics by Aleix27)

Qualification

Front row formed by the former championship leader who signs an incredible 1:10.8 with 0.6 from the second position obtained by Recklezz’s Aston Martin, second row opened by REAPER_2_QUICK, fourth place for the Ferrari of Tbrum77 with a 1:11.677, third row formed by KunpFuPanda and the Reserve for the Alfa Romeo SJSChenck819, fourth row formed by MIKE_OKIZICHY and KallMeMaybe, SSPoTs and Tong-e-sai1 form the fifth row of the starting grid, Quothraven44 and Stevenaj1125 get the Sixth row, loloman2008 and Untidy991spider conquer the penultimate row of the grid while KrazyFace7 and Tweddad will start from the last row.

Race Result

Starting us off it was a massive disaster of a race for championship leader Sayayines4ever who crashed Lap 1 costing him valuable points, and it wasn’t just him either drivers like Quothraven44, RecklezzXV, Tweeddad, Loloman2008, KrazyFace7 are not being able to score points. Meanwhile it is a weekend to celebrate for Haas and Ferrari as they score excellent results as Tbrum77 takes his maiden win in for the Tifosi and newcomer Haas driver Reaper_2_Quick taking home P2 in his debut race and P3 was the McLaren of KunpFuPanda taking solid points and taking the crown of the top spot in the DC.

Podium
Tbrum77, REAPER_2_QUICK, KunpFuPanda
Fastest Lap
SSPoTs (1:12.856)
Most Positions Gained
untidy991spider (P14 -> P4)
Driver of the Day Interview
FloppyPizza YT (9/20 votes) —> Well, good start of the line, tried to get 3rd but backed off.
sayayines4ever and RecklezzXV crashed. Just kept it consistent and Reaper in front had a
5S penalty. Last corner he ran out of fuel and won

Driver Standings

By Aleix27

The veteran KunpFuPanda returns to the top of the standings with 58 points earned thanks to a good consistency, while the previous championship leader Sayayines4ever finds himself chasing with 53 points (-5). The winner of the last race Tbrum77 gets the third place with 51 points (-7). We get off the podium and find the first Haas driver MIKE_OKIZICHY with 45 points (-13). The fight for fifth position is very heated between RecklezzXV and KallMeMaybe with two riders on equal points: 29 (-29). Also interesting is the fight for P7 (occupied by KrazyFace7 even if it seems to have abandoned the league) which begins with P7 and reaches P22 with all the Drivers who are within a span of 18 points.

For the constructors’ classification, we find McLaren and Haas on equal 87 points, followed by Mercedes 68, Scuderia Ferrari with 57 and Aston Martin with 42 concludes the Top 5, and from P6 down we find a very heated battle also at constructors level. From Alpine with 17 points, AlphaTauri with 15 points, AlfaRomeo 14 points, Williams 12 points and in last position Red Bull with 8 points.

Trophy Watch

By Aleix27

Alain Prost Trophy (awarded to the driver with the most positions gained from the grid) After only 4 races, KunpFuPanda takes a small advantage of only 3 positions gained by the first pursuer (and teammate) KallMeMaybe.

Ayrton Senna Trophy (awarded to the driver with the most poles & fastest laps) very privileged ranking, with only 3 competitors, Say leading the ranking with 5 points (3 Poles and 2 Fast Laps), 3 points away from SSPoTs (1 Pole and 1 Fast Lap) and 4 from the
new member of this ranking RecklezzXV (1 Fast Lap)

Credits
Aleix27 – Trophy Watch, Graphics & Teammate Comparison. Formatting and presentation, Standings Update, future race

Sayayines4ever – Race and Qualy Recap, drivers interviews

S4:R4 Driver Analytics

By ghost_726

CRL S4:R4 Recap – Can I get the CliffsNotes versions please?

By ghost_726

For the first time ever, the CRL grid headed to Zandvoort this week. The undulating, curvy track is considered one of the most difficult on this season’s calendar. Who survived? Who thrived? Read on to find out!

Editor’s Note: GT7 came out this week, and I played way more of that than I should have. So this week’s race recap is going to be in CliffsNotes form.

Qualifying Recap

  • The_562KING grabbed his third pole position by more than a tenth of second over Ellleventy11, and almost a half second over the rest of the field
  • HAL9100 had his best qualifying of the season, putting his Mercedes into P4
  • xJRACx qualified P5 in his return, putting two Ferrari’s in the top 5
  • PCC-Godly and KENNYHITMANHART qualified P7 and P9 to put two McLaren’s in the top 10
  • MUDDUCK09 had his best qualifying of the season, P8, to put two Alpine’s in the top 10

Race Recap

  • The_562KING would cross the line first, but was relegated to P3 after a penalty in qualifying
  • jurdiS09 secured his first win of the season, charging from P6 on the grid
  • Bigryeguy98 delivered big points for Williams with his second podium since his championship season
  • McLaren had a strong outing, with KENNYHITMANHART and PCC-Godly finishing P4/P5
  • MUDDUCK09 scored his first points of the season with a P7 finish
  • Guitarhero1234 continued his point scoring form with a P8 finish
  • Despite starting P12/P13, Haas had another double points finish with ghost_726 and xINCIDENTx finishing P6 and P9
  • HAL9100 extended his point scoring streak to 15 races with a P10 finish
  • Ferrari struggled, with xJRACx failing to finish, and Ellleventy11 finishing P11
  • Isiboy23 failed to score for the first time this season after getting collected in an early race incident with HAL9100

Team Standings Update

  • Alpine extends their lead to 28 points
  • Haas does just enough to hold onto P2, but sees their lead over P2 shrink to 2 points
  • McLaren rises one spot into P3
  • AlphaTauri leaps up the standings from P7 to P4
  • Williams’ 18 points jumps them into P8

Race at a Glance

  • Podium – jurdiS09, Bigryeguy98, The_562KING
  • Team Win – AlphaTauri (25 points)
  • Pole Position – The_562KING (1:10.358)
  • Fastest Lap – Ellleventy11 (1:11.765)
  • Most Positions Gained – Guitarhero1234 (P15 > P8)
  • Driver of the Day – JurdiS09 (11/19 votes)

S4:R3 Driver Analytics

By ghost_726

CRL S4:R3 Recap – Tifosi Celebrate in Japan

By ghost_726

As the CRL grid filled the paddock at Suzuka, the main question on everyone’s mind was whether or not anyone could depose The_562KING. But with a number of tight battles developing in the drivers’ and constructors’ championship, Japan was set to host a dramatic battle to close out the first quarter of the season.

And the CRL grid delivered the drama, with a tightly contested qualifying that saw a number of close battles throughout the grid. Ellleventy11 would ultimately claim the pole position with a time of 1:29.290, a mere .045 seconds ahead of ghost_726. P3 on the grid would go to jurdiS09, who was .072 behind ghost_726, while The_562KING showed his pace by taking P4, .155 seconds off of Ellleventy11’s time, despite qualifying on the medium compound tire. Isiboy23 posted a 1:29.455, which was .010 seconds back of The_562KING, which was good enough for P5. xINCIDENTx put a second Haas car inside the top 10 by qualifying P6, putting Haas in good position to apply pressure to Alpine.

The fourth row on the grid was filled by both McLaren drivers, with KENNYHITMANHART and PCC-Godly putting up times of 1:29.644 and 1:29.696. Jmtitan10’s best lap saw him just .033 seconds back of PCC-Godly, good enough for P9, his second top 10 qualification this season. And returning driver Bigryeguy98 closed out the top 10 with a 1:29.968.

For all the drama of qualifying, race day had even more. When the lights went out ellleventy11 got away well, and built a steady lead. The_562KING would eventually run him down thanks to the alternate tire strategy, but a pit lane penalty saw ellleventy11 become the first driver to take a victory from The_562KING this season. jurdiS09 took the last spot on the podium after a consistent, error free drive.

While the leaders ran away early in the race, tragedy struck the McLaren camp. Both drivers were stuck behind a wounded Haas through sector 1, and unfortunately tried to overtake the slow car at the same time, came together, and crashed out of the race. These DNFs, combined with ghost_726’s required wing change, allowed a number of cars to advance their position despite the difficulty in overtaking here.

xINCIDENTx was one such driver, who came through the chaos unscathed and defended well against isiboy23 to finish P4. isiboy23 continued his good form for Aston Martin, finishing P5 and extending his top 5 finishing streak to 3 races. Bigryeguy98, HAL9100 and guitarhero1234 were all big winners in the McLaren/ghost_726 drama, picking up 4 spots from the grid to finish P6, P7 and P8 respectively.

Ghost_726 scored 2 points for Haas in P9 after the early damage and wing change, while Aleixcucco27 grabbed his first points of the season, and the first points for Williams, in P10.

With 19 points in Japan, and aided by PCC-Godly’s mishap, The_562KING extended his championship lead by 14 points to 32 points, which is massive at such an early stage of the season. But the pack tightened up considerably behind the championship leader, with isiboy23 narrowly moving into P2, one point ahead of both PCC-Godly and Ellleventy11, who sit on 36 points.

Moving down the list, ghost_726’s dropped 2 positions to P5, with jurdiS09 and xINCIDENTx 4 and 6 points back, respectively. Meanwhile HAL9100’s 6 points saw him jump teammate jmtitan10 by 2 points, but ultimately gained no positions from last week. Bigryeguy98’s 8 points saw him grab the last spot in the top 10.

Towards the bottom of the table guitarhero1234 and Aleixcucco27 scored their first points of the season, with guitarhero1234 moving into a tie for P11, while Aleixcucco27 moved into a tie for P14.

In the constructors’ championship, the top of the table remained unchanged, with Alpine extending their championship lead to 17 points over second place Haas. Meanwhile, Aston Martin’s 10 points saw them move into P3, jumping a McLaren team that was unfortunate to have both drivers DNF. Ferrari claimed the last spot in the top half of the table on the strength of Ellleventy11’s win in Japan.

In the bottom half of the table Mercedes 6 points was enough to stay in P6, but AlphaTauri is snapping at their heels after scoring 15 points in Japan to pull within 5 points. And Japan saw two teams find their first points of the season as Red Bull grabbed P8 after guitarhero1234 scored 4 points, and Williams secured P9 with a single point from Aleixcucco27.

Race at a Glance

Podium – Ellleventy11, The_562KING, jurdiS09

Team Win – Ferrari (25 points)

Pole Position – Ellleventy11 (1:29.290)

Fastest Lap – The_562KING (1:30.172)

Most Positions Gained – Bigryeguy98 (P10 -> P6), HAL9100 (P11 -> P7), guitarhero1234 (P12 -> P8), Aleixcucco27 (P14 -> P10)

Driver of the Day – Ellleventy11 (11/15 votes) – I knew going into the race that it would be about tire management and keeping the car between the lines. I got a good start, but Jurdi and king both had the pace. I got off my softs before jurdi and ended up ahead after he pitted, and king got an unfortunate penalty in the pits. King was on the better strategy and got ahead of me on his softs, but all I had to do was stay within 5 seconds and not get any penalties of my own to secure the win.