The 7th season of the rFactor Racers World Formula League was contested over 16 races in 21 weeks starting on October 19th 2014 and finishing on March 8th 2015.
Season 7 saw the return of both the Turkish Grand Prix at Istanbul Park and the Mexican Grand Prix at the Hermanos Rodriguez circuit for the first times since Season 4. After two seasons at the modern Nürburgring, the German Grand Prix returned to Hockenheim, and to the high-speed 2001 layout not used in RFR since Season 3. Season 7 also saw the use of three new venues: Brands Hatch for the British Grand Prix; the Valencia street circuit for the Spanish Grand Prix (having been replaced by Barcelona in Season 4); and Jerez for the European Grand Prix as a replacement for the cancelled race at Abu Dhabi.
RFR continued with the WCP 2013 mod for a second season, with one major rule change: three car teams for the first time in the league. This would create a dynamic in the Constructors’ Championship resulting in a two team fight until the very last race. Defending Drivers’ Champion Lau remained with Mercedes but was joined by the Season 4 WDC/WCC winning pair of Tom McKay and Sven. Defending Constructors’ Champions Ferrari kept the line up of Seasons 2 and 5 Drivers’ Champion Adrian Shole and Antonio Hreljanovic, but with the addition of Season 1 Drivers’ Champion Arek. As expected, this concentrated pooling of talent led to a shared domination by the Mercedes and Ferrari teams, and the season played out in two halves.
Season Report:
At the opening race in Bahrain, the Mercedes drivers Tom McKay and Lau secured a front row lockout, the first time in RFR history that two team mates had been on the front row of the grid together. Lau went on to win the race and set the fastest lap, with pole sitter McKay promoted to 2nd after Reaper’s post-race disqualification. Ferrari suffered a triple retirement as Arek’s brakes failed 4 laps from the end and as Adrian Shole and Antonio Hreljanovic both expired on the final lap. Crystakke claimed the final step of the podium after a hectic last lap.
In Australia, Mercedes once again locked out the front row, this time with positions reversed, after fastest driver Hreljanovic’s 5 place grid drop penalty was applied. Alex Hill set his equal best season grid position of 3rd whilst Denis Belarus set his season best of 5th. At the first corner, McKay collided with Crystakke, and in rejoining the circuit caused a crash with Hreljanovic that ultimately forced the Ferrari driver to retire from the race. Lau capitalised on the first lap mayhem to secure a second victory of the season, whilst Hill scored his season best finish in 2nd. Crystakke moved onto the podium after McKay was penalised 25 seconds post race for the first lap incident.
The British Grand Prix took place for the first time at Brands Hatch, and local driver McKay took pole position by more than 3 tenths from Lau for Mercedes’ 3rd consecutive front row lock out. In a race of mixed strategies and mistakes on the fast and punishing circuit, it was McKay who emerged victorious, holding off a late charge from Arek, as Ferrari scored their first points of Season 7. It was McKay’s first race win since he clinched his first Drivers’ title at Fuji in Season 4.
McKay won again in Malaysia after mistakes and incidents for Shole, Lau and Hreljanovic gifted him the lead. Pole sitter Shole recovered to take 2nd whilst team mate Arek completed the podium. McKay took over the Drivers’ Championship lead as Lau managed only 4th position.
The Spanish Grand Prix was held for the first time at the Valencia street circuit after 3 previous outings in Barcelona. Lau overtook front row starter McKay into Turn 1 and followed Shole. However, McKay on the option compound overtook the pair, and as Shole and Lau collided after a few laps leading to Lau’s retirment, Season 3 Drivers’ Champion Joe McLaggen emerged behind McKay in a close battle for the lead. The pair matched each other for strategy until their 3rd and final pitstops, with McKay taking the prime tyre for the final stint, 1 second ahead of McLaggen on the option. McKay was able to hold on to the lead of the race to take his 3rd consecutive (and last) race win of the season by just 0.037 seconds. McLaggen’s team mate Sexy Brigadeiro gained 7 positions to 6th as all 3 McLaren team members scored points for the first time.
Shole was on pole for the 7th running of the Canadian Grand Prix, joined again by McKay on the front row, as BlackFox set a season best qualifying result of 7th. Shole survived a last lap brake failure to take his first win of the season, leading every lap along the way, but was denied the ‘full house’ as McKay posted the fastest lap for the first time in 43 races.
RFR returned to Turkey for Round 7 after two seasons away. McLaggen became the first driver to break the strangle hold on the front row held by Shole, McKay and Lau, claiming P2 alongside Shole. However it was the inaugural RFR WDC Arek who emerged victorious after a collision between Lau and McKay, an engine failure for Shole, and a dramatic blue flag crash with a backmarker for McLaggen. It was Arek’s first race win since the same event in Season 2, a staggering 81 races previous.
In Austria, Shole took his 5th consecutive pole position, and was joined by Crystakke after a season best qualifying performance. It would be the only time a driver from outside of Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes would make it to the front row this season. Lau starting 6th took advantage of the 1st corner mayhem involving a number of drivers, going on to win his 3rd race of the season by over 30 seconds from McKay. As the season moved past the half way mark, McKay had amassed 159 points from 3 wins and a further 4 second place finishes. Lau trailed by 47 points. Mercedes took 3 pole positions (and 3 front row lock outs), 6 wins, 11 podiums and 311 points in the first 8 races to establish a strong WCC lead.
The championship rolled into the second half and into the woods of Hockenheim for round 9. Mercedes took a 4th front row lock out of the season, as 5 other drivers suffered grid drop penalties, including Bober Belarus making his final appearance of the season. Pole sitter Lau made his 1 stop strategy work as he held off Hreljanovic for the win. McKay beat Arek to the podium by half a second after Brigadeiro dropped to 5th following a post race drive through penalty. The German Grand Prix marked the beginning of Ferrari’s comeback, and Mercedes last win of the season, as well as a turn of fortune for Hreljanovic who had retired from half the previous races.
In qualifying for the 7th Belgian Grand Prix, Antonio Hreljanovic finally claimed his elusive first RFR pole position. Arek made it an all Ferrari front row for the first time, and the two became only the second driver pairing to achieve a front row lockout. Team mate Shole bizarrely had his worst qualifying performance of the season setting the 9th quickest time: the only race this season where he did not start on the first two rows of the grid. Hreljanovic drove a sublime race to score a ‘hat trick’ of pole position, fastest lap and win, only being denied the ‘full house’ by Shole leading a single lap. However the first RFR race of 2015 will be best remembered for Lau’s now infamous outburst of “F*** with nobs, f*** with race, f*** with 3 place drop”. He was served with a 20 place grid drop for the next race.
RFR’s second race of 2015 was the Italian Grand Prix for Round 11, returning after a one season lay off. Hreljanovic jumped ahead of pole sitter Shole, McKay and McLaggen to take a strong lead on the opening lap. McKay was given a drive through for speeding in the pits and, combined with two further crashes that meant driving the last laps without a front wing; he had his worst result of the season so far. Shole also had a torrid race and collided with McLaggen as the latter attempted to lap the former whilst chasing down Hreljanovic. The incident secured Hreljanovic’s 2nd consecutive win and landed Shole with a disqualification and a one race ban.
In Suzuka, Tom McKay claimed his 13th career RFR pole position. Front row sitter Hreljanovic fell to a 5th place finish albeit with fastest lap, after being collected early in the race at the chicane by Lau, who would retire after 7 laps having run out of fuel. A well worked strategy for McLaggen, aided by an intense battle between McKay and Arek behind him, gave him his first win of the season and his 11th career RFR win. BlackFox recorded his best race finish with 6th: the fastest of the 3 stoppers.
Going into Round 13 in Mexico, the first time at Hermanos Rodriguez since Season 4, McKay held a 65 point lead over Lau and 69 over McLaggen. McLaggen took pole of his home race ahead of returning Adrian Shole to keep his championship hopes alive. However Lau refused to race in bizarre circumstances. Shole spun out at the first corner, and McKay led more than half the race after passing Arek and McLaggen. However he could not match the pace of Arek and a resurgent Shole who had driven back through the field, and Arek took his 2nd race win of the season. Wes scored his best result of the season with 5th place following a tough battle with Hreljanovic. It looked as though the championship battle would stay alive to the next race, until 4th placed McLaggen was literally knocked out of the circuit in an accident with Sven. McLaggen was classified 8th, and with McKay taking 3rd place and a 10th podium of the season, Tom McKay was crowned RFR World Drivers’ Champion for a second time.
The first of the 3 remaining races took place at Interlagos for the 7th Brazilian Grand Prix. The Constructors’ Championship fight was still alive thanks to the strong performances from Ferrari and the none-scoring of Lau. Adrian took pole position ahead of McKay and Hreljanovic in 3rd. Lau again did not race, and with Sven retiring after 1 lap, McKay was the sole Silver Arrows in the fight against the Scuderia. After McKay spun down the order, Shole and Arek drove to a well earned 2nd consecutive 1-2 finish, and with Hreljanovic in 5th Ferrari slashed Mercedes’ WCC lead by 38 points to 57 points with 2 races and 116 points remaining.
The penultimate race of the season had been scheduled to take place in Abu Dhabi, but after it failed LAT track inspection the race was cancelled and moved to Jerez in Spain for the second ever running of the European Grand Prix. Ferrari took an unprecedented 1-2-3 on the grid in qualifying with Shole heading Hreljanovic and Arek. Ferrari’s so far perfect attempt to close the gap to Mercedes was aided when McKay inexplicably jumped the lights at the start of the race and had to serve a drive through penalty. However, their WCC tilt was not aided by Arek’s first lap collision with Hreljanovic, costing the pair valuable time and positions. Arek’s woe was further compounded when he ran out of fuel after 18 laps and was forced to retire. Hreljanovic though fought back and led home Shole to a 3rd straight 1-2 finish for Ferrari. Mercedes breathed a sigh of relief as they only lost 14 points to Ferrari: in a difficult race involving a number of spins and collisions, the returning Lau took 3rd with Sven and McKay only 6th and 7th respectively. Mike Henry Jr in only his second RFR race drove a mistake free race to claim 4th place some 13 seconds ahead of McLaggen, who drove his own impressive race to recover 12 positions from the back of the grid following a qualifying DQ.
For the second season running the championship concluded with the Pacific Grand Prix at Fuji Speedway. Going into the final race, the gap between Mercedes and Ferrari was 43 points, with 58 available. Adrian Shole scored his 39th career RFR pole position and his 9th of the season, and was joined by Sven of Mercedes, making his first appearance on the front row since Season 3’s race at Fuji, 65 races ago. The remaining Mercedes and Ferrari drivers filled out the top 6 grid spots, setting up the WCC fight sweetly. Joe McLaggen took 7th so that the top 7 of the WDC were all in the top 7 on the grid. McKay fell back through the pack for his worst result of the season of 8th, colliding with both Shole and Hreljanovic along the way, who finished 5th and 6th respectively. Arek meanwhile stormed to his 3rd win of the season with 2 time Fuji winner McLaggen in 2nd place. Sven executed the 2 stop strategy perfectly to convert his front row start into his first podium in 28 races. Although Arek took victory for the Scuderia, 3rd and 4th place finishes for Sven and Lau respectively sealed the World Constructors’ Championship for Mercedes, and for a second time for Sven and Tom McKay. Ferrari took 5 pole positions (and 2 front row lock outs), 6 wins, 12 podiums and 322 points to ‘win’ the 2nd half of the season, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the damage suffered in the opening races.
Driver highlights:
Tom McKay (1st) completed 100% of racing laps on his way to his 2nd title. Arek (2nd) chalked up his highest points total since his championship season and the inaugural RFR season, doubling his career total race wins in an amazing resurgence. Joe McLaggen (3rd) took 3rd place in the WDC for the second consecutive season, winning in Suzuka and taking 6 other podium finishes. Lau (4th) won 4 races, the most of any driver, and more than he won in his championship season, but fell to 4th in the WDC standings after a lacklustre end to his campaign. Adrian Shole (5th) stormed to 9 pole positions but his 5th in the WDC standings was his worst championship placing since his ill fated time at BMW Sauber in Season 3. Antonio Hreljanovic (6th) posted his best ever points total and equalled his previous Season 4 best position of 6th in the WDC, claiming 3 wins and his first career pole position in Spa along the way. Sven (7th) scored a century for the first time since Season 1, reaching the points in 13 of the 16 races. Crystakke (8th) was the only driver in the top 10 not from the top 3 teams, beating his points total of Season 6 whilst stepping on to the podium 4 times. Alex Hill’s (9th) season was plagued with connection issues and his total of 81 points was only his 5th best in 7 seasons, although 2nd in Melbourne and Fastest Lap in Malaysia were highlights. Sexy Brigadeiro (10th) rounded out the top 10 with his worst campaign since Season 2; he is now 2 seasons without a podium finish.
Denis Belarus (11th) had his worst season since Season 1 with 6 DNFs and only 1 top 5 finish. Wez (12th) had a multitude of problems throughout the season, scoring almost half the points of his previous campaign, yet finishing 2 more races. BlackFox (13th) recorded his worst ever season in terms of points although his total of 6 DNFs was 1 less than he recorded in Season 2. Mike Henry Jr (14th) made his RFR debut at Round 14 in Interlagos, and took 4th in only his second outing at the European Grand Prix. Deadfish (15th) reached the points 7 times to be the highest placed Lotus driver but missed the last 4 rounds to post his worst total since Season 2. Axel-M (16th) made his RFR race debut in Australia scoring 8 points after having not started in Bahrain. Marius (17th) scored points in the opening two rounds before calling time on his RFR career.
One time race winner (Season 1 Pacific Grand Prix) Bober Belarus (19th) raced 3 times as a reserve making it to the points in Austria. Alaster (20th) had a difficult second season in RFR but scored points 3 times and was classified in every race he started - only Tom McKay and Joe McLaggen also achieved this out of the regular drivers. Richard Allen (21st) reached the top 10 on four occasions, recording his best ever finishing positions. Geoff (22nd) ran a half season and scored 2 points as Red Bull took 5th in the WCC. Mario Gotze (23rd) and Jese Rodriguez (24th) returned to the league in Austria after two seasons, scoring a point a piece, but also recording 11 DNFs between them. Gatis Stalshans (26th) is now 5 seasons without a point. Rory Collins (27th) and Mattie Redford (28th) both missed out on points this season and will be hoping for more luck next season.
Results:
Championship standings:
CLICK HERE
Driver Stats:
Team Stats:
Done by halves:
Hung, drawn and quartered:
Season 7 saw the return of both the Turkish Grand Prix at Istanbul Park and the Mexican Grand Prix at the Hermanos Rodriguez circuit for the first times since Season 4. After two seasons at the modern Nürburgring, the German Grand Prix returned to Hockenheim, and to the high-speed 2001 layout not used in RFR since Season 3. Season 7 also saw the use of three new venues: Brands Hatch for the British Grand Prix; the Valencia street circuit for the Spanish Grand Prix (having been replaced by Barcelona in Season 4); and Jerez for the European Grand Prix as a replacement for the cancelled race at Abu Dhabi.
RFR continued with the WCP 2013 mod for a second season, with one major rule change: three car teams for the first time in the league. This would create a dynamic in the Constructors’ Championship resulting in a two team fight until the very last race. Defending Drivers’ Champion Lau remained with Mercedes but was joined by the Season 4 WDC/WCC winning pair of Tom McKay and Sven. Defending Constructors’ Champions Ferrari kept the line up of Seasons 2 and 5 Drivers’ Champion Adrian Shole and Antonio Hreljanovic, but with the addition of Season 1 Drivers’ Champion Arek. As expected, this concentrated pooling of talent led to a shared domination by the Mercedes and Ferrari teams, and the season played out in two halves.
Season Report:
At the opening race in Bahrain, the Mercedes drivers Tom McKay and Lau secured a front row lockout, the first time in RFR history that two team mates had been on the front row of the grid together. Lau went on to win the race and set the fastest lap, with pole sitter McKay promoted to 2nd after Reaper’s post-race disqualification. Ferrari suffered a triple retirement as Arek’s brakes failed 4 laps from the end and as Adrian Shole and Antonio Hreljanovic both expired on the final lap. Crystakke claimed the final step of the podium after a hectic last lap.
In Australia, Mercedes once again locked out the front row, this time with positions reversed, after fastest driver Hreljanovic’s 5 place grid drop penalty was applied. Alex Hill set his equal best season grid position of 3rd whilst Denis Belarus set his season best of 5th. At the first corner, McKay collided with Crystakke, and in rejoining the circuit caused a crash with Hreljanovic that ultimately forced the Ferrari driver to retire from the race. Lau capitalised on the first lap mayhem to secure a second victory of the season, whilst Hill scored his season best finish in 2nd. Crystakke moved onto the podium after McKay was penalised 25 seconds post race for the first lap incident.
The British Grand Prix took place for the first time at Brands Hatch, and local driver McKay took pole position by more than 3 tenths from Lau for Mercedes’ 3rd consecutive front row lock out. In a race of mixed strategies and mistakes on the fast and punishing circuit, it was McKay who emerged victorious, holding off a late charge from Arek, as Ferrari scored their first points of Season 7. It was McKay’s first race win since he clinched his first Drivers’ title at Fuji in Season 4.
McKay won again in Malaysia after mistakes and incidents for Shole, Lau and Hreljanovic gifted him the lead. Pole sitter Shole recovered to take 2nd whilst team mate Arek completed the podium. McKay took over the Drivers’ Championship lead as Lau managed only 4th position.
The Spanish Grand Prix was held for the first time at the Valencia street circuit after 3 previous outings in Barcelona. Lau overtook front row starter McKay into Turn 1 and followed Shole. However, McKay on the option compound overtook the pair, and as Shole and Lau collided after a few laps leading to Lau’s retirment, Season 3 Drivers’ Champion Joe McLaggen emerged behind McKay in a close battle for the lead. The pair matched each other for strategy until their 3rd and final pitstops, with McKay taking the prime tyre for the final stint, 1 second ahead of McLaggen on the option. McKay was able to hold on to the lead of the race to take his 3rd consecutive (and last) race win of the season by just 0.037 seconds. McLaggen’s team mate Sexy Brigadeiro gained 7 positions to 6th as all 3 McLaren team members scored points for the first time.
Shole was on pole for the 7th running of the Canadian Grand Prix, joined again by McKay on the front row, as BlackFox set a season best qualifying result of 7th. Shole survived a last lap brake failure to take his first win of the season, leading every lap along the way, but was denied the ‘full house’ as McKay posted the fastest lap for the first time in 43 races.
RFR returned to Turkey for Round 7 after two seasons away. McLaggen became the first driver to break the strangle hold on the front row held by Shole, McKay and Lau, claiming P2 alongside Shole. However it was the inaugural RFR WDC Arek who emerged victorious after a collision between Lau and McKay, an engine failure for Shole, and a dramatic blue flag crash with a backmarker for McLaggen. It was Arek’s first race win since the same event in Season 2, a staggering 81 races previous.
In Austria, Shole took his 5th consecutive pole position, and was joined by Crystakke after a season best qualifying performance. It would be the only time a driver from outside of Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes would make it to the front row this season. Lau starting 6th took advantage of the 1st corner mayhem involving a number of drivers, going on to win his 3rd race of the season by over 30 seconds from McKay. As the season moved past the half way mark, McKay had amassed 159 points from 3 wins and a further 4 second place finishes. Lau trailed by 47 points. Mercedes took 3 pole positions (and 3 front row lock outs), 6 wins, 11 podiums and 311 points in the first 8 races to establish a strong WCC lead.
The championship rolled into the second half and into the woods of Hockenheim for round 9. Mercedes took a 4th front row lock out of the season, as 5 other drivers suffered grid drop penalties, including Bober Belarus making his final appearance of the season. Pole sitter Lau made his 1 stop strategy work as he held off Hreljanovic for the win. McKay beat Arek to the podium by half a second after Brigadeiro dropped to 5th following a post race drive through penalty. The German Grand Prix marked the beginning of Ferrari’s comeback, and Mercedes last win of the season, as well as a turn of fortune for Hreljanovic who had retired from half the previous races.
In qualifying for the 7th Belgian Grand Prix, Antonio Hreljanovic finally claimed his elusive first RFR pole position. Arek made it an all Ferrari front row for the first time, and the two became only the second driver pairing to achieve a front row lockout. Team mate Shole bizarrely had his worst qualifying performance of the season setting the 9th quickest time: the only race this season where he did not start on the first two rows of the grid. Hreljanovic drove a sublime race to score a ‘hat trick’ of pole position, fastest lap and win, only being denied the ‘full house’ by Shole leading a single lap. However the first RFR race of 2015 will be best remembered for Lau’s now infamous outburst of “F*** with nobs, f*** with race, f*** with 3 place drop”. He was served with a 20 place grid drop for the next race.
RFR’s second race of 2015 was the Italian Grand Prix for Round 11, returning after a one season lay off. Hreljanovic jumped ahead of pole sitter Shole, McKay and McLaggen to take a strong lead on the opening lap. McKay was given a drive through for speeding in the pits and, combined with two further crashes that meant driving the last laps without a front wing; he had his worst result of the season so far. Shole also had a torrid race and collided with McLaggen as the latter attempted to lap the former whilst chasing down Hreljanovic. The incident secured Hreljanovic’s 2nd consecutive win and landed Shole with a disqualification and a one race ban.
In Suzuka, Tom McKay claimed his 13th career RFR pole position. Front row sitter Hreljanovic fell to a 5th place finish albeit with fastest lap, after being collected early in the race at the chicane by Lau, who would retire after 7 laps having run out of fuel. A well worked strategy for McLaggen, aided by an intense battle between McKay and Arek behind him, gave him his first win of the season and his 11th career RFR win. BlackFox recorded his best race finish with 6th: the fastest of the 3 stoppers.
Going into Round 13 in Mexico, the first time at Hermanos Rodriguez since Season 4, McKay held a 65 point lead over Lau and 69 over McLaggen. McLaggen took pole of his home race ahead of returning Adrian Shole to keep his championship hopes alive. However Lau refused to race in bizarre circumstances. Shole spun out at the first corner, and McKay led more than half the race after passing Arek and McLaggen. However he could not match the pace of Arek and a resurgent Shole who had driven back through the field, and Arek took his 2nd race win of the season. Wes scored his best result of the season with 5th place following a tough battle with Hreljanovic. It looked as though the championship battle would stay alive to the next race, until 4th placed McLaggen was literally knocked out of the circuit in an accident with Sven. McLaggen was classified 8th, and with McKay taking 3rd place and a 10th podium of the season, Tom McKay was crowned RFR World Drivers’ Champion for a second time.
The first of the 3 remaining races took place at Interlagos for the 7th Brazilian Grand Prix. The Constructors’ Championship fight was still alive thanks to the strong performances from Ferrari and the none-scoring of Lau. Adrian took pole position ahead of McKay and Hreljanovic in 3rd. Lau again did not race, and with Sven retiring after 1 lap, McKay was the sole Silver Arrows in the fight against the Scuderia. After McKay spun down the order, Shole and Arek drove to a well earned 2nd consecutive 1-2 finish, and with Hreljanovic in 5th Ferrari slashed Mercedes’ WCC lead by 38 points to 57 points with 2 races and 116 points remaining.
The penultimate race of the season had been scheduled to take place in Abu Dhabi, but after it failed LAT track inspection the race was cancelled and moved to Jerez in Spain for the second ever running of the European Grand Prix. Ferrari took an unprecedented 1-2-3 on the grid in qualifying with Shole heading Hreljanovic and Arek. Ferrari’s so far perfect attempt to close the gap to Mercedes was aided when McKay inexplicably jumped the lights at the start of the race and had to serve a drive through penalty. However, their WCC tilt was not aided by Arek’s first lap collision with Hreljanovic, costing the pair valuable time and positions. Arek’s woe was further compounded when he ran out of fuel after 18 laps and was forced to retire. Hreljanovic though fought back and led home Shole to a 3rd straight 1-2 finish for Ferrari. Mercedes breathed a sigh of relief as they only lost 14 points to Ferrari: in a difficult race involving a number of spins and collisions, the returning Lau took 3rd with Sven and McKay only 6th and 7th respectively. Mike Henry Jr in only his second RFR race drove a mistake free race to claim 4th place some 13 seconds ahead of McLaggen, who drove his own impressive race to recover 12 positions from the back of the grid following a qualifying DQ.
For the second season running the championship concluded with the Pacific Grand Prix at Fuji Speedway. Going into the final race, the gap between Mercedes and Ferrari was 43 points, with 58 available. Adrian Shole scored his 39th career RFR pole position and his 9th of the season, and was joined by Sven of Mercedes, making his first appearance on the front row since Season 3’s race at Fuji, 65 races ago. The remaining Mercedes and Ferrari drivers filled out the top 6 grid spots, setting up the WCC fight sweetly. Joe McLaggen took 7th so that the top 7 of the WDC were all in the top 7 on the grid. McKay fell back through the pack for his worst result of the season of 8th, colliding with both Shole and Hreljanovic along the way, who finished 5th and 6th respectively. Arek meanwhile stormed to his 3rd win of the season with 2 time Fuji winner McLaggen in 2nd place. Sven executed the 2 stop strategy perfectly to convert his front row start into his first podium in 28 races. Although Arek took victory for the Scuderia, 3rd and 4th place finishes for Sven and Lau respectively sealed the World Constructors’ Championship for Mercedes, and for a second time for Sven and Tom McKay. Ferrari took 5 pole positions (and 2 front row lock outs), 6 wins, 12 podiums and 322 points to ‘win’ the 2nd half of the season, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the damage suffered in the opening races.
Driver highlights:
Tom McKay (1st) completed 100% of racing laps on his way to his 2nd title. Arek (2nd) chalked up his highest points total since his championship season and the inaugural RFR season, doubling his career total race wins in an amazing resurgence. Joe McLaggen (3rd) took 3rd place in the WDC for the second consecutive season, winning in Suzuka and taking 6 other podium finishes. Lau (4th) won 4 races, the most of any driver, and more than he won in his championship season, but fell to 4th in the WDC standings after a lacklustre end to his campaign. Adrian Shole (5th) stormed to 9 pole positions but his 5th in the WDC standings was his worst championship placing since his ill fated time at BMW Sauber in Season 3. Antonio Hreljanovic (6th) posted his best ever points total and equalled his previous Season 4 best position of 6th in the WDC, claiming 3 wins and his first career pole position in Spa along the way. Sven (7th) scored a century for the first time since Season 1, reaching the points in 13 of the 16 races. Crystakke (8th) was the only driver in the top 10 not from the top 3 teams, beating his points total of Season 6 whilst stepping on to the podium 4 times. Alex Hill’s (9th) season was plagued with connection issues and his total of 81 points was only his 5th best in 7 seasons, although 2nd in Melbourne and Fastest Lap in Malaysia were highlights. Sexy Brigadeiro (10th) rounded out the top 10 with his worst campaign since Season 2; he is now 2 seasons without a podium finish.
Denis Belarus (11th) had his worst season since Season 1 with 6 DNFs and only 1 top 5 finish. Wez (12th) had a multitude of problems throughout the season, scoring almost half the points of his previous campaign, yet finishing 2 more races. BlackFox (13th) recorded his worst ever season in terms of points although his total of 6 DNFs was 1 less than he recorded in Season 2. Mike Henry Jr (14th) made his RFR debut at Round 14 in Interlagos, and took 4th in only his second outing at the European Grand Prix. Deadfish (15th) reached the points 7 times to be the highest placed Lotus driver but missed the last 4 rounds to post his worst total since Season 2. Axel-M (16th) made his RFR race debut in Australia scoring 8 points after having not started in Bahrain. Marius (17th) scored points in the opening two rounds before calling time on his RFR career.
One time race winner (Season 1 Pacific Grand Prix) Bober Belarus (19th) raced 3 times as a reserve making it to the points in Austria. Alaster (20th) had a difficult second season in RFR but scored points 3 times and was classified in every race he started - only Tom McKay and Joe McLaggen also achieved this out of the regular drivers. Richard Allen (21st) reached the top 10 on four occasions, recording his best ever finishing positions. Geoff (22nd) ran a half season and scored 2 points as Red Bull took 5th in the WCC. Mario Gotze (23rd) and Jese Rodriguez (24th) returned to the league in Austria after two seasons, scoring a point a piece, but also recording 11 DNFs between them. Gatis Stalshans (26th) is now 5 seasons without a point. Rory Collins (27th) and Mattie Redford (28th) both missed out on points this season and will be hoping for more luck next season.
Results:
Championship standings:
CLICK HERE
Driver Stats:
Team Stats:
Done by halves:
Hung, drawn and quartered:
:~:Well done Arek.
