August had an Olympic break for most series, a summer break for Formula One, but by the end of the month, most every series was back in competition. We are in the final days for some series. Championships are becoming tighter. We have a better idea who is in the fight and who has fallen out of it. Not much time is left in 2021 and in a month's time, we will be ending a few championships.
One championship is already decided, and that is where we will start this August review.
Formula E Review
We did a premature Formula E season review before the final round, but now that a bow is on the 2021 championship, this is a chance to comment on the final results and the season at large.
I am not sure any other series could have 14 drivers mathematically eligible for a championship entering a final race and produce a more anti-climactic finale than Formula E had at Berlin. Six points covered the top five drivers and nine points covered the top seven. None of the top five move after the finale. Sam Bird went from eighth to sixth. Lucas di Grassi and António Félix da Costa each slipped a position. Stoffel Vandoorne was the big winner jumping from 15th to ninth. Jean-Éric Vergne slipped down to tenth.
For as tight as the Formula E championship was on paper, and for how good a lot of the races were this season, it left a lot to be desired when the season concluded.
The way the qualifying groups worked kept everyone close, but it produced a dull finale and frankly left us with a championship that felt a little hollow. I guess Nyck de Vries was the best driver this season. De Vries was one of only four drivers with multiple victories this season, and nobody won more than two races, but de Vries had four podium results from 15 races, under a third of the races, he only scored points in seven of 15 races, less than half, and he scored points in only three of the final seven races. His only top five finishes were his four podium results.
Nobody was consistently good because it was set up so nobody could be consistently good. The longest points finish streak was four races. Lucas di Grassi had a lackluster run of finishes of seventh, tenth, tenth and first from Valencia through the first Puebla race. Alex Lynn was third, ninth, tenth and sixth from the second Valencia race through the Puebla weekend.
The qualifying format needs a revamp after this season. With only 18 cars going to be entered next year, I think Formula E's best route would be to copy IndyCar's qualifying format. After practice, split the field in half. In round one, there are two groups and the top six advance to round two. It doesn't have to be the top six from each group. It could be the top five or top four even. Then round two could be it and that decides pole position and the first few rows, or you could have the top half of that round advance to a third and final round for pole position.
Regardless of how many rounds Formula E does or how many cars advance, that would be a better qualifying format and allow the top teams to show they are the top teams instead of burying them in the back of the field at least half the time.
We need to see the best at the front instead of kidding ourselves and having someone get a break in qualifying and end up at the front of the field. Formula E should not be afraid to have a standout driver or two. The early seasons benefitted from the yearly tussle between di Grassi and Sébastien Buemi. It was the same but it was natural. They kept ending up at the finale against each other. If someone else wants to be the best, they were the two to beat and we all knew it. Fourteen drivers fighting for the championship is too much of a good thing, especially when most of those drivers are starting outside the points and are not going to have a puncher's chance at the title.
Best of the Second-Third
We are at the end of August and nearly two-thirds of 2021 are behind us. I thought I would repeat what I did at the end of April and pick out some of the top races, top racers, and other top moments from the last four months.
Top Races:
Monaco ePrix
Not many races see the top six starters finish 1-2-3-4-5-6 and it is an incredible race. Formula E's first time around the full Monaco grand prix course ended up being arguably the best race in series history. There were six lead changes over the 26-lap affair. Passes were happening all over the 2.062-mile circuit and there was a last lap pass into the harbor chicane with António Félix da Costa successfully going around the outside of Mitch Evans to take the lead. Da Costa took the victory, Robin Frijns would nip Evans for second by 0.024 seconds and less than four seconds covered the top six finishers.
6 Hours of the Glen
IMSA has a way to put on an endurance race. With a half hour left in the 6 Hours of the Glen, all seven Daytona Prototype international cars were on the lead lap, four of five GT Le Mans cars were on the same lap and the top 11 cars in GT Daytona were on the same lap. The overall victory would come down to a strategical play by the #55 Mazda to stretch its fuel on the final stint. The #60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura had led 125 laps up to that point and would put pressure on Mazda.
Keeping an eye on the fuel, the Mazda also needed to watch its speed to make sure it didn't have to run an extra lap. It timed out perfectly. Mazda took the victory by 0.965 over the MSR Acura with the race ending after six hours and 4.522 seconds. It is a good thing as well. Mazda ran out of fuel on the cool down lap.
Meanwhile, the #3 Corvette had its own battle with the #24 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing BMW and took victory by 0.845 seconds. In LMP2, WIN Autosport won by 1.139 seconds over PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports and Riley Motorsports won by LMP3 by 1.635 seconds over CORE Autosport. The largest class victory was GTD, where the #96 Turner Motorsport BMW won by 5.747 seconds over the #1 Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini.
MotoGP's Austrian Grand Prix
Few events are more exhilarating than MotoGP on the Red Bull Ring. With the speed and lengthy straightaways, the course invites overtake opportunities and dares riders to make late braking decisions. Add the threat of rain and the Austrian Grand Prix became a gamble for all the riders on the grid. Riders could gamble on tire strategy expecting to change bikes anyway, but it would also be a gamble on when to switch.
The race started and Francesco Bagnaia led the way. Behind Bagnaia, Pramac Ducati riders Jorge Martín and Johann Zarco, Marc Márquez and Fabio Quartararo fought throughout the top five. Bagnaia never pulled away and it felt everyone was waiting for the rain. Ten laps were completed, then 15, then 20. The track remained dry. It felt like we would get through the race without a significant enough rain to force bike changes. But then a sprinkle started. The leaders slowed to make it around the circuit. It was raining, but with the race in the final laps, time was almost suggesting ride it out. Joan Mir and Brad Binder joined the front runners.
A few riders in the midfield dove in hoping for a downpour. With four laps to go, the rain became heavier. Bagnaia, Márquez, Quartararo, Martin and Mir jumped in for a change. Binder stayed out.
The rain picked up over the final three laps. Binder, Áleix Espargaró, Valentino Rossi, Iker Lecuona and Luca Marini stayed out, rolling the dice to the end. Meanwhile, those on wet tires were trying to take advantage of the extra grip. Márquez lost the front in turn one and fell out of the charge. They were clawing out seconds to the slick runners. Binder had a significant gap to the rest of the risk takers. On the final lap, a full downpour had begun. The slick runners were in sight of Bagnaia and the bunch.
Binder tip-toed around the circuit and made it to the checkered flag. The wet tire runners caught the rest of the slick runners. Bagnaia and Martín made the podium. Mir was fourth ahead of Marini and Lecuona. Quartararo got ahead of Rossi for the top Yamaha rider. If there had been one more lap, Binder's 12-second gap would not have been enough for victory. On this day, the rain fell at the right time for the risk taker to win out.
Top Racers:
Kyle Larson
Since the start of May, Larson has won the Coca-Cola 600, the Sonoma NASCAR Cup race, the inaugural Nashville Superspeedway Cup race, the NASCAR All-Star Race, the King's Royal, the NASCAR Cup race at Watkins Glen and the Knoxville Nationals. He took over the championship lead in the Cup Series. That is a pretty solid third for Larson.
Bill Auberlen
At times it feels like IMSA's most successful driver is under-appreciated, but Auberlen had two victories in IMSA's top class and two Michelin Pilot Challenge victories in the middle third of 2021. He is current second in IMSA's GTD championship with Robby Foley and leads the Grand Sport championship with Dillon Machavern. He has also won in the GT World Challenge America.
Nyck de Vries
De Vries became the Formula E champion, capping off a season with two victories and four podium finishes. On top of that, de Vries won the European Le Mans Series race at Circuit Paul Ricard with G-Drive Racing, while finishing third in LMP2 in the FIA World Endurance Championship's 6 Hours of Monza.
Top Moments
Hélio Castroneves' fourth Indianapolis 500 victory
After last year's Indianapolis 500 was run behind closed doors in August, this year's race felt like a homecoming. Only 135,000 spectators were allowed in the facility, but it was an encouraging day after the last year. Little did anyone know this year's race would be historic. The race developed into an Álex Palou, Patricio O'Ward and Hélio Castroneves battle. After the final round of pit stops, Palou and Castroneves became the two clear front runners. Castroneves made his move into turn one with two laps to go. The Brazilian took the lead and with traffic ahead, he held off Palou and became the fourth four-time Indianapolis 500 winner.
Of all the possible outcomes for this Indianapolis 500, this one could not have been more beautiful. After a year without many celebrations or shared moments, there could not have been a bigger moment to see. There hadn't been a four-time winner in 30 years. Castroneves had gone 12 years since his third victory. We were reaching the point where it felt like it was never going to happen for Castroneves. And yet, in his first year with Meyer Shank Racing, Castroneves got his moment. We all got to see it and experience it. For a significant group, it happened right under their noses, after a year where these in-person experiences were non-existent.
British Grand Prix: Lap One, Copse
The 2021 Formula One season has seen a tussle between two teams, something we have not seen in close to a decade. Red Bull has taken the fight to Mercedes and at the start of summer, Red Bull had the upper hand. Max Verstappen had won three consecutive races. Red Bull had won five consecutive races with Verstappen's Monaco triumph and Sergio Pérez's victory in Baku. After the Austrian Grand Prix, Verstappen led Lewis Hamilton by 32 points and Red Bull led the Constructors' Championship by 44 points.
Pressure was on Mercedes for the British Grand Prix. Hamilton took pole position for the sprint race, but Verstappen got the jump at the start of the sprint qualifying race and took the victory ahead of Hamilton. With the two drivers reversed on the grid for the grand prix, Hamilton knew he had to get ahead of the Dutchman. Both drivers got off to an equal start. Hamilton tried to slipstream Verstappen down the Wellington straight, but Verstappen kept the lead. The drivers remained close through Luffield and Woodcote.
Hamilton again had a run and looked up the inside of Copse. Verstappen kept the pressure, expecting Hamilton to back out. Neither driver lifted. Contact was made. Verstappen spun off into the barrier. Hamilton remained on track.
A red flag, radio politicking and apex analysis followed. Red Bull felt cheated. Hamilton received a penalty. We will cover the rest of the race in a moment. Lap one at Copse has been the pivotal moment in the Formula One season, even though the season isn't halfway over. That collision will likely hang over the championship battle until the final lap of the season.
NASCAR, Indianapolis: The Finish
The first 75 laps of the NASCAR Cup Series' first race around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course was a rather familiar race. There were alternate strategies around the stage breaks, some passing on the racetrack, a few quirky moments, but overall a sufficient inaugural Cup race on the IMS road course.
A caution was thrown late for debris. A sizable piece of metal had come off a car and slid what appeared far enough away from the racing line that the final laps could be run without interruption, but NASCAR was precautious and decided to pick it up. Little did NASCAR know the damage such a caution would cause.
Two laps after that restart, William Byron hit the curb in turn six, only instead of gliding over it and continuing down the Hulman straightaway, Byron's car broke the curbing and sent him off course. Another half-dozen cars spun into the barriers. Debris littered the racetrack and the race was immediately red flagged.
It would take over two hours for the race to finish. The curb was removed for an overtime attempt, but the sausage curb to prevent cars from shortcutting turn six remained in place. On the next restart, cars jumped over that and caused another accident and another red flag. The entire overtime period took 13 laps.
On top of all the turn six chaos, Chase Briscoe cut the first two corners on the final restart. While having to serve a penalty for short cutting the circuit, Briscoe spun Denny Hamlin. This gave the lead to A.J. Allmendinger driving for Kaulig Racing. Allmendinger took the white flag and faced no pressure on the final lap. In Kaulig Racing's seventh NASCAR Cup race, Allmendinger had scored the team's first victory. An unexpected end for an unexpected, but embarrassing day... for NASCAR at least. Allmendinger was a gracious and deserving winner.
Those who need a pick-me-up
Andretti Autosport
You try not to be harsh when it is unnecessary, but Andretti Autosport's 2021 IndyCar season has been underwhelming to say the least. With all the hype based on the talent of Colton Herta and Alexander Rossi complemented with the veterans Ryan Hunter-Reay and James Hinchcliffe, the team has not been great in 2021. Herta has the only victory, a dominant performance at St. Petersburg. What initially was thought to set the tone for the season has turned into a one-hit wonder. Rossi has no podium finishes this season and has only led two laps. Herta has stood on the podium twice, but he threw away a victory at Nashville and the driveshaft broke while leading at Gateway. Hunter-Reay and Hinchcliffe each have only one top five finish. Only Herta is in the top ten of the championship. The team has won just two of the last 34 races. Considering the expectations, the team can only be described as a disappointment.
Mitch Evans
The Formula E finale was anti-clamatic, but Evans had a good shout at the championship while sitting on the grid for the final race. Only five points off the championship lead, Evans started third. Championship leader Nyck de Vries was 13th, out of a points-paying position while other championship rivals Edoardo Mortara and Jake Dennis started 11th and ninth respectively. Just based on the starting positions, Evans was set to take the championship lead into turn one. Except Evans never made it to turn one. The Jaguar stalled on the line. The field dodged the stricken New Zealander, except for Mortara who collided with the back of Evans and brought out the red flag. Evans' championship hopes were already dashed. Mortara's contact rubbed salt in the wound.
Sebastien Vettel
This is all because of Vettel's disqualification from the Hungarian Grand Prix. Vettel was second on the road, but he did not return the car to parc fermé with enough fuel to provide a sample to the FIA. Worst of all, Vettel stopped on the circuit before the pit entrance on the cool down lap worried that the car would not have enough fuel. If he had stopped a few corners earlier or had just stopped near the pit exit after taking the checkered flag, he likely would have kept his second podium finish of the season.
Top Comebacks
Kyle Busch: Stuck in fourth gear and coasts to victory at Pocono
Busch was stuck in fourth gear midway through the second NASCAR Cup race at Pocono. He led the race, but it appeared this would not be his day. Stuck in gear and with multiple pit stops left, Busch was going to have a tough time getting out of his pit box and up to speed. The car felt like it would be on the verge of breaking down, but Busch kept at it. With no other strategy to play, Busch's team made sure he was topped off on fuel right as the race was restarting with 44 laps to go, right on the edge of the fuel window. Busch had to ride around while the other teams ran full blast and would have to make one final stop. Busch had enough to make it to the end and pick up his second victory of the season.
Marcus Ericsson: From air to first at Nashville
Mistakes happen, and early in the inaugural Music City Grand Prix, Ericsson ran over the back of Sébastien Bourdais coming to a restart, breaking his front wing and launching his front wheel off the ground. Ericsson even thought his day was over. He was ready to retire the car as the damaged front wing was stuck under the front tires. But the wing came free, and Ericsson was able to drive around to the pit lane for repairs.
Ericsson was nearly caught in the Simon Pagenaud incident in turn 11 but kept the car running again. Set behind, Ericsson had one strategy, to take fuel and hope for the best. The disjointed nature of the race put Ericsson in the lead and cautions help his fuel mileage. He was close to needing to make one more stop in the final laps as Colton Herta chased him down, but when Herta collided with the barrier in turn nine and brought out the final caution, Ericsson's fuel concerns were gone. The Swede held on in the final two lap sprint and Ericsson had his second victory of the season.
Lewis Hamilton's British Grand Prix
Picking up the story, Hamilton was handed a ten-second penalty for the contact with Verstappen. This dropped Hamilton to fourth, 12 seconds behind leader Charles Leclerc. Hamilton passed Lando Norris soon after the stop and then teammate Valtteri Bottas to get back to second.
Hamilton chipped away at Leclerc's lead, but any pass was going to come in the final laps. Leclerc held on for 49 laps, but into Copse of all places, Hamilton made his move and came through clean on the other side in the lead. The Brit led the final three laps and took his first victory since Spain in May. The championship lead was slashed to eight points.
Lewis Hamilton's Hungarian Grand Prix
What did Hamilton do for an encore? A wet start at Budapest put all the cars on intermediate tires, but an early accident that took out Verstappen, Norris, Bottas, Leclerc and Lance Stroll brought out the red flag. When it was time to restart, the track had dried significantly. Every driver dove into pit lane for slicks, except for Hamilton. Hamilton restarted by himself on the grid and had to complete one lap on the intermediate tires before switching to slicks.
Hamilton emerged in 14th. He made up some spots but switched to the hard tire on lap 19. Hamilton worked his way up to fourth before stopping again on lap 48 for fresh tires. Hamilton looked positioned to chase down the leaders Esteban Ocon and Sebastian Vettel, but Hamilton struggled with Fernando Alonso for fourth. It took 12 laps for Hamilton to pass the Spaniard, getting the spot with five laps to go. Hamilton took third from Carlos Sainz, Jr. two laps later, but would fall 2.736 seconds short of victory. It was not enough for victory, but the recovery lifted Hamilton back to the championship lead.
September Preview
My biggest failure this year has been keeping track of the MotoE season. I completely forgot about the first three races of 2021 and then accidentally stumbled into the fourth round of the season at Assen. I then went on to forget about the Austrian Grand Prix round.
One round remains in the MotoE season, a doubleheader at Misano on September 18-19.
After forgetting about basically the entire MotoE season, I will give it space now.
Eleven riders are alive for the championship with two races remaining. Italian Alessandro Zaccone leads the championship on 80 points. Zarccone won the opening race at Jerez and he has finished no worse than sixth this season. He was third at Le Mans and Assen, fourth at Barcelona and sixth in Austria.
Zaccone has a seven-point lead over Brazil's Eric Granado. Granado is the only repeat winner this season, taking the rounds at Le Mans and Assen. He was second in Austria. Granado won pole position for the first four races and he has set fastest lap four times this season, but he was third at Jerez and retired at Barcelona.
Defending MotoE champion Jordi Torres is eight points behind Zaccone. Like Zaccone, Torres has scored points in all five races, but Torres has yet to pick up a victory. He was second at Assen, third in both Spanish races, fifth at Le Mans and seventh at Austria.
Not many riders in the 21st century switch between classes, but Dominique Aegerter is doing that. The Swiss rider is currently fourth in MotoE, 11 points off the top spot, and he leads the World Supersport championship. While Aegerter has eight victories in Supersport, he has yet to win in MotoE, but had runner-up finishes in the Spanish rounds and was third in Austria. He was fourth in Le Mans but finished outside the points in 18th at Assen. Unfortunately, Aegerter has a clash with the MotoE final weekend and the Barcelona weekend for World Supersport. Where will he race? We will have to wait and see; my gut says the Supersport weekend. He leads that championship by 47 points with provisionally 12 races remaining.
Red Bull Ring winner Lukas Tulovic is 27 points off Zaccone. Austria was Tulovic's first podium finish of his MotoE career. The 2019 MotoE champion Matteo Ferrari has scored in all five races, but his only top five finish was fourth in Assen, and Ferrari has 48 points. Miquel Pons won in Barcelona, but his next best result was fifth at Jerez and he did not start at Le Mans, leaving Pons with 46 points. Mattia Casadei missed Austria due to testing positive for COVID-19. Casadei's best finish was second at Le Mans and he has 43 points.
Yonny Hernández has scored in every race, but only has 40 points with one top five finish. Hiraki Okubo also has only one top five finish and has 35 points. Fermín Aldeguer is the final rider alive for the championship on 33 points. Aldeguer won pole position in Austria and picked up his best finish of the season in fourth.
Consider MotoE caught up and we will find out who claims that championship on Sunday September 19. The first race from Misano will be at 10:20 a.m. ET on Saturday September 18. The finale will be the following day at 9:30 a.m. ET, after the MotoGP race.
Other notable events in September:
Final three IndyCar races: Portland, Laguna Seca, Long Beach.
NASCAR playoffs begin: Southern 500 at Darlington, Richmond, Bristol.
Zandvoort finally gets its Formula One return and that is after an embarrassing Spa-Francorchamps weekend, and the week before Monza.
The European Le Mans Series has its penultimate round of the season at Spa-Francorchamps, hopefully it doesn't rain too much.
Along with MotoGP's trip to Misano as MotoE's undercard, MotoGP gets to headline the Aragón weekend.
Three rounds for the World Superbike: Magny-Cours, Barcelona and Jerez.
