WOLDI OUTSMART THE REST OF THE FIELD
5 November 2022
by HM Gillard
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Three different race strategies in the top six made the Brazilian iGP sound like an interesting race, but it was anything but, with Woldi taking a convincing win ahead of an enormous DRS train that provided little entertainment.
The front-row was locked out by Woldi on super-soft tyres, with everyone expecting them to four stop. Grala led the soft runners, ahead of Audi, with championship leader Aslan down in eleventh. Woldi cleared out when the race started, ahead of Grala, who managed to pull away from the rest of the field, despite DRS, in an exceptional performance. Woldi pitted early for mediums, but only three laps before the soft runners did. Said made exceptional use of the 5395’s race pace to pass the rest of the field from 16th on the grid and get into 4th place behind Grala, with the 5395’s four stopping despite their soft tyre start.
Top 8 on the Grid
Top 8 on the Grid
The DRS train was headed by Piquet, Lotterer and the Renault’s, although Subaru - on a four stop - were in front. Amazingly, the Subaru’s managed to delay the pack for several laps despite having ten lap older tyres, and effectively ended any chance of victory for them.
The final round of three stops saw Piquet drop back, and Renault and Audi take the front of the pack. 5395 made their final stop eight laps later - for medium tyres - and rejoined at the back of the points. The team’s usual reluctance to use KERS meant that they spent this stint at the back of the DRS train, and unable to make progress - although a sterling defence from Norris did not help this. With two laps to go, the team started to activate their boost, but it was not enough to claim a podium, as Prost and Li followed home Bublewicz and Kowalska, with Grala and Said only able to take 5th and 6th.
Bublewicz now took the lead of the championship, ahead of Prost, with Aslan - who failed to score - dropping to third ahead of Li and Lotterer. The variance of the order compared to Melbourne, despite a dreary race, means we should be set for an exciting season.
Race result
Drivers' Championship
Constructors' Championship
Race result