Daland F1 - A F1 2021 My Team Story

[jasontoddwhitt]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tim Daland Motorsports Announces Formula 1 Expansion

Formula One racing’s governing body, the FIA, confirmed that it has accepted an application from Tim Daland to enter a new team in the F1 world championship.

The American NASCAR team owner’s entry was granted after a lengthy evaluation process and the new squad now hopes to be on the grid for the 2021 season.

“Obviously, we’re extremely pleased to have been granted a Formula One license by the FIA,” commented Daland. “It’s an exciting time for me and everyone here at Daland Motorsports.

“Now, the really hard work begins. It’s a challenge we embrace as we work to put cars on the grid. I want to thank the FIA for this opportunity and the diligence everyone put forth to see our license application come to fruition.”

Daland Motorsports has grown into one of the most successful teams in NASCAR since their formation in 1990 by wealthy car dealership owner Tim Daland. Daland Motorsports has won 13 NASCAR Championships since their 1990 inception. Tim Daland got his start in car dealerships back in the 1970s, and now owns City Automotive Group, one of the largest and most profitable car dealerships in the United States.

Daland F1 also announced today their driver lineup will be relative American unknown Jason Whitt, and Formula 2 driver Nobuharu Matsus#ita is making the move from MP Motorsport to join the American team. Daland F1 also announced a three-year contract with Renault to be the engine supplier.

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This story picks up right after the summer break. Here's a quick recap of how the current season has gone.

[jasontoddwhitt]

Disappointment Abounds At Spa
Worst performance of the season for Daland F1 leaves more questions than answers.



It was evident during qualifying, but the race magnified the situation. Daland F1 saw both cars completely off the pace and everyone was asking what happened.

"We just didn't have the pace at all this whole weekend," said Jason Whitt. "I thought we were decent in practice, but once we got to qualifying, I knew we were in trouble."

Whitt pointed to the fact that it was probably a mistake to not switch to their third engine for the Belgium Grand Prix.

"We're thinking long term here. Maybe we should've taken the new engine, but then that would mean we would have to take a penalty even sooner."

It was the first race that Whitt failed to finish in front of his teammate, but it seemed like Nobuharu was given strategy preference in today's race despite Whitt out-qualifying his teammate again. Nobuharu did not pass Whitt on track, but rather in the pits when the team brought him in first after the rains came. When asked what he thought about that, Whitt waved the question off, telling reporters to ask the team about strategy calls.

2021 Belgium Grand Prix Race Results
POS	DRIVER	TEAM	LAPS	START	TIME	PTS	BEST
1	Valterri Bottas	MER	44	3	84:19.681	26	1:44.045
2	Charles LeClerc	FER	44	2	+3.222	18	1:44.428
3	Max Verstappen	RBR	44	4	+10.607	15	1:44.803
4	Lewis Hamilton	MER	44	1	+11.006	12	1:44.064
5	Sergio Perez	RBR	44	6	+17.466	10	1:44.525
6	Lando Norris	MCL	44	7	+20.827	8	1:44.563
7	Pierre Gasly	ATR	44	9	+29.518	6	1:44.549
8	Daniel Riccardio	MCL	44	8	+53.837	4	1:44.552
9	Sebastian Vettel	AMR	44	10	+55.047	2	1:45.882
10	Fernando Alonso	ALP	44	11	+58.313	1	1:45.898
11	Yuki Tsunoda	ATR	44	12	+1:14.746		1:45.909
12	Antonio Giovinazzi	ARR	44	16	+1:15.495		1:45.897
13	Lance Stroll	AMR	44	13	+1:18.316		1:45.764
14	Kimi Raikkonen	ARR	44	15	+1:25.539		1:46.571
15	Esteban Ocon	ALP	44	14	+1:29.663		1:46.771
16	George Russell	WIL	43	18	+1 LAP		1:47.460
17	Mick Shumacher	HAS	43	17	+1 LAP		1:47.406
18	Nikita Mazepin	HAS	43	19	+1 LAP		1:47.509
19	Nobuharu Matus#ita	DAL	43	22	+1 LAP		1:48.014
20	Jason Whitt	DAL	43	21	+1 LAP		1:47.315
21	Nicholas Latifi	WIL	42	20	+2 LAPS		1:47.983
22	Carlos Sainz	FER	14	5	DNF		1:47.462

[Careless Whisper]

Glad to have some more F1 on here! Tough day at Spa.

[jasontoddwhitt]

Quote: Originally Posted by Careless Whisper

Glad to have some more F1 on here! Tough day at Spa.

Yeah, it wasn't ideal. I had zero pace and instantly regretted not changing the ICE.

Then it just got worse as the day wore on.

Thanks for reading!

[jasontoddwhitt]

Preview

Following our very disappointing performance at Spa, Daland F1 is poised to get back to our midfield ways at the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort. Rain is in the forecast for both qualifying and the race, so it will definitely be interesting to see how these cars handle the banking in the wet.

Yes, we are putting a new engine in Jason's car. We are also bringing a couple of aerodynamic upgrades to the car to this weekend's race. We streamlined the suspension arms, resulting in less drag without compromising the suspension setup. We've also altered the shape of the tertiary wing flaps on the front wing. The slot gaps are more strategically placed for better airflow and increased downforce.



Qualifying Update

The Circuit Zandvoort was absolutely drenched as morning rain stretched into the afternoon, promising that Q1 was going to be on a wet track. That suited Daland F1 driver Jason Whitt just fine as he managed to pull the car into Q2. Towards the end of Q1, the track started to dry, and Mick Schumacher gambled and did his final run on soft tires, also advancing into Q2.

Unfortunately for us, we were unable to drag the car into Q3. Because of heavy traffic, we didn't cross the line in time for a second run, having to sit on our first run. We qualified P12. We got promoted to P11 because Ferrari's Carlos Sainz is having to take an engine penalty for tomorrow's race.

It was no surprise that championship leader Max Verstappen took the poll for his home GP. The Dutch fans were as expected...thrilled. At least we think they were, considering the track was bathed in an orange fog.

The forecast for tomorrow's race calls for a dry start, but showers are expected in the area for the middle of the grand prix. However, it looks like it should be a dry track for the end of the race.

[jasontoddwhitt]

Strategy Call Vaults Whitt Into Points
One stop strategy following rain leads to eighth place finish.



Max Verstappen held the lead into turn one and never gave it up as Verstappen managed the gap to Lewis Hamilton all race long and won the inaugural Dutch Grand Prix.

As for Daland F1, the American team dodged disaster in turn one when Carlos Sainz shot it up the inside of Mick Shumacher and Jason Whitt into turn one.

"We were on the outside and next thing I know, Schumacher is in my side pod and Sainz is going under both of us," said Whitt. "Was a very dangerous overtake that Sainz should've been penalized for. We were lucky."

Schumacher had to pit to get his front wing changed. Whitt suffered some minor scarring on the barge board and side pod, but it didn't affect the handling of the car.

On lap two, the heavens began to open up. While the teams were waiting for the crossover point for intermediates over the next six laps, the track became very slippery. Valtteri Bottas found that out the hard way, as he faked a move to the inside of Hamilton down the main stretch, but lost control of the car as he tried to move back to the outside of Hamilton.


Bottas shunt brought out the safety car on lap 8.



Whitt pitted for intermediates under the safety car and restarted P14 and slowly started moving his way up the field, his favorite pass being on the outside of turn three, passing Esteban Ocon on lap 12 and Kimi Raikkonen on the next lap. By the end of the wet stint, Whitt had also managed to catch Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo napping, and had moved up to P10.

By lap 43, the track was dry and Whitt came in for soft tires and was able to hold position. While everyone else pitted for a second set of soft tires, Daland rolled the dice and kept Whitt out there, moving up to P6. The gamble paid off. While Sainz and Pierre Gasly were able to pass us back, the four cars that we were racing (Alonso, Vettel, Ricciardo, Stroll) were unable to close the gap and Daland F1 came home with an important P8.

2021 Dutch Grand Prix Race Results
POS	DRIVER	TEAM	LAPS	START	TIME	PTS	BEST
1	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	72	1	96:11.246	26	1:12.854
2	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	72	2	+3.782	18	1:12.992
3	Sergio Perez	Red Bull	72	5	+22.972	15	1:13.103
4	Lando Norris	McLaren	72	6	+44.122	12	1:13.589
5	Charles LeClerc	Ferrari	72	4	+45.212	10	1:13.190
6	Carlos Sainz	Ferrari	72	16	+1:04.299	8	1:13.167
7	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri	72	7	+1:10.262	6	1:13.742
8	Jason Whitt	Daland	71	11	+1 Lap	4	1:14.656
9	Fernando Alonso	Alpine	71	8	+1 Lap	2	1:14.671
10	Sebastian Vettel	Aston Martin	71	17	+1 Lap	1	1:14.350
11	Daniel Ricciardo	McLaren	71	15	+1 Lap		1:14.419
12	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	71	10	+1 Lap		1:14.475
13	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo	71	19	+1 Lap		1:14.550
14	Kimi Raikkonen	Alfa Romeo	71	12	+1 Lap		1:14.439
15	Esteban Ocon	Alpine	71	18	+1 Lap		1:14.406
16	George Russell	Williams	71	13	+1 Lap		1:15.100
17	Nobuharu Matsush!ta	Daland	70	21	+2 Laps		1:15.378
18	Yuki Tsunoda	AlphaTauri	70	9	+2 Laps		1:15.323
19	Nikita Mazepin	Haas	70	22	+2 Laps		1:16.037
20	Mick Schumacher	Haas	70	14	+2 Laps		1:16.039
21	Nicholas Latifi	Williams	68	20	+4 Laps		1:15.710
22	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	8	3	DNF		1:16.652

[jasontoddwhitt]

BREAKING: Nobuharu Matsush!ta Out

Daland F1 has announced a driver change ahead of the Italian Grand Prix. Nobuharu Matsush!ta, who best finish was 16th at the Spanish Grand Prix earlier in the year, decided that he didn't want to renew his contract with the team. In response, Daland F1 decided to let him out of his contract for the rest of the year so that he may return to Japan.

Daland F1 also announced that former Formula 3 champion Robert Shwartzman will finish out the season for Daland. The 22-year-old Russian has been running in Formula 2 this season, where he is currently third in the driver standings.

"To be rather blunt, we've been disappointed with Nobuharu's performance this season," said Tim Daland. "He's never out-qualified Jason and he's only finished in front of him one time. We need both cars running to the max if we are going to get this team where we want it."

Daland wouldn't commit to Shwartzman next season, adding that perhaps the team will look for a driver with Formula One experience.



The Formula One circus travels to the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza in Monza, Italy for next week's Italian Grand Prix. The "Temple of Speed" sees drivers at full throttle for nearly 80% of the lap.

Daland F1 is coming to the track with several upgrades. First is a redesigned monocoque structure for the driver. This redesign has led to a major weight reduction in the car without sacrificing strength. Also, we received an engine upgrade from Renault. Renault has managed to reduce the weight of the pistons in the engine, resulting in reduced energy loss in the combustion process. This should give us a significant boost in engine power.

FP1 was a washout, meaning we were unable to conduct practice runs on our medium or hard compounds of tires. This means we'll have to formulate our race strategy from our projections in the simulator. It's not ideal, but we feel we can give our drivers the correct strategy. Fortunately, the weather looks dry for qualifying and the race.

[jasontoddwhitt]

Mixed Bag at Monza
Shwartzman solid in debut; Whitt suffers terminal failure.

Following a qualifying performance where neither car made it out of Q1, there were questions on how Daland F1 would perform at Monza. After surviving the cluster into the Rettifilo chicane, Jason Whitt and Robert Shwartzman both started to move up the field. Whitt took advantage of a sticky situation on lap nine when several drivers had to slow down behind an ailing Sebastian Vettel in Parabolica and dove to the inside, stealing several positions and climbing as high as P12.

Shwartzman, meanwhile, got involved in a high stakes battle with George Russell for P16 that basically lasted for the entire race.

"It was good to see Robert out there racing Russell hard," said Tim Daland. "Robert has acclimated to the car rather quickly and I felt he had a very solid debut."

Following a round of pit stops, several teams were going for a two stop strategy. Daland F1 split the strategy, with Shwartzman going with a two-stop strategy while Whitt would employ a one-stop strategy. It looked like Whitt was heading to a solid P14.


Up in smoke! An engine failure doomed Whitt.

"Jason, stop the car! I repeat, stop the car. We have a serious issue with the engine. I repeat, we have a serious issue."

A control electronics failure on lap 46 saw the Daland machine go up in smoke as Whitt pulled it off the circuit. As that was the second control electronics unit Daland has used this season, it appears the team will have to take an engine penalty at Russia in two weeks time.

"It wasn't ideal," said Whitt. "We struggled in qualifying, but our race pace was good. We were heading to a solid P14. Then with seven laps to go, it all goes up in smoke."

2021 Italian Grand Prix Race Results
POS	DRIVER	TEAM	LAPS	START	TIME	PTS	BEST
1	Daniel Ricciardo	McLaren	53	4	74:47.066	25	1:23.418
2	Charles LeClerc	Ferrari	53	6	+11.915	18	1:23.420
3	Lando Norris	McLaren	53	1	+15.554	15	1:23.382
4	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	53	3	+19.526	12	1:22.855
5	Carlos Sainz	Ferrari	53	18	+21.808	10	1:23.548
6	Sergio Perez	Red Bull	53	7	+24.145	8	1:23.477
7	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	53	2	+24.687	6	1:23.091
8	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri	53	8	+28.921	4	1:23.489
9	Fernando Alonso	Alpine	53	10	+54.876	2	1:23.717
10	Yuki Tsunoda	AlphaTauri	53	12	+57.247	1	1:24.117
11	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo	53	14	+57.278		1:24.318
12	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	53	5	+57.312		1:22.514
13	Kimi Raikkonen	Alfa Romeo	53	15	+1:07.740		1:24.606
14	Esteban Ocon	Alpine	52	13	+1 Lap		1:24.012
15	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	52	11	+1 Lap		1:23.654
16	Robert Shwartzman	Daland	52	20	+1 Lap		1:24.511
17	George Russell	Williams	52	16	+1 Lap		1:24.611
18	Mick Schumacher	Haas	52	19	+1 Lap		1:24.493
19	Nikita Mazepin	Haas	52	21	+1 Lap		1:25.343
20	Nicholas Latifi	Williams	52	22	+1 Lap		1:25.208
21	Jason Whitt	Daland	46	17	DNF		1:24.913
22	Sebastian Vettel	Aston Martin	9	9	DNF		1:24.896