GP Racing UK April 2022

Ferrari is back, Red Bull never went away, and Mercedes is properly on the back foot. F1’s latest rules reset has certainly shaken things up – but (for now at least) the big three are still the biggest three, and has the racing really changed all that much? The Bahrain Grand Prix looked very similar to other recent Bahrain GPs, only with more pitstops because, despite Pirelli promising to produce lower-degradation tyres for 2022, the degradation was still massive. And so, once again, tyre deltas made more difference to who could race who than whether ‘dirty air’ was a bit cleaner than before. “It was tough. It wasn’t as good as I was expecting, which is a bit frustrating,” said Lando Norris – unexpectedly down in the thick of things thanks to…

While certain aspects of the Jeddah street circuit have been called into question recently, it’s a good place to work and the parc fermé is nicely located right at the bottom of the pitlane. While F1 is opening up a little bit, the number of photographers permitted in this area will remain limited, making it a much more sedate working environment than in years past. The drivers are also more relaxed because they’re not being crowded. I was able to capture this nice little moment between Max and Charles. The friendliness and mutual respect is very clear. You can tell they’ve been racing against one another since they were very young. Where Jeddah, Saudi Arabia When 9:31pm, Sunday 27 March 2022 Details Canon EOS-1DX MkII 24-100mm lens, 1/640th @ F43…

“The earth spins on its axis, one man struggles while the other relaxes,” according to Massive Attack’s trip-hop classic Hymn of the Big Wheel. That’s a lyric which might resonate with both Mercedes and its rivals as a new season brings a remarkable reversal of the established competitive order at the front. This really does feel like the beginning of a new cycle. Jeddah’s own big wheel has moved – not just on its axis but in the wider sense of the word. It’s now in a slightly different location which gave new options to use it as a background feature. A panning shot with a slow shutter worked with the wheel’s lights to create a strobing effect. Where Jeddah, Saudi Arabia When 8:55pm, Sunday 27 March 2022 Details Canon EOS-1DX MkII 50mm lens,…

During FP3 in Jeddah the race organisers kindly arranged access to a room overlooking the circuit in the brand new Shangri-La hotel, part of the 64-storey Burj Assila, the tallest building in the city. Located at the southern tip of the vast circuit, it certainly gives its customers a commanding view of the sprawling track. Being on the 56th floor meant I was actually much higher than the TV helicopter as it dashed up and down the coastline, picking up cars along the second half of the lap. I waited until I had the helicopter and a car lined up together in a frame with the sea, and luckily enough that car was Max on a hot lap with sparks flying. Where Jeddah, Saudi Arabia When 5:27pm, Saturday 26 March 2022 Details Canon EOS-1DX…

He might not have found his way back in the door at Red Bull yet (you can read an interview with him, and see his rather exasperated thoughts on the subject, on p58), but Pierre Gasly continues to impress in the AlphaTauri and raced well in Saudi Arabia despite suffering a mysterious pain in the guts. Although the sunset was later than when we were last here, you could still achieve a pleasing background effect by shooting across the track into the light, with the palm trees providing a graphical contrast. It works well with the AlphaTauri because the white part of the car also provides a useful contrast in the dark area along the bottom of the frame. Where Jeddah, Saudi Arabia When 5:42pm, Saturday 26 March 2022 Details Canon EOS-1DX MkII 70-200mm…

Like many street tracks, the Jeddah Corniche Circuit can be frustrating in places simply because of all the fences required for safety. But there are good pictures to be had if you look around carefully. This is in the second sector, on the return leg after the cambered hairpin at Turn 13. The drivers can’t afford to lose momentum through this combination of fast, flowing corners. It’s a real test of which cars are working and which drivers have the right combination of finesse and aggression. Here we are in FP1 and Max Verstappen is placing his car exactly where it needs to be – too far over and he’d damage the underfloor. Where Jeddah, Saudi Arabia When 5:14pm, Friday 25 March 2022 Details Canon EOS-1DX MkII 400mm lens, 1/1000th @ F6.3…