PRE-RACE BUILD-UP:
FREE PRACTICES:
The lack of grip due to the new surfacing did not help the drives at all as everyone found it really difficult to put their foot on the throttle. The free practice 1 saw times which were slower than the GP2 times set a decade ago on the same track. All the free practice sessions failed to produce any representative lap time and this meant that we were heading into the qualifying with almost nothing to analyze for the rest of the weekend. Max Verstappen headed all the 3 parts of the practice and Red Bull remained the car to be beaten as they were looking the best in the slippery conditions.
QUALIFYING:
To compound the grip problems at the Istanbul park, it was wet to start the qualifying and this posed a challenge for the teams and driver. Everyone came out on the wet weather tires and Verstappen was off just a couple of corners into his out-lap to prove how less grip the circuit offered. After some 11 minutes of running, the race control decided it was too wet to drive as there was a heavy chance of cars aqua plaining. The session resumed once the rain stopped but Romain Grosjean found it very difficult and lost his car under braking into Turn 1 and beached it in the gravel which brought out the second red flag of the session. The qualifying resumed and it was visible that the conditions were improving significantly but not so for Nicolas Latifi who lost control and beached his car in the gravel bring out double waved yellows. Kevin Magnussen, Danill Kvyat, George Russell, Romain Grosjean and Nicolas Latifi were eliminated in Q1 with Danill Kvyat spinning coming out of pits.
The second part of Qualifying saw times drop further as the conditions improved and Alfa Romeo’s of Kimi Raikkonen and Giovinazzi found it suiting their car very much as they both put in competitive lap times enough to get them into Q3. Both the McLarens and Ferraris failed to make the cut into Q3 with Pierre Gasly being the other driver to be eliminated by posting the slowest time of the session.
The Q3 started with everyone barring Sergio Perez coming out on full wet tires. Perez though opted for the green walled Intermediate tires and went fastest of all in the first round of laps. This prompted all the other teams to pit for intermediates as the tires required time to get to the temperature and give their best performance. Max Verstappen aborted his what could be the fastest lap time to pit for Intermediates. The Intermediate tires seemed to be the best for the conditions and Lance Stroll came out to put in a brilliant effort to take the pole position with Max Verstappen still on a good lap. Sergio Perez who had led the session for the major part, could not put together a decent lap and did not improve. Max Verstappen though did improve but it was only good enough for P2. Lance Stroll, therefore, became only the 3rd Canadian to take pole position and the 5th youngest to do so. The difficult conditions did not disappoint as it gave us a unique starting grid with both the Racing Points starting in top 3. Alex Albon qualified P4. It was a good day for Renault as they qualified 5th and 7th with Ricciardo and Ocon respectively. The two Mercedes could only qualify 6th and 9th with Hamilton leading Bottas. Kimi Raikkonen and Giovinazzi rounded off the top 10 with 8th and 10th positions, respectively.
RACE
With rain coming down and the slippery nature of the track, it was going to be a race to watch out for. And there was drama even before the race started as Giovinazzi and Russell crashed on their way to the grid. The rain and the new surface meant that the even numbered side of the grid was much more a difficult place to start from and Max Verstappen found it so as he was crawling at the start of the race. The two Racing Points made good getaways to run 1-2 with Lance Stroll heading Perez. Behind though there were slips and spins, with Ocon being tagged by Ricciardo at Turn 1 into a spin and Valterri Bottas could do nothing but spin his Mercedes to avoid Ocon. Sebastian Vettel though made an incredible getaway and ran as high as P3 by Lap 1. Hamilton made a superb start to take P3 at the start but lost in under braking to given away his position to Vettel, Verstappen and Albon. Bottas though again collided with the Renault of Estaben Ocon, resulting in a spin for the Renault driver. The Red Bulls looked very comfortable and Max Verstappen was soon chasing the Racing Points who had comfortably got into the lead after the first few laps. On Lap 18, Max Verstappen got behind Perez and began pounding behind his gearbox but the spray coming out might have distracted Max and that resulted in a spin. Max dropped from P3 to P6 and pitted soon to change his flat spotted Intermediates. Stroll led for 34 laps of the race but then pitted for another set of Intermediates, but this was the show over for Stroll sadly as he never could switch on those set of tires and struggled with graining.
On Lap 37, Lewis Hamilton who has pitted only once closed the gap to Sergio Perez and took the lead with the help of DRS. Once he took the lead, there was no looking back as Lewis Hamilton probably drove one of his best races and was at his very best. Lewis Hamilton went on to win the race which made him the World Champion for 2020 and therefore, he equaled Michael Schumacher’s record of 7 world championship titles, the most for any Formula 1 driver. There was a 3-way scrap for the second position though as Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel had closed onto the gearbox of Sergio Perez. Charles Leclerc locked his brakes up going into the penultimate chicane which gave Sergio Perez to reclaim the second position and allowed Vettel to pass Leclerc. Leclerc finished P4 and thus capped off Ferrari’s strongest race of 2020. Carlos Sainz took a brilliant 5th place with the two Red Bulls of Max and Albon finishing 6th and 7th respectively. Norris, Stroll and Ricciardo rounded off the top 10. Valterri Bottas had a weekend to forget as he struggled to keep the car on track. He spun multiple times during the race and finished a lowly 14th.
By winning the Turkish GP, Lewis Hamilton became the 7-time Formula 1 World Champion. Sebastian Vettel was chosen as the Driver of the Day. Though the race had many ups and downs, it must be said that this was one of the best races of the season. A Lewis Hamilton masterpiece with many close battles going on through out the race made it one of the best in recent times.
We hope for many more races of this kind where we as Formula 1 fans will be entertained to the highest possible level.
PRE-RACE BUILDUP:
QUALIFYING:
Imola was expected to be tough with just 90 minutes of practice. The strict track limits though came out of syllabus to add to the problems of drivers. Imola is firstly a narrower track compared to the rest and with cars evolving over years in terms of size, it was bound to be difficult to find a way through to adhere to the track limits and more importantly overtake during the race which made the qualifying very important.
The first part of qualifying again saw the SATURDAY MAN George Russell put in a splendid lap to get out of Q1. He put in the 14th quickest laptime. Kimi Raikkonen was left furious with his best lap time being deleted due to track limit violations and therefore ended a lowly 18th. Both Haas F1 cars of Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen, who went wide in the last corner and lost an opportunity to improve his time were eliminated after posting the 16th and 17th fastest times of the session. Nicolas Latifi was 19th for Williams and Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi finished 20th.
The second part of qualifying started with the drama of Max Verstappen reporting a power issue with his car. A proper shoutout to the incredible work by Red Bull mechanics though as they could change the spark plug in under 5 minutes and sent Verstappen out on mediums as well to make it into Q3 and he obliged. The session saw both the Racing point car miss out of making it to Q3 which Sergio Perez qualifying 11th, which was just 0.01 seconds of the 10th place. Lance Stroll and Sebastian Vettel had their lap times deleted as well and ended up 14th and 15th respectively. Renault’s Estaben Ocon and Williams’s Russel qualified 12th and 13th.
The final part of qualifying was a shoutout between the Mercedes cars for pole. Lewis Hamilton and Valterri Bottas swapped positions 3 times but it was Valterri Bottas who ended up beating his teammate by 0.097 seconds to claim pole position. Pierre Gasly, F1’s newest race winner qualified a brilliant 4th. Ricciardo qualified 5th for Renault and the Redbulls of Max Verstappen and Alex Albon ended up 3rd and 6th quickest. Charles Leclerc and Daniil Kvyat qualified 7th and 8th respectively with the two McLarens of Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz rounding off the top 10.
RACE
Pierre Gasly who qualified a brilliant 4th has issues even before the race started. He reported a loss of power on his installation lap but went on to start the race which a repaired vehicle only for his race to last 9 laps as he was asked to retire the car because of terminal damage. At the start, Verstappen got ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Ricciardo made a good start to claim 4th from Gasly. At the back though, the fast-starting Lance Stroll made contact with Esteban Ocon and broke the left endplate of his front wing. He pitted for a new front wing and never could put up a fight for points, thus ending his dismal performance over the last 5 races. Further back, Kevin Magnussen was punted into a spin by Sebastian Vettel which dropped him to 19th place by the end of Lap 1. Bottas and Verstappen pitted for hard tires by lap 20 whereas Hamilton continued on his mediums. Bottas ran over debris from Sebastian Vettel’s car which caused him to lose downforce and was struggling in the corners. Sergio Perez meanwhile extended his stint on the medium tires and ran as high as 4th. Esteban Ocon reported a problem with this clutch on Lap 29 and the resultant Virtual Safety Car aligned the stars in Lewis Hamilton’s favor further and the pitstop under a VSC cost 10 seconds less than the normal pitstop and he ended up coming out comfortably ahead of Bottas. Bottas struggled to keep up the pace and made a mistake going into the penultimate corner thus giving Max Verstappen the chance to easily overtake him for 2nd position. Though the happiness was short-lived for Max as he would eventually retire from the race after a dramatic right rear tire blowout on Lap 51. The Safety car to recover Max’s car brought the cars bunch together with everyone opting to pit for softs apart from Ricciardo, Leclerc, and Albon who stayed on hards giving importance to track position more than the faster tires. George Russell who was having a great race in P10 steered under the safety car on accelerating for tire warm-up and ended up in the wall thus smashing the hopes of his first-ever point in Formula 1. On the restart, Kvyat made a brilliant move to overtake both Perez and Albon into Turn 1. Perez on softs made a brilliant move through the outside on Albon on the very next corner, but that pressure took into Albon and he spun on his exit from the corner. Albon thus ended up plumb last, yet again damaging his chances to secure his Red Bull seat for 2021.
Lewis Hamilton went on to win his 93rd race and Valterri Bottas came home second, which meant that the constructor’s championship has been won by Mercedes in 2020. This was a Formula 1 record as Mercedes became the first ever team to win the championship for 7 straight years. Daniel Ricciardo secured his 2nd podium of the season by finishing third and ended the brilliant with this trademark SHOEY celebration. Hamilton too joined in to do a SHOEY post-race on the podium. Kvyat finished a strong fourth with Leclerc and Perez rounding off the top 6. The two McLarens and the two Alfa Romeo cars completed the Top 10.
BMW has launched its first ever M car named X3 for the mid-size Sports Activity Vehicle (SAV) segment.
Gurugram: BMW India has introduced the first-ever M car in its high-performance model line-up in the mid-size Sports Activity Vehicle (SAV) segment with the launch of BMW X3 M today. The first-ever BMW X3 M is designed to offer standout performance characteristics, personified with squarely geared features to meet the functional requirements of a high performance car. The first-ever BMW X3 M is now available across BMW dealerships in the country as a completely built-up unit (CBU).
Mr. Vikram Pawah, President, BMW Group India: “BMW’s Sports Activity Vehicle (SAV) segment is a testament to a remarkable success story. The introduction of a high performance mid-size SAV will further strengthen our presence in the segment & entice new driving experiences. Uniqueness of the first-ever BMW X3 M lies in a newly developed powerful engine & sophisticated chassis technology. This vehicle, to the very last detail, offers a unique combination of luxury & sporting dynamics, providing an exciting, safe & novel driving experience to our customers. The new SAV is equipped with world-class features, evidently distinguishing it from others in the segment.”
The first-ever BMW X3 M embodies high performance driving dynamics on one hand & everyday qualities on the other, unleashing outstanding driving potential in the segment. The interior-exterior design along with M specific features lend a true motor sport personality to the car.
The ex-showroom price of the first-ever BMW X3 M is INR 99,90,000.
The first-ever BMW X3 M is available in Donington Grey, Toronto Red, Phytonic Blue, Sophisto Grey, Black Sapphire & Alpine White. The upholstery is available in Leather ‘Vernasca’ Design in Black & Oyster. All online bookings done for the first-ever BMW X3 M before 31 December 2020 at shop.bmw.in will enjoy a special benefit – an exclusive hospitality experience designed by BMW Excellence Club in collaboration with Isprava luxury villas.
By visiting shop.bmw.in, customers can explore a 360° view of vehicle exterior & interior along-with all features & personalization options at the click of a button. All queries on product, service packages & finance options can be addressed by interacting with a dealer representative online. In addition, payments can be made online in a secure way.
Customers of the first-ever BMW X3 M will gain membership to the exclusive BMW Excellence Club. A member’s only collective, BMW Excellence Club caters to the discerning taste of BMW customers by curating unmatched luxury experiences from around the world. The program features four main categories: Bespoke Travel, The High Life, Grandstand & BMW Privileges.
The first-ever BMW X3 M
The exterior design takes the typical muscular proportions shared by all BMW X models. Its long wheelbase, short overhangs, slightly hexagonal wheel arches, crisp lines & clean-cut surface contouring completes the picture with a sprinkling of tell-tale M features for that extra dose of sporting supremacy. The all-new model sports a BMW kidney grille with black double bars. The signature M gills are integrated into the Air Breathers on the front flanks.
The exterior mirrors’ special M design brings about a further reduction in aerodynamic drag. The standard equipment also includes 20-inch M light-alloy wheels. The interior of the first-ever BMW X3 M creates a sporty & luxurious ambience. The unmistakable M-style cockpit design has electrically adjustable sports seats with memory,
Vernasca leather upholstery, ambient lighting, an M-specific instrument cluster & a restyled M selector lever. Although the interior appears firmly focused on a sporty driving experience, it still retains the versatility for which BMW X models are known. Adding space to the cabin is the large Panorama Sunroof. The vehicle comes with a 40 20:40 split-folding rear backrest, enabling luggage capacity to be increased to a maximum of 1,600 litres.
The addition to the BMW M GmbH line-up in the mid-size Sports Activity Vehicle (SAV) segment also heralds the arrival of a newly developed six-cylinder in-line engine with superlative performance. The engine stands out with its familiar M high-revving character, the latest M TwinPower Turbo technology update, plus track-tested cooling & oil supply systems.
The engine generates maximum output of 353 kW/480 hp from its 3.0-litre displacement, together with peak torque of 600 Nm (442 lb-ft), & goes from 0-100 km/h in 4.2 seconds, with a top speed of 250 km/h.
For flawless distribution of power, the high-performance engine teams up with an eight-speed M Steptronic transmission with Drivelogic & uses the new M xDrive all-wheeldrive system. The M xDrive system has a rear-wheel bias & offers four driving modes that optimises performance. The centrally controlled interaction between M xDrive & the Active M Differential at the rear axle allows the all-wheel-drive system to split the engine’s power between the four wheels as required to deliver optimal traction, agility & directional stability.
The engine is complemented with a sophisticated chassis technology, tuned astutely to marshal the engine’s prowess & provide sublime dynamics. The bespoke kinematics & elastokinematics of the M-specific suspension – with its double-joint spring strut front axle & five link rear axle – deliver precise wheel location & directional stability. Composed to deliver precisely controllable on-limit handling, the chassis technology package rounds off with Mspecific steering (including M Servotronic & variable ratio) & powerful M compound brakes.
The first-ever BMW X3 M is loaded with cutting edge BMW Safety technologies such as front, side & head airbags, Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) including M Dynamic Mode, Cornering Brake Control (CBC), Dynamic Brake Control, Dry Braking function, Cruise Control with braking function along with Collision & Pedestrian Warning with City Braking function. Also available as part of the standard package are Adaptive LED headlights, BMW Live
Cockpit Professional, High Beam Assistant & Parking Assistant. M-specific display content can also be shown on the BMW Head-Up Display, projecting driving information onto the windscreen & into the driver’s immediate field of vision. The first-ever BMW X3 M features a 12.3-inch Multifunction Display touchscreen, iDrive Touch Controller, multifunction steering wheel’s buttons, the voice control feature along-with the optional BMW Gesture Control. It also gets BMW Virtual Assistant, telephony with wireless charging, & hi-fi speaker system. In addition, the options list for the first-ever BMW X3 provides further scope for individualisation that includes 21-inch light alloy wheels, BMW Display Key, M Sport exhaust, M Driver’s package & Harman Kardon Surround Sound System.
Lewis Hamilton created history at Portimao by winning his 92nd Formula 1 race, thereby passing Michael Schumacher as the Formula 1 driver with the most number of race wins.
Earlier, it was normalcy restored with the Friday practice going along unlike at Nürburgring. The drivers took their time to understand the new track which had very high elevation changes and changing wind directions made it difficult for the aerodynamic effects to kick-in. The practices were smooth apart from a few spins here and there. Pierre Gasly had the rear of the car on fire which brought out the red flags and the returning Lance Stroll, who informed that he has tested positive for Covid-19 and got cured, collided with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen at Turn 1. Haas F1 had announced that both Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean will not be driving for them in 2021.
QUALIFYING
The first part of qualifying started as usual with the “SATURDAY MAN” George Russell again putting in mega efforts to put his Williams into Q2. The Ferrari powered cars of Alfa Romeo (Kimi Raikkonen & Giovinazzi) and Haas F1 (Kevin Magnussen & Romain Grosjean) were eliminated along with the other Williams of Nicolas Latifi, who qualified 20th.
The second part of qualifying saw both the Mercedes and Ferraris attempting to get into Q3 on the medium tyre as opposed to the softs preferred by all other teams. The Mercedes pair easily made it to Q3 but only Charles Leclerc of Ferrari making it to Q3 on medium tyre and Sebastian Vettel in the other Ferrari was unable to go any better than 15th. The session ended with Australian Daniel Ricciardo spinning out and just about nudging the barriers. He managed to scrap through to Q3 with the 10th quickest time. The 2nd part of qualifying saw Estaben Ocon of Renault, Lance Stroll of Racing point, Alpha Tauri’s Danill Kvyat, Williams’s George Russell and Ferrari’s Vettel bow out.
The Q3 began with the Mercedes putting their times on board on a set of soft tyres and going into the 1:16s. Redbull’s Alex Albon put his first time on a set of mediums but had to go for the soft tyre run hoping for a bit more pace. The Mercedes switched plans to go to mediums for the final runs in Q3 probably hoping that the cold temperatures would suit the medium tyre better and that was what exactly happened. The Mercedes pair went a couple of tenths quicker than their soft tyre runs and Lewis Hamilton managed to pip Valterri Bottas to the pole position by 0.1 seconds. Verstappen, Leclerc, Perez and Albon completed the top six. The two Mclarens of Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris followed them with Pierre Gasly qualifying 9th. Ricciardo could not set a competitive time in Q3 as his rear wing needed to be replaced following the spin in Q2.
RACE
The race was to provide drama right from the start. As the circuit was damp, it meant everyone had to scrap through carefully on the dry tyres. Hamilton made a clear getaway and held position but soon began to lose temperature in his tyres and began sliding everywhere. Almost everyone struggled barring the most experienced Kimi Raikkonen. Kimi probably made the start of the season by gaining as many as 10 places – from P16 to P6 by Lap 1. Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen made contact which led to the Racing point getting spun and ending up dead last. Perez had to pit for a fresh set of mediums following the spin. Hamilton struggled to keep up with the tyres and was passed by Bottas. The Mclarens made a splendid start to race into P2 and P4 by Lap 1.
Carlos Sainz moved past a struggling Bottas on Lap 2 to gain the lead of the Portuguese which he kept for as long as Lap 6. By Lap 8, Sainz was passed by both the Mercedes and the Red bull of Max Verstappen as he reported to be struggling with the soft tyres. Lance Stroll and Pierre Gasly showed great pace by making up places. On Lap 18, Lance Stroll’s upward movement was cut short when he collided with Lando Norris while attempting an overtake into Turn 1. He received a 5 seconds time penalty for the incident and the collision resulted in both Norris and Stroll falling to the back needing a front wing change. Hamilton showed great pace through out and a made clean pass on Bottas on lap 20 to regain the lead of the grand prix. Sergio Perez who had to pit earlier because of the collision with Max made some great moves and showed great pace in going as high as P4 before pitting again for the second time. George Russell made the medium tyres last long and ran as high as P7 for the initial half distance of the race, the highest position he has raced at in his career. Perez pitted for softs hoping to be gain a pace advantage over all others who were on mediums, but the drop in temperature meant the soft tyre not working as expected and a P5 turned quickly into P7 for him in the last 2 laps with Gasly and Sainz managing to get past him.
At the front though, it was a complete Lewis Hamilton show. Post his overtake on Bottas, he never looked back and put up another strong performance to finally break the record of Michael Schumacher for the most number of wins in Formula 1. He clinched his 92nd victory with over 25 seconds margin on Bottas. Max Verstappen finished third and took the final place on the podium. Charles Leclerc put up a strong performance to end P4. Gasly, Sainz and Perez rounded off the top 7 with Ocon, Ricciardo and Vettel completing the top 10. Red Bull’s Alex Albon finished a lowly 12th and he was lapped by his teammate Verstappen. Lance Stroll was the only car to retire from the grand prix after reporting damage from the collision with Lando Norris.
This win further extends Lewis Hamilton’s lead in the championship and further stamped the dominance of Mercedes in the Constructor’s championship with another 1-2 finish.
Mercedes-Benz, who celebrated their 25th anniversary in India in 2019 has further strengthened its commitment to Indian market by localizing their production of AMG segment in India. The current AMG portfolio in India comprises the 43, 53, 63, and GT series of high performance vehicles across different body shapes.
AMG localization in India underlines the world-class production prowess of Mercedes-Benz India
Pune: India’s largest luxury car maker Mercedes-Benz today further deepened its commitment to the Indian customers, by commencing the localization of a Mercedes AMG model in India. AMG is Mercedes-Benz’s performance sub-brand having a wide portfolio of performance limousines, performance SUVs, SUV Coupés, and sports car in its wide portfolio in India. The AMG brand has a dedicated retail presence through the AMG Performance Centers located across Indian metros. The AMG performance brand has a leading market share in the performance market in India.
The first Mercedes-AMG product to roll-out of the assembly line from Mercedes-Benz India will be the AMG GLC 43 4MATIC Coupé. The ‘made in India’ AMG GLC 43 4MATIC Coupé will become an exciting addition to the fascinating world of AMG Driving Performance in India.
Commenting on this strategic announcement, Martin Schwenk, Managing Director & CEO, Mercedes-Benz India stated, “The AMG brand over the years has become synonymous with performance motoring in India and remains highly aspirational. The decision to locally produce AMG in India underlines Mercedes-Benz’s clear roadmap for the Indian market and our long-term commitment to our Indian customers. We want AMG to be more accessible to the potential customers and play a bigger role in our overall portfolio we offer in India. This decision is an important milestone towards strengthening our AMG ambitions in India further.”
“The AMG GLC 43 4MATIC Coupé is an important model in our portfolio having the distinction of being one of the highest selling AMG models in India. We are proud to introduce this dynamic SUV Coupé for our Indian customers now in its ‘made in India’ version. The addition of the stylish AMG GLC 43 Coupé will further cement our strong position in the performance SUV segment. We are confident, the launch of the locally produced AMG GLC 43 4MATIC Coupé will drive in value and aspiration for our customers and help the dynamic SUV Coupé retain its top preference among the discerning AMG customers.” elaborated Mr. Schwenk.
Commenting on the localization decision of the AMG, Piyush Arora, Executive Director, Operations, Mercedes-Benz India stated, “Our production facility, is a global benchmark in quality and technological advancement in manufacturing, and remains the backbone of our growth story in India. We are highly excited to commence the local manufacturing of AMG in India as it will add a new production milestone in our India journey, further deepening our commitment to the Indian market. The decision to commence localization of the AMG GLC 43 4MATIC Coupé firmly reiterates our significant manufacturing prowess and innovation in manufacturing, developed over the last two decades. We are glad to offer world-class products to our Indian customers with substantial local value addition, in the shortest possible time.”
The AMG GLC 43 4MATIC Coupé combines new, expressive design features with improved performance. The latest version of the MBUX infotainment system, with AMG specific functions and displays, introduces an innovative control concept that adds to the vehicle’s feasibility for everyday use. The practicality of the vehicle is further enhanced by the exceptional amount of space provided for passengers and luggage, and a comprehensive range of safety features. The vehicles exceptional agility and sporty driving dynamics ensures that Mercedes AMG meets the brand promise of “Driving Performance”.
Audi India has launched its Audi Q2 which is anticipated to give the customers a perfect mix of comfort and adventure experience.
It comes with a string of brilliant features:
Mumbai: Audi, the German luxury car manufacturer today, announced the launch of its sporty all-rounder Audi Q2 in India. Perfectly suited to everyday driving and a capable companion on adventure trips, the Audi Q2 is a luxury all-rounder. The bold design with sublime cuts and creases will strike a chord with young and progressive Indian customers who want to make a statement with their choice. Sporting features usually reserved for models from a class above, the Audi Q2 is yours from INR 34,99,000 Ex-showroom.
| Model Name | Variant | Ex-showroom (in INR) |
| Q2 40 TFSI quattro | Standard* | 34,99,000 |
| Premium | 40,89,000 | |
| Premium Plus I | 44,64,000 | |
| Premium Plus II | 45,14,000 | |
| Technology | 48,89,000 | |
| Complementary Peace of Mind offer bundles:
5 year Service Package with 2+3 years Extended Warranty and 2+3 years Road Side Assistance |
||
*Panoramic glass sunroof available at an additional @ INR 1.5 Lakhs.
Commenting on the launch, Mr. Balbir Singh Dhillon, Head of Audi India, said, “The Audi Q2 is a car we are beyond thrilled to introduce to our India line-up. We’ve listened to customer demand and brought in the fantastic, yet practical Audi Q2 in the run up to the festive season. The characterful design, plush interior and long list of features are just one part of the appeal. Having driven it extensively, I can vouch that the Audi Q2 is a thrilling drive. The 190hp, 2.0-TFSI engine, Progressive Steering and quattro make every drive an exciting one.”
The Audi Q2 is engineered for every need and feels at home anywhere, the city or in the great outdoors. It’s powered by a 2.0-litre TFSI petrol engine that puts out a strong 190hp. With Progressive Steering, quattro all-wheel drive and sporty dimensions, this is a car that offers excellent driving dynamics and courtesy Audi Drive Select, you can customize the driving experience to your liking.
There’s flexibility and convenience built in to the package as well. Luggage room is expandable from 405 litres to 1050 litres so you can pack everything you need for that long getaway. The LED Ambient lighting package allows you to pick between 10 different colours using the MMI display. Particularly interesting is the inlay based ambient lighting that gives a futuristic look to the Audi Q2’s interiors.
The Audi Phone Box which charges your phone wirelessly ensures you remain connected on the go. Further, with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto on the high-resolution TFT MMI, you can take work and play wherever you go. Talking about convenience, the Comfort Key ensures that you do not need to take the key out of your pocket. The 2-Zone Air Conditioner ensures customized temperature settings for the driver and the passenger.
Mr. Dhillon added, “Our sixth launch for the year – the Audi Q2 is another solid step in our endeavor to provide Indian customers with a wider range of choices from the Audi portfolio. We are happy that we could bring it to customers right in the middle of the festive season.”
For the best ownership experience, Audi India has offered an introductory ‘Peace of Mind’ package that comes bundled with a 5 year Service Package with 2+3 years Extended Warranty and 2+3 years Road Side Assistance.
‘myAudi Connect’
With exciting customer-centric features, the latest version of the App offers several additional functions including a login for Audi Club India members, payment options to enable in-app merchandise purchase, exclusive offers from Audi Concierge, offers on car-life products and online help and support – all of this within a secure framework and in compliance with data protection. These features are offered as standard for all Audi Q2 customers. Potential customers and enthusiasts get access to features including Augmented Reality, placement of test drive requests, product brochures and service cost calculators amongst others.
Key Highlights of the Audi Q2:
Engineered to perfection:
Dressed for any occasion:
Form follows function:
Premium cabin with Audi Virtual Cockpit:
Connected to the future:
Audi Sound System with 10 loudspeakers including a subwoofer, and a six-channel amplifier that produces 180 watts.
Lewis Hamilton has equaled Michael Schumacher’s record of the most number of Formula 1 race wins (91) at the Eifel GP at Nürburgring on Sunday.
The race weekend invited a lot of eyes initially because of the Ferrari junior program drivers Mick Schumacher and Callum Illot scheduled to run the Alfa Romeo and Haas F1 cars during free practice 1 on Friday. But all the build-up could not see the light as both free practices 1 & 2 were called off because of excessive fog which meant that the helicopter could not take off and that could have compromised safety. This posed a very unique challenge for the drivers and teams as well, as everyone had minimal running before qualifying on a track where none had driven the new F1 cars as Nürburgring wasn’t part of the F1 calendar for the past few years. Racing point found themselves under pressure as Lance Stroll was taken sick supposedly by food poisoning and had to miss out on racing. This paved way for the man dubbed as “SUPER-SUB” this season, NICO HULKENBERG. He was near the track because of his commitments with German TV broadcasting. Ultimately, Nico Hulkenberg would drive in place of Lance Stroll during the qualifying and race. The free practice 3 turned into a decent 90 mins running for every team and driver. Scuderia Ferrari found some pace during the practice session which was very different from the last few races.
QUALIFYING
Undoubtedly it was Nico Hulkenberg who was the first to go out to have some running across the track in a car he had already driven at Silverstone. The first part of qualifying saw the Haas of Romain Grosjean, both Williams of George Russell and Nicolas Latifi, Alfa Romeo of Kimi Raikkonen who made his 323rd Formula 1 race start thus becoming the most experienced Formula 1 driver in terms of the number of race starts and the Racing point of Nico Hulkenberg being eliminated. Antonio Giovinazzi scrapped through to the 2nd part of qualifying by posting a time just 0.020 seconds quicker than Romain Grosjean. Nico Hulkenberg, though qualified 20th but was lauded for the commendable effort as he was just 0.8 seconds of his team-mate Sergio Perez and just 0.4s away from going into the 2nd part of qualifying with such minimal running and joining the team just hours before the qualifying. Max Verstappen topped Q1 with the two Mercedes of Bottas and Hamilton completing the top 3.
The 2nd part of qualifying saw Sebastian Vettel who was out-qualified by his teammate for the 8th race in a row, both Alpha Tauri’s of Pierre Gasly and Danill Kvyat, Alfa Romeo of Giovinazzi, and Haas of Kevin Magnussen getting eliminated.
The final part of qualifying saw Valterri Bottas put in a mega effort to claim pole position by 0.256 seconds, ahead of Lewis Hamilton. Max Verstappen qualified 3rd after being the closest to the Mercedes. Charles Leclerc too put in a mega lap to equal the best qualifying position for Ferrari in p4. The other Red Bull of Alex Albon, both Renaults of Ricciardo and Ocon, McLarens of Norris and Sainz, and Racing point of Sergio Perez completed the top 10.
RACE
It was to be a dramatic start as the run towards Turn 1 was long enough and the slippery downward sloping nature of Turn 1 would invite a lot of lock-ups and sliding. Lewis Hamilton made a slightly better start and was momentarily ahead of the Bottas but was pipped by Bottas coming out of Turn 1. There were a lot of lockups from Albon, Gasly, and Magnussen throughout corners 3 to 7. Sergio Perez moved up ahead of Ocon and kept fighting with Norris over p8. At the back, Hulkenberg made a good start to gain 3 places to P17. Giovinazzi had a terrific start to go to P10. Charles Leclerc held off a challenge from the pacy Ricciardo for 9 laps before Ricciardo breezed past the Ferrari. Valterri Bottas held a good 2 seconds lead over Hamilton until lap 13 when he locked up heavily going into Turn 1 and allowed Hamilton to breeze past him through turns 2 and 3. Lap 14 saw the first major incident of the race with George Russell coming off worse in a 3 way battle between him, Vettel, and Raikkonen. Raikkonen locked up and understeered straight into Russell damaging his rear suspension and giving him a left rear puncture thus retiring him from the race. The virtual safety car to recover Russell’s Williams allowed few drivers to pit and all the top 4 runners pitted for new tires. On Lap 17, Kvyat missed his braking point at the penultimate corner and went onto the grass coming onto the track just ahead of Albon and they collided taking the front wing out of Kvyat’s car. Bottas’s race which had turned horrible due to the big lock-up turned even worse when Mercedes had to retire his car due to a problem with the power unit (supposedly the ERS – Energy Recovery System). Lando Norris had electric issues with his car as well and was passed by Sergio Perez but Norris continued with a not a 100% car. Perez made another move on Charles Leclerc on Lap 35 to move into 4th place. Lando Norris retired his car on Lap 44 and thus brought out the Safety Car. The biggest losers of the Safety car were both the Racing points as they were on road to a brilliant 1-stop race as compared to the 2-stop by everyone else. Both the racing points almost raced half race distance on the softs they had started on. Safety car allowed a free pitstop to everyone except Grosjean who made up places to P7 with other pitting.
On the Safety car restart, Perez pressurized Ricciardo for the final place on the podium but Ricciardo managed to stay ahead with some disciplined driving. Hamilton went on to win the race with Max Verstappen finishing second. Daniel Ricciardo finished third and thus making Renault the 7th team to finish on the podium in 2020 – the most since 2012 (7 teams on the podium). Sergio Perez finished a brilliant 4th and his teammate for the weekend, Nico Hulkenberg made up 12 places to finish a brilliant 8th – thus taking Racing Point to 3rd in the constructor’s championship – 4 ahead of McLaren & 6 ahead of Renault. Sainz, Gasly, Leclerc finished 5th, 6th, and 7th respectively and the final 2 points positions were taken by Romain Grosjean and Giovinazzi. Kimi Raikkonen starting his record 323rd race, ended up in the 13th position as he was given a 10 second time penalty for colliding with George Russell. Sebastian Vettel finished out of the points in 11th position at his home race. Albon, Bottas, Norris, and Ocon retired with engine-related issues.
Lewis Hamilton was presented a helmet of Michael Schumacher, as a noble gesture, for equaling the highest number of race wins in F1 history, by Mick Schumacher.
Nico Hulkenberg was voted Driver of the Weekend by F1 fans around the globe.
Mercedes-Benz with its brand new launch of Mercedes-Benz EQC moves towards its new era of e-mobility and “sustainable luxury” in the Indian Automotive landscape. This will be the first Luxury Electric Vehicle in India.
PUNE: India’s largest luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz today started the new era of future mobility in the luxury segment with the launch of Mercedes-Benz EQC. The launch of the EQC represents Mercedes-Benz’s commitment to the automotive industry’s journey towards a sustainable future and signifies a major milestone towards Mercedes-Benz’s “Ambition 2039” which aims to achieve climate-neutral mobility. The Mercedes-Benz EQC is the first product under Mercedes-Benz EQ brand, a comprehensive product and technology ecosystem that aims to shape the future of mobility, which derives from the Mercedes’ brand values of ‘Emotion’ and ‘Intelligence’.
The EQC is launched with a comprehensive ecosystem that makes it as much fun to drive as a practical car for the customers. The EQC ecosystem promises to take care of the entire customer journey comprising ordering the car online or offline through a showroom, innovative finance packages from DFS, service and charging support across Mercedes-Benz India’s renowned and dense network of 100 outlets in 48 cities, an industry first battery cover and a bunch of best-in-class service packages.
The EQC was launched in India by Martin Schwenk, Managing Director & CEO and Santosh Iyer, Vice President, Sales & marketing through a digital event streamed from the company’s Centre of Excellence in Chakan, Pune.
Launching India’s first luxury EV, Martin Schwenk, Managing Director& CEO commented, “EQC is one of the most anticipated cars in the luxury space and we are glad to pioneer a new segment in India, that of the Luxury EV. We are excited to launch this car for our discerning customers in India who always wanted a practical electric car with a long range, which is very stylish, extremely refined and fun to drive, laden with the latest generation intuitive technology, extremely safe, has zero tailpipe emission, and -most importantly- a pure Mercedes. The EQC meets all these criteria of today’s tech savvy customers as it combines effortlessly design, functionality, technology and luxury together in a unique package. Our objective is to put our combined experience and understanding of the Indian market and customers behind the EQC, and create a long-term, worry-free, sustainable and green mobility ecosystem in India. The EQC will become a torch-bearer towards sustainable luxury in India.”
Mr. Schwenk further added, “Listening to the customers, we launched the EQC in India after creating a nationwide ecosystem that will seamlessly support the EQC customers’ ownership requirements. The entire customer journey of an EQC customer promises to be simple and worry-free starting from booking the car online or offline, financing, wall box installation, to charging and service facilities available across our network. In addition, we are also working towards setting up fast DC chargers on popular routes in tandem with our expansive network spread.”
“EQC will be rolled out from 13 locations in 6 cities in the initial phase. In all such locations, we have exclusive EQC display areas along with dedicated EQC teams who will take care of all the sales and customer service requirements of an EQC customer. With some of the most attractive finance schemes, a comprehensive service package and an industry first battery cover on offer, we are confident owning an EQC will not only be novel but also hassle-free vehicle to own. It definitely marks Mercedes’ leap into a new era, in which electric mobility is reliable, simple yet exciting. We are confident EQC will pave the way for further expansion of our green cars portfolio and underline our electric ambition in India suitably.”
Intelligent Futuristic Exteriors and Interiors that offer sustainable luxury
The EQC radiates ease and modernity where SUV practicality meets sports car sleekness. The EQC’s design language speaks with progressive clarity; exemplified by unique features such as the Widescreen Cockpit, LED strip light front and rear, and the black panel radiator grill. The EQC’s interior is both progressive and modern, using renewable materials for the upholstery and featuring rose gold finishing. The MBUX intuitive system is a revolutionary infotainment system with natural voice control, touch-sensitive surfaces and seamless navigation.
Optimum planning before a journey | Mercedes me app’s benefits
New Mercedes Me Connect features: benefits all existing Mercedes owners.
With the vehicle’s battery management, the users can remotely check the EQC’s battery status, access the status of charging, available range and indication upon charging completion. The user can also remotely define the maximum status of charge and set as per convenience.
Pre-entry climate control feature ensures the user can set the vehicle’s individual zone temperatures before the drive. The Anti-theft alarm system, along with Mercedes me connect gives notification on the App in case of any unwanted movements inside the locked car, and for tow away protection. EQC Compatible charging stations across India are also visible on the EQC Navigation system for ease. Other key features of Mercedes me connect are:
EQC drivers can plan their destinations from the home or office, enter a departure time and bring the interior to the desired temperature. The Mercedes me app creates transparency and helps drivers to plan upcoming journeys to best effect. Programming is possible directly via MBUX – Mercedes-Benz User Experience or via the Mercedes me App.
Intelligent recuperation| Preserves and perseveres
To ensure that the technical operating range is used to the maximum, the Mercedes-Benz EQC also charges its batteries when on the move through intelligent recuperation. The driver has a major influence on recuperation. He/she is also able to influence the recuperation level using so-called paddles behind the steering wheel. The paddle on the left increases the level of recuperation, the paddle on the right reduces it. The following stages are available:
Fit and Healthy package:
The fit and healthy package of the EQC comprises an ENERGIZING comfort programs, ENERGIZING coach, front seat heating, AIR-BALANCE package for fragrance, ionization and filtering of the interior air. There is also ambient lighting with program-specific lighting moods. The EQC’s ENERGIZING package’s unique features thus has positive effects on the occupants.
The ENERGIZING programs in the EQC comprises unique programs like:
It has video instructions, e.g. to loosen up the muscles (only available when stationary)etc. The EQC also provides a 3-minute audio information tips for sustained promotion of one’s health and day-to-day well-being, for the head, shoulders, torso, lower back and pelvic areas of the body
Safety features in the EQC:
Taking care of the occupants’ safety, the EQC features 7 airbags, attention assist, PRE-SAFER system, ESP and Active Brake assist.
Technical Data:
| CO2 emissions | 0 g/km |
| Power consumption (NEDC) | (20.8 – 19.7 kWh/100 km) |
| Range (WLTP) | 445 – 471 km |
| Drive system | 2 asynchronous motors, all-wheel drive |
| Output | 300 kW (408 hp) |
| Peak torque | 760 Nm |
| Top speed | 180 km/h (governed) |
| Acceleration 0-100 km/h | 5.1 s |
| Battery | Lithium-ion |
| Battery energy content (NEDC) | 80 kWh |
| Battery weight | 652 kg |
| Length/width (incl. mirrors)/height | 4,761/1,884 (2,096) /1,624 mm |
| Wheelbase | 2,873 mm |
| Luggage compartment (depending on equipment fitted) | approx. 500 l |
| Kerb weight (EC)/perm. gross vehicle weight/payload (EC) | 2,495/2,940/445 kg |
Complete hassle-free ownership experience of EQC: Individual household feasibility survey, wall box installations at home or office, all-inclusive in car price
EQC retail network: Phase wise roll-out of EQC for an enhanced customer experience | Phase I comprises 13 location in 6 cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai | Phase II roll-out to cover other metros
EQC Service & Warranty: Comprehensive service packages offering complete ease of ownership to customers:
First time in the auto industry: Mercedes-Benz India is going to offer the ‘industry first’ 8 years or 1,60,000 kms (whichever is earlier) battery cover for the EQC
Buy-back value for EQC: Assured buy back value for 3 years during the time of purchase for customers
Attractive EMI from DFS India with STAR Agility: 40% lower EMI with Star Agility for a loan tenure of 3 years, starting at an attractive INR 144,111 per month
EQC charging ecosystem: Mercedes-Benz’s densest network spread across India will support any charging & service related requirements for the EQC customers
Online buying: Customer can order their EQC online from the comfort of their home at: www.shop.mercedes-benz.co.in
Hyundai is all set to add the all new 3rd generation of Hyundai i20 to the Indian market soon. It was supposed to be showcased at the Geneva motor show but had to be put off in the wake of the ongoing pandemic. It is expected to hit the showrooms by the first half of 2021. This would also be the first time that Hyundai would be bringing its N-line trim to the i20 but it is awaited whether that would be available for Indian markets or not. The new i20 in India is expected to come with 3 engine option – 1.5 liter diesel engine, 1.0 liter turbo and 1.2 liter naturally aspirated petrol trim. It is expected to get an all new platform and with the shots available it seems to be on the same lines as the new versions of Hyundai Verna and Elantra.
The car is expected to bring in a lot of new features like the connected car technology, a change in the instrument cluster and infotainment systems. It is expected to be priced around Rs 7-11 lakhs (ex-showroom price). It will be pitted in one of the most competitive segments in India Auto market and is expected to rival the likes of Maruti Suzuki Baleno, Toyota Glanza, Tata Altroz and Honda Jazz.
Formula 1 never ceases to impress us. Be it the superb straight-line speeds or the daring wheel to wheel racing or even the crazy social media presence. But like every other sport, Formula 1 churns out some impressive numbers (and coincidence sometimes).
Let us see one such “Hell of A Coincidence” moment from Formula 1 2020 season:
After 10 rounds of races in the current season, the lead for the championship looks somewhat like this –
Now, these are plain numbers on the first look & very much accepted given that these 3 have shared the podium 6 times in the 10 races so far.
But again, this is Formula 1!!!!
Let us have a closer look at the difference between the points:
Coincidence? Definitely so!!!
The top 3 in championship are separated by the number of points equaling their car numbers.
Like every other season, an add up of numbers does bring in some interesting things to look out for. Let us see what the Formula 1 2020 season has brought out in terms of numbers till now:
1: A first race victory for Pierre Gasly at Monza, Italy! A difficult 2019 followed by the tag “Race Winner” – Never lose hope during difficult times!
2: Only the second time Alpha Tauri (previously Toro Rosso) managed to win a F1 race. Coincidentally, the first time was also at Monza and that race victory introduced us to one of the legends of the sport and four-time champion, Sebastian Vettel.
3: Three young Ferrari Academy drivers to make their Formula 1 weekend debut this year. Mick Schumacher is expected to drive the Alfa Romeo at the Eifel grand prix this weekend and similarly Callum Illot will be driving for Haas F1 in free practice 1. Robert Schwartzman will be driving the F1 car during the final Friday practice 1 of 2020 season at Abu Dhabi. All eyes will be on Mick Schumacher as he would driving at his home race track, a track which is just a few miles away from the birthplace of his father and Formula 1’s all time great, Michael Schumacher.
7: The highest number of driver’s championships won by a single driver, Michael Schumacher. What seemed to be impossible achievement, is set to be equaled by Lewis Hamilton if he manages to win the championship just one more time. Looks very likely, 2020 could be it! Brace yourselves, Michael Schumacher fans, you got to share the top spot tag now!
31: George Russell has now outqualified his teammate in every qualifying session till date, thereby leading the qualifying battle by 31-0 (21-0 to Robert Kubica and 10-0 to Nicolas Latifi)
91: The highest number of race wins by a driver, Michael Schumacher. Lewis Hamilton has currently 90 race wins under his belt. One more in the next 7 races to come this year and he will equal the great Michael Schumacher in terms of race wins. A few more, and one could say Lewis Hamilton is the most successful Formula 1 driver in terms of race wins!!!
96: The highest number of pole positions by Lewis Hamilton. With 7 races yet to come this year and future (maybe), he is all set to cross the 100 mark! The second highest number of pole positions is 68 by Michael Schumacher – which Hamilton has bettered as a Mercedes driver alone (69 pole positions as a Mercedes driver)
322: The highest number of race starts by a Formula 1 driver. It was held by Brazilian Rubens Barrichello till the Russian GP but has been equaled by the ICEMAN Kimi Raikkonen. Kimi is all set to own this record during the next race weekend at Nürburgring. But the question is for how long? Formula 1 veteran, Spaniard Fernando Alonso is coming back to racing with Renault in 2021. He currently has 311 race starts to his name. If Kimi decides to stop racing, Alonso is sure to own this record next year! But will Kimi hang up just yet? Coming days would tell!!