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The Racing Point F1 team is a racing team owned by Racing Point UK and competing as SportPesa Racing Point F1 Team. It operates under a British license and has its headquarters in Silverstone, in the United Kingdom. It competes in the current 2019 Formula One World Championship under the constructor name Racing Point.
The team is Formula One’s new kid on the block as it was formed only in 2018 after its purchase of Sahara Force India and its assets. It competed in 2018 under the constructor name “Force India” while making its competitive debut at the 2018 Belgian Grand Prix. The team was renamed as Racing Point F1 team in February 2019.
Engine
Racing Point’s car for the 2019 Formula One season is called the Racing Point RP19. It is the first car built by Racing Points since its purchase of Force India. The car made its debut at the 2019 Australian Grand Prix and was driven by Racing Point’s Sergio Perez and Lance Stroll.
The Racing Point RP19 is powered by the Mercedes M10 EQ Power+ (rebadged as BWT Mercedes) 1.6 L (98 cu in) direct injection V6. The RP19 has a turbocharged engine limited to 15,000 RPM in a mid-mounted rear-wheel drive layout and uses a Mercedes kinetic and thermal energy recovery systems.
Drivers
Sergio Perez began his career in karting. In 2004, he competed for the Skip Barber National Championship. He finished 11th in the championship while racing for Mexican telecommunications company Telita. He moved to Europe the following year to join the Formula BMW ADAC series in Germany. After a single round in the A1 Grand Prix, Checo Perez joined the British Formula 3 championship and later, the GP2 Series.
In October 2011, Sauber announced the Perez would replace Nick Heidfeld and race for them in 201. In doing so, he became the 5th Mexican driver to race in Formula One and the first since Hector Rebaque competed from 1977-1981. In 2013, Perez replaced Lewis Hamilton at McLaren following the Briton’s move to Mercedes. The following season, Perez moved to Force India, which is not known as Racing Point.
The other Racing Point driver is Lance Stroll. Stroll is the son of Canadian billionaire businessman Lawrence Stroll who owns Circuit Mont-Tremblant in Quebec. The 20-year old Geneva-based Canadian started his racing career in karting before racing for his father’s FIA Euro F3 Series Italian Prema team. The young Stroll also won the New Zealand based Toyota Racing Series. Stroll was part of the Ferrari Driver Academy as the second-youngest driver ever signed to a Formula One team. He left in 2015 to become a test driver for Williams.
In November 2015, it was announced that Stroll would drive for Williams in 2017. He would become the first Canadian Formula One driver since 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve. After placing 3rd in the 2017 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Lance Stroll became the youngest rookie driver to climb the podium at 18 years and 299 days old. That feat stands as the only podium finish of his career so far.
Stats
As far as Formula One betting is concerned, the betting odds are saying that both Racing Point drivers aren’t expected to contend in the Drivers Championship. However, Sergio Perez is currently tied for 6th place with 13 points earned. The 29-year old Mexican has steadily improved in every race this season. From starting the year with a 13th place finish at the 2019 Australian Grand Prix, Perez placed 10th in Bahrain and improved to 8th in Shanghai. In the most recent race in Baku, Perez finished in 6th place, a season-best for the Guadalajara native.
Last year, Perez finished the season ranked 8th in the Drivers Standings with a total of 62 points. In his Formula One career, the “Mexican Wunderkind” hasn’t won a race in 159 starts. However, he has a total of 8 podium finishes, 4 fastest laps, and no poles. His last podium finish was a year ago at the 2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix where he finished third.
On the other hand, Lance Stroll is currently ranked 14th in the 2019 Drivers Standings with four race points earned. The 20-year old Canadian began the 2019 season with a 9th place finish in Melbourne. He followed that up by placing 14th in Bahrain and then 12th in the Chinese GP. During last weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Stroll completed the race in 9th place.
Last year, Stroll was ranked 18th in the final Drivers Standings with a total of six points. He has not won a race in 50 starts nor has he claimed pole position in any of those races. Stroll’s best finish and the lone podium finish of his career was at the 2017 Azerbaijan Grand Prix where he placed 3rd. In achieving that feat, Stroll became the youngest driver in his rookie season to have a podium finish.
