Tales from the paddock: Podium finishes, overall and class victories plus a drivers' title

While preparations continued for the F1 night race in Singapore, the Mercedes-AMG Motorsport teams were lifting more trophies around the world

• This is what happened: Results and facts
• News from the Mercedes-AMG Motorsport teams
• Social media news: What's new online?

This is what happened: Results and facts

• GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup: Timur Boguslavskiy and Raffaele Marciello finish second race at Valencia in Top Three
• GT World Challenge Australia: A win and a P3 for the Mercedes-AMG GT3 in Melbourne
• GT Cup Championship: Mercedes-AMG GT3 drivers secure four podiums in the four races at Donington Park

News snippets

The virtual season begins: Following the Italian Grand Prix in Monza, Formula One is on a three-week break until racing resumes in Singapore. Meanwhile, the new F1 Esports Pro Series season got underway last weekend. The Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Esports squad for the 2022 campaign contains two familiar faces - Jarno Opmeer and Dani Moreno - plus newcomer Jake Benham. Two-time World Champion Opmeer will be looking to defend his title, while his team-mate Moreno, who finished fourth overall last year, will be aiming to once again contribute valuable points towards the Team Championship. The first event of the 2022 F1 Esports Pro Series (14-16 September) consisted of three races on the virtual Grand Prix circuits of Bahrain, Imola and Silverstone. Jarno started his title defence with a P2 in Bahrain, but in the second race he was hit from behind at the start. This left him trailing most of the field, although he subsequently managed to claw his way back to finish eleventh. In the third race, he came fifth. Dani also registered a couple of P5s in the first two races before having to settle for P13 in Race 3. The F1 Esports Pro Series championship table after this first encounter of 2022 has Jarno in fourth place on 28 points and Dani in P7 on 20. The Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Esports Team is third in the Team Standings after three of the season's twelve races. The next three-day Pro Series event will be held on the weekend of 12-14 October and will replicate the F1 circuits at Spielberg, Spa-Francorchamps and Zandvoort.

Mercedes-AMG Motorsport celebrates drivers' title in the GT World Challenge Europe and a class win in Valencia: Raffaele Marciello (SUI) has wrapped up the combined drivers' championship in the Sprint and Endurance Cup of the GT World Challenge Europe 2022 ahead of time. The Swiss pro secured pole position in qualifying for the second Sprint Cup race at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo and finished third together with his team-mate Timur Boguslavskiy (FIA) after a dramatic final few laps. The points secured were enough for Marciello to be crowned drivers' champion in the overall standings with races to spare. The results from the final sprint races of the season left Marciello and AKKODIS ASP team-mate Boguslavskiy as runners-up in the Sprint Cup.

Fabian Schiller (GER) and Ezequiel Perez Companc (ARG) in the number 90 Mercedes-AMG GT3 crossed the finish line in fifth place on Sunday, which was enough to hand them victory in the Silver Cup class. Amid difficult track conditions, the Madpanda Motorsport duo staged an impressive recovery from 17th on the starting grid. Two P3 finishes in the Silver Cup at the weekend helped Thomas Drouet (FRA) and Casper Stevenson (GBR) of the AKKODIS ASP team to round off their season with the runner-up spot in this particular category.

Wins in the general and other classifications for Customer Racing teams in the GT World Challenge Australia: The third event of the GT World Challenge Australia was hosted by Sandown Raceway in Melbourne. Triple Eight Race Engineering were on top form in the first race. Starting from sixth place, Prince Jefri Ibrahim (MAS) and Shane van Gisbergen (AUS) in the number 888 Mercedes-AMG GT3 steadily worked their way forward to eventually take the lead. As heavy rain began to fall, the stewards decided to end the race behind the safety car, which conveniently handed the team its second win in the current GT World Challenge Australia. The Triple Eight Race Engineering duo also finished the second race of the weekend on the podium with a P3 after 60 minutes of racing, a 20-minute race interruption and another heavy downpour. There were also successes to report on the Mercedes-AMG GT4 front. In the first race, Christos Batzios (GRE) and Sam Brabham (AUS) of Harrolds Racing celebrated victory in the GT4 class. Declan Fraser (AUS) in the number 19 Mercedes-AMG GT4 fielded by Daimler Trucks Brisbane saw off the opposition in Race 2.

Further class wins and podiums for Customer Racing teams in various European series: For the Customer Racing teams, the GT Cup Championship at Donington Park in north Leicestershire offered no fewer than four opportunities to excel last weekend. In the first two races, Hugo Cook (GBR) in the number 36 car of Cook Motorsport was the best of the Mercedes-AMG GT3 contingent, contributing a P2 and P3 in the general classification. In the third and fourth races, it was fellow Brit Ian Loggie in the #16 RAM Racing car who showed the way, producing a P3 and a P2. Loggie is now third in the GT3 class ahead of the season finale at Snetterton Motor Racing Circuit on the weekend of 8 - 9 October. In the GT4 homologated car classification, Chris Hart and Stephen Walton (GBR) in the Make Happen Racing number 69 are currently on course for the championship runner-up spot after finishing second and third in class. However, it was the number 39 Mercedes-AMG GT4 driven by the Track Focused pairing of Darren Kell and James Kell (GBR) that took the class victory in race three over the weekend.

The title contenders in the Endurance Cup of the Italian Gran Turismo Championship now nervously await the grand finale of the 2022 campaign. The penultimate round over a two-hour distance was contested at the Autodromo Vallelunga. The Antonelli Motorsport trio of Francesca Linossi, Emidio Pesce (both ITA) and Jop Rappange (NED) secured valuable championship points in the GT3 Pro/Am class. Pesce and Rappange go into the final endurance race of the season second in their class but level on points with the leaders. The title will be decided on 9th October at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza.

In the French Ultimate Cup Series, AKKODIS ASP and their two drivers, Vincent Capillaire and Nicolas Chartier (both FRA), celebrated overall victory in the four-hour race at the Hockenheimring on Sunday. The team fielding the #88 Mercedes-AMG GT3 is in third place in the Endurance standings. The next venue on the itinerary is Magny-Cours, and the eventual champions will be crowned at Circuit Paul Ricard in November.

Social Media News

#PowerUnit101: The second instalment of our 'Power Unit A-Z with PETRONAS Motorsports' focuses on the turbocharger, which works in tandem with the internal combustion engine (ICE) and energy recovery system (ERS) to produce greater power and efficiency.

Watch video:www.youtube.com/watch?v=kx6JgiqmmkQ

#F1RaceDebrief: In our Akkodis race debrief, Mike Elliott answers the big questions to have emerged from the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, including safety car strategy and tyre choice.

Watch video:www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2Ik58mepIM