Max Verstappen will start the Mexico City Grand Prix from pole position alongside George Russell after a strong afternoon for Mercedes.
The German marque had topped the first two qualifying segments, but Verstappen unleashed in Q3 to put 0.132s on the rest of the field led by Russell. Lewis Hamilton slotted into a close third but had his lap deleted for cutting Turn 3, forcing him into a one-run session at the death.
Verstappen was first out among the top three for the second runs and immediately slammed on a faster time, lowering the benchmark by 0.172s to 1m17.947s.
Continue reading on RACERMax Verstappen beat Lewis Hamilton to victory at the United States Grand Prix despite a slow pit stop costing him the lead just after half-distance.
Victory meant Red Bull Racing also secured the constructors’ championship over Ferrari for the first time since 2013.
Verstappen had snatched first place from pole sitter Carlos Sainz off the line with a great start from second on the grid to claim the Turn 1 apex. Sainz was set to follow him out of the corner, but George Russell, starting from fourth, was attempting to slice down the inside of teammate Hamilton and went in too hot.
Continue reading on RACERF1 journalist joins Sportsday with the latest around the Red Bull allegations of cheating!
Max Verstappen dominated the wet-weather Japanese Grand Prix to win his second world title after Charles Leclerc dropped from second to third with a post-race penalty.
The heavens opened over the track in the hour before the race started, and lights went out as scheduled with the field on intermediate tires.
But the grand prix was neutralized halfway around the lap when Carlos Sainz aquaplaned into the barrier exiting the hairpin, with Gasly collecting an advertising hoarding that tore free from the wall in the impact.
Continue reading on RACERMax Verstappen has put himself in the perfect position to claim his second world championship on Sunday by beating Charles Leclerc to pole position at the Japanese Grand Prix.
But the Dutchman was sweating on a post-session stewards investigation into a bizarre incident with Lando Norris during the top-10 shootout.
Verstappen was preparing for his first flying lap off-line at the rapid 130R when Norris, who was on a much faster out-lap, closed behind him.
Continue reading on RACERMax Verstappen comfortably beat both Ferrari drivers in a busy final practice session at the Japanese Grand Prix.
Verstappen, who can guarantee himself a second championship this weekend if he wins the grand prix with the fastest lap, left his best lap until the final five minutes of the chaotic hour of track running. His best time of 1m 30.671s beat Carlos Sainz, who had previously controlled the top of the time sheet, by 0.294s.
The Dutchman was quickest relative to Ferrari in the more downforce-dependent first sector, but the two cars were more evenly matched for the rest of the lap. He was also quicker at the speed trap.
Continue reading on RACERSergio Perez won the Singapore Grand Prix ahead of Charles Leclerc to delay Max Verstappen’s title coronation in an attritional wet-weather race that featured two safety cars, three virtual cautions and six retirements.
After waiting through an hour-long rain delay, Perez jumped poleman Leclerc off the line but had to absorb significant pressure for almost the entire race, which timed out after 59 of the 61 scheduled laps owing to the number of interruptions and the slow pace of the race in slippery conditions.
His mission was hampered by an engine drivability problem under braking and on power, but a lock-up by Leclerc broke the Monegasque’s charge and freed Perez to build some rhythm. In the final nine laps, he was able to grow his 1.5s advantage into 7.5s at the checkered flag.
Continue reading on RACERMax Verstappen romped to an easy victory at the Italian Grand Prix after Ferrari gambled away Charles Leclerc’s lead on a two-stop strategy.
Leclerc had got away from pole position easily to control the first part of the race while Verstappen worked to recover from seventh on the grid. The Dutchman dispatched the task rapidly, rising to third after two laps and second on lap 5, but he couldn’t close down Leclerc for the lead. Both drivers were on the soft tire, on which their cars were equally suited.
The pit window was expected to open at around lap 18 for an early one-stop strategy, but on lap 12 Sebastian Vettel’s Aston Martin expired in a puff of smoke, forcing the German to park by the side of the road.
Continue reading on RACERMax Verstappen has the pace in third practice for the Italian Grand Prix, beating Charles Leclerc by 0.347s seconds.
Verstappen’s best time of 1m 21.252s came late on the soft tire, but his previous quickest lap on the medium compound would still have been quick enough for third, just behind teammate Sergio Perez’s best soft-compound lap and ahead of Carlos Sainz.
Leclerc, however, remains favorite for pole position given Verstappen, Perez and Sainz will all serve grid penalties on Sunday – though Verstappen’s drop is worth only five places, keeping him comfortably in victory contention.
Continue reading on RACERMax Verstappen took victory in the Dutch Grand Prix after pinching victory from Lewis Hamilton in a late-race safety car restart.
The first 48 laps of the 77-lap race had been a tense strategic duel between Hamilton and Verstappen, with Mercedes putting the Briton on a one-stop strategy to take track position from the pole-winnng Dutchman, who led the race early thanks to a great start.
The Red Bull Racing car had the better pace, but with passing so difficult around the tight Zandvoort circuit and with George Russell acting as a buffer between them, the tactics should have given Mercedes its best shot at a win so far this year.
Continue reading on RACERMax Verstappen stormed to pole position ahead of Charles Leclerc at his home Dutch Grand Prix.
Leclerc had been the faster driver after the first laps of Q3 by half a tenth and looked set to send Verstappen’s home fans home disappointment, but the Dutchman rallied the second time around to challenge the Monegasque. Leclerc was fastest of all in the first sector, but a blisteringly quick second split was enough for Verstappen to nose ahead before they tackled the final part of the lap.
The Ferrari driver again improved on his time to record a purple sector at the final split, but it wasn’t enough to counteract the Red Bull Racing car’s impressive time in the middle of the lap, and a personal best for Verstappen as he crossed the line was good enough to take his second consecutive Dutch Grand Prix pole position.
Continue reading on RACERMax Verstappen landed a major boost to his championship campaign with a peerless drive to victory in the Belgian Grand Prix.
Verstappen started the race from 14th on the grid but made scintillating progress from lights out. He made five positions up on the first lap alone and continued scything through the field after a brief safety car intervention to clear the stricken cars of Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas.
By the end of lap 8 – just five racing laps into the race – he was up to third and had victory in his sights.
Continue reading on RACERMax Verstappen won the Hungarian Grand Prix and extended his championship lead again after a Ferrari strategy blunder cost Charles Leclerc another victory.
Verstappen started 10th but made strong progress in the opening stint to run fifth after 15 laps in time of the first pit stop window, when he undercut his way past Lewis Hamilton into fourth and within striking distance of the podium.
Meanwhile, at the front of the field pole-getter George Russell’s lead came under siege from the Ferrari drivers, with Carlos Sainz leading Charles Leclerc.
Continue reading on RACERMax Verstappen set an imposing benchmark in second practice at the Belgian Grand Prix despite tricky slippery conditions.
The cool track, which had been sprinkled intermittently with rain throughout the day and endured another shower in the final 10 minutes, offered grip at a premium, but the Dutchman mastered the slick circuit to set a best time of 1m45.507s with his Red Bull. The only blot in his copybook was the stewards noting him for a potential practice start infringement when the cars lined up on the grid after the checkered flag, which at worst would likely lead to a reprimand.
Charles Leclerc was next quickest, but his Ferrari was 0.862s off the pace. The Monegasque’s only ameliorating excuse was that his car appeared to be making some unusual noises via the warning system that he asked the team to switch off.
Continue reading on RACERMax Verstappen cruised to an easy win at the French Grand Prix after polesitter Charles Leclerc crashed out of the race in a devastating blow to his title campaign.
Leclerc was in the lead of the grand prix, having fended off 10 laps of Verstappen advances, and was traversing Turn 11 when the rear stepped out in the middle of the corner.
His Ferrari swapped ends before going into the far barrier nose-first, ending his race on the spot.
Continue reading on RACERMax Verstappen beat Carlos Sainz to top spot in final practice at the French Grand Prix.
Verstappen’s best lap of 1m 32.272s covered Sainz by a comfortable 0.354s margin, while Charles Leclerc struggled with degradation in third, 0.637s off the pace.
The Dutchman’s supremacy was such that even his quickest time on the medium compound would have put him second in the final order – and it would’ve been quick enough to keep top spot before Sainz set a second time on softs after two cool-down laps.
Continue reading on RACERMax Verstappen dominated the Austria sprint race ahead of the squabbling Ferrari drivers to inch open his world championship lead.
Verstappen got away cleanly from the line, while Carlos Sainz followed him into the first corner from third on the grid, jumping teammate Charles Leclerc, who started on the front row.
The Spaniard attempted to challenge the Dutchman into Turn 3 but went deep, and Leclerc took his opportunity to cut down his inside and get the better exit. The Monegasque was later on the brakes on the inside of Turn 4 and took the place back, demoting his teammate to third.
Continue reading on RACERMax Verstappen will start the Austrian Grand Prix sprint race from pole after pipping Charles Leclerc to top spot by just 0.029s. British Grand Prix winner Carlos Sainz qualified third and just 0.082s off the pace.
Verstappen left his best until last. Not only was the Red Bull driver one of the last across the line, but his first two sectors weren’t improvements on his previous laps, with the fine difference all coming at the final split.
“At the end it was a very tight qualifying,” he said. “It’s a very challenging track as well to get everything right.
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