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Mercās missed victory chance before DSQ; silver lining to dual Aussie disasters: F1 talking points
The United States Grand Prix was going to be all about Mercedesās late-season renaissance, with upgrades brought to Austin powering Lewis Hamilton to within a couple of seconds of Max Verstappen and an unlikely victory.
Then Hamilton was disqualified.
Both Hamilton and pole-getter Charles Leclerc were thrown out of the race for failing post-race technical inspections. Neither driver was at fault and the breaches will have had a limited effect on performance, but thereās zero tolerance when it comes to the technical rules.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSMax Verstappen has won the United States Grand Prix, his 50th victory, after a strategic duel with Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris.
The Dutchman started sixth on the grid behind polesitter Charles Leclerc, but it was Norris who got the best start, capitalizing on second on the grid being on the inside line into Turn 1 to easily seize the lead. The McLaren driver flexed his muscle early, sprinting to a 1.9s advantage at the end of the first lap.
Sainz moved up to third behind Leclerc, with Hamilton and Verstappen trailing, but it was clear early that the Ferrari drivers didnāt have the pace for the podium battle.
Continue reading on RACERMotoGP race director Mike Webb expects negotiations to move the date of the Australian Grand Prix to avoid weather disruptions at future races.
Sunday running at Phillip Island was declared with only the Moto3 race and half the Moto2 race completed. MotoGP riders never took to the circuit, with wind speed too extreme for track action.
The Bureau of Meteorology observed gusts of more than 50 kilometres per hour on Sunday, though the circuitās location overlooking Bass Strait means it was likely battered by more extreme winds, with gales of up to 87 kilometres per hour having been forecast for the surrounding waters.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSThe MotoGP sprint at the Australian Grand Prix has been called off on safety grounds due to extreme weather at Phillip Island.
Team managers were spotted in a meeting with race organisers in the paddock around 40 minutes before the short raceās scheduled 1:00pm start, with confirmation coming at 12:30pm that the rest of the weekend would be abandoned due to high winds and rain.
āI think it was a great call yesterday to have the main race on Saturday,ā RNF team manager Wilco Zeelenberg said. āWe see clearly there is a lot of wind and a lot of rain.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSMax Verstappen wins again, and by a lot, putting paid to any idea that Red Bull Racing might have a weakness at the Circuit of the Americas.