For exciting results, just remove oxygen.
Mexico City always produces interesting and unusual results, with its elevation at 2.2 kilometres above sea level creating a unique set of conditions for Formula 1.
The thin air means thereâs less grip. Small changes in track temperature have a huge impact on grip â and the track temperature can vary massively based on minor changes in cloud cover.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSMercedes and Ferrari have pinned Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclercâs disqualifications from the United States Grand Prix on the sprint weekend format and the bumpy Circuit of the Americas surface.
Hamilton finished the race third and pole-getter Charles Leclerc claimed sixth, but both were excluded from the final classification for running their cars too low.
Ride height is governed by a wooden plank fixed beneath the car. The plank is 1 centimetre thick and can wear by no more than 1 millimetre over the course of the race without falling foul of the rules.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSLewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were two standout performers at the United States Grand Prix, with Leclerc taking an unlikely pole position on Friday and Hamilton coming close to overhauling Max Verstappen for victory on Sunday.
By Sunday night they were notable for a completely different reason: both were disqualified from the race.
Disqualifications are rare, reserved largely for technical breaches and the most serious sporting breaches relating to the fairness of competition.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSLewis Hamilton has been stripped of second place at the United States Grand Prix after a post-race technical inspection revealed his Mercedes car was set up to run lower than allowed according to the regulations.
Charles Leclerc has also been disqualified from sixth place after Ferrari was found to have committed the same breach.
A random post-race technical check found both cars suffered excessive wear to their rear titanium skid blocks.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSCharles Leclerc led a Ferrari one-two ahead of title leader Max Verstappen in first practice at the Singapore Grand Prix.
Leclerc assumed top spot at the end of the soft-tire runs in the second half of the afternoon session with fastest times in all three sectors. Sainz was late to set his fastest time on a used set of softs, the Spaniard getting to within 0.078s of his teammate.
Verstappen had something of a rough session, complaining of rough downshifts and excess oversteer. The Dutchman shipped most of his 0.126s deficit to Leclerc in the first sector but became progressively quicker as his lap continued and his tires came up to temperature.
Continue reading on RACERMax Verstappen dominated qualifying on a drying track for the Belgian Grand Prix but will cede pole position to Charles Leclerc thanks to a gearbox penalty.
Despite a Q2 scare that saw him barely scrape through to the pole shootout in 10th, Verstappen mastered the slicks-on-damp conditions of Q3 to take top spot by an imperious 0.82s. But the Dutchman must serve a five-place grid penalty for unsealing his fifth set of gearbox components, one more than allowed for the season, which will drop him to sixth on the grid and promote Leclerc to pole on Sunday.
âLast year I had more penalties and we could still with the race,â Verstappen said, recalling his drive from 13th to victory. âThatâs still the target on Sunday.â
Continue reading on RACERCharles Leclerc doesnât expect his strong practice pace to translate into a pole position challenge despite topping FP2 at the Hungarian Grand Prix on Friday.
Leclerc headed an unusual top 10 in Budapest, pipping McLarenâs Lando Norris by just 0.015s and Alpineâs Pierre Gasly by 0.232s. AlphaTauri, Haas and Alfa Romeo were also represented on the top half of the time sheet.
Meanwhile Max Verstappen was 11th, and both Mercedes drivers were locked in the bottom five.
Continue reading on RACERCharles Leclerc topped a shaken-up dry second practice session at the Hungarian Grand Prix ahead of Lando Norris and Pierre Gasly.
Ferrari driver Leclerc used a new set of soft tires to set a best time of 1m17.686s to pip McLarenâs Norris by just 0.015s, with Gaslyâs Alpine a further 0.217s adrift.
The final hour of Friday practice featured a diverse array of running plans that made comparisons between drivers difficult to make.
Continue reading on RACERCharles Leclerc beat Alex Albon to the top spot in the third practice session at the British Grand Prix, shortly before rain doused the track and curtailed the pursuit of competitive times.
FP3 started dry, but rain had been sprinkling Silverstone for much of the day, and teams estimated they had a roughly 25-minute window before the weather closed in on the circuit once more. Most drivers therefore got their soft-tire run done early to ensure they got their eye in ahead of qualifying later today in the event of a dry session.
Leclerc, who missed all FP2 with an electronics problem that required his mechanics to break the overnight curfew to undertake repairs, was out of pit lane early and rocketed straight to the top of the time sheet with a 1m27.419s, the fastest lap of the weekend so far.
Continue reading on RACERCharles Leclerc says Red Bull Racingâs RB19 is in another league compared to the rest of the grid after finishing a distant third to a dominant Sergio Perez-Max Verstappen one-two.
Leclerc started from pole position and held off both Verstappen and Perez at launch, but his defence of the lead was destined to be short-lived.
Verstappen breezed past him on lap 4 once DRS had been activated, and Perez wasnât far behind, demoting Leclerc to third on lap 6 before the Red Bull Racing drivers charged up the road to an eventual 21-second victory over the Ferrari driver.
Continue reading on RACERCharles Leclerc beat both Red Bull drivers to pole position for the second day in a row despite crashing out of the first-ever sprint shootout.
Leclerc again wielded his Ferrariâs formidable pace in the technical middle sector to set the fastest time in the new condensed qualifying session, but a snap of oversteer entering Turn 5 led to him sliding nose-first into the outside barrier, ending his session early.
Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen were presented with an open goal to snatch top spot, but neither was able to improve by enough to deprive the Monegasque of a second one-lap triumph in 24 hours.
Continue reading on RACERCharles Leclerc isnât convinced Ferrari has the pace to convert pole to victory in Sundayâs Azerbaijan Grand Prix but says the carâs unexpected turn of speed is welcome nonetheless after a difficult start to the season.
Leclerc beat title leader Max Verstappen to pole position by 0.188s after the pair had set identical times with their first runs in Q3, the difference coming in the technical middle sector of the track. It was the Monegasqueâs third consecutive pole in Baku but first of the year and first since last seasonâs Singapore Grand Prix in October.
Ferrari has endured its worst start to a Formula 1 campaign in years, having slipped well off Red Bull Racingâs pace since the end of last season, Leclerc admitted he didnât expect to be in the pole conversation this weekend.
Continue reading on RACERCharles Leclerc bested Max Verstappen to start Sundayâs Azerbaijan Grand Prix from pole position for the third year in succession.
Ferrari had looked quick all day in Baku, vying for top spot in the single hour of practice afforded to the drivers under the sprint rules and looking consistently competitive through the qualifying hour.
The scene was set for a duel between Leclerc and Verstappen, and the pair set equal times with their first laps, the Dutchman taking top spot by virtue of crossing the line first.
Continue reading on RACERCharles Leclerc has been reassured by Ferrari boss Frederic Vasseur that the teamâs recovery is still on track despite racing director Laurent Mekiesâs impending departure and rumours linking him to Mercedes.
AlphaTauri announced this week that Mekies would replace Franz Tost as team principal at Faenza from next season. Itâs the third significant departure from the team in the last six months.
Former principal Mattia Binotto left at the end of last season and chassis head David Sanchez will defect to McLaren for 2024 after a period of leave. Several other personnel of lesser profiles have also reportedly left the team since the end of last yearâs campaign.
In a preseason of so far underwhelming or even downright misleading car launches, Ferrariâs spectacular debut of its 2023 title challenger was a breath of the kind of fresh air you can only get in central Italy.
Into the temporary grandstand at the teamâs famous Fiorano test track packed 500 famously passionate tifosi, allowed to gather in person for a launch for the first time in three years.
In attendance were drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz and new team principal Frédéric Vasseur.
In the garage was the car the team hopes will banish the sour memories of last season and bring the championship home to Maranello, the SF-23.
In an age of launches becoming increasingly about digital renders of paint jobs and endless marketing guff from sponsor bigwigs, this was proper old-school Formula 1.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSCharles Leclerc topped an unrepresentative second practice session at the United States Grand Prix ahead of Valtteri Bottas and Daniel Ricciardo.
The extended 90-minute practice session was entirely co-opted by Pirelli for an in-season tire test given the dearth of opportunities for private testing during the packed 23-race season, making the times close to opaque for comparison purposes for this weekendâs race.
However, any driver who was replaced by a reserve or rookie driver in FP1 was exempt for the first 30 minutes to undertake regular set-up work, which meant Leclerc, Bottas and Ricciardo were eligible to run regular tires before switching to tire testing.
Continue reading on RACERCharles Leclerc has taken his ninth pole position of the season after title leader Max Verstappen was forced to abort his final flying lap by the team
The qualifying hour started wet enough for intermediate tires after heavy rain earlier in the day, but ended will all 10 drivers in the pole shootout on slicks despite some standing water still on track, particularly in the final sector beneath the grandstands.
Rather than plan for two separate runs, most drivers were fueled for one long stint to build tire temperature, meaning provisional pole constantly changed hands as grip ramped up.
Continue reading on RACERCharles Leclerc topped the final practice session at the Singapore Grand Prix after heavy rain reduced running to less than 30 minutes.
The session officially started on time, but race control kept pit lane closed for the first 30 minutes given the circuit was waterlogged after two hours of torrential downpour.
The safety car lapped in the first 10 minutes of the suspension, after which marshals entered the track to sweep away some excess standing water.
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