Max 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 RACERMercedes teammates George Russell and Lewis Hamilton dominated wet second practice at the Japanese Grand Prix.
Russell and Hamilton were among the most prolific lap-setters in what was otherwise — like the first practice earlier in the day –a low-mileage session in conditions not expected to be replicated on Saturday or Sunday. They set 45 laps between them, around two-thirds the number that would be expected to be set in second practice around Suzuka.
The number is particularly low considering the session was extended by 30 minutes to allow for time to test Pirelli’s 2023-spec tires. However, as only the dry compounds were set to be sampled, the test was cancelled, albeit without shortening the track program.
Continue reading on RACERFernando Alonso topped a soaking-wet first practice session at the Japanese Grand Prix that ended with a heavy Mick Schumacher crash at the esses.
Suzuka had been drenched by showers from early in the morning, and less than half the field completed more than 10 laps in the sopping 60-minute session.
Kevin Magnussen was the first out after five minutes along with local favorite Yuki Tsunoda, but drivers were slow to brave the full-wet conditions. Only as the rain began to ease did a gaggle of cars join the circuit, in turn helping to disperse the worst of the standing water.
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 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.
Continue reading on RACERCarlos Sainz led Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc in the second practice session at the Singapore Grand Prix, but the results were inconclusive as both Red Bull Racing drivers struggled for mileage.
After some early trading of quick times, Sainz took control of the session once the soft-tire runs started with a time of 1m42.587s. Leclerc joined the session late after his Ferrari team changed his floor, leaving him almost 10 laps down on Sainz by the end of the hour and without a representative long-run simulation.
After a short stint on mediums, the Monegasque switched to a set of softs in the final six months, but he struggled to get the best from them, improving his fastest lap by less than 0.1s He ended the hour 0.208s adrift of the sister car.
Continue reading on RACERLewis Hamilton pipped Max Verstappen to the top spot in twilight first practice at the Singapore Grand Prix, with Charles Leclerc in third.
Mercedes driver Hamilton waited until the final five minutes to set his best time on soft tires, his best lap of 1m43.033s topping Verstappen’s Red Bull by just 0.084s.
Track evolution is usually very high around the Singapore street circuit as the track rubbers in and the sun begins to set, which played into the Briton’s hands given his lap came around 15 minutes after Verstappen’s best effort.
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 RACERCharles Leclerc has taken a popular pole position at the head of a jumbled grid at the Italian Grand Prix.
Ferrari had the single-lap pace on both laps, with Carlos Sainz taking provisional top spot ahead of Leclerc at the end of the first runs despite carrying a back-of-grid penalty for the race.
Max Verstappen rebounded in his second run to put himself within striking distance of pole with a fastest middle sector.
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 RACERCarlos Sainz topped second practice at the Italian Grand Prix despite incurring an additional grid penalty for Sunday’s race.
The Spaniard went quickest with fresh softs after a brief red-flag suspension at the half-hour mark to collect Mick Schumacher’s stopped Haas, which was parked by the side of the road at the Roggia chicane with an engine problem. The Spaniard’s best time, a 1m21.664s, was 0.143s quicker than Max Verstappen’s fastest effort, the Dutchman’s top time coming shortly before the suspension.
Both drivers will take penalties, with Sainz being sent to the back of the grid thanks to a new control electronics system installed between practice sessions, while Verstappen will lose just five places, as has already been confirmed.
Continue reading on RACERCharles Leclerc led a Ferrari top-two sweep in first practice at the Italian Grand Prix as several drivers had grid penalties confirmed for taking new engine parts, including title leader Max Verstappen.
Leclerc’s fastest lap of 1m 22.410s was enough to edge Carlos Sainz by just 0.077s on their respective fresh soft-tire runs. For Sainz, however, the weekend program will fast change to long-run setup, with the Spaniard due to serve a penalty of at least 20 grid places for taking some new engine parts and a fresh gearbox.
Sainz also drew the ire of George Russell — who was third in the order and 0.279s off the pace — when he appeared to slow down through the Roggia chicane with the Briton closing at rapid speed from behind him, although they avoided contact.
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 RACERCharles Leclerc edged teammate Carlos Sainz to record a Ferrari one-two in second practice for the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort. Home hero Max Verstappen struggled to eighth on a difficult day for Red Bull Racing in front of the Dutchman’s home crowd.
Leclerc started his qualifying simulation a lap later than most of the rest of the field to pip Sainz, hitherto at the top of the table, by just 0.004s before embarking on his high-fuel runs.
Ferrari is expecting to perform strongly at Zandvoort, where the twisting, undulating circuit will boost its car’s downforce strengths and the lack of long straights will ameliorate its efficiency weakness.
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 RACERGeorge Russell topped first practice for the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort after Max Verstappen withdrew from the session with gearbox problems.
Verstappen was an early scratching from the hour-long session when his car ground to a halt at Turn 4. His Red Bull team then told him to park it as a precaution to protect the transmission, disappointing his throngs of home fans piled into the grandstands and causing a nine-minute red flag.
Red Bull said the problem wasn’t thought to be terminal, meaning the Dutchman will likely be back on track in FP2 later today.
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