The Belgian Grand Prix has been called off and Max Verstappen classified the winner after heavy rain prevented the race from getting underway in the first place.
The 2021 Belgian Grand Prix has been abandoned and Max Verstappen declared the winner amid torrential rain at Spa-Francorchamps.
Half points were awarded to the drivers in qualifying order — less Sergio Perez, who dropped to last thanks to a crash on the reconnaissance lap — after two laps were completed behind the safety car to satisfy the regulations to produce a classification, short of the 75 percent required to award full points.
Rain had lashed Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps all day and intensified in the lead-up to the race. By the time pit lane opened grip was so low that Sergio Perez slid off the road at Les Combes and embedded himself in the barrier, leaving him unable to make it to the grid.
Continue reading on RACERMax Verstappen will start alongside Williams driver George Russell in a shock front row for the Belgian Grand Prix after a marathon wet-weather qualifying session delayed for a monster crash by Lando Norris.
Max Verstappen narrowly edged a sensational George Russell to take pole for the Belgian Grand Prix after Q3 was suspended for a high-speed Lando Norris crash at Eau Rouge.
The pole shootout started after minutes of heavy rain lashed the circuit, turning parts of the track treacherous for the volume of standing water.
Norris was just beginning his first flying lap when he lost control of his McLaren at Eau Rouge, and his attempted correction sent him slamming against the left-hand barrier as he crested through Radillon, which spat him across the track.
Continue reading on RACERMax Verstappen edged Red Bull Racing teammate Sergio Perez for the fastest time of final practice at the Belgian Grand Prix. The hour-long session was wet throughout, despite the rain that lashed the track during the morning abating in time for pit lane to open.
Drivers took to the track to embrace the first genuine wet running of the weekend with the forecast of heavy rain for the race in mind, and a greasy dry line emerged as the session progressed.
It was as the track improved that Verstappen — running an even skinnier, lower-downforce rear wing than yesterday despite the wet forecast — rocketed to the top of the time sheet with a lap of 1m56.924s.
Continue reading on RACERMax Verstappen set the fastest time but put his car in the wall in a twice suspended second practice session at the Belgian Grand Prix.
The Dutchman was undertaking a race simulation when he lost control of his Red Bull Racing machine exiting Turn 7, losing control over the gravel and spinning backwards into the far barrier, spitting stones onto the track.
The damage was not visually severe, but the car was stopped in the rearward impact, so the session was called off with three minutes left on the clock.
Continue reading on RACERMax Verstappen opened his Hungarian Grand Prix campaign with the fastest time of first practice ahead of Valtteri Bottas.
The Dutchman set his lap in the final 10 minutes of the session, forced to wait until the end of a red flag suspension to collect Yuki Tsunoda’s crashed AlphaTauri, to snatch top spot from the Mercedes by just 0.061.
It was an especially promising result for the Red Bull Racing driver given he was running with the Honda power unit involved in his 51G Silverstone crash two weeks ago to evaluate its viability to remain in his pool. Any serious problem with the motor would have pointed towards a near certain grid penalty later in the season for breaching his engine parts allocation.
Continue reading on RACERThe dust may have settled on the dramatic on-track action of the British Grand Prix, but Red Bull Racing is still ratcheting up the tension in this tightening title fight.
Max Verstappen deprived Lewis Hamilton of pole position in Formula 1’s first sprint qualifying session, perfectly placing the Dutchman to stretch his championship advantage.
Max Verstappen has snatched pole position from Lewis Hamilton after beating the Briton in Formula 1’s first-ever sprint qualifying session at Silverstone.
Max Verstappen will start the British Grand Prix from pole after beating Lewis Hamilton in the first Formula 1 sprint qualifying session at Silverstone.
Hamilton was quickest in Friday qualifying to lead Verstappen off the front row, but the Dutchman’s start was sizzling — literally in the case of his brakes, which erupted in flames as he sat on the grid waiting for the lights to go out — to take the lead into the first turn from the tardy Briton.
Bottas even tried to pull alongside Hamilton, so slow was his getaway, but the Finn wasn’t far enough ahead to hold the line into Abbey and had to fall into line for third.
Continue reading on RACERMax Verstappen topped a subdued final practice session at the British Grand Prix ahead of Formula 1’s first-ever sprint qualifying session.
The Dutchman completed just 21 laps, the equal fewest of the field, before calling it a day. The weekend’s tweaked schedule, with parc ferme conditions starting during qualifying on Friday evening, means teams couldn’t substantively alter setup during Saturday practice, lending the 60-minute session relatively little meaning.
Verstappen’s best time, a 1m29.902s, was 0.375 quicker than Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, though the Monegasque used the soft compound to rise to second place. His teammate, Carlos Sainz, followed in third a further 0.13s behind.
Continue reading on RACERMax Verstappen threw down the gauntlet at the British Grand Prix with the fastest time of the only practice session of the weekend before qualifying.
Verstappen’s best time of 1m28.035s, set on the soft compound that will enjoy exclusive use in the qualifying hour, was 0.779s faster than McLaren’s Lando Norris, whose best time was set on the slower medium tire.
Lewis Hamilton, trailing the Dutchman by 32 points in the title standings, was third and 0.78s off the pace, with teammate Valtteri Bottas fifth and a further 0.182s adrift.
Continue reading on RACERCan anyone stop Max Verstappen from marching to a maiden title? Defending champion Lewis Hamilton has his doubts.
Max Verstappen is on a roll. With pole, victory, every lap led and the fastest lap of the race, the Dutchman has taken total control of the title.
Featuring Matt Clayton, co-host of In the Fast Lane and F1 freelance journalist.
Max Verstappen’s third straight win was his easiest yet, his lights to flag victory with fastest lap, having never ceded the lead, delivering him his first grand slam of his career.
Max Verstappen has won back-to-back races in Austria to blow out his title lead over Lewis Hamilton.