Max Verstappen claimed victory in the Australian Grand Prix after a farcical late-race red-flag restart generated mass carnage through the field.
Verstappen had been cruising to a dominant second win of the season when Kevin Magnussen lost his rear-right tire after tapping the outside barrier at Turn 2 on lap 53, triggering a brief safety car and then the second red flag of the afternoon.
After a 15-minute delay the cars lined up on the grid for a restart, with Verstappen on pole alongside Lewis Hamilton, for a two-lap dash to the finish.
Continue reading on RACERMax Verstappen will start the Australian Grand Prix on pole after a last-gasp flying lap from the Red Bull driver rescued top spot from Mercedes.
Verstappen was sixth after making a mistake at the penultimate corner on his first lap, and though a second push lap on the same set of tires put him on provisional pole, it was with a tenuous margin of only 0.009s over the field.
And with the soft compound struggling to come up to temperature on a cool, overcast day in Melbourne, the Dutchman was on the back foot without the time to complete the two preparation laps the tire needed to be in its optimum window.
Continue reading on RACERMax Verstappen has topped final practice at the Australian Grand Prix as Red Bull Racing teammate Sergio Perez struggled with apparent car issues.
Verstappen saved his soft-tire run until late, setting a best time of 1m17.565s to pip Aston Martinâs Fernando Alonso by 0.162s. Esteban Ocon completed the top three for Alpine, a further 0.211s adrift.
Teammate Perez endured a nightmare session with car problems that have left him underdone ahead of qualifying.
Continue reading on RACERMax Verstappen dominated a frenetic twice-suspended first practice session at the Australian Grand Prix that saw several driver in the gravel.
Verstappen set the early pace after opening the hour with a set of soft tires and never lost top spot, eventually lowering the benchmark to 1m18.790s on worn rubber.
It wasnât completely smooth running for the Dutchman, however, who complained of gearbox problems early in the session before later clambering over the curb at the exit of Turn 4 and spinning across the track, coming perilously close to nosing the barrier. The Red Bullâs tires ruined, he returned to pit lane and ended his session.
Continue reading on RACERSergio Perez beat teammate Max Verstappen to victory at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in another dominant one-two result for Red Bull Racing.
Pole-getter Perezâs race was almost perfect but for his tardy launch off the line that handed an early lead to second-place starter Fernando Alonso â who didnât need to be asked twice to take the straighter line through the first chicane and take first place.
But it became quickly obvious that the Aston Martin was no match for the Red Bull Racing car. Perez bided his time until lap four, when he blasted back into the lead with the help of a super-effective DRS, and never looked back, with his way being eased by a lap-17 safety car that gifted him an easy pit stop.
Continue reading on RACERSergio Perez has taken a second straight Saudi Arabian Grand Prix pole position after teammate Max Verstappen exited qualifying in 15th with a driveshaft issue.
Verstappen was on his first flying lap of Q2 when his driveshaft suddenly let go, forcing him to limp back to pit lane, where his car couldnât be repaired in time to rejoin the session. Red Bull had just changed the gearbox before FP3 earlier in the day.
The Dutchman won from as far back as 14th at last yearâs Belgian Grand Prix. The last driver to win from 15th was Fernando Alonso at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix.
Continue reading on RACERMax Verstappen beat Red Bull Racing teammate Sergio Perez to top spot in FP3 to sweep all three Saudi Arabian practice sessions ahead of qualifying tonight.
Perez had held top spot for much of the hour thanks to an early run on the soft tires, but a late blast on fresh rubber for Verstappen blew the Mexicanâs best time out of the water by 0.613s with a time of 1m28.485s.
Other than requiring a new gearbox before the session, the only blot on his afternoon was a near accident with Lando Norris, who almost ran into the back of the Red Bull Racing car around a blind corner while the Verstappen slowed on a cool-down lap.
Continue reading on RACERIf imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then Red Bull Racing must be absolutely blushing for the number of compliments itâs getting this year.
Last yearâs championship-winning team appears to have penned the defining aerodynamic package of this rules era, with most teams gravitating towards its approach over the off-season.
Learning, copying â whatever you want to call it â is the natural way of things in Formula 1.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSMax Verstappen has dominated the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix ahead of Red Bull Racing teammate Sergio Perez, but Fernando Alonso stole the show with a thrilling third for the newly competitive Aston Martin team.
Max Verstappen dominated the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix in a foreboding Red Bull Racing one-two, while a superbly on form Fernando Alonso completed the podium for Aston Martin.
Verstappen aced his launch and never looked back, building an almost second-per-lap advantage early in the race that ensured he never meaningfully lost the lead of the race on his way to a cruisy 12-second victory and a 38-second advantage over the closest non-Red Bull Racing driver.
âIt was a very, very good first stint where I basically made my gap,â he said. âFrom there it was all about looking after the tires.
âI think we have a good race package. Of course it will depend a bit race to race, but we can definitely fight with this.â
Continue reading on RACERMax Verstappen has led a Red Bull Racing front-row lockout ahead of teammate Sergio Perez for the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix.
Red Bullâs Sergio Perez set a sizzling pace ahead of the Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso at the opening practice session of the season in Bahrain.
Perez deployed the soft tire to set a session-best time of 1m 32.758s, almost half a second faster than the rest of the field and more than 0.6s quicker than teammate Max Verstappen in third.
Alonsoâs second-place time caused the most interest, though, thanks to Aston Martinâs impressive pre-season showing and forecasts among the leading drivers that the green team could be set to join the front-runners. The two-time champion was 0.438s slower than Perez after his soft-tire run and 0.179s quicker than Verstappen.
Continue reading on RACERThe only way for Daniel Ricciardo to get back onto the Formula 1 grid in 2024 is to hope Sergio Perez falls on his sword, according to Sky Sports F1 commentator David Croft.
Ricciardo was ousted from McLaren last season and has sought refuge at old team Red Bull Racing as a third driver for 2023 while he decides whether he has the enthusiasm to continue in F1.
The eight-time race winner had options to race in the bottom half of the field this year but said he doesnât want to stay in the sport just to make up the numbers.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSFor the second season in a row thereâs only question worth asking in Formula 1: can anyone catch Max Verstappen?
As a rare Formula 1 world champion, Max Verstappen has guaranteed himself an entry in the F1 history books.
But the greats are never truly satisfied with just an entry.
Verstappen has been a record-breaker and trend-setter from the moment he got behind the wheel of a Toro Rosso in free practice at the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSDaniel Ricciardo could make his first official outing as the Red Bull Racing third driver with a demonstration run around Mount Panorama at the Bathurst 12 Hour.
The endurance race announced today that Red Bull Racing will send its RB7 show car to the mountain for the 3â5 February event to âattackâ the iconic circuit in a series of exhibition runs.
No driver has been named for the program, but Daniel Ricciardo would be an obvious choice.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSAmerican auto giant Ford is mulling a surprise return to Formula 1 with Red Bull Racing.
According to Autosport, Ford has emerged as a candidate to partner the reigning constructors champion on its in-house power unit project for the new engine rules in 2026.
Red Bull Racing is investing in its engine-building capability in a bid to become a self-sufficient works constructor, having been reliant on customer motors for its entire 17-year history.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSRed Bull Racing has long given the vibe of a championship-winning team in exile, and at the ninth time of asking since its previous era of domination came to an end, Milton Keynes is back at the top of Formula 1.
Max Verstappen led the way there, but this was a team-driver joint effort to return to the front.
But itâs not the only partnership that found success in 2022, and most teams found reasons to be at least a little bit optimistic that theyâd got the new regulatory era off to an at least decent start.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTS