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Author: INDIAinF1 Desk
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WRC – Evans takes lead; Rovanpera rolls out: Rally Finland
Elfyn Evans was catapulted into the lead of Secto Rally Finland when team-mate Kalle Rovanperä’s golden streak came to an abrupt halt during Friday’s opening leg.
Home hero Rovanperä, who carried a commanding 55-point lead into this ninth FIA World Rally Championship round, reeled off five consecutive benchmark times in a Toyota GR Yaris and headed chasing colleague Evans by 5.7sec approaching the day’s seventh stage in Myhinpää.
But a rare mistake 11.1km after the start brought a disastrous end to the defending world champion’s day when he lost control of his GR Yaris and rolled end-over-end. Rovanperä and co-driver Jonne Halttunen emerged from the wreckage unscathed despite the force of the impact being strong enough to tear a rear wheel from the car.
Evans, currently second in the points, inherited the top spot from his stranded team-mate and negotiated the remaining two stages error-free to head Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville by a mere 6.9sec overnight.
“Overall it’s been an okay day,” said Evans, who was frustrated to give away 2.8sec to Neuville in the Harju finale. “We’re pretty happy overall and obviously we’ve still got a lot of driving to do tomorrow.”
Mistakes were punished brutally on central Finland’s superfast gravel roads and Rovanperä wasn’t the only victory contender to come unstuck. His Hyundai-driving compatriot Esapekka Lappi crashed into a tree in SS4 whilst running fourth overall.
Ott Tänak, leader after Thursday’s evening’s super special stage in Jyväskylä city centre, retired his Puma in SS3 with terminal engine failure and his M-Sport Ford partner Pierre-Louis Loubet crashed in the same test.
Neuville’s day wasn’t without drama, either. The Belgian reported a lack of rear traction early in the day and struggled for visibility under scattered rain showers on multiple occasions. He headed Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta, who won the opening stage, by 9.5sec at close of play.
In fourth overall and within reaching distance of the podium was Teemu Suninen. The Finn is contesting his second rally aboard an i20 N Rally1 and trailed Katsuta by 12.4sec after building his speed throughout the day.
Toyota team principal Jari-Matti Latvala rounded out the top five on his first WRC start since 2020. Behind him was Jari Huttunen, who led WRC2 in a Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 after leapfrogging Sami Pajari when the youngster suffered tyre damage in the penultimate stage.
Toksport WRT2’s Nikolay Gryazin, Oliver Solberg, both in a Škoda Fabia RS, and Adrien Fourmaux in an M-Sport Ford-entered Fiesta MkII, complete the top 10 going into Saturday, host to the rally’s longest leg with eight special stages totalling 160.68km.
Benjamin Korhola heads the WRC3 class, ahead of fellow countryman Jesse Kallio (+32.0) and Turkey’s Ali Türkkan, almost two minutes behind, all in Ford Fiesta Rally3 cars.
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Pole position for Rajiv Sethu, Vignesh Goud: National 2w Racing Round 3
Chennai, 4 August 2023: Chennai ace Rajiv Sethu and Hyderabad’s Vignesh Goud, both looking to extend their unbeaten run, qualified for pole position in their respective categories as the third round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship 2023 commenced at the Madras International Circuit, here on Friday.
The 24-year-old Sethu (RACR Castrol Power1 Ultimate), winner of all four races so far this season, showed impressive pace in the latter half of the 15-minute qualifying session for pole position in the premier Pro-Stock 301-400cc category, clocking a best lap of 01 minute, 50.457secs, to finish ahead of Petronas TVS Racing team’s threesome of Jagan Kumar (01:50.787), Deepak Ravikumar (01:50.845) and Pune youngster Sarthak Chavan (01:50.849).
Later, 19-year old Vignesh Goud (Race’ists Motorcycle Club) from Hyderabad, who is unbeaten in the Novice (Stock 165cc) category after four races over two rounds, put in a best lap of 02:08.750 for pole position, ahead of Bengaluru’s Savion Sabu (Axor Sparks Racing, 02:09.170) and Chennai rider Sangeeth S (ACCSYS India Rookie Racing, 02:09.753).
Earlier, in the free practice session for Pro-Stock 165cc Open category, Petronas TVS Racing’s KY Ahamed (01:55.455) and multiple National champion Jagan Kumar (01:55.471) set the early marker, ahead of championship leader Rajiv Sethu (RACR Castrol Power1 Ultimate, 01:56.344) and defending champion Mathana Kumar (Pacer Yamaha, 01:56.480).
In the Girls’ category (Stock 165cc), Ann Jennifer (Alpha Racing) was the quickest with a hot lap of 02:10.645, while Lani Fernandez (RACR Castrol Power1 Ultimate) from Puducherry was second fastest in 02:10.925, ahead of Nadine Faith Balaji (Alpha Racing) whose best was 02:13.791.
Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup (NSF 250): Unsurprisingly, Kavin Samaar Quintal, the teenager from Chennai, topped the practice session time sheets with a best lap of 01:50.859, well clear of another local rider Rakshith Dave (01:51.993) and Bengaluru’s AS James (01:52.818).
Petronas TVS One-Make Championship: Coimbatore’s Senthilkumar S took the pole position in the Open (RR 310) category with a best lap of 01:54.221 while Alwin Sundar from Chennai (01:54.871) and Chiranth Vishwanath from Bengaluru (01:54.961) completed the front row.
Chennai’s Nadine Faith Balaji outpaced the Girls (Apache RTR 200) field for pole position, clocking a top lap of 02:14.670, ahead Bengaluru’s 13-year-old Nithila Das (02:15.534) and Sarah Khan (02:15.751) from Mumbai.
Bengaluru riders, Copparam Shreyas Hareesh, 13, winner of four consecutive races this season, and Savion Sabu, 16, were the quickest in the free practice session for Rookie (RTR 200) category. Shreyas clocked a best of 02:06.150 as against Savion’s 02:07.914 while local rider, Nandanan, 13, was third quickest in 02:09.185.
The results (Qualifying – Top 3 Best laps):
National Championship – Pro-Stock 301-400cc Open: 1. Rajiv Sethu (Chennai, RACR Castrol Power1 Ultimate) (01 min, 50.457secs); 2. Jagan Kumar (Chennai, Petronas TVS Racing) (01:50.787); 3. Deepak Ravikumar (Chennai, Petronas TVS Racing) (01:50.845).
Novice (Stock 165cc): 1. Vignesh Goud (Hyderabad, Race’ists Motorcycle Club (02:08.750); 2. Savion Sabu (Bengaluru, Axor Sparks Racing) (02:09.170); 3. Sangeeth S (Chennai, ACCSYS India Rookie Racing) (02:09.753).
Support Event – Stock 301-400cc (Novice): 1. S Rohit Lad (Bengaluru, Pvt) (02:04.718); 2. Aldrin Babu (Thrissur, RACR Castrol Power1 Ultimate) (02:04.786); 3. Anand N (Chennai, RACR Castrol Power1 Ultimate) (02:05.181).
Petronas TVS One-Make Championship: Open (RR 310): 1. Senthilkumar C (Coimbatore) (01:54.221); 2. Alwin Sundar A (Chennai) (01:54.871); 3. Chiranth Vishwanath (Bengaluru) (01:54.961).
Girls (Apache RTR 200): 1. Nadine Faith Balaji (Chennai) (02:14.670); 2. Nithila Das (Bengaluru) (02:15.534); 3. Sarah Khan (Mumbai) (02:15.751).
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MIC set to host Round 3 of National 2W Racing Championship
Chennai, 3 August 2023: The MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship 2023, boasting of over 150 entries, moves into its crucial phase this weekend as the third round gets underway at the Madras International Circuit here on August 4-6 with front-runners looking to consolidate their positions on the leaderboard with a clutch of challengers snapping at their heels.
The two premier Pro-Stock categories – 301-400cc Open and 165cc Open – will undoubtedly headline the card that includes Stock 165cc, Girls classes and a support race for Novice (301-400cc) riders, besides the Petronas TVS One-Make Championship and the Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup, both organised by promoter Madras Motor Sports Club which is celebrating its 70th anniversary. A total of 16 races, besides practice and qualifying sessions, are scheduled for the weekend.
The ongoing season has seen the emergence of a new generation of teenaged riders who have come through the ranks and some of whom have benefitted from exposure at the Asian level. As such, the established stars are feeling the heat as these young guns are unafraid to race wheel-to-wheel with their seniors, thus scripting some thrilling and knife-edge contests.
MMSC President Ajit Thomas said: “Presently, it is an extremely exciting scenario where the old guard is being pushed by a new crop of talented youngsters who are fast making a mark in the championship. Further, the entries are not any more metro-centric as the championship is attracting riders from smaller towns across India, and their numbers are growing. While MMSC has striven hard to promote and popularise the sport, kudos to the manufacturers TVS and Honda, besides our title sponsors MRF Tyres, for providing a platform for the talent to be nurtured and groomed.”
As for the championship standings in various categories, not much separates the title contenders. Rajiv Sethu (RACR Castrol Power1 Ultimate) leads both premier Pro-Stock Open fields. He enjoys a 46-point cushion against Petronas TVS Racing’s new recruit Sarthak Chavan, a 16-year-old from Pune, in the 301-400cc Open class, having won all four races in his debut season in this category.
Sethu also heads the 165cc Open category with a 10-point lead over Pacer Yamaha’s 2022 champion Mathana Kumar, who scored a double in the first round in Coimbatore but failed to secure any points in the next outing last month following a disqualification (technical infringement) and a non-start. Behind this pair are Sarthak Chavan, winner of one race, and three other Petronas TVS Racing riders – Chiranth Vishwanath, the 16-year-old from Bengaluru, KY Ahamed and multiple National champion Jagan Kumar. Just 19 points separate the top six.
In the Novice class, Hyderabad’s 19-year-old Vignesh Goud (Race’ists Motorcycle Club), winner of all four races over two rounds, has a healthy 40-point advantage over Bengaluru teenager Savion Sabu (Axor Sparks Racing) while Alpha Racing’s Ann Jennifer, a former National champion, tops the Girls category, albeit by just three points over Puducherry’s Lani Fernandez (RACR Castrol Power1 Ultimate), both having won a race apiece.
Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup (NSF 250): Chennai teenager Kavin Samaar Quintal, with three wins in four starts this season, is firmly entrenched at the top of the points table, some 19 points clear of Steel City’s Prakash Kamath with another local rider, Rakshith Dave, only 14, a further two points adrift.
Petronas TVS One-Make Championship: Two Chennai riders, Alwin Sundar (78 points) and Manoj Yesuadiyan (70) are locked in a close battle in the Open (RR 310) category. Shreyas Hareesh, a 13-year-old from Bengaluru), with four wins from as many starts, heads the Rookie (RTR 200) class, 37 points ahead of Chennai’s Nandanan. Another Bengaluru rider, Nithila Das, 13, leads Nadine Faith Balaji from Chennai, by 14 points in the Girls (RTR 200) category.
The races will be streamed live on various social platforms.
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Bharat Ke Anmol award for Vamcy Merla Sports Foundation
New Delhi, 2 Aug 2023: Hyderabad-based Vamcy Merla Sports Foundation became the first sports body to receive the prestigious Bharat Ke Anmol award during a glittering ceremony at the Dr Ambedkar International Centre in New Delhi on Tuesday evening.
The Foundation’s chairman Mr Vamcy Merla accepted the coveted award, bestowed on him for promoting talented but financially challenged boys and girls across several sports, ranging from soccer, roller-skating, kabaddi, badminton to motorsports.
Bharat Ke Anmol, is one of its kind National Award, acknowledges and celebrates eminent personalities in India who have not only risen above the rest in their field of speciality but have also done yeoman service to the society and to the disadvantaged.
Padmasree Dr Vijay Kumar Shah (a prominent Social Activist), Dr. T.S. Rao (Father of Vaccines), Dr SM Khan (Doordarshan Director-General, News), Air Commodore Rashid Zafar Qureshi (Kargil veteran), Mir Mothesham (former Mr World silver medallist) and Smt Chandrakala Padia (eminent scholar) were among the elite personalities who were feted.
“My father Late Shri Merla Chandrashekara Rao used to run several charitable trusts and provide every kind of assistance to the poor and downtrodden. I’ve been inspired by him,” Mr Merla said while receiving the award. “As for me, I have been passionate about motorsports all my life. That’s why I am supporting events, racers, rallyists and drivers at several levels. I am grateful for being chosen for this prestigious award. I now feel motivated to do more,” he added.
“Mr Merla has changed the face of Indian motorsports with his foundation. We hope this award encourages him to help other sports and sportspersons,” Dr. Mohammad Nizamuddin and Dr Venkata Ganjam, the brains behind the Bharat Ke Anmol initiative, said.
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Cassidy win clinches World team title for Envision Racing: Formula E
LONDON, UK. Sun. 30 July 2023 – Nick Cassidy led all the way in a rain-soaked final race of the Formula E season in London to claim the Teams’ World Championship title for Envision Racing, edging out Mitch Evans and Jaguar TCS Racing who finished second in the race and the Teams’ title fight.
Torrential rain in the hours leading up to Round 16, the second race in the Hankook London E-Prix, created treacherous conditions on the outdoor sections of the unique outdoor and indoor 2.09km track at the ExCeL London events arena.
While the outcome of cricket’s Ashes was impacted by the classic downpours of a British summer, the 22 drivers were eventually able to get underway and complete the full 38-lap race which would decide the outcome of the Teams’ championship.
Both Jaguar TCS Racing and their Jaguar-powered customer team Envision Racing were on 268 points going into the final round, creating a compelling final chapter for fans despite Jake Dennis winning the Drivers’ World Championship title in Round 15 the day before.
Cassidy composed himself after multiple red flags and returned to the garage to claim a comfortable race win, leading home fellow New Zealander Mitch Evans and rookie champion Jake Dennis in third to win a maiden title for Envision Racing.
Ultimately, it was an emphatic win for the Kiwi. He started in Julius Bär Pole Position, led from lights-to-flag and set the TAG Heuer Fastest Lap of the race. He kept Evans at arm’s length throughout while the lead pair also extended a 10 second advantage over next-best Dennis with track conditions and visibility as tough as they can be in motorsport.
Cassidy’s conclusive victory in the Jaguar I-TYPE 6 earned him runner-up in the Drivers’ World Championship.
The final round of Season 9 ended with Envision Racing extending beyond their previous best of third place to top the table ahead of their factory Jaguar TCS Racing team by 12 points. The Porsche-powered Avalanche Andretti Formula E Team was also able to edge their factory supplier TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team to third by 10 points. Dennis finished 30 points clear of Cassidy with Evans third and Wehrlein fourth.
Two-time Academy Awards-winning actor Christoph Waltz and rapper, producer and activist Jaden Smith presented trophies on the podium while Orlando Bloom also attended the Formula E London finale weekend.
Nick Cassidy, No 37, Envision Racing, said:
“It’s mixed emotions but ultimately I’m very happy because today was a difficult day for me mostly because I didn’t sleep well last night, I arrived late – but I did the business so I’m proud. The team have been absolutely incredible. They’re an incredible bunch of people and they work so hard. Of course every team does but these guys have been close on so many occasions and I think that just shows how strong they have been in this championship, and to finally get it done for them I am super super happy.”
Mitch Evans, No. 9, Jaguar TCS Racing, said:
“Big disappointment. Obviously, we didn’t finish as World Champions in the Teams. Look, Nick did a great job and the other guys did a great job. He responded to me when I was catching him and I didn’t have enough – full credit to him. I did my best but just came a little short.
“Massive thanks to everyone in Jaguar TCS Racing. Obviously we can take a lot of pride with the Envision World Championship too. Thanks to everyone – we’ll keep pushing on in the office season and come back better next year.”
Jake Dennis, No. 27, Avalanche Andretti Formula E Team, said:
“We’re beating our own records right now. To get the podium at the end of the day was special in such difficult conditions with the wet and dry sections – but we managed to do it, keep it out of the wall and we were pretty quick, but we needed to be. I think we needed a clean race, try and get that podium, celebrate now with everyone and really try and let it all sink in.
“I have to thank these guys, all of them [the team]. They’ve done so much hard work not just this year but also last year. It’s been such a team effort and we scored so many wins, so many pole positions and so many podiums. I get to celebrate with them together so I’m looking forward to that, call it a season and come back next year. I’ll be hungover tomorrow! I don’t know what my drink of choice will be but there will be one.”
Sylvain Filippi , Managing Director & Chief Technical Officer, Envision Racing, said:
“Thank you. It took us nine years and it’s an incredible feeling. It’s been an incredible season, it’s all been so close. An incredible job from the team and as you know we were in very close competition with Jaguar TCS Racing but we’ve had the most amazing car. It’s fast and it’s got us where we are today.
“We issued a team pep talk and chat late last night to regroup everyone. But ultimately our team is very strong and that is why I am so proud of them.”
The ABB FIA Formula E World Championship returns in Season 10 with the 2024 Mexico City E-Prix on Saturday, 13 January 2024 and includes a debut Formula E race on the streets of Tokyo on Saturday, 30 March.
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Max Verstappen storms to sprint victory at Spa
Spa, 29 July 2023: Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen won the Sprint at the 2023 FIA Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix, beating McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly in a tricky 11-lap race shortened to heavy rain that required a rolling start behind the Safety Car.
After a 35-minute delay caused by thunderstorms, Race Control informed teams that the Sprint would get underway with a formation lap followed by four laps behind the SC. That meant starting on full Wet tyres and during the period behind the Safety Car, a number of drivers radioed through to their teams to report that the conditions were good enough for Intermediate tyres.
However, when the Safety Car left the track, Verstappen, wary of any potential mishaps in what was likely to be a crowded pit lane, stayed on track to take the race lead. Behind him, Piastri dived into the pits for Inters, followed by a host of drivers including Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton, Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and Red Bull’s Sergio Pérez.
The early move benefited all, as ahead the cars on full Wets laboured through the opening lap on slower tyres. Verstappen and the rest of the full Wet runners then filed into the pit lane at the end of the first lap to take on the green-banded tyres but when the rejoined the order had changed massively with Piastri now ahead of Verstappen and with Pérez and Gasly owever, the time lost on that lap of full Wets meant that when Max rejoined he was behind Piastri who streamed through to take the lead.
Behind the top two, Checo had perfectly worked his pit stop and as the field crossed the line to start the second lap, the Mexican was in P4 behind Gasly with Hamilton in fifth place. On lap four, however, the race was neutralised. Fernando Alonso went off track at the exit of Pouhon and with his car beached in the gravel track, the Safety Car was released.
At the end of lap 5 the SC left the track and Verstappen closed in on Piastri as they exited La Source. Aided by a slipstream he powered past the Australian and into the lead as they made their way down the Kemmel straight.
Behind them, Pérez was coming under pressure from Hamilton and after a wheel-banging battle at the end of lap 6, during which the Red Bull driver sustained major damage to his sidepod, he could do nothing at the start of the next lap when the Mercedes driver got past at La Source.
Complaining that he had “no rear grip” Pérez was then passed by Sainz and Leclerc on the Kemmel straight, and when he slid off and clattered through the gravel at Stavelot and let Norris past, the Mexican’s race was done and he limped back to the pits to retire.
At the front, Verstappen was in total control and after 11 laps he took his second Sprint win of the season 6.6s ahead of Piastri. Gasly finished third ahead of Sainz and Leclerc, with Norris in sixth place. Hamilton, after taking his time penalty at the flag finished in seventh place and the final point on offer went to George Russell.
2023 FIA Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix – Sprint
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 11 24’58.433
2 Oscar Piastri McLaren 11 25’05.110 6.677
3 Pierre Gasly Alpine 11 25’09.166 10.733
4 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 11 25’11.081 12.648
5 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 11 25’13.449 15.016
6 Lando Norris McLaren 11 25’14.485 16.052
7 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 11 25’15.190 16.757
8 George Russell Mercedes 11 25’15.255 16.822
9 Esteban Ocon Alpine 11 25’20.843 22.410
10 Daniel Ricciardo AlphaTauri 11 25’21.239 22.806
11 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 11 25’23.440 25.007
12 Alexander Albon Williams 11 25’24.736 26.303
13 Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo 11 25’25.439 27.006
14 Kevin Magnussen Haas 11 25’31.419 32.986
15 Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo 11 25’34.775 36.342
16 Logan Sargeant Williams 11 25’36.004 37.571
17 Nico Hülkenberg Haas 11 25’36.260 37.827
18 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri 11 25’37.700 39.267
Sergio Pérez Red Bull Racing 8 – Retirement
Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 2 – Retirement -
Gaurav Gill raring to go; Arjun Rao keen to keep the lead; 23 Ammyfied cars
Coimbatore, 28 July 2023: Arjuna Awardee Gaurav Gill and co-driver Aniruddha Rangnekar are eager to bounce back while championship leader Aroor Arjun Rao and Satish Rajagopal are looking to looking for a decent finish to garner as many points as possible to keep their title fight alive as the third round of the Blueband fmsci Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) for four wheelers begins at the Kethanur Windmill farms here on Saturday.
A total of 76 cars are in fray for the rally organised by Coimbatore Auto Sports Club, one of the oldest and founder clubs of fmsci, the Indian federatioin. Though this high number is not a National record, it is one of the events with highest number of competitors in fray. Of these, 23 cars are fielded by Ammyfied Rallying which is sponsored by businessman Vamcy Merla through his sports foundation.
After the ceremonial start at the traditional Jenneys club on Friday evening, the drivers looked confident with the recce under their belt and Philippos Matthai who just managed to log in some important points in the slippery mountains of Itanagar is raring to go all out in the fast stages of Coimbatore in INRC2 class. The Arka Motorsports driver from Delhi in a rally-tuned Polo will have a fight in hand with Kerala drivers and former champions Dr ‘Speed’ Bikku Babu (Milen George) and advocate Fabid Ahmer (Sanath G).
Jehan Singh Gill and co-driver Suraj Keshav Prasad, dominated with their raw speed last year but became victims to some errors by the tuners. This year Jehan Singh Gill is expected to showcase his talent to be in the frontrunners not only in INRC3, his class, but is capable of beating the higher-spec machines. Arnav Pratap Singh (Arjun SSB), Darious Shroff (Shahid Salman) and Vishak Balachandran (Anil Abbas) will be vying with each other to be on the top in INRC3 which has a huge number of 28 cars.
The cars to watch out for in the INRC4 class are Abhin Rai and co-driver Uday Kumar, Ruthuparna Vivek and co-driver Athreya Kousgi, and Jagpreeth Singh Nirwan and Karanpreet Singh Mattu, who are leading the championship in that order.
The Gypsy class, which is a non-championship Cup event, has attracted more numbers thanks to the generosity of Vamcy Merla.
Both the Junior INRC and Ladies class will also have stiff competition with the season getting into the midway mark.
The windmill stages are fast and have two physical stages namely the 8.4km SM Agro and 10.4km BBS which will be run thrice each on Saturday. On Sunday, the longer special stages of Black Thunder (18.2km) and Thunder World (14.99km) will be run twice in the same direction.
The next round of the six-round calendar, K1000, is expected to be near Bengaluru in August.
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Verstappen tops qualies, but grid penalty promotes Leclerc to Spa pole
Spa Francorchamps (Belgium) 28 July 2023: Max Verstappen topped Qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix, delivering an impressive final flying lap in Q3 to beat Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and third-placed Red Bull team-mate Sergio Pérez by more than eight tenths of a second. But the champion will start the race at Spa-Francorchamps from sixth place on the grid after he takes a gearbox penalty.
At the start of Q1, on a damp track, it was McLaren’s Lando Norris who set the early benchmark with a lap of 2:01.874 set on Intermediate tyres. Mercedes’ George Russell then bettered that by almost three tenths of a second before Verstappen Max jumped to second place with an opening flyer of 2:01.597. McLaren’s Oscar Piastri then took top spot and he was then eclipsed by Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz who led the way on 2:00.536.
With five minutes left in the opening segment Verstappen rose to P1 with a lap of 1:58.932 that put him ahead of Sainz and Pérez who had moved to P3 with a lap of 1:59.911. Hamilton then moved to the top with a lap of 1:58.841 but it was Charles Leclerc who took the Q1 bragging rights at the end of the segment. The Ferrari man was one of the last drivers on track at the end and his final tour of 1:58.300 saw him jump from P16 and the drop zone to the top of the timesheet.
Verstappen eased through in second place, two tenths behind Leclerc, while Hamilton progressed in third place.
At the other end of the timesheet, Alex Albon was the first man eliminated in P16. The Williams driver was followed to the exit by Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu, Williams’ team-mate Logan Sargeant, Alpha Tauri’s Daniel Ricciardo, who had his final lap deleted for a track limits violation at Raidillon, and Haas’ Nico Hülkenberg.
At the start of Q2 Hamilton was first on track on Intermediate tyres. The Mercedes driver stopped the clock at 1:58.024 to take P1 but it was clear that the surface was improving rapidly and when Verstappen vaulted to P1 with a time of 1:55.535, more than two seconds ahead of Hamilton, the change was clear and drivers began to switch to slicks for the final runs.
And in the end it was McLaren’s Piastri who made the most of the conditions. The Australian took top spot with a lap of 1:51.534, almost two tenths ahead of Sainz, with Leclerc third ahead of Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll.
Verstappen, though, was almost caught out by the changing conditions. The Dutchman had a lap deleted for track limits and had to put in a last-ditch flyer. That was also imperfect and his final time of 1:52.784 saw him scrape through in P10.
The unpredictable nature of the session continued in the first runs of the top-10 shootout. Verstappen’s first flying lap of 1:48.059 took him to P1. But Leclerc was able to find more time and the Ferrari driver took provisional pole 0.128 ahead of the world champion with Sainz in third.
But in the end, Verstappen unlocked the pace of his RB19 and with a new set of Soft tyres on board and with more confidence in the car and the conditions, he string together an impressive lap that left closest rival Leclerc eight tenths of a second adrift.
The champion’s grid penalty means Leclerc will start from pole and Pérez will move from P3 in qualifying, just five hundredths of a second off the Ferrari driver, to a front row start. Behind the Mexican Hamilton took fourth place in Qualifying ahead of Sainz, with Piastri sixth. All will move up a place for the race start. Norris finished in P7 ahead of Russell, while Alonso will line up in P9 alongside team-mate Lance Stroll.
2023 FIA Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix – Qualifying
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 1:58.515 1:52.784 1:46.168 22
2 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:58.300 1:52.017 1:46.988 23
3 Sergio Perez Red Bull Racing 1:58.899 1:52.353 1:47.045 22
4 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:58.563 1:52.345 1:47.087 24
5 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1:58.688 1:51.711 1:47.152 23
6 Oscar Piastri McLaren 1:58.872 1:51.534 1:47.365 23
7 Lando Norris McLaren 1:59.981 1:52.252 1:47.669 21
8 George Russell Mercedes 1:59.035 1:52.605 1:47.805 24
9 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 1:58.834 1:52.751 1:47.843 22
10 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 1:59.663 1:52.193 1:48.841 22
11 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri 1:59.044 1:53.148 15
12 Pierre Gasly Alpine 1:59.511 1:53.671 17
13 Kevin Magnussen Haas 2:00.020 1:54.160 17
14 Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo 1:59.484 1:54.694 17
15 Esteban Ocon Alpine 1:59.634 1:56.372 13
16 Alexander Albon Willians 2:00.314 8
17 Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo 2:00.832 9
18 Logan Sargeant Williams 2:01.535 6
19 Daniel Ricciardo AlphaTauri 2:02.159 8
20 Nico Hulkenberg Haas 2:03.166 5 -
Jehan Daruvala qualifies P10, will start on pole for Saturday’s Sprint
Spa Francorchamps (Belgium), 28 July 2023: Oliver Bearman didn’t waste a second from the get-go as he stormed to his third pole position of his rookie season. A torrential downpour mid-session meant the field had one shot at pole and the Briton put it all together with a 2:05.736 as the rain began to fall. Meanwhile, Indian racing star Jehan Daruvala secured the all-important 10th Place and will be starting on Pole for the reverse-grid Sprint Race on Saturday. Kush Maini, the other Indian could not finish in the classification.
“Rain started coming down on the very first push lap in quali, so we practically qualified in the order in which we left the pit lane. P10 that is and its reverse grid pole tomorrow,” said Daruvala in a tweet after the qualification session.
Prema Racing took their first 1-2 Qualifying result of the season as Championship leader Frederik Vesti claimed his spot on the front row. ART Grand Prix’s Victor Martins secured another top three start in third.
Starting out on a drying track and with the forecast predicting heavy rain, the field were out of the pits as soon as possible. Before anyone could complete a timed lap, the Red Flag was deployed three minutes into the session after Joshua Mason found the gravel trap at Turn 9.
It was a race against time once green flag conditions resumed, with all-bar Kush Maini opting to gamble on the slicks.
Having been advised by his team to finish every lap possible as he led the field back onto the track, Vesti skirted his way around the narrow dry line to clock in a 2:06.199. Carving out a path for his teammate behind, Bearman took full advantage, going fastest by 0.463s.
The PREMA duo were in the right place at the right time as rain began to fall heavily in Sector 3, leaving those behind with little hope of beating the Briton’s lap.
Clocking in two purple sectors on his next lap, Bearman continued to go quicker. However, with conditions in the final sector too wet to improve, the Ferrari Academy junior’s job was done. The field headed into the pits to wait out the final 20 minutes of running, as the expected downpour arrived in earnest.
Martins’ sole effort managed to slot the Frenchman into third for his fourth-consecutive top three start ahead of Rodin Carlin’s Zane Maloney and Théo Pourchaire. Dennis Hauger popped himself up into sixth ahead of Ralph Boschung, Enzo Fittipaldi, and Richard Verschoor.
After securing the all-important P10 spot, Jehan Daruvala will line up on pole for Saturday’s Sprint Race. Lights go out at 13:45 local time.
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Max Verstappen sets record for Red Bull in Hungary; Lando Norris 2nd ahead of Perez
Max Verstappen made Formula 1 history as he scored a record 12th win in a row for Red Bull, with the Dutch driver taking his ninth win of 2023 ahead at the Hungarian of McLaren’s Lando Norris, while the final podium place went to Sergio Pérez who surged through the third place from P9 on the grid.
Starting from the front row, Verstappen beat pole position driver Lewis Hamilton to the punch into Turn 1 at the start and after taking the lead the Dutch strode away from the pack to hand Red Bull a victory that moves the team past the 11 wins in a row scored by McLaren in 1988.
“What an unbelievable rocket ship that was today,” said Verstappen on his slow down lap. “That was so enjoyable to drive. Twelve wins in a row, unbelievable. I think everyone can be really proud of that achievement.”
When the lights went out, Hamilton got away well from pole position, but even though Verstappen was slower away on the dusty side of the track he outdragged the Mercedes on the approach to Turn 1 and took the lead as the pair went through the first corner.
Behind the front row starters, third-place starter Lando Norris was held up as Hamilton took a wider line into Turn 1 and that allowed the McLaren driver’s team-mate Oscar Piastri to dive down the inside of Hamilton to steal P2. Norris also then got by the Mercedes driver to demote the pole sitter to P4.
Further back, Pérez, on Hard tyres, got a good start from P9 and when Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu bogged down on the grid, the Mexican along with a gaggle of rivals swept past. Trying to recover Zhou then became embroiled in a close battle with lower-placed rivals and as the midfield funnelled into Turn 1 there was contact. The incident ruled both Alpine cars out of the race as Esteban Ocon was clipped by an AlphaTauri and bounced into team-mate Pierre Gasly.
At the front, Verstappen was quickly into the groove and he quickly built a gap to Piastri with Norris in third ahead of Hamilton and the Ferrari cars of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz. Pérez, meanwhile, was already closing in on Fernando Alonso and at the start of lap eight, aided by DRS, the Mexican powered past the Aston Martin to take P7 place just over 1.5s behind Sainz.
Sainz had made up places thanks to a start on Soft tyres, but by lap 16 his tyres were beginning to fade and he headed into the pit lane for a set of Hard tyres, promoting Pérez to sixth place.
Hamilton made his first stop, for Hard tyres, on lap 17 and a lap later Norris made his first stop. The McLaren driver was followed by Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, but the team struggled with the rear left and after a 9.4s halt Leclerc rejoined in P10. Piastri made his stop on the following lap, but having benefited from an undercut, Norris passed his team-mate as the Australian exited the pit lane. Next into the pit lane was Alonso and when the Spanish driver took on a new set of Hard tyres, Pérez rose to second place, 22.3s behind Verstappen, with both needing to pit.
Verstappen headed in on lap 24, and after taking on Hard tyres in a 2.3s stop, the Dutchman resumed in the lead, 2.6s ahead of Pérez with Norris now third ahead of Piastri.
Pérez’s opening stint on Hard tyres came to an end at the end of lap 24 and the Mexican moved to Medium compound Pirellis in a 2.8s stop before rejoining in P7, again behind Sainz. Pérez was flying, however, and on lap 27 he muscled past the Spanish driver through Turn 1 and then, on the following lap the Red Bull driver powered past Mercedes George Russell, who was still on opening Hard tyres, to take fifth place, five seconds behind Hamilton.
At the front, at half distance, Verstappen was in total control, with the Dutchman a comfortable 12 seconds ahead of Norris, with Piastri seven seconds further back in third. Hamilton was fourth but just two seconds clear of Pérez who was closing in rapidly.
But with Hamilton defending well, the Team reacted by bringing Pérez in for a second stop, behind Piastri. The Australian had a slow stop but the Bulls got Pérez onto a set of Medium tyres in a stunning 1.9s. Piastri rejoined in P5 with Pérez just a second behind. Norris then pitted at the end of lap 44 and he emerged in P3 behind Hamilton who needed another stop.
With DRS on his side, Pérez closed up to Piastri and on lap 47 he went round the outside of the McLaren through Turn 1 to take fourth place. And that became a podium place when Hamilton pitted for a second time on lap 50, with the Mercedes driver rejoining in fifth.
Verstappen made his final stop of the race at the end of lap 51 and after fitting a used set of Medium tyres, the championship leader emerged in the lead and just shy of 12 seconds in front of Norris, who was 8.6s ahead of Pérez.
Over the final 15 laps, Verstappen stretched the gap to Norris to an emphatic 33 seconds as he powered to his seventh win in a row.
Behind the podium finishers, Hamilton finished fourth ahead of Piastri, while Mercedes’ George Russell inherited sixth place after Leclerc served a five-second penalty at the flag for speeding in the pit lane during his second pit stop. Sainz was eighth for Ferrari and the final points positions were taken by Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll.
2023 FIA Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix – Race
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 70 1:38’08.634
2 Lando Norris McLaren 70 1:38’42.365 33.731
3 Sergio Pérez Red Bull Racing 70 1:38’46.237 37.603
4 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 70 1:38’47.768 39.134
5 Oscar Piastri McLaren 70 1:39’11.206 1’02.572
6 George Russell Mercedes 70 1:39’14.459 1’05.825
7 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 70 1:39’18.951 1’10.317
8 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 70 1:39’19.707 1’11.073
9 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 70 1:39’24.343 1’15.709
10 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 69 1:38’23.249 1 lap /14.615
11 Alexander Albon Williams 69 1:38’37.721 1 lap /29.087
12 Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo 69 1:38’38.713 1 lap /30.079
13 Daniel Ricciardo AlphaTauri 69 1:38’44.891 1 lap /36.257
14 Nico Hülkenberg Haas 69 1:38’59.932 1 lap /51.298
15 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri 69 1:39’00.177 1 lap /51.543
16 Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo 69 1:39’09.125 1 lap /1’00.491
17 Kevin Magnussen Haas 69 1:39’30.985 1 lap /1’22.351
18 Logan Sargeant Williams 67 1:36’29.224 Not running
Esteban Ocon Alpine 2 3’28.146 Accident damage
Pierre Gasly Alpine 1 2’04.981 Accident damage
