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Author: Darshan Chokhani
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Verstappen leads Red Bull 1-2 in Emilia Romagna GP after misery for Leclerc
Red Bull ended up 1-2 with Max Verstappen winning F1 Emilia Romagna GP from Sergio Perez as McLaren’s Lando Norris rounded the podium in third.
The pre-race rain made it an intermediate start for all in F1 Emilia Romagna GP as Red Bull’s Max Verstappen got a good start to lead from teammate Sergio Perez after an average getaway for both the Ferrari cars with McLaren’s Lando Norris moving to third.
Charles Leclerc dropped to fourth as teammate Carlos Sainz spun out after being tagged by McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo in Turn 3-4 area. The Spaniard suffered another retirement as the Australian pitted to drop back in the order with the safety car deployed.
Replays showed Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas also hitting the back of Ricciardo in that moment, while separately Haas’ Mick Schumacher spun on a wet patch when his rear wing touched the sidepod of Alpine’s Fernando Alonso which shed itself later on.
The re-start worked well for Verstappen as he led Perez, Norris and Leclerc in the Top 4, with Haas’ Kevin Magnussen in fifth from Mercedes’ George Russell who climbed up five places to be sixth ahead of Bottas, Alonso in the Top 10.
Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel was ninth from AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda, as up ahead Leclerc challenged Norris for third to take it. Behind him, Magnussen was being pressured on by Russell and Bottas where the Brit tried to get by the Dane.
He did it once but lost out. He hustled again and got through him for fifth as Bottas followed suit on the next lap to take sixth with Magnussen dropping to seventh. Vettel slowly started to catch him with Tsunoda a bit far off in ninth.
Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll held off Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton in the battle for 10th as Alonso was forced to retire after part of his sidepod came lose. The drivers started to slip and slide more on a drying track in the wait of rain to pit.
With no rain in the horizon, drivers started to pit after Ricciardo started the chain. There was some chaos with slow stops for Hamilton and Bottas. The Brit had to avoid Ocon who was released on his way with the stewards putting it under investigation.
Ocon was handed a 5s time penalty for unsafe release, as Verstappen led the way in the front. Teammate Perez had Leclerc all on his back in the fight for second with Norris remaining in third from Russell and Bottas who retained sixth despite the slow stop.
Vettel gained on Magnussen to be seventh with Tsunoda ninth from Stroll in the Top 10. Ocon was 11th from Williams’ Alexander Albon, AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly and Hamilton, who dropped to 14th after the slow stop from his team.
The race steadied itself as drivers had to get through the race on the same set of tyres. The biggest moment for the camera crew was Verstappen lapping Hamilton towards the end of the race when the Brit was trying to get through Gasly.
While things were stable ahead, Tsunoda passed Magnussen for eighth as outside the Top 10, Albon continued to trouble Gasly and Hamilton in the fight for 12th. In a twist, Ferrari called in Leclerc for soft tyres with Red Bull doing the same with Perez and Verstappen.
Leclerc came out behind Norris but he got back the place and hurried Perez. In doing so, the Monegasque spun but managed to continue on. He was forced to pit for the front wing and dropped to ninth but regained eighth from Magnussen.
At the front, Norris gained a place to third while Russell in fourth had Bottas on his tail in the closing stages. Tsunoda was long way off in sixth from Vettel who had a charging Leclerc on his tail. He eventually passed him in his pursuit of Tsunoda.
His title challenger Verstappen dominated to win F1 Emilia Romagna GP in a Red Bull 1-2 with Perez second from Norris in the Top 3. The Dutchman also scored the fastest lap, as Russell held off Bottas to finish fourth by 0.675s.
Leclerc ended up sixth from Tsunoda, Vettel, Magnussen and Stroll in the Top 10 where Aston Martin scored double points to open their account in 2022. Ocon was 11th despite his penalty as Albon eventually held off Gasly and Hamilton for 12th.
Zhou was 15th from Williams’ Nicholas Latifi with Schumacher 17th and Ricciardo 18th. Everyone from Stroll until the Australian ended up a lap down. DNF: Alonso, Sainz.
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Zarco secures Portuguese GP pole in late attempt from Mir, Espargaro
Pramac’s Johann Zarco came through to secure MotoGP pole in Portuguese GP from Suzuki’s Joan Mir and Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro.
Q1:
It was tricky start to first part of MotoGP qualifying in Portuguese GP as riders had to decide whether to go on the slick tyres or stick to wet. Tech 3 KTM’s Remy Gardner had a high side on the dry weather tyres with Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia following suit.
Among others, Pramac Ducati’s Jorge Martin, Suzuki’s Alex Rins, Gresini Ducati’s Fabio di Giannantonio and VR46 Ducati’s Luca Marini also used the dry tyres early on as LCR Honda duo of Alex Marquez and Takakaaki Nakagami led the way on wet tyres.
It was mixed strategy but towards the end, the slick tyres started to come alive. It eventually helped LCR’s Alex Marquez (1m46.316s) through to Q2 after he switched to dry tyres with Marini making it in too with a 1m47.199s lap.
Despite the late push, Martin missed out in third to start 13th in MotoGP Potuguese GP, with Aprilia’s Maverick Vinales 14th from di Ginannantonio, RNF Yamaha’s Andrea Dovizioso and Nakagami in 17th as points leader Enea Bastianini was only 18th.
The Gresini rider had a late high side to crash out, as Yamaha’s Franco Morbidelli was 19th from Gardner who managed to return after his crash unlike Bagnaia who couldn’t set any time. Aprilia wildcard Lorenzo Savadori was 21st from RNF’s Darryn Binder.
Suzuki’s Rins was only 23rd in the end after his lap was cancelled as Tech 3’s Raul Fernandez ended up 24th after his high side on the slick tyres.
Q2:
The second part in MotoGP qualifying in Portuguese GP saw everyone use the slick tyres as the times at the front continued to change for multiple riders. Even the lead changed hands multiple times along with the front row order with many having a go at it.
The fight for pole went until the final lap after the chequered flag, as Ducati’s Jack Miller went from first to fourth after late improvements from three riders. It would have been more damage if not for the lap cancellation for Marc Marquez and Fabio Quartararo.
The crash for Honda’s Pol Espargaro caused yellow flags which hurt his teammate Marquez and also Yamaha’s Quartararo – both of whom took top spot from the laps they did. With the flags taken away, three MotoGP riders were on-course to improve their times.
Suzuki’s Joan Mir went fastest with a 1m42.198s lap but Pramac’s Johann Zarco set a 1m42.003s lap to take MotoGP pole in Portuguese GP as Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro ended up third with a 1m42.235s lap after a late improvement from his side.
Miller was fourth from Quartararo, with VR46’s Marco Bezzecchi in sixth from LCR’s Marquez who crashed after chequered flag. Marini ended up eighth from Honda’s Marquez who dropped to ninth from Espargaro and KTM’s Miguel Oliveira and Brad Binder.
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Verstappen overtakes Leclerc to win Emilia Romagna GP’s sprint race
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen came back on Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc to win F1 Emilia Romagna GP Sprint Race with Sergio Perez in third.
It was dry start to F1 Emilia Romagna GP Sprint race as Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc got the lead at Turn 1 from pole-sitter Red Bull’s Max Verstappen who initially got away well but it wasn’t enough which allowed McLaren’s Lando Norris to be on par with him too.
But Verstappen kept second from Norris as Haas’ Kevin Magnussen remained fourth despite a small hit from McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo who lost out to Red Bull’s Sergio Perez for fifth. The Mexican tried an inside move but had to change line and go on the outside.
Alpine’s Fernando Alonso did not have a good start to drop to seventh from Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz in the points position, as Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel and Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas rounded out the Top 10. His teammate Guanyu Zhou did not last long.
In his fight against AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly, the Frenchman’s front right tangled with the left rear of Zhou which send him into a spin onto the barrier. The safety car was deployed as the stewards noted no further action on either drivers for the incident.
Magnussen, meanwhile, was shown the black and white flag for weaving. The re-start worked well for Leclerc who continued to lead from Verstappen and Norris, as Perez passed Magnussen to fourth and Sainz passed Alonso for seventh.
The moves started to come through as Perez passed Norris for third as Sainz cleared both Magnussen and Ricciardo to be fifth. The Dane dropped to seventh from Bottas who had a drag race fight against Alonso to take eighth from the Spaniard.
Behind, Haas’ Mick Schumacher passed Vettel for 10th as the German came under pressure from Mercedes’ George Russell, AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda and Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton. Amid all of this, Verstappen closed in on Leclerc out of nowhere.
He waited for couple of laps to eventually get through Leclerc to lead the F1 Emilia Romagna GP and win the first sprint event of 2022 at Imola. The Monegasque ended up second, nearly three seconds behind as Perez rounded out the Top 3.
Verstappen will start Sunday’s F1 Emilia Romagna GP from pole with Leclerc beside him and their teammates Perez and Sainz behind in third and fourth. McLaren’s Norris did well in fifth from Ricciardo, as Bottas and Magnussen got the last of the points in Top 8.
Alonso started fifth but ended up ninth from Schumacher in the Top 10 as Russell could only manage 11th from Tsunoda, Vettel and Hamilton with Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll rounding the Top 15 runners and starting order for Sunday’s race.
Much like those around him, Alpine’s Esteban Ocon couldn’t do much to be 16th from AlphaTauri’s Gasly who recovered to pass Williams pair of Alexander Albon and Nicholas Latifi.
DNF: Zhou.
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Russell ends on top in dry FP2 of Emilia Romagna GP
Mercedes’ George Russell was fastest in dry FP2 of F1 Emilia Romagna GP from Red Bull’s Sergio Perez and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
It was mostly dry in FP2 of F1 Emilia Romagna GP after the wet running on Friday. Rain, though, is predicted for Saturday’s sprint race and also Sunday’s grand prix which makes the dry running less valuable from the weekend point of view.
Still, F1 teams and drivers got good amount of track time apart from McLaren duo Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo, with both facing separate issues during the course of FP2. While the Brit could do couple of laps before he was hit by brake problems.
Teammate Ricciardo didn’t run at all after McLaren found some issue with his power unit ahead of the session. It was same for Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas who sat out after his side found out engine issue as well before the session.
On track, it was mixed strategy as Mercedes’ George Russell led the way with a 1m19.457s lap on the soft compound, with Red Bull’s Sergio Perez (1m19.538s) in second and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc (1m19.740s) third – where the Mexican set his best time on medium tyre.
Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton (1m19.992s) slotted in fourth from Alpine’s Fernando Alonso (1m20.174s), with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz (1m20.258s) in sixth, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen (1m20.371s) seventh where the latter duo set their best time on the medium compound.
AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda (1m20.381s) and Pierre Gasly (1m20.439s) slotted in eighth and ninth, with Alfa Romeo’s Guanyu Zhou (1m20.498s) rounding the Top 10 where the Frenchman set his best time on the medium compound.
Williams had a better session with Alexander Albon in 11th from Haas pair of Kevin Magnussen and Mick Schumacher, with Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll in 14th from his teammate Sebastian Vettel – the two Germans used medium tyres.
Alpine’s Esteban Ocon was 16th from Williams’ Nicholas Latifi, with McLaren’s Norris in 18th after the team managed to fix up his issue for couple more laps. His teammate Ricciardo and Bottas didn’t get any laps under their belt ahead of the sprint race.
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Verstappen takes Emilia Romagna GP sprint race pole amid red flag stoppages
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen took F1 pole for Emilia Romagna GP Sprint Race from Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and McLaren’s Lando Norris after five red flags.
Q1:
The Friday qualifying for the sprint weekend in F1 Emilia Romagna GP saw the likes of Alfa Romeo, Aston Martin and Alpine use the the slick tyres for their first run with everyone else barring Ferrari use the intermediate compound.
The Ferrari pair did not head out immediately like others but when they did, they used the dry compound as well. While others started to pit to change to dry compound, Williams’ Alexander Albon’s right-rear brakes caught fire as he limped back to the pits.
In doing so he left quite a bit of debris on track to cause a red flag. Once the session re-started, it was a game of putting in the fastest lap as late as possible in drying conditions. The lead changed hands multiple times but went to Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc (1m18.796s).
He comfortably led Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz in the Top 3, as the Mercedes duo barely made it to Q2. In fact, Lewis Hamilton was only 0.004s away from getting knocked out with AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda (1m20.474s) in 16th.
It was both the AlphaTauri cars actually with teammate Pierre Gasly (1m20.732s) 17th from Williams’ Nicholas Latifi (1m21.971s) who had a spin in late stages of the session but managed to continue. Alpine’s Esteban Ocon (1m22.305s) was 19th after he didn’t venture out to set a lap time for his second run due to suspected gearbox issue.
Q2:
The second session in F1 Emilia Romagna GP saw a quick run from all the 15 drivers with the rain threat looming. The all got a lap in before a red flag for Sainz who crashed out at Rivazza after losing his rear into the left-hander after setting the second best time.
It was Verstappen leading Sainz, McLaren’s Lando Norris in the Top 3 when the red flag was displayed with both Mercedes outside the Top 10 as the rain arrived at Imola.The time ticked away wherein no one took a chance to venture out to start off.
Drivers did venture out but only for a citing lap than to set a lap time as Verstappen ended up fastest with a 1m18.793s lap. Mercedes’ George Russell (1m20.757s) was the first to be knocked out in 11th from Haas’ Mick Schumacher (1m20.916s).
Mercedes’ Hamilton (1m21.138s) was 13th from Alfa Romeo’s Guanyu Zhou (1m21.434s) and Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll (1m28.119s). With both Mercedes knocked out, it was the first that neither car made it to Top 10 since Suzuka of 2012.
Q3:
The final part in F1 Emilia Romgana GP saw an intermediate tyre run from the nine drivers in damp but clearing conditions. There was another red flag as Haas’ Kevin Magnussen almost hit the barrier at Acque Minerali but did not hit it like Bottas in FP1.
He reversed the car and bit and managed to get out of the situation and continue on, with the re-start not far off after that. No times were set by the time red flag was waved, with the first timed lap coming from Magnussen himself after the re-start.
There was another red flag for Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas who stopped in sector three with a problem, as Verstappen went quickest with a 1m27.999s lap despite lifting off for yellow flags. Leclerc stood second from Norris, Magnussen and Alonso.
The Spaniard had his lap deleted along with Perez with both having to have another go. With the rain arriving around re-start, it was tricky for everyone. But nothing could be done even on re-start as an off for Norris ended the session under a red flag.
It was Verstappen on pole for Saturday’s F1 Emilia Romagna GP Sprint race, with Leclerc (1m28.778s) and Norris (1m29.131s) in the Top 3, where the Brit went off on the same corner as Bottas in FP1 and Magnussen in Q3.
The Dane though ended up fourth with a 1m29.164s lap from Alonso (1m29.202s) in the Top 5, as McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo (1m29.742s) was sixth with Perez (1m29.808s) seventh, Bottas (1m30.439s) eighth and Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel (1m31.062s) ninth as Sainz rounded out the Top 10 despite not taking part.
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Leclerc leads Sainz in a wet FP1 session of Emilia Romagna GP
Ferrari ended up 1-2 in a wet FP1 of F1 Emilia Romagna GP with Charles Leclerc ahead of Carlos Sainz and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen P3.
It was a wet start to F1 Emilia Romagna GP in Imola with several drivers going off in the opening moments on the wet tyres. By the end of the session, they moved to intermediate compound but they still kept on going off due to damp conditions.
After the races in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Australia, this was their first time on a wet circuit with the 2022 generation of F1 cars. This was also the first chance for teams and drivers to try out the wet and intermediate tyres.
Pre-session, the FIA updated about new ICE, TC, MGU-H and MGU-K for Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and Alpine’s Esteban Ocon, while Williams’ Alexander Albon took a new ES and CE. There were loads of offs as mentioned above with some having multiple.
The two Ferrari drivers were among the multiple list with both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz having moments, with McLaren’s Lando Norris even calling out the red flag. Fortunately, the Brit managed to drive back onto the track after brief beached moment.
The likes of Williams’ Nicholas Latifi, Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll, Haas’ Kevin Magnussen had moments along with Alpine duo of Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso. Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas had a spin post the chequered flag but managed to not hit the barrier.
In terms of the standings, Ferrari ended up 1-2 with Leclerc (1m29.402s) leading from Sainz (1m30.279s), while Red Bull’s Max Verstappen (1m30.867s) in third from Haas pair of Magnussen and Mick Schumacher in the Top 5.
The other Red Bull of Sergio Perez slotted in sixth from Alpine’s Alonso with Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel, AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda and Mercedes’ George Russell in the Top 10. Alfa Romeo’s Bottas was 11th from AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly.
Behind him was Alpine’s Ocon in 13th with McLaren pair of Norris and Daniel Ricciardo in 14th and 15th. Aston Martin’s Stroll was 16th from Williams’ Albon, Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton, Alfa Romeo’s Guanyu Zhou and Williams’ Latifi.
Among the 20 runners, Hamilton set his time on the wet compound after he complained of lack of grip due to lack of downforce all-through the session. With no more practice run before qualifying later, it leaves teams with little chance to change things due to the restrictions of F1 sprint weekend.
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Parth Ghorpade joins TS Corse to race in 2022 Le Mans Cup
Parth Ghorpade returns to racing in 2022 as he joins TS Corse to compete in Michelin Le Mans Cup.
Following his last run in 2019 in the Ultimate Cup Series, Ghorpade will mark his return to racing in 2022 in the Michelin Le Mans Cup with Italian outfit TS Corse in the LMP3 category.
Ghorpade will drive the #73 Duqueine M30 – D08 machine alongside Pietro Peccenini from Round 2 onward at Imola on May 14. The first round took place at Circuit Paul Ricard, with four more rounds to come.
Post the Imola weekend, the Le Mans double-header round will take place on June 9 and June 11, with Monza to follow on July 2, Spa-Francorchamps on September 24 and the finale at Algarve on October 15.
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Daruvala reflects on positive three-day F2 test at Barcelona
Jehan Daruvala speaks on a positive three-day FIA Formula 2 (F2) Championship test at Barcelona with Prema Team.
By Darshan Chokhani
Barcelona, 15 Aprill 2022: Following the completion of the two rounds of the 2022 F2 season, the teams had a three-day in-season test at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya before the third round to take place next weekend at Imola.
The first day saw Daruvala end up 15th in the standings after setting the best time of 1m29.909s with 51 laps done. Teammate and fellow Red Bull driver Dennis Hauger (1m30.439s) was 19th with 52 laps done.
The second day saw Daruvala in 10th with a best time of 1m30.057s lap where he did 64 laps in all, whereas teammate Hauger (1m30.169s) was 13th with 62 laps in his kitty. The day saw damp conditions in afternoon.
The final day had Hauger finish ahead of Daruvala, with the Norwegian completing 48 laps to be fifth after setting a 1m27.945s lap. At the same time, Daruvala was seventh with a best time of 1m28.019s and 52 laps.
“We got three good days overall in Barcelona with the tyres we had,” said Daruvala. “We had two options and six primes, so when the track conditions were closer to what we will have for the weekend, we used options.
“The pace was there on both the long and short runs, and the car felt good. Compared to Jeddah, it’s completely different for everyone. There is going to be a lot of degradation when we come back here, and it’s going to be interesting. I think we learned a lot over the last few days and it will definitely help us for the weekend.”
Teammate Hauger added: “Day 1 was quite messy overall, but in the other days I feel we made great steps, both on me for the driving and in terms of our feel with the car and everything.
“Then the engine broke down in the last afternoon, but driving wise, in performance mode we managed a good step, which is a confidence boost ahead of the next round. We also had something tested out and that is good as well. Overall, a lot of positive things to take away into the next rounds.”
