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Author: Darshan Chokhani
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US GP: Verstappen clears Hamilton to win as Red Bull takes title
Max Verstappen passes Lewis Hamilton to win F1 US GP with Charles Leclerc P3, as Red Bull clinched the constructors’ title.
It was a clean start from Red Bull’s Max Verstappen to lead F1 US GP at Circuit of the Americas after pole-sitter Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari was spun around at Turn 1 by Mercedes’ George Russell out-braking himself while turning left.
This allowed Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton to be second with Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll up in third from Russell and the other Aston Martin of Sebastian Vettel in the Top 5. McLaren’s Lando Norris was sixth losing to the German due to the Turn 1 trouble.
Red Bull’s Sergio Perez was seventh but had a front wing endplate broken after a small barge-in against Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas in the left-hander which dropped the Finn outside the Top 10 three cars that started behind him.
AlphaTauri’s Pieere Gasly was eighth from Williams’ Alexander Albon and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, where the Thai racer was undone by a huge lock-up which cost him an off moment too. Sainz suffered a puncture and also a water leak to retire from the F1 US GP.
Russell was handed a 5s time penalty for causing a collision, as he passed Stroll for third. At the same time, Perez cleared both the Aston Martin cars to be fourth as Norris lost track position to Gasly. There was a spin for Williams’ Nicholas Latifi on his own.
With the medium tyres going off sooner, the pit stop saga started but Verstappen retained his F1 US GP lead from Leclerc who had to stop still. The Monegasque was eventually helped by a safety car period when Bottas spun and beached himself in the gravel.
He radioed about losing the rear end as Verstappen led F1 US GP behind the safety car from Hamilton, Perez, Leclerc, Russell, Vettel, Stroll, Gasly, Alpine’s Fernando Alonso and Norris in the Top 10 – where three drivers had some luck with cheap pit stop.
Apart from Leclerc, Vettel and Alonso also stopped under the safety car along with other drivers outside the Top 10. The re-start worked well for the drivers in the front as they stationed themselves but Norris lost 10th place to AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda.
The safety car was back out for a incident between Stroll and Alonso at the back straight. The Spaniard tried a move on the Canadian’s left but the Aston Martin’s slight movement caught him out as he went airbourne when his front wheel touched his rear.
Despite that moment, Alonso managed to continue and pit but Stroll’s day was done with the incident under investigation after the race. The re-start worked well again for Verstappen as he led F1 US GP from Hamilton, Perez, Leclerc and Russell.
Vettel was sixth from Gasly, Tusnoda, Norris and Haas’ Mick Schumacher in the Top 10 as the latter two gained places due to the earlier incident. While Verstappen led the way ahead of Hamilton, the fight was on for third between Perez and Leclerc.
The Monegasque hurried him and tried a move in the left-hander but went wide which allowed Perez to retain third. But Leclerc pressured him and eventually took the inside line to pass the Mexican for third with Russell not far behind in the fight for fourth.
The final stop saga started by Hamilton where Red Bull reacted. But it was a hugely slow stop for Verstappen due to problems with the front-left. The Dutchman dropped behind Leclerc as the two ensued in a fight for track position.
Verstappen passed him at Turn 1 but Leclerc switched over to keep the place. But the Dutchman kept the pressure on and eventually passed him at the back straight to slot into second as Hamilton passed Vettel for the lead where the German pitted.
It was not the pit stop he wanted as a gun didn’t work on the front-left which dropped to the back of the field. Leclerc was third then from Perez who battled against Russell after his pit stop. Haas’ Kevin Magnussen was sixth after he elected not to stop.
The Dane is under investigation for ignoring yellow flags, as Alonso recovered to seventh from Ocon, with Norris climbing up to ninth after passing Tsunoda, Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu and Albon back-to-back despite damage on his McLaren.
He even passed Ocon who eventually pitted as Albon and Guanyu rounded the Top 10. There was 5s time penalty for Gasly for keeping more than 10-car length behind the safety car. He was under investigation for not serving the penalty properly.
Williams’ Latifi was handed a 5s penalty too for forcing Haas’ Schumacher off the track. At the front, Verstappen started to close in on Hamilton in the fight for F1 US GP win. The Dutchman eventually made the move on the back straight to take the lead.
Hamilton did not give up easily but eventually had to bail out as both the drivers had warning for track limits. Leclerc was third from Perez with Russell in fifth. Alonso was sixth from Norris with Magnussen in eighth from Vettel and Tsunoda in the Top 10.
The German had a sound battle against Albon who eventually dropped to 13th after losing out to Tsunoda, Gasly and Ocon. At the front, Verstappen held on to win F1 US GP from Hamilton, as Red Bull finally beat Mercedes to win the constructors’ championship.
The Mercedes’ juggernaut ended in the V6 hybrid era to win their first F1 constructors’ title since the 2013 season. Leclerc was third from Perez with Russell in fifth taking the fastest lap point, while Norris passed Alonso for sixth in their constructors’ fight.
Vettel passed Magnussen on the final lap for eighth with the Dane in ninth and Tsunoda rounding the Top 10. Ocon was 11th from Albon, Guanyu, Gasly, Schumacher, McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo and Latifi.
DNF: Stroll, Bottas, Sainz
UPDATE: Post-race, the stewards cleared both Ocon and Magnussen for overtaking under the yellow flag where the Frenchman overtook Schumacher while the Dane cleared both his teammate and Frenchman at Turn 11-12 sequence.
There was no further action into the matter as both the drivers gave back the places immediately. Additionally, Albon was handed a 5s penalty after he was found to have left the track at Turn 12 and re-joined while retaining track position.
In another bigger penalty, Stroll was given a 3-place grid drop for Mexico along with two penalty points for causing a collision with Alonso. “It was clear to us that the driver of Car 18 made a late move in reacting to the overtaking attempt by the driver of Car 14 by moving to the left. The stewards determine that the driver of Car 18 was predominantly to blame,” said the stewards note.
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US GP: Sainz takes pole beating Leclerc by 0.065s
Carlos Sainz took F1 US GP pole in style beating Charles Leclerc by 0.065s as Max Verstappen was only third.
Q1:
The first part in F1 US GP qualifying at Circuit of the Americas started on a sad note with the passing of Red Bull co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz. It was the Ferrari pair heading the standings with Carlos Sainz (1m35.297s) quickest from Charles Leclerc.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was third with Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton fourth despite a lap time deletion. It wasn’t the best of endings for both McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo (1m37.06s) and Alpine’s Esteban Ocon (1m36.068s) who were knocked out in Q1.
Ricciardo was 17th from Ocon, with Haas’ Kevin Magnussen (1m36.949s) in 16th whereas his teammate Mick Schumacher (1m37.111s) was 19th after a big moment. Williams’ Nicholas Latifi (1m37.24s) ended up 20th after teammate Alexander Albon sneaked into Q2.
Q2:
The second part in F1 US GP qualifying saw an early lap deletion for Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel who had only one attempt to make it in the Top 10. Up front, Ferrari’s Leclerc set the pace with a 1m35.246s lap from Verstappen and Sainz.
It got tasty towards the end of the session as both Alfa Romeo made it the Top 10 but for Zhou Guanyu to get his lap time deleted which cost him a place and helped McLaren’s Lando Norris sneak in by just the 0.027s margin from Williams’ Albon (1m36.368s).
Aston Martin’s Vettel (1m36.398s) was 12th from an angry Pierre Gasly (1m36.740s) in the AlphaTauri who complained of problems in Turn 1 and Turn 11. Guanyu (1m36.970s) slotted in 14th from the other AlphaTauri of Yuki Tsunoda (1m37.147s), who had his lap deleted too.
Q3:
The final part of F1 US GP qualifying saw Ferrari set the pace with Leclerc on top after a 1m34.624s lap as teammate Sainz was second – and having provisional pole – from Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton who was third and ahead of Verstappen.
The final runs were superb from everyone as Sainz did a 1m34.356s to take outright F1 US GP pole from in a Ferrari 1-2 which wasn’t to be as despite Leclerc (1m34.421s) being in second, he has a penalty with Verstappen (1m34.448s) ending up third and to start in second.
The Top 3 were separated by 0.092s only. Perez (1m34645s) was fourth – also with penalty – with Hamilton (1m34.947s) only fifth after no improvement on his final attempt. Mercedes teammate George Russell (1m34.988s) was sixth as Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll (1m35.598s) ended up best of the rest in seventh.
McLaren’s Norris (1m35.690s) was eighth from Alpine’s Fernando Alonso (1m35.876s) – who has a penalty as well – with Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas (1m36.319s) rounding the Top 10.
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US GP: Verstappen fastest in FP3 from Ferrari pair
Max Verstappen just managed to edge out Charles Leclerc to top FP3 in F1 US GP by 0.320s with Carlos Sainz ending up third.
It was a clean FP3 session in F1 US GP at Circuit of the Americas with no real dramas as Red Bull’s Verstappen set the pace of 1m35.825s lap by 0.320s from Ferrari’s Leclerc (1m36.145s), who was fastest in FP2. The Dutchman did a late lap like the Monegasque.
The other Ferrari of Sainz (1m36.271s) ended up third with Red Bull’s Sergio Perez (1m36.397s) fourth after his late attempt. The Mexican caught Alpine’s Fernando Alonso (1m36.928s) out but apologised straight up, with the Spaniard in a good sixth despite having got the penalty.
He stood behind Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton (1m36.401s) in fifth as his teammate George Russell (1m37.064s) was seventh from the Aston Martin pair of Sebastian Vettel (1m37.151s) and Lance Stroll (1m37.215s), as AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly (1m37.290s) rounded the Top 10.
Both Hamilton and Russell had some moments in the session but pace wise were just behind the Top 2 teams. Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas was 11th with McLaren not having the best of time where the lead of Lando Norris was only 12th.
Alpine’s Esteban Ocon was 13th from Haas’ Kevin Magnussen as brake issues hampered McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo’s run in 15th. AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda was 16th from Williams pair of Alexander Albon and Nicholas Latifi in 17th and 18th.
Haas’ Mick Schumacher was 19th after facing ERS water pump issue where the team fixed up the problem for some late laps, but it wasn’t the same for Zhou Guanyu who had issues with his Alfa Romeo car and team selected to end his session early.
The Chinese racer is set for grid penalty along with Perez, while Leclerc is to join them after taking his sixth ICE and sixth TC. At the same time, Alonso will also get a grid penalty for taking his sixth ICE of the season.
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MotoGP: Martin takes Malaysian GP pole as disaster for title contenders
Jorge Martin takes another MotoGP pole in Malaysian GP from Enea Bastianini and Marc Marquez as disaster strikes title contenders.
Q1:
Jorge Martin after taking the pole on Saturday at Sepang. Photo by Srinivasa Krishnan It was a tensed first part of MotoGP qualifying in Malaysian GP at Sepang circuit with points leader Francesco Bagnaia in there to find a place in Q2 on his Ducati. He had his teammate Jack Miller too in the session as they sat 1-2 after their first runs.
Despite the places, the team had meetings in between the session as they needed the help of Miller. The pressure got to the Australian who crashed on his final attempt but with lack of huge improvements allowed Bagnaia (1m58.645s) to set the pace and make it in Q2.
Miller had second but his crash dropped him to fourth as Honda’s Marc Marquez displaced him to make it in Q2 in second, with KTM’s Brad Binder ending up third to start 13th. The Australian slotted in fourth from RNF Yamaha’s Cal Crutchlow in the Top 15.
Gresini Ducati’s Fabio di Giannantonio was 16th from the other Honda of Pol Espargaro, with Pramac Ducati’s Johann Zarco 18th, KTM’s Miguel Oliveira 19th, Tech 3 KTM’s Remy Gardner 20th and LCR Honda’s Alex Marquez 21st.
The Spaniard had a fall in the final part of the session, but managed to beat substitute teammate Tetsuta Nagashima in 23rd where Tech 3’s Raul Fernandez 22nd and RNF’s Darryn Binder in 24th.
Q2:
The second part in MotoGP qualifying in Malaysian GP saw a very different looking Top 3 after the first run where Pramac’s Jorge Martin set the pace with a 1m58.021s lap as he led Gresini’s Enea Bastianini and VR46 Ducati’s Luca Marini.
MotoGP points leader Bagnaia was sixth while title contender Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo in 11th before their final runs. But it didn’t start well for the Italian as he crashed out at Turn 4 but for the Frenchman as well it wasn’t the run he hoped for.
A mistake at Turn 8 left him no time to improve, as Martin further improved to not just break the lap record set by Quartararo, but take MotoGP pole with a 1m57.790s in Malaysian GP as Bastianini was second from Marquez in the Top 3.
VR46’s Marco Bezzecchi was fourth from Suzuki’s Alex Rins with Marini in sixth from Yamaha’s Fanco Morbidelli who is to serve two Long Gap Penalty in the grand prix. Aprilia’s Maverick Vinales was eighth with Bagnaia only ninth in the end.
Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro was only 10th after his late crash, with Suzuku’s Joan Mir in 11th from Quartararo in 12th.
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US GP: Leclerc quickest in FP2 from Bottas, Ricciardo amid tyre testing
Charles Leclerc kept Ferrari on top in FP2 of F1 US GP from Valtteri Bottas and Daniel Ricciardo as Pirelli undertake tyre testing.
The FP2 session wasn’t the straight forward one in F1 US GP at Circuit of the Americas as Pirelli undertook tyre testing for the 2023 season where the Italian manufacturer were given prototype compounds for both qualifying and race runs.
As it is, the teams and drivers were not told about the compounds with them spreading their run in an extended one hour and 30 minutes session. It was mostly smooth where Leclerc (1m36.810s) kept Ferrari on top in FP2 of F1 US GP weekend.
The Monegasque returned to action after Robert Shwartzman drove his car in FP1 but interestingly set the pace on the medium tyres as he led Alfa Romeo’s Bottas (1m37.525s) and McLaren’s Ricciardo (1m37.627s) – both on the soft compound.
The Australian had his first go after Alex Palou got the chance in FP1, as Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz (1m38.232s) slotted in fourth from Haas’ Mick Schumacher (1m39.507s) with the other McLaren of Lando Norris (1m39.547s) in sixth.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen (1m39.575s) was only seventh after an early end much like teammate Sergio Perez (1m39.852s) who was 10th behind Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton (1m39.698s) and AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly (1m39.840s) in eighth and ninth – where everyone apart from Top 3 had the prototype compounds.
Hamilton was involved in a couple of moments, one his own going wide while the other was almost holding up Alpine’s Fernando Alonso which miffed the Spaniard. Haas’ Kevin Magnussen ended up just out the Top 10 in 11th.
AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda was 12th From Mercedes’ George Russell with Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu in 14th from Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu and the leading Aston Martin of Lance Stroll. The Canadian led the pair of Alpine drivers with Esteban Ocon leading in 16th.
Alonso was 17th after his own sideways moment, as Williams’ Alexander Albon was 18th from Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel and the other Williams of Nicholas Latifi – where everyone in the other part of Top 10 also set their best lap on the prototype tyres.
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US GP: Sainz fastest in FP1 from Verstappen, Hamilton
Carlos Sainz set the pace to start the F1 US GP weekend in FP1 from Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton to make it three different teams.
It was a clean session in the end to start the F1 US GP weekend at Circuit of the Americas as Ferrari’s Sainz set the pace with a 1m36.857s time with his teammate Charles Leclerc sitting out of the session for Robert Shwartzman to get some track time.
The Spaniard led the 2022 F1 champion Verstappen (1m37.081s) in his Red Bull after a late lap from him, with Mercedes’ Hamilton (1m37.332s) pushed to third. Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll (1m37.460s) put in a solid lap to be fourth from Red Bull’s Sergio Perez (1m37.515s).
Alpine’s Fernando Alonso (1m37.713s) slotted in sixth despite couple of hairy moments for the Spaniard, with Mercedes’ George Russell (1m37.802s) in seventh from AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly (1m37.810s), McLaren’s Lando Norris (1m37.856s) and Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel (1m38.041s) in the Top 10.
The German also had a minor off moment after a lock-up, with Alpine’s Esteban Ocon in 11th from Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu, Williams’ Alexander Albon, AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda and Haas’ Mick Schumacher in the Top 15.
The rest of the Top 20 featured replacement drivers starting with Ferrari’s Shwartzman in 16th despite a late start to his session. IndyCar champion Alex Palou was 17th in his McLaren with Alfa Romeo’s Theo Pourchaire 18th – both setting their best lap on mediums.
Williams’ Logan Sargeant was 19th on his home soil in America, as Haas’ Antonio Giovinazzi rounded out the 20 runners. Unlike the others, the Italian was not in the session to fulfill the rookie driver regulation, with him replacing Kevin Magnussen.
But it wasn’t the session he wanted after an early brush with the barrier due to a half spin. He managed to get back to the pits but the clutch got overheated in the moments he tried to detach himself from the barrier which ended his session.
Magnussen will likely have to take a new gearbox as the session was briefly red-flagged. In terms of the replacement drivers, Shwartzman did so with Leclerc while Palou replaced Ricciardo, Pourchaire did Valtteri Bottas and Logan Sargeant did with Nicholas Latifi.
The engine penalty list for F1 US GP featured Red Bull’s Perez and Alfa Romeo’s Guanyu, where the two took their fourth set of ICE of the season. More drivers are expected to new parts before qualifying and are set for penalties.
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MotoGP: Rins comes through from 10th to win thrilling Australian GP
Alex Rins wins a thrilling MotoGP Australian GP from Marc Marquez and Francesco Bagnaia, as Fabio Quartararo crashes out.
It was a feisty start to MotoGP race in Australian GP a Philip Island where pole-sitter Jorge Martin took the lead in his Pramac Ducati from Honda’s Marc Marquez. Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo was up to third but dropped to fifth at the of the lap.
Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia had a bad start to drop to fifth but was back to third by the end of it from Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro. VR6 Ducati’s Luca Marini was sixth from LCR Honda’s Alex Marquez, Ducati’s Jack Miller, Suzuki’s Alex Rins and Honda’s Pol Espargaro in Top 10.
The MotoGP race became a Moto3-style outing with several position changes. Miller was up to sixth after a bad start and passed both Quartararo and Espargaro to be fourth and tried a move on teammate Bagnaia where the two exchanged places.
The Italian kept third from Miller as Rins started to make some progress. Amid this, Quartararo started to drop as he made a mistake to drop outside the points. It was Martin in the lead from Marquez, Rins, Bagnaia, Miller, Espargaro in the Top 6.
Marini was seventh from Bezzecchi, Marquez and KTM’s Brad Binder in the Top 10. Before things could settle down, Marquez had a huge miss on his braking point as he touched Marini and rammed into Miller to crash out together with the Australian.
With the two out and the incident under investigation, it was disaster for MotoGP title contender Quartararo who crashed out to lose his points lead. At the front, Martin started to come under pressure from Marquez, Rins and Bagnaia.
It started to close up where Rins made up couple of places to lead the MotoGP Australian GP. Bagnaia made the most to move up to second after passing both Marquez and Martin where the former leader dropped to fifth behind Bezzecchi.
But Rins couldn’t hold onto the lead for long as Bagnaia passed him at Turn 1 to take the MotoGP Australian GP lead. Marquez was third from Bezzecchi and Martin, but the Italian’s wide moment allowed the Spaniard to move up to fourth.
Espargaro was sixth from Marini with Binder in eighth from Gresini Ducati’s Enea Bastianini, who climbed up into the Top 10 after having a disastrous first lap. Pramac’s Johann Zarco was 10th from Aprilia’s Maverick Vinales, P Espargaro, RNF Yamaha’s Cal Crutchlow, RNF’s Darryn Binder and Suzuki’s Mir in the Top 15.
The fight for the win continued to change as Rins passed Bagnaia to take MotoGP Australian GP lead, but he couldn’t stay there for more laps as the Italian retook it soon. No sooner he lost that, Bezzecchi came through nowhere to be second.
Rins dropped to fourth but took Marquez for third. The Honda rider had a moment to drop to fifth where he lost fourth to Martin but retook the place in the chase for third. Marini joined this party after clearing Martin to be fifth.
Bastianini was up to seventh from Espargaro with Zarco and Binder rounding the Top 10. Bagnaia stood in the lead despite pressure from Bezzecchi, but a slight moment allowed Rins and Marquez to sneak past the Italian to be second and third.
The final lap changed the order again as Rins passed Bagnaia to not only lead the Australian GP race but eventually held on to win his first of the 2022 MotoGP season. Marquez was second after passing Bagnaia in a fine show.
Despite being third, Bagnaia took the MotoGP points lead by 14 points over Quartararo, as Bezzecchi ended up fourth to secure the ‘Rookie of the Year’ title. Bastianini came through the field to end up fifth from Marini, with Martin seventh.
Teammate Zarco was eighth with Espargaro ending up ninth from Binder in the Top 10. P Esparagro was 11th from KTM’s Miguel Oliveira as RNF pair of Crutchlow was 13th from D Binder with Tech 3 KTM’s Remy Gardner scoring points in his home grand prix.
Teammate Raul Fernandez missed out in 16th with Vinales only 17th from Mir, LCR’s Tetsuta Nagashima, Gresini’s Fabio di Giannantonio among the 20 finishers.
DNF: Franco Morbidelli, Quartararo, Miller, Marquez
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MotoGP: Martin takes Australian GP pole after breaking lap record
Jorge Martin set an all-time lap record to take MotoGP pole in Australian GP from Marc Marquez and Francesco Bagnaia.
Q1:
The first part in MotoGP qualifying in Australian GP at Philip Island started with a multiple yellow flag periods for a rider’s run-off moment. In terms of the lap times, Gresini Ducati’s Enea Bastianini set the pace after their first flyer in the first run.
The second lap saw Pramac Ducati’s Johann Zarco take top spot from Bastianini with a 1m28.498s lap. The second run had Honda’s Pol Espargaro go quickest with a 1m28.392s lap, with Suzuki’s Joan Mir taking second spot as Zarco was third.
Mir had a moment on the gravel to cause a yellow flag but continued on, as Zarco ended up fastest with a 1m28.132s lap to make it into Q2 alongside Suzuki’s Alex Rins, who set the second best time out of nowhere on his final attempt to push Espargaro.
In fact, Bastianini was third to start MotoGP Australian GP in 13th where he was under investigation alongwith KTM’s Miguel Oliveira by the FIM stewards. It was for the final lap impeding situation from the Portuguese rider against the Italian.
Espargaro eventually was fourth to start from 14th with Mir 15th ahead of KTM’s Brad Binder, RNF Yamaha’s Cal Crutchlow & Darryn Binder. The pair dropped local ‘hero’ Remy Gardner to 19th onboard his Tech 3 KTM machine.
Gresini’s Fabio di Giannantonio was 20th from KTM’s Oliveira, with Tech 3’s Raul Fernandez in 22nd, Yamaha’s Franco Morbidelli only 23rd and LCR Honda’s Tetsuta Nagashima 24th – the Japanese filling in for the injured Takaaki Nakagami.
Q2:
The second part in MotoGP qualifying in Australian GP saw Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia set the pace with a 1m28.054s lap from Pramac’s Jorge Martin and Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo, as Honda’s Marc Marquez had an almost wild moment at Turn 10.
His arm touched the kerb and he needed a moment to gather himself up before entering the pits while in fifth behind VR46 Ducati’s Marco Bezzecchi. The final run saw Pramac’s Martin break an all-time lap record of Jorge Lorenzo to claim MotoGP pole.
Martin set a 1m27.767s to take Australian GP pole from Honda’s Marquez, who fought back after an early moment to be second from Bagnaia. Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro rode his heart out in fourth from Yamaha’s Quartararo in the Top 5.
Zarco was sixth from VR46’s Luca Marini as local rider Jack Miller was only eighth on his Ducati, with Bezzecchi losing time in ninth from LCR’s Alex Marquez, Aprilia’s Maverick Vinales and Suzuki’s Rins in the Top 12.
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Japanese GP: Verstappen takes 2022 championship after win
Max Verstappen not only won the F1 Japanese GP but also secured his second drivers’ championship after post-race penalty to Charles Leclerc.
Expectedly it was a wet start to F1 Japanese GP at Suzuka where pole-sitter Max Verstappen just kept his nose ahead in his Red Bull machine despite a slower start than to Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who braked going into Turn 1 to avoid contact.
Teammate Carlos Sainz was a steady third until he was caught out by a puddle which led him into a spin onto the barrier. He brought out a sponsor board on track which AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly caught it which forced him to pit for a front wing change.
The Frenchman started from the pitlane due to rear wing changes but didn’t have the best of luck. Red Bull’s Sergio Perez was third from Alpine’s Esteban Ocon, with Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton in fifth from Alpine’s Fernando Alonso who almost had him on the lap.
Alonso also had a bump moment against Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel in the lead-up to Turn 1, which led the German into a spin and onto the gravel but he managed to continue on. Mercedes’ George Russell was seventh from McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo.
The Australian had a solid start unlike teammate Lando Norris who dropped outside the Top 10, which saw AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda in ninth and and Haas’ Mick Schumacher 10th. There was a spin for Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu while fighting Williams’ Nicholas Latifi.
He managed to continue on but Latifi’s teammate Alexander Albon did not have the best of ends to his F1 Japanese GP where he retired due to mechanical issue. With the safety car deployed, the FIA eventually decided for a red flag due to worsening conditions.
Post red flag:
There was a movement when the rain lightened and the grand prix had a set reset time too. But before things could get going, there was another message of the race being suspended as the FIA then put up a set timer to complete as many laps possible.
The rain though continued on and there was little movement, as the stoppage allowed to re-look at a footage where a tractor was seen trackside while Gasly was on track. The Frenchman was furious considering what happaned to Jules Bianchi in 2014.
The FIA explained the matter initially but put the situation under investigation until after the race, while Gasly was also under investigation for speeding under the red flag. With about 45 minutes remaining, the grand prix was given a green light.
The cars headed out on circuit behind the safety car as multiple opinions was being shared on the radio about the conditions. But the FIA decided to still get on with the grand prix with about 40 minutes remaining as Verstappen led Leclerc amid spray.
The pit stop game kick-started with most of the grid switching to intermediate tyres. Verstappen retook the F1 Japanese GP lead from Leclerc and Perez, Ocon, Hamilton, Vettel, Alonso, Latifi, Norris and Tsunoda in the Top 10 places.
Haas’ Mick Schumacher ran in the Top 3 on full wets but his gamble didn’t work as a delayed stop left him last. At the front, Verstappen went flying in the lead with Leclerc in second but losing time lap after lap, while Perez was third.
Ocon was at a distant fourth being chased by Hamilton, while Vettel in sixth was being chased by Alonso. Behind them Latifi held onto eighth with Russell catching him as Norris was 10th where the drivers crossed the 25 lap mark.
Verstappen eased off to win F1 Japanese GP by 26.763s over Lelcerc, who only just managed to hold off Perez in the end to retain second. The Monegasque also took the run-off in the final part of the lap for which he was handed a 5s penalty after the race.
Perez ended up second with Lerclerc in third which sealed the second F1 title for Verstappen at Honda’s home event. Ocon was fourth who held off Hamilton for most of the grand prix, while Vettel was sixth by 0.011s from Alonso.
The Spaniard pitted for fresh set of intermediates in a bid to pass the German, but just failed to do so despite being side-by-side on the flag. Russell was eighth from Latifi and Norris in the points in the Top 10.
McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo ended up just outside points in 11th with Stroll 12th, Tsunoda 13th, Haas’ Kevin Magnussen 14th, Alfa Romeo pair of Bottas and Guanyu in 15th and 16th, Gasly 17th and Schumacher 18th.
There was some confusion over Verstappen’s title win especially the points situation where many took it that he was being awarded 19, but as the grand prix resumed after a red flag, the FIA awarded full points to the Top 10 which gave him 25 in the end.
Since Leclerc was demoted to third, this left him with 252 points in all while Perez sits second with 253 and Verstappen having 366 points to have a margin of 113 points and with only 112 available in the remaining four grands prix, the Dutchman had the title.
UPDATE: To add insult to injury, the FIA has handed a 20s time penalty to Gasly for his red flag infringement which takes his penalty points to nine in the year. The Frenchman was visibly upset to see the tractor on track and now gets penalised for speeding.
“The Stewards heard from the driver of Car 10 (Pierre Gasly) and team representative and reviewed video and telemetry evidence,” the note said. “After passing the scene of the incident, car 10 continued under the red flag situation, at speeds which exceeded 200 km/h on multiple occasions, and which reached 251 km/h at one point.
“The driver conceded that he now understood that there could have been marshals or obstacles on the track,and admitted that he was too fast. However, in mitigation of penalty, we take into account that although the speed could not by any measure be regarded as “slow” as required in the regulations, it was slower that the maximum speed that could be achieved under these conditions. We also take into account the shock the driver experienced on seeing a truck on the racing line in the corner of the incident.”
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Japanese GP: Verstappen takes pole but is under investigation
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen took F1 Japanese GP pole from Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz but the Dutchman is under investigation.
Q1:
It was dry to start the F1 Japanese GP qualifying at Suzuka with the Mercedes pair opting for medium tyres for their first run. Williams’ Alexander Albon had one of his fast laps getting deleted, while the AlphaTauri pair suffered brake problems.
At the front, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen set the pace with a 1m30.224s lap, with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc in second and third in Q1. The knockout zone saw Albon (1m31.311s) missing out on Q2 by just the 0.055s margin in 16th.
AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly (1m31.322s) was frustrated with the continuous brake issue to be only 17th with Haas’ Kevin Magnnusen (1m31.352s) 18th, Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll (1m31.419s) 19th and Williams’ Nicholas Latifi (1m31.511s) 20th.
Q2:
The second part in F1 Japanese GP qualifying saw Red Bull’s Sergio Perez on top with a 1m29.925s lap as he led Alpine’s Fernando Alonso who set a late quick lap. The Mexican’s teammate Verstappen ended up third from the other Alpine of Esteban Ocon.
Replays showed a moment in the pits between Haas’ Mick Schumacher and AlphaTauri’s Tsunoda where the German overtook him as they headed out. On their out lap, the Japanese driver complained of dangerous driving/weaving from the German.
But eventually they both were knocked out, with McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo (1m30.659s) was first in 11th – losing out by just the 0.003s margin. Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas (1m30.709s) was 12th from Tsunoda (1m30.808s), Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu (1m30.953s) and Schumacher (1m31.439s).
Q3:
The final part in F1 Japanese GP at Suzuka saw Red Bull’s Verstappen set the pace for provisional pole with a 1m29.304s but replays showed the Dutchman having a moment against McLaren’s Lando Norris in a bizarre moment.
There was a gap between Verstappen and Norris at the 130R, and the Dutchman went for tyre weaving where he lost a bit of his rear. The Brit just arrived at the left-hander and both were caught out as he had to take evasive action to avoid him.
He went on the grass as Verstappen apologised to him but the moment has been put under investigation. On the standings, the Dutchman led the Ferrari pair of Leclerc and Sainz ahead of their final runs in the fight for F1 Japanese GP pole.
Both of them came close in the end but it was not enough as despite Verstappen not improving on his final attempt, he took F1 Japanese GP pole by 0.010s from Leclerc (1m29.314s) while Sainz (1m29.361s) was 0.057s behind.
Replays showed a moment for Verstappen on the kerb where he lost a part of his car too. Teammate Perez (1m29.709s) was fourth from Alpine’s Ocon (1m30.165s) after the Frenchman put a late good lap from Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton (1m30.261s).
The Brit had the other Alpine of Alonso (1m30.322s) in seventh with the other Mercedes of George Russell (1m30.389s) in eighth from Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel (1m30.554s) and McLaren’s Norris (1m31.003s) in the Top 10.
