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Author: Darshan Chokhani
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MiniGP: Summary from 2022’s Round 1 at Meco Kartopia
Kolhapur’s Jinendra Kiran Sangave displayed calmness and plenty of skill to score a double in the first round of the FIM MiniGP World Series India 2022 at the Meco Kartopia circuit, here over the weekend.
Jinendra, 13, held off Shreyas Hareesh, who likes to be known as “The Bengaluru Kid” and a few days short of his 12th birthday, in both the 15-lap races with Chennai’s 13-year old Rakshith S Dave, trailing the front-running duo in third place. The trio dominated the field through the weekend with some fearless riding and filled the podium spots in both races.
Meanwhile, 12-year old Nithila Das from Bengaluru, was the lone girl among four who competed, to complete both the races in sixth and fifth positions.
Jinendra and Shreyas, who had qualified for pole position, put on a thrilling contest marked by slight contacts at high speeds, but both displayed tremendous skill to stay astride their respective Italian Ohvale mini bikes. Jinendra’s calmness eventually helped him to get past Shreyas.
The Bengaluru schoolboy, who, despite posting fastest laps in both the races, paid the price for small errors, while surviving a huge moment in the second outing when he averted a potential high-side.
The pace in the second race was particularly stunning. As in the first race, Shreyas led at the start but yielded ground to an aggressive and a bit more experienced Jinendra who never held back in attacking the corner or exploiting the slightest of openings Shreyas presented.
The weekend programme was compressed for an early finish in view of the inclement weather with spells of showers and consequent safety issues on a wet track.
The FIM MiniGP World Series India is part of the global programme, comprising a total of 15 countries, and initiated by the FIM, the World governing body for two-wheeler racing, in conjunction with Dorna Sports, promoters of the FIM MotoGP.
The FIM launched the MiniGP Series in 2021, as part of the Road To MotoGP programme, aiming to create an equal platform for young riders around the World to begin their motorcycle racing careers.
The results:
Race-1 (15 laps): 1. Jinendra Kiran Sangave (Kolhapur) (16mins, 39.078secs); 2. Shreyas Hareesh (Bengaluru) (16:39.261); 3. Rakshith S Dave (Chennai) (16:52.251).
Race-2 (15 laps): 1. Jinendra Kiran Sangave (16:00.218); 2. Shreyas Hareesh (16:01.277); 3. Rakshith S Dave (16:24.502).
Qualifying (top 4): 1. Shreyas Hareesh (01:03.369); 2. Jinendra Sangave (01:03.641); 3. Rakshith Dave (01:04.103); 4. Nandanan Mahendran (Chennai) (01:04.603).
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French GP: Verstappen comfortably wins after Leclerc’s crash
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen took a comfortable F1 French GP win ahead of Mercedes pair of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell.
It was a clean start to F1 French GP at Paul Ricard with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc leading from Red Bull’s Max Verstappen comfortably. His teammate Sergio Perez lost out to Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton, whose teammate George Russell lost to Alpine’s Fernando Alonso.
The Spaniard gained two places to be fifth from Russell, with McLaren’s Lando Norris dropping to seventh whereas teammate Daniel Ricciardo gained to be eighth right behind him. Alpine’s Esteban Ocon and Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll rounded the Top 10.
All of the three drivers gained where Ocon had a tangle with AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda in the chicane which dropped the Japanese to the back of the field. Stroll had to take avoiding action which brought teammate Sebastian Vettel in the fight.
As expected, Ocon was handed a 5s time penalty as he passed Ricciardo to move up to eighth. Ahead of him, Alonso was passed by Russell for fifth as Verstappen started to pile on the pressure on Leclerc for the F1 French GP lead.
The Haas pair went for an early stop in a strategic move, as Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz – on the hard tyres – got himself up to the Top 10 in the early stages of the grand prix. Thing started to settle down and Verstappen eventually pitted on Lap 17 for the hard tyres.
But the grand prix turned upside down when Leclerc crashed out at Turn 11 when he lost control and dumped his car onto the tyre barrier. He was angry on the radio and noted about throttle pedal, but replays showed his tyres graining as well.
The safety car was deployed as Verstappen assumed the lead of F1 French GP from Hamilton who managed to keep himself ahead of Perez. Despite the double stack, Russell kept fourth with Alonso rounding the Top 5 position.
With everyone pitting, Ferrari had another spot of bother due to a slow stop for Sainz and an unsafe release situation which earned him a 5s time penalty. The Spaniard though made up three places on re-start to bring himself into the Top 5.
Alonso was sixth from Norris, Ricciardo, Ocon and Stroll in the Top 10. The safety car period saw the end of Tsunoda’s race due to damage from Lap 1 incident while a post safety car period saw a tangle between a Haas and Alfa Romeo driver.
Mick Schumacher tried a move around the outside at Turn 11 with Zhou Guanyu on the inside, but a small touch spun the German. The Chinese racer had to pit for a new front wing, with the move under investigation by the stewards.
As Verstappen led the way from Hamilton and Perez, the fight for fourth started to pump on with Russell defending hard from Sainz. The Spaniard took few laps to get through him but managed to get him eventually at Turn 11 in a good move around the outside.
Replays showed AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly having to take the run-off at chicane while trying a move on Haas’ Kevin Magnussen. There was another incident involving the Dane and Williams’ Nicholas Latifi later in the race, where the Canadian spun.
Both of them retired from the race due to damage. At the front, Verstappen was miles ahead of Hamilton but Perez, Sainz and Russell had a hard battle for third. The Spaniard pushed the Mexican hard to eventually pass him for third.
Perez then had Russell on his tail where the British driver tried a move on the chicane. The two touched with the Mexican taking avoiding action. Despite complaints from the Mercedes driver, the stewards took no further action on the matter.
Russell stayed on Perez’s tail and pounced on the Mexican post the Virtual Safety Car period for Zhou’s stranded car. Ahead of him, Verstappen took a comfortable win in F1 French GP from Mercedes pair of Hamilton and Russell.
The Brit eventually managed to fend off Perez’s late push as Sainz ended up fifth with the fastest lap. Alonso was sixth from Norris, Ocon, Ricciardo and Stroll in the Top 10 where the Canadian had to fend off a late charge from teammate Vettel.
Gasly was 12th from Williams’ Alexander Albon, Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas and Haas’ Schumacher. Even though Guanyu did not finish the race but he was classified in 16th. DNF: Latifi, Magnussen, Leclerc, Tsunoda.
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French GP: Leclerc secures pole from Verstappen after Sainz’s help
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc takes F1 French GP pole after help from Carlos Sainz, as Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez were second and third.
Q1:
The first part in F1 French GP qualifying at Paul Ricard was relatively smooth which saw Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc lead the way with a 1m31.727s lap with teammate Carlos Sainz in third behind Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in the Top 3.
There was a spin for Williams’ Alexander Albon late in the session but the Thai still managed to make it in Q2. Haas’ Mick Schumacher jumped to Top 10 but track limits at Turn 3 meant his fast lap was deleted which knocked him out of Q1.
The German ended up 19th with a 1m33.701s, but neither Schumacher nor Haas were convinced about the deletion even though he did cross the white line. Another to be knocked out in 16th was AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly with a 1m33.439s lap.
Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll in 17th set the same time as he complained of traffic, with Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu (1m33.674s) 18th, Schumacher 19th and Williams’ Nicholas Latifi (1m33.794s) 20th.
Q2:
The second part in F1 French GP saw Ferrari’s Sainz set an early lap of 1m31.081s with teammate Leclerc going faster late in the session but still ending up 0.135s short from his teammate. He pipped F1 title rival Verstappen, though.
Late laps from several drivers pushed McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo (1m32.922s) out of the Top 10 in 11th, where he was only 0.086s short of making it into Q3. Alpine’s Esteban Ocon (1m33.048s) showed better pace than practice to be 12th.
Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas (1m33.052s) ended up 13th, with Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel (1m33.276s) in 14th as he fulfilled his quest of making it into Q2 for the weekend, while Williams’ Albon (1m33.307s) rounded out the Q2 runners in 15th.
Q3:
The final part in F1 French GP qualifying saw Sainz help teammate Leclerc with slipstream on their first flying lap, which allowed the Monegasque to end up 0.008s quicker than Verstappen and secure provisional pole after his 1m31.209s lap.
The Spaniard did not set a lap time on his first run and returned to the track to help Leclerc again during the second and final run. That allowed the Monegasque to set a 1m30.872s lap to secure F1 French GP pole by 0.304s difference over Verstappen (1m31.176s).
Perez (1m31.335s) ended up a decent third after a difficult start to the weekend as Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton (1m31.765s) ended up fourth ahead of teammate George Russell (1m32.131s) who was pushed to sixth after McLaren’s Lando Norris (1m32.032s) jumped to fifth.
Alpine’s Fernando Alonso (1m32.552s) was seventh from AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda (1m32.780s), as both Sainz and Haas’ Kevin Magnussen did not set a lap time considering they have engine penalty.
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French GP: Verstappen fastest in FP3 from Ferrari pair
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen led the Ferrari pair in FP3 of F1 French GP, with Carlos Sainz in second from Charles Leclerc.
It was rather somber FP3 session in F1 French GP with only one major spin involving Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc early in the session. There was another yellow flag later in the session seemingly for Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton, but no replays were shown.
There were some kerb moments for other drivers as well, with Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas having a slightly bigger one. In the strategy game, Red Bull kept it late to go for a soft tyre run, with both Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez doing so in the last 10 minutes.
Verstappen eventually topped FP3 of F1 French GP with a 1m32.272s lap as he led the Ferrari pair where Carlos Sainz (1m32.626s) was second and Leclerc (1m32.909s) in third. The Spaniard will start from back after expectedly taking new power unit elements.
Sainz took his fourth Internal Combustion Engine, Turbo Charger, MGU-H and MGU-K, which was same for Haas’ Kevin Magnussen, with the Dane to start from the back too. Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton (1m33.255s) was in a respectable fourth.
He managed to stay ahead of Red Bull’s Sergio Perez (1m33.293s) who was fifth from Mercedes’ George Russell (1m33.376s), as Alpine’s Fernando Alonso’s (1m33.505s) late lap put him seventh ahead of Williams’ Alexander Albon (1m33.558s) who put himself in a handsome spot in eighth.
The Top 10 was rounded out by McLaren’s Lando Norris (1m33.669s) and AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda (1m33.751s), as after the late lap from Alonso pushed McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo to 11th. Having struggled on Friday, Williams’ Nicholas Latifi found a sweet spot to be 12th.
AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly was 13th, a bit down from his Friday pace, with Alfa Romeo pair of Bottas and Zhou Guanyu in 14th and 15th. Haas’ Magnussen was 16th from Alpine’s Esteban Ocon, who continued to have a low-key weekend.
The other Haas of Mick Schumacher was in the same spot as Ocon to be 19th behind Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll, while his teammate Sebastian Vettel was 20th on the medium tyres as a floor damage kept him in the garage for most part of the session.
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French GP: Sainz heads Leclerc in a Ferrari 1-2 in FP2
Ferrari pair of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc led the way in F1 French GP with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen ending up third.
The FP2 in F1 French GP at Paul Ricard saw similar FP1-like moments for few drivers as drivers took a bit more liberty at a track which consists of tarmac run-offs, enabling them to re-join the circuit without the fear of losing out as much.
Haas’ Mick Schumacher had a spin at Turn 11 but the German managed to avoid the barriers, while teammate Kevin Magnussen managed to save himself from going off. At the front, the Ferrari pair set the pace with Carlos Sainz (1m32.527s) leading.
The Spaniard is not using his full engine considering he has take a new one but despite that he managed to beat teammate Charles Leclerc (1m32.628s), with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen (1m33.077s) slotting in third. The Mercedes pair ended up fourth and fifth behind them.
George Russell (1m33.291s) was ahead in fourth from Lewis Hamilton (1m33.517s), who was back in the cockpit to start his 300th grand prix weekend. McLaren’s Lando Norris (1m33.607s) was sixth on his second fast lap after losing out the first time due to a minor moment.
AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly (1m33.906s) did well in seventh with Magnussen (1m33.928s) in eighth despite the Haas car not having any updates. McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo (1m33.984s) was ninth from Red Bull’s Sergio Perez (1m34.060s), who seemingly lacked pace overall.
Much like him, the Alpine pair seemed in similar boat with Fernando Alonso in 11th and Esteban Ocon way down in 18th. Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas returned to the cockpit as well in 12th with Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel ending up in 13th.
His teammate Lance Stroll was 15th behind AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda, as Williams’ Alexander Albon was only 16th after a good show in FP1. Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu was 17th from Ocon, Schumacher and Williams’ Nicholas Latifi.
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French GP: Leclerc quickest in FP1 by 0.091 over Verstappen
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc set the pace in FP1 of F1 French GP with Carlos Sainz in third behind Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
The FP1 in F1 French GP at Paul Ricard was not the smoothest one as several drivers had some moments especially with the car bottoming out. There was no major incident though apart from a spin for Red Bull’s Sergio Perez at Turn 4.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc led the way eventually with a 1m33.930s lap despite not feeling the best, with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen (1m34.021s) not far off in second – the duo separated by just the 0.091s difference.
Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz (1m34.268s) – who is set for engine penalty this weekend – slotted in third from Mercedes’ George Russell (1m34.881s). AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly (1m34.979s) was fifth despite having an up and down FP1 session, where he also complained of an engine trouble.
The team has brought some updates this weekend to bring themselves back in the midfield along with McLaren. Lando Norris (1m35.232s) was seventh behind Red Bull’s Perez (1m35.174s) in the order, with Williams’ Alexander Albon (1m35.414s) in a good eighth.
With Lewis Hamilton sitting out for FP1, Nyck de Vries (1m35.426s) had his first Mercedes go this season in a proper weekend to be ninth as McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo (1m35.660s) rounded out the Top 10, with Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu just missing out.
Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll was 12th with teammate Sebastian Vettel in 14th behind Alpine’s Esteban Ocon. His teammate Fernando Alonso was only 15th from the Haas pair of Mick Schumacher and Kevin Magnussen in the Top 17.
AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda was 18th from Alfa Romeo’s Robert Kubica, who got another FP1 chance in place of Valtteri Bottas – but this this different from the young drivers’ running. Williams’ Nicholas Latifi was 20th on the medium tyres, with the team bringing in updates on his side too.
On the power unit elements front, Sainz is set for a larger penalty with him taking his third Control Electronics of the season. The Mercedes pair took their second, same for Energy Store. Hamilton additionally took his second MGU-H along with second Turbo Charger. On the ES side, Guanyu and Sainz both took their second of the year too.
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Austrian GP: Leclerc wins despite late issues from Verstappen
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc wins F1 Austrian GP from Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton after disaster for Carlos Sainz.
It was dry start to F1 Austrian GP at Red Bull Ring as pole-sitter Max Verstappen led the way from Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc as the trio behind them were in the battle of their own as Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz defended from Mercedes’ George Russell and Red Bull’s Sergio Perez.
It was Sainz against Russell at first where the Spaniard had a moment too but came back on him along with Perez. With the Ferrari getting his nose ahead, the Mercedes and Red Bull driver then fought against each other but it ended up in a collision.
Russell was on the inside in the right-hander as his wheels touched with Perez on the outside, which sent the Mexican onto the gravel. He dropped to the back and needed a pit stop, as the Mercedes racer was fourth then but with a 5s time penalty.
Alpine’s Esteban Ocon was fifth from Haas’ Kevin Magnussen, as Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton passed Haas’ Mick Schumacher for seventh while McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo passed teammate Lando Norris for ninth in the Top 10.
But both Schumacher and Norris got back seventh and ninth, respectively. Williams’ Alexander Albon and AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda were put under investigation for start infringement, but the stewards cleared them of any offence.
At the front, Verstappen came under pressure from Leclerc who eventually passed him for the F1 Austrian GP lead before the Dutchman pitted for the hard tyre. Sainz steadied himself in third as Hamilton moved himself up to fourth after pits for Russell and Ocon.
The Brit passed both the Haas pair in a good move and extended his first stint. Ocon, meanwhile, brought back himself ahead of the Haas pair to gain track position as teammate Fernando Alonso was in a five-way battle at one point.
It had Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu, Magnussen, Schumacher and Norris. It was tasty five-way fight for couple of corners which was eventually won by the Danish driver with the Brit bringing himself into the game to slot behind him.
But Schumacher came through soon to take track position as Alonso and Guanyu pitted to drop out. With Leclerc and Sainz pitting about 12 laps later than Verstappen, the Dutchman was back in the F1 Austrian GP lead from the Ferrari pair.
His teammate Perez was forced to retire, which put Hamilton in fourth as he passed Ocon to gain track position despite a slow stop. Magnussen was sixth from Schumacher with Norris eighth, Russell ninth and Ricciardo in 10th in a recovery drive.
Amid all this, Leclerc started to catch Verstappen and eventually passed him to retake the F1 Austrian GP lead where the Dutchman did not fight as much. He pitted for the second time when Sainz closed in on him in the fight for second.
With Verstappen pitting, it became apparent that his fight was against Hamilton behind. At the fag end of the field, Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel and AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly came together where the German on the outside was spun onto the gravel at the right-hander.
Gasly was handed a 5s penalty for causing a collision which went with his track limits penalty which handed to multiple drivers before him. There were lots of warnings and black and white flag which was a common scene in F2 and F3 races as well.
The Ferrari duo went for their pit stops and came out behind Verstappen. But it wasn’t long for Leclerc to catch and re-pass the Dutchman to retake the F1 Austrian GP lead. Sainz started to catch him as well, but his engine blew up before he could pass him.
The car caught fire as the things started to smash from the sidepod. With the car not stopping, Sainz got into a mess amid fire raging before eventually getting out of it. The Virtual Safety Car was deployed with Leclerc and Verstappen pitting.
The two maintained the Top 2 position with Hamilton at a distant in third, as Russell clawed his way back up to fourth after his penalty and front wing change. Ocon steadied in fifth from Schumacher who passed his teammate Magnussen on the track.
The Dane lost to Norris for seventh with Ricciardo in a good ninth, as Bottas climbed back up to 10th from pitlane after passing Williams’ Alexander Albon with Alonso on his tail soon. At the front, things got a bit tensed with a throttle issue for Leclerc.
They were back and forth on the radio but Leclerc eventually got the F1 Austrian GP win with Verstappen in second from Hamilton in the Top 3. Russell was fourth from Ocon with Schumacher in sixth from Norris, Magnussen and Ricciardo.
Alonso passed both Albon and Bottas to end up 10th and take the final point, but is under investigation. The Finn ended up 11th from the Thai, with Stroll 13th, Guanyu 15th, Vettel 16th, Gasly 17th and Tsunoda 18th – everyone from Schumacher to Tsunoda ended up a lap down to the leaders.
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Austrian GP: Verstappen cruises to sprint win from fighting Ferrari duo
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen had a comfortable sprint F1 race win in Austrian GP from Ferrari pair of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz.
The first of two formation lap started in the sprint F1 race in Austrian GP weekend when Alpine’s Fernando Alonso was forced to retire due to a mechanical issue. At the end of the that lap, Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu stopped at the final corner.
Even though he got going, the extra formation lap had to be taken. The start worked well for Red Bull’s Max Verstappen who led the way calmly from the fighting Ferrari pair of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz. The two went at each for couple of laps.
Sainz tried to clear him for multiple times whether at Turn 1 and or Turn 4, but the Spaniard couldn’t get through and dropped back. Mercedes’ George Russell, meanwhile, was fourth from Alpine’s Esteban Ocon and the Haas pair.
It was Kevin Magnussen in sixth from Mick Schumacher, with Red Bull’s Sergio Perez making up five places to be eighth after the opening lap. There was an incident involving Williams’ Alexander Albon, Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly.
The Thai was on the outside while the Frenchman on the inside when his wheels touched with the Brit’s which sent Gasly into a spin. This dropped to the back while Hamilton was 11th as Albon made up a good chunk to be 10th on the soft tyres.
It wasn’t for long as Hamilton cleared Albon for 10th and also Bottas to be ninth behind the Haas pair. Those two were cleared by Perez just few laps ago, who also passed Ocon to be fifth. The Mexican, in fact, caught up on the tail of Russell pretty soon.
Hamilton got stuck behind the Haas pair as Bottas stood 10th. There was a 5s penalty for Albon for forcing McLaren’s Lando Norris off the track at Turn 3 in their battle for 11th. The Thai eventually lost to both the Brit and Daniel Ricciardo later on.
He was involved in another incident with Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel, where the wheel touch sent the German onto the gravel. The moment dropped him to last even though he managed to get out of the gravel and make his way onto the track.
While Verstappen led the way comfortably, the fight for the final point continued between Schumacher and Hamilton. The Brit tried hard but just couldn’t get through him as the German had DRS from teammate Magnussen up ahead in seventh.
It was Verstappen to win the sprint F1 race in Austrian GP as Leclerc ended up second from Sainz with the Top 3 remaining as it is for the main grand prix. Russell was fourth from Perez, who made up nine places to round out the Top 5.
Ocon was sixth from Magnussen and Hamilton in the points, with Schumacher keeping off Bottas in the Top 10. Both Norris and Ricciardo recovered well in 11th and 12th for the main race as Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll slotted in 13th from Zhou.
He kept off Gasly at bay in a close fight till the end as Albon was 16th after his penalty from AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda, Williams’ Nicholas Latifi and Vettel. The German was classified 19th but he was asked to retire due to damage.
DNS: Alonso
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Austrian GP: Sainz tops FP2 in Ferrari 1-2 as Hamilton has chassis change
Ferrari pair of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc led the way in FP2 of F1 Austrian GP, with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in third.
It was a clean and smooth FP2 session in F1 Austrian GP where the Ferrari pair led the way as Carlos Sainz was fastest with a 1m08.610s lap from Leclerc (1m08.660s) who was just 0.050s behind ahead of the sprint race later on, with the Monegasque having minor moment. The two cars are carrying an original version of the team’s which was first seen at the Spa-Francorchamps 24 Hours on 9 July 1932.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen (1m08.778s) was third as teammate Sergio Perez (1m09.179s) was sixth behind the Alpine pair of Fernando Alonso (1m08.832s) and Esteban Ocon (1m08.848s). The two drivers did a limited running having joined later and ended early in the session.
The Mercedes pair too joined a bit late with George Russell (1m09.240s) missing less time than teammate Lewis Hamilton (1m09.350s), where the former was seventh and latter ninth. Both had gearbox change from the pool, while the latter had a chassis change.
Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas (1m09.251s) was eighth with McLaren’s Lando Norris (1m09.519s) rounding the Top 10 from Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll. His teammate Sebastian Vettel slotted in 13th behind AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly.
The German lost a piece after going over the kerb at Turn 10 as the replays showed. Williams’ Alexander Albon was 15th from Haas’ Mick Schumacher, as McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo was 17th from other Haas of Kevin Magnussen, AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda and Williams’ Nicholas Latifi.
Among the runners to have set the fastest lap on the medium tyres, it were the Red Bull, Alpine, McLaren and Williams pair while Tsunoda was the only other one on the yellow-coloured compound where the rest did it on the soft tyres.
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Austrian GP: Verstappen secures sprint race pole as Mercedes pair crash
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen took a close F1 Austrian GP pole for Saturday’s sprint race from Ferrari pair of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz.
Q1:
The first part in F1 Austrian GP qualifying at Red Bull Ring got interesting from the get go as lap deletions hampered multiple drivers including Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, but both managed to get into Q2 by the end.
It was Ferrari on top with Charles Leclerc (1m05.419s) leading Sainz, while Verstappen was third. The fight to get into Q2 was on with McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo being knocked out by just the 0.024s margin after his 1m06.613s lap.
Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll (1m06.847s) was 17th from Sebastian Vettel but the German lost his final lap to end up last with a 1m07.083s lap behind Alfa Romeo’a Zhou Guanyu (1m06.901s) and Williams’ Nicholas Latifi (1m07.033s).
Q2:
The second part in F1 Austrian GP qualifying had Mercedes show some pace with Lewis Hamilton setting a 1m05.475s lap to be fast initially by 0.030s from Red Bull’s Verstappen, as the other Mercedes car of George Russell slotted in third.
The Dutchman’s teammate Sergio Perez was in a spot of bother to initially find himself outside of the Top 10 due to track limits. The second run saw Leclerc take the top spot with a 1m05.287s lap to be faster than Verstappen and Hamilton.
The bottom zone saw AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly not make the cut in 11th with a 1m06.160s lap which was only 0.009 from 10th. Williams’ Alexander Albon (1m06.230s) who made it in Q2 was 12th from Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas (1m06.319s), who will start from back.
AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda (1m06.851s) was 14th but the Japanese driver was hugely disappointed with himself after making a mistake at Turn 1 on his final lap. McLaren’s Lando Norris (1m25.847s) was 15th after troubles with his brakes as he was back on the old ICE.
Q3:
Just at the start of the final part in F1 Austrian GP qualifying, the FIA noted of an investigation for Perez for track limits at Turn 8 where replays showed him going outside the white line of the circuit which denotes the edge of the track.
It was Red Bull’s Verstappen leading the with a 1m05.092s lap provisionally as Ferrari’s Leclerc was only 0.091s behind with Sainz in third. Before the second run could get going, the session was red-flagged after a rare crash from Mercedes’ Hamilton.
He lost the rear into the left-hander and went onto the gravel and into the barrier at Turn 7 when he was running to set a lap time with Alpine’s Fernando Alonso and Haas’ Mick Schumacher still to set a lap time as well in the session.
The teams took it slow upon re-start with Alonso first to improve to seventh and actually set a lap time. But before anyone else could do anything, there was another red flag after Russell crashed at Turn 10 after losing control and going into the barrier.
Russell was then put under investigation for entering the track without permission as he made his way into the pitlane from the crash site. With about two and a half minutes remaining, Leclerc went fastest but Verstappen bettered to 1m04.984s lap.
The Dutchman took F1 Austrian GP pole by 0.029s to start the Saturday’s sprint race on pole from Leclerc (1m05.013s), with Sainz (1m05.066s) only 0.082s behind from Verstappen. It was a good finish for Perez (1m05.404s) to be in fourth but he is under investigation.
Russell (1m05.431s) retained fifth despite the crash as Alpine’s Esteban Ocon (1m05.726s) was sixth from the Haas pair of Kevin Magnussen (1m05.879s) and Mick Schumacher (1m06.011s) who pipped Alonso (1m06.103s), with Hamilton (1m13.151s) 10th.








