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Category: Formula 1
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Mexico GP: Verstappen takes pole from Russell, Hamilton
Max Verstappen was dominant in F1 Mexico GP qualifying taking pole from Mercedes pair of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton.
Q1:
The first part in F1 qualifying in Mexico GP saw Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton (1m19.162s) set the pace after doing another push lap towards the end as he toppled Red Bull’s Max Verstappen by 0.053s with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc ending up in third.
Red Bull’s Sergio Perez needed another lap too after DRS didn’t work the first time as he ended up seventh on the same set of tyres. It was hectic in the bottom where Haas’ Mick Schumacher made it in the Top 10 with a sixth best time.
But it wasn’t for long as he used the kerbs a bit too much at Turn 2 which resulted in lap deletion. He had to another lap of 1m20.419s in 16th which was same for Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel in 17th. The other Haas of Kevin Magnussen made it in.
Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll was 18th with a 1m20.520s as Williams pair of Alexander Albon (1m20.859s) and Nicholas Latifi (1m21.167s) ended up 19th and 20th where replays showed an off moment for the Thai racer on his quick lap.
Q2:
The second part in F1 Mexico GP qualifying saw the Red Bull pair complete their first run on the used tyre as the Mercedes pair set the pace early on. Everyone did another lap where the Top 5 were separated by just the 0.063s margin.
In fact, the Top 2 were separated by just the 0.008s margin as Hamilton led the way with a 1m18.522s lap with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz in second and the other Mercedes of Russell in third from Verstappen and Perez in a close Top 5 where Charles Leclerc aborted his lap.
It was a close miss for McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo (1m19.325s) in 11th after missing on the Top 10 by just the 0.053s margin. Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu (1m19.476s) was 12th from AlphaTauri pair of Yuki Tsunoda (1m19.589s) and Pierre Gasly (1m19.672s) as Haas’ Kevin Magnussen (1m19.833s) was 15th.
Q3:
The final part of F1 Mexico GP saw a tight run at the front where Red Bull’s Verstappen led the way from the Mercedes pair of Russell and Hamilton. But the latter lost his lap time after taking the apex at Turn 3 much like Schumacher did in Turn 2.
Red Bull’s Perez got third from Ferrari’s Sainz, who had a drift moment on the kerb. Teammate Leclerc had a moment in the early part of the lap too, to be only sixth, with Alpine’s Fernando Alons going out of turn in seventh with a moment of his own.
The final run saw Verstappen improve further with a 1m17.775s lap to secure F1 Mexico GP pole with a good margin over the Mercedes pair of Russell (1m18.079s) and Hamilton (1m18.084s). The former’s final lap was deleted due to an off at Turn 12 which left his angry.
Hamilton recovered well from lap deletion as Perez (1m18.128s) was fourth from Sainz (1m18.351s) with Bottas (1m18.401s) managing to beat Leclerc (1m18.555s) for sixth after the Monegasque did not have a good run. McLaren’s Lando Norris (1m18.721s) was eighth from Alpine pair of Fernando Alonso (1m18.939s) and Esteban Ocon (1m19.010s) in the Top 10.
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Mexico GP: Russell heads Hamilton in a Mercedes 1-2 in FP3
Mercedes pair led the way in FP1 of F1 Mexico GP with George Russell fastest from Lewis Hamilton as Max Verstappen was third.
The important FP3 session in F1 Mexico GP saw Mercedes pair lead the way as George Russell set the pace with a 1m18.399s lap from teammate Lewis Hamilton (1m18.543s) and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen (1m18.876s) after soft tyre run.
It was a cleaner run from the Mercedes pair but Verstappen continued to have moments much like how he had during Friday running. A late push run from Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc (1m19.123s) saw him in fourth but a bit far off the pace.
His teammate Carlos Sainz (1m19.301s) was sixth behind Red Bull’s Sergio Perez (1m19.241s), with McLaren’s Lando Norris (1m19.317s) seventh from Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas (1m19.390s) who continued have a good Mexico GP practice run with three Top 10 finishes.
AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda (1m19.882s) was ninth from Williams’ Alexander Albon (1m19.917s), who set a solid time in the end to be in the Top 10. Alpine’s Esteban Ocon was 11th after his late lap with Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu 12th after having issues early on.
Alpine’s Fernando Alonso was only 13th from McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo, with AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly after a scrappy run. His initial quick lap was compromised by a moment while trying to pass Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and only managed 15th in the end.
Stroll was 17th from Haas’ Mick Schumacher who had multiple offs including a spin at Turn 10. Williams’ Nicholas Latifi slotted in 18th from Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel who did not enjoy the session while complaining about the car lacking everywhere. He was followed by Haas’ Kevin Magnussen in 20th.
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Mexico GP: Russell quickest in FP2 as Pirelli continues tyre testing
George Russell led the way in FP1 of F1 Mexico GP from Yuki Tsunoda and Esteban Ocon as teams had another Pirelli tyre testing.
The extended FP2 session in F1 Mexico GP saw further Pirelli tyre testing for the 2023 season as they focused on running the softer compounds this weekend after running the harder ones at the Circuit of the Americas during the US GP weekend.
It was a mixed run again as like last weekend, the Top 3 finishers set their pace on the soft tyres of 2022 with Mercedes’ George Russell (1m19.970s) leading AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda (1m20.798s) and Alpine’s Esteban Ocon (1m21.177s) – all three having their first run of the day.
They sat out in FP1 after Nyck de Vries, Liam Lawson and Jack Doohan drove in the first test. Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton (1m21.509s) was the first driver on the prototype tyres in fourth with the Red Bull pair behind them and Ferrari pair after them.
It was Sergio Perez (1m21.579s) again quicker than Max Verstappen (1m21.588s), where the Dutchman continued to have some moments. Charles Leclerc (1m21.618s) was seventh from Carlos Sainz (1m21.693s) but the Monegasque had an early end to his session.
Having lost his rear at the entry of Turn 8, Leclerc spun onto the barrier and damaged his rear resulting in a red flag. Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas (1m21.993s) was ninth from AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly (1m22.104s) in the Top 10, with his drift moment.
Alpine’s Fernando Alonso was 11th after his drift moment, with Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel in 12th from Williams’ Alexander Albon who set his pace on the soft tyres. The McLaren pair rounded the Top 15 with Lando Norris leading.
He had a moment towards the end as Daniel Ricciardo was 15th from Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll who led the Haas pair of Mick Schumacher and Kevin Magnussen. The Dane had a new ICE fitted – his sixth – and is due for a grid penalty.
Williams’ Nicholas Latifi was 19th from Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu, who caused a late red flag due to a hydraulic issue with the session not resuming again where less than two minutes was remaining.
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Mexico GP: Sainz fastest in FP1 from Leclerc amid stoppages
Ferrari pair of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc headed FP1 in F1 Mexico GP with Sergio Perez third amid double red flag stoppages.
It was a clean but a bit up and down FP1 session in F1 Mexico GP which was led by the Ferrari pair of Carlos Sainz (1m20.707s) and Charles Leclerc (1m20.753s) – only 0.046s separating the two. The Monegasque had an early puncture which required a change.
The two had the Red Bull pair just behind them with Sergio Perez (1m20.827s) ahead of Max Verstappen (1m20.827s), where the Dutchman had a less grippy day. He not only went off to have a half spin, he also had a separate moment where he caught it.
The duo set exactly the same time. Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton (1m20.849s) was fifth whose earlier quick lap was affected by red flag. Alpine’s Fernando Alonso (1m20.899s) was sixth from Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas (1m21.083s) as McLaren’s Lando Norris (1m21.120s) ended up seventh.
AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly (1m21.310s) lined-up ninth where the Frenchman had a moment against Williams’ Nicholas Latifi which he didn’t fancy, as the Top 10 was rounded out by Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel (1m21.525s) – sporting a Red Bull helmet.
A brake issue kept McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo in the garage for long but he finally headed out to end up 11th which also had a moment when Hamilton almost came in his way. Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu was 12th where he got stuck at the pit exit.
He couldn’t get going then and so switched off the car where he had to be wheeled in before he could get going. Haas’ Mick Schumacher was 13th from Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and Latifi, who were the last of the weekend runners.
Among the FP1 runners, AlphaTauri’s Liam Lawson led the way in 16th where the Kiwi not only had a lock-up at Turn 1 but brake fire forced him to stop early to not only cause a red flag but also end the session with about three minutes to go.
The front left was smoking hugely and eventually caught fire as he led Williams’ Logan Sargeant, Mercedes’ Nyck de Vries, Alpine’s Jack Doohan and Haas’ Pietro Fittipaldi – where they replaced Yuki Tsunoda, Alexander Albon, George Russell, Esteban Ocon and Kevin Magnussen respectively.
This was the last session for de Vries with Mercedes as he will now get no more track running since he is switching to AlphaTauri. Doohan, meanwhile stopped early due to engine issues, while Fittipaldi caused the first red flag due ti MGU-K problem.
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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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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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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.”
