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Category: Formula 1
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We still have issues to sort out, says race winner Max
Miami, 9 May 2022: Following drivers attended the post-race Press Conference on Sunday from right: Max VERSTAPPEN (Red Bull Racing); Charles LECLERC (Ferrari); Carlos SAINZ (Ferrari)
TRACK INTERVIEWS were conducted by Willy T Ribbs)
Q: Welcome to Miami. Thank you. Great job.
Carlos SAINZ: Nice and warm.
Q: How was the car? And the tyres? And how are you physically?
CS: I’ve been better! Obviously after the crash from Friday, I still had a bit of neck pain going into the race, but I had to manage it and I fought through it, especially with Checo at the end on the Medium tyre, he was very difficult to keep him behind. But we managed to get the podium, which is a decent result.
Q: I saw you could race. You could race him right down into the hole down there. And did you get what you wanted out of the tyres here, given the heat?
CS: It wasn’t easy at all. It’s been a tough race with the tyres, with the heat. The car was moving and sliding a lot. But in the end, we got what we deserved, I think, which is a decent P3. And we can build it up from here.
Q: Hey, this is the biggest event in the world right now. And you’re on the podium. Great job, baby.
CS: Thank you. I want more, but it’s not bad.
Q: Charles ‘Chuck’ Leclerc, you and Verstappen have been rumbling with each other since you were kids on go-karts. And you put on another great show here. How are you feeling physically? How’s the car, chassis-wise and tyres?
Charles LECLERC: It was a very difficult race, physically. We struggled quite a bit with the Medium tyres, especially in the first stint and got overtaken there. And it made our race a bit more difficult from that moment onwards. On the hard we were very competitive and towards the end, I thought I could get Max at one point. But today they had the advantage in terms of pace. But it was fun. And it’s amazing to see so many people again, I kept saying it, but yeah, it’s great to have so many Ferrari fans too in the grandstand. So thank you for your support.
Q: Well, you and Max are going to put on a show at every race in this World Championship. I can’t wait to see more. Put on a great show.
CL: Yeah, I hope so too. I mean, we need to keep pushing. Upgrades will be very important throughout the year. And I hope now that we can do a step up but from next race onwards. But yeah, it’s been tight since the beginning of the season. And that’s what we’d like to see.
Q: Awesome job, baby. Awesome job. All right, champ. Hey, Muhammad Ali told me that when you’re champ, Christmas Day is every day, so another Christmas. Welcome to Miami.
Max VERSTAPPEN: Thank you very much. I mean, it was an incredible Grand Prix. Very physical as well, but I think we kept it exciting until the end.
Q: Well, you’re strong. I mean, you went hard on the car. I mean, you kept the tyres underneath you, plus you’re in good shape son, you’re ready to get into the boxing ring?
Max VERSTAPPEN: I think I’ll stick to racing but I appreciate a lot of course boxing. It felt a bit like it out there in terms of how we feel right now. But yeah, incredibly happy the winning here in Miami. It was an incredible Sunday for us.
PRESS CONFERENCE
Q: Welcome to the top three finishers of the 2022 FIA Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix. In third place, Carlos Sainz. In second place Charles Leclerc. And taking the 23rd win of his Formula 1 career and his third win of this 2022 campaign, our race winner, Max Verstappen. Max, very well done. That was a beautifully executed race from third on the grid. Given how the weekend started on Friday. How sweet does this victory feel?
MV: Yeah, I mean, of course, it’s a very good comeback. I didn’t even do a start. So I didn’t know what to expect in the actual start. But we had a good launch. And I saw the opportunity to go around the outside in Turn 1 so I tried. And luckily, it worked, so then, I just tried to see the pace, of course, Charles in front of me, and I think already from the start, it was very close. I just couldn’t get into the DRS initially. But then, at one point, I think Charles started to struggle a bit more with the front tyres, and it seemed like our car was very good on the Medium compound. So once I got ahead, I think that basically made my race, because I opened up the gap. And basically, once we did the pit stop and put the hard tyre on we were actually very closely matched in pace. So yeah, that was very crucial, of course, to get that gap. But then, of course, I was not very happy with that Safety Car, but of course, fully understandable with what happened. And of course, I think you cannot be too disappointed about it. Because also in the past, I mean, it has benefited me in some other races. So I knew of course, it’s was going to be a tough one to the end already. Because it was quite physical out there. So I knew of course, well now the next 10 laps, I think it was, we have to be flat out, so on a track like this is not easy. I was struggling a bit initially with the tyre temps, like I was sliding around a bit too much for my liking, but then once the tires came back up to temperature, I think I had a little bit more pace and of course, pulled out of the DRS which was very crucial around here.
Q: You got out of that DRS. But how much pressure was Charles putting you under in those closing laps?
MV: He was trying everything to try and have a go. And it was not easy, of course, to stay ahead because it’s easy to make a mistake around here in certain places.
Q: And can you just elaborate on the physical nature of this race? Is it comparable to let’s say the Singapore Grand Prix?
MV: Yeah, pretty similar. It’s very hot in Sector 2 as well. And of course because this is a day race, with the sun out there, it makes it really hot. So I was very happy once we always got to the straight because that gave you a bit of air. Also in the Safety Car just clicking your visor one step up, you know to have a bit more air coming it was pretty nice.
Q: It’s been a good race for you and your team in the Championship. Do you feel you’re on a bit of a roll now?
MV: We’re still having a few issues we have to solve. I mean we are quick, but as you can see, my Friday was terrible, you know, which is not great if you want to have a good weekend. And also Checo had a few issues in the race, so we have to be on top of that, but clearly there is a lot of potential, we just need to make sure it’s reliable.
Q: Charles, coming to you, a great race by you as well, you look very racy in those closing laps just how good was your car today?
CL: It was good, especially on the Hard, I think we were we were strong. On the Medium, as Max said, we struggled a little bit after five, six laps with the front tyres and then… yeah, we struggled and basically lost the race on that stint, losing the lead and then losing quite a bit of race time there, because of the front degradation. We need to look at that and be on top of it for the next race. Apart from that, I think on the Hard, we were we were very competitive or at least as competitive as Max, and after the Safety Car I really thought that we will have a shot to actually take back the lead – but it wasn’t enough. But yeah, it’s like this again, I think we’ll have to analyse the end of the run on the Medium, which is the weak point of this race.
Q: Aside from tyre degradation, what were the biggest differences between your cars today?
MV: The colour!
CL: Yeah, the colour. The straight-line speed also a little bit. But again, I think it’s just the characteristics of both cars. Red Bull are quite quick in a straight; we are quite quick in the medium and high speed – but today I have to say that I was quite surprised that we were struggling quite a bit more than them in the slow speed corners. So, that was also a weakness on the Medium tyres, and we need to look at that.
Q: Charles, you’re still 19 points ahead of Max. But do you need to see a reaction from Ferrari now?
CL: In a race we need to, especially on the softer compounds, on the Medium, Soft, it seems that it’s been already two races that in terms of race pace, they seem to be a bit stronger and managing those tyres better. Then, in qualifying, we always managed to put those tyres in the right window, which helps us but on the on the long runs, we struggle a bit more compared to them.
Q: Carlos. You mentioned something about your neck to Willy T Ribbs a little bit earlier. Are you okay?
CS: Well, yeah. Obviously, I’m coming back from a pretty heavy crash on Friday. So, I wasn’t feeling 100 per cent today, but maybe also the fact that I haven’t done the last two races. So also, the neck feels that. And it’s a combination of those two things that maybe I was paying a bit the price and at some stages of the race I couldn’t push 100 per cent.
Q: After these last couple of races, when you didn’t go racing lap, how much of a relief is this podium for you?
CS: It’s not so much a relief – but it’s needed. I think I needed to complete a race distance, to get the body back to shape, and also get the feel for the car on used tyres, high fuel. I was still doing a couple of mistakes out there during the race, just because I was trying the car and trying myself out there. The important thing is that we got a full race in, but at some stages of the race I was pretty quick and also the battles and the feeling with the car in battle with Checo, you know what to do with the battery, with the tyres, I think it gave me a good understanding of what to do in the future.
Q: Just tell us a little bit more about that battle with Checo? It looked pretty tight.
CS: Yeah, I mean, on a new Medium, against me on a on a very used Hard, he had everything on the cards, you know, to pass me on, on the first two, three laps, in the warm-up phase of the tyre. And I was pretty sure that, once I got the tyres up to temperature, I could maybe stay, more or less, ahead. But yeah, I think we did a good job on defending, manage all the battery. They’re also pretty quick on the straight, which doesn’t help. I think it was a tough, tough defence, but it was good.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Alex Kalinauckas – Autosport) The same question to Max and to Charles please. Could you just talk us through the rundown the pit straight where Max got ahead into T1? And Charles, in particular, was there anything you could have done maybe to defend a little bit harder there? Or is it just not worth it?
CL: Well, it’s always worth it when you are fighting for the lead. To be honest with the experience I had from FP1, FP2, FP3, inside there, it was a disaster, the grip on Friday and Saturday. So, I did not expect Max to have that much grip. But actually, I think it was much better for the race today. So, looking back at the race, you can always do something better but I thought that, at that moment, it was the right thing to stay on the racing line and try to optimise the braking point, which I did – but it didn’t work out.
MV: It’s just a decision that you make at the time, right? From both sides. I went right and Charles defends in the way he does. And then after the corner, you realise what is best, right? It could have worked for Charles; could have worked for me. It worked for me this time. It is just because… I mean we’re going at such high speed you have to make these decisions in like, milliseconds, so…
Q: (Laurence Edmondson – ESPN) A question to all three drivers. Can I just get your thoughts on the event this weekend? How spectacular you found it. And also, to Max, does it mean anything more to win the first race in Miami?
MV: I think it was an incredible atmosphere. I mean, it was really incredibly well organised. Really nice to see that. It’s not easy to put an event on like this. But yeah, they did an amazing job, and I had a lot of fun, driving around. I think track-wise, we can improve a few areas. But I have say in the race, I do think Sector 1 was quite fun. I do think Sector 2 can be maybe a bit… would have been nice if it could have been a bit faster and flowing for an F1 car like we have right now. You know: super long, heavy, wide. The 14-15 chicane is a bit of a tricky combination. And if it means more, I mean it’s another 25 or 26 points, right? It’s a nice venue, that’s for sure, but still you know you have the same amount of points what you can gain.
CL: Yeah, the atmosphere was incredible. And it’s great to see how much interest the sport has got in the last few years. And yeah, organisation was great. Loads of people, good weather. So yeah, it was amazing to be here.
CS: I think it was a mega event, put together… not easy on the first event to put such a well-organised venue. So many people coming, so many people in the paddock… for me the paddock was incredibly full!
MV: The helmet we had on the podium. We needed that in the paddock.
CS: Yeah, it was crazy. So yeah, congrats. I look forward to coming back here in the future. And I think, between FIA and ourselves, we can do a better job with the tarmac, we can do a better job with some corner combinations, and we can put together an even better show in the future.
Q: (Scott Mitchell – The Race) Max, you’ve talked a little bit about this but I guess this season has been a case of you either have high peaks or high frustrations. At its most extreme it’s been you either win, or you haven’t finished. But this weekend, we’ve heard you talk a few times about things just not being quite right, need to make things a bit smoother. How urgent is that side of things? Because it’s obviously… the most dramatic element is the retirement issues but if you’re not having clean weekends, then obviously that’s going to add up if that continues.
MV: Well, yeah, it’s both, right? I mean, of course, now my side, I had a lot of issues on Friday, which compromises your weekend, and especially yesterday. And I mean, of course, the day everything went well with the start but it also could have been the other way around. And then you of course again, can say like, well, fair enough, because if you missed almost whole Friday, what can you do about it? So we just have to nail down a really positive weekend without issues. I think of course, Imola, we had that, but it’s still a bit of a hit and miss too much. So we just have to make sure that we are more reliable and more on top of things. But as you can see the car is quick. I’m very happy about that, I mean, if you would be slow and reliable, that’s probably also not a good thing.
Q: (Jesus Balseiro – Diaro AS) Carlos, did you consider changing the tyres at the last Safety Car? And if so, why did you stick with the used ones?
CS: No, because I would have lost position to Checo and in general, you want to keep track position, especially during the podium. I think you want to keep that position. I knew Checo was going to pit because he had a new medium. Our alternative was I use of soft or a new hard which for me, both of them were not good enough for 10/12 laps to go like it was the case. So we were better off staying out on our used hard which I think it was the right call because in the end we managed to keep him behind. But it was tight, I think as I said before, he had all everything, all the cards to actually pass me and yeah, a bit surprised that we stayed ahead because it was a tight, tight battle.
Q: (Jeff Gluck – The Athletic) What should they do about the tarmac, for all three of you? Does it need to be resurfaced before you come back next year?
MV: I think offline can be a bit better. I think it was a bit nice today. I was a bit surprised… like in the start, you know, going around the outside of the expected grip, but then actually, during the race, it got worse and worse again. And we had good examples lately with new tracks where we had good tarmac like Saudi actually, it was pretty grippy. So yeah, we have to just look at that, first of all that you know, racing line… of course, the racing line has a bit more grip than offline. But I think the difference here is a bit too much in places. So yeah, we’ll see what we can do there and of course, besides that, I think like Carlos and myself mentioned, with the layout, I think we can make some bits also a bit more exciting, especially Sector 2.
Q: (Safid Deen – USA Today) About the chicane under the highway do you guys feel like that was challenging from a race perspective? Or would you like to see that completely changed or adjusted moving forward?
CS: I think it’s a chicane that we this generation of cars that are heavy, that are wide, just when you go around those two apex kerbs, it almost feels like you need a bit of luck to get around it and you sometimes get it on a weird angle and the car bounces a lot, then sometimes you nail it and you gain a tenth or two. It’s a corner that is just a bit unnatural and it’s a corner that I think it can be easily manipulated to look a bit different and create a better combination, you know. I think it’s still needed because there’s not a lot of space there and you need to be quite slow approaching 16 because there’s no runoff. So we need something slow, we need something tight. It’s just the nature of the two curves there, the way they’re put together which is no issue. It’s a new track that you’re always going to go through these phases and we’re already in touch with FOM, with Ross and his team to actually sort it out and put together a better piece of circuit.
MV: Yeah, I think if I would have been in a go kart, it would be a nice chicane to take, but not in an F1 car like we have at the moment. Like Carlos said, I think the kerb combination…I mean, I remember in the four laps I did on Friday, I almost knocked myself out because I hit the first kerb and your head just bounced from left to right, like at least five, six times, but really bad. If you just take it a tiny bit too much, just because it’s so long, so wide, so stiff and super heavy that little kerb what it is, it’s just not made for it to be honest. So maybe we have to change the kerb layout already, that it’s a bit more of a progressive ramp and it looks a bit nicer to go over. Maybe that helps already. But yeah, it’s so slow and I think our cars look way better if it’s a bit more of a flowing combination.
CL: I think I’m the only driver on the grid that actually liked this chicane.
MV: And you liked the kerb?
CL: Yeah, I enjoyed it. But on the other hand, I agree that for racing action, I think we can do something better because following wasn’t easy on that part, also for visibility it’s quite difficult once you have a car in front because you need to be so precise on the kerbs, as mentioned already. That it makes it even more difficult to follow. But apart from that I actually quite enjoyed it.
Q: (Alex Kalinuakas – Autosport) Max two questions actually: first of all did you have any reliability dramas in the race, any engine problems like Checo had? And also how important during those last few laps ahead of Charles after the safety car, was it you to get a good exit from the chicane after he closed up through the twisty bits?
MV: No, I had no issues luckily. I mean, everything was running very smooth for me so that was very positive. I think I had all my bad luck on Friday. And yeah, during those laps, yeah, it was very tricky, I mean, I was struggling a lot with actually the cold tyres hitting the kerbs. So going through the chicane was not easy. I made a few mistakes there a few times. But yeah, so it was very important to get a good run out of the chicane and actually also turn 16 onto the straight but of course with the extra top speed we had today that of course also helps.
Q: (Jerry Bonkowski – Autoweek) Charles, quick question. Do you like being the hunter or the hunted? You and Max obviously are so close together in the points right now, which do you prefer, being ahead of him or behind him?
CL: Well, I think we have been in only one position since the beginning of the season, which means we are hunted for now. I quite like this position to be honest, because it means that you are doing something right. But it is also true that it’s two races that the gap is slowly closing down. But yeah, I don’t I don’t really mind to be honest whichever position I am in, I just want to be the most competitive out there. And at the moment, it seems that Red Bull has the upper hand in the in the races.
Q: Max your thoughts?
MV: I like the position I’m in at the moment, knowing that the car is quick. And for example, end of last year, of course, I was the one who was being hunted. And that was actually not a great position because I knew that we didn’t have the pace anymore. I knew it was going to be very tricky to the end. So yeah, just depends a bit of how competitive you are as well.
Ends
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Max Verstappen passes both Ferraris to win inaugural Miami GP
Miami (USA), 8 May 2022 (3am 9 May IST): Max Verstappen passed the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz to win the inaugural Miami Grand Prix despite a late Safety Car that saw championship leader Leclerc put the defending champion under intense pressure in the closing stages of a thrilling race at the new Miami International Autodrome.
Verstappen’s third win of the season was set-up at the race start. Polesitter Leclerc made a good getaway to take the lead but Verstappen, on the clean side of the grid in P3, also got away well. As the field raced towards Turn 1, the Dutchman drew alongside second-placed Sainz, and taking a wide line into the first corner he held his line and his nerve to pass the Spaniard.
Pérez held fourth place behind Sainz while Valtteri Bottas claimed P5 for Alfa Romeo and AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly took sixth. Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton dropped back after locking up into Turn 1 behind Pérez and after he banged wheels with Alpine’s Fernando Alonso who made a good start to briefly rise to seventh. Hamilton recovered quickly and when DRS was enabled he passed Alonso and then on lap six moved past Gasly to rise to sixth.
At the front, Verstappen shadowed Leclerc through the opening phase of the race and on lap eight he closed right up to the Ferrari down the long back straight. He couldn’t make the move stick into Turn 17 but as they crossed the line to begin the next tour, Verstappen got DRS again and swept past the championship leader into Turn 1 to take the lead.
The Dutch driver quickly began to build a gap to the Ferrari driver and when Leclerc locked his front right midway through lap 12, the Dutchman’s advantage extended to 2.5s.
Behind the leaders on lap 15, Sainz still led Pérez with the Ferrari driver 1.8s ahead of the Red Bull. On lap 18 Pérez began to close in on Sainz and at the start of lap 20 he edged toward DRS range of the Spaniard but suddenly the Mexican’s pace flagged and at the end of lap 20 he had dropped four seconds to the Ferrari.
He radioed his pit wall to report a loss of power and after being told to switch a sensor he was told to carry on. He continued to lose time, however, and on lap 23 he was eight seconds behind Sainz.
Behind the top four, Bottas held fifth but as cars behind him made their first pit stops, Mercedes’ George Russell, who had started on hard tyres, rose to sixth ahead of team-mate Hamilton who had made his first tyre change.
At the end of lap 24 Leclerc made his first visit to the pit lane and after taking on hard tyres he rejoined in fourth place, eight seconds behind Pérez. Verstappen pitted at the end of lap 26 and in a 2.4s stop he took on hard tyres and emerged in P2, seven seconds behind new leader Sainz.
At the end of lap 27 Sainz made his way into the pit lane with Pérez also turning towards the pit lane behind him. Sainz’s crew had a problem with their driver’s front right in a slow 5.4s stop and Pérez closed to within five seconds of Sainz. The Mexican was still nursing a drop in power, however, and he once again began to drop back from the Ferrari man.
Verstappen, meanwhile, now led Leclerc by almost eight seconds with Sainz a further 10s back in third. Behind fourth-placed Pérez, Russell, still in need of a first pit stop, now held fifth ahead of Bottas and Hamilton.
On lap 41, the shape of the race changed. Pierre Gasly went wide through two corners and after drifting off track slowly rejoined. However, he failed to see Lando Norris behind and the two made contact. The McLaren driver’s right rear tyre punctured and after spinning luridly he came to a halt in the middle of track. After a brief VSC the physical Safety Car was deployed.
Verstappen and Leclerc stayed on track behind the SC but Red Bull pitted Pérez and he was able to take on fresh medium tyres and rejoin ahead of Bottas to hold fourth ahead of Hamilton and Russell who benefited from a free stop to bolt on a set of medium tyres.
The Safety Car left the track at the end of lap 46 Verstappen controlled the restart well to hold the lead. Pérez, on new mediums, attacked Sainz. He couldn’t make the move stick, however, and he had to settle back into fourth to plot another assault.
When DRS enabled Pérez shadowed the Spaniards again and on lap 52 he attacked again into Turn 1. But he went too deep into the corner and Sainz eased his way past the locked up Mexican to stay in third.
The battle for the lead was just as intense. Leclerc closed in on the Dutchman and with the aid of DRS made repeated attacks. But, with better straight-line speed, Verstappen was able to keep the Ferrari at bay and on lap 53 he began to pull away slightly from his title rival. On lap 54 Verstappen broke DRS and his eventual victory was sealed.
The Dutch driver took his third win of the season, and the point for fastest lap, almost four seconds ahead of Leclerc, while Sainz managed to hold off Pérez to take his ninth career podium with third place.
Behind Pérez, Russell passed Hamilton in the closing stages to take fifth place ahead of Hamilton and Bottas who made a mistake late on that allowed the Mercedes cars to pass. Alpine’s Esteban Ocon benefited from a free stop under the Safety Car to rise from the back of the grid to eighth at the flag ahead of team-mate Fernando Alonso and the final point went to Williams’ Alex Albon.
2022 FIA Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix – Race
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 57 1:34’24.258
2 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 57 1:34’28.044 3.786
3 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 57 1:34’32.487 8.229
4 Sergio Pérez Red Bull 57 1:34’34.896 10.638
5 George Russell Mercedes 57 1:34’42.840 18.582
6 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 57 1:34’45.626 21.368
7 Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 57 1:34’49.331 25.073
8 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 57 1:34’52.644 28.386
9 Fernando Alonso Alpine/Renault 57 1:34’56.386 32.128
10 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 57 1:34’56.623 32.365
11 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren/Mercedes 57 1:35’00.160 35.902
12 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 57 1:35’01.284 37.026
13 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri/Red Bull 57 1:35’04.404 40.146
14 Nicholas Latifi Williams/Mercedes 57 1:35’14.194 49.936
15 Mick Schumacher Haas/Ferrari 57 1:35’37.563 1’13.305
16 Kevin Magnussen Haas/Ferrari 56 – 1 lap
17 Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin/Mercedes 54 – Collision
Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri/Red Bull 45 – Accident damage
Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 39 – Collision
Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 6 – Retirement -
Charles Leclerc takes pole as Ferrari lockout front row
Miami, 7 May 2022 (3am 8 May – IST): Formula 1 points leader Charles Leclerc took his third pole position of the season as Carlos Sainz claimed second place to hand Ferrari a front-row lockout in qualifying for the inaugural Miami Grand Prix. Defending world champion Max Verstappen will line up in third place on the grid alongside Red Bull team-mate Sergio Pérez.
Early in Q1 Verstappen, who was still getting to grips with the new Miami International Autodrome after completing just 15 laps on a disrupted Friday, took top spot with a lap of 1:30.235 and he was quickly joined at the top of the order by Pérez who opened with a lap that left him half a second off his team-mate’s pace.
However, with just over seven minutes left in the session, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc vaulted to the top of the timesheet with a lap of 1:29.474, with team-mate Carlos Sainz in P2, sixth tenths behind the Monegasque driver. Behind them the McLarens of Daniel Riccirado and Lando Norris took third and fourth respectively.
Verstappen was on another push lap, however, and when he next crossed the line he jumped up to P2, 0.362 behind Leclerc. Pérez then moved up to fourth behind Sainz thanks to a lap of 1:30.246.
With two minutes to go Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton was the biggest potential casualty of the session, with the seven-time champion lying in 18th place. However, despite traffic in the early part of his lap, the Briton rose to fifth as the chequered flag came out.
At the top of the order Pérez went for another lap at the end of the session, and as Leclerc claimed P1 ahead of Verstappen, the Mexican improved to third place ahead of Sainz with a lap of 1:30.55.
There would be no place in the second segment though for Haas’ Kavin Magnussen, the Dane being eliminated in 16thplace ahead of Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu and the Williams cars of Alex Albon and Nicholas Latifi. Alpine’s Esteban Ocon didn’t take part in the session having damaged his chassis in a crash in the final practice session.
Verstappen again took top spot at the end of the first runs of Q2 with a lap of 1:29.202, 0.471s ahead of Pértez who was in turn five hundredths of a second ahead of Sainz, with Leclerc in fourth.
With just under six minutes left in the segment, Leclerc rose to P1 with a lap of 1:29.130. That put him seven hundredths of a second ahead of Max and half a second ahead of third-placed Sergio.
In the final runs of the segment, Norris jumped from the elimination zone to split the Bulls and take third place and Pérez went through to Q3 in fourth ahead of Sainz. Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas progressed in sixth place ahead of Hamilton and Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll. Alpha Tauri also made it to the final top-10 shootout, with Yuki Tsunoda in P9 ahead of team-mate Pierre Gasly.
Eliminated at the end of the middle segment were Alpine’s 11th-placed Fernando Alonso followed by Mercedes’ George Russell, the second Aston Martin of Sebastian Vettel, McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo and Haas’ Mick Schumacher.
In the opening runs of Q3, Verstappen took provisional pole with a lap of 1:29.991. That put him just over six hundredths of a second ahead of Leclerc with Sainz third. Pérez slotted into fourth place.
But in the final runs it was Leclerc who found the most pace and the Ferrari driver took his third pole position of the season with a lap of 1:28.796. Sainz looked like he might challenge for his maiden pole as he went quicker than his team-mate in the opening two sectors. The Spanish driver took too much out of his tyres though and when he crossed the line he found himself in P2 just under two hundredths of a second off P1. Verstappen made a mistake in Turn 6 that compromised his final attempt. He backed out of the lap and had to settle for third place on the grid.
Behind them Bottas slotted into fourth place, but Checo was finding more time and the Mexican’s final lap of 1:29.036 put him next to Max on row two ahead of the Finn. Hamilton meanwhile took sixth for Mercedes ahead of Gasly, Norris, Tsunoda and Stroll.
2022 FIA Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix – Qualifying
1 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:28.796
2 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1:28.986 0.190
3 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 1:28.991 0.195
4 Sergio Perez Red Bull Racing 1:29.036 0.240
5 Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo 1:29.475 0.679
6 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:29.625 0.829
7 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri 1:29.690 0.894
8 Lando Norris McLaren 1:29.750 0.954
9 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri 1:29.932 1.136
10 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 1:30.676 1.880
11 Fernando Alonso Alpine 1:30.160 1.364
12 George Russell Mercedes 1:30.173 1.377
13 Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin 1:30.214 1.418
14 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren 1:30.310 1.514
15 Mick Schumacher Haas 1:30.423 1.627
16 Kevin Magnussen Haas 1:30.975 2.179
17 Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo 1:31.020 2.224
18 Alex Albon Williams 1:31.266 2.470
19 Nicholas Latifi Williams 1:31.325 2.529
20 Esteban Ocon Alpine -
Michael Jordan is super inspiring, says Gasly after a dinner with the giant
DRIVER GROUP 1 – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes), Pierre GASLY (AlphaTauri), Alex ALBON (Williams), Sergio PÉREZ (Red Bull), Lance STROLL (Aston Martin)
Q: Lewis, you’re up first of all. How’s Miami been so far for you?
Lewis HAMILTON: It’s been great. The weather is incredible. And we’ve had such a warm welcome here. So just been happy to be out here and, yeah, been out on the water. Great training. And yeah, the ambience in the town is incredible.
Q: …bit of golf as well.
LH: I did something with Tom [Brady]. Yeah, but I’m not really very good!
Q: Lewis, let’s quickly talk from a performance point of view, what can we expect from you and Mercedes this weekend?
LH: You can expect that we’ll begin giving it our all, and trying our best. There’s been a huge amount of work going on in the background. Everyone working as hard as they can; you can see we got to a new rear wing, for example. So, I’m just grateful for everyone continue to keep their heads down. And for the amazing, hard work that everyone is putting in.
Q: Do you think you’ll be closer to the pace?
LH: I don’t anticipate much change in that sense.
Q: Pierre, coming to you now. Well, first up, how was dinner with Michael Jordan?
Pierre GASLY: Well, it was by far the best dinner I ever had really. Honestly, super, super inspiring. Really special evening, just to learn, you know, like the experience and to be able to hear from such a successful guy. I don’t think there was anyone else that inspired me more since I was a kid. And yeah, I mean, it was very, very special.
Q: You even managed to get him to try your helmet on?
PG: Yeah, I did. He did. Yeah, we exchanged. So, I gave him one of one of my helmets and gave me a pair of Jordans. So that was pretty cool. But no, mainly just to hear his experience, his career, the mentality, the leadership that he has. Even at his age, he’s so competitive and it was just an amazing, amazing evening.
Q: Let’s talk on track quickly. Slightly disappointing race for you last time out in Imola. Although you did have a good battle with the man on your right, Lewis Hamilton. Where is the pace of the AlphaTauri at the minute, relative to the opposition?
PG: Well, we’re still trying to figure out, obviously from track to track it changes. Imola, we got it wrong from qualifying onwards and we were involved in a crash in the sprint, started from the back and, as we saw, was impossible to overtake. So, clearly fighting with Lewis was not for the positions we like, but I think there is more than that. And now we’ll find out in Miami what we can do. But yeah, we can clearly fight for the top 10. I’m confident for that. And that’s what we will push for.
Q: Alex coming to you now. Tell us about your experiences in Miami so far this week.
Alex ALBON: I arrived pretty late. So I haven’t seen too much of the place but it’s been pretty good. It’s hot, very humid. And yeah, my girlfriend was competing maybe two hours away in Fort Myers, so I was out a little bit earlier, watching her play but that was that was about it.
Q: Quick trip to the hair salon by the looks of things…
AA: Yeah, it looks red on the on the camera there. Yeah, we got it dyed before Melbourne and we finished 10th and then as the dye faded away, we finished 11th In Imola. So it started to affect the performance! So, we re-dyed it, hoping for more points!
Q: Well, you finished 11th In Imola, but it was actually still have a great race by you. What can we expect this weekend from Williams?
AA: Yeah, it was a great race in Imola, and I think we’re fighting at the heels for points. It’s been two good races where we started out of position just with some issues or with a disqualification from Melbourne. So hopefully we can have a bit more of a smoother weekend this time around, especially for the qualifying, and we’ll see. It seems like a very tricky circuit. I do believe that being a new circuit, there’s a bit more opportunity in that. Hopefully we can hit the ground running and be ahead of a few others.
Q: Sergio, coming to you now. What chance of you making a full-time switch to the Miami Marlins baseball team?
Sergio PÉREZ: I don’t think so! I think I’ll stick with what I’m doing for now! There was not much talent!
Yeah, but was it fun? Just tell it tell us about the whole experience.
SP: It’s obviously a very nice experience, to be there with the players learning from another sport. There were a few fans there. So, it’s always nice to learn from other sports.
Q: It was another strong performance for you at Imola last time out. Do you see any reason why you and Red Bull can’t be the pace-setters this weekend?
SP: I think we were pretty confident we’re going to be in fight, but it obviously depends on many factors. I think none of us have been used to these track temperatures. We haven’t driven under these track temperatures that we are expecting. So, it will be interesting how the tyres cope with it, and to see which team are able to adapt the best.
Q: Lance coming to you now. What’s been the highlight of your stay in Miami so far?
Lance STROLL: Oh, just you know, it’s great to be here, the sunshine. Yeah, it’s a fun city and I always enjoy coming to Miami. Yeah, I’ve got some friends around this week. Yeah, now it’s time to go racing. So really looking forward to it.
Q: What is the mood in the camp? Because it was a much better race for Aston Martin last time out. Is everyone very buoyed by what happened at Imola?
LS: It was great to get both cars in the points in Imola. I think it was a big boost for the team. We have to see how we go this weekend. I mean, we’re going to be, you know, pushing hard and coming up with some ideas, setting up the car and try to find some more pace and see how we go.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Jordan Bianchi – The Athletic) This is for all five drivers. Impressions of the track so far, during the track walk, and if you guys have done any sim work, and what you’ve taken away from that?
LS: Well, it looks fun, it looks challenging. It’s tight, a lot of walls, a combination of high-, low-speed corners with some long straights. So hopefully, we see some good racing. I think there’s some good overtaking opportunities, into 17, into the hairpin. I’m sure it’ll be fun to drive and be a good show on Sunday.
SP: I think it will be a nice track to drive. It will be interesting to see the grip level, the asphalt looks a bit different. Some places, it looks like it’s already opening up. But other than that, I think it’s going to be a great race. The circuit really has long straights, so for racing, should be a good a good circuit for racing. And yeah, we should give a good, fun race for the fans.
AA: It was a tricky one, I found. I felt like it was one of the… it took me one of the longest circuits to get up to speed, at least on the on the simulator. It seems very technical. And just doing the track walk yesterday, the kerbs seem to be different to what we’re used to. Sometimes there are no curbs at all. So, I think track limits are going to be a big topic this weekend. But I’m excited. I feel like it’s obviously a good track. And I think it favours the racing, especially. The racing should be good.
PG: Yeah, I think it’s going to be a cool track. Similar comments to the guys: very, very long straight, so I guess, good for overtaking, should be quite a lot of action on Sunday. And yeah, quite interesting. This very high-speeds first section, very tight second section, so they will be a compromise to find but all in all, I think they came up with a great track design.
LH: Yeah, not much more to add to these guys. It looks great.
Q: (Phil Duncan – PA) For you Lewis. The FIA seems to be continuing with its clampdown on jewellery. You said before that you’ll continue to wear it. I just wanted to know whether you’ll stand by that. And if it gets to a position where they say oh, you can’t race if you’re wearing the jewellery would you still race? And also, do you feel like you’re being singled out a bit by the FIA, given you’re the driver who probably wears probably the most jewellery on the grid?
LH: I definitely do wear… I couldn’t get any more jewellery on today. I mean, I don’t really have a lot more to add than what I already said the last time I was in front of you guys, and we spoke about it. It’s… I feel like it’s almost like a step backwards if you think of the steps we’re taking as a sport, and the more important issues and causes that we need to be focused on and really pushing. I think we made such great strides as a sport. Look, we’re here in Miami, this is such a small thing. I’ve been using… I’ve been in the sport 16 years, I’ve been wearing jewellery for 16 years, in the car only I only ever have my earrings on, and my nose ring, which I can’t even remove. So, it seems unnecessary for us to get into this spat. And so, I’ll try to communicate and work with Mohammed. I think, you know, I’m here to be an ally of the sport, of Mohammad and Formula 1. And as I said, I think we’ve got bigger, bigger fish to fry, bigger things to do more impact to have. So, I think that’s really where the focus should be.
Q: (Chris Medland – Racer) For all the drivers. From next year, we’ll have three races in the US. Knowing the kind of home support you guys have enjoyed in your own home races, what do you think an American driver on the grid would do for the sport over here? And are you guys surprised that over the last 20 years, we maybe haven’t had more get close, or get on to the grid?
LH: It doesn’t really surprise me: I think it’s perhaps more a cultural thing. You know, here in the States. It’s the NFL, it’s NBA. It’s NASCAR, IndyCar. And I mean, in my 16 years of coming over here, it’s been such a slow build, trying to bring awareness of the sport. Unfortunately, the Americans have to wake up at odd times in order to watch a grand prix. But I think this new step that’s been taken, into bringing awareness, the Netflix show, has really just brought in that amazing fan base, a sport fan base that we have, that there is here in the US. And maybe now’s the time to start focusing on how we can include more people here, because it’s such a diverse country. I’m sure there’s some amazing drivers here somewhere, as they’ve got so many great sporting talents. So, it’d be a good mission for us to find the next one.
PG: I agree with what Lewis said. I think the culture is the main difference. Coming here four or five years ago, I remember all the fans knew about NASCAR, not many knew about Formula 1. I think to see the evolution, the exposure we got as a sport over the last two, three years, it’s been very impressive and now the fan base is just growing massively. And we can feel it, as drivers, when we see Austin last year: 450,000 people coming over the weekend was a very, very special and unique atmosphere. So now very excited to come back here more often with Miami, with Vegas. I’m sure with that exposure we’re getting now, more and more people are going to get into the sport and yeah, hopefully we will see more of them in the future.
AA: Yeah, I think same comments as the two of my right. I guess it’s Alexander Rossi was maybe the last one in Formula 1? It seems like, for now at least, a lot of the drivers who’ve got close have come towards the European side to learn how to race, in terms of Formula 3, Formula 2 and that side of things. I see it now with Logan [Sargeant] in the Williams young driver programme. He’s going that way as well. But it seems like right now, it’s a great catalyst for everything to start happening over here. And I’m sure once nce that level starts to help… I think there’s just going to be more people arriving, more younger kids interested in Formula 1, and that’s just going to help everything. And then the talent is going to come.
SP: Yeah, I think, in my case, for example, coming from this part of the world, it’s definitely harder for us because you have to go at a very young age to Europe, I think. Otherwise, it’s just harder, because you have to grow up with the best drivers in the world at a very young age, and just develop throughout. In the circuits, with the tyres with the racing. I think they have a lot of talent over here. Hopefully soon we can have an American-based driver because it will be good for the sport. But it’s certainly quite hard to do that, because just by being on this side of the world.
LS: Yeah, it would be great to see an American driver in the sport. I think it would definitely expand the American audience. But, like Checo said, the ladder to Formula 1 is more simple when you race in Europe, come from Europe. If you’re over on the side of the world, we got to move over to Europe to compete in Formula 3 and all that that stuff, and it’s not so simple. But yeah, there’s definitely a lot of talent here, and be great to see an American driver in the future.
Q: (Jenna Fryer – Associated Press) For Lewis. You manifested this race back in 2017, I guess. You love the US. I’m wondering, has the atmosphere and the event lived up to what you manifested? And what do you think of that marina?
LH: It definitely is what I expected from Miami. Already, just going through the city, seeing events everywhere. The buzz… I was just in New York, and I would just remember just walking through the streets, and I heard someone talking about ‘hey, you going to Miami?’ and they didn’t know I was there. There’s just talk on the streets: this race, and the excitement. I’ve been to a couple of Super Bowls. This kind of feels like a similar vibe. And what a great place for us to have it, y’know, and around this incredible stadium. I think it’s gonna be an amazing spectacle. And also really cool for people across in Europe, and around the rest of the world to see just how great Miami is.
Q: And the Marina?
LH: It’s stunning! Like Monaco, not as many yachts I don’t think I’ve seen, but I was out there yesterday, just catching the sun and doing some jet surfing, which was pretty awesome. I saw some dolphins, which is nice.
Q: (Tom Cary – Daily Telegraph) Lewis, another one for you. Just to follow up on Phil’s question earlier. Sorry, apologies is going back to something that you’ve spoken about a lot. But if the FIA really insists on this issue with the jewellery, what is the solution? I mean, you say you can’t take it off. They say you have to: what was the end game here?
LH: I really don’t know. As I said, I can’t remove at least two of them. One, I can’t really explain where it is. And, what I can say is that it’s platinum that I have, so it’s not magnetic. It’s never been a safety issue in the past. I’ve had, in 16 years, so many MRI scans and not had to take out the platinum, for example, because it’s not been an issue. So yeah. I mean, if they stopped me, then so be it. We got a spare driver, so we’re ready and prepped for the weekend. There’s lots of doing the city anyway, so I’ll be good either way.
Q: (Giles Richards – The Guardian) Another one for you, Lewis. You said this season is for your toughest since 2009, in terms of the car. Just wondering if you could tell us, in difficult times like these, could you share who you take inspiration from: people, friends, family, team members or people outside the sport: where you where you draw inspiration to carry on?
LH: I wouldn’t say there was one individual during this time that I I’m focused on. I think I look all around me, and I see I tried to ignore the negative that I see. I’m not really watching the news a lot, but there’s so many inspiring characters out there. And I think just continuously proving that you never give up, you keep pushing. And I love working with this team. Being in a team is such a privilege and working with so many people towards a common goal. And everyone lifted each other up. I’ve had amazing conversations with my team mates in this past week. Incredible how supportive everyone has been through the difficult times, and then we’ve had the most incredible times together. So, you know, a couple of bad races is not going to stop us in our tracks. This is where we unite: this is where we learn more about ourselves as individuals; this is where we, we grow the most. And it makes that eventual success – which I have no doubts we will eventually get to – taste even better.
Q: (Nathan Brown – USA Today) Lewis, at the start of your Formula 1 career, the US Grand Prix took place at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Now, from what we’ve seen, from Miami, what we expect to see at Vegas next year, do you feel like a track in a venue that was really built around the history rather than the spectacle of the event, would have a fit on the Formula 1 calendar down the road?
LH: Look I’m a bit old school. So of course, I love the history, particularly in certain circuits. But the older I get, the more I realise it’s about the people. We could go to the middle of nowhere that has very few people, not great accommodation, not great community and for us, as individuals, driving on a track that’s historic is cool – but it’s about the people. And the people really do make… we’ve experienced with pandemic, no one being in there and that’s just no atmosphere. It was like a test day. It was not enjoyable. And now we’re seeing hundreds of thousands of people turn up to the race, energised, excited, keen to learn more. And so, I think the fans are at the heart of what this sport is about, they create it. So for me, it’s, I think, being in cities where we can really engage in communities and actually also have an impact. When you go to those… I love Nürburgring, for example, but there’s not a diverse community there. We’re not actually impacting the place there. Here, we can do something. Yesterday, I met a bunch of kids from diverse backgrounds, who now want to get into engineering and STEM subjects and so, it’s way cooler for me.
Q: (David Wilson – Miami Herald) For Lewis, kind of following up on what you were just saying. Everyone’s saying Miami, but really we’re in Miami Gardens, which is the largest majority black city in Florida. Does that have any significance to you? To race in a city like this?
LH: It definitely does have a significance. I think just, as I said, just like in my 16 years… The first five or 10, maybe five years or so, I didn’t see many people of colour in the grandstands. When I was on stage, very, very few people of colour, you know, not as diverse as I’d hoped. And as I said, yesterday, I was standing on stage and I’m seeing I’m seeing the crowd as… it couldn’t be any more diverse. And that’s amazing for me, to not be the only one there, which is nice to see. And it’s just it’s just great to be seeing that we’re tapping into those different cultures, those different communities who perhaps once didn’t think it was for them because they didn’t see someone that looked like them in the sport, maybe. And I think that’s the super encouraging. And as I said, there’s more to do in terms of encouraging these young kids not only to be NFL players or basketball players but… education is key and STEM subjects can lead to so many different avenues. And you can be a racing driver, also. So it’s pretty neat.
Q: (Ian Parkes – New York Times) To the other for drivers, aside from Lewis, do you guys have any sympathy for Lewis’s position with regard to the piercings debate? Is he right? Are there bigger fish to fry? And just to conclude with yourself, Lewis, we’re assuming you’ve made your position clear to the FIA, regarding your piercings, and if so, what was their response? Thank you.
PG: I do understand. I do, I do believe there are bigger, bigger things to focus on. And I appreciate FIA are looking after our safety. That’s also their priority and our priority. My personal case, I have also religious item that I wear with me, when I’m racing, which are important to me, which I don’t feel comfortable not having was me driving the car. And I do feel it’s a little bit personal. We should have the freedom to do what feels right for us. At the end of the day, we have the responsibility to go out there put our life at risk. And I do feel it should be a personal choice, but I respect the FIA and their will to always improve the safety. But I’ll appreciate a talk with them, to see if we can find a better solution than such a strict decisions as they made. So we’ll see what we can do.
AA: I think Pierre sums it up well. There’s not really much to add to that. I still agree with Lewis’s comments, I understand. It’s our bodies at the same time as well. Like everything when you’re older, you’re prepared to have those consequences if, you want to do what you want to do, then so be it. You have a freedom for yourself. So yeah, that’s all.
SP: I fully agree with Pierre and Alex in this case is good, from the FIA point of view to look after our safety because at the end of the day, it’s for us. But as Lewis said, he’s been in this sport for so many years, and he’s been doing it, and he already has them with him, so it’s, it’s not like that easy to remove them. So I think it would be good to find a compromise, to work together with them. And, and yeah, just make sure that we are all in the same line and not against each other. And I think that will be the important thing.
LS: Nothing more to add, really. I think it’s great that the FIA is looking out for our safety but little things like a little piece of jewellery and stuff, I think it’s our own responsibility, as well to just accept the risk of something happening, wearing a bracelet or ring or whatever that might be. I get the big picture. But, I think there’s other things to focus on. Definitely bigger fish to fry,
Q: Lewis, anything you want to add about your discussions with the FIA?
LH: I’m willing to sign a waiver to take the responsibility away from them in that respect if I need to. But I think, Iike Pierre was just saying, it’s about individuality and being who you are. And I did try Mohammad for example this morning, but I’m sure he was super busy. But I sent him a message, just reassuring him that I want to be an ally, I don’t want to fight with you guys over this. This is very silly: let’s have great weekend. But I’ve not heard back yet. So, maybe he’s texted me. I don’t know. But I try and speak to him before the race.
Q: (Luke Smith – Autosport) Lewis after the race in Imola, Helmut Marko said, when you were lapped by Max, he said maybe Lewis thought he should have stopped last year. The day after, I think you put up a post on Instagram saying ‘I’m working on a masterpiece – it’s up to me when I’m finished’. When you hear comments like that from Helmut, does that motivate you even more just to fight back and get further up the order and back to the top of the game?
LH: I mean, I don’t listen to those silly comments to be honest. Ultimately, I mean, there’s a… it’s been interesting to see there’s quite a lot of disrespectful comments that I’ve seen over time, but it’s to be expected. And yeah, I just keep my head down. I know who I am. I know what I do. I love what I do. Going through a tough time. We didn’t come out of the starting blocks the way we wanted, but we’re fighters. And if you don’t know that about me, then you just don’t know me and that’s totally fine. I’ll doing my best to huddle up and group up with the team and fight as hard as we can.
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Verstappen leads Red Bull 1-2 in Emilia Romagna GP after misery for Leclerc
Red Bull ended up 1-2 with Max Verstappen winning F1 Emilia Romagna GP from Sergio Perez as McLaren’s Lando Norris rounded the podium in third.
The pre-race rain made it an intermediate start for all in F1 Emilia Romagna GP as Red Bull’s Max Verstappen got a good start to lead from teammate Sergio Perez after an average getaway for both the Ferrari cars with McLaren’s Lando Norris moving to third.
Charles Leclerc dropped to fourth as teammate Carlos Sainz spun out after being tagged by McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo in Turn 3-4 area. The Spaniard suffered another retirement as the Australian pitted to drop back in the order with the safety car deployed.
Replays showed Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas also hitting the back of Ricciardo in that moment, while separately Haas’ Mick Schumacher spun on a wet patch when his rear wing touched the sidepod of Alpine’s Fernando Alonso which shed itself later on.
The re-start worked well for Verstappen as he led Perez, Norris and Leclerc in the Top 4, with Haas’ Kevin Magnussen in fifth from Mercedes’ George Russell who climbed up five places to be sixth ahead of Bottas, Alonso in the Top 10.
Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel was ninth from AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda, as up ahead Leclerc challenged Norris for third to take it. Behind him, Magnussen was being pressured on by Russell and Bottas where the Brit tried to get by the Dane.
He did it once but lost out. He hustled again and got through him for fifth as Bottas followed suit on the next lap to take sixth with Magnussen dropping to seventh. Vettel slowly started to catch him with Tsunoda a bit far off in ninth.
Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll held off Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton in the battle for 10th as Alonso was forced to retire after part of his sidepod came lose. The drivers started to slip and slide more on a drying track in the wait of rain to pit.
With no rain in the horizon, drivers started to pit after Ricciardo started the chain. There was some chaos with slow stops for Hamilton and Bottas. The Brit had to avoid Ocon who was released on his way with the stewards putting it under investigation.
Ocon was handed a 5s time penalty for unsafe release, as Verstappen led the way in the front. Teammate Perez had Leclerc all on his back in the fight for second with Norris remaining in third from Russell and Bottas who retained sixth despite the slow stop.
Vettel gained on Magnussen to be seventh with Tsunoda ninth from Stroll in the Top 10. Ocon was 11th from Williams’ Alexander Albon, AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly and Hamilton, who dropped to 14th after the slow stop from his team.
The race steadied itself as drivers had to get through the race on the same set of tyres. The biggest moment for the camera crew was Verstappen lapping Hamilton towards the end of the race when the Brit was trying to get through Gasly.
While things were stable ahead, Tsunoda passed Magnussen for eighth as outside the Top 10, Albon continued to trouble Gasly and Hamilton in the fight for 12th. In a twist, Ferrari called in Leclerc for soft tyres with Red Bull doing the same with Perez and Verstappen.
Leclerc came out behind Norris but he got back the place and hurried Perez. In doing so, the Monegasque spun but managed to continue on. He was forced to pit for the front wing and dropped to ninth but regained eighth from Magnussen.
At the front, Norris gained a place to third while Russell in fourth had Bottas on his tail in the closing stages. Tsunoda was long way off in sixth from Vettel who had a charging Leclerc on his tail. He eventually passed him in his pursuit of Tsunoda.
His title challenger Verstappen dominated to win F1 Emilia Romagna GP in a Red Bull 1-2 with Perez second from Norris in the Top 3. The Dutchman also scored the fastest lap, as Russell held off Bottas to finish fourth by 0.675s.
Leclerc ended up sixth from Tsunoda, Vettel, Magnussen and Stroll in the Top 10 where Aston Martin scored double points to open their account in 2022. Ocon was 11th despite his penalty as Albon eventually held off Gasly and Hamilton for 12th.
Zhou was 15th from Williams’ Nicholas Latifi with Schumacher 17th and Ricciardo 18th. Everyone from Stroll until the Australian ended up a lap down. DNF: Alonso, Sainz.
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Verstappen overtakes Leclerc to win Emilia Romagna GP’s sprint race
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen came back on Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc to win F1 Emilia Romagna GP Sprint Race with Sergio Perez in third.
It was dry start to F1 Emilia Romagna GP Sprint race as Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc got the lead at Turn 1 from pole-sitter Red Bull’s Max Verstappen who initially got away well but it wasn’t enough which allowed McLaren’s Lando Norris to be on par with him too.
But Verstappen kept second from Norris as Haas’ Kevin Magnussen remained fourth despite a small hit from McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo who lost out to Red Bull’s Sergio Perez for fifth. The Mexican tried an inside move but had to change line and go on the outside.
Alpine’s Fernando Alonso did not have a good start to drop to seventh from Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz in the points position, as Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel and Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas rounded out the Top 10. His teammate Guanyu Zhou did not last long.
In his fight against AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly, the Frenchman’s front right tangled with the left rear of Zhou which send him into a spin onto the barrier. The safety car was deployed as the stewards noted no further action on either drivers for the incident.
Magnussen, meanwhile, was shown the black and white flag for weaving. The re-start worked well for Leclerc who continued to lead from Verstappen and Norris, as Perez passed Magnussen to fourth and Sainz passed Alonso for seventh.
The moves started to come through as Perez passed Norris for third as Sainz cleared both Magnussen and Ricciardo to be fifth. The Dane dropped to seventh from Bottas who had a drag race fight against Alonso to take eighth from the Spaniard.
Behind, Haas’ Mick Schumacher passed Vettel for 10th as the German came under pressure from Mercedes’ George Russell, AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda and Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton. Amid all of this, Verstappen closed in on Leclerc out of nowhere.
He waited for couple of laps to eventually get through Leclerc to lead the F1 Emilia Romagna GP and win the first sprint event of 2022 at Imola. The Monegasque ended up second, nearly three seconds behind as Perez rounded out the Top 3.
Verstappen will start Sunday’s F1 Emilia Romagna GP from pole with Leclerc beside him and their teammates Perez and Sainz behind in third and fourth. McLaren’s Norris did well in fifth from Ricciardo, as Bottas and Magnussen got the last of the points in Top 8.
Alonso started fifth but ended up ninth from Schumacher in the Top 10 as Russell could only manage 11th from Tsunoda, Vettel and Hamilton with Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll rounding the Top 15 runners and starting order for Sunday’s race.
Much like those around him, Alpine’s Esteban Ocon couldn’t do much to be 16th from AlphaTauri’s Gasly who recovered to pass Williams pair of Alexander Albon and Nicholas Latifi.
DNF: Zhou.
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Russell ends on top in dry FP2 of Emilia Romagna GP
Mercedes’ George Russell was fastest in dry FP2 of F1 Emilia Romagna GP from Red Bull’s Sergio Perez and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
It was mostly dry in FP2 of F1 Emilia Romagna GP after the wet running on Friday. Rain, though, is predicted for Saturday’s sprint race and also Sunday’s grand prix which makes the dry running less valuable from the weekend point of view.
Still, F1 teams and drivers got good amount of track time apart from McLaren duo Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo, with both facing separate issues during the course of FP2. While the Brit could do couple of laps before he was hit by brake problems.
Teammate Ricciardo didn’t run at all after McLaren found some issue with his power unit ahead of the session. It was same for Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas who sat out after his side found out engine issue as well before the session.
On track, it was mixed strategy as Mercedes’ George Russell led the way with a 1m19.457s lap on the soft compound, with Red Bull’s Sergio Perez (1m19.538s) in second and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc (1m19.740s) third – where the Mexican set his best time on medium tyre.
Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton (1m19.992s) slotted in fourth from Alpine’s Fernando Alonso (1m20.174s), with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz (1m20.258s) in sixth, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen (1m20.371s) seventh where the latter duo set their best time on the medium compound.
AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda (1m20.381s) and Pierre Gasly (1m20.439s) slotted in eighth and ninth, with Alfa Romeo’s Guanyu Zhou (1m20.498s) rounding the Top 10 where the Frenchman set his best time on the medium compound.
Williams had a better session with Alexander Albon in 11th from Haas pair of Kevin Magnussen and Mick Schumacher, with Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll in 14th from his teammate Sebastian Vettel – the two Germans used medium tyres.
Alpine’s Esteban Ocon was 16th from Williams’ Nicholas Latifi, with McLaren’s Norris in 18th after the team managed to fix up his issue for couple more laps. His teammate Ricciardo and Bottas didn’t get any laps under their belt ahead of the sprint race.
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Verstappen takes Emilia Romagna GP sprint race pole amid red flag stoppages
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen took F1 pole for Emilia Romagna GP Sprint Race from Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and McLaren’s Lando Norris after five red flags.
Q1:
The Friday qualifying for the sprint weekend in F1 Emilia Romagna GP saw the likes of Alfa Romeo, Aston Martin and Alpine use the the slick tyres for their first run with everyone else barring Ferrari use the intermediate compound.
The Ferrari pair did not head out immediately like others but when they did, they used the dry compound as well. While others started to pit to change to dry compound, Williams’ Alexander Albon’s right-rear brakes caught fire as he limped back to the pits.
In doing so he left quite a bit of debris on track to cause a red flag. Once the session re-started, it was a game of putting in the fastest lap as late as possible in drying conditions. The lead changed hands multiple times but went to Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc (1m18.796s).
He comfortably led Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz in the Top 3, as the Mercedes duo barely made it to Q2. In fact, Lewis Hamilton was only 0.004s away from getting knocked out with AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda (1m20.474s) in 16th.
It was both the AlphaTauri cars actually with teammate Pierre Gasly (1m20.732s) 17th from Williams’ Nicholas Latifi (1m21.971s) who had a spin in late stages of the session but managed to continue. Alpine’s Esteban Ocon (1m22.305s) was 19th after he didn’t venture out to set a lap time for his second run due to suspected gearbox issue.
Q2:
The second session in F1 Emilia Romagna GP saw a quick run from all the 15 drivers with the rain threat looming. The all got a lap in before a red flag for Sainz who crashed out at Rivazza after losing his rear into the left-hander after setting the second best time.
It was Verstappen leading Sainz, McLaren’s Lando Norris in the Top 3 when the red flag was displayed with both Mercedes outside the Top 10 as the rain arrived at Imola.The time ticked away wherein no one took a chance to venture out to start off.
Drivers did venture out but only for a citing lap than to set a lap time as Verstappen ended up fastest with a 1m18.793s lap. Mercedes’ George Russell (1m20.757s) was the first to be knocked out in 11th from Haas’ Mick Schumacher (1m20.916s).
Mercedes’ Hamilton (1m21.138s) was 13th from Alfa Romeo’s Guanyu Zhou (1m21.434s) and Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll (1m28.119s). With both Mercedes knocked out, it was the first that neither car made it to Top 10 since Suzuka of 2012.
Q3:
The final part in F1 Emilia Romgana GP saw an intermediate tyre run from the nine drivers in damp but clearing conditions. There was another red flag as Haas’ Kevin Magnussen almost hit the barrier at Acque Minerali but did not hit it like Bottas in FP1.
He reversed the car and bit and managed to get out of the situation and continue on, with the re-start not far off after that. No times were set by the time red flag was waved, with the first timed lap coming from Magnussen himself after the re-start.
There was another red flag for Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas who stopped in sector three with a problem, as Verstappen went quickest with a 1m27.999s lap despite lifting off for yellow flags. Leclerc stood second from Norris, Magnussen and Alonso.
The Spaniard had his lap deleted along with Perez with both having to have another go. With the rain arriving around re-start, it was tricky for everyone. But nothing could be done even on re-start as an off for Norris ended the session under a red flag.
It was Verstappen on pole for Saturday’s F1 Emilia Romagna GP Sprint race, with Leclerc (1m28.778s) and Norris (1m29.131s) in the Top 3, where the Brit went off on the same corner as Bottas in FP1 and Magnussen in Q3.
The Dane though ended up fourth with a 1m29.164s lap from Alonso (1m29.202s) in the Top 5, as McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo (1m29.742s) was sixth with Perez (1m29.808s) seventh, Bottas (1m30.439s) eighth and Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel (1m31.062s) ninth as Sainz rounded out the Top 10 despite not taking part.
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Leclerc leads Sainz in a wet FP1 session of Emilia Romagna GP
Ferrari ended up 1-2 in a wet FP1 of F1 Emilia Romagna GP with Charles Leclerc ahead of Carlos Sainz and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen P3.
It was a wet start to F1 Emilia Romagna GP in Imola with several drivers going off in the opening moments on the wet tyres. By the end of the session, they moved to intermediate compound but they still kept on going off due to damp conditions.
After the races in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Australia, this was their first time on a wet circuit with the 2022 generation of F1 cars. This was also the first chance for teams and drivers to try out the wet and intermediate tyres.
Pre-session, the FIA updated about new ICE, TC, MGU-H and MGU-K for Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and Alpine’s Esteban Ocon, while Williams’ Alexander Albon took a new ES and CE. There were loads of offs as mentioned above with some having multiple.
The two Ferrari drivers were among the multiple list with both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz having moments, with McLaren’s Lando Norris even calling out the red flag. Fortunately, the Brit managed to drive back onto the track after brief beached moment.
The likes of Williams’ Nicholas Latifi, Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll, Haas’ Kevin Magnussen had moments along with Alpine duo of Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso. Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas had a spin post the chequered flag but managed to not hit the barrier.
In terms of the standings, Ferrari ended up 1-2 with Leclerc (1m29.402s) leading from Sainz (1m30.279s), while Red Bull’s Max Verstappen (1m30.867s) in third from Haas pair of Magnussen and Mick Schumacher in the Top 5.
The other Red Bull of Sergio Perez slotted in sixth from Alpine’s Alonso with Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel, AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda and Mercedes’ George Russell in the Top 10. Alfa Romeo’s Bottas was 11th from AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly.
Behind him was Alpine’s Ocon in 13th with McLaren pair of Norris and Daniel Ricciardo in 14th and 15th. Aston Martin’s Stroll was 16th from Williams’ Albon, Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton, Alfa Romeo’s Guanyu Zhou and Williams’ Latifi.
Among the 20 runners, Hamilton set his time on the wet compound after he complained of lack of grip due to lack of downforce all-through the session. With no more practice run before qualifying later, it leaves teams with little chance to change things due to the restrictions of F1 sprint weekend.
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Max Verstappen suffers second retirement in three races: F1 race analysis
By Malhaar Khaladkar
Charles Leclerc took his and Ferrari’s second victory of the season as Red Bull’s Sergio Perez finished P2 after his teammate Max Verstappen retired midway through the race, second such retirement in three races. Mercedes new boy George Russell achieved his first podium for the German team by finishing P3.
New Delhi, 12th April 2022: Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen shared the front row again after the Bahrain grand prix with Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez as the rear gunner for the Dutchman. After an absence of two seasons, the Australian grand prix got underway with everyone getting away fairly cleanly.
Both Mercedes gained positions as Lewis Hamilton dove down inside of Perez to run in P3. Meanwhile, teammate George Russell went past Lando Norris’ McLaren. Sainz who had had a lowly qualifying on Saturday, starting the race in P9, chose the hard tyres whereas the majority of the grid went with medium tyres. The Spaniard suffered a slow start, dropping to P14 by lap 2. On lap 2, he tried to get past Zhou Guanyu at the fast turn 9 chicane. As a result he went off track, spun and beached his car into the gravel, marking his first retirement of the season. A safety car was called out.
As the safety car was called in on lap 7, Perez was right on the gearbox of Hamilton. By Lap 10, using the Red Bull’s superior pace he the Mexican was able to get past the 7-time world champion to run in P3. Behind, Russell was running in P5 followed by Norris and teammate Daniel Ricciardo in P6 and P7 respectively.
Both Red Bull cars struggled on the mediums with tyre graining as Verstappen fell away from Leclerc and Hamilton closed up, almost within a second of Perez. Verstappen was called into the pits for hard tyres on lap 18 with Perez doing the same on lap 20. Leclerc and Hamilton pitted on lap 22, for hard tyres as well. While Leclerc emerged in a comfortable lead, Hamilton emerged just under a second ahead of Perez on colder tyres. Perez made full use of the situation in getting past Hamilton for the second time.
The situation could not have been worse for Hamilton as a safety car was called out just after Perez went past, this time due to Sebastian Vettel spinning his Aston Martin into a barrier. This allowed Russell to pit under the safety car and emerge in P3, ahead of Perez and Hamilton.
The racing resumed on lap 27 with everyone on hard tyres, drivers like Fernando Alonso, Kevin Magnussen and Alex Albon were yet to pit, running in the top 10. Leclerc had a shaky start as Verstappen drew alongside but the Ferrari driver managed to hold on in the lead. Meanwhile, Perez attempted to get past Russell for P3 which he succeeded on lap 36. Russell tried to defend but had no answer for the Red Bull’s pace. Ahead Leclerc was leading by 5s over Verstappen with both of them trading fastest laps in the process.
Gremlins struck Verstappen as he pulled over on lap 39 with smoke billowing from his RB18. This was his second DNF in three races and his championship hopes took a deeper dent. This allowed Leclerc to cruise to victory and take home an additional point for the fastest lap.
Leclerc won his second race of the season as Perez gave achieved another podium for Red Bull while Russell bagged his first podium for Mercedes in P3. Hamilton was unfortunate with the timing of the safety car so had to settle for P4. McLaren duo of Norris and Ricciardo finished in P5 and P6 respectively. Alpine’s Esteban Ocon finished in P7 ahead of Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas in P8 and AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly in P9. Alex Albon put in a mammoth 57 lap (out of 58 laps) stint on the hard tyresto get first point of the season for Williams.
Rookie Zhou Guanyu just missed out on points ahead of Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll in P12, who finished in points position but lost it due to a 5-second time penalty given to him for weaving on the straights. Both Haas cars finished out of the points, Mick Schumacher in P13 and Magnussen in P14. Yuki Tsunoda could only manage P15 for AlphaTauri, with Williams’ Nicholas Latifi finishing in P16. Alonso was the last of the finishers in P17. Verstappen, Vettel and Sainz were the three cars unable to finish the race.
Ferrari looked dominant in Australia, especially when it came to race pace. Even though they suffered more porpoising compared to the first two rounds, Red Bull could not match their pace. Had Sainz not had the problems suffered in qualifying he might have been second behind Leclerc in the world championship. Red Bull lacked pace, even to the Mercedes at certain points in the race. Majority of the blame lies with the set-up direction they chose. They opted to protect rear tyres compared to the front. As a result the front tyres suffered graining and the car lacked overall pace. Compounded with Verstappen’s DNF they have a steep mountain to climb if they want to be back in the championship battle. Mercedes struggled in qualifying but made a positive improvement in race pace. They were outqualified by McLaren and should have been by Alpine as well had Alonso not crashed in Q3. Race pace wise it was positive as once tyres phased in they had similar pace to the Red Bull cars.
McLaren had their best race weekend of the season so far, finishing best of the rest and entering Q3 with both cars. For the first time it looked McLaren had made progress with their car. Though, both drivers admitted that their car is “very track dependent” so repeat of such performances will be difficult. Alpine had a weekend of ‘what ifs’. Alonso had a great Q3 lap, almost challenging pole position before hydraulics failure resulted in a crash. According to the Spaniard Alpine were faster than Mercedes on race pace too, but safety cars ruined the strategy. They had a silver lining as Ocon managed to finish P7. Alfa Romeo showed impressive race pace once again as Bottas managed P8 while teammate Zhou just finished on the cusp of points. AlphaTauri managed to score points with Gasly but lacked the pace to match the Alpine and McLaren cars, with both cars unable to make it to Q3.
Williams did not have the qualifying or the race pace to challenge for points, but Albon managed to pull off a crazy strategy which resulted in P10. Haas struggled to covert their early season form into pace in Australia. They struggled for both qualifying and race pace. The team blamed it more on their setup issue rather than a natural pace deficit. It remains to be seen if they will recover back to form in Imola. Aston Martin had a dismal weekend with their cars crashing four times and achieving no points. Their car has balance issues which is making it difficult for them to extract the pace.
Saturday Qualifying results were:
P1: Charles Leclerc- 16 (Ferrari) P2: Max Verstappen- 1 (Red Bull) P3: Sergio Perez- 11 (Red Bull) P4: Lando Norris- 4 (McLaren) P5: Lewis Hamilton- 44 (Mercedes) P6: George Russell- 63 (Mercedes) P7: Daniel Ricciardo- 3 (McLaren) P8: Esteban Ocon- 31 (Alpine) P9: Carlos Sainz- 55 (Ferrari) P10: Fernando Alonso- 14 (Alpine) P11: Pierre Gasly- 10 (AlphaTauri) P12: Valtteri Bottas- 77 (Alfa Romeo) P13: Yuki Tsunoda- 22 (AlphaTauri) P14: Zhou Guanyu- 24 (Alfa Romeo) P15: Mick Schumacher- 47 (Haas) P16: Alex Albon- 23 (Williams) P17: Kevin Magnussen- 20 (Haas) P18: Sebastian Vettel- 5 (Aston Martin) P19: Nicholas Latifi- 6 (Williams) P20: Lance Stroll- 18 (Aston Martin) Note – Albon penalised three grid places for causing a collision at the previous round; disqualified from qualifying for a fuel infringement – races at stewards’ discretion. Stroll penalised three grid places for causing a collision during qualifying; failed to set a time within the Q1 107% requirement – races at stewards’ discretion.
