INDIA in F1

Category: Formula 1

  • Thrilling home win is 7th of the season for Max Verstappen

    Thrilling home win is 7th of the season for Max Verstappen

    By Malhaar Khaladkar

    Max Verstappen took home victory at the first Dutch Grand Prix held at Zandvoort in 36 years as title rival Lewis Hamilton finished second and Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas completed the podium in P3.

    New Delhi, 7 September 2021: Home favorite Max Verstappen took his 7th victory of the season as Lewis Hamilton finished P2, unable to challenge for victory but taking the fastest lap as a consolation. Valtteri Bottas took his seventh podium of the season achieving P3. Pierre Gasly maintained his qualifying position by finishing P4 in race. Fernando Alonso finished in P6 sandwiched by the Ferrari duo of Charles Leclerc in P5 and Carlos Sainz in P7. Sergio Perez managed to finish P8 after a dismal qualifying, second Alpine of Esteban Ocon crossed the line in P9 and Lando Norris rounded out the top 10.

    McLaren teammate Daniel Ricciardo missed out on points, finishing P11 ahead of Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll and Sebastian Vettel in P12 and P13 respectively. Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi was unable to convert his high qualifying position into points as he finished P14, one position ahead of stand in teammate Robert Kubica replacing Kimi Raikkonen due to the Finn being in isolation after testing positive for Covid-19. Nicholas Latifi was classified P16 and teammate George Russel though classified in P17, DNF’d with two laps to go. Mick Schumacher of Haas was the last finisher in P18. AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda and second Haas of Nikita Mazepin did not finish the race.

    The title protagonists started from the front row with the Dutchman on pole. Both got an equal start as the race got underway and Hamilton settled himself behind Verstappen with the gap hovering around 3s. Bottas maintained his position in P3. Meanwhile, Gasly too maintained P4 ahead of both the Ferrari cars, although the three of them lost touch to the top three cars.

    Hamilton was the first car to pit of the top 10 runners to undercut Verstappen. It wasn’t the smoothest pitstop from the world champions as Verstappen pitted a lap later and emerged just less than 2s ahead. Both pitting for the medium tyres. Bottas in the lead was kept out in a bid to try and hold up Verstappen and let Hamilton closeupbehind. Both caught Bottas by lap 30 who yet to make a stop. Bottas was able to hold up Verstappen for only one lap as the dutchman made use of fresh tyres and passed the Finn. Bottas let past his teammate a corner later.

    In the midfield Gasly pitted on lap 24, whilst everyone else pitted lap 30 onwards either for the medium or the hard tyres. The running order midway was Verstappen and Hamilton, who were a pitstop ahead of the rest of the field. After Bottas came Gasly, Leclerc, Sainz, Norris, Perez- who had recovered till P8 now but was yet to make another pitstop, Alonso and Ocon.

    With Hamilton hovering around 3s behind Verstappen, Mercedes brought him in for a second stop on another set of mediums. Verstappen followed suit a lap later albeit on the hard tyres as Red Bull did not have a set of medium tyres left. Hamilton was unable to close in the gap as he encountered traffic and remained 3-4s behind his Dutch rival.

    Ultimately Hamilton was unable to fight for victory as he pitted for soft tyres with just two laps to go and set the lap record around Zandvoort. Verstappen cruised home to victory in front of his loyal supporters- the orange army as they are called, with Bottas in 3rd. Alonso fought back from P9 to P6, overtaking fellow countryman Sainz at a track where it was difficult to overtake while Perez completed his comeback from pitlane to P8.

    Red Bull had a faster car and Verstappen extracted full performance out of it. They lost out in the constructor’s championship to Mercedes due to Perez being unable to advance to Q2 even. Mercedes were close behind in second as they lost out to pole position by just 0.03s to Verstappen. Mercedes and Hamilton put it down to missing FP2- due to an engine problem, as they were unable to optimise their car. Also, Mercedes struggled on the banked T3 corner as the W12 lost two-tenths there compared to the RB16B.

    AlphaTauri showed great pace and were best of the rest in the hands of Pierre Gasly. The Frenchman was able to maintain his qualifying position in the race with no real challenge from the Ferrari’s as he finished in P4. Tsunoda struggled with pace the entire weekend as he barely made it to Q2 and was outqualified by Williams cars. Ferrari showed decent performance but expected better results as this was a track that suited their car with higher downforce characteristics. Sainz particularly was disappointed as he felt ‘slow’ in his own words, as he was overtaken by his childhood hero Alonso. Alpine showed decent race pace but lacked qualifying pace to challenge for higher positions. With all the cars so close it was difficult for the French cars to make progress, still Alonso maximizing the result in P6.

    McLaren had an uncharacteristically dismal weekend, with both drivers calling it ‘abnormal’. They lacked the pace in qualifying as Norris was unable to make Q3 for the first time this season and Ricciardo could only manage P10. In the race they managed just a solitary point in P10, courtesy of Norris as they were unable to challenge the cars ahead of them. Aston Martin were in a no man’s land position as they were faster than the cars behind them, but traffic and superior pace of cars ahead prevented them from getting points. It was not helped by the fact that Vettel spun in the second half of the race dropping him out of contention for points.

    Alfa Romeo showed impressive qualifying performance as Giovinazzi made it to Q3 and qualified P7. The Swiss based Italian team lacked race pace as well as a puncture prevented Giovinazzi from achieving points finish.Williams’ on paper result looks worse than it actually was with both drivers showing impressive qualifying performance but losing it in the barrier in Q2. The FW43B is a wind sensitive car, compounded with overdriving it meant they were unable to enter Q3 with Russell or Latifi. Russell showed impressive race pace as he maintained P11-P12 through the whole race before retiring on lap 70. Haas’ season story remains the same as Nikita Mazepin failed to finish while Mick Schumacher finished last, 3 laps down from the leader.

    Saturday Qualifying results were:

    P1: Max Verstappen- 33 (Red Bull)P2: Lewis Hamilton- 44 (Mercedes)
    P3: Valtteri Bottas- 77 (Mercedes)P4: Pierre Gasly- 10 (AlphaTauri)
    P5: Charles Leclerc- 16 (Ferrari)P6: Carlos Sainz- 55 (Ferrari)
    P7: Antonio Giovinazzi- 99 (Alfa Romeo)P8: Esteban Ocon- 31 (Alpine)
    P9: Fernando Alonso- 14 (Alpine)P10: Daniel Ricciardo- 3 (McLaren)
    P11: George Russell- 63 (Williams)P12: Lance Stroll- 18 (Aston Martin)
    P13: Lando Norris- 4 (McLaren)P14: Nicholas Latifi- 6 (Williams)
    P15: Yuki Tsunoda- 22 (AlphaTauri)P16: Sergio Perez- 11 (Red Bull)
    P17: Sebastian Vettel- 5 (Aston Martin)P18: Robert Kubica- 88 (Alfa Romeo)
    P19: Mick Schumacher- 47 (Haas)P20: Nikita Mazepin- 9 (Haas)

    Note – Latifi penalised five grid places for an unscheduled gearbox change; required to start from the pit lane, as car modified whilst under Parc Ferme conditions. Perez demoted to the back of the grid for use of additional power unit elements; required to start from the pit lane, as car modified whilst under Parc Ferme conditions.

  • Verstappen claims popular home victory; beats Hami

    Verstappen claims popular home victory; beats Hami

    Zandvoort (The Netherlands) 5 Sept 2021: Max Verstappen delivered a faultless drive in front of a packaged Zandvoort to take a hugely popular home victory in the Dutch Grand Prix, the 13th of the 22-round FIA Formula 1 World Championship here on Sunday. He beat title Lewis Hamilton by more than 20 seconds after the Mercedes driver made a late pit stop to salvage the point for fastest lap. Third place went to Valtteri Bottas in the second Mercedes.

    At the start of the race, pole sitter Verstappen made a superb getaway to take the lead. Hamilton also made a good start but as he and Bottas jostled for position through the first two corners Verstappen was allowed to power ahead and by the end of the opening lap the Dutch drivers has established a 1.7s gap to Hamilton.

    Behind the top three, AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly got away well to hold fourth place ahead of the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz. At the back of the field Sergio Pérez in the second Red Bull was forced to start from the pit lane after an overnight engine change but as he passed the Haas of Nikita Mazepin in the early laps he flat-spotted a tyres and had to pit for an early switch to medium tyres. It was the start of an impressively long first stint for the Mexican driver as he launched a recovery drive.

    At the front the order was stable, with Verstappen holding a 3.5s lead over Hamilton. Bottas began to drift off the front pair, however, and by lap 18 he was more than seven seconds adrift of his team-mate. 

    Then, at the end of lap 20, Hamilton dived for the pits and made the switch to medium tyres. Red Bull responded by pitting Versatppen on the next lap and he saw off the undercut to rejoin two seconds ahead of Hamilton.

    Pérez, meanwhile, was making stealthy progress through the pack and by lap 25 he was up to 14th place. His progress picked up two laps later when Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll, Williams’ George Russell and Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi pitted ahead of him. He rose to P11 and began to hunt down McLaren’s Lando Norris. He swiftly closed up to the McLaren, but having started on medium tyres, Norris was going long and he was able to match the Red Bull driver’s times. 

    As the race passed half distance Verstappen was once again told to push as it became clear that Mercedes were plotting a second attempt at undercutting the Dutchman. Hamilton pitted at the end of lap 39 for a set of medium tyres but thanks to a set of potent laps Verstappen was able to make his own pit stop, for hartd tyres, of lap 40 and once againm he emerged with a clear gap to his championship rival.

    Further back, Norris finally made his sole stop for tyres on lap 43 and Pérez could race into clear air.

    The Mexican made his sole visit to the pit lane at the end of lap 48 and took on a set of soft tyres. He rejoined in P12 and quickly passed Russell to relaunch his assault on the points positions.  He soon began to exert pressure on McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo and on lap 56 passed the Australian to claim P9. 

    His next target was the Australian’s team-mate, Norris, and over the next 10 laps he turned a sizeable deficit into a gap of just half a second before again passing on the around the outside of Turn 1. His final mission was to get past Alpine’s Esteban Ocon and in the final laps the Red Bull driver passed the Frenchman to claim eighth place.

    In those closing stages Hamilton closed to within 1.5 seconds of the lead RBR16B but with his tyres fading and Max expertly managing the gap, the Mercedes driver eventually abandoned his pursuit of victory and pitted for soft tyres. 

    Hamilton took the fastest lap point on the final tour of Zandvoort, but Verstappen’s seventh win of the season puts him back on top of the Drivers’ Championship standings with 224.5 points to Hamilton’s 221.5. In the Constructors’ Championship Mercedes still top the standings with 244.5 points, 12 ahead of Red Bull Racing. 

    With Bottas third at the flag, fourth place went to AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly. The French driver also put in an impressive drive to finish ahead of the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc and the Alpine of Fernando Alonso. Seventh place went to Carlos Sainz in the second Ferrari and with Checo in P8 the final two points places went to Ocon and Norris. 

    2021 FIA Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix – Race
    1 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda 72 1:30’05.395
    2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 72 1:30’26.327 20.932
    3 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 72 1:31’01.855 56.460
    4 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri/Honda 71 1:30’17.183 1 lap /11.788
    5 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 71 1:30’22.175 1 lap /16.780
    6 Fernando Alonso Alpine/Renault 71 1:30’50.864 1 lap /45.469
    7 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 71 1:30’52.896 1 lap /47.501
    8 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda 71 1:30’53.479 1 lap /48.084
    9 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 71 1:30’54.465 1 lap /49.070
    10 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 71 1:30’57.725 1 lap /52.330
    11 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren/Mercedes 71 1:31’10.322 1 lap /1’04.927
    12 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 70 1:30’22.717 2 laps /17.322
    13 Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin/Mercedes 70 1:30’24.941 2 laps /19.546
    14 Anotnio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 70 1:30’33.172 2 laps /27.777
    15 Robert Kubica Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 70 1:31’05.853 2 laps /1’00.458
    16 Nicholas Latifi Williams/Mercedes 70 1:31’07.745 2 laps /1’02.350
    17 George Russell Williams/Mercedes 69 1:29’55.249 3 laps
    18 Mick Schumacher Haas/Ferrari 69 1:31’08.196 3 laps /1’02.801
         Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri/Honda 48 1:02’36.678 Transmission
         Nikita Mazepin Haas/Ferrari 41 54’07.352 Hydraulics

  • Max Verstappen beats Hamilton to put his Red Bull on pole

    Max Verstappen beats Hamilton to put his Red Bull on pole

    Zandvoort (The Netherlands), 4 Sept 2021: Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen beat Formula 1 championship rival Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes by just three hundredths of a second to claim pole position for his home race the 2021 FIA Formula 1  Dutch Grand Prix. Valtteri Bottas finished third for Mercedes, while AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly put in an impressive performance to claim fourth place on the grid.

     At the start of the Q1 Red Bull’s Sergio Pérez set the early benchmark with a lap of 1:10.700. Verstappen was close behind on track, however, and he powered past his team-mate’s time to reset the bar at 1:10.036.

    Mercedes, meanwhile, sent both its drivers out on medium tyres and Pérez dropped to fourth place as as Hamilton took second place ahead of Bottas. Pérez extended his run, but despite getting down to 1:10.530 he dropped to P7 as better times came in. And the Mexican’s failure to set a secure time early in the session ended up being his undoing.

    Knowing that the track was ramping up massively, Red Bull readied the Mexican for a final run. However, seeking a workable gap on the short track, drivers began to form a solid queue at the end of pit lane and Pérez’s exit was slowed. Thus he failed to make it across the line before the chequered flag and as rivals posted improvements the Mexican fell down the order and he was eliminated in P16 ahead of Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel, Alfa Romeo’s Robert Kubica and the Haas cars of Mick Schumacher and Nikia Mazepin. 

    Verstappen was straight into action at the start of Q2 and he posted a tough target at the top of the timesheet with a lap of 1:09.071. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc got closest to that time ahead of the final runs, with the Monegasque setting a time of 1:09.437 to take P2 ahead of AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly, Hamilton and Bottas. 

    Williams’ George Russell was one of the first out on track for the final runs of the second segment but at the end of his flying lap he carried too much speed into the penultimate corners and slid off into the barriers. The red flags were quickly displayed and the clock was stopped with just under four minutes remaining. 

    However, when the session eventually resumed it lasted less than two minutes as on his flying lap Nichola Latifi lost control in Turn 8 and the second Williams went into the barriers hard. The red flags were again shown and Race Control quickly indicated that the session would not be resumed. It meant that eliminated after the middle segment were Russell in 11th place followed Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll, Norris, Latifi and AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda. 

    In Q3 Verstappen again went out early to stake his claim to pole and he claimed provisional pole with an impressive lap of 1:08.923. Neither Mercedes driver had an initial response and Bottas took P2 0.099s behind the Red Bull, with Hamilton just under five hundredths of a second further back in third place. 

    In the final runs Verstappen proved unbeatable. Hamilton found more time but in the end it was only enough to match the Red Bull driver’s earlier lap and Verstappen secured pole for his home grand prix with a stunning lap of 1:08.885.

    Bottas was left with third place, while Gasly shone in claiming fourth spot on the grid ahead of the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz. Giovinazzi was seventh, while Esteban Ocon took eighth place ahead of Alpine team-mate Fernando Alonso and McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo. 

    Rakkonen test COVID positive

    The FIA, Formula 1 and Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN can on Saturday confirm that during onsite PCR testing for the 2021 FIA Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix, Kimi Räikkönen has tested positive for COVID-19. In accordance with COVID-19 protocols he will take no further part in this Event. All contacts have been declared.
    The procedures set out by the FIA and Formula 1 will ensure no wider impact on the Dutch Grand Prix.


    2021 FIA Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix – Qualifying
    1 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda 1:08.885  7 222.579
    2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:08.923 0.038 0.055 7 222.456
    3 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:09.222 0.337 0.489 7 221.496
    4 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri/Honda 1:09.478 0.593 0.861 6 220.679
    5 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:09.527 0.642 0.932 6 220.524
    6 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1:09.537 0.652 0.947 6 220.492
    7 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1:09.590 0.705 1.023 6 220.324
    8 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 1:09.933 1.048 1.521 6 219.244
    9 Fernando Alonso Alpine/Renault 1:09.956 1.071 1.555 6 219.172
    10 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren/Mercedes 1:10.166 1.281 1.860 6 218.516
    11 George Russell Williams/Mercedes 1:10.332 1.261 1.826 5 218.000
    12 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:10.367 1.296 1.876 5 217.891
    13 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:10.406 1.335 1.933 5 217.771
    14 Nicholas Latifi Williams/Mercedes 1:11.161 2.090 3.026 7 215.460
    15 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri/Honda 1:11.314 2.243 3.247 4 214.998
    16 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda 1:10.530 0.701 1.004 9 217.388
    17 Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:10.731 0.902 1.292 7 216.770
    18 Robert Kubica Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1:11.301 1.472 2.108 9 215.037
    19 Mick Schumacher Haas/Ferrari 1:11.387 1.558 2.231 11 214.778
    20 Nikita Mazepin Haas/Ferrari 1:11.875 2.046 2.930 10 213.32

  • Both Ferraris fastest in FP2; Hami brings in Red Flag

    Both Ferraris fastest in FP2; Hami brings in Red Flag

    Zandvoort (The Netherlands), 3 Sept 2021: Charles Leclerc beat Ferrari team-mate Carlos Sainz by just over 1500ths of a second to hand Ferrari a 1-2 result in the second practice session for the Dutch Grand Prix. Esteban Ocon finished third, but there was trouble for Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton who stopped on track at Zandvoort with oil pressure problems, bringing out the red flags.

    After a short delay to running the session got underway five minutes late with Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas setting the early pace with a lap of 1:11.664. Hamilton’s first run yielded 1m11.911s and he climbed to second, but there his progress stopped, as on his second attempt he reported a sudden loss of power and pulled over at the edge of the track at Turn 8. The red flags were swiftly shown and the session was halted with just six minutes on the clock.

    Mercedes later reported the issue to be an oil feed issue and Hamilton was restricted to the garage for the remainder of the session. He would finish in seventh place on the timesheet.

    When running resumed, Sebastian Vettel turned his first laps of the session after lengthy repairs to cure an ERS issue that sidelined him for much of the first session. AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda was also back in action after exiting the morning session after just three laps due to a hydraulic leak that also caused a small fire.

    With 30 minutes left Ocon bolted on soft tyres and jumped to the top of the order with a lap of 1:11.074.

    Haas’ Nikita Mazepin then brought out the red flags for a second time when he lost the rear of his Haas on the entry to Turn 11 and beached the car in the gravel.

    After a brief delay while his car was recovered, Ferrari moved to the top of the order and Leclerc’s time of 1:10.902 was good enough to seal P1 ahead of Sainz, with Ocon third ahead of Bottas. The morning’s quickest driver, Max Verstappen, finished fifth with a lap 1:11.264 that left him almost four tenths of a second behind Sainz. The Dutch driver spent most of the session focusing on race runs, however.

    Alpine’s Fernando Alonso ended the session in sixth place ahead of AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly, while McLaren’s Lando Norris finished eighth ahead of Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi and Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel.

    2021 FIA Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix – Free Practice 2
    1 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:10.902 29 216.247
    2 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1:11.056 0.154 28 215.779
    3 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 1:11.074 0.172 33 215.724
    4 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:11.132 0.230 33 215.548
    5 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda 1:11.264 0.362 28 215.149
    6 Fernando Alonso Alpine/Renault 1:11.280 0.378 30 215.101
    7 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri/Honda 1:11.462 0.560 29 214.553
    8 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:11.488 0.586 27 214.475
    9 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1:11.678 0.776 30 213.906
    10 Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:11.713 0.811 24 213.802
    11 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:11.911 1.009 3 213.213
    12 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda 1:11.946 1.044 27 213.109
    13 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri/Honda 1:12.096 1.194 31 212.666
    14 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:12.136 1.234 29 212.548
    15 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren/Mercedes 1:12.157 1.255 25 212.486
    16 Kimi Räikkönen Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1:12.206 1.304 31 212.342
    17 Mick Schumacher Haas/Ferrari 1:12.607 1.705 31 211.169
    18 Nicholas Latifi Williams/Mercedes 1:12.610 1.708 27 211.160
    19 Nikita Mazepin Haas/Ferrari 1:12.835 1.933 12 210.508
    20 George Russell Williams/Mercedes 1:12.855 1.953 30 210.450

  • Lewis Hamilton fastest in FP1 as F1 back at Zandvoort

    Lewis Hamilton fastest in FP1 as F1 back at Zandvoort

    Zandvoort (The Netherlands), 3 Sept 2021: FIA Formula One World Championship leader Lewis Hamilton went quickest in an opening practice session for the Dutch Grand Prix that was heavily disrupted by suspected engine failure for Sebastian Vettel. Local hero Max Verstappen took second place on the timesheet ahead of Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz.

    Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc established an early lead with a hard-tyre time of 1:17.919 but he was swiftly usurped as drivers began to get to grips with the unfamiliar circuit, which is returning to the schedule for the first time since 1985.

    AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly lowered the benchmark to 1:15.301 before McLaren’s Lando Norris stole P1 with a lap of 1:13.751. Verstappen then delighted the packed grandstands by taking top spot with a hard-tyre lap of 1:13.045. He was briefly dislodged by Mercedes’ Valterri Bottas but returned to P1 with the a lap of 1:12.850. Norris then restaked his claim to supremacy thanks to a lap of 1:12.679 just before Vettel brought running to a halt when his Aston Martin expired at the pit exit with a suspected power unit failure.

    The German driver has reported a problem on his installation laps and had returned to the pits for checks. But when he emerged again he again hit trouble on his first timed lap and pulled over at the pit exit.

    Vettel quickly climbed out of his car and fetched a fire extinguisher but after struggling to activate it he sought help from a track marshal who also appeared to have difficulty with the equipment. Eventually the extinguishers were engaged but Vettel’s car seeming to be in an electrically unsafe state there was a long delay as it was made safe.

    The delay meant that when the green flags were shown there were just six minutes left in the session.

    Leclerc posted a lap of 1:12.288 to take top spot but he was quickly ousted by Sainz and Bottas. Hamilton then powered past all of his rivals with a lap of 1:11.500. Verstappen got closest to the Briton with a lap of 1:11.597, 0.097s off Hamilton’s best time. slower than his title rival – the Dutch driver having to dodge traffic at several points after setting what was at that stage the fastest time in the first sector.

    Sainz took third 0.101s behind Hamilton with Leclerc fourth ahead of Bottas and the Alpine cars of Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon. Antonio Giovinazzi was eighth ahead of Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and the final top-10 place went to Gasly.

    There was trouble for the Frenchman’s AlphaTauri team-mate Yuki Tsunoda. however.

    The Japanese driver completed just three laps in the opening phase of the championship after he spun getting at Turn 10. He returned to the pit lane but took no further part int hr session.

    2021 Dutch Grand Prix – Free Practice 1
    1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:11.500 17 214.439
    2 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda 1:11.597 0.097 18 214.148
    3 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1:11.601 0.101 19 214.136
    4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:11.623 0.123 18 214.070
    5 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:11.738 0.238 18 213.727
    6 Fernando Alonso Alpine/Renault 1:12.158 0.658 18 212.483
    7 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 1:12.231 0.731 17 212.268
    8 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1:12.359 0.859 18 211.893
    9 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:12.431 0.931 18 211.682
    10 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri/Honda 1:12.515 1.015 19 211.437
    11 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:12.679 1.179 18 210.960
    12 Nicholas Latifi Williams/Mercedes 1:12.907 1.407 16 210.300
    13 Kimi Räikkönen Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1:13.053 1.553 20 209.880
    14 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren/Mercedes 1:13.081 1.581 18 209.800
    15 George Russell Williams/Mercedes 1:13.181 1.681 15 209.513
    16 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda 1:13.328 1.828 18 209.093
    17 Nikita Mazepin Haas/Ferrari 1:13.516 2.016 14 208.558
    18 Mick Schumacher Haas/Ferrari 1:13.847 2.347 17 207.623
    19 Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:15.984 4.484 6 201.784
         Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri/Honda  3

    Graphic courtesy Twitter @CFmagIndia

  • Washed out Belgian GP shows the importance of qualies

    Washed out Belgian GP shows the importance of qualies

    By Malhaar Khaladkar

    Max Verstappen was classified first in a washed out Belgian Grand Prix, which was the shortest race in the history of Formula 1. George Russell achieved his maiden podium finish in P2 while Lewis Hamilton retrieved 7.5 points coming third. Three laps took place behind the safety car as torrential rain made the track undrivable and only half points were awarded as the race distance was less than 75%.

    London, 30 August 2021: Rain was forecasted for the Grand Prix, but no one expected it to be a washout. Drama ensued before the race as Sergio Perez went into the barrier on his way to the grid ruling him out of the race. Instead of the lights going out, two formation laps took place behind the safety car. Drivers complained on the radio about aquaplaning and zero visibility, hence, the race was red flagged by the FIA.

    After a wait of more than three hours FIA notified that the race would resume at 18:17 local time (race start was at 15:00 local time). With the grid bunched up behind the safety car, the drivers ventured out for another couple of laps before returning to the pits. FIA declared that the race won’t resume, and half points will be awarded to the top 10 finishers.

    This race showed the importance of qualifying. Due to a red flag the finishing order was exactly similar as to qualifying, barring Perez who crashed out and had to start from the pitlane, if the race had started. Verstappen closed the gap on championship rival to Hamilton while a stunning Saturday qualifying lap by Russell meant he kept his 2nd place.

    The 2021 season got back underway in a less than ideal way as if the summer break was extended for another week. Weather is one of the few elements that is out of control of the organizers and the FIA, and safety being paramount it was deemed unsafe to race in such dire conditions. Onto Zandvoort, hoping for some racing action there!

    Saturday Qualifying results were:

    P1: Max Verstappen- 33 (Red Bull)P2: George Russell- 63 (Williams)
    P3: Lewis Hamilton- 44 (Mercedes)P4: Daniel Ricciardo- 3 (McLaren)
    P5: Sebastian Vettel- 5 (Aston Martin)P6: Pierre Gasly- 10 (AlphaTauri)
    P7: Sergio Perez- 11 (Red Bull)P8: Valtteri Bottas- 77 (Mercedes)
    P9: Esteban Ocon- 31 (Alpine)P10: Lando Norris- 4 (McLaren)
    P11: Charles Leclerc- 16 (Ferrari)P12: Nicholas Latifi- 6 (Williams)
    P13: Carlos Sainz- 55 (Ferrari)P14: Fernando Alonso- 14 (Alpine)
    P15: Lance Stroll- 18 (Aston Martin)P16: Antonio Giovinazzi- 99 (Alfa Romeo)
    P17: Yuki Tsunoda- 22 (AlphaTauri)P18: Mick Schumacher- 47 (Haas)
    P19: Kimi Raikkonen- 7 (Alfa Romeo)P20: Nikita Mazepin- 9 (Haas)

    Note: Bottas and Stroll penalised five grid places for causing a collision at the previous round. Norris penalised five grid places for an unscheduled gearbox change. Raikkonen required to start from the pit lane, as car modified whilst under Parc Ferme conditions.

  • Verstappen takes 12.5 points to Hami’s 7.5 in Spa washout: F1

    Verstappen takes 12.5 points to Hami’s 7.5 in Spa washout: F1

    Spa-Francorchamps, 29 August 2021: Max Verstappen scored his first Belgian Grand Prix victory after the race at the Spa-Francorchamps was red flagged after just three laps behind the safety car due to heavy rain that had delayed the race start for more than three hours. Williams’ George Russell took the first podium finish of his career with second place, while3 Lewis Hamilton finished third for Mercedes.

    With downpours regularly falling across the Ardennes circuit throughout the morning, conditions in the build-up to the were extremely difficult. The treacherous nature of the track were fully revealed when Sergio Pérez lost control of his RB16B at Les Combes on his reconnaissance lap to the grid. The Mexican’s car slid into the barriers on the right side of the track breaking the suspension on the front right of the car. His Red Bull was recovered to the pits and it appeared as if he would take no further part in proceedings.

    With rain continuing to fall ahead of the scheduled start at 3pm local time, the formation lap was delayed for 25 minutes. When it eventually got underway the red flags were swiftly shown as drivers throughout the order declared the conditions to be undriveable. 

    There followed an almost three-hour delay as FIA race officials monitored conditions for any sign of improvement. During the race suspension Red Bull Racing consulted officials who confirmed that if the team could repair the Mexican’s car he would be allowed to start the race from the pit lane. After furious work in the Red Bull garage Pérez’s car was in the end readied well ahead of the race start at 6.18pm.

    Cars flowed out of the pit lane to follow the safety car around but with the rain beginning to fall more heavily it quickly became apparent that red flags were once again necessary and the cars steered back to the pit lane where 19 minutes later Race Control issued the message that the race would not be resumed. 

    The abandonment of the race means it goes down as the shortest in Formula 1 history. The record was previously held by the 1991 Australian Grand Prix at 14 laps. 

    The last time F1 had a half points race was in 2009 at the end of a Malaysian Grand Prix also halted by rain. Verstappen was declared the winner, scoring 12.5 points, with George Russell being awarded nine points and his first F1 podium finish. Lewis Hamilton was classified third, scoring 7.5 points. Max therefore closes the gap to Hamilton to just three, with the Red Bull driver now on 199.5 points. The Team now sits on 303.5 points, seven behind Mercedes. 

    Meanwhile, the FIA released the following statement:

    Following the significant weather disruption to the 2021 FIA Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix, the FIA and Formula 1 are disappointed for all the fans at the track and at home that today’s race could not go to full distance, but the safety of the drivers, marshals and spectators must always be the priority. The Decision of the Stewards to extend the window in which the race could take place gave every possible opportunity to maximise the day’s running, but the weather conditions unfortunately did not improve sufficiently to complete more laps.

    2021 FIA Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix – Race
    1 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda 1 3’27.071
    2 George Russell Williams/Mercedes 1 3’29.066 1.995
    3 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1 3’29.672 2.601
    4 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren/Mercedes 1 3’31.567 4.496
    5 Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin/Mercedes 1 3’34.550 7.479
    6 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri/Honda 1 3’37.248 10.177
    7 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 1 3’38.650 11.579
    8 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1 3’39.679 12.60
    9 Nicholas Latifi Williams/Mercedes 1 3’42.555 15.484
    10 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1 3’43.237 16.166
    11 Fernando Alonso Alpine/Renault 1 3’47.661 20.590
    12 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1 3’49.485 22.414
    13 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1 3’51.234 24.163
    14 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1 3’54.180 27.109
    15 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri/Honda 1 3’55.400 28.329
    16 Mick Schumacher Haas/Ferrari 1 3’56.578 29.507
    17 Nikita Mazepin Haas/Ferrari 1 3’59.064 31.993
    18 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1 4’01.179 34.108
    19 Kimi Räikkönen Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1 4’03.125 36.054
    20 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda 1 4’05.276 38.205

  • Max Verstappen on pole; Hami p3 at Spa

    Max Verstappen on pole; Hami p3 at Spa

    Spa Francorchamps, 28 August 2021: Max Verstappen claimed his ninth career pole position in a rain-affected Belgain Grand qualifying session ahead of surprise front-row starter George Russell of Williams and third-placed Lewis Hamilton. Sergio Pérez will meanwhile start from seventh on the grid.

    After a short delay due to heavy rain in the run-up to Qualifying, Q1 got underway on a wet track and most teams sent their drivers out on full wet Pirelli tyres. The exception was Williams which sent George Russell and Nicholas Latifi out on intermediate tyres.

    Initially the times set on the two compounds were comparable but when Verstappen took P1 with a time of 2:07.574 and was quickly beaten by Russell to the tune of five full seconds it became clear that intermediates were the right choice. Drivers immediately returned to the pits to switch to the green-banded tyres and with the conditions improving but rain forecast, the session then became one of endurance as drivers stayed out to try to catch the best of the conditions.

    In the end it was Lando Norris who made the most of the intermediate tyres in Q1. The McLaren driver crossed the line after the chequered flag to take top spot with a lap of 1:58.301. Verstappen eased through to Q2 in second place with a lap of 1:58.717.

    Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi was the first driver eliminated, in P16, and the Italian was followed out of the session by AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda, Haas’ Mick Schumacher, the second Alfa of Kimi Räikkönen and the second Haas of Nikita Mazepin.

    Though rain was forecast for Q2, the track stayed dry and the remaining drivers took to the track on inters. That meant progress was relatively straightforward for the Bulls, with Max posting a lap of 1:56.559 to secure fifth place at the flag. Checo, meanwhile, went through in seventh place.

    Mercedes made heavy work of claiming Q3 berths, however. The team sent Hamilton and Bottas out on old intermediates but neither driver could make them work and they abandoned their runs to pit for new green-banded tyres. Again both struggled and a final set was called for.

    In the drop zone in the closing moments Hamilton and Bottas needed big laps to jump to safety and both delivered. Hamilton jumped to P2 with a lap of 1:56.229 and Bottas erased any worries in the Mercedes camp by claiming P3 with a tour of 1:56.295.

    The final moments weren’t as kind to Ferrari, however. Charles Leclerc was eliminated in P11, with team-mate Carlos Sainz exiting in P13. The man in the Ferrari sandwich was Williams’ Nicholas Latifi, while Alpine’s Fernando Alonso was ruled out in P14 ahead of Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll.

    The expected rain began to fall in the minutes leading up to the start of Q3 and by the time the lights went green conditions had substantially deteriorated. The risk became clear when Norris lost control of his McLaren at the start of his first push lap of the segment and crashed heavily at Raidillon. The red flags were immediately displayed.

    A long delay followed and when the final eight minutes of the session got underway rain was still falling. Red Bull opted for intermediate tyres and after his first lap Verstappen was in P2 but a second off provisional pole sitter Hamilton.

    The conditions were improving rapidly, however, as evidenced by Russell suddenly putting in purple sector times. The Williams driver’s timing was good and his final lap was enough to put him ahead of Lewis Hamilton by 0.013s.

    Verstappen’s timing was marginally better, however, and when the Dutch driver crossed the line he was the only man to dip below the two-minute mark with a lap of 1:59.765 that secured him his ninth career pole and Red Bull’s first at this circuit since 2011.

    Behind the top three McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo will start fourth ahead of Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel. Pierre Gasly quaklified sixth and Checo secured seventh place on the grid. Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas placed eighth but will take a five-place grid penalty tomorrow. Esteban Ocon qualified ninth for Alpine with Norris tenth after failing to set a time.

    2021 FIA Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix – Qualifying
    1 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda 1:59.765  6 210.532
    2 George Russell Williams/Mercedes 2:00.086 0.321 0.268 7 209.969
    3 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 2:00.099 0.334 0.279 6 209.946
    4 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren/Mercedes 2:00.864 1.099 0.918 6 208.617
    5 Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin/Mercedes 2:00.935 1.170 0.977 7 208.495
    6 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri/Honda 2:01.164 1.399 1.168 6 208.101
    7 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda 2:02.112 2.347 1.960 6 206.485
    8 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 2:02.502 2.737 2.285 6 205.828
    9 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 2:03.513 3.748 3.129 7 204.143
    – 4 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes  2
    11 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:57.721 1.696 1.462 8 214.187
    12 Nicholas Latifi Williams/Mercedes 1:58.056 2.031 1.750 8 213.579
    13 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1:58.137 2.112 1.820 7 213.433
    14 Fernando Alonso Alpine/Renault 1:58.205 2.180 1.879 8 213.310
    15 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:58.231 2.206 1.901 7 213.263
    16 Antionio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 2:02.306 4.005 3.385 9 206.158
    17 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri/Honda 2:02.413 4.112 3.476 9 205.978
    18 Mick Schumacher Haas/Ferrari 2:03.973 5.672 4.795 9 203.386
    19 Kimi Räikkönen Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 2:04.452 6.151 5.199 9 202.603
    20 Nikita Mazepin Haas/Ferrari 2:04.939 6.638 5.611 8 201.813

  • Max Verstappen tops FP2 at Spa: F1 Round 12

    Max Verstappen tops FP2 at Spa: F1 Round 12

    Spa-Francorchamps, 27 August 2021: Max Verstappen set the pace in the second practice session for the Belgian Grand Prix, narrowly beating Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton by less than a hundredth of a second, but the Red Bull driver’s session ended in disappointment when he crashed out in the final moments of the session at Spa-Francorchamps in the Round 12 of the Formula 1 World Championship here on Friday.

    Verstappen lost the back end of his RB16B as he went into the Les Combes sequence at the end of the long Kemmel straight and he spun into the barriers on the left side of the circuit, causing substantial damage to the rear right of his Red Bull.

    As with the morning session, the afternoon running got off to a slow start as drivers gingerly tested the damp conditions. Once the conditions proved suitable for dry tyres, McLaren’s Lando Norris got running properly underway with a lap of 1:48.219 on hard tyres. Alpine’s Esteban Ocon and Williams’ Nicholas Latifi then took turns at the top as the track improved before Bottas then took a significant step forward with a lap of 1:44.513 on medium tyres.

    Verstappen then took P2 before Hamilton went just 0.031 slower than his teammate to establish a Mercedes one-two.

    The Mercedes pair were then among the first to make the switch to soft tyres though neither was able to improve on the red-banded Pirelli rubber. Verstappen, however, did make gains and he claimed top spot with a lap of 1:44.472, 0.041 ahead of Bottas.

    However, his good work was then undone in the final moments when he lost the rear end of his car in Les Combes.

    At the flag, Fernando Alonso set the fourth fastest time for Alpine, ahead of AlhaTauri’s Pierre Gasly and Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll. Ocon finished in seventh ahead of the seodnde Aston Martin of Sebastian Vettel and Sergio Pérez, newly confirmed for another year at Red Bull Racing, completed the top 10 order.

    2021 FIA Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix – Free Practice 2

    1 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda 1:44.472 12 241.350
    2 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:44.513 0.041 14 241.256
    3 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:44.544 0.072 13 241.184
    4 Fernando Alonso Alpine/Renault 1:44.953 0.481 15 240.244
    5 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri/Honda 1:44.965 0.493 17 240.217
    6 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:45.180 0.708 14 239.726
    7 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 1:45.302 0.830 15 239.448
    8 Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:45.336 0.864 16 239.371
    9 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:45.386 0.914 18 239.257
    10 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda 1:45.404 0.932 13 239.216
    11 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1:45.517 1.045 14 238.960
    12 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri/Honda 1:45.758 1.286 17 238.416
    13 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1:45.789 1.317 16 238.346
    14 Kimi Räikkönen Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1:45.967 1.495 18 237.945
    15 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren/Mercedes 1:46.118 1.646 14 237.607
    16 Nicholas Latifi Williams/Mercedes 1:46.198 1.726 17 237.428
    17 George Russell Williams/Mercedes 1:46.665 2.193 14 236.388
    18 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:46.836 2.364 13 236.010
    19 Nikita Mazepin Haas/Ferrari 1:47.335 2.863 14 234.913
    20 Mick Schumacher Haas/Ferrari 1:47.529 3.057 15 234.489

  • Valtteri Bottas fastest in FP1

    Valtteri Bottas fastest in FP1

    Spa-Francorchamps, 27 August 2021: After its traditional summer break Formula 1 returned to action at Spa-Francorchamps this morning, with Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas quickest in the opening practice session for the 2021 Belgian Grand Prix. The Finn set beat title hopeful Max Verstappen by just under two tenths of a second as championship leader Lewis Hamilton finished in 18th place.

    The one-hour session got off to a slow start as rain the hours preceding the start of running meant that the track was still damp and teams opted to wait out the opening minutes as the track began to dry.

    A number of drivers took the track on intermediates, but after 10 minutes it became clear that dry weather tyres were necessary. McLaren’s Lando Norris led the way on me3dium tyres but the Briton was soon eclipsed by Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel and then by Daniel Riccardo in the second McLaren, Pierre Gasly of AlphaTauri and then by Hungary race winner Esteban Ocon who put his Alpine in P1.

    Verstappen then emerged in hard tyres and promptly bounced the French driver out of top sport with a lap of 1:46.879s. Over the course of a long run he then whittled the benchmark down to 1:45.905 before teams began to make a switch to soft tyres.

    As the session entered its final quarter Bottas jumped P1 with a softy-tyre lap of 1:45.199s. Hamilton though was struggling with a larger wing than his team-mate and the Briton complained that he had poor straightline speed.

    However, despite his difficulties, Hamilton looked set to edge past his team-mate on soft tyres but unfortunately he was slowed when he came across Williams’ Nicholas Latifi at the Bus Stop chicane and his run was compromised.

    Verstappen then also moved to soft tyres in the final phase of the session but he failed to dislodge Bottas and had to settle for second place, 0.164 behind the Mercedes man.

    Drizzle was now beginning to fall and that meant little hope of late improvement. Hamilton therefore was left languishing in P18 on the timesheet.

    AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly took third place at the flag ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. The Monegasque driver’s team-mate Carlos Sainz finished fifth, while Red Bull’s Sergio Perez was sixth ahead of Vettel and Norris, with Ocon and his Alpine team-mate Fernando Alonso rounding out the top 10.

    2021 FIA Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix – Free Practice 1
    1 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:45.199 18 239.682
    2 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda 1:45.363 0.164 14 239.309
    3 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri/Honda 1:45.699 0.500 20 238.549
    4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:45.818 0.619 19 238.280
    5 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1:45.935 0.736 20 238.017
    6 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda 1:46.127 0.928 17 237.587
    7 Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:46.177 0.978 19 237.475
    8 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:46.336 1.137 17 237.120
    9 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 1:46.497 1.298 16 236.761
    10 Fernando Alonso Alpine/Renault 1:46.612 1.413 16 236.506
    11 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:46.649 1.450 19 236.424
    12 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren/Mercedes 1:46.683 1.484 20 236.348
    13 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1:46.755 1.556 17 236.189
    14 George Russell Williams/Mercedes 1:46.772 1.573 19 236.151
    15 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri/Honda 1:46.928 1.729 19 235.807
    16 Nicholas Latifi Williams/Mercedes 1:47.101 1.902 20 235.426
    17 Kimi Räikkönen Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1:48.125 2.926 15 233.196
    18 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:48.224 3.025 17 232.983
    19 Nikita Mazepin Haas/Ferrari 1:48.705 3.506 16 231.952
    20 Mick Schumacher Haas/Ferrari 1:49.059 3.860 15 231.199