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George Russell wins Austrian GP; Verstappen, Norris collide
Spielberg, 30 June 2024: George Russell took a surprise Austrian Grand Prix victory after a dramatic late-race clash between long-time race leader Max Verstappen and arch-rival Lando Norris dumped the McLaren driver out of the race and dropped championship leader Verstappen to fifth at the flag.
After seizing the lead from pole at the start, Verstappen looked comfortable for the bulk of the race as he built an eight-second gap back to Norris, with Russell in third. However, the gap narrowed in the closing stages as Verstappen suffered with tyre degradation and when the champion suffered a slow final pit stop, Norris closed in.
Verstappen repelled several assault into Turn 3 on the inside but on lap 64 Norris went for broke around the outside and when Verstappen reacted there was contact. Both suffered punctures and while the Red Bull driver was able to pit for Soft tyres and shrug off a 10-second penalty for causing the collision to eventually finish fifth, Norris’ damage was too severe and he had to retire.
The incident handed the lead to Russell and the Mercedes driver seized the opportunity with both hands to take his second career win. In the final laps Piastri managed to get past Sainz to take second and the Spaniard was left with the final podium place.
At the start, Verstappen powered into the lead ahead of Norris who was forced to defend against a challenge from Russell and Sainz.
Sainz then became embroiled in a tussle with Lewis Hamilton and on the run up to Turn 3 the Mercedes driver managed to get ahead to steal P4. Further back, there was contact in Turn 1 between Piastri and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and as both went wide, Red Bull’s Sergio Pérez swept past both to claim sixth.
At the front, Verstappen began to eke out a gap to Norris. Russell and Hamilton were battling however and on lap three Hamilton powered past, only to be passed once again by Russell in Turn 4. Hamilton, though, was under investigation for leaving the track and gaining an advantage during his pass of Sainz and the seven-time champion was forced to hand back the place won at the start. Pérez and Piastri were also battling, and on lap 7 the Australian pounced in Turn 6 to muscle his way around the outside to drop Checo back to seventh. Verstappen, meanwhile, was drawing away and on lap 14 he had built up a five-second gap to Norris, who was a little under four seconds clear of Russell.
On lap 22 Hamilton and Pérez were the first of the frontrunners to pit and both moved to Hard tyres. Russell and Sainz made their way in at the end of the following tour and then on lap 24 Verstappen made his first stop, for Hard tyres. Norris came in on the same lap and when Piastri finally made his first tyre switch on lap 26, Verstappen returned to lead with 6.7s in hand over Norris with Russell two seconds further back in third. Sainz held fourth ahead of Hamilton, but the Mercedes driver was quickly handed a five-second time penalty for crossing the white line at the pit entry. Piastri emerged from his pit stop in sixth place.
Midway through his second stint, Verstappen looked comfortable, eight seconds clear of over Norris. However on lap 40 the Dutchman reported that his Hard tyres suddenly felt “really bad”. Over the following laps Norris began to chip away at the gap and by lap 46 the Red Bull driver’s advantage had shrunk to a little over 6.5s.
Russell then sparked the second round of stop on lap 47 but when Verstappen made his stop an issue with the rear right kept him stationary for over six seconds and when he and Norris rejoined, the McLaren driver was just 1.7s behind.
Norris was able to haul his way into DRS range of the Red Bull driver, and on lap 55 the McLaren driver attacked into Turn 3. Verstappen defended well to hold the lead but with three DRS zones available to Norris the attacks kept coming. And on lap 64 the McLaren driver made his fateful move.
The clash left Vestappen with a punctured rear left and though Norris got past Verstappen’s stricken RB20 his own right rear tyre let go and the pair limped back to the pits. Verstappen was fitted a set of Soft tyres and released again, into P5, but Norris damage was too severe and the Briton was forced to retire.
The dramatic incident handed the lead the Russell, ahead of Piastri who had managed to pass Sainz, with Hamilton in fourth and moment after a flurry of final laps, the Mercedes driver took his second career grand prix win.
Further back, Max held on to fifth behind Hamilton, despite being handed a 10-second penalty for causing the collision with Norris Hülkenberg took Haas’ best finish of the season so far after passing Pérez on the final tour and the Mexican was left with seventh place ahead of the second Haas of Kevin Magnussen, RB’s Daniel Ricciardo and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, who took the final point.
2024 FIA Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix – Race
1 George Russell Mercedes 71 –
2 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 71 1.906
3 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 71 4.533
4 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 71 23.142
5 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 71 37.253
6 Nico Hülkenberg Haas/Ferrari 71 54.088
7 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda RBPT 71 54.672
8 Kevin Magnussen Haas/Ferrari 71 1’00.355
9 Daniel Ricciardo RB/Honda RBPT 71 1’01.169
10 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 71 1’01.766
11 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 71 1’07.056
12 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 71 1’08.325
13 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 70 – 1 lap
14 Yuki Tsunoda RB/Honda RBPT 70 – 1 lap
15 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 70 – 1 lap
16 Valtteri Bottas Sauber/Ferrari 70 – 1 lap
17 Zhou Guanyu Sauber/Ferrari 70 – 1 lap
18 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 70 – 1 lap
19 Logan Sargeant Williams/Mercedes 69 – 2 laps
Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 64 – Retirement -
Max Verstappen takes pole, less than half a second ahead of Lando Norris: F1
Spielberg, 29 June 2024: Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen powered to an emphatic eighth pole position of the season four tenths of a second clear of McLaren’s Lando Norris. George Russell qualified third for Mercedes after Oscar Piastri in the second McLaren had his final lap of Q3 deleted for a track limits violation.
Verstappen was first out on track at the start of Q1 and with used Soft tyres on board he set the pace at 1:06.054, with team-mate Sergio Pérez in P2. Both were shuffled back as better times came in and Verstappen dropped to sixth.
However, a second run on used tyres again jumped Verstappen to the top of the order with a lap of 1:05.336. Once again though better times began to come in and this time the Red Bull driver dropped to third behind new P1 man Carlos Sainz and second-placed Piastri.
Comfortable with their efforts, the top three chose to stay in the garage for the final runs, and though there were a slew of improvements the order at the top stayed the same. However, at the bottom of the order there was no place in Q2 for Williams’ Alex Albon who went out in P16 ahead of Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and the Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu who were split by the second Williams of Logan Sargeant.
In the first runs of Q2, Verstappen, now with new tyres onboard, gave a first indication of the pace in the RB20 and he powered clear of the field with a time of 1:04.577, almost a full second clear of Leclerc whose opener had been completed on used rubber. Russell jumped ahead of the Ferrari driver but the gap only closed to 0.491. Sainz then jumped to second on fresh tyres, six hundredths of a second quicker than Russell, but there was still a yawning gap to the championship leader to overcome.
And it widened in the final runs of Q2. Verstappen improved once more, closing out the middle session with a P1 time of 1:04.469. Sainz, with only two fresh sets of Softs in reserve, chose to sit out the final runs, but when none of the Spaniard’s rivals was able to eclipse his run one time, the Ferrari driver went through in P2 ahead of Russell, Hamilton and Piastri.
Eliminated at the end of Q2 were RB’s Daniel Ricciardo, with the 11th-placed Australian missing out on the top-10 shootout by just 0.015s, along with Haas’ Kevin Magnussen, Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, the second RB of Yuki Tsunoda and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso.
In the first runs of Q3, Verstappen shaved four hundredths of a second off his Q2 best to take provisional pole, 0.351s ahead of Norris who slotted into second ahead of Russell and Leclerc who was on used tyres. In the final runs Verstappen was untouchable and once again he improved, this time by over a tenth of a second to take his 40th career pole position with a lap of 1:04.314, 0.404 clear of Norris, with Russell in third place. The Mercedes man might have been beaten by Piastri but the Australian’s final flyer was deleted for a track limits violation at Turn 6 and he slid back behind Sainz, Hamilton and Leclerc, who went off at the final corner, and qualified in P7 just ahead of Pérez, Hülkenberg and Ocon.
2024 FIA Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix – Qualifying
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1’04.314 – –
2 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1’04.718 0.404
3 George Russell Mercedes 1’04.840 0.526
4 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1’04.851 0.537
5 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1’04.903 0.589
6 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1’05.044 0.730
7 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 1’05.048 0.734
8 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1’05.202 0.888
9 Nico Hülkenberg Haas/Ferrari 1’05.385 1.071
10 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 1’05.883 1.569
11 Daniel Ricciardo RB/Honda RBPT 1’05.289 0.975
12 Kevin Magnussen Haas/Ferrari 1’05.347 1.033
13 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 1’05.359 1.045
14 Yuki Tsunoda RB/Honda RBPT 1’05.412 1.098
15 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 1’05.639 1.325
16 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1’05.736 1.422
17 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1’05.819 1.505
18 Valtteri Bottas Sauber/Ferrari 1’05.847 1.533
19 Logan Sargeant Williams/Mercedes 1’05.856 1.542
20 Zhou Guanyu Sauber/Ferrari 1’06.061 1.747 -
Bagnaia takes sublime Sprint win to close in on Martin
Taking back-to-back Sprint wins for the first time, the reigning Champion’s statement weekend continues as he denies Martin and Viñales.
Assen, 29 June 2024: Francesco Bagnaia’s (Ducati Lenovo Team) statement weekend at the Motul TT Assen continued on Saturday afternoon as the reigning Champion took the Tissot Sprint win – making it back-to-back victories on Saturday afternoon for the first time in his career.
Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) followed him home in second to limit the damage in the standings, but the two are now split by just 15 points. The pressure amped up further at the end of Saturday’s action too, with Martin handed a 3-place grid penalty for Sunday after being deemed to have been slow on line and disturbed Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse Racing) in qualifying.
Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing) completed the Sprint podium as his speed at the Cathedral continued, with drama hitting for Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) as he slid out early on.
As the lights went out, Bagnaia held on to the holeshot from pole, with Martin keeping second but Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) attacking and taking over in third. That put Viñales on the attack to take it back, but by the end of Lap 2 the Aprilia had homed back in and shot past at the chicane.
Meanwhile, that drama had hit for Marc Marquez. On the tail of that duel, the #93 overcooked it and suddenly slid out, no way to get back in it and forced to watch the Sprint from the sidelines.
Back at the front, Bagnaia had the hammer down. Still, the gap was hovering around seven tenths, going up and down here and there as Martin held on. But by seven to go, it was the gap back to Viñales the #89 had to watch instead, with Bagnaia edging clear and the Aprilia homing in.
Martin responded quickly, however, pulling it back out to a second – but it didn’t get him any closer to Bagnaia. The top three were in a holding pattern just as the battle behind them was starting to heat up.
Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) had been on the tail of Alex Marquez since Viñales got back past the #73, but by half distance the two had some company: a queue of Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team), Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) and Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) had arrived on the scene.
Once there, Bastianini struck quick, past Binder and then immediately glued to the rear of Alex Marquez. The ‘Beast’ stalked him round the rest of the lap and then attacked at the chicane, taking over in fourth and pulling away. The #73 was then given a Long Lap for track limits, and soon after there was another key move in the group, also at the chicane, with Diggia attacking Binder. The VR46 rider headed a little wide, both affected but keeping it pinned, just as Alex Marquez had suffered his own little wobble. Into Turn 1 for the final lap, the net result was Diggia leading Espargaro leading Binder, with the #73 dropping to the back of the gaggle and still with that Long Lap to serve.
Up ahead, there were no dramas for the top three. No one had an answer for Bagnaia as the reigning Champion won his second Sprint in a row for the first time ever, and Martin took an important second place as the Championship gap just starts to get closer once more. Viñales’ podium is another positive as he looks to better it on Sunday and beat Aprilia’s best MotoGP™ result at Assen as yet: third.
Bastianini took that P4 after his charge up from outside the top ten on the grid, and in the grand battle behind, Diggia completed the top five ahead of Binder. After not taking it in the remaining laps, Alex Marquez’ LLP was converted into the equivalent time second penalty and drops him down the order to eighth – moving Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) up into seventh, from P13 on the grid. Franco Morbidelli (Prima Pramac Racing) completed the Sprint point scorers, with rookie Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) losing out in P10.
Espargaro slid out fast late on, losing his chance at that battle to the flag and heading for a check up. He will be reviewed on Sunday morning before Warm Up.
Now it’s reset for Sunday and the Grand Prix race, with Bagnaia looking sublime but Martin and Viñales eager to home in over full distance, Martin from that extra hurdle down in P5 on the grid. Can anyone overhaul the #1 on Sunday? Join us at 14:00 (UTC +2) to find out!
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Bagnaia slams in new lap record to edge out Viñales at the Cathedral: MotoGP
Assen, 28 June 2024: With rumours, tension, and excitement swirling around the paddock at the Motul TT Assen as we get back in gear, the battle for direct entry to Q2 did not disappoint in the hour-long Practice session on Friday afternoon. Ending the day at the top of the timesheets it’s Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team), who completed a perfect day in the Netherlands. The #1 set a blistering time early on in Practice before improving later in the session, setting a brilliant 1:31.340. In a remarkable stat, Bagnaia going fastest in the first session on Friday was also the first time he’s ever done that in the premier class, despite two premier class World Championships and a full CV by nearly every metric.
Nevertheless, it was close at the top by the end of the all-important afternoon Practice session, with Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing) claiming second after improving yet again on his final fast lap – ending the day only 0.065s shy of Bagnaia. Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) had a positive end to Friday after a magnificent lap allowed the #73 to round out the top three, leading the chasing pack but with a small deficit to the top duo… and one he’ll be looking to bridge on Saturday.
It was a dramatic session throughout which all came down to the final 15-minute time attack. Bagnaia was at the top as red sectors began to pop up everywhere, and it was Viñales who took over for the first time this weekend. Bagnaia soon responded on his next flying lap, however, securing that P1.
There would be drama heading into the final run elsewhere though, with Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) having a close moment with Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing), but utlimately no hard done.
Further back, Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) took fourth and showed great pace throughout the session – completing over 20 laps. However, the #41 suffered a crash in the closing minutes at the final corner, ending his session just before the flag came out. He’s been given the all clear and passed fit to race, but remains a little bruised. Behind the Spaniard was compatriot Martin, who rounded out the top five.
Sixth place went the way of Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™), who had an incredible front-end save during the session – improving on his 22nd lap. Brad Binder was next up, flying the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing flag inside the top 10 with his teammate Miller down in 18th place at the end of Friday.
Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) held onto eighth place and a spot inside Q2 despite suffering from a crash of his own with three minutes to go. Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse Racing) took ninth as his solid form continues to hold, with Franco Morbidelli (Prima Pramac Racing) taking the final spot inside the top 10 and the final direct entry spot into Q2.
Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) was the rider in P11 just missing out, ahead of Marco Bezzecchi (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) and his teammate Fabio Di Giannantonio. They’ll be some of the first looking to attack in Q1 to move through. Join us on Saturday morning for that, before the Tissot Sprint lights up the TT Circuit Assen.
FP2: 10:10 (UTC +2)
Q1: 10:50
Q2: 11.15
Tissot Sprint: 15:00 -
Max Verstappen to start Sprint race on pole ahead of Lando Norris: F1 Austrian GP
Spielberg, 28 June 2024: Max Verstappen will start the Sprint at the Red Bull Ring from the front of the grid after the championship leader beat McLaren’s Lando Norris to top spot in Sprint Qualifying but less than a tenth of a second.
At the start of SQ1, after Lewis Hamilton had his first lap of 1:06.416 deleted for track limits at Turn 6, it was George Russell who set the early pace with a lap of 1:06.765.
Verstappen soon beat that, however, and the Dutchman stole top spot with a lap of 1:05.690, 0.074 ahead of the Mercedes driver. Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz sat in third place, ahead of Norris, with Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll in fifth ahead of the second Ferrari of Charles Leclerc.
The order at the top remained static in the final runs, but at the other end of the timesheet there was no place in the second session for RB’s Daniel Ricciardo who was bumped from P15 into the drop zone by a good final lap from Alpine’s Pierre Gasly who jumped to P11, two places ahead of the fortunate Lewis Hamilton who managed to recover to P13 thanks to a lap of 1:06.504.
Ricciardo was edged out just over two hundredths of a second behind team-mate Yuki Tsunoda who had a lurid off on his final flying lap when he put a wheel into the new gravel strip at the exit of Turn 9 and spun through the run-off at the final corner. The Japanese driver was able to recover, however, and progressed in P15.
Eliminated along with Ricciardo were Haas’ 17th-placed Nico Hülkenberg, Kick Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas, Williams’ Alex Albon in P19 and the last placed second Kick Sauber of Zhou Guanyu.
Verstappen and Red Bull team-mate Sergio Pérez were first on track at the start of SQ2 and Verstappen set the pace at 1:05.186, with Pérez crossing the line more than half a second behind.
That left the door open for Russell to take second place with a lap of 1:05.325 and he was followed by McLaren’s Oscar Piastri who took third ahead of Sainz, Leclerc, Hamilton and Norris, who shuffled Pérez, down to eighth place. With the first runs completed, the Mexican was the last man to have posted a time, with the remaining drivers targeting a single run in the session.
The top four drivers elected to stay in the pit lane for the final runs and with Leclerc, Hamilton, Norris and Pérez all failing to improve or backing out of their final runs it became a battle for the final two SQ3 spots.
And it was Alpine that made the best of the final laps. Esteban Ocon went through in eighth place with a lap of 1:05.686, just over three hundredths of a second behind Pérez. Gasly took the final SQ3 spot 0.071s behind team-mate Ocon.
Behind them, out went Haas’ Kevein Magnussen in P11 along with the Astons of Stroll and Alonso in P12 and P13 respectively, while Tsunoda exited in 14th ahead of Williams’ Logan Sargeant.
Brinkmanship in SQ3 saw all 10 drivers hold station in their garages until the last possible moment and with drivers seeking a gap to the car in front, it meant that the last in the queue were in danger of not having enough time to make it round to start a final flyer.
That was the case for Charles Leclerc. The Ferrari was one of the last in line and when his car went into anti-stall in the pit lane he was halted long enough to then take the chequered flag first as he tried to start his final flying lap.
Ahead, it was Norris who looked to have enough pace to take top spot with the McLaren driver jumping to P1 three tenths clear of team-mate Oscar Piastri. All day long, though, Verstappen had just enough in the tank to edge ahead of the Briton and it was the case once again as the championship leader to P1, 0.093 clear of his chief rival.
Behind the top three Russell was fourth ahead of Sainz, with Hamilton in sixth. Pérez finished seventh in the second Red Bull, with Ocon in P8 ahead of Gasly and the unfortunate Leclerc.
2024 FIA Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix – Sprint Qualifying
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:04.686 – –
2 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:04.779 0.093 0.144
3 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 1:04.987 0.301 0.465
4 George Russell Mercedes 1:05.054 0.368 0.569
5 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1:05.126 0.440 0.680
6 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:05.270 0.584 0.903
7 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:06.008 1.322 2.044
8 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 1:06.101 1.415 2.187
9 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 1:06.624 1.938 2.996
10 Charles Leclerc Ferrari – – –
11 Kevin Magnussen Haas/Ferrari 1:05.806 1.120 1.731
12 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:05.847 1.161 1.795
13 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:05.878 1.192 1.843
14 Yuki Tsunoda RB/Honda RBPT 1:05.960 1.274 1.970
15 Logan Sargeant Williams/Mercedes – – –
16 Daniel Ricciardo RB/Honda RBPT 1:06.581 1.895 2.930
17 Nico Hülkenberg Haas/Ferrari 1:06.583 1.897 2.933
18 Valtteri Bottas Sauber/Ferrari 1:06.725 2.039 3.152
19 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1:06.754 2.068 3.197
20 Zhou Guanyu Sauber/Ferrari 1:07.197 2.511 3.882 -
Verstappen holds off Norris to win Spanish GP; Hamilton takes first podium of the year
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen seized an early lead and held off a determined late-race charge from pole sitter Lando Norris to take a third consecutive Spanish Grand Prix win ahead of the McLaren driver, as Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton claimed his first podium of the year with third place.
Norris made a poor start from pole and though the lead was stolen by Mercedes’ George Russell in Turn 1, Verstappen quickly closed on and took the lead at the start of lap three. Norris slipped to third but charged back in the closing stages to beat both Mercedes and then put pressure on Verstappen in the final laps. The Dutchman was able to resist, however, and he crossed the line 2.2 seconds ahead of the McLaren man to take his seventh win of the season.
“Lando and McLaren were very, very quick today,” Verstappen admitted . “But I think we did everything well. We drove quite an aggressive strategy, and luckily it paid out till the end. It was quite close till the end, but very happy to win here.”
When the lights went out at the start, Verstappen made a good start from the clean side of the track, but as he powered towards Turn 1 he was squeezed towards the edge of track by Norris who got away badly. The tussle between the two allowed fourth-place starter George Russell to swoop around the outside of both to take the lead in Turn 1.
Verstappen reacted quickly and as Norris slipped to third, the Red Bull driver tucked in behind the Mercedes man and when DRS was activated the Red Bull drivers moved to the outside and swept past the Briton to take the lead. With the lead secured, Verstappen began to carve out a small gap and by lap 10 he was two seconds clear of Russell.
Russell was the first of the frontrunners to box at the end of lap 15 but the Mercedes driver’s switch to Mediums was slowed by a problem with the right rear wheel and he dropped to seventh place.
Verstappen made his first stop, also for Mediums, on lap 18 and after a 1.9s halt and he rejoined in fourth, behind Norris, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and the second McLaren of Oscar Piastri who had yet to stop. Verstappen quickly reeled in Piastri and on lap 21 he powered past the McLaren to take P3, just over seven seconds behind Leclerc.
Norris, though, was trying to eke out a tyre advantage over the Mercedes driver and Verstappen and when he pitted at the end of lap 24 for Medium tyres he emerged in P6 behind Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz. Leclerc was the last of the leaders to pit and once all the frontrunners settled into their second stint, Verstappen took the lead once more, almost six seconds clear of Russell, with Hamilton in third ahead of Sainz and Norris.
Norris had fresh tyres, however, and on lap 27 he used DRS to power past Sainz to take fourth place, nine seconds behind race leader Verstappen. The McLaren driver’s next target was Hamilton and he powered past the Mercedes under DRS on lap 32. Then after a lap-long battle with Russell on lap 35, Norris at last muscled his way through to take P2, nine seconds behind Verstappen.
Norris then began to close in on Verstappen, and as the race hit two thirds distance the gap shrank to below five seconds. The race leader made his second visit to the pit lane on lap 44 and after a good 2.8s switch for new Soft tyres Verstappen rejoined in third place, behind Leclerc.
Norris, in the lead and in clear air, was told it was his chance to build a gap and over the following laps the McLaren driver pushed his advantage over Verstappen to more than 17 seconds. The champion responded though and on lap 46 he pumped in a race fastest lap to stay in touch.
Norris made his final stop at the end of lap 47 and in a 3.6s stop he took on Soft tyres and as Verstappen swept back into the lead the McLaren driver just managed to stay ahead of the Mercedes cars to slot into second place, eight seconds behind race leader Verstappen.
Verstappen was told that the McLaren driver was “pushing hard, not saving tyres, all corners” and over the following two laps the gap between the leaders fell to 5.7 seconds and with 15 laps left Verstappen was told he needed to “push to the end”.
The champion responded and over the final 10 laps he did enough to keep Norris at bay and to take a controlled seventh win of the season, 2.2 seconds clear of the McLaren and with Hamilton a further 15 seconds back in third. Place.
Fourth place went to Russell, with Leclerc in fifth ahead of team-mate Sainz. Piastri took seventh in the second McLaren and after a three-stop race Sergio Pérez passed Pierre Gasly in the closing stages to take eighth place ahead of the Alpine driver and his team-mate Esteban Ocon.
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Lando Norris takes pole ahead of Max, Lewis: F1
Barcelona, 22 June 2024: Lando Norris beat F1 world championship leader Max Verstappen by the tiny margin of two hundredths of a second to take the second pole position of his career in qualifying for the 2024 FIA Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix. Behind the top two, Lewis Hamilton scored his best qualifying position since last year’s US Grand Prix with third place.
At the start of Q1 Sergio Pérez set the early pace thanks to a lap of 1:13.090, almost seven tenths of a second clear of RB’s Daniel Ricciardo. Verstappen then lowered the benchmark by another seven tenths as he claimed top spot with a lap of 1:12.306. The Red Bull drivers were then split by McLaren’s Oscar Piastri who took P2 five hundredths of a second ahead of Pérez. And then, as the opening sequence of runs came to an end, Verstappen was bumped out of P1 by Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc who took top spot just under five hundredths of a second ahead of the Dutchman.
In the final runs Of Q1 Leclerc, Verstappen, third-placed Norris and P4 driver Carlos Sainz stayed in their garages for the final flyers, but further back Pérez, who had dropped to P10 as better times came in was forced to make another attempt. His lap of 1:12.477 boosted him to P8 and into to Q2.Hamilton meanwhile, used his final flyer to good effect, claiming P1 with a lap of 1:12.143.
There was no place in Q2, however, for Haas’ Kevin Magnussen who was knocked out in P16 ahead of the RBs of Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo and the Williams cars of Alex Albon and Logan Sargeant.
At the start of Q2, Pérez was the first of the frontrunners across the line and once again he set the early benchmark, this time at 1:12.270. That was swiftly beaten by Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and by the McLaren pair of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, but it was Verstappen who put in the best opening time, with the title leader taking P1 thanks to a lap of 1:11.653, two tenths clear of Norris and third-placed Sainz. Piastri dropped to fourth ahead of Leclerc and Mercedes’ George Russell, while Pierre Gasly took seventh ahead of Pérez.
As the second runs got underway, Hamilton who had been languishing in P15 jumped to second place and when Kick Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas also jumped into the top 10, Pérez fell to P10 and was on the brink of exit. Once again, though, the Red Bull driver clawed his way forward and his final lap of 1:12.054 put him eighth ahead of the Alpines of Gasly and Esteban Ocon.
At the top of the order, Verstappen again sat out the final runs and this time the champion’s opening run time was good enough to hold onto top spot ahead of the Mercedes pair of Hamilton and George Russell.
Ruled out after Q2 were Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso in P11 followed by Bottas, Haas’ Nico Hülkenberg, the second Aston of Lance Stroll and the second Sauber of Zhou Guanyu.
In keeping with the rest of the session Pérez was out early in Q3, though this time on used Soft tyres. That meant his first time of Q3 was slower than his Q2 times and he ended the opening runs in P9.
Verstappen, though, was powering ahead and he set the benchmark at 1:11.673, a tenth ahead of Norris who was looking likeliest to challenge the Dutchman’s bid for a 40th career pole. The task looked daunting when Verstappen upped the pace even further in his final run and dropped the provisional pole time to 1:11.403. Norris was up to the challenge though and in the final seconds the McLaren driver found more pace to claw his way ahead of the champion by the tiny margin of two hundredths of a second.
“It was pretty much a perfect lap,” said Norris of his first pole since the 2021 Russian Grand Prix. “You know you’re on a good lap when you’re getting excited but the whole thing went perfectly in the end. So, close, still, but super, super happy. One of my, I’d say, my best pole positions. I’ve not had many but out of the ones I’ve had, my best.”
Verstappen was left with a 67th career front row ahead of the Mercedes cars of Hamilton and Russell. Leclerc was fifth for Ferrari ahead of team-mate Sainz, while Gasly took a welcome seventh for Alpine ahead of Pérez, Ocon and Piastri. However, with a three-place grid penalty from Canada coming his way for tomorrow, Pérez will starts the race in Barcelona from P11 on the grid.
2024 FIA Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix – Qualifying
1 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:11.383 – –
2 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:11.403 0.020 0.028
3 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:11.701 0.318 0.445
4 George Russell Mercedes 1:11.703 0.320 0.448
5 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:11.731 0.348 0.488
6 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1:11.736 0.353 0.495
7 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 1:11.857 0.474 0.664
8 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:12.061 0.678 0.950
9 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 1:12.125 0.742 1.039
10 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes – – –
11 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:12.128 0.745 1.044
12 Valtteri Bottas Sauber/Ferrari 1:12.227 0.844 1.182
13 Nico Hülkenberg Haas/Ferrari 1:12.310 0.927 1.299
14 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:12.372 0.989 1.385
15 Zhou Guanyu Sauber/Ferrari 1:12.738 1.355 1.898
16 Kevin Magnussen Haas/Ferrari 1:12.937 1.554 2.177
17 Yuki Tsunoda RB/Honda RBPT 1:12.985 1.602 2.244
18 Daniel Ricciardo RB/Honda RBPT 1:13.075 1.692 2.370
19 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1:13.153 1.770 2.480
20 Logan Sargeant Williams/Mercedes 1:13.509 2.126 2.978 -
Resilient Kush Maini takes second place in Sprint race
Barcelona, 22 June 2024: Vicor Martins was a comfortable Sprint Race winner in Barcelona, putting in a measured performance to earn his first victory of the 2024 season. The ART Grand Prix driver seized the lead at lights out and escaped into the distance for the win.
Kush Maini rebounded from a tough opening lap to secure second for Invicta Racing, while Juan Manuel Correa returned to the Formula 2 podium for the first time since 2019, taking third for DAMS Lucas Oil.
AS IT HAPPENED
Maini suffered wheelspin off the line from Pole and dropped to fourth while Martins profited to take the lead on the run to the first corner. Ritomo Miyata swept around the outside at Turn 1 to go from fourth to second, ahead of Correa and Maini.
Onto Lap 2 and Maini made a late dive to the inside of Correa at the opening corner to recover one position. Teammate Gabriel Bortoleto followed him through at Turn 4, going around the outside of the DAMS driver for fourth.
In the battle for seventh, Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Isack Hadjar fought hard early on, though the Campos Racing driver was unable to find a route through on the PREMA Racing talent.
By Lap 10, Martins was able to escape from DRS range of Miyata behind and led by 1.5s, while the Japanese driver held a 1.1s advantage over Maini in the podium places.
Antonelli had dropped out of DRS range to Paul Aron ahead and after a long time of trying, Hadjar finally cleared the PREMA driver into Turn 1 on Lap 12. Jak Crawford was opportunistic and capitalised, squeezing his way by into Turn 4 to take the final points-paying position in eighth from the Italian.
With 10 laps to go, track limits became a problem for Miyata, and the Rodin driver was assigned a five-second time penalty for one too many breaches. He earned a second time penalty in his struggle to remain ahead of Maini to bring that total up to 10-seconds with five laps remaining.
Further back, Hadjar lost seventh to Crawford as both DAMS cars looked to be taking better care of the tyres than those ahead. Correa was pressuring Bortoleto for the final podium place, but the Brazilian was able to fend him off to maintain position.
Onto the penultimate lap and a sizeable lock-up into Turn 5 was evidence of how hard Bortoleto was pushing to keep Correa behind. However, it gave the American a run into Turn 10 and after diving to the inside, he claimed fourth on the road.
Aron was next to clear Bortoleto, rounding the Invicta driver at Turn 3 on the final lap to take P5, as two corners later Crawford followed through to take sixth from him.
Martins though was untroubled in front to take his first F2 victory since Silverstone in 2023. Maini moved up to second and Correa was third with Miyata’s time penalties.
Aron was fourth ahead of Crawford, Bortoleto, Hadjar and Miyata, who was eighth in the end after his 10-seconds worth of penalties were applied, though he added the fastest lap point to his scoring result.
KEY QUOTE – Victor Martins, ART Grand Prix
“Today’s a win. A bit of a relief after the start of the season. I’m so happy for the ART team, they gave me a really good car today. We’ll keep working, we did everything right today but we’ll go back to work because tomorrow there are other opportunities in front of us, but this feels good. We need to appreciate this moment and work even harder to repeat this moment and get a few more.”
THE CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
Paul Aron remains in the lead of the Drivers’ Championship, adding five points to his tally to move onto 85 in first. Isack Hadjar is second, moving up onto 80 points with P7 in the Sprint. Zane Maloney remains in third on 69 with Dennis Hauger fourth on 56 points, and Gabriel Bortoleto rounds out the top five on 53 points.
In the Teams’ Standings Campos Racing have a six-point lead on 106 over Hitech Pulse-Eight in P2. Invicta Racing are third on 95 points, just one ahead of MP Motorsport in fourth. Rodin Motorsport round out the top five on 87 points.
UP NEXT
The FIA Formula 2 Feature Race is set to get underway around the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya at 11:35 local time with Paul Aron going from Pole Position.
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Kush Maini describes F1 test with Alpine as ‘a dream come true’
Bengaluru, 19 June 2024: Kush Maini says he loved every single second of his Formula 1 test with Alpine, driving their 2022-spec A522 in Spielberg earlier this month as part of their young driver test programme.
This was the Invicta Racing driver’s second test for the French outfit – having previously driven their 2021 car last year – but this was his first time in the current generation of ground effect cars.
It’s an occasion he will remember forever as when he reflected on the day, he admitted it was all yet to sink in.
“It was like a dream come true for me, something I’ve been working towards for a very long time,” Maini said. “To have been given the opportunity by Alpine is a dream come true and I really enjoyed every single second of it.
Gautam Maini hugs his son Kush, after the F1 test. Photo courtesy Gautam Maini .in “The car ran faultlessly through the day, we gathered loads of mileage and loads of data, so it’s still slowly sinking in that we drove in F1 but it’s just a very cool feeling.”
Kush Maini in action. Getty Images Talking through the preparations before getting into the car, Maini said: “F1 is very complex compared to a Formula 2 car, so there are lot more procedures to learn, a lot more things to keep in mind.
“So, I did seven days with Alpine on the sim, working with my engineer in the test as well so that I can get familiar with the whole team. Then we basically ran to our run plan in the sim so it’s basically doing it again in real life, so you feel a bit more comfortable.
“It can be a bit overwhelming at the start because there are so many things you have to think about, so it’s very important that those prep days with the team, they got me up to speed very quick and made me feel really comfortable.”
Maini also recalled his first push lap of the test with the immediate level of grip on offer a bit surprise to him, as well as the forces in the high-speed sections.
“It’s just so quick, so much grip,” said Maini. “It’s almost like the car is designed so well that everything works so well that whatever you want the car to do, it does, especially in the high speed.
“You almost think it’s impossible to take so much speed through a corner but then you finish the corner, and you are like I could have taken more speed. It’s trying to go quicker and quicker and quicker because the car can take it, it’s almost like the car is capable of doing anything.”
With the new Formula 2 car introduced this season to be more in line with the current generation of F1 machinery, Maini also explained how that helped him get up to speed quickly during the test.
He says the two cars have obvious differences but also some similarities, even giving a verdict on which is tougher to drive.
“I think obviously it is very different but the F2 car is very fast in the straights,” said Maini. “In the braking there is a lot more force that goes into your body, a lot more Gs in the F1 but I think the brake pedal in some ways can be a bit similar.
“Obviously, no power steering in the F2 car so the car is a bit trickier to drive than F1, so in that way it prepares you well. So, I feel I was quick straight away, so from the F2 car whatever I could take into the F1 car gave me confidence to get up to speed really quick.
“The F1 car is designed really well, and it’s designed to how you want it so it’s going to be easier and you’re going to feel more comfortable pushing it.”
Maini was speaking after jumping out of the simulator as part of his preparations for Barcelona, and while he is still on a high from the test, he is hoping that it will be the start of him getting his Formula 2 season back on track after a tough couple of rounds.
“The high is great but I am currently ninth in the Championship in F2 and it’s definitely not where we should be,” he said. “The last two rounds have been very tough, but the team and I have found out what happened and why we were off the pace.
“So, my whole focus is to get my season back on track and start putting in some solid results to get some solid points in the bag, that’s my only goal right now. I’m sure we can do it, I’m just coming off sim prep with the team, it’s nice to see everyone again.
“I’m feeling good but after a bad few weekends it’s tough to have a long break because you just want to get back, so happy that there is a back-to-back race. Three weekends on the trot, let’s see what we can do.”
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Sarthak Chavan wins a double; Shunted out in other race by teammate
Chennai, June 16: It was a day of the “double” at the Madras International Circuit here on Sunday as the first round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship 2024 concluded with the new generation of riders emerging to displace the old guard.
Teenager Sarthak Chavan (Pro-Stock 301-400cc Open), schoolgirl Rakshitha Dave (Girls, Stock 165cc), Abdul Basim (Novice, Stock 165cc), and Kaushik Subbiah Ganesan (Novice, Stock 301-400cc) won both races this weekend in their respective National Championship categories. Barring Pune’s Sarthak, the other three riders are from Chennai.
Sarthak Chavan, the 17-year-old prodigy, established himself as the top gun in the premier Pro-Stock 301-400cc Open class, winning both races over the weekend in an emphatic manner. Following home in P2 in both races was another 17-year-old, Chiranth Vishwanath from Bengaluru, who just couldn’t match Sarthak’s pace. The duo dominated both races leaving the rest to scrap for the other podium spot.
Sarthak, however, missed a possible win, despite starting P7 on the grid, in the other premier category, the Pro-Stock 165cc, when he crashed again after tangling with Chiranth when the two were fighting for 1-2 positions. The Pune youngster had crashed in Race-1 on Saturday when leading.
Though both Sarthak and Chiranth recovered to rejoin the race, veteran TVS Racing team-mates Jagan Kumar, KY Ahamed and Deepak Ravikumar made the best of the free space in front to finish in that order. For Jagan, a multiple National champion, it was his first win of the season after a barren 2023.
Chennai schoolgirl, 15-year-old Rakshitha Dave completed a fine double in the Girls (Stock 165cc) category. Having won Race-1 on Saturday, she extended her domination with a sweeping win in Race-2 today, virtually unchallenged.
Similarly, another Chennai teenager Abdul Basim (Rockers Racing) achieved a clean sweep in the Novice (Stock 165cc) category, winning Race-2 today with as much ease as in the previous outing on Saturday.
Later, another Chennai rider, Kaushik Subbaiah Ganesan also notched a double in the Stock 301-400cc (Novice) class with another fine ride starting from pole position.
Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup: Shyam Sundar (Chennai) came up with a fine ride to win the NSF 250R race after starting from P4 on the grid. He cut through the front-runners to top the six-lapper with Mohsin Paramban (Mallappuram) yet again finishing second, but ahead of yesterday’s Race-1 winner, Rakshith Dave (Chennai).
TVS One-Make Championship: Senthilkumar C (Coimbatore) enjoyed a fruitful weekend as he won both the races in the Apache RR 310 category. Having won Saturday’s Race-1, Senthilkumar displayed relentless pace in topping today’s Race-2 ahead of two Chennai riders, Manoj Yesuadian and Jayanth P.
Bengaluru’s Harshith V Bogar continued to dominate the Rookie category as he finished the weekend with a double by winning Race-2 today on the back of his triumph in the previous outing on Saturday. CS Kedarnath (Tirupati) scrambled to second place while Saranjith KM (Thrissur) finished third.
Earlier, Pune’s Sarthak topped the TVS Electric RTE race quite comfortably with his arch-rival Chiranth Vishwanath finishing second and Chennai’s Alwyn Sundar third.
The results (Provisional – all 6 laps unless mentioned):
National Championship – Pro-Stock 301-400cc Open (Race-2): 1. Sarthak Chavan (Pune,TVS Racing) (11mins, 16.788secs); 2. Chiranth Vishwanath (Bengaluru, TVS Racing) (11:17.567); 3. Alwyn Sundar A (Chennai, Gusto Racing) (11:27.870).
Pro-Stock 165cc Open (Race-2):1. Jagan Kumar (Chennai, TVS Racing) (12:10.176); 2. Ahamad KY (Chennai, TVS Racing) (12:18.302); 3. Deepak Ravikumar (Chennai, TVS Racing) (12:18.611).
Novice (Stock 165cc) Race-2: 1. Abdul Basim RS (Chennai, Rockers Racing) (13:02.075); 2. Kamal Navas (Chennai, One Racing) (13:08.162); 3. Abhinav G (Coimbatore, Chandra LGE Racing team) (13:08.772).
Girls (Stock 165cc) Race-2 (5 laps): 1. Rakshitha S Dave (Chennai, RACR Castrol Power 1 Ultimate) (10:58.378); 2. Ryhana Bee (Chennai, Motul Sparks Racing) (11:01.284); 3. Jagathishree Kumaresan (Chennai, One Racing) (11:02.400).
Novice (Stock 301-400cc) Race-2: 1. Kaushik Subbiah Ganesan (Chennai, RACR Castrol Power 1 Ultimate) (12:21.760); 2. Aldrin Babu (Chalakudy, RACR Castrol Power 1 Ultimate) (12:28.689); 3. Varun Patil (Bengaluru, Pvt.) (12:29.355).
Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup: NSF 250 R (Race-2) (3 laps): 1. Shyam Sundar (Chennai) (05:46.716); 2. Mohsin Paramban (Mallapuram) (05:47.106); 3. Rakshit S Dave (Chennai) (05: 47.806).
TVS One-Make Championship – Open (Apache RR 310): 1. Senthilkumar C (Coimbatore) (11:52.043); 2. Manoj Yesuadian (Chennai) (11:55.840); 3.Jayanth P (Chennai) (11:58.264).
Rookie (Apache RTR 200) Race 2: 1. Harshit V Bogar (Bengaluru) (13:26.291); 2. CS Kedarnadh (Tirupati) (13:26.499); 3. Saranjith KM (Thrissur) (13:41.518).
TVS Electric RTE (4 laps): 1. Sarthak Chavan (Pune) (07:26.459); 2. Chiranth Vishwanath (Bengaluru) (07:28377); 3. Alwyn Sundar A (Chennai) (07:34.190).
Media (Apache RTR 200) (5 laps): 1. Karan Mathur (Gurugram, Auto X) (11:31.475); 2. Praveen Kumar (Chennai, Rev Nitro) (11:31.869); 3. Akash Bhadra (Mumbai, Topgear) (11:34.008).
