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Canadian GP: Verstappen stays on top in FP2 from Ferrari pair
Red Bulls’ Max Verstappen stayed on top in FP2 of F1 Canadian GP with Ferrari pair of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz slotting behind him.
Rain pretty much stayed away from FP2 of F1 Canadian GP, as Red Bull’s Verstappen stayed on top with a 1m14.127s lap where he was only 0.081s faster than Ferrari’s Leclerc (1m14.208s) as his teammate Sainz (1m14.352s) slotted in third.
The midfield was tasty with Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel (1m14.442s) slotting in fourth from Alpine’s Fernando Alonso (1m14.543s) and AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly (1m14.879s), where Mercedes’ George Russell (1m14.971s) was seventh and McLaren’s Lando Norris (1m14.987s) eighth.
From third to eighth, it was six drivers from six different teams as McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo (1m15.033s) and Alpine’s Esteban Ocon (1m15.119s) rounded out the Top 10. The Frenchman showing some pace in FP2 after brake issues he faced in FP1.
Among the Top 10, both Vettel and Gasly are to visit the stewards after failing to go to the left of the orange box at Turn 14 when they missed the corner. Also, Vettel and has been summoned for unsafe release against Haas’ Kevin Magnussen.
While Red Bull’s Verstappen headed the standings, a different set-up for Sergio Perez saw him only 11th with an obvious disappointment. In that list was Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton as well in 13th behind Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll.
The Haas pair did goodish in 14th and 15th with Magnussen ahead of Mick Schumacher, while Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu was 16th from AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda. The Williams pair of Alexnader Albon and Nicholas Latifi were 18th and 19th.
That was it from the drivers with Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas unable to set a time after facing anti-stall issues. The team tried to fix it and send him out, but he had troubled downshifting. The session saw one Virtual Safety Car moment when a trash can rolled over on the circuit as the likes of Leclerc, Ricciardo, Vettel and more had few moments.
UPDATE: Leclerc gets a 10-place grid penalty after he took a third CE for the weekend. As per Sky Sports F1, the Monegasque is likely to take a fourth ICE to put it into the pool. He has already taken a third ICE for FP1 and FP2 and is likely to take fourth one for FP3.
UPDATE 2: Stroll, Gasly and Vettel were handed a reprimand for driving for failing to adhere to the FIA Race Directors’ note.
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Canadian GP: Verstappen quickest in FP1 from Sainz, Alonso
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was fastest in FP1 of F1 Canadian GP with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz in second and Alpine’s Fernando Alonso third.
It was relatively sedate FP1 session in F1 Canadian GP as Red Bull’s Verstappen headed the standings with a 1m15.158s lap despite having some issue with roll bar during the session. Ferrari’s Sainz was second with a 1m15.404s lap on the soft compound.
Alpine’s Alonso (1m15.531s) slotted in third on the medium tyres as Red Bull’s Sergio Perez (1m15.619s) was fourth from Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc (1m15.666s) who escaped any penalties in Canada at least. Mercedes’ George Russell (1m15.822s) put in a late lap to be sixth.
His teammate Lewis Hamilton (1m15.877s) was eighth behind Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll (1m15.877s) whereas his teammate Sebastian Vettel (1m16.041s) was ninth. The German had a moment at Turn 1 but both the Aston Martin cars looked to be in a better shape at Montreal.
McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo (1m16.083s) rounded out the Top 10, with Lando Norris in 12th where his session ended early after the team spotted a problem in his car which couldn’t be fixed on time in FP1. AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly was ahead of him in 11th.
Williams’ Alexander Albon did well in 13th with AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda in 14th. The Japanese driver was the sole to have a brush with the wall at Turn 4, as Alpine’s Esteban Ocon in 15th where his session was affected by front-right brake issues.
The Alfa Romeo pair of Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu ended up in 16th and 17th, with Haas’ Mick Schumacher in 18th, Williams’ Nicholas Latifi 19th and Haas’ Kevin Magnussen 20th.
Away from the session, the FIA shared the power unit elements list where Leclerc, Ocon and Magnussen took their third ICE with Tsunoda taking his fourth of the season. In terms of TC, Ocon and Magnussen took their third while Tsunoda took his fourth.
The MGU-H scene saw Leclerc, Ocon and Magnussen taking their third with Tsunoda taking his fourth. As for MGU-K, Leclerc and Ocon took their third and Tsunoda taking his fourth, with the Japanese driver also taking his second ES of the season.
And finally, the CE list saw Leclerc, Tsunoda, Stroll and Latifi take their second. While Leclerc escaped penalty, Tsunoda will have to start the F1 Canadian GP from the back after taking his fourth element for multiple parts.
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Racing Promotions to promote F4 and Indian Racing Festival
Mumbai, 17 June 2022: Powered by a vision to revive motor-sports in India, Indian motorsports company, Racing Promotions Pvt Ltd (RPPL)today announced the debut of the Indian Racing Festival. The festival which will bring in multiple franchise into the format will enthrall the audience on weekends in multiple cities including all kinds of exciting racing tracks and even a street circuit. The festival will begin from the weekend of November 11th and run every weekend until the weekend of December 10th across 5 weekends across multi-city locations including the former F1 track at BIC Greater Noida, the debut of the India’s first street track at Hyderabad, Coimbatore and MMRT Chennai.
The Indian Racing Festival RPPL will host 3 race events – Formula Regional Indian championship, Formula 4 Indian Championship and the Indian Racing League. Formula Regional Indian championship and the F4 Indian championships will be certified by the FIA; championship winners will be awarded FIA Super License points. However, these three championships are not the only ones on the horizon. RPPL has great intentions to establish racing infrastructure and begin developing talent from the ground up!
Details for the racing events are mentioned below –Races/Events Date Venue Formula Regional + F4 Indian + IRL (pre-season testing) 8 – 10 November BIC Greater Noida Formula Regional + F4 Indian + Indian Racing League 11 – 13 November BIC Greater Noida Formula Regional + F4 Indian + Indian Racing League 19 – 20 November Hyderabad Formula Regional + F4 Indian + Indian Racing League 25 – 27 November Coimbatore Formula Regional + F4 Indian + Indian Racing League 2- 4 December MMRT – Chennai Formula Regional + F4 Indian + Indian Racing League 10 – 11 December Hyderabad Akhilesh Reddy, Director MEIL and Chairman, RPPL (Racing Promotions Pvt Ltd) says, “Our ambition for the Indian Racing Festival is to put India back on the map of motorsports and to provide opportunities for young Indian racing drivers to take up the sport more seriously by providing them with a platform to advance to the top right in their own hometown. We are pleased to have drivers like Aditya Patel and Armaan Ebrahim in our team to guide us, we are also planning to reach out to various colleges as well to promote the sport. Indian Racing Festival featuring Formula Regional Indian championship, Formula 4 Indian Championship and the Indian Racing League, will attract the international racing fraternity to India, and subsequently, suppliers to the global auto-racing industry. Racing Promotions’ vision and initiatives in Formula Regional and F4 are steppingstones towards taking an all-Indian team to F1 in the next 5-7 years and an all-Indian women’s team to F2 in the next 10-12 years.”
The representatives of Indian Racing Festival attended the UK based GB3, GB4 and the British F4 championship and there are further plans to promote the Indian Racing Festival at prominent motorsports events around the world including becoming the first Indian registered company to exhibit at the mecca of motorsport -Goodwood Festival of Speed event in the UK. The team will also be in attendance at European events such as the Spanish F4, Formula Regional Europe championship by Alpine, Italian F4, French F4, German F4, FIA CIK event and ACCR F4.
The distinction of Indian racing will rise in the global rankings by holding not one, but two FIA sanctioned championships, which will attract spectators and contribute to economic success over the following 4-5 years.
About RPPL
Racing Promotions Pvt Ltd (RPPL) is owned by two multi-billion-dollar businesses MEIL and Gadhoke Group. In 2021, Indian racers Aditya and Armaan, along with their partners at RPPL- with Akhil Reddy as the Chairman, launched the Formula Regional Indian Championship as well as the F4 Indian Championship that will run along with the all new Indian Festival League in 2022 across 4 cities over 5 weekends.
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Gaurav Gill gets WRC2 outing for 2022 Safari Rally
India’s decorated rally driver and Arjuna Awardee Gaurav Gill on Wednesday announced his return to the World Rally Championship (WRC) 2022 after a two-year hiatus.
The three-time APRC (Asia Pacific Rally Championship) champion and a seven-time INRC (Indian National Rally Championship) champion will take part in the WRC Safari Rally in Kenya scheduled from June 23 to 26.
The 40-year-old will be driving the Skoda Fabia R5 in WRC 2, a car he is familiar with, with Brazilian co-driver Gabriel Morales. Touted as one of the most challenging rallies on the WRC calendar, the Safari features 19 special stages covering almost 365km of competition crossing challenging closed dirt roads, rocky and rutted tracks and unpredictable weather which can transform dry and dusty trails into muddy bogs.
Gill’s last outing in WRC 2 was pre-pandemic in 2019 in Rally of Turkey where despite missing out on completing his tryst with victory, he won a lot of praise for his commendable drive by the fraternity. His outing in Rally of Australia came to a halt as the event was cancelled last minute due to the raging fire in the forest stages around the city of Coffs Coast, New South Wales.
“I am excited to return to WRC after a hiatus of over two years. I have utilized these two years of pandemic to reflect on my previous participations and have worked on improving my fitness and performance holistically while engaging in various top end activities besides National Rally championship. I am thankful to JK Tyre Motorsports for their support and I am optimistic of claiming good results for the country and the team,” Gill said.
JK Tyre also announced a scholarship program of 300,000 Euros which will be utilized to promote upcoming talent who have proved their mettle on the domestic circuit. “Up to five young talented athletes including a girl athlete from across verticals of motorsport will be identified to avail the scholarship,” said the company in a statement.
The first one to be part of it is India’s rising racing star, 17-year-old Amir Sayed from Kottyam, who proved his mettle and became the JK Tyre Novice Cup Champion in 2020 by winning all the 12 races of the season in his category. Amir is in the French F4 Championship this year.
Sanjay Sharma, Head of Motorsports, JK Tyre said: “With an aim to give the young talent the much-needed push, we have announced this scholarship program which will select kids from across categories and provide them a chance to bring in laurels by representing the nation at international platforms.
[Note: The above is from PTI]
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FMSCI honours 2021 champions as it hints on international events
Plans are afoot to bring a round of the MotoGP and Formula-E World championships to India, and discussions on this front are in progress, according to Akbar Ebrahim, President, Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI).
In his keynote address at the Fmsci Annual Awards function to honour all the 2021 National champions, here today, Ebrahim also announced that Chennai would be venue for a round of the FIA World Rally Star (17-26 age group) in September, and to be organised by the Madras Motor Sports Club.
“We are also working towards getting a round of MotoGP and the Formula-E to India. The Formula-E is likely to be held on a street circuit in Hyderabad.
As regards the FIA Rally Star, it is a gateway to youngsters targeting the World Rally Championship.
“Further, India has joined the FIM’s Road to MotoGP programme through the World MiniGP championship which is restricted to those in the 10-14 years age group. Dorna Sports, promoters of MotoGP, and Italian bike manufacturer Ohvale are actively involved in the programme. The first of the five rounds will be held in July this year. At the end of the Indian series, the top two riders will qualify for the World Finals in Spain,” Ebrahim said.
Ebrahim also pointed out that India was among the few nations in the World to conduct as many as nine National Championships across two and four-wheelers, despite the pandemic. “Fmsci thanks all the stakeholders, organisers, officials and especially the competitors, for their participation in the past two years,” he said.
“We survived two challenging years due to the pandemic. Yet, Fmsci is among few motorsports Federations globally to conduct nine National championships during those difficult times.
“Leading the federation in its 50th year is a proud and memorable achievement. We speak less but we are doing a lot of work and both the footfalls and eyeball hits for motorsports have increased tremendously,” he added.
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Glittering stars to descend on Channai for fmsci 2021 Awards gala
Chennai, June 14: After a two-year break due to the pandemic, the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (Fmsci), the National governing body for the sport, will be hosting their annual Awards gala at the Crowne Plaza hotel, here on Wednesday, June 15.
The awards function will bring together all the 2021 National champions in various formats of motorsport besides a host of aficionados and special invitees.
Mr. P Kandaswamy, Director General of Police, and Director, Directorate Vigilance & Anti-Corruption, is the chief guest at the function.
At the Awards function, the Fmsci will also honour the teams, besides promoters and sponsors involved in the sport.
“Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, we could not run the full bouquet of National Championship events across various formats. However, motorsport has bounced back this season which should see a busy period of activities. Despite the many challenges they faced due to the pandemic, the response from the competitors has been heartening and the Fmsci thanks them for their participation.
“Having said that, our thanks also go out to the promoters, organizers, sponsors, Media, volunteers and officials, and all the sporting and technical commissions for their support and involvement,” said FMSCI president Akbar Ebrahim.
The programme commences at 11:30 am with a “Meet and Greet” session followed by lunch and the Awards ceremony.
About the FMSCI
The Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (Fmsci) was founded in the year 1971 and was registered as a Private Limited Non-Profit Company in 1973. It became affiliated to Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) in 1979 and to the Federation Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) in 1986. Fifteen years after its inception, the FMSCI was recognised by the Government of India as the sole authority to control and conduct Motor Sport events in India. It is also recognised by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MYAS).
The FMSCI is the affiliated National Sporting Authority (ASN) of the International federations for 4-wheeler and National Motorcycle Federations (FMN) of the 2-wheeler motorsports viz. the FIA, headquartered at Paris, and the FIM, headquartered at Switzerland. It is also a part of the FIA Commission Internationale de Karting (CIK or CIK-FIA) which is the primary international sanctioning body for Karting.
The FMSCI has a wide, pan-India base of affiliated member clubs totalling 48 currently.
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Azerbaijan GP: Verstappen wins in Red Bull 1-2 after Ferrari’s disaster
Red Bull ended up 1-2 with Max Verstappen winning F1 Azerbaijan GP from Sergio Perez after Ferrari disaster, as Mercedes’ George Russell was third.
It wasn’t the best of the after start from pole-sitter Charles Leclerc in his Ferrari as a lock-up allowed Red Bull’s Sergio Perez to take the lead in F1 Azerbaijan GP. Teammate Max Verstappen got stuck between the two to remain third from Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz.
Mercedes’ George Russell steadied in fifth from AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly and Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton, as Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel gained a place on AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda to be eighth, with Alpine’s Fernando Alonso in 10th.
Williams’ Nicholas Latifi, meanwhile, was handed a 10s stop and go penalty as a mechanic was found to be pushing the car on the grid beyond the stipulated time. He was forced to take the penalty in the early stages when there was no need of a tyre change.
As the race started to settle in, Sainz’s wretched luck continued on as his Ferrari died at Turn 3-4 sequence. This caused a Virtual Safety Car period which pushed multiple drivers to pit with Leclerc taking a gamble, but lost some time in a slow stop.
Both the Mercedes and AlphaTauri cars stopped too as the double stack for Hamilton dropped him behind Vettel who gained a place on the Brit in the pits. The Top 10 also featured McLaren’s Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo but team orders talk on.
Ricciardo was on the hard tyres with more pace than Norris, but McLaren asked the Australian to maintain track position. They were sixth and seventh without pitting as Alonso was ahead of them in fifth with Russell slotting in a solid fourth.
Perez continued to lead from Verstappen and Leclerc at the front, as Gasly was eighth behind the McLaren drivers. Alpine’s Esteban Ocon in ninth slowed Vettel and Hamilton, with the German chasing the Frenchman for couple of laps.
He made it through going into Turn 2 but he couldn’t stop the corner to lose out to Hamilton and even Tsunoda. The Brit then started his chase of Ocon as they re-united again after the Monaco tussle, with the Frenchman still to stop.
At the front, Verstappen gained on Perez and passed him for the lead with the Mexican losing pace after his initial stint. He stopped straight up but it was a slow stop and he almost was caught by Russell. He managed to keep him behind though.
Few laps later, Verstappen pitted to come behind Leclerc and ahead of Perez in the Top 3. Russell steadied in fourth as Norris headed Ricciardo and Gasly in the fight for fifth after Alonso stopped. The McLaren drivers were still to pit in this situation.
Hamilton, meanwhile, got ahead of Ocon with the Frenchman having Tsunoda and Vettel on his tail. But the grand prix’s complexion changed after an engine blow out for Leclerc which left Ferrari with a double DNF after Sainz’s hydraulics issue.
With Red Bull 1-2, they were in prime position to extend their lead, as Russell moved up to third. After Norris pitted with Leclerc had the engine issue, Ricciardo moved to fourth but not for long as Gasly eventually passed him to take fourth.
Ricciardo steadied in fifth from Hamilton as Tsunoda cleared Ocon for seventh with Vettel chasing him soon. Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu was up to 10th but a suspected issue forced him retire yet again, which pushed Haas’ Kevin Magnussen in 10th.
In his chase of Ocon, Magnussen’s race ended with another Ferrari engine problem as VSC was deployed after he stopped on track. The Red Bull pair stopped along with Mercedes and Ricciardo in the Top 10. Hamilton was the driver to lose out to Tsunoda.
Ricciardo dropped back too but was in points in ninth and joined ahead of his teammate Norris in 10th with Ocon dropping to 11th. Hamilton didn’t waste much of his time after re-start, as he quickly cleared Tsunoda in his chase for Gasly.
The Japanese driver’s day almost ended after his DRS flap was broken. The team pitted him and used duct tape to close the flap and not use it. This dropped him to outside of the Top 10, with Ocon moving into 10th but long way off from the McLaren pair.
At the front, Verstappen stretched a good lead and was asked not to use the DRS, with Perez long way from Russell. Behind them, Gasly came under pressure from Hamilton and eventually passed him for fourth as Vettel was long way behind in sixth.
Alonso steadied in seventh as Ricciardo dropped off but Norris behind him gained on his teammate. The McLaren chatter continued on the radio about team orders, with the Spaniard enjoying it out in front away from all this.
Latifi was handed a 5s penalty for ignoring blue flags, as Aston Martin pulled in Lance Stroll to retire due to engine issue. At the front, Verstappen cruised to F1 Azerbaijan GP win from Perez, who ended up second with the fastest lap in Red Bull 1-2.
Russell took another podium in third with Hamilton ending up fourth despite his back problem. Gasly took a fine fifth from Vettel as Alonso was seventh with Ricciardo eighth after Norris was told to hold position in ninth from Ocon.
Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas was 11th with Williams’ Alexander Albon behind him in 12th, Tsunoda 13th, Haas’ Mick Schumacher 14th and Latifi in 15th – where everyone from 11th until the last ended up a lap down on the leaders.
DNF: Stroll, Magnussen, Zhou, Leclerc, Sainz.
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Azerbaijan GP: Leclerc storms to pole from Red Bull pair
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc took F1 Azerbaijan GP pole from Red Bull pair of Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen in an intense qualifying.
Q1:
After FP3 was delayed, the start of F1 Azerbaijan GP was delayed too for the two hours mark to be fulfilled. It was a traffic jam to get out as a pit incident involving Haas pair was noted to be investigated after the session by the FIA stewards.
There was incidents involving both the Aston Martin cars with Sebastian Vettel having an early off, but teammate Lance Stroll had two. At the right-hander, the car didn’t turn at all as he managed to continue on after reversing without any major damage.
The tyres were flat-spotted certainly which led to another bigger incident at Turn 2, this time at the left-hander where he just rammed onto the barrier. It brought out the red flag with about two and a half minutes to go for others to make it out.
On-track, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen set the pace with a 1m42.722s from teammate Sergio Perez as Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was third. The re-start was mayhem on out lap with everyone trying to outdo each other to make it on time.
Everyone did make it but some of them couldn’t generate enough temperature to attack the lap. While the AlphaTauri duo got into the Top 10, Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas made it into Q2 from the knockout zone, with Haas’ Kevin Magnussen (1m44.643s) in 16th.
Williams’ Alexander Albon (1m44.719s) was 17th in the end but he was pissed about the tactics from Alpine’s Fernando Alonso, who went off in the left-hander. Nicholas Latifi (1m45.367s) was behind him in 18th with Stroll (1m45.371s) and Haas’ Mick Schumacher (1m5.775s) rounding the 20 drivers.
Q2:
The second part in F1 Azerbaijan GP qualifying was close between the Red Bull and Ferrari pair at the front, but for Aston Martin’s Vettel, it was another moment at the left-hander where the car seemingly didn’t turn with a BBW fail message on the dash.
The stewards, meanwhile, put Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton under investigation for driving unnecessarily slowly at Turn 12. There was an off moment for AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda at Turn 2, while McLaren’s Lando Norris having one at Turn 15.
Replays showed Tsunoda having a minor wall brush, as Red Bull’s Perez set the pace with a 1m41.955s lap from the Ferrari pair of Leclerc and Carlos Sainz. The lap where the Mexican went fastest saw a minor brush with the wall but he managed to continue on.
It wasn’t a good end for the McLaren pair with Norris (1m43.398s) ending up only 11th, missing the Top 10 by 0.022s, with Daniel Ricciardo (1m43.574s) behind him in 12th. Alpine’s Esteban Ocon (1m43.585s) was 13th with Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu (1m43.790s) in 14th and Bottas (1m44.444s) in 15th.
Q3:
The third part in F1 Azerbaijan GP qualifying started off interestingly as the two Ferrari cars led the Red Bull pair, where Sainz headed Leclerc by 0.047s in provisional pole position. Perez slotted in third despite a wall brush with Verstappen in fourth.
The best of the rest spot was with AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly, as he headed Mercedes’ George Russell. The second run saw no improvement from Sainz which dropped him to fourth after his initial lap of 1m41.814s in the first run.
But teammate Leclerc smashed himself to F1 Azerbaijan GP pole with a 1m41.359s lap as a last lap dash from Red Bull’s Perez put him in second with a 1m41.641s lap which was enough to beat his teammate Verstappen (1m41.706s) in a straight fight.
Russell (1m42.712s) managed to take fifth from Gasly (1m42.845s), as Hamilton (1m2.924s) put himself in seventh from Tsunoda (1m43.056s), Vettel (1m43.091s) and Alonso (1m43.173s) in the Top 10.
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Jehan Daruvala takes a creditable 2nd, misses win by a whisker
BAKU, 11 June 2022: Indian racer Jehan Daruvala came within half a second of his first Formula 2 win of the season in the Azerbaijan round’s Sprint race on Saturday.
The Red Bull-backed Prema driver crossed the line just 0.380 seconds behind ART’s Frederik Vesti at the end of a safety car-disrupted race.
The 23-year-old started third and, having vaulted into the lead with a masterful display of race craft at the start was on course for a dominant win around the unforgiving streets of Baku.
He had even kept the lead through the first of three safety car periods, which wiped out his 4-second advantage. But a slight lock up on cold brakes at the second safety car restart allowed Vesti to slip past just three laps from the finish.
Jehan said, “I would be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed but I’m still happy with the race I did. I had a great start, had everything under control and felt I deserved the win. It’s a shame to miss out by such a narrow margin but we’ll take the positives from this and now focus on Sunday’s feature race.”
Saturday’s second-place finish was Jehan’s fifth from six rounds this season and 12th overall in Formula 2. It is also the fourth time this season that he has finished in the runner-up spot and keeps him third in the overall drivers’ standings.
Jehan, a three-time Formula 2 winner, will get another shot at scoring a strong result on Sunday when he lines up for the longer Feature race ahead of the Azerbaijan Formula One Grand Prix.
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Azerbaijan GP: Perez back on top in FP3 from Leclerc, Verstappen
Red Bull’s Sergio Perez ended up fastest in FP3 of F1 Azerbaijan GP with Max Verstappen in third behind Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
There was a delay to start the FP3 session in F1 Azerbaijan GP due to barrier repair after a late crash in F2. It started 15 minutes later and was much smoother than FP1 and FP2 where there were multiple offs and wall brush moments as well.
Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton was the one to go slightly off at Turn 1 as he and George Russell struggled with rear grip. There was a late off for Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas too which hampered the first fast lap of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
He ended up third with a 1m43.449s lap as teammate Sergio Perez set the pace in FP3 of F1 Azerbaijan GP with a 1m43.170s lap with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc (1m43.240s) behind him in second. The Monegasque had a late off moment as well where he crashed last year.
Teammate Carlos Sainz (1m43.596s) slotted in fourth from the McLaren pair of Lando Norris (1m44.418s) and Daniel Ricciardo (1m44.476s) with the two having a good run after a tough Friday. A late lap by ALphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly (1m44.491s) put him in seventh.
Mercedes’ Russell (1m44.573s) was only eighth with Alpine’s Esteban Ocon (1m44.685s) in ninth from Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel (1m44.689s) in the Top 10. The Frenchman was in the line fire when Verstappen tried to go for a late lap but was hampered by him.
Teammate Fernando Alonso did a late lap to 11th pushing Mercedes’ Hamilton to 12th where the team lowered the engine power due to mileage trouble. Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll was 13th from Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu who beat his teammate.
Haas’ Kevin Magnussen was 15th – who took his third MGU-K – from AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda, with Williams’ Alexander Albon in 17th from Haas’ Mick Schumacher, Alfa Romeo’s Bottas and Williams’ Nicholas Latifi to round out the 20 drivers.
