INDIA in F1

Tag: Alex Albon

  • Max Verstappen tops FP1 ahead of Alex Albon

    Max Verstappen tops FP1 ahead of Alex Albon

    Istanbul, 13 Nov 2020: Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen topped the opening practice session for this weekend’s FIA Formula 1 Turkish Grand Prix, with the Dutch driver beating team-mate Alex Albon by more than two-tenths of a second in a session defined by the slippery nature of the recently re-surfaced Istanbul Park circuit. 

    Verstappen’s timesheet-topping lap of 1:35.077 was a full 10 seconds slower than the pole lap time set by Sebastian Vettel when F1 last visited Istanbul in 2011.

    Roberts test positive: Meanwhile, FIA and Formula 1 announced that Williams Acting Team Principal Simon Roberts has tested positive for COVID-19 prior to travelling to Istanbul for this weekend’s Turkish Grand Prix. 

    Simon returned a negative test on Monday during the team’s regular COVID testing schedule, however after displaying minor symptoms he underwent a further test this morning which returned a positive result and is now isolating for the required 10-day period as per UK national guidelines. Simon has not been in close contact with any other members of the Williams Racing team, and the team will continue to operate trackside as planned.

    Red flags begin FP 1: The treacherous conditions were revealed as soon as cars left the pit lane with drivers slithering around through the opening corners. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc then brought out the red flags when he slid wide ion the final corner and knocked over a bollard marking the pit lane entrance. 

    The collision exposed bolts on the track and there was a brief delay while the bollard was replaced. 

    Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas was the first to find some real grip on the surface and he steadily chipped away at the P1 time before reaching 1:43.009 a third of the way through the session. 

    Verstappen then went quickest with a hard-tyre lap of 1:42.753s and then dropped the benchmark to 1:41.741 before Bottas re-took top spot with a lap of 1:39.204 just before the hour mark. Verstappen then improved again to 1:37.151s. 

    The Red Bull driver held top spot for some time until he was dropped back Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel, who set a time of 1:36.085. Team-mate Charles Leclerc then took P2 

    Verstappen’s team-mate Albon went quickest as the final five minutes of the session arrived, setting a lap of 1:35.318s on hard compound tyres but Verstappen was not to be denied and three minutes later he claimed P1 with his lap of 1:35.077. 

    Albon held P2 at the flag ahead of Leclerc, while AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly took fourth place on medium tyres. Vettel finished fifth ahead of the second Alpha Tauri of Daniil Kvyat, McLaren’s Lando Norris and the Alfa Romeo of Antonio Giovinazzi. Ninth place went to Bottas, with Esteban Ocon 10th, while championship leader Lewis Hamilton finished 15th after only setting times in the final 20 minutes of the session. 

    2020 FIA Formula 1 Turkish Grand Prix – Free Practice 1
    1 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda 1:35.077 29 202.118
    2 Alexander Albon Red Bull/Honda 1:35.318 0.241 27 201.607
    3 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:35.507 0.430 26 201.208
    4 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri/Honda 1:35.543 0.466 26 201.132
    5 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:35.620 0.543 29 200.970
    6 Daniil Kvyat AlphaTauri/Honda 1:36.738 1.661 27 198.647
    7 Lando Norris McLaren/Renault 1:37.216 2.139 21 197.671
    8 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1:37.503 2.426 21 197.089
    9 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:37.629 2.552 23 196.834
    10 Esteban Ocon Renault 1:38.428 3.351 23 195.237
    11 Nicholas Latifi Williams/Mercedes 1:38.508 3.431 18 195.078
    12 Sergio Pérez Racing Point/Mercedes 1:38.612 3.535 22 194.872
    13 Lance Stroll Racing Point/Mercedes 1:39.484 4.407 21 193.164
    14 Romain Grosjean Haas/Ferrari 1:40.025 4.948 25 192.119
    15 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:40.225 5.148 12 191.736
    16 Kimi Räikkönen Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1:41.035 5.958 23 190.199
    17 Kevin Magnussen Haas/Ferrari 1:41.854 6.777 21 188.670
    18 Daniel Ricciardo Renault 1:45.156 10.079 20 182.745
    19 Carlos Sainz McLaren/Renault 1:46.462 11.385 12 180.503
    20 George Russell Williams/Mercedes 1:49.256 14.179 17 175.887

  • Lance Stroll tops FP2; Albon crashes; Hulk 7th fastest

    Lance Stroll tops FP2; Albon crashes; Hulk 7th fastest

    Silverstone, 31 July 2020: Racing Point’s Lance Stroll set the pace in the second practice session ahead of Sunday’s FIA Formula 1 British Grand Prix. The Canadian eclipsed Red Bull Racing’s Alex Albon by just under a tenth of a second. There was trouble for Albon, however, with the Thai driver crashing out soon after his qualifying run. 

    Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc led the way on medium compound tyres in the initial stages of the session with a lap of 1:28.773s on the medium rubber but he was soon pushed out of top spot by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and by Albon who were also running mediums. Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas then moved clear on medium tyres with a lap of 1:27.731s.

    The switch to soft tyres for qualifying runs began shortly before the halfway point of the 90-minute session, with Albon one of the first out on track on the red-banded compound. He swiftly moved back to the top of the order with a lap of 1:27.363.

    However, Stroll then edged him out with a lap of 1:27.274. Verstappen might have beaten both but on midway through his soft tyre run he came across Grosjean in the middle of track through Maggots/Becketts. Verstappen was forced to abandon his lap. 

    Bottas and team-mate Lewis Hamilton then bolted on soft tyres but could not match Stroll or Albon, with Bottas taking third, 0.157 off top spot, and Hamilton a further 0.15 behind.

    The session was then red-flagged when Albon lost the rear of his RB16 midway through Stowe corner and slid hard into the barriers. The impact heavily damaged the rear and left-hand side of the car and brought out the red flags. 

    Carlos Sainz finished sixth ahead of Nico Hulkenberg, who finished 0.636s off his new team-mate. Pierre Gasly took eighth for AlphaTauri, with Daniel Ricciardo and Kimi Räikkönen rounding out the top 10.

    Elsewhere, Sebastian Vettel’s troubled day continued, and after completing just two laps in the morning he missed a large part of FP2 as Ferrari changed the pedals on his car after he had reported something being loose in his cockpit.

    2020 FIA Formula 1 British Grand Prix – Free Practice Two 
    1 Lance Stroll Racing Point-BWT Mercedes RP20 Racing Point 29 1:27.274 
    2 Alex Albon Red Bull Racing-Honda RB16 Red Bull 13 1:27.364 0.090
    3 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes F1 W11 EQ Power+ Mercedes 30 1:27.431 0.157
    4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari SF1000 Ferrari 30 1:27.570 0.296
    5 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes F1 W11 EQ Power+ Mercedes 27 1:27.581 0.307
    6 Carlos Sainz Jr. McLaren-Renault MCL35 McLaren 35 1:27.820 0.546
    7 Nico Hulkenberg Racing Point-BWT Mercedes RP20 Racing Point 28 1:27.910 0.636
    8 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri-Honda AT01 AlphaTauri 31 1:27.997 0.723
    9 Daniel Ricciardo Renault R.S.20 Renault 30 1:28.112 0.838
    10 Kimi Raikkonen Alfa Romeo Racing-Ferrari C39 Alfa Romeo 35 1:28.159 0.885
    11 Lando Norris McLaren-Renault MCL35 McLaren 26 1:28.169 0.895
    12 Esteban Ocon Renault R.S.20 Renault 35 1:28.219 0.945
    13 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo Racing-Ferrari C39 Alfa Romeo 31 1:28.256 0.982
    14 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing-Honda RB16 Red Bull 23 1:28.390 1.116
    15 Daniil Kvyat AlphaTauri-Honda AT01 AlphaTauri 29 1:28.426 1.152
    16 Romain Grosjean Haas-Ferrari VF-20 Haas 27 1:28.564 1.290
    17 George Russell Williams-Mercedes FW43 Williams 26 1:28.771 1.497
    18 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari SF1000 Ferrari 23 1:28.860 1.586
    19 Kevin Magnussen Haas-Ferrari VF-20 Haas 27 1:28.898 1.624
    20 Nicholas Latifi Williams-Mercedes FW43 Williams 35 1:29.958 2.684