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Tag: Emilia Romagna GP
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Bagnaia reels in Martin after tense Misano Sprint
The title fight twists again as the Italian defeats Martin and Bastianini to set up a Sunday showdown for the ages.
Misano, 21 Sept. 2024: Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) had a statement Saturday at the Gran Premio Pramac dell’Emilia-Romagna, stalking Championship leader Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing), pouncing on a mistake and then withstanding his own pressure to the flag to cut the gap to just four points at the top of the table.
Martin did keep that pressure on, however, coming home second, as Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) chased the two home – and prepares to try and do more than that on Sunday.
Martin made a dream take off at the start of the Sprint, with the #89 launching his attack on the run to Turn 1. He then pulled the pin at the beginning, pushing hard on the opening laps and as Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) leapfrogged the reigning World Champion too, pushing Bagnaia down to third.
Binder was then elbowed down to fourth at Turn 8 as Bagnaia and then Bastianini shot through, and next it was Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) making moves. On the comeback from his P7 starting position after a crash in qualifying, Marquez got past the South African early on, and soon so did Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3).
All eyes then returned to the front as Bagnaia reeled in the Championship leader, closing the gap to under half a second. They started to pull away from Bastianini too, creating a duel for glory and with plenty more on the line than 12 points.
By Lap 8, Bagnaia was glued to the Pramac ahead, having reeled him in, lost a few metres, saved a front end moment and then gathered it back up. And Martin then suffered his own small drama, heading wide and that leaving the door far enough ajar to allow Bagnaia through. The hammer then went down from the #1.
Initially, the gap shot up and it looked more likely Bastianini would catch Martin, but in the final few laps the #89 was locked in to try and take it to the line. From sixth tenths up the road to Bagnaia on the penultimate lap, Martin edged closer and closer until the lap count ran out, forced to cede defeat by less than three tenths. Bagnaia strikes back after a tougher run, cutting his deficit in the title fight to just four points – so if it’s a duel on Sunday, the winner decides the Championship lead.
Bastianini remained close too and will be one to watch on Sunday when he has Grand Prix distance to go at, so far enjoying a 100% podium record at Misano in the premier class. The last time he started a GP race from the front row, he won it.
Behind that trio, Marc Marquez couldn’t make too much progress from fourth and was also hampered by a mistake at Turn 13 – the #93 soon had Acosta glued to his tailpipes. Less than one second separated the pair throughout as the #93 attempted to stretch a gap, and the rookie denied him. By the flag however, the veteran pulled away to ensure those valuable few extra points for P4. Acosta, nevertheless, came home top KTM/GASGAS in fifth, with Binder looking to hit back on Sunday as he was forced to settle for P6.
Further back, there was an intense battle for the final point-scoring positions in the Sprint, with Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™ Team) putting in another sublime weekend at Misano so far, taking back to back Q2s and more Sprint points this time out. He held off Marco Bezzecchi (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) and Prima Pramac Racing’s Franco Morbidelli, who completed the Saturday scorers and will both be looking for some revenge on Sunday.
That’s true of plenty just behind them too, with Aprilia especially looking to move forward in the Grand Prix race. It will likely be a historic one too, with Ducati able to wrap up the Constructors’ crown if they have 222 points or more in hand… it’s Bagnaia’s 100th MotoGP™ start… and Ducati head in with 99 premier class wins.
25 points, a gap of just four, and some tempting milestones await on Sunday. Who’s coming out on top on take two? Find out at the slightly earlier time of 13:00 local time (UTC +2)!
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Verstappen leads Red Bull 1-2 in Emilia Romagna GP after misery for Leclerc
Red Bull ended up 1-2 with Max Verstappen winning F1 Emilia Romagna GP from Sergio Perez as McLaren’s Lando Norris rounded the podium in third.
The pre-race rain made it an intermediate start for all in F1 Emilia Romagna GP as Red Bull’s Max Verstappen got a good start to lead from teammate Sergio Perez after an average getaway for both the Ferrari cars with McLaren’s Lando Norris moving to third.
Charles Leclerc dropped to fourth as teammate Carlos Sainz spun out after being tagged by McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo in Turn 3-4 area. The Spaniard suffered another retirement as the Australian pitted to drop back in the order with the safety car deployed.
Replays showed Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas also hitting the back of Ricciardo in that moment, while separately Haas’ Mick Schumacher spun on a wet patch when his rear wing touched the sidepod of Alpine’s Fernando Alonso which shed itself later on.
The re-start worked well for Verstappen as he led Perez, Norris and Leclerc in the Top 4, with Haas’ Kevin Magnussen in fifth from Mercedes’ George Russell who climbed up five places to be sixth ahead of Bottas, Alonso in the Top 10.
Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel was ninth from AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda, as up ahead Leclerc challenged Norris for third to take it. Behind him, Magnussen was being pressured on by Russell and Bottas where the Brit tried to get by the Dane.
He did it once but lost out. He hustled again and got through him for fifth as Bottas followed suit on the next lap to take sixth with Magnussen dropping to seventh. Vettel slowly started to catch him with Tsunoda a bit far off in ninth.
Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll held off Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton in the battle for 10th as Alonso was forced to retire after part of his sidepod came lose. The drivers started to slip and slide more on a drying track in the wait of rain to pit.
With no rain in the horizon, drivers started to pit after Ricciardo started the chain. There was some chaos with slow stops for Hamilton and Bottas. The Brit had to avoid Ocon who was released on his way with the stewards putting it under investigation.
Ocon was handed a 5s time penalty for unsafe release, as Verstappen led the way in the front. Teammate Perez had Leclerc all on his back in the fight for second with Norris remaining in third from Russell and Bottas who retained sixth despite the slow stop.
Vettel gained on Magnussen to be seventh with Tsunoda ninth from Stroll in the Top 10. Ocon was 11th from Williams’ Alexander Albon, AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly and Hamilton, who dropped to 14th after the slow stop from his team.
The race steadied itself as drivers had to get through the race on the same set of tyres. The biggest moment for the camera crew was Verstappen lapping Hamilton towards the end of the race when the Brit was trying to get through Gasly.
While things were stable ahead, Tsunoda passed Magnussen for eighth as outside the Top 10, Albon continued to trouble Gasly and Hamilton in the fight for 12th. In a twist, Ferrari called in Leclerc for soft tyres with Red Bull doing the same with Perez and Verstappen.
Leclerc came out behind Norris but he got back the place and hurried Perez. In doing so, the Monegasque spun but managed to continue on. He was forced to pit for the front wing and dropped to ninth but regained eighth from Magnussen.
At the front, Norris gained a place to third while Russell in fourth had Bottas on his tail in the closing stages. Tsunoda was long way off in sixth from Vettel who had a charging Leclerc on his tail. He eventually passed him in his pursuit of Tsunoda.
His title challenger Verstappen dominated to win F1 Emilia Romagna GP in a Red Bull 1-2 with Perez second from Norris in the Top 3. The Dutchman also scored the fastest lap, as Russell held off Bottas to finish fourth by 0.675s.
Leclerc ended up sixth from Tsunoda, Vettel, Magnussen and Stroll in the Top 10 where Aston Martin scored double points to open their account in 2022. Ocon was 11th despite his penalty as Albon eventually held off Gasly and Hamilton for 12th.
Zhou was 15th from Williams’ Nicholas Latifi with Schumacher 17th and Ricciardo 18th. Everyone from Stroll until the Australian ended up a lap down. DNF: Alonso, Sainz.
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Verstappen overtakes Leclerc to win Emilia Romagna GP’s sprint race
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen came back on Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc to win F1 Emilia Romagna GP Sprint Race with Sergio Perez in third.
It was dry start to F1 Emilia Romagna GP Sprint race as Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc got the lead at Turn 1 from pole-sitter Red Bull’s Max Verstappen who initially got away well but it wasn’t enough which allowed McLaren’s Lando Norris to be on par with him too.
But Verstappen kept second from Norris as Haas’ Kevin Magnussen remained fourth despite a small hit from McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo who lost out to Red Bull’s Sergio Perez for fifth. The Mexican tried an inside move but had to change line and go on the outside.
Alpine’s Fernando Alonso did not have a good start to drop to seventh from Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz in the points position, as Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel and Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas rounded out the Top 10. His teammate Guanyu Zhou did not last long.
In his fight against AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly, the Frenchman’s front right tangled with the left rear of Zhou which send him into a spin onto the barrier. The safety car was deployed as the stewards noted no further action on either drivers for the incident.
Magnussen, meanwhile, was shown the black and white flag for weaving. The re-start worked well for Leclerc who continued to lead from Verstappen and Norris, as Perez passed Magnussen to fourth and Sainz passed Alonso for seventh.
The moves started to come through as Perez passed Norris for third as Sainz cleared both Magnussen and Ricciardo to be fifth. The Dane dropped to seventh from Bottas who had a drag race fight against Alonso to take eighth from the Spaniard.
Behind, Haas’ Mick Schumacher passed Vettel for 10th as the German came under pressure from Mercedes’ George Russell, AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda and Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton. Amid all of this, Verstappen closed in on Leclerc out of nowhere.
He waited for couple of laps to eventually get through Leclerc to lead the F1 Emilia Romagna GP and win the first sprint event of 2022 at Imola. The Monegasque ended up second, nearly three seconds behind as Perez rounded out the Top 3.
Verstappen will start Sunday’s F1 Emilia Romagna GP from pole with Leclerc beside him and their teammates Perez and Sainz behind in third and fourth. McLaren’s Norris did well in fifth from Ricciardo, as Bottas and Magnussen got the last of the points in Top 8.
Alonso started fifth but ended up ninth from Schumacher in the Top 10 as Russell could only manage 11th from Tsunoda, Vettel and Hamilton with Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll rounding the Top 15 runners and starting order for Sunday’s race.
Much like those around him, Alpine’s Esteban Ocon couldn’t do much to be 16th from AlphaTauri’s Gasly who recovered to pass Williams pair of Alexander Albon and Nicholas Latifi.
DNF: Zhou.
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Russell ends on top in dry FP2 of Emilia Romagna GP
Mercedes’ George Russell was fastest in dry FP2 of F1 Emilia Romagna GP from Red Bull’s Sergio Perez and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
It was mostly dry in FP2 of F1 Emilia Romagna GP after the wet running on Friday. Rain, though, is predicted for Saturday’s sprint race and also Sunday’s grand prix which makes the dry running less valuable from the weekend point of view.
Still, F1 teams and drivers got good amount of track time apart from McLaren duo Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo, with both facing separate issues during the course of FP2. While the Brit could do couple of laps before he was hit by brake problems.
Teammate Ricciardo didn’t run at all after McLaren found some issue with his power unit ahead of the session. It was same for Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas who sat out after his side found out engine issue as well before the session.
On track, it was mixed strategy as Mercedes’ George Russell led the way with a 1m19.457s lap on the soft compound, with Red Bull’s Sergio Perez (1m19.538s) in second and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc (1m19.740s) third – where the Mexican set his best time on medium tyre.
Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton (1m19.992s) slotted in fourth from Alpine’s Fernando Alonso (1m20.174s), with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz (1m20.258s) in sixth, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen (1m20.371s) seventh where the latter duo set their best time on the medium compound.
AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda (1m20.381s) and Pierre Gasly (1m20.439s) slotted in eighth and ninth, with Alfa Romeo’s Guanyu Zhou (1m20.498s) rounding the Top 10 where the Frenchman set his best time on the medium compound.
Williams had a better session with Alexander Albon in 11th from Haas pair of Kevin Magnussen and Mick Schumacher, with Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll in 14th from his teammate Sebastian Vettel – the two Germans used medium tyres.
Alpine’s Esteban Ocon was 16th from Williams’ Nicholas Latifi, with McLaren’s Norris in 18th after the team managed to fix up his issue for couple more laps. His teammate Ricciardo and Bottas didn’t get any laps under their belt ahead of the sprint race.
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Leclerc leads Sainz in a wet FP1 session of Emilia Romagna GP
Ferrari ended up 1-2 in a wet FP1 of F1 Emilia Romagna GP with Charles Leclerc ahead of Carlos Sainz and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen P3.
It was a wet start to F1 Emilia Romagna GP in Imola with several drivers going off in the opening moments on the wet tyres. By the end of the session, they moved to intermediate compound but they still kept on going off due to damp conditions.
After the races in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Australia, this was their first time on a wet circuit with the 2022 generation of F1 cars. This was also the first chance for teams and drivers to try out the wet and intermediate tyres.
Pre-session, the FIA updated about new ICE, TC, MGU-H and MGU-K for Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and Alpine’s Esteban Ocon, while Williams’ Alexander Albon took a new ES and CE. There were loads of offs as mentioned above with some having multiple.
The two Ferrari drivers were among the multiple list with both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz having moments, with McLaren’s Lando Norris even calling out the red flag. Fortunately, the Brit managed to drive back onto the track after brief beached moment.
The likes of Williams’ Nicholas Latifi, Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll, Haas’ Kevin Magnussen had moments along with Alpine duo of Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso. Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas had a spin post the chequered flag but managed to not hit the barrier.
In terms of the standings, Ferrari ended up 1-2 with Leclerc (1m29.402s) leading from Sainz (1m30.279s), while Red Bull’s Max Verstappen (1m30.867s) in third from Haas pair of Magnussen and Mick Schumacher in the Top 5.
The other Red Bull of Sergio Perez slotted in sixth from Alpine’s Alonso with Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel, AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda and Mercedes’ George Russell in the Top 10. Alfa Romeo’s Bottas was 11th from AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly.
Behind him was Alpine’s Ocon in 13th with McLaren pair of Norris and Daniel Ricciardo in 14th and 15th. Aston Martin’s Stroll was 16th from Williams’ Albon, Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton, Alfa Romeo’s Guanyu Zhou and Williams’ Latifi.
Among the 20 runners, Hamilton set his time on the wet compound after he complained of lack of grip due to lack of downforce all-through the session. With no more practice run before qualifying later, it leaves teams with little chance to change things due to the restrictions of F1 sprint weekend.
