INDIA in F1

Tag: F1 Sprint race

  • Lando Norris handed Sprint win by Oscar Piastri; Verstappen third

    Lando Norris handed Sprint win by Oscar Piastri; Verstappen third

    Sau Paulo, 2 Nov. 2024: Lando Norris took his first F1 Sprint win after being waved through by McLaren team-mate and long-time leader Oscar Piastri in the closing stages of the 24-lap race at the Autódromo Carlos Pace. Red Bull’s Championship leader Max Verstappen crossed the line in third but was handed a five-second time after the race for a VSC infringment dropping him to fourth behind Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in the final classification.

    At the race start, both McLarens got away well and polesitter Piastri moved across the track successful defend the inside line against front-row starter Norris who held second. Leclerc also defended well into the Senna S to keep Verstappen at bay. 

    Across the opening laps Verstappen pressed hard to provoke a mistake from Leclerc and initially that allowed the McLarens to open a gap. But Norris, in his team-mate’s dirty air, then fell back from Piastri who was subsequently asked to drop back and provide DRS to his team-mate. 

    As the race reached half distance, Verstappen began to get some reward for his efforts, as Leclerc began to struggle more on his Medium tyres. And on lap 18 the Ferrari driver made a small mistake in the Senna S. Verstappen closed in through Turn 3 and with DRS engaged muscles his way around the outside through Turn 4 to claim third place, 

    The Dutchman then began to eat into the gap to Norris, narrowing McLaren’s chances of pulling off a positional swap between Piastri and Norris. 

    However, both McLarens were able to build a healthier two-second gap to the Red Bull and when Haas’ Nico Hülkenberg stopped at the edge of the track at Turn 8 and the threat of a Safety Car appeared, the McLaren pitwall pulled the trigger. 

    Piastri moved across on the run to Turn 4 and Norris slipped past to take the lead. The time lost meant that Piastri was now under threat from Verstappen but just before the start of the penultimate lap, race officials imposed a VSC to deal with Hülkenberg’s stranded car and the gaps froze.

    The VSC ended midway through the final lap and Verstappen closed right up to Piastri in Turn 4 just as the caution was coming to an end. The Dutch driver’s proximity to the Australian was noted and then was investigated after the Sprint.

    The Stewards handed Verstappen a five-second penalty, saying that “Article 56.5 states in part ‘All cars must also be above this minimum time when the FIA light panels change to green.’ The driver was 0.63 seconds below the minimum time at VSC End when the FIA light panels changed to green. This indicates a sporting advantage gained under VSC.’ 

    Verstappen crossed the line third but the time penalty dropped him to fourth behind Leclerc and ahead of the second Ferrari of Carlos Sainz, with Mercedes’ George Russell in sixth,. Pierre Gasly held on to seventh place for Alpine, just ahead of the hard-charging Sergio Pérez who battled through from P13 to take the final point on offer. 

    2024 FIA Formula 1 São Paulo Grand Prix – Sprint
    1 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 24 – 
    2 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 24 0.593
    3 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 24 1.497
    4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 24 5.656
    5 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 24 7.224
    6 George Russell Mercedes 24 12.475
    7 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 24 18.161
    8 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda RBPT 24 18.717
    9 Liam Lawson RB/Honda RBPT 24 20.773
    10 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 24 24.606
    11 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 24 29.764
    12 Franco Colapinto Williams/Mercedes 24 33.233
    13 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 24 34.128
    14 Oliver Bearman Haas/Ferrari 24 35.507
    15 Yuki Tsunoda RB/Honda RBPT 24 41.374
    16 Valtteri Bottas Sauber/Ferrari 24 43.231
    17 Zhou Guanyu Sauber/Ferrari 24 54.139
    18 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 24 56.537
    19 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 24 57.983
         Nico Hülkenberg Haas/Ferrari 19 – Retirement

  • Verstappen wins F1’s first Sprint Race to qualify on pole

    Verstappen wins F1’s first Sprint Race to qualify on pole

    Silverstone, 17 July 2021: Max Verstappen made history by winning the first Sprint Qualifying of the FIA Formula One World Championship Round 10 at Silverstone after he beat title rival Lewis Hamilton off the line in a thrilling fight to the flag that left Hamilton with second place ahead of Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas. However, the new format was tough on Verstappen’s team-mate Sergio Pérez who spun off early on. He dropped to 19th place and then retired his car just before the chequered flag.

    Verstappen’s win was secured at the race start and he took the pole for the main race on Sunday ahead of Hamilton. From his P2 grid slot the Red Bull driver made a superb getaway to power ahead of Hamilton as the frontrunners roared towards Turn 1. Behind them, Bottas settled into third place ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and the Alpine of Fernando Alonso who also made a great start, climbing from 11th place to fifth at the end of the opening lap. 

    Behind them, though, Pérez dropped back. He quickly fought back to seventh place but then, on lap six, as he pushed to close in on McLaren’s Lando Norris, he lost control and spun off. He managed to keep his car out of the wall but he rejoined in P19. 

    At the front Verstappen was beginning to build a gap and on lap eight he had two seconds in hand over title rival Hamilton. Bottas was a further three seconds back with Leclerc fourth, while Norris was now fifth after managing to get past Alonso. 

    The Alpine driver, who had started on soft tyres, was trying to hang on but Norris’ team-mate Ricciardo was next to attack and the Australian muscled his way past the Spaniard on lap nine.

    With three laps to go, Verstappen was firmly in control and despite noticeable blistering on his front right medium compound tyre, the Dutchman was a comfortable 2.3 seconds clear of the Mercedes driver who was also suffering with tyre wear.

    Towards the rear of the field Pérez was struggling. He had climbed to P18 but in the final moments his team told him to retire from the Sprint and he thus qualified for the race in last place behind the Haas cars of Mick Schumacher and 19th-placed Nikita Mazepin.

    Eventually, after 17 exciting laps, Verstappen crossed the line 1.4s ahead of Hamilton to claim the eighth pole position of his career in a novel manner.

    In a reverse to the front row after qualifying yesterday, Hamilton will start second, while Bottas will line up at the front of row two alongside Leclerc. McLaren locked out row three, with Norris ahead of Ricciardo and Alonso took seventh ahead of Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettell, Williams’ George Russell and the second Alpine of Esteban Ocon. 

    2021 FIA Formula 1 British Grand Prix – Sprint Qualifying
    1 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda 17 25:38.426
    2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 17 25:39.856 1.430
    3 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 17 25:45.928 7.502
    4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 17 25:49.704 11.278
    5 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 17 26:02.537 24.111
    6 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren/Mercedes 17 26:09.385 30.959
    7 Fernando Alonso Alpine/Renault 17 26:21.953 43.527
    8 Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin/Mercedes 17 26:22.865 44.439
    9 George Russell Williams/Mercedes 17 26:25.078 46.652
    10 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 17 26:25.821 47.395
    11 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 17 26:26.224 47.798
    12 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri/Honda 17 26:27.189 48.763
    13 Kimi Räikkönen Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 17 26:29.103 50.677
    14 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 17 26:30.605 52.179
    15 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 17 26:31.651 53.225
    16 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri/Honda 17 26:31.993 53.567
    17 Nicholas Latifi Williams/Mercedes 17 26:33.588 55.162
    18 Mick Schumacher Haas/Ferrari 17 26:46.639 1:08.213
    19 Nikita Mazepin Haas/Ferrari 17 26:56.074 1:17.648
    20 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda 16 25:09.289 Not running

  • Hamilton takes pole for F1’s first Sprint Race ahead of Verstappen

    Hamilton takes pole for F1’s first Sprint Race ahead of Verstappen

    Silverstone, 16 July 2021: Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton will start Formula 1’s first sprint qualifying race from the front of the grid after he beat Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen in Friday qualifying at the British Grand Prix. Hamilton’s team-mate Valtteri Bottas will start third ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.

    In the opening phase of Q1 it was Verstappen who set the pace, with the Dutchman jumping to the top of the timesheet thanks to a lap of 1:16.751, despite a nervous moment in the final corner. That put the championship leader four tenths of a second ahead of Hamilton, with Bottas almost four tenths further back in third.

    Verstappen stayed in the garage for the final run, but team-mate Sergio Pérez headed out for a second attempt as his opening time left him in P13 in the final moments of the segment. However, the Mexican put in an excellent final lap of 1:27.121 to jump to P4 at the flag, just behind Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Hamilton also went for a final run and his 1:26.786, just 0.015s slower than Verstappen showed that the session would be hard fought. 

    Eliminated at the end of Q1 were AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda in P16 ahead of Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Räikkönen, Williams’ Nicholas Latifi and the Haas cars of Mick Schumacher and 20th-placed Nikita Mazepin. 

    Verstappen was again on top at the end of the opening run of Q2. Hamilton set the early benchmark with a lap of 1:26.602 but within moments Verstappen was across the line just under a tenth clear of the Mercedes driver. Bottas lay in third place after the first runs almost two tenths behind his Mercedes team-mate, while Pérez was fourth, two tenths further back. 

    On his final run of the session Hamilton lit up the timesheet with purple times in every sector and he took P1 with a time of 1:26.023. Verstappen improved too, but he settled for P2 with a final flyer of 1:26.315. 

    Ruled out at the end of the middle segment though were Alpine’s Fernando Alonso in P11 ahead of AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly, the second Alpine of Esteban Ocon, Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi and Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll. 

    Hamilton took P1 in the first run of Q3 thanks to a lap of 1:26.134, 0.172 ahead of Verstappen, who complained that his car was suffering from “oversteer to the moon”. The balance issues heaped pressure on the Dutchman in the final run and though Hamilton went wide in Sector 3 on his final flying lap, the Dutch driver couldn’t wrestle enough time out of his RB16B on his final flying lap and he was forced to settle for P2, between the two Mercedes cars. 

    Pérez’s final flyer put him into fourth place behind Bottas but the Mexican’s time was deleted for a track limits violation. That meant he was leapfrogged by Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and the Red Bull driver will start the Sprint at the front of row three, in fifth place. 

    Pérez will be joined on the third row of the grid by Lando Norris. The McLaren driver took sixth place just 0.002s ahead of team-mate Daniel Ricciardo. George Russell gave Williams hope of a good starting place for Sunday’s race by claiming seventh place on the Sprint grid, ahead of Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and the final top-10 place was taken by Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel. 

    2021 FIA Formula 1 British Grand Prix – Qualifying
    1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:26.134
    2 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 1:26.209 0.075
    3 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:26.328 0.194
    4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:26.828 0.694
    5 Sergio Perez Red Bull Racing 1:26.844 0.710
    6 Lando Norris McLaren 1:26.897 0.763
    7 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren 1:26.899 0.765
    8 George Russell Williams 1:26.971 0.837
    9 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1:27.007 0.873
    10 Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin 1:27.179 1.045
    11 Fernando Alonso Alpine 1:27.245 1.111
    12 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri 1:27.273 1.139
    13 Esteban Ocon Alpine 1:27.340 1.206
    14 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo 1:27.617 1.483
    15 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 1:27.665 1.531
    16 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri 1:28.043 1.909
    17 Kimi Raikkonen Alfa Romeo 1:28.062 1.928
    18 Nicholas Latifi Williams 1:28.254 2.120
    19 Mick Schumacher Haas 1:28.738 2.604
    20 Nikita Mazepin Haas 1:29.051 2.917