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Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc takes Baku pole ahead of Max Verstappen: F1
Baku (Azerbaijan), 28 April 2023: Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc took a superb first pole position of 2023 in Qualifying for Sunday’s FIA Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, beating Red Bull’s Max Verstappen by almost two-tenths of a second after nothing could separate the pair in the opening runs of Q3.
Verstappen’s opening time in the final segment of Qualifying was swift 1:40.455, and that was matched, to the thousandth by Leclerc. However, the Red Bull driver claimed the provisional pole by virtue of having set the time first.
But there was no denying the Ferrari driver in the final runs as a brave final lap gave him a 0.188s advantage over Verstappen, who said he had suffered from a warm-up issue on his last lap. Sergio Pérez, meanwhile, went quicker than Leclerc in the first sector on his final flyer, but the Mexican lost time later in the lap and was forced to settle for third.
Earlier, at the start of the one-hour session, Verstappen took an early Q1 lead with a lap of 1:41.887. That put him two-tenths of a second ahead of Leclerc. Pérez, meanwhile, was down in fifth place after a tricky opening run that left with an opening time of 1:43.373.
There was no time for the Mexican to immediately improve, however, as the red flags were displayed soon after when Nyck de Vries hit the wall in Turn 3. The Dutch driver attempted to carry too much speed into the 90˚ left-hander and went straight into the barriers at the corner exit.
When the session eventually resumed, running was brief, as the red flags came out again almost immediately. Pierre Gasly also crashed in Turn 3 with the Alpine driver hitting the wall with the rear right side of his car. He was able to keep going to the next escape road, but with the barriers requiring repair, the session had to be stopped.
When the action restarted, Pérez jumped to the top of the order with a 1:41.756. Verstappen bypassed that to take P1 with a lap of 1:41.398 before heading back to the garage. Leclerc slotted into third place ahead of Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and McLaren’s Lando Norris moved to fifth.
Pérez went for another run, but with little pressure coming from behind, the Mexican abandoned the attempt in the final sector and headed back to the pit lane.
Leclerc continued his attempt, however, and he took P1 with a time of 1:41.269, 0.129 ahead of Verstappen. Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso moved to third place and Peerez progressed to fourth ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell.
At the wrong end of the Q1 timesheet, Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu was ruled out in P16 along with the Haas cars of Nico Hülkenberg and Kevin Magnussen and the unfortunate Gasly and de Vries.
Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso set the first solid time of Q2 with a 1:41.400, but Pérezbeat that time to take P1 with a lap of 1:41.131 before Verstappen slotted into P2, 0.062s behind his team-mate. Leclerc then took P1 with a lap of 1:41.037 and with just under four minutes remaining the Red Bulls headed back out on track for their final runs.
In the end, with no improvement coming in his final sector, Pérez chose to back out of his final run. Verstappen, though, went purple in all three sectors and took P1 with a lap of 1:40.822.
The shock elimination at the end of the session was Russell. The Mercedes driver was edged out of the final segment by team-mate Hamilton, by just 0.004s. Also out at the end of the middle segment were Alpine’s Esteban Ocon, Williams’ Alex Albon, Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas, and the second Williams of Logan Sargeant.
Pérez was the first on track at the start of Q3 and the Mexican opened his account with a lap of 1:40.563. Behind him, Verstappen was quicker, and the champion claimed the provisional pole with a lap of 1:40.445. There was nothing in terms of time to separate the Dutchman from Leclerc, however. The Ferrari driver crossed the line in an identical time, though Verstappen took P1 thanks to crossing the line first.
For the final runs, Leclerc went out ahead of the two Red Bull drivers, with Pérez ahead of Verstappen on track.
Leclerc crossed the line in 1:40.203 and though Pérez went quicker than the Ferrari driver through the opening sector, he lost time in the middle of the track. It was a similar story for Verstappen. The champion lost time in the second sector and when he crossed the line he was just under two-tenths off the Ferrari and on the front row. Pérez had to settle for a row two berth ahead of Sainz.
Fifth place in Qualifying went to Hamilton, with Alonso sixth. Seventh place went to Norris, while Yuki Tsunoda took an excellent eighth place for AlphaTauri. Lance Stroll was ninth for Aston Martin and the final top-10 place went to Oscar Piastri in the second McLaren.
2023 FIA Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix – Qualifying
1 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:40.203
2 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 1:40.391 0.188
3 Sergio Pérez Red Bull Racing 1:40.495 0.292
4 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1:41.016 0.813
5 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:41.177 0.974
6 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 1:41.253 1.050
7 Lando Norris 1:41.281 1.078
8 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri 1:41.581 1.378
9 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 1:41.611 1.408
10 Oscar Piastri McLaren 1:41.611 1.408
11 George Russell Mercedes 1:41.654 1.451
12 Esteban Ocon Alpine 1:41.798 1.595
13 Alex Albon Williams 1:41.818 1.615
14 Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo 1:42.259 2.056
15 Logan Sargeant Williams 1:42.395 2.192
16 Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo 1:42.642 2.439
17 Nico Hulkenberg Haas 1:42.755 2.552
18 Kevin Magnussen Haas 1:43.417 3.214
19 Pierre Gasly Alpine 1:44.853 4.650
20 Nyck de Vries AlphaTauri 1:55.282 15.079 -
Alonso powers Aston Martin to a podium; Verstappen leads Red Bull 1-2
Max Verstappen dominated the opening round of the 2023 FIA Formula One World Championship, cruising to victory in the Bahrain Grand Prix as Red Bull team-mate Sergio Pérez sealed a 1-2 finish for Red Bull and Fernando Alonso claimed his first podium as an Aston Martin driver. There was disappointment for Ferrari, though, as Charles Leclerc retired from the race with an engine issue.
At the start of the race, Verstappen got away well and took the lead. Alongside him on the front row, team-mate Pérez bogged down and the Mexican driver was swamped from row two by Ferrari’s Leclerc and Carlos Sainz. Leclerc got past into Turn 1 but Pérez resisted the assault of Sainz and settled into third place ahead of the Spanish driver and the fifth-placed Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton.
Behind the top five, Mercedes’ George Russell was sixth but the Aston Martin pair of Alonso and Lance Stroll clashed in Turn 4. Alonso managed to hold on to seventh but Stroll dropped back to ninth behind Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas after getting a late-braking move wrong.
At the front, Verstappen quickly began to pull away from the field and by the start of lap 10 the world champion was a full seven seconds clear of Leclerc.
Leclerc was the first of the leaders to pit, with the Ferrari driver taking on hard compound tyres on lap 14. Sainz followed his team-mate immediately and they rejoined the race in P5 and P6 respectively.
Versatppen was called in a lap later and when he stopped for a set of soft tyres he ceded the lead to Pérez. The Mexican then made his first stop of the race on lap 17. Like his team-mate, the Mexican bolted on another set of soft tyres and as Verstappen retook the lead, Pérez slotted into third place behind Leclerc.
Pérez then began to hunt down the Ferrari ahead, and on lap 25 he closed within DRS range. He quickly went on the attack and powered past the Monegasque driver under braking into Turn 1 to take P2.
At the front, Verstappen was in cruise control and after moving to hard tyres in the final round of pit stops he emerged over 11 seconds ahead of his team-mate, who after his final stop, had pulled out his own 11-second gap to Leclerc.
The major battle was now between Alonso and Hamilton and on lap 39 the Spaniard made a superb move past the seven-time champion into Turn 10 to steal fifth place. The Aston Martin driver then began to chase down Sainz.
What looked like a stable podium order then changed on lap 40 when Leclerc suffered an engine issue. The Ferrari driver pulled over at the side of the track and was forced to retire, meaning that, under the Virtual Safety Car, Sainz inherited third place, just 2.5s clear of Alonso. On lap 43 that gap shrunk to under a second and three laps later, after a bruising sequence of corners, he powered past his compatriot in Turn 11.
At the front, the Red Bull pair were in complete control, exemplified by Pérez’s race engineer Hugh Bird telling his driver “there’s no pressure from behind, just stroke it home”.
And after 57 laps the defending champions did just that. Verstappen took the flag comfortably ahead of his team-mate to seal the first Bahrain GP win of his career and 12 seconds later Pérez sealed Red Bull first one-two finish at the Bahrain International circuit and his 27th career podium finish. Verstappen’s dominance was driven home by the 38.6-second advantage he had over third-placed Alonso who gave Aston Martin its first podium place since the 2021 Azerbaijan Grand Prix when Sebastian Vettel finished second.
Behind the top three, Sainz held onto fourth place ahead of Hamilton, while Stroll climbed back to a creditable sixth place to complete a good day for his team. Russell finished seventh in the second Mercedes ahead of Bottas, while Alpine’s Pierre Gasly put in a super drive from the back of the grid to take two points for ninth place. The final point on offer went to Williams’ Alex Albon.
2023 FIA Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix – Race
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 57 1:33’56.736
2 Sergio Pérez Red Bull Racing 57 1:34’08.723 11.987
3 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 57 1:34’35.373 38.637
4 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 57 1:34’44.788 48.052
5 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 57 1:34’47.713 50.977
6 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 57 1:34’51.238 54.502
7 George Russell Mercedes 57 1:34’52.609 55.873
8 Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo 57 1:35’09.383 1’12.647
9 Pierre Gasly Alpine 57 1:35’10.489 1’13.753
10 Alexander Albon Williams 57 1:35’26.510 1’29.774
11 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri 57 1:35’27.606 1’30.870
12 Logan Sargeant Williams 56 1:33’57.872 1 lap /1.136
13 Kevin Magnussen Haas 56 1:34’13.493 1 lap /16.757
14 Nyck de Vries AlphaTauri 56 1:34’19.259 1 lap /22.523
15 Nico Hülkenberg Haas 56 1:34’35.647 1 lap /38.911
16 Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo 56 1:34’36.385 1 lap /39.649
17 Lando Norris McLaren 55 1:34’03.372 2 laps /6.636
Esteban Ocon Alpine 41 1:10’19.566 Retirement
Charles Leclerc Ferrari 39 1:04’46.118 Power Unit
Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 13 22’22.585 Retirement -
Max Verstappen on pole as Red Bull lockout front row: F1 season opener
Defending FIA Formula One world champion Max Verstappen took his first pole of 2023 with the quickest time in Qualifying for the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix. Verstappen’s team-mate Sergio Pérez took second place to as Red Bull locked out the front row. Charles Leclerc took third place, though the Ferrari driver missed the final run of Q3 as he opted to save a set of tyres for the race.
At the start of Q1, Leclerc was one of the first to kick off a flying lap but as the Ferrari driver began his lap a piece of his right wheel brow broke off and then, as he locked up into Turn 1, a second element flew off the underside of his car.
With debris on the racing line, the session was red-flagged with four minutes on the clock.
Following an eight-minute delay, the session resumed and the Red Bulls were quickly on track, along with the rest of the field. Verstappen climbed to the top of the timesheet with a lap of 1:31.295, but the Dutchman was almost immediately eclipsed by Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso and then by Leclerc. It was the Ferrari star’s team-mate Carlos Sainz who staked the biggest claim to top spot in the opening runs with the Ferrari driver taking P1 with a lap of 1:30.993.
In the final runs of the opening segment Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll, Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg and William’s Alex Albon all jumped into the top 10 but despite their advances, Sainz took top spot from Russell and Leclerc.
There was no place in Q2, though, for Williams’ Logan Sargeant. The Williams rookie was eliminated in P16 ahead of Haas’ Kevin Magnussen, McLaren rookie Oscar Piastri, AlphaTauri’s Nyck de Vries and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly who had his final time deleted for track limits in Turn 15.
In the opening runs of Q2, Verstappen took control, with the Dutchman taking P1 with a lap of 1:30.503, 0243s ahead of Pérez who slotted into P2. Verstappen’s lap left him 0.398s clear of third-placed Hamilton, with his Mercedes team-mate George Russell in fourth place ahead of Alonso and the Ferrari duo of Sainz and Leclerc.
Red Bull opted to keep its drivers in the garage for the final runs of Q2 and when the final times arrived, it was Leclerc who took top spot with a time of 1:30.282. Verstappen’s opening time was good enough to hold on to second place, while Russell took third ahead of Hamilton, Sainz and Alonso. That left Pérez with seventh place and the Q3 order was rounded out by Hulkenberg, Alpine’s Esteban Ocon and Stroll. Out went McLaren’s Lando Norris in P11, Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu, AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunodo and 15th-placed Albion.
Verstappen again set the pace in the opening runs of the final segment. The Dutchman went purple in the first and final sectors to set a P1 time of 1:29.897, with Leclerc second on 1:30.000. Pérez slotted into third place, 0.234 off his team-mate, while Alonso took fourth place ahead of Russell.
Leclerc oddly opted to sit out the final runs, choosing instead to save a set of tyres for the race start, and that left the door open for Verstappen to stretch away from the field. The Dutchman obliged and thanks to a strong middle sector he found almost two tenths of a second to claim pole with a lap of 1:29.708. Pérez also found time to leapfrog Leclerc and take P2 to lock out the front row for tomorrow’s race.
2023 FIA Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix – Qualifying
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 1:29.708
2 Sergio Perez Red Bull Racing 1:29.846 0.138
3 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:30.000 0.292
4 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1:30.154 0.446
5 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 1:30.336 0.628
6 George Russell Mercedes 1:30.340 0.632
7 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:30.384 0.676
8 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 1:30.836 1.128
9 Esteban Ocon Alpine 1:30.984 1.276
10 Nico Hulkenberg Haas 1:31.055 1.347
11 Lando Norris McLaren 1:31.381 1.673
12 Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo 1:31.443 1.73
13 Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo 1:31.473 1.765
14 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri 1:32.51a0 2.802
15 Alexander Albon Williams – –
16 Logan Sargeant Williams 1:31.652 1.944
17 Kevin Magnussen Haas 1:31.892 2.184
18 Oscar Piastri McLaren 1:32.101 2.393
19 Nyck de Vries AlphaTauri 1:32.121 2.413
20 Pierre Gasly Alpine 1:32.181 2.473 -
Sergio Perez quickest in FP1: F1 Season Opener
Bahrain, 3 March 2023: Red Bull Racing’s Sergio Pérez went quickest in first practice for the opening race of the 2023 FIA Formula One World Championship, the Bahrain Grand Prix, beating Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso by almost half a second. Defending champion Max Verstappen finished in third place in the other Red Bull car.
Pérez staked his claim to P1 early in the session, posting a time of 1:35.069 before Alonso bypassed that as Verstappen joined the fray with a third-place time almost four tenths shy of his team-mate’s.
Alonso held sway for the first 10 minutes of running before Pérez once again moved ahead with a lap of 1:34.343.
But as the session headed for its half way point, the Mexican driver bolted on a set of soft tyres and posted a lap of 1:32.758 to put some distance between himself and his rivals. Verstappen followed soon after, but the defending champion was only to get to a time just over six tenths off the pace set by Pérez.
McLaren’s Lando Norris then moved to third place on soft tyres, though the Briton was 1.4s down on Pérez’s benchmark, and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc made his way to fourth place.
Both were demoted, though, when Alonso moved to soft tyres and he set a time of 1:33.196 to take P3 0.438s off Pérez.
With Leclerc fifth, sixth place went to Lance Stroll who was at the wheel of the Aston Martin AMR23 for the first time after suffering hand injuries in a pre-season bicycle accident. The Canadian worked his way into the session slowly but eventually made his way to 1:34.298 a tenth of a second ahead of Haas’ Kevin Magnussen.
Zhou Guanyu was eighth quickest for Alfa Romeo with team-mate Valtteri Bottas just behind.
Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton rounded out the top 10 order with team-mate George Russell in P11 though either attempted a soft tyre run in the session
New-season rookie Oscar Piastri was 12th for McLaren ahead of AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda, while F1 returnee Nico Hülkenberg was 14th for Haas. Esteban Ocon took 15th place of Alpine ahead of full-season rookie Nyck de Vries of AlphaTauri and Pierre Gasly finished in P17 ahead of new Williams recruit Logan Sargeant, who beat team-mate Alex Albon. The timesheet was propped up by Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz.
2023 Bahrain Grand Prix – Free Practice 1
1 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:32.758 21 210.043
2 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:33.196 0.438 22 209.056
3 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:33.375 0.617 21 208.655
4 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:34.165 1.407 21 206.904
5 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:34.257 1.499 17 206.702
6 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:34.298 1.540 17 206.613
7 Kevin Magnussen Haas/Ferrari 1:34.402 1.644 20 206.385
8 Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1:34.575 1.817 18 206.007
9 Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1:34.689 1.931 20 205.759
10 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:34.917 2.159 13 205.265
11 George Russell Mercedes 1:34.966 2.208 20 205.159
12 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 1:34.997 2.239 24 205.092
13 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri/Honda RBPT 1:35.015 2.257 20 205.053
14 Nico Hülkenberg Haas/Ferrari 1:35.043 2.285 22 204.993
15 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 1:35.105 2.347 20 204.859
16 Nyck de Vries AlphaTauri/Honda RBPT 1:35.402 2.644 25 204.222
17 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 1:35.455 2.697 22 204.108
18 Logan Sargeant Williams/Mercedes 1:35.749 2.991 24 203.482
19 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1:36.018 3.260 15 202.911
20 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1:36.072 3.314 21 202.797 -
Perez quickest on Day 3: F1 testing comes to a close
Sakhir (Bahrain), 25 Feb 2023: Sergio Pérez set the fastest time of the three days of pre-season testing in Bahrain with the Mexican racer beating Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton by more than three tenths of a second as Valtteri Bottas took third spot for Alfa Romeo ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
As his defending champion team-mate Max Verstappen had done on the opening day of testing, Pérez spent the full day at the wheel of the RB19 and in hot temperatures the Red Bull driver, like many others, spent the morning session focusing on longer runs.
As the heat eased through the afternoon, however, drivers began to bolt on softer compound tyres as they explored the performance potential of their new cars with just over a week to go until the opening race of the season.
Hamilton took top spot in the afternoon with a lap of 1:30.781, with the seven-time champion using the softer C5 compound tyres to set a time that pushed him ahead of the morning’s quickest driver Charles Leclerc. Leclerc’s team-mate Carlos Sainz got to within two hundredths of his team-mate to sit third.
After spending the day on the C3 compound, Pérez then went a step softer and on the C4 tyres powered to the top of the timesheet with a lap of 1:30.616 on the slower C4 tyres. Hamilton improved but he still sat 0.048s behind the Red Bull.
And then, in the final hour, Pérez put clear water between himself and his rivals with a lap of 1:30.305 on C4s to boost his lead to 0.359s. That looked like being the final order but late in the session Bottas put in a good C5 lap of 1:30.82 to steal third from Leclerc, with Sainz in fifth.
AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda finished a creditable sixth with a C4 time of 1:31.261, two tenths off Sainz and 0.956s off the pace set by Pérez. Tsunoda’s lap pushed Haas’ Kevin Magnussen out to seventh place ahead of Mercedes’ morning runner George Russell.
Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso and Felipe Drugovich took ninth and tenth places respectively as the Silverstone team enjoyed a positive end to their test phase. Lando Norris finished 11th for McLaren, though the Briton completed just 35 laps across the day, with his best time being set on C3 tyres.
Pierre Gasly was 13th for Alpine ahead of Williams’ Alex Albon and Alpine’s Esteban Ocon. Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg finished 15th ahead of McLaren’s morning runner Oscar Piastri and Nyck de Vries propped up the timesheet.
2023 Formula 1 Pre-season Test – Bahrain, Day 3
1 Sergio Pérez Red Bull Red Bull 133 1:30.305
2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes Mercedes 65 1:30.664 0.359
3 Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo Ferrari 131 1:30.827 0.522
4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari Ferrari 67 1:31.024 0.719
5 Carlos Sainz Ferrari Ferrari 76 1:31.036 0.731
6 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri Red Bull 79 1:31.261 0.956
7 Kevin Magnussen Haas Ferrari 95 1:31.381 1.076
8 George Russell Mercedes Mercedes 83 1:31.442 1.137
9 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin Mercedes 80 1:31.450 1.145
10 Felipe Drugovich Aston Martin Mercedes 77 1:32.075 1.770
11 Lando Norris McLaren Mercedes 37 1:32.160 1.855
12 Pierre Gasly Alpine Renault 56 1:32.762 2.457
13 Alex Albon Williams Mercedes 136 1:32.793 2.488
14 Esteban Ocon Alpine Renault 76 1:33.257 2.952
15 Nico Hulkenberg Haas Ferrari 77 1:33.329 3.024
16 Oscar Piastri McLaren Mercedes 44 1:33.655 3.350
17 Nyck de Vries AlphaTauri Red Bull 87 1:38.244 7.939 -
F1 TV PRO app launched in India ahead of 2023 F1 season
Bengaluru, 21 Feb 2023: Formula 1 launched F1 TV Pro in India ahead of the 2023 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season. The digital platform will broadcast all race weekends, including practice and qualifying sessions, F1 Sprint events and Grand Prix.
Fans can subscribe to F1 TV Pro for ₹399 ($3.99) a month or ₹2,999 ($29.99) annually. Fans who sign up to the service early in the season will also benefit from a free seven-day trial for a limited time only, a release said here on Tuesday.
With access to live telemetry, all 20 driver onboard cameras and team radio channels, as well as in-depth pre- and post-race analysis and an extensive content library containing thousands of hours of archive footage of the sport’s most iconic moments, fans can become totally immersed in the drama and excitement of F1.
F1 TV Pro offers fans the opportunity to follow FIA Formula 1 Championship closer than ever. Starting with the FORMULA 1 GULF AIR BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX on 5th March, 2023 will feature 23-race schedule across five continents, including the Formula 1 Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix and inaugural F1 Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix.
Fans in India will also be able to tune-in to the Porsche Supercup series and FIA Formula 2 and 3 sessions and races. Fans can follow the progress of Formula 2 drivers Jehan Daruvala and Kush Maini as they vie for the F2 crown and look to make the step up to Formula 1.
Ian Holmes, Director of Media Rights and Content Creation at Formula 1 said: “We are delighted to launch F1 TV Pro for our fans in India. With Formula 1’s growing global footprint, it is vital that our fans all around the world can watch and enjoy the drama and excitement of Formula 1. With access to live race footage, expert commentary, on-board cameras and team radios, F1 TV Pro will provide fans with a best-in-class service to follow the upcoming Formula 1 season.”
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Monaco GP: Leclerc sets pace in FP1 from Perez in a hectic session
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc ended up quickest in FP1 of F1 Monaco GP with Carlos Sainz third behind Red Bull’s Sergio Perez.
It was not a clean FP1 session in F1 Monaco GP with multiple offs for multiple drivers. The Swimming Pool section caught out many along with Turn 1 where Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Haas’ Kevin Magnussen caused for yellow flag after going off.
His teammate Mick Schumacher had a gearbox problem and stopped at the pitlane entry to cause a red flag. There was more trouble for Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas too, with the Finn only completing two laps due to gearbox problem.
The bouncing issue was similar all across barring few cars, as Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc set the pace in FP1 of F1 Monaco GP with a 1m14.531s lap with teammate Carlos Sainz (1m14.601s) in third behind Red Bull’s Sergio Perez (1m14.570s).
Perez also had a yellow flag moment at Turn 1 like his teammate Verstappen who ended up fourth. McLaren’s Lando Norris was fifth despite his weakened health which he is carrying on from Spanish GP. He missed the FIA press conference due to that.
His teammate Daniel Ricciardo put in a late lap to be seventh behind AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly, who had a much better FP1 than the previous races. Mercedes’ George Russell was eighth with Lewis Hamilton 10th behind Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel.
The other AlphaTauri of Yuki Tsunoda was 11th from the other Aston Martin of Lance Stroll where both the Silverstone-based outfit’s drivers set their best time on the soft compound. The only others to do that were the Williams pair in 15th and 18th.
The likes of Alpine and Haas did not have a best of the sessions, with Fernando Alonso only 13th and Esteban Ocon 16th, while Kevin Magnussen was 14th and Schumacher in 19th. Williams’ Alexander Albon was 15th with Nicholas Latifi in 18th.
Alpine’s Esteban Ocon slotted in 16th after complaining of bouncing with Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu in 17th and his teammate Bottas classified 20th but with no laps done.
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George Russell all praise for Max Verstappen, fans, team;
Barcelone, 22 May 2022: The top three winning drivers who attended the post-race FIA press conference are Max VERSTAPPEN (Red Bull Racing), Sergio PÉREZ (Red Bull Racing) and George RUSSELL (Mercedes).
TRACK INTERVIEWS were conducted by Pedro de la Rosa:
Q: George, what a race, man! Back on the podium. Can we say that Mercedes is back now?
George RUSSELL: I’d love to say that but today was very tough. I gave it everything I could to hold Max off, he did an amazing job, and we are so proud to be standing here. The guys have worked so hard, so this is for everyone back in Brackley and Brixworth, thank you.
Q: We heard at one point that you were having overheating issues and you couldn’t push as much as you wanted. I mean how much did it hamper you?
GR: I heard it was a lot to be honest, but when I had the Red Bulls in my mirrors all I was doing was my maximum to keep them behind and it was an enjoyable, good couple of laps and I’m just pleased to be able to bring it home in P3. A lot of points on the board for us. So yeah, well done to Max, he did a great job.
Q: Well done, man. Tell us about the last few laps? Could you push full or did the car still have overheating issues, because we saw with Lewis that he had to back off.
GR: Yeah it was very difficult in the last few laps. It was a survival race, when we knew we had the gap, and as I said, just proud to bring it home in P3 and thanks to all the fans here, they have been amazing all weekend, and the support… Formula 1, at the moment, is in an incredible place so it’s great to be here at the moment.
Q: Well done, you did so well. Max, well done, your first victory again since 2016 here in Spain. We saw you having issues in Turn 14, with the DRS, tell us about it?
Max VERSTAPPEN: Yeah, I mean of course I went off. I suddenly had a lot of tailwind, so I just lost the rear, went off and then, of course, I was in the train and I tried to pass, but my DRS was not always working. So, yeah, that made it very tough but we managed, due to the strategy, to get ahead again and do our own race and eventually win the race. So, a difficult beginning but a good end.
Q: And you switched to a three-stopper. I mean without DRS or with a DRS not working that well, I mean, how did you manage to overcome that?
MV: Yeah, I tried to stay focused. Of course, it’s not nice when stuff like that happens. And yet of course very happy to win and also very happy for Checo. It was a great result for the team.
Q: Your pace with soft tyres was amazing. I mean, at one point you were the fastest by a country mile. Did the soft tyres work very well with your car?
MV: Yeah, I think so. I think the behaviour of the car was good on the soft but also on the medium. I think it was working out quite well.
Q: And on the fight with George. I mean, we saw you a bit of frustrated at one point. I mean, he was closing the door he was changing direction a bit too late.
MV: Yeah, it was more for because of my DRS you know, but yeah, at the end, we managed to get ahead.
Q: Checo, you are Mexican but we’re here in Spain. So are you half-Spanish now? Can we say that?
Sergio PÉREZ: Yeah, definitely. I mean, you already have very two good drivers but I’ve been feeling a lot of support this weekend, so I’m extremely happy to be on the podium for the first time in the Spanish Grand Prix.
Q: A one-two for Red Bull here in Spain. Amazing to be here in the podium. You could have won though.
SP: Yes, I think it was close. But at the end it is a great team result and I’m happy for that.
Q: We heard you on the radio at one point saying ‘let me attack George, I can get through’. I mean were you a bit frustrated at that point?
SP: Yeah, we were on different tyre strategies at the time. I let Max by in the beginning, then I thought at the time that I could I could go by and not lose crucial seconds, you know, to make my strategy work, but anyway, it’s a good team result.
PRESS CONFERENCE
Q: xMax, many congratulations, Barcelona was the scene of your first Formula 1 win and you’ve done it again. However, you had to do it the hard way today. Just how satisfying is this victory?
MV: Yeah, a bit of a race with two halves, because the first 30 laps were very frustrating for me, after I went off in Turn 4 first of all, which really caught me by surprise, because I didn’t feel like I was actually braking later or throwing more speed into the corner. But it was very gusty out there today. Like, one lap it felt all stable and then the next lap suddenly you could have more oversteer in places. So probably that caught me out, by surprise. So that was not ideal, of course. But then, of course, I dropped back behind George and Checo. Checo was so kind to let me by to try to attack George because I think already we were planning to do two different strategies as a team, at the time. But then as soon as I was attacking George, my DRS stopped working all the time on the main straight. So that was extremely painful. Like, sometimes it would open, like, almost halfway on the straight or not at all. So yeah, that made me stuck behind George for 20 laps solid. So it was a tough one.
Q: Couple of things to pick up on there. Was there any damage after running through the gravel at Turn 4?
MV: Didn’t feel like it. I mean, there is, of course, gravel there. But I didn’t feel like I damaged the car, because once I was back on the track, the car felt like normal. So I was lucky there, of course.
Q: And the DRS problem? Is there anything you can do in the cockpit to try and improve the situation?
MV: No, because I mean, I’m pressing the button, but the system is not opening. So this is not working. So we really have to fix that.
Q: We haven’t seen you and George battle on track wheel-to-wheel in Formula 1. Just how much did you enjoy the fight with him?
MV: I was a bit frustrated at the time, because I couldn’t get him because of the DRS issues. But the fight itself, I think was really cool. Also, I think that lap where I did go on the inside and then George went around the outside, but then I was on the outside of Turn 3 again, I think that was a really cool fight. Yeah, I look back at it and I’ll smile now. At the time, of course, I was a little bit frustrated. But it was a really good and tough battle, I think.
Q: Sergio, coming to you. Well done, your third podium of the season. You’re first here in Spain. Just how good was it on the podium when so many people were chanting your name?
SP: Yeah, it was great. My first podium here in Spain. They obviously have their two very good drivers, Spanish drivers, but I can say that I’m probably the third one in terms of support here because every year it’s been amazing. And to be on the podium for the first time, it’s nice, and great team result as well. We took our opportunities and very pleased with that.
Q: Great team result, as you say, but you did say over the radio on the slowdown lap that you do want to talk to the team about tactics. Did you feel the win was on today?
SP: Well, on the first stint, when I let Max by, I was told that I was going to get it back. And we knew we were on different strategies. So when I was back on it, I felt like I could have gone through and probably given a better shot at my strategy, to make it work. But at the end of the day, it turned out to be the three-stop the way to go today.
Q: Just tell us a little bit about the tyres and deg. How unpredictable was it out there today?
SP: Not very unpredictable. I think we kind of expected it to be this bad. So, it was not a surprise today.
Q: George, second podium of the many congratulations. First up. How good does this result feel?
GR: It feels great to be on the podium and I think it goes to show the hard work and effort that’s gone on back at a factory, both in Brackley and Brixworth. We’ve always said that you got to be there at the end to pick up the pieces, and pick up points and especially on days like today it was incredibly tough out there for the cars, for the drivers. But I feel like we’re making progress. And I think we, as a team, have turned a page. I feel like this is probably the start of our season now.
Q: You’re on the podium back in Australia. But does this feel closer? Do you feel closer to the guys sat next to you?
GR: Yeah, definitely. I feel like this was more genuine. I think we probably have probably halved the gap to those front runners, compared to the rest of the season. And I think we know there’s probably more performance to find. It’s been a season of problem solving, as opposed to trying to find more performance and bring more performance to the car. And I think we’ve now finally solved our issue. And we can now focus on bringing more performance. So yeah, we’re six races behind but there’s no reason why we can’t claw this back.
Q: And George, can we get a word from you on that battle with Max?
GR: Yeah, it was enjoyable. I mean, it’s… I think Max and I first raced each other back in 2011. So it was nice to have the opportunity to fight with him. And, you know, I’m here to win, I’m here to fight and I obviously wasn’t going to make it easy. I felt bad for him, because he obviously had the DRS issues and he was clearly the faster man today. But still, I think it was hard, fair racing. And that’s what we would like to see, and expect, in Formula 1.
Q: How much were you having to manage temperatures throughout the race? Or was it just at the end?
GR: No, it was definitely when I was battling with Max, I was managing tyres, the engine was overheating, then trying to go as fast as possible to keep them behind. You’re juggling so many things. And then in the last five, six laps, it was literally just bring it home, get it to the end of a race, because we were right on the limit throughout the whole race. But the team did a great job to not allow us to go over that limit and have to retire the car. Nobody enjoys these challenging races with really difficult temperatures but that can make a difference. And if you do a better job, you’re there to see the rewards, so proud of everybody to bring this home.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Ronald Vording – Motorsport.com) It’s a question to Max. Max, today has been a great day for you in the Championship. Congratulations on that. But are you worried in any way by what you’ve seen from Ferrari, before the Leclerc DNF? They seem to have made a significant step this weekend. And it’s not only one-lap pace anymore, but also on tyre deg and race pace.
MV: It’s a bit too early to say about the full race. Of course tyre deg, because he did pull away from me a little bit at the time, but there were races also before where this has happened a bit. I mean, I’m not saying that I’m not looking at it, for sure they had a really strong weekend and we definitely need to improve. We need to be better over one-lap performance, especially. But I think we were so early on in the race that it was a bit difficult to tell how big the margin was exactly. Because I don’t even know what lap I went off but it was very early on and then we never really had a reference anymore, right. We always have to improve, but for sure, after this weekend, it shows that with all the upgrades they brought I think they definitely took a step forward. So now it’s up to us, of course to try and close that gap down again.
Q: (Joost Niederpelt – NU.nl) Max at some point, the team was giving you instructions on how to handle the DRS button. What did they tell you to do? And what did you do before that?
MV: There was not… I mean, I could have shouted back on the radio something, but there is nothing you can do because I mean, I’m not stupid, once you get the light and the activation beep, then you press the paddle. If it doesn’t open, there’s clearly an issue. I’ve spammed it like 50 times at one point on the straight and it’s just not opening, so there was clearly an issue. I mean, I tried all different kinds of things, stay off the kerb, on the kerb, open it a tiny bit later but it was just broken – or like malfunctioning. So yeah, we clearly have an issue there on this wing.
Q: (Matt Kew – Autosport) Max, in the cooldown room you’re talking to George about what a great battle that was so does it worry you the review that the stewards took note of it and were looking into it to see if there’s any foul play, or if you both thought it was it was a really solid battle?
MV: I think maybe they were looking at the moving a bit, the weaving… ah, Turn 3, because of leaving one car width? Yeah, luckily nothing happened. I mean, there was a bit of grip on the outside, so I’m okay with it. I think it was hard racing. And of course, I went around the outside but I’m also in the blind spot of George, so I think he didn’t even really notice where I was exactly, right? Well, for sure you knew that I was there, but it’s always hard to fully give a car’s width there because it’s a fast corner, you’re drifting wide. So if I was in George’s position, I would have probably done the same, so it’s just how we are, I think.
GR: Yeah, I think it’s important that we are allowing this hard, fair racing and the rule is to give a car’s width and that was what was done and I think there was still a wheel on the track from Max. But yeah, it’s a little bit difficult at the moment. I think there’s a lot of… We’ve obviously got the new stewards in and it’s very difficult for everybody, and trying to understand each other, what we feel like is required from the driver’s side, and what they expect from us as well, and it will just need this open dialogue. But I wasn’t even aware they were looking into it, to be honest, I thought it was hard and fair racing.
Q: (Adrian Rodriguez Huber – Agence EFE) Checo, congratulations, you’ve proven a long time ago that you’re a very good driver but you’ve proven over the last two seasons that you’re a great team player, but I kind of believe you have your own heart and you want to win. When do you think this, your third victory, can come and if you have to put it on a balance, Red Bull gives you a chance to make lots of podiums, but it doesn’t look easy to gain victory. So how can you comment on that?
SP: Well, I think today… I think what was clear was that the three-stop was a better race, race time, and the various strategies, so I think if I went in that direction, I would have won the race. And it worked out for Max. I think that was something we discussed. It was good, because we didn’t know at the time which strategy was going to be the best one. I only felt that in the first stint when I gave the position to Max, that I was told that I was going to get it back and when I was on the two-stop I felt that I could have gone through Max and George a bit earlier to try and make the strategy work, but probably it wouldn’t have been enough. But it still is a great team result, the season is still very young and, yeah, I think the momentum in the team is great. So we just have to discuss a few things internally. But yeah, there’s nothing that I’m concerned of. If anything, I can say that the atmosphere in the team, the momentum we’re carrying, it is tremendous, like no other team, so I’m pleased with that.
Q: (Carlo Platella – FormulaPassion.it) Max did you expect already this morning with the team that this race would have been on three stops?
MV: We had a lot of options to look at because it was very difficult to judge how the deg was going to be so we were just trying to be very flexible. And yeah, during the race, you make that decision, right? They put me early on, because of being stuck, having my DRS issue, I think we decided to be a little bit on a different, more aggressive strategy, because if I wouldn’t have had that DRS issue, I could have cleared George earlier and I would have, let’s say, opened the gap again. And then you’re in a different situation where maybe then we do a different strategy, right, but we had to improvise a bit because of that. And it worked out well because the tyres were very difficult. Even in my last stint, like the last few laps. Of course, I had the margin in the back, but the tyres also they didn’t feel let’s say amazing anymore.
Q: (Ronald Vording – Motorsport.com) Max, in Miami, you said that Red Bull made the weekends too complicated for themselves. This weekend wasn’t straightforward, either, if you look at the DRS issue. Is that execution and fighting those small technical issues still a concern for you going forward?
MV: Well, it’s just things we can improve, right? That issue with the DRS, of course, was quite costly but at the end, we still won the race, so as a team we are quite flexible. We adapt quickly if we have issues and we try to work around it, even during the race, so that’s good. But, yeah, of course, we tried to make sure that that doesn’t happen again. But we didn’t retire which other teams did. So that’s already a good improvement and you can see, it completely swings the championship around again. So from our side, yeah, we just have to try and be really consistent and try not to make too many mistakes. I mean, you’re not a robot, I mean mistakes will happen. But yeah, we’ll try to minimise it.
Q: (Pilar Celebrovsky – Paddock Magazine) Max, we have seen that Leclerc had to retire. Do you have the feeling that these cars are less reliable than the previous years’ cars?
MV: It shouldn’t be really car related because like the engines and stuff are pretty much the same. Of course, the fuel has changed a little bit, but it’s a bit weird. Yeah. also from our side, of course, we had already two retirements where before we were always really strong on reliability, so it’s a bit difficult to tell. It’s also not major issues that we had. I don’t know, of course, about Ferrari, but from our side it’s little things and yeah, we are trying to be on top of that, but I don’t think it’s specifically car related.
Ends
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Max Verstappen wins Spanish GP to take championship lead
Barcelona, 22 May 2022: Max Verstappen claimed a hard fought Spanish Grand Prix win at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, coming back from an early spin and faulty DRS to take a victory that hands him control of the 2022 FIA Formula One Drivers’ World Championship standings as Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc exited the race from a comfortable lead due to the power unit issue. Sergio Pérez took second place to Red Bull Racing’s second 1-2 finish of the season and the final podium place went to Mercedes’ George Russell
When the lights went out at the start, Leclerc and Verstappen both got away well. The Red Bull driver tried to draw alongside the Ferrari on the long drag to Turn 1, but Leclerc defended well and held the lead as they exited the corner.
Behind them, Carlos Sainz made a poor start and he was passed first by Mercedes’ George Russell and then by Pérez. Further back, though, Kevin Magnussen attempted to pass Lewis Hamilton but the Dane tagged the Briton’s Mercedes and the Haas bounced off track into the gravel traps. He was able to continue at the back of the field but Hamilton suffered a puncture and was forced back to the pits.
As the opening stint began to unfold, Leclerc began to carve out a slim gap to Verstappen and by lap five he was 1.2 seconds clear of the Dutchman, with Russell two seconds adrift of the Red Bull driver and Pérez a further second back. Sainz held fifth ahead of Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas, with Mick Schumacher in seventh place in the second Haas. However, the German was soon passed by Alpine’s Esteban Ocon and slipped to eighth.
On lap seven, though, Sainz made a mistake into Turn 4 and spun into the gravel trap. He managed to make his way back on track but dropped to 11th place. And then, on lap nine, the same fate befell Verstappen. The world champion turned in but lost grip as he grappled with a strong tailwind and he slid off into the gravel, losing position to Russell and Pérez.
After Pérez had twice attempted to get past Russell but failed, the Mexican ceded third place to Verstappen on lap 11 and the Dutchman quickly began to pile pressure on the Briton.
At the end of lap 13, Russell and Verstappen headed towards the pit lane and both fitted medium tyres. Bottas pitted at the end of the next tour and that promoted Russell and Verstappen back to third and fourth respectively.
Verstappen’s pursuit of the Mercedes was hampered, however, by an intermittently failing DRS and over the course of the following laps his attempts to close up to the Mercedes were frequently dashed by the rear wing staying resolutely closed.
Pérez then pitted at the end of lap 17 and after taking medium tyres he rejoined in fourth place ahead of Bottas, Ocon, Sainz, Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel, who had yet to pit, the McLaren of Lando Norris and AlphaTauri Yuki Tsunoda.
Leclerc pitted for medium tyres at the end of lap 21 and he rejoined with a six-second cushion to Russell and Verstappen. At the start of the next lap Pérez was fourth, four seconds adrift of his team-mate with Bottas in fifth place, 10.6s behind the second Red Bull. Ocon held sixth ahead of Sainz, with Norris eighth ahead of Tsundoa and Alpine’s Fernando Alonso who had climbed to 10th after starting from the back of the grid.
On lap 24, Verstappen, with DRS working, attacked Russell again and this time he got past the Mercedes on the inside into Turn 1. But Russell hung on around the outside and managed to emerge in P2 again. Verstappen tried to attack again on the following lap but much his very vocal frustration his DRS once again failed to open.
The complexion of the race changed completely on lap 27 when Leclerc suddenly slowed dramatically and after complaining of a sudden loss of power, he immediately headed to the pits lane and was forced to retire.
The battle between Verstappen and Russell was now for the lead. but then Verstappen opted to for a set of used soft tyres. He resumed in fourth place behind Bottas, leaving Pérez to chase down Russell.
And on lap 31 the Mexican made his move. Aided by DRS on the pit straight, he feinted right, forcing Russell to defend, and then effortlessly powered around the outside of the Mercedes to take the lead.
The Mexican driver quickly moved into a 2.5s lead over Russell, while Verstappen passed Bottas on lap 32 to take P3. The Dutchman now sat 12.5s behind the lead Mercedes.
Lapping almost two seconds faster than the leaders, Verstappen rapidly closed in and on lap 36 Mercedes backed out of the fight by pitting Russell for more medium tyres. Pérez then made his second stop for medium tyres at the end of lap 37 and Verstappen jumped into the lead.
Verstappen made his final stop at the end of lap 44, taking on medium tyres. He rejoined in P2 behind Pérez who once again led. The Dutchman quickly began to reel in his team-mate and on lap 49, Pérez moved across in Turn 4 to let the world champion retake a lead he held until the chequered flag.
Pérez crossed the line 13 seconds behind the new championship leader to make sure of the Red Bull 1-2 and the Mexican also nabbed the point for fastest lap thanks to a late-race switch to soft tyres.
Mercedes’ final laps were nervous, however. A suspected water leak on the power units of both its cars meant they had to coast to the line. Russell took his second podium finish of the season in third, while Hamilton, who had earlier passed Sainz for fourth, was forced to give the place back to the Ferrari driver on the final lap. Hamilton was left with fifth place ahead of Bottas, Ocon, Norris, Alonso and the final point on offer went to Tsunoda.
Verstappen now leads the Drivers’ Championship standings with 110 points, six ahead of Leclerc. Pérez now has 85 points, 11 clear of Russell. The Team has also taken the lead in the Constructors’ Championship and now has 195 points to Ferrari’s 169, with Mercedes third on 120.
2022 FIA Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix – Race
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull 66 1:37’20.475
2 Sergio Pérez Red Bull 66 1:37’33.547 13.072
3 George Russell Mercedes 66 1:37’53.402 32.927
4 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 66 1:38’05.683 45.208
5 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 66 1:38’15.009 54.534
6 Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo 66 1:38’20.451 59.976
7 Esteban Ocon Alpine 66 1:38’35.872 1’15.397
8 Lando Norris McLaren 66 1:38’43.710 1’23.235
9 Fernando Alonso Alpine 65 1:37’27.322 1 lap /6.847
10 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri 65 1:37’31.120 1 lap /10.645
11 Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin 65 1:37’47.098 1 lap /26.623
12 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren 65 1:38’00.152 1 lap /39.677
13 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri 65 1:38’01.422 1 lap /40.947
14 Mick Schumacher Haas 65 1:38’03.918 1 lap /43.443
15 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 65 1:38’22.806 1 lap /1’02.331
16 Nicholas Latifi Williams 64 1:37’24.931 2 laps /4.456
17 Kevin Magnussen Haas 64 1:37’33.131 2 laps /12.656
18 Alexander Albon Williams 64 1:38’15.803 2 laps /55.328
Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo 28 42’55.571 Retirement
Charles Leclerc Ferrari 27 40’21.658 Retirement -
Spanish GP: Leclerc takes pole despite spin; Verstappen faces issues
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc took pole in F1 Spanish GP despite a spin with teammate Carlos Sainz third behind Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
Q1:
The first part in F1 Spanish GP qualifying saw an unsafe release at the start between McLaren’s Lando Norris and Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll which will be investigated after the session. On track, it was Ferrari 1-2 with Charles Leclerc leading Carlos Sainz.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was third but teammate Sergio Perez was eighth after an off moment in the gravel. The knockout zone saw a big casualty in Alpine’s Fernando Alonso (1m21.043s) who was only 17th behind Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel (1m20.954s).
The German was not happy to miss out on a Q2 spot, while replays showed a possible impeding between Norris and Alonso which was cleared by the stewards. The other Aston Martin of Stroll slotted in 18th after a 1m21.418s lap.
The final row on the grid saw Williams pair of Alexander Albon (1m21.645s) and Nicholas Latifi (1m21.915s) in 19th and 20th.
Q2:
The second part in F1 Spanish GP went smoothly mostly with no incidents as a late lap from Red Bull’s Verstappen put him on top from Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and Mercedes’ George Russell with both the Haas drivers in the Top 10.
McLaren’s Norris (1m20.471s) initially finished inside the Top 10 but his lap time was deleted due to track limits which helped Mick Schumacher to make it inside. The Brit eventually finished 11th with Alpine’s Esteban Ocon (1m20.638s) in 12th.
The two AlphaTauri pair followed with Yuki Tsunoda (1m20.639s) ahead of Pierre Gasly (1m20.861s) in 13th and 14th, while Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu (1m21.094s) was 15th.
Q3:
The third part in F1 Spanish GP saw a bit of shock start for Ferrari’s Leclerc who had a spin at Turn 14 which ruined his first flying lap as he dived into the pitlane. Red Bull’s Verstappen took provisional pole with a 1m19.073s lap.
Ferrari’s Sainz slotted in second with Red Bull’s Perez in third. The game changed in the second run where Leclerc smashed the standings with a 1m18.750s lap to take pole in F1 Spanish GP with Verstappen ending up second due to power issues (which was later clarified to be a DRS issue).
He couldn’t improve his lap time but remained second, with Sainz (1m19.166s) in third from Mercedes’ Russell (1m19.393s) as he demoted Red Bull’s Perez (1m19.420s) to fifth and Mercedes’ Hamilton (1m19.512s) to sixth.
Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas (1m19.608s) was seventh where he beat the Haas pair with Kevin Magnussen (1m19.682s) in eighth and Schumacher (1m20.386s) 10th behind McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo (1m20.297s).
