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Tag: formula 1
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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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Spanish GP: Leclerc leads Sainz by 0.079s in FP1
Ferrari led the way in FP1 of F1 Spanish GP with Charles Leclerc ahead of Carlos Sainz, whereas Red Bull’s Max Verstappen slotted in third.
After the trip to Miami, the F1 circus returned to Europe with the Spanish GP where a lot of teams brought certain updates with Aston Martin having a ‘second car’ which looked very similar to the Red Bull especially the sleak sidepod area.
It was a relatively smooth session with couple of impeding charges, both of which will be looked after the session. The first one was between Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and Alpine’s Fernando Alonso, with the second one between a Red Bull and Mercedes’ George Russell.
In terms of the standings, Ferrari led the way with Leclerc setting the fastest time of 1m19.828s which was 0.079s faster than Sainz’s time of 1m19.907s. Red Bull’s Verstappen slotted in third with a 1m20.164s lap, which was 0.3s behind.
Mercedes’ Russell (1m20.590s) was fourth with Alpine’s Alonso (1m20.768s) in between the two Mercedes cars where Hamilton (1m20.811s) was sixth. The FIA document confirmed that both the Mercedes drivers took a new ICE, TC, MGU-H and MGU-K.
McLaren’s Lando Norris (1m21.279s) was seventh where AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly (1m21.422s) was in a sandwich with Daniel Ricciardo (1m21.737s) in ninth. The Top 10 was then rounded out by AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda (1m21.814s).
Alpine’s Esteban Ocon was 11th from Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll, with Alfa Romeo’s Robert Kubica in 13th who filled in for Guanyu Zhou in FP1. The Chinese racer took a new MGU-K alongside the two Mercedes drivers. The Haas pair followed in 14th and 15th.
Kevin Magnussen was ahead of Mick Schumacher with Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel – with a new ES – slotted in 16th from Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas. The first of the young drivers to fulfill the mandated session was Nyck de Vries for Williams in 18th.
He led teammate Nicholas Latifi, while Red Bull’s young driver Juri Vips was 20th, who replaced Sergio Perez.
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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.
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Charles Leclerc beats Verstappen to Aussie GP pole
Melbourne, 9 April 2022: Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc beat Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen by almost three tenths of a second to take his second pole position of the season in an Australian Grand Prix qualifying session that was disrupted by two red flag periods. Sergio Pérez qualified third but the Mexican driver was due to visit the stewards after the session to discuss a possible yellow flag infringement during Q2.
Q1 began with both Ferraris heading out on track soon after the pit lane opened and Leclerc immediately moved to P1 with a lap of 1:19.391. McLaren’s Lando Norris slotted into second just under four tenths off the Ferrari driver.
Leclerc’s team-mate Carlos Sainz took over at the top with a lap of 1:19.791 as Verstappen and Pérez began their first flying laps. The Mexican’s effort, a 1:19.307, took him to P2, while Max moved to fourth place, a tenth off his team-mate.
Leclerc was finding time on his second run, however, and he climbed back to the top of the order with the first sub 1m19s time as posted a lap of 1:18.881. Verstappen was also on another push lap and with a purple final sector he took second place 0.044s behind Leclerc.
Norris, meanwhile, improved to 1:19.280 to demote Pérez to fifth place and the Red Bull driver dropped another two positions when Alpine’s Fernando Alonso and Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas took fourth and fifth respectively.
With six minutes left Verstappen found more pace to claim P1 with a lap of 1:18.580. Pérez posted a lap of 1:18.834 to claim second place ahead of Leclerc. The top six then retired to the pit lane as the battle to escape the Q1 drop intensified.
However, with two minutes remaining the session was halted when Nicholas Latifi collided with Lance Stroll. Latifi, on a slow lap, pulled over to let Stroll past, but his fellow Canadian was on a cool down lap. The Williams man went to pass the Aston Martin driver on the right on the run to Turn 5 but Stroll was already moving across the track and the pair tangled, with Latifi’s car wrecked in the heavy collision.
The session was red-flagged for 15 minutes and the delay gave the Aston Martin mechanics enough time to complete repairs to Sebastian Vettel’s car which had been damaged in a crash in final practice.
The German pushed hard to post a solid time on a crowded track but in the end he could only find his way P18 and he was eliminated along with Williams’ Alex Albon and Haas’ Kevin Magnussen in P16 and P17 respectively and the unfortunate Stroll and Latifi.
In Q2 Verstappen was first out on track, with Pérez not far behind. Verstppen crossed the line in 1:18.611, marginally off his Q1 best, to take top spot, with his team-mate second. Alonso then split the Red Bulls as Leclerc made his way to fourth ahead of Norris.
On his second run Verstappen was unable to find more time, but Pérez did better and his 1:18.340 took him 0.271 clear of his team-mate at the top of the timesheet. The Mexican’s lap was under scrutiny, however, with stewards noting that he may not have slowed for yellow flags when Mercedes’ George Russell was forced to use the escape road at Turn 11. The incident was due for investigation after the session.
Sainz went for his final run of the segment and his lap of 1:18.739 boosted him to third place behind Verstappen. Leclerc then split the Red Bulls with a lap of 1:18.606. Sainz, though, improved again and when the flag fell he rose to second just over a tenth of a second behind Pérez and ahead of Leclerc and fourth-placed Verstappen.
AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly was the first man eliminated at the end of Q2 ahead of Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas, Yuki Tsunoda in the second AlphaTauri, Zhou Guanyu in the second Alfa Romeo and Haas’ Mick Schumacher.
Verstappen was again on track early in Q3 but the Dutchman’s opening run featured a small lock up in the penultimate corner and he crossed the line in 1:18.399. Pérez then took top spot just 0.001s behind his team-mate. Leclerc was running quickly though and his 1:18.239 was good enough for provisional pole.
The session was then red-flagged when Alonso crashed at Turn 11. The Alpine driver reported that he had lost hydraulics and could not change gear as he went into the right-hander. The timing of the crash was not good for Sainz. The Ferrari driver caught the red flag just as he crossed the line and his first flyer of the top-10 shootout was lost.
When the session resumed for the final runs, Pérez put in a good lap but he missed out on beating Leclerc’s first-run benchmark, again by 0.001s. Verstappen made a good gain took top spot with a lap of 1:18.254. Leclerc was one of the last on track, though, and the Ferrari driver was able to find more pace than all his rivals and he claimed his second pole position of the season with a lap of 1:17.868.
Fourth place went to Norris. Lewis Hamilton took fifth for Mercedes, a tenth of a second ahead of team-mate George Russell and Daniel Ricciardo was seventh in the second McLaren. Esteban Ocon took eight place for Alpine but there was disappointment for Sainz who ran wide in Turn 6 on his final lap. The Spaniard finished the session in ninth place ahead of Alonso.
2022 FIA Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix – Qualifying
1 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:17.868 8 244.012
2 Max Verstappen Red Bull 1:18.154 6 243.119
3 Sergio Pérez Red Bull 1:18.240 9 242.852
4 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:18.703 6 241.424
5 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:18.825 10 241.050
6 George Russell Mercedes 1:18.933 9 240.720
7 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren/Mercedes 1:19.032 6 240.419
8 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 1:19.061 6 240.330
9 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1:19.408 1.540 6 239.280
Fernando Alonso Alpine/Renault – 2
11 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri/Red Bull 1:19.226 8 239.830
12 Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1:19.410 8 239.274
13 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri/Red Bull 1:19.424 7 239.232
14 Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1:20.155 5 237.050
15 Mick Schumacher Haas/Ferrari 1:20.465 8 236.137
16 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1:20.135 11 237.109
17 Kevin Magnussen Haas/Ferrari 1:20.254 11 236.758
18 Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:21.149 3 234.147
19 Nicholas Latifi Williams/Mercedes 1:21.372 8 233.505
Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes – 2 -
Charles Leclerc takes pole ahead of Max Verstappen
Sakhir, 19 March 2022: Charles Leclerc claimed the tenth pole position of his career as Ferrari roared to the top of the pecking order in Formula 1’s new era. Defending world champion Max Verstappen will line up alongside the Monegasque on the front row, while Carlos Sainz claimed third place for Scuderia ahead of the second Red Bull of Sergio Pérez. Seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton will start from fourth place.
At the start of the session, Verstappen, who had looked ominously quick through the practice sessions at the Sakhir Circuit quickly moved to the top of the Q1 order with an opening flying lap of 1:31.909. Pérez then joined his team-mate by taking P2 with a lap four tenths off top spot.
Leclerc then stole P1 with a lap of 1:31.471, while Sainz slotted into P2 in the second Ferrari. Hamilton moved to fifth with six minutes remaining but with the 2021 Constructors’ champions struggling with the ‘porpoising’ that hampered many teams during pre-season testing, the seven-time champion found himself eight tenths of a second off the pace set by Leclerc.
Verstappen elected to stay in the garage for the final runs but Pérez was in tenth place and he needed to make another attempt. The Mexican driver delivered a string of personal bests through the mini-sectors of the 5.4km circuit but his lap of 1:32.311 only took him to 11th place. Top spot in Q1 went to Leclerc with Sainz second and Verstappen third. Fourth place went to Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas and fifth to Haas’s Kevin Magnussen as the order was shaken up by the new regulations in place for 2022.
Ruled out after the opening 18 minutes were AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda in P16 ahead of the Aston Martin’s Nico Hulkenberg, McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo, the second Aston Martin of Lance Stroll and Williams’ Nicholas Latifi.
With no rules in place governing starting tyres in Q2, Verstappen emerged on soft tyres and again the Dutchman jumped to P1 with this opening lap of 1:30.757. That put him almost six tenths of a second ahead of Leclerc, while Pérez took third place ahead of impressive returnee Magnussen, Hamilton, who was more than seven tenths of a second off his 2021 title rival’s pace, and the second Mercedes of George Russell.
Verstappen again stayed in the Red Bull garage for the final runs of Q2 and his opening time proved good enough to hold top spot. Sainz got closest to the Red Bull, with the Ferrari driver finishing just three hundredths of a second off P1. Leclerc took third a little under two tenths off Max while Pérez progressed to Q3 in fourth place with a final lap of 1:31.008.
Eliminated at the end of the second session though were Alpine’s Esteban Ocon in 11th, Haas’ Mick Schumacher, McLaren’s Lando Norris, the Williams for former Red Bull driver Alex Albon and Alfa Romeo rookie Zhou Guanyu.
Verstappen’s dominance of the opening runs ended in Q3, however. This time it was Sainz who powered to the top of the order, with the Spaniard posting a lap of 1:30.687 to sit five hundredths of a second ahead of Leclerc. Verstappen, meanwhile, was third, a hundredth of a second further back.
And there was to be no final-run recovery for Verstappen as Leclerc claimed pole with a lap of 1:30.558. Verstappen got close, but in the end missed out by 0.123, with Sainz just 0.006s behind and with Pérez in fourth place.
Behind the leading quartet, fifth place went to Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton while surprise packages Alfa Romeo and Haas claimed sixth and seven respectively with Valtteri Bottas and Kevin Magnussen. Fernando Alonso was eighth for Alpine ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell and top 10 order was rounded out by AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly.
2022 FIA Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix – Qualifying
1 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:30.558 6 215.146
2 Max Verstappen Red Bull 1:30.681 0.123 6 214.854
3 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1:30.687 0.129 6 214.840
4 Sergio Pérez Red Bull 1:30.921 0.363 6 214.287
5 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:31.238 0.680 6 213.542
6 Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1:31.560 1.002 3 212.791
7 Kevin Magnussen Haas/Ferrari 1:31.808 1.250 3 212.216
8 Fernando Alonso Alpine/Renault 1:32.195 1.637 3 211.325
9 George Russell Mercedes 1:32.216 1.658 6 211.277
10 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri/Red Bull 1:32.338 1.780 6 210.998
11 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 1:31.782 1.129 6 212.276
12 Mick Schumacher Haas/Ferrari 1:31.998 1.367 5 211.778
13 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:32.008 1.251 1.378 6 211.755
14 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1:32.664 1.907 5 210.256
15 Guanyu Zhou Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1:33.543 2.786 6 208.280
16 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri/Red Bull 1:32.750 1.279 8 210.061
17 Nico Hülkenberg Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:32.777 1.306 6 210.000
18 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren/Mercedes 1:32.945 1.474 8 209.620
19 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:33.032 1.561 6 209.424
20 Nicholas Latifi Williams/Mercedes 1:33.634 2.163 8 208.078 -
Formula 1 announces it will race in Bahrain until 2036
Bahrain, 11 Feb. 2022: Formula 1 confirmed that Bahrain will stay on the F1 calendar until 2036 inclusive following the agreement with the promoter, The Bahrain Internationl Circuit, to extend the contract between both parties.
The Bahrain Grand Prix has been a brilliant race on the F1 calendar since 2004 and hosted two races in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022 it will be the opening race of the season and has become a favourite with all the fans, drivers, and the teams.
The incredible facilities at the circuit for both racing and the fans have recently undergone further investment to enhance the fan experience. Alongside this the promoter has already announced significant actions to increase the environmental sustainability of the event with all energy used by the Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix in 2022 coming from sustainable energy sources, meeting the BIC’s needs throughout the race weekend, and beyond and supporting the Kingdom and Formula 1’s plan to have net zero carbon emissions by 2030. The plans will reduce the venue’s carbon footprint and generate significant savings on overall energy costs.
Stefano Domenicali, President and CEO of Formula 1, said:
“I am delighted we will be racing at the Bahrain International Circuit until 2036 where more incredible racing and excitement will be on show to thrill our fans. Since 2004 we have had some fantastic races in Sakhir and we cannot wait to be back there for the start of the 2022 championship as we begin a new era for the sport. Bahrain was the first country in the Middle East to welcome Formula 1 and it has a very special place in our sport, and I personally want to thank HRH Prince Salman and his team for their dedication and hard work throughout our partnership and look forward to the many years of racing ahead of us.”
Arif Rahimi, Chairman of Bahrain International Circuit, said:
“It has been a great honour for Bahrain to host Formula 1 since 2004 and we are delighted that this new commitment cements our place on the calendar well into the future. Our commitment to motorsport has always been a long-term initiative and I thank Stefano and his team at F1 for putting their faith in us to continue to deliver the pinnacle of global racing at The Home of Motorsport in the Middle East.”
Sheikh Salman bin Isa Al Khalifa, Chief Executive of Bahrain International Circuit, said: “After 18 years of F1 racing, we are proud to have played a part in F1’s rich history and we now looking forward to continuing to build on that heritage well into the future. The growth and interest in Motorsport in Bahrain and the Middle East has significant momentum, with a new generation of fans embracing our great sport and we look forward to continuing that progress.”Khalid Al Rumaihi, CEO of Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company “Mumtalakat”, said: “As an integral part of our diversified portfolio, we are proud to witness the successful trajectory of Bahrain International Circuit. Building on Bahrain’s significant motorsport heritage, BIC has hosted major regional and international motorsports events such as the Formula One Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix. The extension of the Bahrain race to 2036 is a testament to the advanced infrastructure in the Kingdom and will contribute to its continued economic growth and value creation for both our shareholders and the people of Bahrain.”
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Lewis Hamilton wins ahead of Max Verstappen: Qatar GP
Qatar, 21 Nov 2021: Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton took a dominant Qatar Grand Prix victory to narrow the Drivers’ title gap to Max Versatppen to eight points, as the championship-leading Red Bull driver recovered from a five-place grid penalty to finish second and take the point for fastest lap. Alpine’s Fernando Alonso finished third to score his first podium finish since the 2014 Hungarian Grand Prix.
Pole sitter Hamilton got away well at the race start and quickly began to establish a strong lead at the front of the pack. Behind him Verstappen’s recovery from a five-place penalty for failing to heed double yellow flags in Q3 after an incident involved AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly was founded on as superb getaway when the lights went out.
Starting seventh behind Mercedes Valtteri Bottas, who had also received a grid drop of three places for a similar offence, Verstappen was quickest out of the blocks at the start, slipping between Bottas and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz as they headed to Turn 1. And after hugging the inside line through the opening corner he found himself in P4 after Turn 2, despite kick up the dust when Alpine’s Fernando Alonso drifted wide as they approached the apex.
He quickly began to close on Gasly, who made his first front-row start after being boosted up the grid by the penalties elsewhere The AlphaTauri man went wide in the final corner as DRS was activated and Max breezed past on the pit straight. And on lap five he made the dame move past Alonso to claim second place, 3.7s behind Hamilton.
Further back, Versatppen’s team-mate Sérgio Pérez was also on the march and after powering past Esteban Ocon on lap nine the Red Bull driver was up to sixth place. Gasly was then passed by the hard-charging Mexican.
Pérez now began to chase down McLaren’s Lando Norris. The McLaren driver’s soft tyres were beginning to faded and the Red Bull man claimed fourth place by easing past the Briton at the start of Lap 18.
Verstappen then made his first visit to the pit lane at the end of lap 17, taking on hard tyres in a 2.2s stop. Mercedes responded on the next lap and after a similar swift switch to Hard tyres he rejoined in the lead, the full length of the pit straight ahead of his Dutch rival.
Pérez made his stop at the end of lap 19 and after taking on hard tyres, he began to once again scythe through the order, making his way back to P5 by lap 28, behind Alonso.
He attacked at the start of the following tour and after feinting right, which caused Alonso to cover aggressively, Pérez dived left and went to the outside of the Alpine through Turn 1. Alonso hung on to his line and the pair went through Turns Two and Three wheel-to-wheel. However, armed with a better exit from Three, Pérez was able to muscle past to take fourth place.
At the front, though, Hamilton was comfortable and holding a seven-second gap to Verstappen at the end of lap 33. Bottas was in trouble though, suffering a puncture on lap 34 He went off track mid-way through the lap and rejoined and that allowed Sergio to close in and sweep past the Mercedes man to claim third place. Bottas made it back to the pit lane but after an 11-second stop for hard tyres and a new nose, the Finn rejoined in P14.
On lap 40, Hamilton was 8.5s ahead of Verstappen, with Pérez some 52.8s behind his team-mate. Alonso now held fourth place ahead of Norris, with the second Alpine of Esteban Ocon in sixth place ahead of Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and the Ferrari’s of Sainz and Charles Leclerc. Vettel held 10th place ahead of Gasly who had made a second pit stop.
Verstappen made his second pit stop at the end of lap 41, taking on medium tyres in a superb 2.1s stop. Pérez followed moments later and he too went for mediums, rejoining in P7 with Stroll, Ocon and Norris.
Stroll was despatched swiftly and then the Mexican attacked Ocon at the start of lap 48. He powered past the Frenchman around the outside into Turn 1 and though the Frenchman tried to fight back, resistance was futile and Pérez took P5. He was, however, 15 seconds behind Fernando Alonso with Norris still in the way in P4.
The race then took another turn in the final laps as Norris and both Williams drivers, who were both attempting one-stop races, suffered front-left punctures similar to the one that eventually caused Bottas to retire.
The damage to Norris was not severe and the McLaren driver was able to return to the pits. He dropped to ninth, however, and Pérez was boosted to fourth place, 11 seconds behind Alonso. Williams’ George Russell was next to suffer and when team-mate Nicholas Latifi went off track and his car proved hard to recover, the VSC was deployed.
Perez was just six seconds behind Alonso under the caution but with a single lap of racing left when the track eventually went green again, the Mexican driver was forced to settle for fourth place behind Alonso, who took his first podium finish in seven years.
Ahead Hamilton took the chequered flag to claim his seventh victory of the season. Behind him Verstappen made sure of the extra point on offer by taking on soft tyres for a final tour of 1:23.196. His P2 finish and that extra point mean he is now eight points ahead of Hamilton with two races remaining. In the Constructors’ battle Mercedes now head Red Bull by five points.
Behind the top four, Ocon finished fourth for Alpine – putting them 25 points clear of AlphaTauri in the battle for fifth in the Constructors’ Championship – ahead of Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and the Ferraris of Sainz and Leclerc. Norris finished ninth and the final point went to Sebastian Vettel in the second Aston.
2021 FIA Formula 1 Qatar Grand Prix – Race
1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 57 1:24’28.471
2 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda 57 1:24’54.214 25.743
3 Fernando Alonso Alpine/Renault 57 1:25’27.928 59.457
4 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda 57 1:25’30.777 1’02.306
5 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 57 1:25’49.041 1’20.570
6 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 57 1:25’49.745 1’21.274
7 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 57 1:25’50.382 1’21.911
8 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 57 1:25’51.597 1’23.126
9 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 56 1:24’29.186 1 lap /0.715
10 Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin/Mercedes 56 1:24’34.067 1 lap /5.596
11 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri/Honda 56 1:24’39.660 1 lap /11.189
12 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren/Mercedes 56 1:25’02.071 1 lap /33.600
13 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri/Honda 56 1:25’02.397 1 lap /33.926
14 Kimi Räikkönen Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 56 1:25’05.206 1 lap /36.735
15 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 56 1:25’29.614 1 lap /1’01.143
16 Mick Schumacher Haas/Ferrari 56 1:25’31.192 1 lap /1’02.721
17 George Russell Williams/Mercedes 55 1:24’46.509 2 laps /18.038
18 Nikita Mazepin Haas/Ferrari 55 1:25’08.856 2 laps /40.385
Nicholas Latifi Williams/Mercedes 50 1:15’59.831 Tyre
Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 48 1:12’40.238 Retiremen
