Your basket is currently empty!
Tag: Formula One
-
Verstappen begins F1 campaign in style; Red Bull 1-2 at Bahrain
Bahrain, 2 March 2024: Max Verstappen started his 2024 F1 campaign in the same style as he signed off last year, by taking an emphatic victory in the Bahrain Grand Prix, the opening round of the Formula One World championship here on Saturday.
The three-time champion marched to a comfortable win more than 20 seconds ahead of Sergio Pérez who made it a second consecutive Sakhir 1-2 for Red Bull Racing, while Carlos Sainz took the final podium place, just three seconds behind Pérez and with team-mate Charles Leclerc fourth to give Ferrari hope of taking the fight to Red Bull over the coming weekends.
Verstappen’s opening win of 2024 was sealed at the start. The Red Bull driver reacted quickest to the lights and he seized the lead into Turn 1 ahead of Leclec who was forced to take an outside line into the corner as Mercedes’ George Russell held his starting third place.
Behind them, Sainz got away poorly and the Spaniard was mugged off the line by Pérez who grabbed P4 and began to chase down Russell.
The Mercedes driver was on a hunt of his own and on the third lap Russell powered past Leclerc to take P2. The Ferrari driver was struggling with his brakes and he was soon being pressured by Pérez. And on lap 7 the Mexican pounced. Leclerc locked up into Turn 10 and Pérez powered past on the short straight to the next corner.
At the front, Verstappen was building a solid comfort zone and by lap 10 he was almost eight seconds clear of Russell, while the Mercedes driver was just a second ahead of Pérez.
The threat from the Red Bull driver prompted Mercedes to pit Russell at the end of lap 11 and the Briton switched to Hard tyres. With Leclerc visibly struggling, Ferrari brought him for Hard tyres on the same lap. Covering Russell, Red Bull brought Pérez in at the end of lap 12 and after his switch to Hard tyres he emerged behind the Mercedes driver in P9.
It didn’t take long for the Red Bull man to make his greater pace tell. He quickly put pressure on the Mercedes and in Turn 4 Russell made a mistake, went wide and Pérez swept past to set up a Red Bull 1-2.
Verstappen made his first stop at the end of lap 17 and in a 2.9s halt he took on Hard tyres to re-emerge in the lead. But while the champion had everything under control, there were problems elsewhere. Leclerc, now in fifth place, was complaining of continuous front locking and Russell was reporting problems with an overheating power unit, an issue that on lap 18 allowed Sainz to power past to take P3.
The order at the top remained largely static during the second stint and Russell was the first of the leaders to make a second pit stop, at the end of lap 31. Over the following laps the bulk of the top 10 drivers cycled through the pit lane and then, at the end of lap 36, Pérez made his second stop, taking on a set of Soft tyres in a 2.7s halt that allowed him to emerge a little under two seconds ahead of Sainz who had pitted for a second set of Hard Tyres. Verstappen then made his final stop a lap later and after also taking on Soft tyres he emerged almost 16s clear of his team-mate.
The final major move of the race came on lap 46 with Russell locking up into Turn 10. His slide wide allowed Leclerc through to take fourth place. And there the order settled.
Verstappen, who had also sealed fastest lap earlier in the race, could now manage his pace and 11 laps later the World Champion crossed the line to take 22 seconds clear of his team-mate to take his first win of the new campaign.
The Red Bulls were followed by the Ferrari cars of Sainz and Leclerc, with Russell in fifth place at the flag. Sixth place went to McLaren’s Lando Norris, with Lewis Hamilton in seventh place in the second Mercedes. Oscar Piastri was eighth in the second Mercedes and the final two points places were taken by Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll.
2024 FIA Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix – Race
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 57 1:31’44.742
2 Sergio Pérez Red Bull Racing RBPT 57 1:32’07.199 22.457
3 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 57 1:32’09.852 25.110
4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 57 1:32’24.411 39.669
5 George Russell Mercedes 57 1:32’31.530 46.788
6 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 57 1:32’33.200 48.458
7 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 57 1:32’35.066 50.324
8 Oscar Piastri McLaren 57 1:32’40.824 56.082
9 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 57 1:32’59.629 1’14.887
10 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 57 1:33’17.958 1’33.216
11 Zhou Guanyu Sauber 56 1:31’51.501 1 lap /6.759
12 Kevin Magnussen Haas 56 1:31’53.058 1 lap /8.316
13 Daniel Ricciardo RB 56 1:31’53.700 1 lap /8.958
14 Yuki Tsunoda RB 56 1:31’54.224 1 lap /9.482
15 Alexander Albon Williams 56 1:31’56.628 1 lap /11.886
16 Nico Hülkenberg Haas 56 1:32’02.374 1 lap /17.632
17 Esteban Ocon Alpine 56 1:32’16.192 1 lap /31.450
18 Pierre Gasly Alpine 56 1:32’17.159 1 lap /32.417
19 Valtteri Bottas Sauber 56 1:33’07.972 1 lap /1’23.230
20 Logan Sargeant Williams 55 1:32’05.537 2 laps /20.795 -
Hamilton leads free practice time sheets in Bahrain: F1
Bahrain, 29 February 2024: The opening weekend of the longest season in Formula 1 history saw Mercedes write the first headline. The Toto Wolff-run team had both its drivers at the top of the time sheet come the end of the second free practice session, the one that is most relevant as it was held in similar conditions to those found in tomorrow’s qualifying and Saturday’s race. Quickest was Lewis Hamilton (1:30.374) while team-mate George Russell was just 206 thousandths of a second slower. Behind the Mercedes duo came five drivers from five different teams in the following order: Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin), Carlos Sainz (Ferrari), Oscar Piastri (McLaren), Max Verstappen (Red Bull) and Nico Hulkenberg (Haas), all within 286 thousandths, the German’s time 510 thousandths slower than Hamilton’s.
Quite strong winds were the order of the day, as well as much cooler temperatures than usual for the Bahrain Grand Prix and to a lesser extent to those experienced at last week’s test, with the mercury dropping below 20° for air temperature in FP2. It should be noted that this event is taking place a bit earlier in the year than usual. Hamilton’s time was just under six tenths faster than the best FP2 time from last year, when Alonso posted a 1:30.907 and 666 thousandths off the 2023 pole time set by Verstappen.
Max, 6th in Free Practice
Lewis Hamilton set the pace in the second practice session for this weekend’s season-opening FIA Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix, with the Mercedes driver finishing two tenths of a second clear of team-mate George and with defending World Champion Max Verstappen in sixth place.
At the start of the session, drivers went out on a mix of Soft and medium tyres, with many of the expected frontrunners opting for the red-walled C3 compound. Red Bull’s Sergio Pérez was quicker to the fore with a time of 1:31.629 but that was soon beaten by Charles Leclerc who logged a lap of 131.578 in the Ferrari SF-24. However, both were easily bypassed by Hamilton who posted a lap of 1:30.751 to take top spot. Alonso then split the top two with a 1m31.035s. Hamilton though was improving all the time and the seven-time champion eventually worked his way to 1:30.374 to seal first place for good.
Further down the order, Verstappen’s opening lap was half a second down on Hamilton’s P1 time and, although he later improved on the same set of tyres, he failed to make a serious move up the order and eventually had to settle for the sixth place earned by his best time of 1:30.851.
Behind Hamilton, Russell slotted in behind to sit second, posting a best time of 1:30.580 on his second set of Softs to finish 0.206 behind his team-mate. Fernando Alonso ended up in third place, eight hundredths of a second behind Russell and fourth place went to Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz on 1:30.769, a time that put him 0.015s ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and with Verstappen 0.477s off Hamilton in P6.
These performance runs of the first half hour then gave way to longer running, which meant that Nico Hülkenberg finished in P7 for Haas, just three hundredths of a second off Verstappen, while Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll was eighth, 0.007s behind the German. Leclerc and Pérez rounded out the top 10, ahead of Williams’ Alex Albon, with RB’s Daniel Ricciardo in P12 ahead of the second Williams of Logan Sargeant.2024 FIA Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix – Free Practice 2
1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes !:30.374 25 215.584
2 George Russell Mercedes !:30.580 0.206 23 215.093
3 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes !:30.660 0.286 22 214.904
4 Carlos Sainz Ferrari !:30.769 0.395 25 214.645
5 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes !:30.784 0.410 27 214.610
6 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT !:30.851 0.477 25 214.452
7 Nico Hülkenberg Haas/Ferrari !:30.884 0.510 23 214.374
8 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes !:30.891 0.517 26 214.357
9 Charles Leclerc Ferrari !:31.113 0.739 26 213.835
10 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda RBPT !:31.115 0.741 26 213.830
11 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes !:31.333 0.959 26 213.320
12 Daniel Ricciardo RB/Honda RBPT !:31.516 1.142 26 212.893
13 Logan Sargeant Williams/Mercedes !:31.715 1.341 27 212.431
14 Kevin Magnussen Haas/Ferrari !:31.764 1.390 27 212.318
15 Yuki Tsunoda RB/Honda RBPT !:31.881 1.507 29 212.048
16 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault !:31.951 1.577 25 211.886
17 Valtteri Bottas Sauber/Ferrari !:32.001 1.627 24 211.771
18 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault !:32.027 1.653 25 211.711
19 Zhou Guanyu Sauber/Ferrari !:32.048 1.674 28 211.663
20 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes !:32.608 2.234 25 210.383 -
Max Verstappen overcomes time penalty to win at Las Vegas
Las Vegas, 19 Nov. 2023: Max Verstappen overcame a time penalty and car damage to take his 18th win of 2023 in an exciting inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix in which Charles Leclerc overtook Sergio Pérez on the last lap to take second place. Pérez’s P3 at the flag sealed the Drivers’ Championship runner-up sport for the Mexican.
When the lights went out at the start, polesitter Leclerc got away well to take a narrow lead. However, even though he started on the dirty side of the track, Verstappen also made a good start and he took the inside line on the way to Turn 1. The champion braked late but slide wide, forcing Leclerc off track. When they rejoined, Verstappen was ahead and in the lead. However, the incident was soon put under investigation by the stewards.
Further back, Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso also spun in Turn 1 and that caused a number of cars around him to take evasive action including Ferrari’s Caros Sainz One of them was Pérez and as the Mexican tried to react he tapped the back of Valtteri Bottas’ Alfa Romeo, sustaining front wing damage.
At the end of the first lap Pérez pitted for a new nose and a set of Hard tyres. He rejoined in 18th place, just as a Virtual Safety Car was deployed to allow marshals to clear debris in Turn 1. However, almost as soon as the VSC ended, the physical Safety Car was deployed when Lando Norris crashed at Turn 12.
The Safety Car left the track at the end of lap six and Verstappen controlled the re-start well to hold the lead but on lap eight, the stewards handed down their decision on the start and Verstappen was handed a five-second penalty for forcing Leclerc off track. The champion, who was now two seconds clear of Leclerc, held position, expecting to serve the penalty in his first stop.
Pérez, meanwhile, was on the move and after rising to 16th under the SC as rivals pitted he then breezed past Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and the AlphaTauris of Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo to take P13.
At the front, Verstappen was trying to shake Leclerc but the Ferrari driver was grimly hanging on to the back of the Red Bull and was just a second behind the race leader. And on lap 12, Leclerc attacked. The Ferrari driver closed up on the long run to Turn 14 and he passed the champion on the inside under braking to take the lead. Red Bull pitted Verstappen and after serving his time penalty and taking on a set of Hard tyres he rejoined in ninth place.
But as others pitted, Pérez vaulted up the order and on lap 18 he was in P2 just 14 seconds behind Leclerc. The Ferrari driver made his first stop on lap 22 and after a 3.9s stop, he rejoined in P3 behind Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and new race leader, Pérez. The Ferrari driver was now four seconds ahead of Verstappen who was back in P7 but being hampered by Alonso and Russell who were battling over P5.
Verstappen was soon past Alonso and after Russell had passed Sainz, the champion followed suit, powering past the Spaniard and tucking in behind the Mercedes. Verstappen went on the attack at the end of lap 25 but Russell was unsighted, turned in and there was contact. Verstappen took third place but was left with a damaged front wing and with debris on the track, the Safety Car was deployed.
The Dutch driver pitted for checks and new tyres while behind him a stream of cars filed into the pit lane for new tyres, including Pérez, who took on another set of Hard tyres and rejoined behind Leclerc who stayed out. Alpine’s Pierre Gasly was now third ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, with both on one stop, and Verstappen was in P5.
The Safety Car left the track at the end of lap 28 and Leclerc kept the lead ahead of Pérez. He tried to quickly shake off the Red Bull driver but the Mexican clung on and when DRS was enabled he closed up and on lap 32 powered past the Ferrari driver into Turn 14 to take the lead once more. Behind them Verstappen muscled his way past Gasly to take P4 and then on lap 33 he passed Piastri for P3, just 1.6s behind Leclerc and 2.4s off Pérez.
On lap 35, Leclerc fought back and the Monegasque surprised Pérez with a late dart down the inside of turn 14 to steal back the lead. Verstappen was now inside DRS range of Pérez and on lap 36 he roared past the Mexican to begin the hunt for the lead. On lap 37 the Dutchman pounced, powering past the Ferrari drive on the run to Turn 14. Leclerc fought back with a late braking lunge but Verstappen was already ahead and into the lead.
Now it was Pérez’s turn to reel in the Ferrari and on lap 43 the under pressure Ferrari driver locked up into Turn 12 and the Red Bull driver swept past.
Leclerc wasn’t done, though, and though the Mexican tried to break DRS, the Ferrari driver stuck closer and on the final lap he went for broke, diving down the inside into Turn 14 to ambush Pérez and steal P2 just a few hundred metres from the flag.
Verstappen, meanwhile, was already there, powering across the line to become the first winner of the Las Vegas Grand Prix. Behind Pérez, Alpine’s Esteban Ocon took fourth place ahead of Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll. Sainz was sixth in the second Ferrari, while Hamilton and Russell were seventh and eighth respectively for Mercedes. Fernando Alonso finished ninth in the second Aston and the final point went to McLaren’s Oscar Piastri.
2023 FIA Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix – Race
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 50 1:29’08.289
2 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 50 1:29’10.359 2.070
3 Sergio Pérez Red Bull Racing 50 1:29’10.530 2.241
4 Esteban Ocon Alpine 50 1:29’26.954 18.665
5 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 50 1:29’28.356 20.067
6 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 50 1:29’29.123 20.834
7 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 50 1:29’30.044 21.755
8 George Russell Mercedes 50 1:29’31.380 23.091
9 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 50 1:29’34.253 25.964
10 Oscar Piastri McLaren 50 1:29’37.785 29.496
11 Pierre Gasly Alpine 50 1:29’42.559 34.270
12 Alexander Albon Williams 50 1:29’51.687 43.398
13 Kevin Magnussen Haas 50 1:29’53.114 44.825
14 Daniel Ricciardo AlphaTauri 50 1:29’56.814 48.525
15 Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo 50 1:29’58.451 50.162
16 Logan Sargeant Williams 50 1:29’59.171 50.882
17 Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo 50 1:30’33.639 1’25.350
18 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri 46 1:23’38.931 Gearbox
19 Nico Hülkenberg Haas 45 1:21’43.790 Not running -
Max Verstappen powers Red Bull to Constructors’ title
Suzuka, 24 Sept. 2023: Max Verstappen powered to a dominant Japanese Grand Prix win at Suzuka to seal a sixth Formula 1 Constructors’ Championship title win for Red Bull Racing and to move one step closer to his third Drivers’ title in a row. McLaren’s Lando Norris finished second ahead of team-mate Oscar Piastri, while Sergio Pérez in the other Red Bull was forced to retire from the race after two early collisions.
“Unbelievable guys, you deserve that,” Verstappen told his team over the radio after crossing the line. “You can all be very proud, here at the track and back at the factory. You have built a rocket ship of car, well done!”
Verstappen’s win puts him on 400 points and just a handful of points away from a third title. The Dutchman is now 177 ahead of the non-scoring Pérez with a maximum 180 points still on the table from the remaining six rounds. The Dutchman is now almost certain to take the crown at the next race in Qatar.
Starting from pole in Suzuka, Verstappen seized the lead of the line. And though his progress was briefly slowed by an early Safety Car, once he had calmly navigated the re-start, the championship leader simply drove away from the rest of the field to eventually beat Norris to the flag by 19.3 seconds.
When the lights went out for the start, Verstappen got away well and despite pressure from Piastri to his right, the Dutchman placed his car well to block the McLaren. That left Piastri vulnerable, and spotting the opportunity, Norris powered through to steal P2 from his team-mate.
Behind the top three, Pérez got a poor start from fifth place on the grid and on the approach to Turn 1 he was squeezed by the Ferrari pair of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz. Forced left, Pérez made contact with Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and dropped back to seventh as Sainz slipped through to P5 and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso roared up the inside from 10th to sixth.
Further back again, there was another incident, with Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu moving into the path of Williams’ Alex Albon. The Williams driver ran over the rear left of the Alfa Romeo and while both managed to keep going, substantial amounts of debris were left on track and the Safety Car was deployed.
Behind the Safety Car Pérez pitted at the end of lap 2 for a new nose cone. But the Mexican driver’s race unravelled further there as he rejoined incorrectly behind the Safety Car and was handed a five-second time penalty. It would only get worse for the Red Bull driver.
When the Safety Car left the track Verstappen controlled the re-start well to hold his lead ahead of Norris and Piastri, with Leclerc in fourth ahead of Sainz and Alonso.
Pérez was soon on the march and over the following half dozen laps he carved his way from 18th place to 12th, behind the Haas of Kevin Magnussen. However, on lap 13, the Red Bull driver was sent plummeting down the order again when an attempt to pass the Dane at the hairpin went wrong. “I’ve got front wing damage again,” he lamented after locking up and sliding into the side of the Haas.
Pérez returned to the pit lane again, serving his penalty and taking on a new nose cone. But almost as soon as he was back on track he reported that his car “did not feel right” and he returned to the pit lane and the garage. He was also handed a second penalty for causing the collision with Magnussen.
At the front, the leaders began to pit. Piastri sparked the stops, boxing under the VSC deployed for the Pérez and attempting to undercut the drivers ahead. Verstappen then made his first stop, taking on another set of Medium tyres and Leclerc, Norris and Sainz all followed soon after. Verstappen soon returned to the lead, ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell, who had yet to stop, and Piastri, who had managed to undercut Norris thanks to his stop under the VSC.
At the front Verstappen was striding away from the chasing pack and at half distance the Red Bull driver was 12 seconds ahead of Piastri. McLaren were on the radio to the Australian, however, telling him that Norris was running faster and on lap 27 Piastri backed off the let his team-mate through to P2.
Leclerc made his second stop, from fifth, at the end of lap 35, quickly followed by sixth-placed Hamilton, and both driver took on Hard tyres. Third-placed Piastri followed suit at the end of the next lap with Norris coming in a lap later and then at the end of lap 37 Max made is final stop of the racing, fitting a set of Hard tyres for the last 16 laps of the race.
Pérez, seeking to shake off his penalty in case it carried over to Qatar went back out on lap 40 before steering back to the garage a lap later.
Ahead, Verstappen led Norris by more than 15 seconds, with Piastri in third and Leclerc fourth. And over the final 15 dozen laps the gap only grew and when he eventually crossed the line to take his 13th win of the season and to secure the 2023 Constructors’ World Championship title for the Team he was over 19 seconds clear of Norris, with Piastri a further 17 seconds back in third.
Fourth place went to Leclerc with Hamilton in fifth ahead of Sainz. Russell, who made a single pit stop during the race, came home in seventh place, with Alonso in eighth ahead of the Alpine of Esteban Ocon, and the final point on offer went to Pierre Gasly in the second Alpine.
2013 FIA Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix – Race
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 53 1:30’58.421
2 Lando Norris McLaren 53 1:31’17.808 19.387
3 Oscar Piastri McLaren 53 1:31’34.915 36.494
4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 53 1:31’42.419 43.998
5 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 53 1:31’47.797 49.376
6 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 53 1:31’48.642 50.221
7 George Russell Mercedes 53 1:31’56.080 57.659
8 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 53 1:32’13.146 1’14.725
9 Esteban Ocon Alpine 53 1:32’18.099 1’19.678
10 Pierre Gasly Alpine 53 1:32’21.576 1’23.155
11 Liam Lawson AlphaTauri 52 1:31’01.510 1 lap /3.089
12 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri 52 1:31’02.395 1 lap /3.974
13 Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo 52 1:31’04.761 1 lap /6.340
14 Nico Hülkenberg Haas 52 1:31’08.019 1 lap /9.598
15 Kevin Magnussen Haas 52 1:31’27.991 1 lap /29.570
Alexander Albon Williams 26 48’31.077 Retirement
Logan Sargeant Williams 22 42’29.573 Accident damage
Lance Stroll Aston Martin 20 37’53.303 Wing
Sergio Pérez Red Bull Racing 15 1:13’07.893 Retirement
Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo 7 17’03.533 Accident damage -
Max Verstappen takes ninth consecutive win, equals Vettel’s record
Zandvort, 27 August 2023: Max Verstappen shrugged off downpours, Safety Cars and a red flag to take his third straight win on home soil at the Dutch Grand Prix and to equal Sebastian Vettel’s decade-old record of nine consecutive wins.
The Red Bull driver briefly lost the lead as heavy rain midway through the opening lap led to team-mate Sergio Pérez to pit for Intermediate tyres and rise up the order as many drivers, including Verstappen , held off until the end of the second tour. But once equipped with Inters Verstappen rose through the order to retake the lead on lap and then led the race through Safety Cars, more heavy rain and red flags in the closing stages to take his 46th career win ahead of Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso and Alpine’s jubilant Pierre Gasly.
When the lights went out at the start, Verstappen got away well from pole position and took the lead ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris. Behind them, Alonso was the major mover, rising from fifth on the grid to third place in the opening three corners.
However, halfway around the first lap the heavens opened and Pérez was the first to react. While Verstappen, Norris and Alonso stuck with slick Soft tyres, the Mexican, followed by a stream of cars, pitted for Intermediates.
Pérez dropped down the order but as the rain intensified it became clear that slick tyres were not suitable and Verstappen pitted at the end of lap two. Pérez, meanwhile, was rocketed through the field and after passing Mercedes’ George Russell at the start of third lap, he took the lead, 14 seconds clear of Verstappen who was now in fifth place, behind Gasly.
Verstappen was soon on the move, however, and when Russell pitted and dropped back Verstappen muscled past Gasly on lap 6 and then passed Alfa Romeo’s Guanyu Zhou on the following lap to take second place, 9.5s behind Pérez.
The shower was weakening, however, and with the track drying quickly Verstappen was soon back in the pits taking on Soft tyres. Pérez made the same switch a lap later but the undercut worked for Verstappen and the Dutchman as his team-mate made his way to the pit exit, Verstappen swept past to retake the lead, with Alonso in third ahead of Gasly and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz.
The chaos of the opening phase then briefly gave way to more settled running, but on lap 16 the shape of the race changed again when Williams’ Logan Sargeant crashed at Turn 8. The Safety Car was released and the field bunched up behind the Bulls until lap 21 when the caution ended.
Verstappen held the lead well at the restart, with Pérez hanging on to his team-mate’s RB19 to keep Alonso at bay. Behind the front three, Gasly held fourth place despite heavy pressure from Sainz.
After the resumption it was Albon making the most headway, with the Williams driver swiftly passing Haas’ Kevin Magnussen and Zhou to take sixth place. Further back, however, Charles Leclerc was struggling on lap 27 he dropped two places as he was passed by both Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri. The Ferrari driver, who had suffered floor damage in a tangle with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri at the start, would later retire from the race.
At the front, Verstappen was steadily building a gap to his team-mate and by lap 44 he was 11 seconds ahead. Pérez then made his second stop, for more softs, and he dropped to fourth place behind Gasly.
The Frenchman made his pit stop on lap 47, during which he served a five-second penalty for an earlier speeding offence in the pit lane and Peerez moved back to third place, which became second when Alonso pitted at the end of lap 48. The Spaniard’s stop was slow due to the problem with his front left tyre and he lost third place to Sainz.
Verstappen made his third pit stop at the end of the following tour and after taking on another set of Soft tyres the Dutchman resumed in the lead, six seconds clear of his team-mate and Alonso and Sainz.
Behind them Gasly was driving well in fifth place and beginning to put pressure on Sainz, while at the start of lap 57 Albon moved back to sixth place, using DRS to pass Russell who had risen up the order after his stop for hard tyres early in the race.
Gasly then made his way past Sainz at the start of lap 60 but within a lap the rain that had been moving towards Zandvoort for some time began to fall. Pérez was again the first to react and he pitted for Inters. The Mexican was followed by a stream of cars and then on the following lap, Verstappen made his stop and resumed in the lead.
Pérez then went off at Turn 1 and clipped the barriers. He was able to continue but lost P2 to Alonso. The rain was now intensifying and when Zhou lost control and went into the barriers at Turn 1, the VSC was deployed. With a sizeable gap in hand, Verstappen headed into the pit lane for full wet tyres and with torrential rain falling, Pérez followed.
However, during the Mexican’s stop the race was red flagged and he was forced to stop at the end of the pit lane as the rest of the field tip-toed through the treacherous conditions to join him. The stoppage was also a chance for the team to assess the damage caused to the Mexican’s car in his Turn 1 spin and contact with the barrier and when he clipped the wall at the pit entry on the way into the pit lane, a moment that would later compromise his race.
After almost 45 minutes Race Control indicated that the race would get underway again, with a rolling start and with intermediate tyres specified and with Max at the front of the pack ahead of Alonso and Pérez.
And when the Safety Car left the track at the end of lap 66, Verstappen controlled the restart well to keep a hard-charging Alonso at bay. Pérez, however, was handed a five-second penalty for his tyre switch in the heavy rain, during which he exceeded the pit lane speed limit.
Further back, Russell put a good move on Norris to take P7, but the McLaren driver fought back and in Turn 11 there was contact. Russell sustained a puncture and was forced back to the pit lane.
Verstappen, though, was pulling away at the front and after 72 incident-packed laps the Dutchman crossed the line to take his ninth win of 2023.
Despite pressure from behind, Alonso took P2 with Gasly rising to third as Pérez’s penalty was applied. The Mexican was left with fourth ahead of Sainz, Hamilton and Norris. Albon finished eighth ahead of Piastri and the final point went to Alpine’s Esteban Ocon.
2023 FIA Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix – Race
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 72 2:24’04.411
2 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 72 2:24’08.155 3.744
3 Pierre Gasly Alpine 72 2:24’11.469 7.058
4 Sergio Pérez Red Bull Racing 72 2:24’14.479 10.068
5 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 72 2:24’16.952 12.541
6 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 72 2:24’17.620 13.209
7 Lando Norris McLaren 72 2:24’17.643 13.232
8 Alexander Albon Williams 72 2:24’19.566 15.155
9 Oscar Piastri McLaren 72 2:24’20.991 16.580
10 Esteban Ocon Alpine 72 2:24’22.757 18.346
11 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 72 2:24’24.498 20.087
12 Nico Hülkenberg Haas 72 2:24’25.251 20.840
13 Liam Lawson AlphaTauri 72 2:24’30.558 26.147
14 Kevin Magnussen Haas 72 2:24’30.821 26.410
15 Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo 72 2:24’31.799 27.388
16 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri 72 2:24’34.304 29.893
17 George Russell Mercedes 72 2:25’00.165 55.754
Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo 62 1:27’01.340 Accident
Charles Leclerc Ferrari 41 59’41.345 Retirement
Logan Sargeant Williams 14 21’42.428 Accident
Daniel Ricciardo AlphaTauri RBPT 0 – Withdrawn -
Max Verstappen takes pole ahead of Lando Norris
Zandvoort (The Netherlands), 26 August 2023: Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen took pole position for his home race at Zandvoort half a second clear of McLaren’s Lando Norris in a wet/dry qualifying for the 2023 FIA Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix that was twice interrupted by red flags.
After separate crashes for Williams’ Logan Sargeant and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc brought the final top-10 shootout to a halt, Verstappen held his nerve in the tight final handful of minutes to post an unbeatable lap of 1:10.567, 0.537s clear of Norris, with Mercedes’ George Russell in fourth ahead of Alex Albon in a much improved Williams.
At the start of the session Norris took top spot in the opening stages with a time of 1:22.932, almost four tenths of a second ahead of Verstappen. Norris’ team-mate Oscar Piastri then took P1 and with a little under seven minutes remaining Sergio Pérez, in the second Red Bull, jumped to P2 with a time of 1:22.296.
The track was improving all the time, however, and Verstappen was soon back in P1, posting a lap of 1:21.230 to sit almost two tenths clear of Piastri who had improved to 1:21.254 and third-place Norris who was almost two tenths further back.
With three minutes left, Alex Albon stole P1 with a lap of 1:20.939 and light rain beginning to fall in the pit lane there were few improvements during the final laps of Q1, though Charles Leclerc needed a last-ditch attempt to escape the drop zoner and the Ferrari driver’s nervy, sliding final flyer boosted him to P14.
Out at the end of the first session were Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu, Alpine’s Esteban Ocon, Haas’ Kevin Magnussen, the second Alfa Romeo of Valtteri Bottas and rookie Liam Lawson, taking part in his first Qualifying session for AlphaTauri in place of the injured Daniel Ricciardo.
At the start of Q2 Verstappen ste that pace with a lap of 1:21.921, while Piastri took P2 with a time of 1:21.399, ahead of Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso.
With a little over seven minutes remaining, Verstappen improved to 1:20.282 to take P1 ahead of fellow improver Norris, with Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton in P3. With the sun now shining and with conditions steadily improving, Verstappen took six tenths of a second out of his own P1 time to lower the benchmark at 1:19.652. Pérez, on a new set of intermediates, then jumped from P11 to P2 with a time of 1:20.591. But once again the Red Bull drivers were shuffled back by Albon who took P1 with a lap of 1:19.399.
With just over a minute left Piastri moved the top of the timesheet with a time of 1:19.392. The Australian was the first to take the flag, however, and with a host of improvements being made elsewhere he couldn’t hold onto P1. Verstappen duly took top spot at the end of the session with a lap of 1:18.856. Piastri held on to P2 ahead of Albon, with Alonso fourth ahead of Leclerc, with George Russell sixth for Mercedes ahead of Norris, while Pérez went through in P8 ahead of Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and the second Williams of Logan Sargeant. Out went Stroll, in P11, ahead of Gasly, Hamilton, AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda and Haas’ Nico Hülkenberg.
At the start of the top 10 shootout it was Albon, on slick tyres, who set the pace, with the Williams driver posting a lap of 1:15.743 a second clear of team-mate Sargeant, Sainz and Russell. There was no time for any other flying laps, however, as the red flags were flown when Sargeant lost control of his Williams and went off hard into the barriers at Turn 2.
After a 20-minute delay due to barrier repairs, running resumed, with eight minutes left in the session and with the remaining drivers on slick tyres.
Russell was the first to set a flyer and the P1 time immediately dropped to 1:12.578. Norris quickly rose to the top of the order with a lap of 1:12.049 ahead of Piastri, while Verstappen slotted into third place on 1:12.389. However, with four minutes remaining the red flags came out again when Leclerc, on his second flyer, went off at Turn 9, causing extensive damage to the left side of his Ferrari.
When the green lights were shown again, Verstappen punched in what proved to be an unbeatable benchmark of 1:10.567 to take his eight pole position of 2023. Norris got closest to the Dutchman, though the McLaren driver took the front row berth a full half second adrift of the champion, while Russell will line up third alongside Albon. Alonso and Sainz are set to start on row three, and Pérez will start the Dutch Grand Prix from P7 on the grid ahead of Piastri and the unfortunate Leclerc and Sargeant.
2023 FIA Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix – Qualifying
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 1:10.567 8 217.274
2 Lando Norris McLaren 1:11.104 0.537 0.761 7 215.633
3 George Russell Mercedes 1:11.294 0.727 1.030 9 215.058
4 Alexander Albon Williams 1:11.419 0.852 1.207 10 214.682
5 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 1:11.506 0.939 1.331 9 214.421
6 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1:11.754 1.187 1.682 9 213.680
7 Sergio Pérez Red Bull Racing 1:11.880 1.313 1.861 9 213.305
8 Oscar Piastri McLaren 1:11.938 1.371 1.943 9 213.133
9 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:12.665 2.098 2.973 5 211.001
10 Logan Sargeant Williams 1:16.748 6.181 8.759 3 199.77
11 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 1:20.121 1.265 1.604 10 191.365
12 Pierre Gasly Alpine 1:20.128 1.272 1.613 10 191.348
13 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:20.151 1.295 1.642 10 191.293
14 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri 1:20.230 1.374 1.742 10 191.105
15 Nico Hülkenberg Haas 1:20.250 1.394 1.768 10 191.057
16 Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo 1:22.067 1.128 1.394 12 186.827
17 Esteban Ocon Alpine 1:22.110 1.171 1.447 12 186.729
18 Kevin Magnussen Haas 1:22.192 1.253 1.548 11 186.543
19 Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo 1:22.260 1.321 1.632 12 186.389
20 Liam Lawson AlphaTauri 1:23.420 2.481 3.065 12 183.797 -
Max Verstappen double at Spa; Sergio Perez 2nd
Spa Francorchamps, 30 July 2023: Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen rose from sixth on the grid to take a comfortable Belgian Grand Prix win, beating team-mate Sergio Pérez by more than 22 seconds, as Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc held off Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton to claim the final podium place at Spa-Francorchamps.
At the start, Leclerc made a good start from pole position to take the lead into La Source ahead of Pérez who defended aggressively to keep Hamilton at bay. Behind them, though, there was contact when Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, starting fourth, locked up into Turn 1 and squeezed McLaren’s Oscar Piastri into the wall on the inside. Both cars were damaged in the incident, with Piastri forced into retirement later in the lap, while Sainz was able to limp on.
Verstappen , meanwhile, made a good start from P6, and taking a wide line into Turn 1 to stay out of trouble he was able to tuck into P5 on the run through Eau Rouge.
As the cars swept up the hill to Raidillon, Pérez closed on Leclerc and the Mexican powered
past Leclerc to take the lead, while behind them Verstappen breezed past the wounded Ferrari of Sainz to take P4 behind Hamilton.
His stay behind the Briton would be brief, however. On lap six, the Dutchman closed in on the Kemmel straight under DRS and he eased past the Mercedes driver under braking on the inside into Les Combes. The champion was now just a second behind Leclerc, while ahead, Pérez led the Ferrari driver by 2.4 seconds. And three laps later Vertsappen moved to took to P2, passing Leclerc on the outside on the approach to Les Combes.
Hamilton was the first of the soft tyre front runners to pit and the Mercedes driver switched to Medium tyres at the end of lap 12. Pérez made his first stop on lap 12, and he moved to medium tyres. The stop was slightly slow, however, at 3.2 seconds with sparks flying from the left rear but he managed to rejoin in second place ahead of Leclerc. Verstappen then pitted at the end of lap 14 and he took on new Medium tyres in a 2.5s second stop that put him back on track just over two seconds behind Pérez.
Verstappen quickly erased that gap and on lap 17, aided by DRS on the long Kemmel straight, he shot past his team-mate to take the lead. And immediately afterwards the Dutchman posted a new fastest lap of 1:50.108 to power out of DRS range.
On lap 18, Sainz, struggling with damage in P19 and soon to retire, reported that rain was falling at Turn 15 and over the following three laps it began to get more steady and on lap 22 there was a nervous moment for Verstappen when the Dutchman suffered snap midway through Eau Rouge and had to quickly correct. “I almost lost it,” he told his pit wall before backing off his lap times in the tricky conditions to manage the gap to Pérez
The race leader was told the rain wouldn’t last, however, and despite the slippery track he and the rest of the field hung on to slick tyres. That forecast proved to be correct and soon after half distance the times began to drop once again, leaving the Red Bulls drivers to settle in at the front of the pack. On lap 25 Verstappen led Pérez by six seconds and with the Mexican seven seconds clear of Leclerc. Hamilton was fourth with Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso in P5.
Hamilton made his second stop, for Soft tyres, on lap 28 and Ferrari reacted by pitting Leclerc on the following lap, with the Monegasque driver moving to the same compound as their tight battle for P3 continued.
Pérez made his second stop at the end of lap 29 and in a smooth 2.2 second halt he also moved to Soft tyres. Verstappen then made his second stop at the end of the following lap, switching to Soft tyres just a tenth of a second slower than his team-mate. And he immediately used the greater grip of the softest compound on offer to blast to the fastest lap of the race with a lap of 1:48.922 on lap 32.
With the bulk of pit stops complete, the order at the top settled, with Verstappen a comfortable 17 seconds ahead of Pérez who was 4.2s clear of Leclerc. And by the end of lap 44 Verstappen had stretched the advantage to take his eight consecutive victory 22.3 seconds clear of Pérez, who scored his seventh podium of the season.
Behind the top two, Leclerc held on to second place ahead of Hamilton, who pitted on the penultimate lap for a new set of Medium tyres to take the fastest lap of the race on the final tour with a lap of 1:47.305.
Alonso finished in fifth place ahead of George Russell who worked a one-stop race well to take sixth after starting in eighth, while Lando Norris took the flag in P7. Esteban Ocon finished in eight place ahead of Lance Stroll and the final point on offer was taken by AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda.
2023 FIA Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix – Race
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 44 1:22’30.450
2 Sergio Pérez Red Bull Racing 44 1:22’52.755 22.305
3 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 44 1:23’02.709 32.259
4 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 44 1:23’20.121 49.671
5 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 44 1:23’26.634 56.184
6 George Russell Mercedes 44 1:23’33.551 1’03.101
7 Lando Norris McLaren 44 1:23’44.169 1’13.719
8 Esteban Ocon Alpine 44 1:23’45.169 1’14.719
9 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 44 1:23’49.790 1’19.340
10 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri 44 1:23’50.671 1’20.221
11 Pierre Gasly Alpine 44 1:23’53.534 1’23.084
12 Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo 44 1:23’55.641 1’25.191
13 Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo 44 1:24’05.891 1’35.441
14 Alexander Albon Williams 44 1:24’06.634 1’36.184
15 Kevin Magnussen Haas 44 1:24’12.204 1’41.754
16 Daniel Ricciardo AlphaTauri 44 1:24’13.521 1’43.071
17 Logan Sargeant Williams 44 1:24’14.926 1’44.476
18 Nico Hülkenberg Haas 44 1:24’20.900 1’50.450
Carlos Sainz Ferrari 23 44’53.845 Accident damage
Oscar Piastri McLaren 0 – Accident damage -
Max Verstappen sets record for Red Bull in Hungary; Lando Norris 2nd ahead of Perez
Max Verstappen made Formula 1 history as he scored a record 12th win in a row for Red Bull, with the Dutch driver taking his ninth win of 2023 ahead at the Hungarian of McLaren’s Lando Norris, while the final podium place went to Sergio Pérez who surged through the third place from P9 on the grid.
Starting from the front row, Verstappen beat pole position driver Lewis Hamilton to the punch into Turn 1 at the start and after taking the lead the Dutch strode away from the pack to hand Red Bull a victory that moves the team past the 11 wins in a row scored by McLaren in 1988.
“What an unbelievable rocket ship that was today,” said Verstappen on his slow down lap. “That was so enjoyable to drive. Twelve wins in a row, unbelievable. I think everyone can be really proud of that achievement.”
When the lights went out, Hamilton got away well from pole position, but even though Verstappen was slower away on the dusty side of the track he outdragged the Mercedes on the approach to Turn 1 and took the lead as the pair went through the first corner.
Behind the front row starters, third-place starter Lando Norris was held up as Hamilton took a wider line into Turn 1 and that allowed the McLaren driver’s team-mate Oscar Piastri to dive down the inside of Hamilton to steal P2. Norris also then got by the Mercedes driver to demote the pole sitter to P4.
Further back, Pérez, on Hard tyres, got a good start from P9 and when Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu bogged down on the grid, the Mexican along with a gaggle of rivals swept past. Trying to recover Zhou then became embroiled in a close battle with lower-placed rivals and as the midfield funnelled into Turn 1 there was contact. The incident ruled both Alpine cars out of the race as Esteban Ocon was clipped by an AlphaTauri and bounced into team-mate Pierre Gasly.
At the front, Verstappen was quickly into the groove and he quickly built a gap to Piastri with Norris in third ahead of Hamilton and the Ferrari cars of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz. Pérez, meanwhile, was already closing in on Fernando Alonso and at the start of lap eight, aided by DRS, the Mexican powered past the Aston Martin to take P7 place just over 1.5s behind Sainz.
Sainz had made up places thanks to a start on Soft tyres, but by lap 16 his tyres were beginning to fade and he headed into the pit lane for a set of Hard tyres, promoting Pérez to sixth place.
Hamilton made his first stop, for Hard tyres, on lap 17 and a lap later Norris made his first stop. The McLaren driver was followed by Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, but the team struggled with the rear left and after a 9.4s halt Leclerc rejoined in P10. Piastri made his stop on the following lap, but having benefited from an undercut, Norris passed his team-mate as the Australian exited the pit lane. Next into the pit lane was Alonso and when the Spanish driver took on a new set of Hard tyres, Pérez rose to second place, 22.3s behind Verstappen, with both needing to pit.
Verstappen headed in on lap 24, and after taking on Hard tyres in a 2.3s stop, the Dutchman resumed in the lead, 2.6s ahead of Pérez with Norris now third ahead of Piastri.
Pérez’s opening stint on Hard tyres came to an end at the end of lap 24 and the Mexican moved to Medium compound Pirellis in a 2.8s stop before rejoining in P7, again behind Sainz. Pérez was flying, however, and on lap 27 he muscled past the Spanish driver through Turn 1 and then, on the following lap the Red Bull driver powered past Mercedes George Russell, who was still on opening Hard tyres, to take fifth place, five seconds behind Hamilton.
At the front, at half distance, Verstappen was in total control, with the Dutchman a comfortable 12 seconds ahead of Norris, with Piastri seven seconds further back in third. Hamilton was fourth but just two seconds clear of Pérez who was closing in rapidly.
But with Hamilton defending well, the Team reacted by bringing Pérez in for a second stop, behind Piastri. The Australian had a slow stop but the Bulls got Pérez onto a set of Medium tyres in a stunning 1.9s. Piastri rejoined in P5 with Pérez just a second behind. Norris then pitted at the end of lap 44 and he emerged in P3 behind Hamilton who needed another stop.
With DRS on his side, Pérez closed up to Piastri and on lap 47 he went round the outside of the McLaren through Turn 1 to take fourth place. And that became a podium place when Hamilton pitted for a second time on lap 50, with the Mercedes driver rejoining in fifth.
Verstappen made his final stop of the race at the end of lap 51 and after fitting a used set of Medium tyres, the championship leader emerged in the lead and just shy of 12 seconds in front of Norris, who was 8.6s ahead of Pérez.
Over the final 15 laps, Verstappen stretched the gap to Norris to an emphatic 33 seconds as he powered to his seventh win in a row.
Behind the podium finishers, Hamilton finished fourth ahead of Piastri, while Mercedes’ George Russell inherited sixth place after Leclerc served a five-second penalty at the flag for speeding in the pit lane during his second pit stop. Sainz was eighth for Ferrari and the final points positions were taken by Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll.
2023 FIA Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix – Race
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 70 1:38’08.634
2 Lando Norris McLaren 70 1:38’42.365 33.731
3 Sergio Pérez Red Bull Racing 70 1:38’46.237 37.603
4 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 70 1:38’47.768 39.134
5 Oscar Piastri McLaren 70 1:39’11.206 1’02.572
6 George Russell Mercedes 70 1:39’14.459 1’05.825
7 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 70 1:39’18.951 1’10.317
8 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 70 1:39’19.707 1’11.073
9 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 70 1:39’24.343 1’15.709
10 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 69 1:38’23.249 1 lap /14.615
11 Alexander Albon Williams 69 1:38’37.721 1 lap /29.087
12 Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo 69 1:38’38.713 1 lap /30.079
13 Daniel Ricciardo AlphaTauri 69 1:38’44.891 1 lap /36.257
14 Nico Hülkenberg Haas 69 1:38’59.932 1 lap /51.298
15 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri 69 1:39’00.177 1 lap /51.543
16 Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo 69 1:39’09.125 1 lap /1’00.491
17 Kevin Magnussen Haas 69 1:39’30.985 1 lap /1’22.351
18 Logan Sargeant Williams 67 1:36’29.224 Not running
Esteban Ocon Alpine 2 3’28.146 Accident damage
Pierre Gasly Alpine 1 2’04.981 Accident damage -
Max Verstappen wins Austrian GP ahead of Leclerc and Perez
Spielberg, 2 July 2023: Red Bull’s Max Verstappen took an emphatic Austrian Grand Prix victory, carving out a large enough gap to Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc to pit for new tyres, take the point for fastest lap, and still take the flag five seconds clear of the Monegasque driver. Sergio Pérez delivered a superb recovery in the second Red Bull to claim the final podium position after starting in 15th place.
At the start, Verstappen got away well from pole position and took the lead ahead of Leclerc as the grid streamed towards Turn 1. Behind them, Sainz held third but fourth-place starter Lando Norris was beaten off the line by Lewis Hamilton.
Further back, AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda, starting 16th, tangled with one of the Alpines and damaged his front wing and with debris on the track the Safety Car was released and the race was neutralised.
The hazard was soon cleared and when running resumed Verstappen controlled the restart perfectly ahead of Lelcerc and Sainz, with Hamilton still fourth ahead of Norris and the Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso.
In 13th place Pérez went on the attack and he was soon able to get past Alpine’s Esteban Ocon, Mercedes’ George Russell and then Williams’ Alex Albon.
Haas’ Nico Hülkenberg then pulled over with technical issues and that led to the Virtual Safety Car being deployed. A host of drivers pitted for new tyres. However, Verstappen and Pérez stayed out and when the track went green again Verstappen led Leclerc by 17.7s, with Pérez ion P3. Sainz held fourth ahead of Hamilton, with Norris in sixth ahead of Alonso, Gasly, Tsunoda and Russell. The Red Bulls were now the only cars in the top 10 still on their starting tyres and they began to lose ground to those who had pitted and on lap 21 Sainz passed Pérez to take back third place.
Verstappen made his first regulation pit stop of the race on lap 25 and he moved to Hard compound tyres in a 2.3 second halt. That allowed Leclerc to sweep through into the lead and as Verstappen trundled out of the pit lane he was also passed by Sainz to put Ferrari 1-2 in the order. Verstappen soon closed up to the Ferrari and on lap 26, the Dutchman got a better exit out of Turn 3 and used DRS to outdrag the Spaniard on the run to Turn 4.
Pérez made his first tyre change on lap 26 and after taking on another set of Medium tyres he rejoined in tenth place. He was soon on the move, however, and he quickly made his way past Albon and Russell to rise to eighth place behind Pierre Gasly.
At the front, Verstappen was steadily reeling in Leclerc and on lap 35 he dived down the inside of the Ferrari in Turn 3 to reclaim the lead. He then began to carve out a gap and on lap 41 he was seven seconds clear.
Pérez, too, was advancing, and after overtaking Gasly in Turn 3, he chased down Alonso and breezed past the Aston Martin driver in the same corner to rise to fourth place as other drivers pitted.
On lap 46 Sainz made his second stop for new tyres and to serve a five-second penalty for exceeding track limits, and that allowed Pérez to sweep past into third place. Leclerc stopped two laps later and Pérez was boosted to P2, though the Mexican would need a final pit stop.
Verstappen made his second stop on lap 50 and after fitting a set of medium tyres and he emerged in the lead, six seconds ahead of his team-mate. Pérez then pitted on the following lap and after taking a set of Hard tyres he rejoined in fifth place, four seconds behind Norris and on fresher tyres. The gap was erased in just five laps and on lap 56 he powered past the McLaren on the run to Turn 4.
Sainz was now just a second ahead and Pérez went on the attack. And after an epic battle Pérez at last got DRS out of Turn 3 and roared past through Turn 4 to take P3.
At the front, Verstappen was in imperious form and in the closing stages he extended his lead over Leclerc to a mammoth 24 seconds. On lap 70, he pitted for Soft tyres and set a blistering final lap of 1:07.012 to take the win and the bonus point.
Leclerc crossed the line five seconds adrift and 12 seconds later Pérez took the flag to complete a stellar recovery and to seal a double podium for the team. Fourth place went to Sainz with Norris fifth ahead of Alonso. Hamilton and Russell took seventh and eighth places respectively for Mercedes, while Gasly was ninth for Alpine and the final point went to Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll.
2023 FIA Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix – Race
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 71 –
2 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 71 5.155
3 Sergio Pérez Red Bull Racing 71 17.188
4 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 71 21.377
5 Lando Norris McLaren 71 26.327
6 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 71 30.317
7 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 71 39.196
8 George Russell Mercedes 71 48.403
9 Pierre Gasly Alpine 71 57.667
10 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 71 59.043
11 Alexander Albon Williams 71 1’09.767
12 Esteban Ocon Alpine 70 – 1 lap
13 Logan Sargeant Williams 70 – 1 lap
14 Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo 70 – 1 lap
15 Nyck de Vries AlphaTauri 70 – 1 lap
16 Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo 70 – 1 lap
17 Oscar Piastri McLaren 70 – 1 lap
18 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri 70 – 1 lap
19 Kevin Magnussen Haas 70 – 1 lap
Nico Hülkenberg Haas 12 – Retirement -
Max Verstappen wins Sprint; Perez takes 2nd to lock out front row for Red Bull
Spielberg, 1 July 2023: Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez handed Red Bull Racing a front-row lockout for the Sprint at the 2023 FIA Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix, with championship leader Verstappen beating his team-mate by almost half a second as Lando Norris took third place in the Shootout for McLaren.
After heavy rain in the morning, the conditions improved in the run-up to the Sprint Shootout, and with the track drying rapidly, Verstappen emerged on a set of Medium tyres. His first attempt was deleted for a track limits infringement and a second banker of 1:08.645 put him comfortably in the top 10.
He then claimed P1 on 1:07.214 before he was ousted by team-mate Pérez who posted a time of 1:07.085. Haas’ Nico Hülkenberg then split the Red Bull pair before Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton took P1 with a lap of 1:06.624.
Verstappen switched to soft tyres in the final minutes and jumped back to P1 with a lap of 1:06.223. He was pipped for top spot, however, by Carlos Sainz. The Ferrari driver recovered from early brake issues to take P1 with a lap of 1:06.187.
There was no place in the second segment, however, for Alfa Romeo’s p16 driver Zhou Guanyu, McLaren’s Oscar Piastri in P17 or for 18th-placed Hamilton, who had a lap deleted for exceeding track limits at Turn 10 and then caught traffic on his final run. Behind him, Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas and Williams’ Logan Sargeant also exited the session.
Verstappen was first on track in SQ2 and he took P1 with a lap of 1:05.624. Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso slotted into P2 with McLaren’s Lando Norris in third. After a cautious opening lap, Peerez then jumped to P2 on 1:05.836, a little under five hundredths of a second ahead of Sainz who had moved past Alonso.
With two minutes left, Alpine’s Esteban Ocon claimed top spot, two hundredths clear of Verstappen, but the Dutchman had pace in hand and he reclaimed P1 with a best lap of 1:05.371. Sainz moved up to second ahead of Ocon, while Charles Leclerc, in the other Ferrari, claimed fourth place with his final flying lap.
Eliminated at the end of SQ2 were Williams’ Alex Albon in P11 followed by Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, the AlphaTauri cars of Yuki Tsunoda and Nyck de Vries and Mercedes’ George Russell who was sidelined by a hydraulic issue.
Verzstappen set the early SQ3 target at 1:04.613. Pérez gthen took P2, just under four tenths off that pace, but the Mexican was soon bumped to P3 by Norris who went just seven hundredths of a second faster.
But in the final runs there was no denying the Red Bull pair. Verstappen shaved almost two tenths of a second off his opener to claim top spot on the grid for the Sprint with a lap of 1:04.440, while Pérez leapfrogged Norris to seal a front row lockout for the Bulls with a final flyer of 1:04.933. With Norris third, Hülkenberg claimed a surprise fourth place ahead of Sainz and Leclerc, while Alonso took seventh ahead of Stroll, Ocon and Magnussen.
2023 FIA Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix – Sprint Shootout
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 1:04.440
2 Sergio Perez Red Bull Racing 1:04.933 0.493
3 Lando Norris McLaren 1:05.010 0.570
4 Nico Hulkenberg Haas 1:05.084 0.644
5 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1:05.136 0.696
6 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:05.245 0.805
7 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 1:05.258 0.818
8 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 1:05.347 0.907
9 Esteban Ocon Alpine 1:05.366 0.926
10 Kevin Magnussen Haas 1:05.912 1.472
11 Alex Albon Williams 1:06.152 1.712
12 Pierre Gasly Alpine 1:06.360 1.920
13 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri 1:06.369 1.929
14 Nyck de Vries AlphaTauri 1:06.593 2.153
15 George Russell Mercedes
16 Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo 1:07.062 2.622
17 Oscar Piastri McLaren 1:07.106 2.666
18 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:07.282 2.842
19 Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo 1:07.291 2.851
20 Logan Sargeant Williams 1:07.426 2.986
