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Tag: Max Verstappen

  • Max Verstappen takes pole ahead of Lando Norris

    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

    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

  • Verstappen tops qualies, but grid penalty promotes Leclerc to Spa pole

    Verstappen tops qualies, but grid penalty promotes Leclerc to Spa pole

    Spa Francorchamps (Belgium) 28 July 2023: Max Verstappen topped Qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix, delivering an impressive final flying lap in Q3 to beat Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and third-placed Red Bull team-mate Sergio Pérez by more than eight tenths of a second. But the champion will start the race at Spa-Francorchamps from sixth place on the grid after he takes a gearbox penalty. 

    At the start of Q1, on a damp track, it was McLaren’s Lando Norris who set the early benchmark with a lap of 2:01.874 set on Intermediate tyres. Mercedes’ George Russell then bettered that by almost three tenths of a second before Verstappen Max jumped to second place with an opening flyer of 2:01.597. McLaren’s Oscar Piastri then took top spot and he was then eclipsed by Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz who led the way on 2:00.536. 

    With five minutes left in the opening segment Verstappen rose to P1 with a lap of 1:58.932 that put him ahead of Sainz and Pérez who had moved to P3 with a lap of 1:59.911. Hamilton then moved to the top with a lap of 1:58.841 but it was Charles Leclerc who took the Q1 bragging rights at the end of the segment. The Ferrari man was one of the last drivers on track at the end and his final tour of 1:58.300 saw him jump from P16 and the drop zone to the top of the timesheet. 

    Verstappen eased through in second place, two tenths behind Leclerc, while Hamilton progressed in third place. 

    At the other end of the timesheet, Alex Albon was the first man eliminated in P16. The Williams driver was followed to the exit by Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu, Williams’ team-mate Logan Sargeant, Alpha Tauri’s Daniel Ricciardo, who had his final lap deleted for a track limits violation at Raidillon, and Haas’ Nico Hülkenberg. 

    At the start of Q2 Hamilton was first on track on Intermediate tyres. The Mercedes driver stopped the clock at 1:58.024 to take P1 but it was clear that the surface was improving rapidly and when Verstappen vaulted to P1 with a time of 1:55.535, more than two seconds ahead of Hamilton, the change was clear and drivers began to switch to slicks for the final runs. 

    And in the end it was McLaren’s Piastri who made the most of the conditions. The Australian took top spot with a lap of 1:51.534, almost two tenths ahead of Sainz, with Leclerc third ahead of Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll.

    Verstappen, though, was almost caught out by the changing conditions. The Dutchman had a lap deleted for track limits and had to put in a last-ditch flyer. That was also imperfect and his final time of 1:52.784 saw him scrape through in P10. 

    The unpredictable nature of the session continued in the first runs of the top-10 shootout. Verstappen’s first flying lap of 1:48.059 took him to P1. But Leclerc was able to find more time and the Ferrari driver took provisional pole 0.128 ahead of the world champion with Sainz in third. 

    But in the end, Verstappen unlocked the pace of his RB19 and with a new set of Soft tyres on board and with more confidence in the car and the conditions, he string together an impressive lap that left closest rival Leclerc eight tenths of a second adrift. 

    The champion’s grid penalty means Leclerc will start from pole and Pérez will move from P3 in qualifying, just five hundredths of a second off the Ferrari driver, to a front row start. Behind the Mexican Hamilton took fourth place in Qualifying ahead of Sainz, with Piastri sixth. All will move up a place for the race start. Norris finished in P7 ahead of Russell, while Alonso will line up in P9 alongside team-mate Lance Stroll. 

    2023 FIA Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix – Qualifying 
    1 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 1:58.515 1:52.784 1:46.168 22
    2 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:58.300 1:52.017 1:46.988 23
    3 Sergio Perez Red Bull Racing 1:58.899 1:52.353 1:47.045 22
    4 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:58.563 1:52.345 1:47.087 24
    5 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1:58.688 1:51.711 1:47.152 23
    6 Oscar Piastri McLaren 1:58.872 1:51.534 1:47.365 23
    7 Lando Norris McLaren 1:59.981 1:52.252 1:47.669 21
    8 George Russell Mercedes 1:59.035 1:52.605 1:47.805 24
    9 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 1:58.834 1:52.751 1:47.843 22
    10 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 1:59.663 1:52.193 1:48.841 22
    11 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri 1:59.044 1:53.148 15
    12 Pierre Gasly Alpine 1:59.511 1:53.671 17
    13 Kevin Magnussen Haas 2:00.020 1:54.160 17
    14 Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo 1:59.484 1:54.694 17
    15 Esteban Ocon Alpine 1:59.634 1:56.372 13
    16 Alexander Albon Willians 2:00.314 8
    17 Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo 2:00.832 9
    18 Logan Sargeant Williams 2:01.535 6
    19 Daniel Ricciardo AlphaTauri 2:02.159 8
    20 Nico Hulkenberg Haas 2:03.166 5

  • Max Verstappen sets record for Red Bull in Hungary; Lando Norris 2nd ahead of Perez

    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

    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

    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

  • Max Verstappen pips Charles Leclerc to take pole for Sprint race

    Max Verstappen pips Charles Leclerc to take pole for Sprint race

    Spielberg, 30 June 2023: Red Bull’s Max Verstappen took his sixth pole position of the 2023 F1 season just 0.048s ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc with Carlos Sainz third in a tight Qualifying session at the Red Bull Ring in which track limits violations played a major role, with Sergio Pérez being ruled out in Q2 after exceeding the limits on all three of his flying laps. 

    At the start of Q1 Verstappen took an early P1 with a lap of 1:05.190, seven tenths of a second ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, and Pérez slotting into third. With a little under 12 minutes remaining the session was red-flagged when Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas spun at the exit of Turn 1. 

    The Finn eventually got restarted and headed back to the pit lane. During the stoppage, Verstappen’s initial lap was deleted for exceeding track limits at Turn 10. After a six-minute delay, running resumed and Verstappen moved back to P1 with a lap of 1:05.116. That put him a little over two tenths clear of Carlos Sainz, with the Spaniard’s Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc 0.461 off the Dutchman in P3. 

    Pérez, who had stayed in his garage, dropped to P13 `but with a little under three minutes left he emerged from the pit lane and he vaulted to P2 on the timesheet with a lap of 1:05.177, 0.061s behind his team-mate and almost two tenths ahead of Sainz, with Alpine’s Pierre Gasly in P4 ahead of Leclerc. 

    At the other end of the timesheet and ruled out after the first segment were 16th-placed AlphaTauri drover Yuki Tsunoda followed by Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu, Williams’ Logan Sargeant, Haas’ Kevin Magnussen, and Nyck de Vries in the second AlphaTauri.

    At the start of Q2 Verstappen again set the early pace with a lap of 1:04.955. Pérez took P2, just under a tenth off his team-mate, but moments later both Red Bull drivers had their times deleted for exceeding track limits at Turn 9. It meant that McLaren’s Lando Norris took over at the top of the timesheet with a lap of 1:05.038.

    Verstappen jumped back to P1 with his next lap of 1:04.51, ahead of Sainz and Norris. Pérez then climbed to fourth place with a lap of 1:05.235 but after slipping to P6 Pérez then dropped back to P15 when his second flyer was deleted. Both Aston Martin drivers and Mercedes’ George Russell also fell foul of the white lines. 

    Pérez was quickly back on track for his final flyer and he jumped to P2 with a lap of 1:04.990. It looked like he was safe but within seconds his final flyer was deleted and for exceeding the limits in Turn 10. The Mexican plummeted back to P15 and elimination. 

    Verstappen eased through in P1 ahead of Sainz, Norris and Leclerc, bt the drivers ruled out of Q3 were Russell in P11, followed by Alpine’s Esteban Ocon, Piastri, Bottas, whose final lap was deleted, and the unfortunate Pérez.

    At the start of the top 10 shoot-out, Williams’ Alex Albon set the first time with a lap of 1:05.823, but Verstappen took provisional pole with a strong lap of 1:04.503. Leclerc slotted into P2, 0.206s behind the Dutchman, with Sainz in third place ahead of Norris. 

    And in the final runs, the battle for pole on the short, high-speed Red Bull Ring was incredibly tight. Verstappen improved to 1:04.391. He had a nervous wait, however, as Leclerc was matching his sector times. But though the Ferrari driver got close, the Dutchman’s pace proved to be simply irresistible and he claimed his sixth pole of the season 0.048s ahead of the Ferrari driver with Sainz in third place. 

    2023 FIA Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix – Qualifying
    1 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 1:04.391 
    2 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:04.439 0.048
    3 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1:04.581 0.190
    4 Lando Norris McLaren 1:04.658 0.267
    5 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:04.819 0.428
    6 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 1:04.893 0.502
    7 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 1:04.911 0.520
    8 Nico Hulkenberg Haas 1:05.090 0.699
    9 Pierre Gasly Alpine 1:05.170 0.779
    10 Alex Albon Williams 1:05.823 1.432
    11 George Russell Mercedes 1:05.428 1.037
    12 Esteban Ocon Alpine 1:05.453 1.062
    13 Oscar Piastri McLaren 1:05.605 1.214
    14 Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo 1:05.680 1.289
    15 Sergio Perez Red Bull Racing 2’06.688 1:02.297
    16 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri 1:05.784 1.393
    17 Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo 1:05.818 1.427
    18 Logan Sargeant Williams 1:05.948 1.557
    19 Kevin Magnussen Haas 1:05.971 1.580
    20 Nyck de Vries AlphaTauri 1:05.974 1.583

  • Verstappen wins 100th race for Red Bull; Alonso pushes Hamilton to third

    Verstappen wins 100th race for Red Bull; Alonso pushes Hamilton to third

    Montreal (Canada), 18 June 2023: Max Verstappen scored a lights-to-flag win at the Canadian Grand Prix to seal Red Bull Racing’s 100thvictory in Formula 1, as Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso shrugged off late-race brake issues to take P2 and restrict Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton to the final step of the podium

    “The 100th Grand Prix win for the team, that’s incredible,” said Verstappen afterwards. “I never expected to be on these kind of numbers myself as well, you know, so, yeah, we keep enjoying, we keep working hard. But today has been a great day again.”

    When the lights went out at the start, championship leader Verstappen got away well from pole position to take the lead ahead of front-row starter Alonso. The Spanish driver, whose getaway was not the best, was passed into Turn 1 by Hamilton, with the second Mercedes of George Russell in fourth place.

    Verstappen soon began to edge away from Hamilton and at the start of lap eight he was 2.4 seconds ahead of the Mercedes. The Virtual Safety Car was deployed when Logan Sargeant parked his Williams at the side of the track, but when the American’s car was removed and the caution ended Verstappen’s progress away from the pack continued and by lap 10 he was almost 3.5s ahead of Hamilton, with Alonso a second off the Mercedes in third place. Russell held fourth ahead of Alpine’s Esteban Ocon, with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri sixth ahead of the Haas of Nico Hulkenberg. 

    On lap 12 the Safety Car was released when Russell overcooked his entry into Turn 9 and hit the wall. He limped back to the pits and the SC period prompted Verstappen to pit and switch his starting medium tyres for a set of hard compound Pirellis. Hamilton and Alonso also changed tyres during the SC phase, leaving Verstappen to emerge from his stop in the lead. 

    Behind the top three, both Ferrari drivers opted to stay out on starting medium tyres and they rose to P4 and P5 with Charles Leclerc ahead of Carlos Sainz. Behind them, Sergio Pérez in the second Red Bull also stayed out, on hard tyres, and he climbed to sixth place. The Safety Car left the track at the end of lap 16. Max held his lead ahead of Hamilton and Alonso, and the twin Ferraris kept Checo at bay as the race went green again. 

    At the front, Verstappen again began to draw away and by lap 20 he was again almost three seconds clear of Hamilton. The Mercedes driver was coming under increasing pressure from Alonso, however, and at the end of lap 22 the Spaniard pounced, using DRS to slip down the inside of the Briton’s car as they approached the final chicane to take P2.

    The order at the front settled as the leaders worked their way through the stint on hard tyres, with Verstappen widening the gap to Alonso to 5.2 seconds by lap 33.

    Further back, lead Ferrari driver Leclerc was now three seconds behind third-placed Hamilton. Sainz was two seconds off his team-mate and Checo held sixth, five seconds behind Sainz and seven clear of Ocon. 

    Pérez made his sole stop of the race on lap 38, moving to medium tyres and emerging in P7 behind Albon. Ferrari reacted by pitting Sainz on the following lap and after a 2.8 switch to hard tyres he rejoined ahead of Williams’ Alex Albon who was targeting a one-stop race. Leclerc then pitted from P4 on lap 40 and after taking on hard tyres he rejoined ahead of Sainz. Checo was on the hunt, though, and as Leclerc emerged from the pit lane, the Mexican passed Albon to take P6 just 4.5 seconds behind Sainz and on quicker tyres. 

    Hamilton also stopped on lap 40, heading back to medium compound Pirellis, while Alonso stopped on the next lap, fitting another set of hard tyres. 

    Verstappen made is final stop on lap 42, moving to medium tyres and once again he took the lead for his final stint. 

    Behind the top six, Albon was doing a superb job of keeping Russell at bay. The Mercedes driver had recovered from his early crash and was attempting to wrestle seventh place from his fellow Briton. That battle ended on lap 54, however, when the damage Russell had shipped early on finally took its full toll and he was forced to retire. That left the way open for Ocon to reel in Albon and with 10 laps left the Alpine driver was just 0.4s off the Williams but could finds no way past. 

    The battle between Alonso and Hamilton was also hotting up and with the Spaniard nursing a rear brake problem, the Briton closed in and 10 laps from the flag the gap between P2 and P3 was down to 1.8s. Despite his mechanical woes, Alonso managed to find enough pace to rebuild the gap and he was soon more than two seconds ahead of the Mercedes. 

    At the front, Verstappen was in total control after 70 laps, he took his sixth win of the season ahead of Alonso and Hamilton. With two laps left, and with a significant gap behind him, sixth-placed Pérez pitted for a set of soft tyres and an attempt at the fastest lap. The Mexican delivered a 1:14.481 to add a point to the eight he scored for sixth place behind the two Ferraris. 

    Seventh place in the race went to Albon with the Briton defending well in the closing stages to keep Alpine’s Esteban Ocon in eighth. Ninth place went to Lance Stroll in the second Aston Martin and the final point went to 10th-placed Alfa Romeo driver Valtteri Bottas. 

    2023 FIA Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix – Race 
    1 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 70 1:33’58.348 
    2 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin Mercedes 70 1:34’07.918 9.570
    3 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 70 1:34’12.516 14.168
    4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 70 1:34’16.996 18.648
    5 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 70 1:34’19.888 21.540
    6 Sergio Pérez Red Bull Racing 70 1:34’49.376 51.028
    7 Alexander Albon Williams 70 1:34’59.161 1’00.813
    8 Esteban Ocon Alpine 70 1:35’00.040 1’01.692
    9 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 70 1:35’02.750 1’04.402
    10 Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo 70 1:35’02.780 1’04.432
    11 Oscar Piastri McLaren 70 1:35’03.449 1’05.101
    12 Pierre Gasly Alpine 70 1:35’03.597 1’05.249
    13 Lando Norris McLaren 70 1:35’06.711 1’08.363
    14 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri 70 1:35’11.771 1’13.423
    15 Nico Hülkenberg Haas 69 1:34’15.291 1 lap /16.943
    16 Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo 69 1:34’15.725 1 lap /17.377
    17 Kevin Magnussen Haas 69 1:35’08.607 1 lap /1’10.259
    18 Nyck de Vries AlphaTauri 69 1:35’13.315 1 lap /1’14.967
         George Russell Mercedes 53 1:13’07.798 Retirement
         Logan Sargeant Williams 6 8’10.072 Retirement

  • Max Verstappen conquers rain and Monaco: F1 Round 7

    Max Verstappen conquers rain and Monaco: F1 Round 7

    Monte Carlo, 28 May 2023: Max Verstappen survived a long stint on fading tyres, late rain and tricky conditions to win the 2023 FIA Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix, the Round 7 of the FIA Formula One World Championship, ahead of Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso here on Sunday. Alpine’s Esteban Ocon took a well-worked first podium of the year for the French team. 

    At the start of the race Verstappen got away well from pole position to take the lead ahead of Alonso and over the opening phase of the race, the Dutchman built a solid lead over his Spanish rival. By lap 25 the championship leader had carved out an almost 12-second advantage at the front, though having started on medium tyres, the Dutchman knew that his lead would come under threat as Alonso went deeper into the race on hard tyres. 

    Behind the leading pair Ocon was proving to be the cork in a bottle containing Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and the second Ferrari of Charles Leclerc and all three chose to pit for medium tyres to try to escape the lengthening train. 

    The skies above Monaco were darkening, however, and at the front Verstappen was now facing a dilemma. Alonso, running on hard tyres, could hold station and wait for the rain to arrive before making a sole pit stop. By contrast, Verstappen was finding the going increasingly difficult on his starting mediums. If the rain held off and he was forced to pit for new hard tyres he would be at the mercy of Alonso should the rain then fall. 

    The Red Bull driver was told to stay out as long as he could but with his front left tyre looking increasingly angry, he radioed his team to say he didn’t know how long he could go on. 

    As the race edged towards its final 20 laps, though, the Dutchman’s prayers were answered. Rain began to fall at the top of the circuit and soon began to drift towards the harbour.

    Alonso chose to pit on lap 54, but crucially, the Spaniard opted to switch his hard tyres for a set of mediums. It proved to be the wrong choice and as the rain intensified Verstappen was finally called in to shed his ragged mediums for a set of intermediate Pirellis. 

    Alonso was forced to return to the pits for a set of the green-walled tyres and when he emerged he was more than 20 seconds behind Verstappen and despite the treacherous conditions the Dutchman was firmly in control.

    Alonso tried to close in but eventually Verstappen took the flag almost 28 seconds ahead of the Aston Martin driver at the chequered flag.

    Behind them Ocon converted his third-place start into a third F1 podium, despite coming under heavy pressure from Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton in the wet closing stages of the race. 

    Hamilton finished fourth ahead of team-mate George Russell, who was handed a five-second penalty by the race stewards for rejoining the circuit unsafely at Mirabeau. 

    Despite the penalty Russell was still able to clinch fifth ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Pierre Gasly was seventh for Alpine ahead of the second Ferrari of Carlos Sainz and the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri rounded out the points positions.

    2023 FIA Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix – Race 
    1 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 78 1:48’51.980 
    2 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 78 1:49’19.901 27.921
    3 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 78 1:49’28.970 36.990
    4 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 78 1:49’31.042 39.062
    5 George Russell Mercedes 78 1:49’48.264 56.284
    6 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 78 1:49’53.870 1’01.890
    7 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 78 1:49’54.342 1’02.362
    8 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 78 1:49’55.371 1’03.391
    9 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 77 – 1 lap
    10 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 77 – 1 lap
    11 Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 77 – 1 lap
    12 Nyck de Vries AlphaTauri/Honda RBPT 77 – 1 lap
    13 Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 77 – 1 lap
    14 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 77 – 1 lap
    15 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri/Honda RBPT 76 – 2 laps
    16 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda RBPT 76 – 2 laps
    17 Nico Hülkenberg Haas/Ferrari 76 – 2 laps
    18 Logan Sargeant Williams/Mercedes 76 – 2 laps
    19 Kevin Magnussen Haas/Ferrari 70 – Not running
         Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 53 – Retirement

  • Max Verstappen tops FP2 ahead of Charles Leclerc: Monaco Grand Prix

    Max Verstappen tops FP2 ahead of Charles Leclerc: Monaco Grand Prix

    Monaco, 27 May 2023: Formula 1 Drivers’ Championship leader Max Verstappen topped the second practice session for this Sunday’s 2023 FIA Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix, beating Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc by just under seven hundredths of a second. Third place went to Leclerc’s team-mate Carlos Sainz but the Spanish driver crashed in the final part of the session, bringing out the red flags. 

    In the early stages of the second hour of practice it was Verstappen who led the way with the Red Bull driver taking P1 thanks to a lap of 1:13.985. Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton briefly supplanted the title leader by the slimmest of margins before the Dutchman resumed control with a time of 1:13.857.

    Verstappen improved again to lower the benchmark to 1:13.312 as the early running on medium compound Pirelli tyres came to an end. 

    When the field began to move to soft tyres it was Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso who made the first major move. The two-time champion jumped ahead of Verstappen with a lap of 1:12.786, which stood as the best time of the session for more than 10 minutes before Sainz made his soft-tyre leap with a lap of 1:12.569. 

    Verstappen slotted into third with his first effort on soft tyres, but then moved ahead with his next run of 1:12.462. 

    Leclerc then jumped to P2, marginally ahead of his Ferrari team-mate but that brought an end to significant improvements as Sainz then brought out the red flags. The Spanish driver clipped the barrier on the inside as he went to exit the Swimming Pool section. 

    The contact broke a suspension arm on the front right of his car and he slid into the barriers at the exit, causing further damage to the right side of his Ferrari. 

    Once his car and the debris had been cleared running resumed with 12 minutes left on the clock but there were few improvements. 

    Verstappen therefore took top spot ahead of the Ferrari duo, with Alonso fourth fastest ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris. Hamilton finished sixth for Mercedes, while Sergio Perez was seventh in the second Red Bull RB19. Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas ended the session in P8 ahead of the Alpines Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon. 

    2023 FIA Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix – Free Practice 2 
    1 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 1:12.462 30 165.786
    2 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:12.527 0.065 33 165.637
    3 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1:12.569 0.107 22 165.541
    4 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 1:12.682 0.220 32 165.284
    5 Lando Norris McLaren 1:12.906 0.444 18 164.776
    6 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:12.960 0.498 29 164.654
    7 Sergio Pérez Red Bull Racing 1:12.991 0.529 30 164.584
    8 Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo 1:13.050 0.588 33 164.451
    9 Pierre Gasly Alpine 1:13.089 0.627 28 164.363
    10 Esteban Ocon Alpine 1:13.162 0.700 30 164.199
    11 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 1:13.185 0.723 31 164.148
    12 George Russell Mercedes 1:13.191 0.729 32 164.134
    13 Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo 1:13.354 0.892 32 163.770
    14 Kevin Magnussen Haas 1:13.457 0.995 28 163.540
    15 Nico Hülkenberg Haas 1:13.520 1.058 33 163.400
    16 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri 1:13.641 1.179 22 163.131
    17 Nyck de Vries AlphaTauri 1:13.663 1.201 34 163.083
    18 Oscar Piastri McLaren 1:13.673 1.211 30 163.061
    19 Alexander Albon Williams 1:14.217 1.755 10 161.865
    20 Logan Sargeant Williams 1:14.238 1.776 33 161.820