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Tag: Max Verstappen
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Max Verstappen wins from P9; Red Bull 1-2: Miami GP
Miami (USA), 7 May 2023: Max Verstappen powered his way through from ninth on the grid to win the Miami Grand Prix, passing team-mate Sergio Pérez in the closing stages of the 57-lap race as Red Bull Racing sealed its fourth one-two finish of the season. Fernando Alonso scored his fourth podium finish of the season so far with third place for Aston Martin.
When the lights went out, Pérez got away well and took the lead ahead of Alonso and the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz. Behind them, Haas’ Kevin Magnussen made a poor start and dropped back to seventh as Pierre Gasly moved to fourth ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
Meanwhile, Verstappen, on Hard tyres, lost out at the start when Alfa Romeo’s Valterri Bottas made a good start and rose to eighth. However, the Dutchman quickly moved past Alpine’s Esteban to take back P9.
That became P8 on the next lap and then at the end of lap 3 the Dutchman closed up behind the duelling pair of Leclerc and Magnussen and when the Haas driver tried to fight back after Leclerc had overtaken him, Verstappen moved to inside and powered past both under DRS as they crossed the line.
The Red Bull driver closed up to Russell on lap nine and passed the Mercedes driver under braking into Turn 17. He chose the same place to muscle past Gasly on the next lap and then on lap 14 he passed the Spaniard under DRS into Turn 11. His next target was Alonso, and with pace to spare he eased past the Aston Martin driver, who offered little resistance, on the following lap.
The medium-tyre starters now began to pit and Pérez made his stop at the end of lap 20. The Mexican switched to Hard tyres in 2.2 seconds and rejoined in fourth place behind Alpine’s Esteban Ocon who had started on Hard tyres. Verstappen, still on his starting Hards, now led the race.
After Pérez reclaimed P2 from Ocon shortly before half distance the race became a tactical battle between Pérez, on fresh Hard tyres, and Verstappen on ageing Hards and with a stop for Mediums to come.
Pérez, 16 seconds behind his team-mate pushed to close the gap while also trying to protect his tyres for the inevitable fight at the end of the race, but as Verstappen continued to put in strong lap times despite the age of his tyres it soon became clear that the Mexican was fighting a losing battle.
After an exceptional final phase of his long opening, during which he set a cluster of fastest lap times, Verstappen made his sole stop of the race on lap 45 and took on Medium tyres. He emerged just 1.6 seconds behind his team-mate and on lap 47 he closed up to his team-mate and attacked into Turn 17.
Pérez defended well but on the run to Turn 1 at the start of the next lap he drew alongside and after a brief tussle got past to take the lead and ultimately the win.
And 10 laps later Max crossed the line five seconds ahead of Pérez to take a second consecutive Miami Grand Prix and his third win of the season. Alonso, capped a lonely race with a fourth podium finish of the year ahead of Russell and Sainz, who had five seconds added to his time at the flag for an earlier pit lane speeding offence.
Sixth place went to Hamilton, with Charles Leclerc seventh for Ferrari. Gasly was eighth for Alpine ahead of team-mate Ocon and the final point went to Magnussen.
2023 FIA Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix – Race
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 57 1:27’38.241
2 Sergio Pérez Red Bull Racing 57 1:27’43.625 5.384
3 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 57 1:28’04.546 26.305
4 George Russell Mercedes 57 1:28’11.470 33.229
5 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 57 1:28’20.752 42.511
6 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 57 1:28’29.490 51.249
7 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 57 1:28’31.229 52.988
8 Pierre Gasly Alpine 57 1:28’33.911 55.670
9 Esteban Ocon Alpine 57 1:28’36.364 58.123
10 Kevin Magnussen Haas 57 1:28’41.186 1’02.945
11 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri 57 1:28’42.550 1’04.309
12 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 57 1:28’42.995 1’04.754
13 Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo 57 1:28’49.878 1’11.637
14 Alexander Albon Williams 57 1:28’51.102 1’12.861
15 Nico Hülkenberg Haas 57 1:28’53.191 1’14.950
16 Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo 57 1:28’56.681 1’18.440
17 Lando Norris McLaren 57 1:29’05.958 1’27.717
18 Nyck de Vries AlphaTauri RBPT 57 1:29’07.190 1’28.949
19 Oscar Piastri McLaren 56 – 1 lap
20 Logan Sargeant Williams 56 – 1 lap -
Max Verstappen quickest in FP2 after Russel top FP1:
Max Verstappen set the fastest time of the second free practice session for the 2023 FIA Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix but Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc brought running to a halt when he crash late in the session.
Ferrari driver Leclerc and team-mate set the early pace, but the first really representative time came from Red Bull’s Sergio Perez who set a time of 1:30.757 and then by his team-mate Max Verstappen who stopped the clock at 1:30.146.
Sainz then posted a lap of 1m30.128s, and Leclerc became the first driver to get under 1m30s with a lap of 1:29.497.
Verstappen put in another quick lap that edged him close to the Monegasque driver and then with his next attempt he finally pushed through to the top of the order with a 1:29.380.
All of the early P1 times had been set on medium compound Pirelli tyres but McLaren’s Lando Norris then emerged on soft tyres and the Briton jumped to top spot with a lap of
1:28.741. Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso moved to P2 before being supplanted by Sainz, but Norris’ time proved good enough to stand for some time.
It was Verstappen who eventually toppled the McLaren driver, the Dutchman posting a 1:28.255. The champion then lowered the benchmark to 1:27.930 as drivers began to switch to longer runs.
Ten minutes from the end of the session the red flags came out when Leclerc crashed at Turn 7. The incident resulted in a five-minute stoppage as the damaged Ferrari was rescued. When running resumed it was solely to get more running on the harder compounds and there were no significant improvements in lap time.
Behind Verstappen. Sainz finished second with Leclerc third. Pérez ended the session in fourth, almost half a second behind his team-mate.
Alonso was left with fifth place with the Spaniard having moved past Norris just before Leclerc’s crash. Lewis Hamilton finished seventh ahead of Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll, as Esteban Ocon and Alex Albon completed the top 10.
2023 FIA Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix – Free Practice 2
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 23 1:27.930
2 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 26 1:28.315 0.385
3 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 20 1:28.398 0.468
4 Sergio Perez Red Bull Racing 24 1:28.419 0.489
5 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 25 1:28.660 0.730
6 Lando Norris McLaren 24 1:28.741 0.811
7 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 23 1:28.858 0.928
8 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 23 1:28.930 1.000
9 Esteban Ocon Alpine 25 1:28.937 1.007
10 Alex Albon Williams 26 1:29.046 1.116
11 Pierre Gasly Alpine 22 1:29.098 1.168
12 Kevin Magnussen Haas 22 1:29.171 1.241
13 Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo 27 1:29.181 1.251
14 Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo 26 1:29.189 1.259
15 George Russell Mercedes 21 1:29.216 1.286
16 Oscar Piastri McLaren MCL60 McLaren 24 1:29.339 1.409
17 Nico Hulkenberg Haas VF-23 Haas 22 1:29.393 1.463
18 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri AT04 AlphaTauri 25 1:29.613 1.683
19 Nyck de Vries AlphaTauri AT04 AlphaTauri 25 1:29.928 1.998
20 Logan Sargeant Williams FW45 Williams 27 1:30.038 2.108 -
Max Verstappen on pole as Red Bull lockout front row: F1 season opener
Defending FIA Formula One world champion Max Verstappen took his first pole of 2023 with the quickest time in Qualifying for the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix. Verstappen’s team-mate Sergio Pérez took second place to as Red Bull locked out the front row. Charles Leclerc took third place, though the Ferrari driver missed the final run of Q3 as he opted to save a set of tyres for the race.
At the start of Q1, Leclerc was one of the first to kick off a flying lap but as the Ferrari driver began his lap a piece of his right wheel brow broke off and then, as he locked up into Turn 1, a second element flew off the underside of his car.
With debris on the racing line, the session was red-flagged with four minutes on the clock.
Following an eight-minute delay, the session resumed and the Red Bulls were quickly on track, along with the rest of the field. Verstappen climbed to the top of the timesheet with a lap of 1:31.295, but the Dutchman was almost immediately eclipsed by Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso and then by Leclerc. It was the Ferrari star’s team-mate Carlos Sainz who staked the biggest claim to top spot in the opening runs with the Ferrari driver taking P1 with a lap of 1:30.993.
In the final runs of the opening segment Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll, Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg and William’s Alex Albon all jumped into the top 10 but despite their advances, Sainz took top spot from Russell and Leclerc.
There was no place in Q2, though, for Williams’ Logan Sargeant. The Williams rookie was eliminated in P16 ahead of Haas’ Kevin Magnussen, McLaren rookie Oscar Piastri, AlphaTauri’s Nyck de Vries and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly who had his final time deleted for track limits in Turn 15.
In the opening runs of Q2, Verstappen took control, with the Dutchman taking P1 with a lap of 1:30.503, 0243s ahead of Pérez who slotted into P2. Verstappen’s lap left him 0.398s clear of third-placed Hamilton, with his Mercedes team-mate George Russell in fourth place ahead of Alonso and the Ferrari duo of Sainz and Leclerc.
Red Bull opted to keep its drivers in the garage for the final runs of Q2 and when the final times arrived, it was Leclerc who took top spot with a time of 1:30.282. Verstappen’s opening time was good enough to hold on to second place, while Russell took third ahead of Hamilton, Sainz and Alonso. That left Pérez with seventh place and the Q3 order was rounded out by Hulkenberg, Alpine’s Esteban Ocon and Stroll. Out went McLaren’s Lando Norris in P11, Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu, AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunodo and 15th-placed Albion.
Verstappen again set the pace in the opening runs of the final segment. The Dutchman went purple in the first and final sectors to set a P1 time of 1:29.897, with Leclerc second on 1:30.000. Pérez slotted into third place, 0.234 off his team-mate, while Alonso took fourth place ahead of Russell.
Leclerc oddly opted to sit out the final runs, choosing instead to save a set of tyres for the race start, and that left the door open for Verstappen to stretch away from the field. The Dutchman obliged and thanks to a strong middle sector he found almost two tenths of a second to claim pole with a lap of 1:29.708. Pérez also found time to leapfrog Leclerc and take P2 to lock out the front row for tomorrow’s race.
2023 FIA Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix – Qualifying
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 1:29.708
2 Sergio Perez Red Bull Racing 1:29.846 0.138
3 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:30.000 0.292
4 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1:30.154 0.446
5 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 1:30.336 0.628
6 George Russell Mercedes 1:30.340 0.632
7 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:30.384 0.676
8 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 1:30.836 1.128
9 Esteban Ocon Alpine 1:30.984 1.276
10 Nico Hulkenberg Haas 1:31.055 1.347
11 Lando Norris McLaren 1:31.381 1.673
12 Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo 1:31.443 1.73
13 Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo 1:31.473 1.765
14 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri 1:32.51a0 2.802
15 Alexander Albon Williams – –
16 Logan Sargeant Williams 1:31.652 1.944
17 Kevin Magnussen Haas 1:31.892 2.184
18 Oscar Piastri McLaren 1:32.101 2.393
19 Nyck de Vries AlphaTauri 1:32.121 2.413
20 Pierre Gasly Alpine 1:32.181 2.473 -
Max Verstappen defends well a challenging question from Indian F1 journalist Niharika
Zandvoort (The Netherlands), 5 Sept. 2022: Popular Indian F1 journalist Niharika Ghorpade (Sportskeeda) who is not afraid of asking tough questions, threw a challenging query to the reigning world champion Max Verstappen. For asking a follow-up question in the post race Presser, Niharika Ghorpade got trolled. However, the Dutch driver gave a calculated reply and cleverly defended himself before sending back a subtle message to his arch-rival Lewis Hamilton. She was unjustly attacked on Twitter and Instagram by Hamilton fans but the Indian journalist knows her sport and is known for calling a spade, a spade!
Read Niharika Ghorpade’s article in Sportskeeda here!
Verstappen answer is given first before the other transcripts:
Niharika’s Question: Max, Lewis suggested that your dominance this year is credited to Adrian Newey and to Red Bull. Do you think that’s valid, and also do you think anybody else in your car, any other driver, could have been as dominant as you are?
MV: There’s a lot of that is down to the team, of course, as also how Lewis won his championships. That’s how it goes in Formula 1. Your car is super-important, but I think when you’re an exceptional driver like of course Lewis is as well, you make a difference over your team-mate at the time, because in very crucial races as well. For example, for me, I think one that stood out as well for him, was Turkey, when it was very slippery – just staying calm, not making mistakes. You end up winning a race like that and that’s what, at the end of the day, what good drivers do. They do make the difference compared to other fast drivers but not as good. So, yeah, the car is very dominant in Formula 1 but of course between team-mates, only one can win, and that’s where you have to make the difference.
The following top-3 drivers attended the post-race FIA Press Conference at the Dutch Grand Prix on Sunday: 1 – Max VERSTAPPEN (Red Bull Racing), 2 – George RUSSELL (Mercedes) and 3 – Charles LECLERC (Ferrari).
The track interviews were conducted by former F1 driver David Coulthard.
Q: Max, what a way to win your home Grand Prix. What a difference a week makes. You had to fight, fight, fight all the way.
Max VERSTAPPEN: Yeah, it was not a straightforward race. We had to push the whole race. Of course, with the Safety Car, Virtual Safety Car, making the right calls, it was always bit of a question mark, but it worked out really well. Once we got back to the Soft tyres we had great pace again.
Q: At any point during the race did you ever doubt? Because it looked like Lewis Hamilton, with track position, had Mercedes covered him off, then, you know, it could have been a different story.
MV: Yeah, I mean, before that Safety Car I thought it was OK to the end with the Hard tyres, even though we were a bit slower. But then of course, the Safety Car came out and I said ‘I don’t think we’re going to keep it up if we just if we don’t pit’. So we went for the Soft tyres. But then of course I dropped back to third. Then George pitted as well. I had a good run on the restart. We have a bit more top speed, so that helps to attack into Turn 1. And from there onwards we had a really good balance in the car again.
Q: That restart with the Safety Car was crucial. I didn’t expect you to get the pass done at the restart, but that’s what your full focus was.
MV: Yeah, we timed it really well out of that last corner into the banking and then you could see the draft was quite strong and we got ahead, so incredible to win again.
Q: Max on the slowing down lap, there are fireworks, there’s a sea of orange smoke. Can you put into words just what this victory means in comparison to all others?
MV: It’s always special to win your home Grand Prix. It was already last year. This year, I have to say I had to work for it even more. So yeah, an incredible weekend and I’m really happy we got the Dutch Grand Prix.
Q: Quick word for your fans.
MV: Unbelievable support. And I’m really happy that all of you guys came here to support me. So proud to be Dutch.
Q: Congratulations, Max Verstappen, the winner of the Dutch Grand Prix. George Russell, wow! You were a little bit out of place in qualifying but you never lost faith. You said you have a quick race car. Second place. Congratulations.
George RUSSELL: Yeah, firstly a huge thank you to all the crowd here. It’s been an incredible reception. It’s a really special feeling for all of us drivers to come racing in Zandvoort and in Holland. So thank you very much.
Q: Now George, you’re going to be happy with that second place but your team-mate will feel that he was maybe a little bit out of position. When you passed him, there was there was a little… What was going on there? It almost looks like you are going to hit the back of him?
GR: Yeah, we like to keep it close, you know, always. But you know, I think as a team today we showed incredible pace. I know the team result wasn’t quite what we hoped for. But this gives us a lot of confidence and a lot of faith moving forward. So, I think it’s incredible see three different teams on the podium and you know we, as Mercedes, are slowly getting closer to that top step so let’s keep on pushing.
Q: Yeah, it shows just how competitive Formula 1 is. George, congratulations on your second place. Charles, congratulations. Third place, not, of course, the result you would have looked for today but the race just slipped away. Can you can you talk us through the key moments that saw you find yourself dropped from second to third.
Charles LECLERC: To be to be honest I mean much better was difficult to do. We were a little bit unlucky with the VSC. I don’t know if this will have changed anything, Max was too quick today. And then there was the Mercedes that were flying on the Hard tyres. We struggled to find the feeling on those tyres. So we’ll analyse that, but yeah, it’s P3 for us today.
Q: The battle with Lewis? Fairly straightforward towards the ends?
CL: Yeah, I mean, Lewis was struggling a little bit. He was on a used set. I had a bit more grip. We managed to overtake him, but they were still managing to keep those tyres very well on the last lap. So it wasn’t easy, but at the end, we made it stick.
Q: The gap increases in the championship. I know you take one race at a time and you never give up but what is your feeling now in the championship challenge?
CL: Well, as I said in Spa, now the gap is really big. So we’ll take it race by race, try to maximise our potential. And let’s see what’s possible.
PRESS CONFERENCE
Q: A very warm welcome to the top three finishers of the FIA Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix. In third place, Charles Leclerc. In second place, George Russell. And taking his 10th win of this 2022 campaign and his 30th career win in Formula 1, our winner, Max Verstappen. What a weekend for you Max, another win from pole in front of your Dutch fans, just please sum up what this means to you?
MV: Yeah, it was not a straightforward race, you know. So then I think it’s extra rewarding to win the race. We couldn’t really do our preferred strategy to the end and that I think made it a little bit more difficult for us, up until the last Safety Car, because I think we were just a bit more competitive on the softer compounds. But then, of course, with that late Safety Car, we could switch back to the preferred tyre, the Soft one, and we could get back into lead.
Q: You’ve explained it all beautifully now, but how difficult was it to stay on top of everything during the race itself?
MV: Yeah, it was just difficult. I think I gave my opinions about what I wanted with tyres. Like, I said, don’t use the Hard tyre. But we had to, because of the VSC. It came out a bit unfortunate. And then we went out and we were clearly lacking a little bit of pace on that Hard compared to the Mercedes cars on the Medium. I think the gap was still big enough to manage it to the end. But they would have definitely gotten a lot closer than I think the 11-and-a-half seconds it was at the time. But yeah, then Safety Car came out and then there’s no way that you can stay out on a Hard tyre. So we had to box, but I didn’t request it. You have to trust your team as well to make the right calls and they did. So they boxed me. We put a Soft tyre on. And of course, then we dropped back. But then also, of course, George also pitted for Softs and then we were back into P2. And yeah, surprisingly, we had a really good restart and then with the extra top speed we have over Mercedes, I could get a run into Turn 1.
Q: When you look at the race as a whole, were you surprised that it was Mercedes, ultimately challenging you today and not Ferrari?
MV: I was just surprised that they were that quick on the harder compounds. I have to say these tyres are very stiff, you know, the C1, C2. And they just didn’t seem to really switch on for us as good as they did for them. That’s I think what made it a little bit more complicated for us today. But then, once we were able to switch back to the Soft, we could counter it. But yeah, I expected probably them to be a little bit slower. And I expected Ferrari to be a little bit faster.
Q: Now, Max, this magical season continues for you. And in your seven years at Red Bull. Is this the most at one that you felt with the car and with the team?
MV: Yes, but I think that’s normal because of just spending more time with everyone and of course, being part of the team for an even longer period of time. So, I think that’s what you hope for, right? Like every year you continue, that you feel even more at one with the team. With the car it’s a tricky one. Because, of course, when the regulations change then maybe sometimes you have to start over. And I have to say that in the beginning of the year it was a bit of adaptation, which is not fully to my liking. But also, like I’ve explained before, the car was quite heavy. And I think naturally with reducing the weight it all felt a bit more agile.
Q: George coming to you, great job as well. Your best result of the season so far from P6 on the grid. Do you feel you extracted the absolute maximum from it?
GR: Yeah, I think so. I think if you told me before the race, I’d be finishing P2, I’d have definitely been very happy with that. But I think we, as a team, thought we had a shot at victory today. And we roll the dice going with that one-stop strategy from the off. And, you know, the pace of the Mercedes today was just absolute flying. So really proud of the job we’ve done as a team to keep on improving and show how fast our race car is. But obviously, starting a little bit further down the grid, it’s always going to be challenging, but no, for us, as a team, incredible race. Sorry for Lewis that he obviously wasn’t on the podium with us because he did an excellent job and deserve to be sat here too.
Q: As Max just said, your pace on the hard tyre was phenomenal. Did that surprise you?
GR: Yes and no. I think the car was really feeling good this weekend from lap one. On Friday, I knew it was going to be a much better weekend than we had in Spa. I think Spa played against us. Zandvoort probably towards us. So, I’m not sure how our Monza performance is going to be I think it’ll probably be somewhere between the two. Hopefully closer to what we saw this weekend, but I think it’s really promising we have so much race pace.
Q: Do you feel got the car was back where it was at Hungary?
GR: I think there’s no surprises there because these are two very similar circuits: high downforce; a lot of medium speed corners. And that’s where the car really comes into its own. So, you know, we go into some very different circuits in the upcoming races. But globally, we’re bringing a lot of performance to the car. And, as I said, I think we have a car that’s capable of fighting victory, we just need to be able to start a little bit higher up the order.
Q: Charles, coming to you. Well done to you as well, another podium. Is there anything more you could have done today to challenge Max?
CL: Not really, we just didn’t have the pace. We didn’t… we weren’t quick enough. So this is the main focus at the moment, to try and bring back the speed that we had at the beginning of the season. We seem to have lost it, a little bit of pace in the in the long runs especially.
Q: Have you lost it or have the cars around you gained some pace, long run pace?
CL: No-no, I think everybody is obviously improving but in the last races, we’ve been struggling more a bit more in race pace. Now Mercedes is also in the fight and they are very quick. They were extremely quick today, especially on the Harder compounds. I think our pace on the Soft was really good at the beginning. We had used tyres, Max was on new, so I think the difference was more or less what we expected. But then, on the new Medium, we were slower than expected, for sure.
Q: And were you surprised by the pace of Mercedes today?
CL: Yes, definitely. On the Harder compounds? Yes.
Q: Charles, can you just throw it forward for people who want a preview for Monza next weekend? What can we expect from you and Ferrari there?
CL: On paper, it’s not our best track, unfortunately. But anyway, I’m really looking forward to go there. We always have a massive amount of support. And for that, I’m really looking forward to it. But I think the performance on paper will be a bit more difficult than this weekend, unfortunately.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Alex Kalinauckas – Autosport) Max, at what point did you realise that Mercedes was going to be a real threat for the win? Was it when Lewis and George were flying on the Hards? At the same time, George, when you had that Hard tyre on, before the Virtual Safety Car, how hard were you guys pushing to make it to the finish? Thanks.
MV: I have to say, when I swapped to the Medium, of course, I was catching them, which is normal because I had a newer tyre, they were still doing good lap times, I have to say. And then yes, as soon as they swapped to the Hard, I was quite interested to see their pace, because I never really wanted to go to a Hard tyre. But yeah, when I heard the lap times, I was like… ‘that’s quite quick’. And I was trying to push up a bit. But they were still a few tenths faster. So yeah, very surprising that they made it work, that tyre around here. But then I knew, of course, it might get close to the end of the race, with the way our strategies were playing out. But then, of course, the gap after the VSC was still getting big enough to manage. But yeah, clearly, they were quick in the race.
GR: Yeah, I think we had nothing to lose; we were pushing absolutely flat out and we knew that was our only opportunity to fight for victory. And, you know, pre-race, in our strategy meetings, we said, we need to be bold in our decisions to be able to fight for victory. And I think, starting on that Medium, it was clear that the others were going to be doing a two-stop. And, as I said, we just absolutely went for it. And when we saw Max in our sights, that was really exciting. It was probably, for me personally, the most enjoyable race I’ve ever had in Formula 1, just being able to push so hard for so long on such an exceptional circuit as well. I think it was really quite fun.
Q: George after the performance of the car today, do you remain even more convinced that this car can win this season?
GR: There’s no doubt we’ve got the race pace to be able to win. Absolutely sure of that. And had we been starting P2/3/4 we probably could have won the race today. And, ultimately it’s going to come down to our qualifying performance on a Saturday. If we continue to qualify P6 and P8 as we have done in the last two race weekends, we’re going to really struggle to win a race. But we need to find a bit more magic in qualifying as we showed in Budapest.
Q: (Ronald Vording – Motorsport.com) Max, when you pitted during the Safety Car it seemed that you had to overtake two Mercedes car on track for the win. Personally, were you surprised by their decision to pit one car and to take the buffer away and did it make things a bit more straightforward at the end of the race for you?
MV: It’s always easy to speak afterwards, but I think the call George made was the right one at the end because I think with the pace we had on the Soft, I would have overtaken both of them because the grip difference was quite big at the end – it turned out to be.
Q: (Niharika Ghorpade – Sportskeeda) Max, Lewis suggested that your dominance this year is credited to Adrian Newey and to Red Bull. Do you think that’s valid, and also do you think anybody else in your car, any other driver, could have been as dominant as you are?
MV: There’s a lot of that is down to the team, of course, as also how Lewis won his championships. That’s how it goes in Formula 1. Your car is super-important, but I think when you’re an exceptional driver like of course Lewis is as well, you make a difference over your team-mate at the time, because in very crucial races as well. For example, for me, I think one that stood out as well for him, was Turkey, when it was very slippery – just staying calm, not making mistakes. You end up winning a race like that and that’s what, at the end of the day, what good drivers do. They do make the difference compared to other fast drivers but not as good. So, yeah, the car is very dominant in Formula 1 but of course between team-mates, only one can win, and that’s where you have to make the difference.
Q: (Jaap de Groot – Masters Magazine) Continuing from the last question, Max, when you won your first world title, you wondered if you ever could produce the same intensity and your will to win. But it seems now instead that you’re bringing winning to a next level.
MV: It’s a whole team effort, you know, and the intensity is different. It’s also a completely different season. But I think I don’t need to tell anyone in the team, the motivation we have, to always try to improve and to win races, even when we win races, we still want to do better. And also, today we will look at a lot of things that we can do better but I think that’s what you always need to have, that kind of approach, always wanting to do more, wanting to do better, because that’s how you stay on top because if you stand still, of course, people at the end will overtake you.
Q: (Marijn Abbenhuijs – AD Sportwereld) Max, Helmut Marko just told us how impressed he is with you, with your ability to stay calm and extremely focused, even in circumstances like this, these chaotic circumstances. Do you have moments of realisation that you think: ‘well, how special is this? What is going on in my world at the moment?’
MV : When you’re on the grid, you’re not thinking about how special everything is. I’m focused on what I have to do in the car. You go through all the procedures so it’s nice, of course, to see all the crowd and the craziness and I appreciate it a lot but I think also, as a sportsman, you focus on your job, right? And that’s what you do throughout the race. And then of course, after the race, you take it all in and of course, this was a very special weekend for me, to see, all of these fans come out and support me. It’s been incredible but of course for those one and a half hours, you are fully focused on the job.
Q: (Alex Kalinauckas – Autosport) George, with what happened to Lewis after the safety car restart, what you feared would happen to you as well, if you’ve been left out on those mediums? And also when you came by him, how close were you to making contact? It like you had to check up a little bit.
GR: I think as a team it was an incredibly difficult decision because had we both pitted, we would have conceded the position to Max. Had we both stayed out, we probably both would have lost out to Max as well so the best chance we as a team had of victory was splitting the cars, one to stay ahead of Max, one to stay behind and see what happened. If you could have just got those tyres restarted, it could have been different but it was always going to be very, very challenging for him, but I’m sure Lewis… he wanted to go for it. As a racing driver and where we are at the moment as a team, we want to win. And we’re obviously really happy with the points, just being consistent, getting them on the board but ultimately no one remembers who finishes second in a championship. So we want to we want to win a race. And yeah, I think obviously with that overtake with Lewis, just a bit of confusion and I came out just as he defended, and yeah, it could a bit nasty, but it’s nothing but respect between the two of us. So yeah, all good.
Q: (Ronald Vording – Motorsport.com) Max, last week you said that Spa-Francorchamps tracks suits your car perfectly well, and that it would be more tricky on a high downforce circuit. Today was more tricky but still you won at the Hungaroring, you’ve won here, so is it fair to say that the Red Bull car does not have any real weakness anymore at this stage of the season?
MV: Not real weaknesses but we know at some places where we are stronger than others, we know on a high downforce track that it’s a bit of a more difficult situation to get the best out of our package. But I think if you look at the whole season, of course, you have more tracks with kind of medium downforce levels and I think our car is very efficient. So that’s why I think we’re all looking forward to Monza.
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Dutch GP: Verstappen wins; Safety car periods ruins Hamilton’s day
Zandvoort, 4 Sept. 2022: Max Verstappen took his 10th win of the season at the end of a strategically complicated Dutch Grand Prix defined by two safety car periods, one Virtual and one physical. George Russell finished second for Mercedes ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
Verstappen led from pole in early stages of the race but the result was thrown into question when it became clear that Mercedes might spring a surprise by targeting a one-stop strategy.
As Verstappen stuck to a two-stop plan, Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton seized the lead ahead of team-mate George Russell. However, two safety car periods swung the pendulum back towards Verstappen and when Hamilton elected to stay out on medium tyres and the Dutchman moved to soft tyres under the final SC, Verstappen roared past the Briton at the restart to take the lead and victory.
At the start of the race Verstappen made a good getaway and he took the lead ahead of Leclerc and the second Ferrari of Carlos Sainz.
Behind the top three, Sergio Pérez tried to attack Hamilton on the run to the first corner, but the Mercedes driver defended well. Hamilton then tried to go down the inside of Sainz but the pair made slight contact. Hamilton was then slow through the banked Turn 3 but managed to again hold off Pérez to keep fourth place.
Verstappen then began to pull a gap to Leclerc and after seven laps he was 1.5s ahead of the Ferrari driver. Meanwhile, behind the top five, Geroge Russell in the other Mercedes was sixth ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris, while Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll was eighth ahead of Alpine’s Esteban Ocon and the 10th-placed Haas of Mick Schumacher.
Pérez pitted at the end of lap 14 and jumped Sainz as Ferrari bungled the Spaniard’s pit stop. Leclerc then pitted from second at the end of lap 17 and Verstappen made his first stop on following lap. The Red Bull driver moved to medium tyres and rejoined in P3 as Hamilton moved into the lead ahead of team-mate Russell.
With new tyres on board, Verstappen began to chase down the leading Mercedes cars and on lap 23 the Dutchman was 2.6s behind Russell. On lap 28, aided by DRS, the World Champion breezed past the Mercedes around the outside on the approach to Turn 1.
He quickly began to close on the race leader, with the result that Hamilton pitted. He took on hard tyres. Russell then pitted at the end of lap 31 for hard tyres and he came out in fifth place. Verstappen now led the race, eight seconds clear of Leclerc, with Pérez in third place. The top three were all on a two-stop strategy. Hamilton and Russell sat in fourth and fifth places respectively, with both Mercedes drivers on a one-stop race. Sainz now held sixth place ahead of Norris, Stroll and the Alpine cars of Fernando Alonso and Ocon.
Hamilton then passed Pérez as he set about narrowing the gap to Verstappen who still needed another stop. However, on lap 44, the complexion of the race changed when AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda hit trouble., and after a confusion about the issue, the Japanese driver was eventually told to stop. He pulled over at the side of the track and the VSC was deployed.
Verstappen pitted at the end of lap 48 taking on hard tyres and took on hard tyres and rejoined in the lead. Mercedes switched Hamilton and Russell to medium tyres. Hamilton came out in P2 with Russell third ahead of Leclerc.
The race changed again on lap 55. Valtteri Bottas’ Alfa Romeo ground to a halt at the end of the pit straight and the yellow flags were flown and a lap later the safety car was deployed.
Verstappen pitted and took on soft tyres. Mercedes then pitted Russell who took on softs. Behind the SC, Hamilton, on mediums, now led ahead of Max on softs, with Russell third ahead Leclerc and Checo, who was on mediums.
The SC left the track on lap 60 and Verstappen on quicker soft tyres, powered past the Mercedes on the pit straight to take the lead and 12 laps later the win. Hamilton was passed in the closing staged by Russell and Leclerc but the Briton managed to hang on to fourth place ahead of Pérez who inherited fifth when Sainz was handed a late five-second penalty for an unsafe release. Alpine’s Fernando Alonso took sixth ahead of Norris and Sainz finished eighth ahead of Alpine’s Esteban Ocon and Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll.
2022 FIA Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix – Race
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull 72 1:36’42.773
2 George Russell Mercedes 72 1:36’46.844 4.071
3 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 72 1:36’53.702 10.929
4 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 72 1:36’55.789 13.016
5 Sergio Pérez Red Bull 72 1:37’00.941 18.168
6 Fernando Alonso Alpine/Renault 72 1:37’01.527 18.754
7 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 72 1:37’02.079 19.306
8 Carlos Sainz Jr. Ferrari 72 1:37’03.689 20.916
9 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 72 1:37’03.890 21.117
10 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 72 1:37’05.232 22.459
11 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri/Red Bull 72 1:37’09.782 27.009
12 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 72 1:37’13.163 30.390
13 Mick Schumacher Haas/Ferrari 72 1:37’15.768 32.995
14 Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin/Mercedes 72 1:37’18.780 36.007
15 Kevin Magnussen Haas/Ferrari 72 1:37’19.642 36.869
16 Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 72 1:37’20.093 37.320
17 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren/Mercedes 72 1:37’20.537 37.764
18 Nicholas Latifi Williams/Mercedes 71 1:37’24.851 1 lap /42.078
Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 53 1:10’40.476 Retirement
Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri/Red Bull 43 58’27.741 Retirement -
George Russell all praise for Max Verstappen, fans, team;
Barcelone, 22 May 2022: The top three winning drivers who attended the post-race FIA press conference are Max VERSTAPPEN (Red Bull Racing), Sergio PÉREZ (Red Bull Racing) and George RUSSELL (Mercedes).
TRACK INTERVIEWS were conducted by Pedro de la Rosa:
Q: George, what a race, man! Back on the podium. Can we say that Mercedes is back now?
George RUSSELL: I’d love to say that but today was very tough. I gave it everything I could to hold Max off, he did an amazing job, and we are so proud to be standing here. The guys have worked so hard, so this is for everyone back in Brackley and Brixworth, thank you.
Q: We heard at one point that you were having overheating issues and you couldn’t push as much as you wanted. I mean how much did it hamper you?
GR: I heard it was a lot to be honest, but when I had the Red Bulls in my mirrors all I was doing was my maximum to keep them behind and it was an enjoyable, good couple of laps and I’m just pleased to be able to bring it home in P3. A lot of points on the board for us. So yeah, well done to Max, he did a great job.
Q: Well done, man. Tell us about the last few laps? Could you push full or did the car still have overheating issues, because we saw with Lewis that he had to back off.
GR: Yeah it was very difficult in the last few laps. It was a survival race, when we knew we had the gap, and as I said, just proud to bring it home in P3 and thanks to all the fans here, they have been amazing all weekend, and the support… Formula 1, at the moment, is in an incredible place so it’s great to be here at the moment.
Q: Well done, you did so well. Max, well done, your first victory again since 2016 here in Spain. We saw you having issues in Turn 14, with the DRS, tell us about it?
Max VERSTAPPEN: Yeah, I mean of course I went off. I suddenly had a lot of tailwind, so I just lost the rear, went off and then, of course, I was in the train and I tried to pass, but my DRS was not always working. So, yeah, that made it very tough but we managed, due to the strategy, to get ahead again and do our own race and eventually win the race. So, a difficult beginning but a good end.
Q: And you switched to a three-stopper. I mean without DRS or with a DRS not working that well, I mean, how did you manage to overcome that?
MV: Yeah, I tried to stay focused. Of course, it’s not nice when stuff like that happens. And yet of course very happy to win and also very happy for Checo. It was a great result for the team.
Q: Your pace with soft tyres was amazing. I mean, at one point you were the fastest by a country mile. Did the soft tyres work very well with your car?
MV: Yeah, I think so. I think the behaviour of the car was good on the soft but also on the medium. I think it was working out quite well.
Q: And on the fight with George. I mean, we saw you a bit of frustrated at one point. I mean, he was closing the door he was changing direction a bit too late.
MV: Yeah, it was more for because of my DRS you know, but yeah, at the end, we managed to get ahead.
Q: Checo, you are Mexican but we’re here in Spain. So are you half-Spanish now? Can we say that?
Sergio PÉREZ: Yeah, definitely. I mean, you already have very two good drivers but I’ve been feeling a lot of support this weekend, so I’m extremely happy to be on the podium for the first time in the Spanish Grand Prix.
Q: A one-two for Red Bull here in Spain. Amazing to be here in the podium. You could have won though.
SP: Yes, I think it was close. But at the end it is a great team result and I’m happy for that.
Q: We heard you on the radio at one point saying ‘let me attack George, I can get through’. I mean were you a bit frustrated at that point?
SP: Yeah, we were on different tyre strategies at the time. I let Max by in the beginning, then I thought at the time that I could I could go by and not lose crucial seconds, you know, to make my strategy work, but anyway, it’s a good team result.
PRESS CONFERENCE
Q: xMax, many congratulations, Barcelona was the scene of your first Formula 1 win and you’ve done it again. However, you had to do it the hard way today. Just how satisfying is this victory?
MV: Yeah, a bit of a race with two halves, because the first 30 laps were very frustrating for me, after I went off in Turn 4 first of all, which really caught me by surprise, because I didn’t feel like I was actually braking later or throwing more speed into the corner. But it was very gusty out there today. Like, one lap it felt all stable and then the next lap suddenly you could have more oversteer in places. So probably that caught me out, by surprise. So that was not ideal, of course. But then, of course, I dropped back behind George and Checo. Checo was so kind to let me by to try to attack George because I think already we were planning to do two different strategies as a team, at the time. But then as soon as I was attacking George, my DRS stopped working all the time on the main straight. So that was extremely painful. Like, sometimes it would open, like, almost halfway on the straight or not at all. So yeah, that made me stuck behind George for 20 laps solid. So it was a tough one.
Q: Couple of things to pick up on there. Was there any damage after running through the gravel at Turn 4?
MV: Didn’t feel like it. I mean, there is, of course, gravel there. But I didn’t feel like I damaged the car, because once I was back on the track, the car felt like normal. So I was lucky there, of course.
Q: And the DRS problem? Is there anything you can do in the cockpit to try and improve the situation?
MV: No, because I mean, I’m pressing the button, but the system is not opening. So this is not working. So we really have to fix that.
Q: We haven’t seen you and George battle on track wheel-to-wheel in Formula 1. Just how much did you enjoy the fight with him?
MV: I was a bit frustrated at the time, because I couldn’t get him because of the DRS issues. But the fight itself, I think was really cool. Also, I think that lap where I did go on the inside and then George went around the outside, but then I was on the outside of Turn 3 again, I think that was a really cool fight. Yeah, I look back at it and I’ll smile now. At the time, of course, I was a little bit frustrated. But it was a really good and tough battle, I think.
Q: Sergio, coming to you. Well done, your third podium of the season. You’re first here in Spain. Just how good was it on the podium when so many people were chanting your name?
SP: Yeah, it was great. My first podium here in Spain. They obviously have their two very good drivers, Spanish drivers, but I can say that I’m probably the third one in terms of support here because every year it’s been amazing. And to be on the podium for the first time, it’s nice, and great team result as well. We took our opportunities and very pleased with that.
Q: Great team result, as you say, but you did say over the radio on the slowdown lap that you do want to talk to the team about tactics. Did you feel the win was on today?
SP: Well, on the first stint, when I let Max by, I was told that I was going to get it back. And we knew we were on different strategies. So when I was back on it, I felt like I could have gone through and probably given a better shot at my strategy, to make it work. But at the end of the day, it turned out to be the three-stop the way to go today.
Q: Just tell us a little bit about the tyres and deg. How unpredictable was it out there today?
SP: Not very unpredictable. I think we kind of expected it to be this bad. So, it was not a surprise today.
Q: George, second podium of the many congratulations. First up. How good does this result feel?
GR: It feels great to be on the podium and I think it goes to show the hard work and effort that’s gone on back at a factory, both in Brackley and Brixworth. We’ve always said that you got to be there at the end to pick up the pieces, and pick up points and especially on days like today it was incredibly tough out there for the cars, for the drivers. But I feel like we’re making progress. And I think we, as a team, have turned a page. I feel like this is probably the start of our season now.
Q: You’re on the podium back in Australia. But does this feel closer? Do you feel closer to the guys sat next to you?
GR: Yeah, definitely. I feel like this was more genuine. I think we probably have probably halved the gap to those front runners, compared to the rest of the season. And I think we know there’s probably more performance to find. It’s been a season of problem solving, as opposed to trying to find more performance and bring more performance to the car. And I think we’ve now finally solved our issue. And we can now focus on bringing more performance. So yeah, we’re six races behind but there’s no reason why we can’t claw this back.
Q: And George, can we get a word from you on that battle with Max?
GR: Yeah, it was enjoyable. I mean, it’s… I think Max and I first raced each other back in 2011. So it was nice to have the opportunity to fight with him. And, you know, I’m here to win, I’m here to fight and I obviously wasn’t going to make it easy. I felt bad for him, because he obviously had the DRS issues and he was clearly the faster man today. But still, I think it was hard, fair racing. And that’s what we would like to see, and expect, in Formula 1.
Q: How much were you having to manage temperatures throughout the race? Or was it just at the end?
GR: No, it was definitely when I was battling with Max, I was managing tyres, the engine was overheating, then trying to go as fast as possible to keep them behind. You’re juggling so many things. And then in the last five, six laps, it was literally just bring it home, get it to the end of a race, because we were right on the limit throughout the whole race. But the team did a great job to not allow us to go over that limit and have to retire the car. Nobody enjoys these challenging races with really difficult temperatures but that can make a difference. And if you do a better job, you’re there to see the rewards, so proud of everybody to bring this home.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Ronald Vording – Motorsport.com) It’s a question to Max. Max, today has been a great day for you in the Championship. Congratulations on that. But are you worried in any way by what you’ve seen from Ferrari, before the Leclerc DNF? They seem to have made a significant step this weekend. And it’s not only one-lap pace anymore, but also on tyre deg and race pace.
MV: It’s a bit too early to say about the full race. Of course tyre deg, because he did pull away from me a little bit at the time, but there were races also before where this has happened a bit. I mean, I’m not saying that I’m not looking at it, for sure they had a really strong weekend and we definitely need to improve. We need to be better over one-lap performance, especially. But I think we were so early on in the race that it was a bit difficult to tell how big the margin was exactly. Because I don’t even know what lap I went off but it was very early on and then we never really had a reference anymore, right. We always have to improve, but for sure, after this weekend, it shows that with all the upgrades they brought I think they definitely took a step forward. So now it’s up to us, of course to try and close that gap down again.
Q: (Joost Niederpelt – NU.nl) Max at some point, the team was giving you instructions on how to handle the DRS button. What did they tell you to do? And what did you do before that?
MV: There was not… I mean, I could have shouted back on the radio something, but there is nothing you can do because I mean, I’m not stupid, once you get the light and the activation beep, then you press the paddle. If it doesn’t open, there’s clearly an issue. I’ve spammed it like 50 times at one point on the straight and it’s just not opening, so there was clearly an issue. I mean, I tried all different kinds of things, stay off the kerb, on the kerb, open it a tiny bit later but it was just broken – or like malfunctioning. So yeah, we clearly have an issue there on this wing.
Q: (Matt Kew – Autosport) Max, in the cooldown room you’re talking to George about what a great battle that was so does it worry you the review that the stewards took note of it and were looking into it to see if there’s any foul play, or if you both thought it was it was a really solid battle?
MV: I think maybe they were looking at the moving a bit, the weaving… ah, Turn 3, because of leaving one car width? Yeah, luckily nothing happened. I mean, there was a bit of grip on the outside, so I’m okay with it. I think it was hard racing. And of course, I went around the outside but I’m also in the blind spot of George, so I think he didn’t even really notice where I was exactly, right? Well, for sure you knew that I was there, but it’s always hard to fully give a car’s width there because it’s a fast corner, you’re drifting wide. So if I was in George’s position, I would have probably done the same, so it’s just how we are, I think.
GR: Yeah, I think it’s important that we are allowing this hard, fair racing and the rule is to give a car’s width and that was what was done and I think there was still a wheel on the track from Max. But yeah, it’s a little bit difficult at the moment. I think there’s a lot of… We’ve obviously got the new stewards in and it’s very difficult for everybody, and trying to understand each other, what we feel like is required from the driver’s side, and what they expect from us as well, and it will just need this open dialogue. But I wasn’t even aware they were looking into it, to be honest, I thought it was hard and fair racing.
Q: (Adrian Rodriguez Huber – Agence EFE) Checo, congratulations, you’ve proven a long time ago that you’re a very good driver but you’ve proven over the last two seasons that you’re a great team player, but I kind of believe you have your own heart and you want to win. When do you think this, your third victory, can come and if you have to put it on a balance, Red Bull gives you a chance to make lots of podiums, but it doesn’t look easy to gain victory. So how can you comment on that?
SP: Well, I think today… I think what was clear was that the three-stop was a better race, race time, and the various strategies, so I think if I went in that direction, I would have won the race. And it worked out for Max. I think that was something we discussed. It was good, because we didn’t know at the time which strategy was going to be the best one. I only felt that in the first stint when I gave the position to Max, that I was told that I was going to get it back and when I was on the two-stop I felt that I could have gone through Max and George a bit earlier to try and make the strategy work, but probably it wouldn’t have been enough. But it still is a great team result, the season is still very young and, yeah, I think the momentum in the team is great. So we just have to discuss a few things internally. But yeah, there’s nothing that I’m concerned of. If anything, I can say that the atmosphere in the team, the momentum we’re carrying, it is tremendous, like no other team, so I’m pleased with that.
Q: (Carlo Platella – FormulaPassion.it) Max did you expect already this morning with the team that this race would have been on three stops?
MV: We had a lot of options to look at because it was very difficult to judge how the deg was going to be so we were just trying to be very flexible. And yeah, during the race, you make that decision, right? They put me early on, because of being stuck, having my DRS issue, I think we decided to be a little bit on a different, more aggressive strategy, because if I wouldn’t have had that DRS issue, I could have cleared George earlier and I would have, let’s say, opened the gap again. And then you’re in a different situation where maybe then we do a different strategy, right, but we had to improvise a bit because of that. And it worked out well because the tyres were very difficult. Even in my last stint, like the last few laps. Of course, I had the margin in the back, but the tyres also they didn’t feel let’s say amazing anymore.
Q: (Ronald Vording – Motorsport.com) Max, in Miami, you said that Red Bull made the weekends too complicated for themselves. This weekend wasn’t straightforward, either, if you look at the DRS issue. Is that execution and fighting those small technical issues still a concern for you going forward?
MV: Well, it’s just things we can improve, right? That issue with the DRS, of course, was quite costly but at the end, we still won the race, so as a team we are quite flexible. We adapt quickly if we have issues and we try to work around it, even during the race, so that’s good. But, yeah, of course, we tried to make sure that that doesn’t happen again. But we didn’t retire which other teams did. So that’s already a good improvement and you can see, it completely swings the championship around again. So from our side, yeah, we just have to try and be really consistent and try not to make too many mistakes. I mean, you’re not a robot, I mean mistakes will happen. But yeah, we’ll try to minimise it.
Q: (Pilar Celebrovsky – Paddock Magazine) Max, we have seen that Leclerc had to retire. Do you have the feeling that these cars are less reliable than the previous years’ cars?
MV: It shouldn’t be really car related because like the engines and stuff are pretty much the same. Of course, the fuel has changed a little bit, but it’s a bit weird. Yeah. also from our side, of course, we had already two retirements where before we were always really strong on reliability, so it’s a bit difficult to tell. It’s also not major issues that we had. I don’t know, of course, about Ferrari, but from our side it’s little things and yeah, we are trying to be on top of that, but I don’t think it’s specifically car related.
Ends
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Max Verstappen wins Spanish GP to take championship lead
Barcelona, 22 May 2022: Max Verstappen claimed a hard fought Spanish Grand Prix win at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, coming back from an early spin and faulty DRS to take a victory that hands him control of the 2022 FIA Formula One Drivers’ World Championship standings as Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc exited the race from a comfortable lead due to the power unit issue. Sergio Pérez took second place to Red Bull Racing’s second 1-2 finish of the season and the final podium place went to Mercedes’ George Russell
When the lights went out at the start, Leclerc and Verstappen both got away well. The Red Bull driver tried to draw alongside the Ferrari on the long drag to Turn 1, but Leclerc defended well and held the lead as they exited the corner.
Behind them, Carlos Sainz made a poor start and he was passed first by Mercedes’ George Russell and then by Pérez. Further back, though, Kevin Magnussen attempted to pass Lewis Hamilton but the Dane tagged the Briton’s Mercedes and the Haas bounced off track into the gravel traps. He was able to continue at the back of the field but Hamilton suffered a puncture and was forced back to the pits.
As the opening stint began to unfold, Leclerc began to carve out a slim gap to Verstappen and by lap five he was 1.2 seconds clear of the Dutchman, with Russell two seconds adrift of the Red Bull driver and Pérez a further second back. Sainz held fifth ahead of Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas, with Mick Schumacher in seventh place in the second Haas. However, the German was soon passed by Alpine’s Esteban Ocon and slipped to eighth.
On lap seven, though, Sainz made a mistake into Turn 4 and spun into the gravel trap. He managed to make his way back on track but dropped to 11th place. And then, on lap nine, the same fate befell Verstappen. The world champion turned in but lost grip as he grappled with a strong tailwind and he slid off into the gravel, losing position to Russell and Pérez.
After Pérez had twice attempted to get past Russell but failed, the Mexican ceded third place to Verstappen on lap 11 and the Dutchman quickly began to pile pressure on the Briton.
At the end of lap 13, Russell and Verstappen headed towards the pit lane and both fitted medium tyres. Bottas pitted at the end of the next tour and that promoted Russell and Verstappen back to third and fourth respectively.
Verstappen’s pursuit of the Mercedes was hampered, however, by an intermittently failing DRS and over the course of the following laps his attempts to close up to the Mercedes were frequently dashed by the rear wing staying resolutely closed.
Pérez then pitted at the end of lap 17 and after taking medium tyres he rejoined in fourth place ahead of Bottas, Ocon, Sainz, Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel, who had yet to pit, the McLaren of Lando Norris and AlphaTauri Yuki Tsunoda.
Leclerc pitted for medium tyres at the end of lap 21 and he rejoined with a six-second cushion to Russell and Verstappen. At the start of the next lap Pérez was fourth, four seconds adrift of his team-mate with Bottas in fifth place, 10.6s behind the second Red Bull. Ocon held sixth ahead of Sainz, with Norris eighth ahead of Tsundoa and Alpine’s Fernando Alonso who had climbed to 10th after starting from the back of the grid.
On lap 24, Verstappen, with DRS working, attacked Russell again and this time he got past the Mercedes on the inside into Turn 1. But Russell hung on around the outside and managed to emerge in P2 again. Verstappen tried to attack again on the following lap but much his very vocal frustration his DRS once again failed to open.
The complexion of the race changed completely on lap 27 when Leclerc suddenly slowed dramatically and after complaining of a sudden loss of power, he immediately headed to the pits lane and was forced to retire.
The battle between Verstappen and Russell was now for the lead. but then Verstappen opted to for a set of used soft tyres. He resumed in fourth place behind Bottas, leaving Pérez to chase down Russell.
And on lap 31 the Mexican made his move. Aided by DRS on the pit straight, he feinted right, forcing Russell to defend, and then effortlessly powered around the outside of the Mercedes to take the lead.
The Mexican driver quickly moved into a 2.5s lead over Russell, while Verstappen passed Bottas on lap 32 to take P3. The Dutchman now sat 12.5s behind the lead Mercedes.
Lapping almost two seconds faster than the leaders, Verstappen rapidly closed in and on lap 36 Mercedes backed out of the fight by pitting Russell for more medium tyres. Pérez then made his second stop for medium tyres at the end of lap 37 and Verstappen jumped into the lead.
Verstappen made his final stop at the end of lap 44, taking on medium tyres. He rejoined in P2 behind Pérez who once again led. The Dutchman quickly began to reel in his team-mate and on lap 49, Pérez moved across in Turn 4 to let the world champion retake a lead he held until the chequered flag.
Pérez crossed the line 13 seconds behind the new championship leader to make sure of the Red Bull 1-2 and the Mexican also nabbed the point for fastest lap thanks to a late-race switch to soft tyres.
Mercedes’ final laps were nervous, however. A suspected water leak on the power units of both its cars meant they had to coast to the line. Russell took his second podium finish of the season in third, while Hamilton, who had earlier passed Sainz for fourth, was forced to give the place back to the Ferrari driver on the final lap. Hamilton was left with fifth place ahead of Bottas, Ocon, Norris, Alonso and the final point on offer went to Tsunoda.
Verstappen now leads the Drivers’ Championship standings with 110 points, six ahead of Leclerc. Pérez now has 85 points, 11 clear of Russell. The Team has also taken the lead in the Constructors’ Championship and now has 195 points to Ferrari’s 169, with Mercedes third on 120.
2022 FIA Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix – Race
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull 66 1:37’20.475
2 Sergio Pérez Red Bull 66 1:37’33.547 13.072
3 George Russell Mercedes 66 1:37’53.402 32.927
4 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 66 1:38’05.683 45.208
5 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 66 1:38’15.009 54.534
6 Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo 66 1:38’20.451 59.976
7 Esteban Ocon Alpine 66 1:38’35.872 1’15.397
8 Lando Norris McLaren 66 1:38’43.710 1’23.235
9 Fernando Alonso Alpine 65 1:37’27.322 1 lap /6.847
10 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri 65 1:37’31.120 1 lap /10.645
11 Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin 65 1:37’47.098 1 lap /26.623
12 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren 65 1:38’00.152 1 lap /39.677
13 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri 65 1:38’01.422 1 lap /40.947
14 Mick Schumacher Haas 65 1:38’03.918 1 lap /43.443
15 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 65 1:38’22.806 1 lap /1’02.331
16 Nicholas Latifi Williams 64 1:37’24.931 2 laps /4.456
17 Kevin Magnussen Haas 64 1:37’33.131 2 laps /12.656
18 Alexander Albon Williams 64 1:38’15.803 2 laps /55.328
Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo 28 42’55.571 Retirement
Charles Leclerc Ferrari 27 40’21.658 Retirement -
We still have issues to sort out, says race winner Max
Miami, 9 May 2022: Following drivers attended the post-race Press Conference on Sunday from right: Max VERSTAPPEN (Red Bull Racing); Charles LECLERC (Ferrari); Carlos SAINZ (Ferrari)
TRACK INTERVIEWS were conducted by Willy T Ribbs)
Q: Welcome to Miami. Thank you. Great job.
Carlos SAINZ: Nice and warm.
Q: How was the car? And the tyres? And how are you physically?
CS: I’ve been better! Obviously after the crash from Friday, I still had a bit of neck pain going into the race, but I had to manage it and I fought through it, especially with Checo at the end on the Medium tyre, he was very difficult to keep him behind. But we managed to get the podium, which is a decent result.
Q: I saw you could race. You could race him right down into the hole down there. And did you get what you wanted out of the tyres here, given the heat?
CS: It wasn’t easy at all. It’s been a tough race with the tyres, with the heat. The car was moving and sliding a lot. But in the end, we got what we deserved, I think, which is a decent P3. And we can build it up from here.
Q: Hey, this is the biggest event in the world right now. And you’re on the podium. Great job, baby.
CS: Thank you. I want more, but it’s not bad.
Q: Charles ‘Chuck’ Leclerc, you and Verstappen have been rumbling with each other since you were kids on go-karts. And you put on another great show here. How are you feeling physically? How’s the car, chassis-wise and tyres?
Charles LECLERC: It was a very difficult race, physically. We struggled quite a bit with the Medium tyres, especially in the first stint and got overtaken there. And it made our race a bit more difficult from that moment onwards. On the hard we were very competitive and towards the end, I thought I could get Max at one point. But today they had the advantage in terms of pace. But it was fun. And it’s amazing to see so many people again, I kept saying it, but yeah, it’s great to have so many Ferrari fans too in the grandstand. So thank you for your support.
Q: Well, you and Max are going to put on a show at every race in this World Championship. I can’t wait to see more. Put on a great show.
CL: Yeah, I hope so too. I mean, we need to keep pushing. Upgrades will be very important throughout the year. And I hope now that we can do a step up but from next race onwards. But yeah, it’s been tight since the beginning of the season. And that’s what we’d like to see.
Q: Awesome job, baby. Awesome job. All right, champ. Hey, Muhammad Ali told me that when you’re champ, Christmas Day is every day, so another Christmas. Welcome to Miami.
Max VERSTAPPEN: Thank you very much. I mean, it was an incredible Grand Prix. Very physical as well, but I think we kept it exciting until the end.
Q: Well, you’re strong. I mean, you went hard on the car. I mean, you kept the tyres underneath you, plus you’re in good shape son, you’re ready to get into the boxing ring?
Max VERSTAPPEN: I think I’ll stick to racing but I appreciate a lot of course boxing. It felt a bit like it out there in terms of how we feel right now. But yeah, incredibly happy the winning here in Miami. It was an incredible Sunday for us.
PRESS CONFERENCE
Q: Welcome to the top three finishers of the 2022 FIA Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix. In third place, Carlos Sainz. In second place Charles Leclerc. And taking the 23rd win of his Formula 1 career and his third win of this 2022 campaign, our race winner, Max Verstappen. Max, very well done. That was a beautifully executed race from third on the grid. Given how the weekend started on Friday. How sweet does this victory feel?
MV: Yeah, I mean, of course, it’s a very good comeback. I didn’t even do a start. So I didn’t know what to expect in the actual start. But we had a good launch. And I saw the opportunity to go around the outside in Turn 1 so I tried. And luckily, it worked, so then, I just tried to see the pace, of course, Charles in front of me, and I think already from the start, it was very close. I just couldn’t get into the DRS initially. But then, at one point, I think Charles started to struggle a bit more with the front tyres, and it seemed like our car was very good on the Medium compound. So once I got ahead, I think that basically made my race, because I opened up the gap. And basically, once we did the pit stop and put the hard tyre on we were actually very closely matched in pace. So yeah, that was very crucial, of course, to get that gap. But then, of course, I was not very happy with that Safety Car, but of course, fully understandable with what happened. And of course, I think you cannot be too disappointed about it. Because also in the past, I mean, it has benefited me in some other races. So I knew of course, it’s was going to be a tough one to the end already. Because it was quite physical out there. So I knew of course, well now the next 10 laps, I think it was, we have to be flat out, so on a track like this is not easy. I was struggling a bit initially with the tyre temps, like I was sliding around a bit too much for my liking, but then once the tires came back up to temperature, I think I had a little bit more pace and of course, pulled out of the DRS which was very crucial around here.
Q: You got out of that DRS. But how much pressure was Charles putting you under in those closing laps?
MV: He was trying everything to try and have a go. And it was not easy, of course, to stay ahead because it’s easy to make a mistake around here in certain places.
Q: And can you just elaborate on the physical nature of this race? Is it comparable to let’s say the Singapore Grand Prix?
MV: Yeah, pretty similar. It’s very hot in Sector 2 as well. And of course because this is a day race, with the sun out there, it makes it really hot. So I was very happy once we always got to the straight because that gave you a bit of air. Also in the Safety Car just clicking your visor one step up, you know to have a bit more air coming it was pretty nice.
Q: It’s been a good race for you and your team in the Championship. Do you feel you’re on a bit of a roll now?
MV: We’re still having a few issues we have to solve. I mean we are quick, but as you can see, my Friday was terrible, you know, which is not great if you want to have a good weekend. And also Checo had a few issues in the race, so we have to be on top of that, but clearly there is a lot of potential, we just need to make sure it’s reliable.
Q: Charles, coming to you, a great race by you as well, you look very racy in those closing laps just how good was your car today?
CL: It was good, especially on the Hard, I think we were we were strong. On the Medium, as Max said, we struggled a little bit after five, six laps with the front tyres and then… yeah, we struggled and basically lost the race on that stint, losing the lead and then losing quite a bit of race time there, because of the front degradation. We need to look at that and be on top of it for the next race. Apart from that, I think on the Hard, we were we were very competitive or at least as competitive as Max, and after the Safety Car I really thought that we will have a shot to actually take back the lead – but it wasn’t enough. But yeah, it’s like this again, I think we’ll have to analyse the end of the run on the Medium, which is the weak point of this race.
Q: Aside from tyre degradation, what were the biggest differences between your cars today?
MV: The colour!
CL: Yeah, the colour. The straight-line speed also a little bit. But again, I think it’s just the characteristics of both cars. Red Bull are quite quick in a straight; we are quite quick in the medium and high speed – but today I have to say that I was quite surprised that we were struggling quite a bit more than them in the slow speed corners. So, that was also a weakness on the Medium tyres, and we need to look at that.
Q: Charles, you’re still 19 points ahead of Max. But do you need to see a reaction from Ferrari now?
CL: In a race we need to, especially on the softer compounds, on the Medium, Soft, it seems that it’s been already two races that in terms of race pace, they seem to be a bit stronger and managing those tyres better. Then, in qualifying, we always managed to put those tyres in the right window, which helps us but on the on the long runs, we struggle a bit more compared to them.
Q: Carlos. You mentioned something about your neck to Willy T Ribbs a little bit earlier. Are you okay?
CS: Well, yeah. Obviously, I’m coming back from a pretty heavy crash on Friday. So, I wasn’t feeling 100 per cent today, but maybe also the fact that I haven’t done the last two races. So also, the neck feels that. And it’s a combination of those two things that maybe I was paying a bit the price and at some stages of the race I couldn’t push 100 per cent.
Q: After these last couple of races, when you didn’t go racing lap, how much of a relief is this podium for you?
CS: It’s not so much a relief – but it’s needed. I think I needed to complete a race distance, to get the body back to shape, and also get the feel for the car on used tyres, high fuel. I was still doing a couple of mistakes out there during the race, just because I was trying the car and trying myself out there. The important thing is that we got a full race in, but at some stages of the race I was pretty quick and also the battles and the feeling with the car in battle with Checo, you know what to do with the battery, with the tyres, I think it gave me a good understanding of what to do in the future.
Q: Just tell us a little bit more about that battle with Checo? It looked pretty tight.
CS: Yeah, I mean, on a new Medium, against me on a on a very used Hard, he had everything on the cards, you know, to pass me on, on the first two, three laps, in the warm-up phase of the tyre. And I was pretty sure that, once I got the tyres up to temperature, I could maybe stay, more or less, ahead. But yeah, I think we did a good job on defending, manage all the battery. They’re also pretty quick on the straight, which doesn’t help. I think it was a tough, tough defence, but it was good.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Alex Kalinauckas – Autosport) The same question to Max and to Charles please. Could you just talk us through the rundown the pit straight where Max got ahead into T1? And Charles, in particular, was there anything you could have done maybe to defend a little bit harder there? Or is it just not worth it?
CL: Well, it’s always worth it when you are fighting for the lead. To be honest with the experience I had from FP1, FP2, FP3, inside there, it was a disaster, the grip on Friday and Saturday. So, I did not expect Max to have that much grip. But actually, I think it was much better for the race today. So, looking back at the race, you can always do something better but I thought that, at that moment, it was the right thing to stay on the racing line and try to optimise the braking point, which I did – but it didn’t work out.
MV: It’s just a decision that you make at the time, right? From both sides. I went right and Charles defends in the way he does. And then after the corner, you realise what is best, right? It could have worked for Charles; could have worked for me. It worked for me this time. It is just because… I mean we’re going at such high speed you have to make these decisions in like, milliseconds, so…
Q: (Laurence Edmondson – ESPN) A question to all three drivers. Can I just get your thoughts on the event this weekend? How spectacular you found it. And also, to Max, does it mean anything more to win the first race in Miami?
MV: I think it was an incredible atmosphere. I mean, it was really incredibly well organised. Really nice to see that. It’s not easy to put an event on like this. But yeah, they did an amazing job, and I had a lot of fun, driving around. I think track-wise, we can improve a few areas. But I have say in the race, I do think Sector 1 was quite fun. I do think Sector 2 can be maybe a bit… would have been nice if it could have been a bit faster and flowing for an F1 car like we have right now. You know: super long, heavy, wide. The 14-15 chicane is a bit of a tricky combination. And if it means more, I mean it’s another 25 or 26 points, right? It’s a nice venue, that’s for sure, but still you know you have the same amount of points what you can gain.
CL: Yeah, the atmosphere was incredible. And it’s great to see how much interest the sport has got in the last few years. And yeah, organisation was great. Loads of people, good weather. So yeah, it was amazing to be here.
CS: I think it was a mega event, put together… not easy on the first event to put such a well-organised venue. So many people coming, so many people in the paddock… for me the paddock was incredibly full!
MV: The helmet we had on the podium. We needed that in the paddock.
CS: Yeah, it was crazy. So yeah, congrats. I look forward to coming back here in the future. And I think, between FIA and ourselves, we can do a better job with the tarmac, we can do a better job with some corner combinations, and we can put together an even better show in the future.
Q: (Scott Mitchell – The Race) Max, you’ve talked a little bit about this but I guess this season has been a case of you either have high peaks or high frustrations. At its most extreme it’s been you either win, or you haven’t finished. But this weekend, we’ve heard you talk a few times about things just not being quite right, need to make things a bit smoother. How urgent is that side of things? Because it’s obviously… the most dramatic element is the retirement issues but if you’re not having clean weekends, then obviously that’s going to add up if that continues.
MV: Well, yeah, it’s both, right? I mean, of course, now my side, I had a lot of issues on Friday, which compromises your weekend, and especially yesterday. And I mean, of course, the day everything went well with the start but it also could have been the other way around. And then you of course again, can say like, well, fair enough, because if you missed almost whole Friday, what can you do about it? So we just have to nail down a really positive weekend without issues. I think of course, Imola, we had that, but it’s still a bit of a hit and miss too much. So we just have to make sure that we are more reliable and more on top of things. But as you can see the car is quick. I’m very happy about that, I mean, if you would be slow and reliable, that’s probably also not a good thing.
Q: (Jesus Balseiro – Diaro AS) Carlos, did you consider changing the tyres at the last Safety Car? And if so, why did you stick with the used ones?
CS: No, because I would have lost position to Checo and in general, you want to keep track position, especially during the podium. I think you want to keep that position. I knew Checo was going to pit because he had a new medium. Our alternative was I use of soft or a new hard which for me, both of them were not good enough for 10/12 laps to go like it was the case. So we were better off staying out on our used hard which I think it was the right call because in the end we managed to keep him behind. But it was tight, I think as I said before, he had all everything, all the cards to actually pass me and yeah, a bit surprised that we stayed ahead because it was a tight, tight battle.
Q: (Jeff Gluck – The Athletic) What should they do about the tarmac, for all three of you? Does it need to be resurfaced before you come back next year?
MV: I think offline can be a bit better. I think it was a bit nice today. I was a bit surprised… like in the start, you know, going around the outside of the expected grip, but then actually, during the race, it got worse and worse again. And we had good examples lately with new tracks where we had good tarmac like Saudi actually, it was pretty grippy. So yeah, we have to just look at that, first of all that you know, racing line… of course, the racing line has a bit more grip than offline. But I think the difference here is a bit too much in places. So yeah, we’ll see what we can do there and of course, besides that, I think like Carlos and myself mentioned, with the layout, I think we can make some bits also a bit more exciting, especially Sector 2.
Q: (Safid Deen – USA Today) About the chicane under the highway do you guys feel like that was challenging from a race perspective? Or would you like to see that completely changed or adjusted moving forward?
CS: I think it’s a chicane that we this generation of cars that are heavy, that are wide, just when you go around those two apex kerbs, it almost feels like you need a bit of luck to get around it and you sometimes get it on a weird angle and the car bounces a lot, then sometimes you nail it and you gain a tenth or two. It’s a corner that is just a bit unnatural and it’s a corner that I think it can be easily manipulated to look a bit different and create a better combination, you know. I think it’s still needed because there’s not a lot of space there and you need to be quite slow approaching 16 because there’s no runoff. So we need something slow, we need something tight. It’s just the nature of the two curves there, the way they’re put together which is no issue. It’s a new track that you’re always going to go through these phases and we’re already in touch with FOM, with Ross and his team to actually sort it out and put together a better piece of circuit.
MV: Yeah, I think if I would have been in a go kart, it would be a nice chicane to take, but not in an F1 car like we have at the moment. Like Carlos said, I think the kerb combination…I mean, I remember in the four laps I did on Friday, I almost knocked myself out because I hit the first kerb and your head just bounced from left to right, like at least five, six times, but really bad. If you just take it a tiny bit too much, just because it’s so long, so wide, so stiff and super heavy that little kerb what it is, it’s just not made for it to be honest. So maybe we have to change the kerb layout already, that it’s a bit more of a progressive ramp and it looks a bit nicer to go over. Maybe that helps already. But yeah, it’s so slow and I think our cars look way better if it’s a bit more of a flowing combination.
CL: I think I’m the only driver on the grid that actually liked this chicane.
MV: And you liked the kerb?
CL: Yeah, I enjoyed it. But on the other hand, I agree that for racing action, I think we can do something better because following wasn’t easy on that part, also for visibility it’s quite difficult once you have a car in front because you need to be so precise on the kerbs, as mentioned already. That it makes it even more difficult to follow. But apart from that I actually quite enjoyed it.
Q: (Alex Kalinuakas – Autosport) Max two questions actually: first of all did you have any reliability dramas in the race, any engine problems like Checo had? And also how important during those last few laps ahead of Charles after the safety car, was it you to get a good exit from the chicane after he closed up through the twisty bits?
MV: No, I had no issues luckily. I mean, everything was running very smooth for me so that was very positive. I think I had all my bad luck on Friday. And yeah, during those laps, yeah, it was very tricky, I mean, I was struggling a lot with actually the cold tyres hitting the kerbs. So going through the chicane was not easy. I made a few mistakes there a few times. But yeah, so it was very important to get a good run out of the chicane and actually also turn 16 onto the straight but of course with the extra top speed we had today that of course also helps.
Q: (Jerry Bonkowski – Autoweek) Charles, quick question. Do you like being the hunter or the hunted? You and Max obviously are so close together in the points right now, which do you prefer, being ahead of him or behind him?
CL: Well, I think we have been in only one position since the beginning of the season, which means we are hunted for now. I quite like this position to be honest, because it means that you are doing something right. But it is also true that it’s two races that the gap is slowly closing down. But yeah, I don’t I don’t really mind to be honest whichever position I am in, I just want to be the most competitive out there. And at the moment, it seems that Red Bull has the upper hand in the in the races.
Q: Max your thoughts?
MV: I like the position I’m in at the moment, knowing that the car is quick. And for example, end of last year, of course, I was the one who was being hunted. And that was actually not a great position because I knew that we didn’t have the pace anymore. I knew it was going to be very tricky to the end. So yeah, just depends a bit of how competitive you are as well.
Ends
-
Max Verstappen passes both Ferraris to win inaugural Miami GP
Miami (USA), 8 May 2022 (3am 9 May IST): Max Verstappen passed the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz to win the inaugural Miami Grand Prix despite a late Safety Car that saw championship leader Leclerc put the defending champion under intense pressure in the closing stages of a thrilling race at the new Miami International Autodrome.
Verstappen’s third win of the season was set-up at the race start. Polesitter Leclerc made a good getaway to take the lead but Verstappen, on the clean side of the grid in P3, also got away well. As the field raced towards Turn 1, the Dutchman drew alongside second-placed Sainz, and taking a wide line into the first corner he held his line and his nerve to pass the Spaniard.
Pérez held fourth place behind Sainz while Valtteri Bottas claimed P5 for Alfa Romeo and AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly took sixth. Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton dropped back after locking up into Turn 1 behind Pérez and after he banged wheels with Alpine’s Fernando Alonso who made a good start to briefly rise to seventh. Hamilton recovered quickly and when DRS was enabled he passed Alonso and then on lap six moved past Gasly to rise to sixth.
At the front, Verstappen shadowed Leclerc through the opening phase of the race and on lap eight he closed right up to the Ferrari down the long back straight. He couldn’t make the move stick into Turn 17 but as they crossed the line to begin the next tour, Verstappen got DRS again and swept past the championship leader into Turn 1 to take the lead.
The Dutch driver quickly began to build a gap to the Ferrari driver and when Leclerc locked his front right midway through lap 12, the Dutchman’s advantage extended to 2.5s.
Behind the leaders on lap 15, Sainz still led Pérez with the Ferrari driver 1.8s ahead of the Red Bull. On lap 18 Pérez began to close in on Sainz and at the start of lap 20 he edged toward DRS range of the Spaniard but suddenly the Mexican’s pace flagged and at the end of lap 20 he had dropped four seconds to the Ferrari.
He radioed his pit wall to report a loss of power and after being told to switch a sensor he was told to carry on. He continued to lose time, however, and on lap 23 he was eight seconds behind Sainz.
Behind the top four, Bottas held fifth but as cars behind him made their first pit stops, Mercedes’ George Russell, who had started on hard tyres, rose to sixth ahead of team-mate Hamilton who had made his first tyre change.
At the end of lap 24 Leclerc made his first visit to the pit lane and after taking on hard tyres he rejoined in fourth place, eight seconds behind Pérez. Verstappen pitted at the end of lap 26 and in a 2.4s stop he took on hard tyres and emerged in P2, seven seconds behind new leader Sainz.
At the end of lap 27 Sainz made his way into the pit lane with Pérez also turning towards the pit lane behind him. Sainz’s crew had a problem with their driver’s front right in a slow 5.4s stop and Pérez closed to within five seconds of Sainz. The Mexican was still nursing a drop in power, however, and he once again began to drop back from the Ferrari man.
Verstappen, meanwhile, now led Leclerc by almost eight seconds with Sainz a further 10s back in third. Behind fourth-placed Pérez, Russell, still in need of a first pit stop, now held fifth ahead of Bottas and Hamilton.
On lap 41, the shape of the race changed. Pierre Gasly went wide through two corners and after drifting off track slowly rejoined. However, he failed to see Lando Norris behind and the two made contact. The McLaren driver’s right rear tyre punctured and after spinning luridly he came to a halt in the middle of track. After a brief VSC the physical Safety Car was deployed.
Verstappen and Leclerc stayed on track behind the SC but Red Bull pitted Pérez and he was able to take on fresh medium tyres and rejoin ahead of Bottas to hold fourth ahead of Hamilton and Russell who benefited from a free stop to bolt on a set of medium tyres.
The Safety Car left the track at the end of lap 46 Verstappen controlled the restart well to hold the lead. Pérez, on new mediums, attacked Sainz. He couldn’t make the move stick, however, and he had to settle back into fourth to plot another assault.
When DRS enabled Pérez shadowed the Spaniards again and on lap 52 he attacked again into Turn 1. But he went too deep into the corner and Sainz eased his way past the locked up Mexican to stay in third.
The battle for the lead was just as intense. Leclerc closed in on the Dutchman and with the aid of DRS made repeated attacks. But, with better straight-line speed, Verstappen was able to keep the Ferrari at bay and on lap 53 he began to pull away slightly from his title rival. On lap 54 Verstappen broke DRS and his eventual victory was sealed.
The Dutch driver took his third win of the season, and the point for fastest lap, almost four seconds ahead of Leclerc, while Sainz managed to hold off Pérez to take his ninth career podium with third place.
Behind Pérez, Russell passed Hamilton in the closing stages to take fifth place ahead of Hamilton and Bottas who made a mistake late on that allowed the Mercedes cars to pass. Alpine’s Esteban Ocon benefited from a free stop under the Safety Car to rise from the back of the grid to eighth at the flag ahead of team-mate Fernando Alonso and the final point went to Williams’ Alex Albon.
2022 FIA Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix – Race
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 57 1:34’24.258
2 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 57 1:34’28.044 3.786
3 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 57 1:34’32.487 8.229
4 Sergio Pérez Red Bull 57 1:34’34.896 10.638
5 George Russell Mercedes 57 1:34’42.840 18.582
6 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 57 1:34’45.626 21.368
7 Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 57 1:34’49.331 25.073
8 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 57 1:34’52.644 28.386
9 Fernando Alonso Alpine/Renault 57 1:34’56.386 32.128
10 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 57 1:34’56.623 32.365
11 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren/Mercedes 57 1:35’00.160 35.902
12 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 57 1:35’01.284 37.026
13 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri/Red Bull 57 1:35’04.404 40.146
14 Nicholas Latifi Williams/Mercedes 57 1:35’14.194 49.936
15 Mick Schumacher Haas/Ferrari 57 1:35’37.563 1’13.305
16 Kevin Magnussen Haas/Ferrari 56 – 1 lap
17 Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin/Mercedes 54 – Collision
Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri/Red Bull 45 – Accident damage
Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 39 – Collision
Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 6 – Retirement -
Verstappen leads Red Bull 1-2 in Emilia Romagna GP after misery for Leclerc
Red Bull ended up 1-2 with Max Verstappen winning F1 Emilia Romagna GP from Sergio Perez as McLaren’s Lando Norris rounded the podium in third.
The pre-race rain made it an intermediate start for all in F1 Emilia Romagna GP as Red Bull’s Max Verstappen got a good start to lead from teammate Sergio Perez after an average getaway for both the Ferrari cars with McLaren’s Lando Norris moving to third.
Charles Leclerc dropped to fourth as teammate Carlos Sainz spun out after being tagged by McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo in Turn 3-4 area. The Spaniard suffered another retirement as the Australian pitted to drop back in the order with the safety car deployed.
Replays showed Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas also hitting the back of Ricciardo in that moment, while separately Haas’ Mick Schumacher spun on a wet patch when his rear wing touched the sidepod of Alpine’s Fernando Alonso which shed itself later on.
The re-start worked well for Verstappen as he led Perez, Norris and Leclerc in the Top 4, with Haas’ Kevin Magnussen in fifth from Mercedes’ George Russell who climbed up five places to be sixth ahead of Bottas, Alonso in the Top 10.
Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel was ninth from AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda, as up ahead Leclerc challenged Norris for third to take it. Behind him, Magnussen was being pressured on by Russell and Bottas where the Brit tried to get by the Dane.
He did it once but lost out. He hustled again and got through him for fifth as Bottas followed suit on the next lap to take sixth with Magnussen dropping to seventh. Vettel slowly started to catch him with Tsunoda a bit far off in ninth.
Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll held off Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton in the battle for 10th as Alonso was forced to retire after part of his sidepod came lose. The drivers started to slip and slide more on a drying track in the wait of rain to pit.
With no rain in the horizon, drivers started to pit after Ricciardo started the chain. There was some chaos with slow stops for Hamilton and Bottas. The Brit had to avoid Ocon who was released on his way with the stewards putting it under investigation.
Ocon was handed a 5s time penalty for unsafe release, as Verstappen led the way in the front. Teammate Perez had Leclerc all on his back in the fight for second with Norris remaining in third from Russell and Bottas who retained sixth despite the slow stop.
Vettel gained on Magnussen to be seventh with Tsunoda ninth from Stroll in the Top 10. Ocon was 11th from Williams’ Alexander Albon, AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly and Hamilton, who dropped to 14th after the slow stop from his team.
The race steadied itself as drivers had to get through the race on the same set of tyres. The biggest moment for the camera crew was Verstappen lapping Hamilton towards the end of the race when the Brit was trying to get through Gasly.
While things were stable ahead, Tsunoda passed Magnussen for eighth as outside the Top 10, Albon continued to trouble Gasly and Hamilton in the fight for 12th. In a twist, Ferrari called in Leclerc for soft tyres with Red Bull doing the same with Perez and Verstappen.
Leclerc came out behind Norris but he got back the place and hurried Perez. In doing so, the Monegasque spun but managed to continue on. He was forced to pit for the front wing and dropped to ninth but regained eighth from Magnussen.
At the front, Norris gained a place to third while Russell in fourth had Bottas on his tail in the closing stages. Tsunoda was long way off in sixth from Vettel who had a charging Leclerc on his tail. He eventually passed him in his pursuit of Tsunoda.
His title challenger Verstappen dominated to win F1 Emilia Romagna GP in a Red Bull 1-2 with Perez second from Norris in the Top 3. The Dutchman also scored the fastest lap, as Russell held off Bottas to finish fourth by 0.675s.
Leclerc ended up sixth from Tsunoda, Vettel, Magnussen and Stroll in the Top 10 where Aston Martin scored double points to open their account in 2022. Ocon was 11th despite his penalty as Albon eventually held off Gasly and Hamilton for 12th.
Zhou was 15th from Williams’ Nicholas Latifi with Schumacher 17th and Ricciardo 18th. Everyone from Stroll until the Australian ended up a lap down. DNF: Alonso, Sainz.
