INDIA in F1

Tag: Melbourne

  • Max Verstappen takes pole in Melbourne: Sainz P2

    Max Verstappen takes pole in Melbourne: Sainz P2

    Albert Park (Melbourne), 23 March 2024: Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen took his third straight pole position of 2024 with a blistering final lap of Q3 that left him almost three tenths of a second clear of Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, with Sergio Pérez third in the second Red Bull. 

    Verstappen had struggled for car balance throughout practice sessions in Melbourne and even as he worked through the opening two sessions of qualifying the Dutchman was unhappy with the handling of his Red Bull RB20. But following tweaks made after Q2 the three-time champion found a sweet spot and powered clear of his rivals. 

    “So far this weekend it’s been a bit tough to find a good balance in the car,” he said after taking his 35th career pole position. “Even throughout qualifying, Q1, Q2, I didn’t really feel like fighting for pole. But then we made some little tickles on the car and that seemed to help me in Q3 to really push it to the limit. Both of my laps I felt quite happy with it. I mean, there are always things that you can improve, but overall, I am satisfied with the performance.”

    Sainz’s front-row start represents a good result for the Spanish driver who is returning following surgery to last time out in Bahrain to remove his appendix. 

    “It’s been a tough couple of weeks, a lot of days in bed, waiting for this moment, to see if I could be here today,” he said. “To make it to this weekend and then obviously to put it on the front row after leading through qualifying, I was almost not believing it, especially after how tough it’s been. But very happy to be here, very happy to be challenging the Red Bulls this weekend.”

    Sainz led the way in Q1, setting a lap of 1:16.731, ahead of Ferrari Pérez who took P2 thanks to a lap of 1:16.805. Verstappen took third place just 0.014 behind his team-mate. The Dutchman wasn’t happy with his RB20 however, complaining about understeer.

    Eliminated at the end of Q1 were Haas’ Nico Hülkenberg in P16 ahead of Alpine’s Pierre Gasly. RB’s Daniel Ricciardo was also dumped out of the session when he plummeted from P10 to P18 after his final lap was deleted for overstepping track limits in Turn 5. Sauber’s Zhou Guanyu was slowest in the session and exited in P19.

    At the start of Q2 it was Verstappen, on fresh tyres, who made the most of the first runs,  the champion taking P1 with a lap of 1:16.387 that put him little over two tenths ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri. Sainz and Leclerc, on used tyres, took third and fourth places, ahead the second McLaren of Lando Norris. 

    With fresh Soft tyres on board, Sainz then moved ahead, taking top spot with a lap of 1:16.189. 0.198s ahead of Verstappen, who stayed in the garage for the final laps. That gave Leclerc an opportunity and in the final moments the Monegasque driver posted a lap of 1:16.304 to bump Verstappen down to third. 

    There was no place in the top-10 shootout for Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton who exited in P11 ahead of Williams’ Alex Albon, Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas, the Haas of Kevin Magnussen and Alpine’s Esteban Ocon.

    With Sainz in charge through the opening two segments and with Leclerc also quick, it looked like Ferrari had the upper hand, but in the minutes before the green lights were lit to start the top-10 shootout, whatever adjustments Verstappen’s team made to his car paid off and in the opening runs of Q3, the Dutchman stamped new authority on the session as he took provisional pole ahead of Sainz and Leclerc.

    And he tightened his grip on pole with his final flying lap. The Dutchman ended the session as the only driver to dip below 1m16s and his time of 1:15.915 was good enough to beat Sainz by 0.270s with Pérez a further nine hundredths of a second back in third. 

    Fourth place went to Norris, but Leclerc slumped to fifth after a mistake on his final flyer forced him to abandon his bid for pole. Piastri will start sixth ahead of Russell and Tsunoda, with the Astons of Alonso and Stroll in ninth and tenth. 

    2024 FIA Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix – Qualifying 
    1 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 1:15.915 – –
    2 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1:16.185 0.270 
    3 Sergio Pérez Red Bull Racing 1:16.274 0.359 
    4 Lando Norris McLaren 1:16.315 0.400 
    5 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:16.435 0.520 
    6 Oscar Piastri McLaren 1:16.572 0.657 
    7 George Russell Mercedes 1:16.724 0.809 
    8 Yuki Tsunoda RB 1:16.788 0.873 
    9 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 1:17.072 1.157 
    10 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 1:17.552 1.637 
    11 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:16.960 1.045 
    12 Alexander Albon Williams 1:17.167 1.252 
    13 Valtteri Bottas Sauber 1:17.340 1.425 
    14 Kevin Magnussen Haas 1:17.427 1.512 
    15 Esteban Ocon Alpine 1:17.697 1.782 
    16 Nico Hülkenberg Haas 1:17.976 2.061 
    17 Pierre Gasly Alpine 1:17.982 2.067 
    18 Daniel Ricciardo RB 1:18.085 2.170 
    19 Zhou Guanyu Kick Sauber 1:18.188 2.273 

  • Full attack mode at Phillip Island; Marquez favourite, but Rossi very much in the hunt

    Full attack mode at Phillip Island; Marquez favourite, but Rossi very much in the hunt

    File photo of Marc Marquez in action. Photo: Honda Racing Corporation

    Phillip Island, 25 October 2018: From a history maker of a Grand Prix at the Twin Ring Motegi, it’s all change as MotoGP™ now heads down under for the Michelin Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix. The Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, a couple of hours south of Melbourne, is one of the world’s great masterpieces – a flowing ribbon of asphalt perched on the cliffs, where the Gardner Straight seems to disappear into the horizon.

    It doesn’t, it becomes the Southern Loop and Stoner Corner and Lukey Heights and every other legendary kink and curve of this legendary racetrack, but the setting is a dramatic one. The racing, too, is often showstopping – with the Island fabled not only for its curves but also for its contests. Some of the greatest races of all time have happened here, and in 2018 the odds say another may well be on the way.

    Valentino Rossi . Photo : Yamaha MotoGP

    Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) will be the favourite as we arrive this season. Not only for his seventh crown, wrapped up at Motegi, or even for his stats from the season. It’s not even for his win count at the track, it’s his pace at Phillip Island that widens eyes – with pole position taken so often, it would take a fairly dramatic twist to deny him. Marquez has won some incredible races here – and taken some DNFs – as well as going from P38 on the grid in Moto2™ and getting on the podium. The king around here used to be Casey Stoner; now he goes by another name.

    The other rider with the top recent record isn’t racing, either – with Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team) out through injury. So that leaves only Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) as the other man with a great track record at the Island – including his most recent win in 2014 – but the ‘Doctor’ also dominated the venue before the arrival of Stoner. Phillip Island could also suit Yamaha a little more than some tracks of late – so can Rossi break that losing streak? Or will it be his teammate, Maverick Viñales, who suffered much more at Motegi but did take a rostrum in Thailand…

    So what of the man whose absence on the final laps in Japan was so notable? Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team)’s crash may have assured Marquez the crown, but it also robbed us of another incredible duel. On a more positive note the Italian went out swinging and if the 04 machine crashes out, it usually means one thing: he gave everything.

    Andrea Dovizioso. Photo: MotoGP

    So now ‘DesmoDovi’ resets to making sure he’ll end the year second overall, and carries on trying to garner as many wins as possible, race by race. Last year in Australia the race was one of the toughest of the season for Ducati so that may not be here, and some more points and keeping tabs on the Yamahas will be the goal. Rossi lurks within striking distance, but the gap back to Viñales gives Dovizioso a little more breathing space.

    The fight to be top Independent Team rider, meanwhile, is beginning to space out a little more too. With his second place at Motegi, Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol) moved to 148 points, and within seven points of Viñales – and he’s a previous winner at the Island. Behind the Brit Johann Zarco (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) is on 133 – and Danilo Petrucci (Alma Pramac Racing) has exactly the same, but Zarco remains ahead in the fight by virtue of his podiums.

    Carl Crutchlow. Photo: MotoGP

    It quite literally couldn’t get any closer, and last season Zarco was tantalizingly close to the podium. Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) is beginning to home in on all three, too, and after another podium he could be a complication for the three ahead of him. But the home crowd will likely have more eyes for Jack Miller (Alma Pramac Racing), who had a front row start in Japan and solid pace until crashing out of contention. He’s got form at Phillip Island, and he’ll be aiming to be more than just top Independent…

    Rookie of the Year is also close and Franco Morbidelli (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) is ahead but Hafizh Syahrin (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) took a top ten just ahead of his rival last time out – so there’s plenty life left in that fight. That’s not even everything to look for in Australia – with Alvaro Bautista riding Lorenzo’s Ducati Team machine too, and a rookie to the GP18.

    So the Championship is decided and the pressure is off, but so are the shackles. It’s now all-or-nothing at the breathtaking Phillip Island, so can anyone stop Marquez? Or will the reigning Champion run out of a little luck? We will know on Sunday as the lights go out at one of the greatest racetracks in the world.