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2022 F1 Grand Prix of France — Results & aftermath

Verstappen gifted win after Leclerc crashes out from lead; Hamilton P2, Russell P3 for first Merc double podium of ’22; Sainz rallies from rear to P5 despite Ferrari indecision

In a deja vu sequence horrible enough to turn the stomach of any tifosi, Sunday’s French Grand Prix saw championship contender Charles Leclerc retire from the lead of a race for the third time this Formula 1 season, only this time it was down to the kind of driver error that has more often bedeviled his teammate and not the mechanical malfunctions that have plagued Leclerc’s campaign. After starting from the pole and successfully fending off the hard charging P2 Red Bull of Max Verstappen during the opening stanza of this 53-lap tilt form the eye-wateringly busy and colorful Paul Ricard Circuit in sweltering southern Le Castellet, the Monegasque inexplicably spun off at Turn 11 on Lap 18 and binned his blood red Ferrari nose first into the tire barriers after sailing through the theoretically grippy and definitely trippy run-off area. Unable to grab reverse and get out of that predicament, Leclerc howled in primal rage on the radio, knowing his race had unceremoniously ended even before his first pit stop, not to mention the further damage to his championship aspirations due to yet another DNF. Verstappen, on the other hand, was gifted a lead he would not relinquish for the remainder of the race. It was a bitter pill to swallow for Leclerc on a day when his was clearly the fastest car on track and, combined with Verstappen’s victory, saw his deficit to the Dutchman in the Drivers’ Standings balloon to 63 points. Between reliability issues and pilot error, Ferrari have left a ton of points on the table this season despite being every bit as quick as Red Bull when they go toe-to-toe. Leclerc and everyone at the Scuderia will be looking to put this weekend behind them in hurry and try to salvage a solid double points result next week in Hungary before the summer break.

Leclerc’s misfortune was good news not only for Verstappen but also for Lewis Hamilton and team Mercedes. With the lead Ferrari out of the picture and the second Prancing Horse of Carlos Sainz forced to fight his way back from a P19 start after engine component change penalties, Hamilton inherited P2 after a round of Lap 19 Safety Car pit stops. This was after the English seven-time World Champ made a decisive move on the number two Red Bull of Sergio Perez to take P3 away form him on the opening lap. While Hamilton had nothing for Verstappen and would eventually come home over 10-seconds behind Max, he was able to manage his tires nicely and keep Perez behind him to secure that happy second place finish. In fact, Checo struggled all weekend, perhaps due the broiling hot track temps here in the south of France. Not only could he not match the pace of his teammate but he struggled against both Mercedes in the race, getting passed not only by Hamilton on Lap 1 without being able to answer back but by the second Silver Arrow of George Russell on Lap 51 after seemingly being lulled to sleep by a Virtual Safety Car. When the VSC ended, Russell went full tilt boogie but Perez seemed to hesitate before putting his foot down, making him easy meat for the feisty young Brit. Russell held off Perez’s Red Bull for the final two laps and secured P3 and the last step on the podium, the first time that Mercedes have had two drivers in the podium places all year. While the Mercs are improving, it’s still glaringly obvious they are the third fastest team in 2022 and need either Ferrari or Red Bull to have issues to get a top three finish, and maybe serious trouble for both for a lucky win. Still, credit where credit is due: when the elite top two teams have faltered, the Silver Arrows have been there to pounce.

Pics courtesy GrandPrix247.com

The second Ferrari of Carlos Sainz had an epic if bizarre race on his way to a P5 result. After starting from P19 due to those engine change penalties, the Spaniard patiently carved his way through the field on Hard Pirelli rubber even while the vast majority of runners were on the softer, quicker Medium tires. By Lap 13, Sainz had passed Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll for P10 to put himself back into the points. He then got a paradoxical advantage when his teammate crashed out and caused a Safety Car, diving for the pits along with the Mercedes duo and nearly everyone else not named Verstappen for what should theoretically have been the cheap pit stop time-wise. But the team were dinged for a clearly unsafe release, nearly colliding with Alex Albon’s Williams upon exiting their box after an already slow stop, and Sainz was assessed a 5-second penalty. Nevertheless, the Spaniard put his head down and again was an overtaking machine, passing McLaren’s Lando Norris for P6 on Lap 21 and Alpine’s Fernando Alonso for P5 on Lap 22. By Lap 30, he was on the gearbox of Russell and quickly dispatched him with aplomb for P4 . Next in Sainz’s sights was the P3 Red Bull of Perez. But the Ferrari braintrust now appeared confused as to whether to call in Sainz for another stop, as well as serving the penalty, or to leave him out on that rapidly aging set of Medium tires until the finish. Even as Sainz harassed Checo, the team were on the radio asking Sainz his opinion of their strategy options. Most amazingly, while Sainz was just setting up Perez for a pass he would complete on Lap 42 to take that coveted P3, the team were telling him to box. Sainz didn’t want to comply but eventually consented, the Ferrari pit wall more than a little worried about the potential for tire failure on the red hot track and the nightmare of a possible double-DNF, zero points day. When Sainz emerged from his second stop in P9, it was time once again for another passel of passes, which he impressively executed in such a decisive manner that he was able to fight all the way back up to P5 before the laps ran out. It was one of the more remarkable fifth place drives you could ever want to see, though the Monday debrief at Ferrari over their strategy calls should be an animated one.

Top 10 finishers of the French GP:

POS NO DRIVER CAR LAPS TIME/RETIRED PTS
1 1 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING RBPT 53 1:30:02.112 25
2 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 53 +10.587s 18
3 63 George Russell MERCEDES 53 +16.495s 15
4 11 Sergio Perez RED BULL RACING RBPT 53 +17.310s 12
5 55 Carlos Sainz FERRARI 53 +28.872s 11
6 14 Fernando Alonso ALPINE RENAULT 53 +42.879s 8
7 4 Lando Norris MCLAREN MERCEDES 53 +52.026s 6
8 31 Esteban Ocon ALPINE RENAULT 53 +56.959s 4
9 3 Daniel Ricciardo MCLAREN MERCEDES 53 +60.372s 2
10 18 Lance Stroll ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES 53 +62.549s 1

Complete race results available via Formula1.com.

The next race is in but a week’s time — the Hungarian Grand Prix from the picturesque Hugaroring. It’s the last GP before the August break so everyone, especially Leclerc, will be looking to head to their vacations on a high note. Hope to see you then to find out how it all shakes out!

2022 F1 Grand Prix of France — Qualifying results

Ferrari team tactics earn pole for Leclerc at Paul Ricard; Verstappen P2, Perez P3 for Red Bull; Sainz still headed to the back after towing teammate to the front

Knowing that the Prancing Horse of Carlos Sainz would be starting the race from the rear due to engine penalties, Ferrari cleverly sacrificed the Spaniard’s effort in the service of his non-penalized teammate, Charles Leclerc, during Saturday qualifying for tomorrow’s French Grand Prix. With the twin long straights of the eccentrically colorful Circuit Paul Ricard lending themselves to judicious use of the two car draft, Sainz was able to lead out Leclerc twice in Q3 and give his Monegasque teammate just that much of an edge over the Red Bull of Max Verstappen, who was flying solo since Sergio Perez was trying to secure his own high grid position. It worked a treat, making the best of Sainz’s bad situation after a raft of replacements were required when his engine literally blew up at the last race in Austria, and earned Leclerc his first pole since way back in Round 8 at Azerbaijan. Sainz’s team-effort tow on Leclerc ended up being good enough for a .282 advantage over Verstappen by the time session ended, though with Perez settling in at P3 and Sainz heading to the rear it will be a two-to-one Red Bull advantage when the lights go out on Sunday. It should be fascinating to see what kind of strategy the Scuderia brain trust can come up with overnight to work Sainz up through the field and hopefully put him into play against team Red Bull’s race winning aspirations.

With Sainz sacrificing himself and not setting an actual quali time of his own, Mercedes Lewis Hamilton took advantage by setting the fourth fastest time and he will line up alongside Perez on the second row. His Silver Arrows teammate George Russell was pushed down to P6 on the grid, however, when McLaren’s Lando Norris put in a fierce final lap in Q3 and snatched P5 from his fellow Brit. Wily old Fernando Alonso looked good in setting the seventh fastest time of the final session and Yuki Tsunoda flew the flag for the underperforming AlphaTauri team by qualifying in P8. Haas’s Kevin Magnussen, who also took engine component replacement penalties for this weekend, ran no laps in Q3 and was classified in P10. But the Dane will also slide to the back of the field and into P20 alongside P19 Sainz to start tomorrow’s GP. That pair’s demotions elevated the lucky duo of McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo and Alpine’s Esteban Ocon to P9 and P10 on the grid respectively.

Top 10 qualifiers for the French GP:

POS NO DRIVER CAR Q1 Q2 Q3 LAPS
1 16 Charles Leclerc FERRARI 1:31.727 1:31.216 1:30.872 17
2 1 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING RBPT 1:31.891 1:31.990 1:31.176 14
3 11 Sergio Perez RED BULL RACING RBPT 1:32.354 1:32.120 1:31.335 20
4 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 1:33.041 1:32.274 1:31.765 19
5 4 Lando Norris MCLAREN MERCEDES 1:32.672 1:32.777 1:32.032 14
6 63 George Russell MERCEDES 1:33.109 1:32.633 1:32.131 20
7 14 Fernando Alonso ALPINE RENAULT 1:32.819 1:32.631 1:32.552 17
8 22 Yuki Tsunoda ALPHATAURI RBPT 1:33.394 1:32.836 1:32.780 20
9 55 Carlos Sainz FERRARI 1:32.297 1:31.081 DNF 10
10 20 Kevin Magnussen HAAS FERRARI 1:32.756 1:32.649 9

Complete qualifying results available via Formula1.com.

Penalty-effected starting grid is here.

Tomorrow’s race airs live on ESPN beginning at 9AM Eastern here in the States. Leclerc will be desperate to get away from the Red Bulls cleanly, establish a gap and hold on until the calvary in the form of Sainz arrives. Verstappen and Perez will need to avoid tripping over each other in their hot pursuit of the P1 Prancing Horse. Hope to see you then to find out how it all shakes out!

2022 F1 Grand Prix of Austria — Results & aftermath

Leclerc holds off Verstappen & gremlins to win at Red Bull Ring; Hamilton battles back to P3; Perez & Sainz DNF

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was clearly the fastest car on track come race day for the Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday, passing Red Bull’s Max Verstappen multiple times at the eponymously named Red Bull Ring. But the Monegasque had some tense moments late in this 71-lap contest when he had to not only hold off the charging second place car of Verstappen but also a mechanical gremlin that was effecting his throttle pedal. Coming after the sister Prancing Horse of teammate Carlos Sainz suffered a catastrophic engine failure on Lap 57, Leclerc’s vocal concerns over team radio were certainly understandable. But the sole remaining Ferrari was able to keep Verstappen and any gremlins at bay and Leclerc claimed victory at Spielberg on a partly cloudy day, his first F1 win when not starting from the pole. For Verstappen, it was good damage limitation on a day where the speed that he showed in such abundance to take the win in Saturday’s Sprint race and thereby start from the pole seemed to completely vanish amidst Sunday’s cooler track conditions. Repeatedly dueling each other on the same compound tires, Leclerc was always considerably faster than the points-leading Verstappen on a circuit that the Dutchman’s team owns and which Max has won on three out of the previous four races. While Verstappen grabbed the bonus point for setting the fastest lap of the contest and also nabbed 8 points to Leclerc’s 7 in the Sprint race, Leclerc was still able to vault up to P2 in the Drivers’ standings and now finds himself properly back in the championship hunt after some difficult weeks, only 38-points in arrears of the Red Bull man.

Leclerc was aided in that surge not only by Sainz’s fiery engine failure when the Spaniard, who earned his first F1 win at Silverstone last week, should have been on course for a P2 result and a Ferrari 1-1, but also by the unfortunate DNF of Verstappen’s Red Bull stablemate Sergio Perez. Perez’s race was ruined when he and Mercedes’ George Russell came together while fighting over the same piece of track at Turn 4 the opening lap. While Russell was eventually deemed the culpable party and issued a 5-second penalty after spinning out the Red Bull, Perez’s car ended up being mortally wounded. After an emergency pit stop for a new nose and fresh tires, Perez pounded around several laps at the back of the field without much success before the team gave up the ghost and retired his car on Lap 26. That relegated Checo to third in the championship and his only saving grace was that Sainz also failed to score on the day.

Faring better and taking advantage of Sainz and Perez’s misfortune were the Mercedes duo of Lewis Hamilton and Russell. Hamilton drove a canny race, going exceptionally long for his opening stint on Medium Pirelli tires to create an insurmountable gap to the Alpine of Esteban Ocon behind him. When the dust and DNFs had settled, Hamilton found himself on the last step of the podium in P3. It was the English seven-time champion’s third consecutive third place finish. Russell, meanwhile, was able to rebound from his penalty, as well as his car surviving the contact with Perez, and through dogged persistence passed his way back through most of the field for an eventually excellent P4 result. While Ocon and his Alpine didn’t have anything for the Silver Arrows, it was nevertheless an excellent day for the team. The Frenchman took a solid P5 and veteran teammate Fernando Alonso fought all the way back from last on the grid because his car wouldn’t fire up for the Saturday Sprint to take the last available point in the GP in P10.

Haas also had an excellent day, with Mick Schumacher following up his maiden F1 points in Britain last week with eight more after finishing a terrific P6 and teammate Kevin Magnussen slotting in a valuable P8. And McLaren finally had a double points scoring day, with Lando Norris capturing P7 after an event filled race and teammate Daniel Ricciardo holding up his end of the bargain on the day in P9.

Top 10 finishers of the Austrian GP:

POS NO DRIVER CAR LAPS TIME/RETIRED PTS
1 16 Charles Leclerc FERRARI 71 1:24:24.312 25
2 1 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING RBPT 71 +1.532s 19
3 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 71 +41.217s 15
4 63 George Russell MERCEDES 71 +58.972s 12
5 31 Esteban Ocon ALPINE RENAULT 71 +68.436s 10
6 47 Mick Schumacher HAAS FERRARI 70 +1 lap 8
7 4 Lando Norris MCLAREN MERCEDES 70 +1 lap 6
8 20 Kevin Magnussen HAAS FERRARI 70 +1 lap 4
9 3 Daniel Ricciardo MCLAREN MERCEDES 70 +1 lap 2
10 14 Fernando Alonso ALPINE RENAULT 70 +1 lap 1

Complete race results available via Formula1.com.

The next race is in a fortnight — the French Grand Prix from the colorful and venerable Circuit Paul Ricard in southern Le Castellet. With only two more rounds until the August break, Red Bull and Ferrari will be working feverishly on reliability and performance ahead that showdown in France. Hope to see you then to find out how it all shakes out!

2022 F1 Grand Prix of Austria — Sprint Qualifying results

Verstappen wins Sprint race at Red Bull Ring to earn P1 start in Austrian GP; Ferrari’s Leclerc & Sainz duke it out for P2 & P3

Formula 1’s gimmicky Sprint Qualifying format returned for this first time this season to set the grid for Sunday’s Austrian Grand Prix. On a sunny day at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen converted his “pole” from Friday’s standard qualifying into a victory in the 23-lap Sprint Race on Saturday, earning the top starting spot for tomorrow’s race and 8 championship points in the process. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc will line up alongside the Dutch points leader in P2, having out dueled his teammate and last week’s race winner Carlos Sainz, in a rather fierce internecine on track battle. In the event, Sainz came off second best after a series of mutual hip checks and had to settle for P3. Mercedes’ George Russell will start from P4, while his teammate Lewis Hamilton battled back from a nasty sideways shunt during Friday qualifying to take the last point available in this format in P8. Verstappen’s Red Bull stablemate Sergio Perez also had to fight his way to the front after being penalized for exceeding track limits during quali and being relegated to P13 for the start of the Sprint. The veteran Mexican ace picked his way through the field expertly in the limited laps available and ended up all the way up in P5 when the checkers flew. Alpine’s Esteban Ocon secured P6 but teammate Fernando Alonso’s car wouldn’t fire up on the grid and he will go back to P19 on the grid tomorrow, a far distance from his original P8 qualifying effort. The two Haas of Kevin Magnussen and Mick Schumacher seem genuinely quick here and finished the Sprint in P7 and P9 respectively. Schumacher held off Hamilton for several laps before finally giving up the last point paying position to the seven-time champ’s Silver Arrow.

Top 10 finishers of the Sprint race to set the grid for tomorrow’s Austrian GP:

POS NO DRIVER CAR LAPS TIME/RETIRED PTS
1 1 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING RBPT 23 26:30.059 8
2 16 Charles Leclerc FERRARI 23 +1.675s 7
3 55 Carlos Sainz FERRARI 23 +5.644s 6
4 63 George Russell MERCEDES 23 +13.429s 5
5 11 Sergio Perez RED BULL RACING RBPT 23 +18.302s 4
6 31 Esteban Ocon ALPINE RENAULT 23 +31.032s 3
7 20 Kevin Magnussen HAAS FERRARI 23 +34.539s 2
8 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 23 +35.447s 1
9 47 Mick Schumacher HAAS FERRARI 23 +37.163s 0
10 77 Valtteri Bottas* ALFA ROMEO FERRARI 23 +37.557s 0

*Bottas took a new power unit after the Sprint and so will start from P20 tomorrow.

Complete Sprint results available via Formula1.com.

Complete “qualifying” results from Friday also via Formula1.com.

Tomorrow’s race airs live beginning at 9AM Eastern on ESPN2 here in the States. At a track where the home team and their main man Max dominate it’s an open question if the Ferraris have anything at all to challenge the flying Dutchman, as he seeks to gap his nearest championship rivals. Hope to see you then to find out how it all shakes out!

2022 F1 Grand Prix of Britain — Qualifying results

Sainz nabs pole away from Verstappen at rainy Silverstone with superb final flying lap; Leclerc settles for P3 after late spin

Ferrari’s nominal number two, Carlos Sainz, prevailed against more heralded competitors to earn pole amidst very tricky wet and rainy conditions during Saturday’s qualifying for the British Grand Prix. With a fine last lap in Q3, the final qualifying round, Sainz bested the previous fast time of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and, when Verstappen was unable to respond on his last try, the Spanish veteran had earned his first ever pole in Formula 1. After 151 career entries, Sainz grabbing that maiden pole was a popular result with everyone in the paddock not named Verstappen, who was annoyed that he could not hook up his final try and was undone by a poor middle sector. But the Dutch points leader will still line up alongside Sainz on the front row in P2. And at the moment there is no rain forecast for tomorrow’s race so, theoretically, the drivers can put their wet weather tires away and fight it out on slicks. Then again, it is still England in the summertime, so don’t stow your Wellies and brelliies quite yet.

Sainz’s Scuderia stablemate, Charles Leclerc, was in the mix for pole, as well, right up until the moment he spun on his final Q3 attempt. The Monegasque will line up in P3 on the grid, right across from Verstappen’s teammate, Sergio Perez, who was able to haul himself up to P4 with a good late effort. Mercedes ace Lewis Hamilton showed some of his old brilliance at one of his favorite circuits, willing himself to P5 in front of the absolutely soaked Silverstone faithful, while young George Russell could only manage P8 in the second Silver Arrow. McLaren’s Lando Norris was impressive in setting the sixth fastest lap on this sodden day, especially when compared to his more senior teammate, Daniel Ricciardo, who qualified a woeful P14. Alpine’s Fernando Alonso qualified P8,  Alfa Romeo’s rookie Zhou Guanyu continued to show improvement in P9 and Nicholas Latifi had another fine run in a rainy quali to get his Williams into Q3 and earn P10 on the grid.

Top 10 qualifiers for the British GP:

POS NO DRIVER CAR Q1 Q2 Q3 LAPS
1 55 Carlos Sainz FERRARI 1:40.190 1:41.602 1:40.983 26
2 1 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING RBPT 1:39.129 1:40.655 1:41.055 24
3 16 Charles Leclerc FERRARI 1:39.846 1:41.247 1:41.298 26
4 11 Sergio Perez RED BULL RACING RBPT 1:40.521 1:42.513 1:41.616 26
5 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 1:40.428 1:41.062 1:41.995 23
6 4 Lando Norris MCLAREN MERCEDES 1:41.515 1:41.821 1:42.084 26
7 14 Fernando Alonso ALPINE RENAULT 1:41.598 1:42.209 1:42.116 23
8 63 George Russell MERCEDES 1:40.028 1:41.725 1:42.161 23
9 24 Zhou Guanyu ALFA ROMEO FERRARI 1:40.791 1:42.640 1:42.719 28
10 6 Nicholas Latifi WILLIAMS MERCEDES 1:41.998 1:43.273 2:03.095 24

Complete qualifying results amiable via Formula1.com.

Tomorrow’s race airs live beginning at 10AM Eastern on ESPN2 here in the States. Can Sainz follow up his maiden pole with his first win? Or will a miffed Max strike back against the Ferrari threat? Hope to see you then to find out how it all shakes out!

2022 F1 Grand Prix of Canada — Results & aftermath

Verstappen holds off dogged Sainz to take victory in Canada; Hamilton finishes a strong P3, Russell P4 on good day for Mercedes; Leclerc salvages P5 after starting last

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen survived a late Safety Car that allowed Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz to get back up to the Dutchman’s gearbox and hound him for the lead over the final laps to earn his first victory at the Canadian Grand Prix on Sunday. Under sunny & clear skies following Saturday’s rain-effected Qualifying, Verstappen saw his comfortable lead erased when Yuki Tsunoda inexplicably binned his AlphaTauri coming out of the pits on cold tires. With the Safety Car deployed almost immediately to retrieve the disconsolate Tsunoda’s mount, Sainz took the opportunity to dive into the pits for a cheap stop time-wise under yellow and a set of fresh Pirelli rubber, which also gave the Spaniard 6-lap younger tires compared to the race-leading Red Bull. Sainz was absolutely primed and ready to get past Verstappen once the Safety Car withdrew at the end of Lap 54 and racing got back under way. As Verstappen restarted the proceedings coming out of the last chicane, turned close to the Wall of Champions and steamed down the start/finish straight, Sainz didn’t let Max gain an inch on him, sticking to the Red Bull like glue. But even with a full 15 laps remaining and Sainz hounding him the rest of the race, Verstappen had the pace and skill to hold off the hard charging Prancing Horse filling his mirrors. Such is the excellence of this year’s Red Bull and its championship leading number one driver that, despite the Ferrari having the advantage of DRS for so many laps, it was Verstappen who took the checkered flag and his first victory at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. It was also Max’s impressive fifth win in the last six contests, which is some serious mo in his title hunt. For Sainz, it was a valiant effort in a season full of a lot of errors and he even set the race’s fastest lap while in pursuit. But he’ll have to be satisfied with another P2 and the elusive quest for his first-ever F1 win will have to wait until at least the next round at Silverstone in a fortnight.

For as bad as Mercedes looked all weekend long, the Silver Arrows had a remarkably good race. While they didn’t really have the pace to challenge the leading Red Bull and Ferrari on even terms, Lewis Hamilton finally got some breaks and drove a savvy and clean race to take the last step on the podium in P3. At a track where he has a record seven F1 victories, Hamilton was also clearly the better Merc for once this season, easily besting his ambitious young teammate, George Russell, who nonetheless scored a very satisfying P4. Mercedes are definitely improving after the troublesome and very bouncy rollout of their new W13 chassis and this was their second consecutive 3-4 finish, this time swapping the order from Azerbaijan a week ago with Hamilton happily on the podium. But compared to the pace of Red Bull and Ferrari, team Mercedes know that they’ve still got a lot of work to ahead if they’ve got even the slimmest shot of getting back into title contention.

Sainz’s more heralded teammate Charles Leclerc did yeoman’s work to haul himself up from last place on the grid after upgrading his power unit and subsequently being assessed several penalties at once. Continue reading →

2022 F1 Grand Prix of Canada — Qualifying results

Verstappen teaches masterclass to take pole at rainy Circuit Gilles Villeneuve; Alonso pips Sainz for a brilliant P2, rest of grid mixed due to Leclercmengine penalties, Perez crash

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen once again showed his brilliance in wet conditions, seizing pole position during Saturday qualifying for tomorrow’s Canadian Grand Prix at a cold and rainy Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. With unseasonably cool conditions complicating the drivers’s efforts to get their tires up to temperature on a drenched track, it was Verstappen who mastered that task, utilizing his Intermediate wet Pirelli tires to set the fastest lap as time ran out in Q3 with just the start of a dry line beginning to form. Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz crossed the line just behind the superlative Dutch points leader but had a lurid squirm in his Ferrari that probably cost the Spaniard P2 on the grid, because, right on his tail, the Alpine’s Fernando Alonso had hooked up a beauty of a wet weather lap. The savvy veteran relegated his countryman Sainz to P3 and will start alongside Verstappen on the front row after that terrific, morale boosting P2 effort for team Alpine. However, Verstappen and Sainz’s usually elite teammates will have a lot more work to do come race day. Leclerc and the Ferrari brain trust decided to upgrade many aspects of the Monegasque’s problematic power unit, thereby incurring a slew of engine penalties and forcing Leclerc to start the race from the rear. Perez’s problems were of his own making, as the Mexican ace binned his Red Bull on the slippy circuit in Q2 and couldn’t extract himself from the barriers. That brought out a Red Flag and disqualified Perez, who is the closest to Verstappen in the Drivers’ Standings, from further participation. Unable to improve his time or make it out of Q2, Perez will start in the unenviable position of P13 tomorrow.

Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton also showed his skill by setting the fourth fastest Q3 time at a circuit where he has traditionally dominated but started the day with only modest hopes for success with this year’s problematic, porpoising Silver Arrows chassis. However, Sunday’s conditions are forecast to be completely dry and Hamilton’s Merc still seemed to be violently bouncing down the straights even with today’s reduced wet weather speeds. So, it remains to be seen if Hamilton, whose back is already ailing from all that viscous oscillation, can grit his teeth and get his car to perform as well in the dry as it did in the wet. Hamilton’s junior teammate George Russell gambled and lost by becoming the only driver to try slick tires on the day. The young Englishman lost control in the puddles, slid into the barriers rear first and had to settle for P8. Team Haas gave an excellent effort under these equalizing weather conditions, with Kevin Magnussen able to qualify P5 and Mick Schumacher, who badly needs a solid race result, taking P6 on the grid.

The second Alpine of Esteban Ocon was good enough for P7, combining with Alonso’s stellar effort to make it an excellent day for the team. Daniel Ricciardo pulled his McLaren up to P9, though teammate Lando Norris was knocked out in Q2 after engine trouble. And Alpha Romeo rookie Zho Guanyou had his best quali effort of the season in P10, bettering his veteran stablemate Valtteri Bottas (P11) for the first time this year.

Qualifying Results for the Canadian GP:

Tomorrow’s race airs live beginning at 2PM Eastern on ABC here in the States. With the weather predicted to do a complete 180 it should be very interesting to see how the teams cope with dry conditions after optimizing their rides for the wet. Hope to see you then to find out how it all shakes out!

2022 F1 Grand Prix of Azerbaijan — Results & aftermath

Verstappen dominates at Baku, Perez P2 for maximum Red Bull points; Russell P3 after disastrous Ferrari double DNF leaves Leclerc & Sainz pointless

The Azerbaijan Grand Prix from the tricky and demanding Baku City Circuit usually throws up more than a few curveballs for the competitors and this Sunday’s 2022 edition was no exception. While Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc started from pole, he was immediately overtaken by Red Bull’s Sergio Perez going into Turn 1 right after the lights went out to start the race.  Once again, it seemed apparent that Ferrari may have the superior one lap pace but Red Bull has the complete package to actually win races. As Perez danced away from the Monegasque’s Prancing Horse, his teammate Max Verstappen applied pressure on Leclerc from P3 and the race looked to be setting up for a three car contest for supremacy and podium positions. But the ominous signs for Ferrari on the day began on Lap 9 when Leclerc’s stablemate, Carlos Sainz, running just off the pace of the elite trio in P4, lost power and pulled his F1-75 into the escape road at Turn 4. It turned out to be terminal hydraulics failure and the unlucky Spaniard was out of the race prematurely, a recurring theme for Sainz this season. And, obviously, now the Scuderia braintrust had to be wondering if their other car might suffer a similar fate.

But first a Virtual Safety Car was deployed by race control in order to clear Sainz’s stricken mount. Ferrari immediately called Leclerc into the pits for the “cheap” pit stop under the reduced VSC speeds, as did Mercedes for their two Silver Arrows. But Red Bull decided to stay out and keep track position, knowing that Baku was likely good for at least one more full-course yellow of one sort or another. While Perez still led, Leclerc’s stop vaulted Verstappen ahead of him into P2 and when the VSC ended towards the end of Lap 10, Verstappen immediately began closing down his teammate. Perez’s early aggression appeared to have taken a toll on his tires and the Mexican struggled with traction coming off the many slow speed corners of this twisty street circuit. By Lap 15 of this 51-lap contest, Verstappen was able to execute an easy overtake for the lead and Perez subsequently made his first stop for fresh Pirellis two laps later, doffing the Mediums for the more durable Hards. Verstappen then came in for his first stop on Lap 19, following the same tire sequence as Perez and while he was passed by Leclerc for the lead during that stop, the Dutch master crucially came out ahead of his Red Bull teammate. So it was Leclerc leading, Verstappen now in P2 and Perez in P3 as Lap 20 began. And then Ferrari’s  nightmare scenario became a reality. Continue reading →

2022 F1 Grand Prix of Azerbaijan — Qualifying results

Ferrari’s Leclerc earns fourth consecutive pole with blistering lap in Baku; Perez bests Red Bull stablemate Verstappen, P2 to P3; Sainz qualifies P4

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc earned his fourth pole position on the trot, giving a supreme effort on his last lap in the last session of Saturday qualifying for tomorrow’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix. On the uber charming yet uber technical Baku City Circuit, Leclerc maximized his lap time by minimizing the distance between his blood red Ferrari and the ever encroaching walls, often kissing them with his tires en route to Q3’s fastest lap. The Monegasque continued his fantastic qualifying form and showed wonderful technique and bravery at Baku, besting the two rapid Red Bull’s of Sergio Peres and Max Verstappen, who qualified P2 and P3 respectively. The problem for Leclerc, however, is he has zero wins to show for those previous three poles in Miami, Spain and, most painfully, in his home Grand Prix in Monaco a fortnight ago, where it all went went pair shaped for the Monegasque in the rain and he fell from pole to P4. Trailing as he now does in the championship to Verstappen, you can bet that Leclerc will have the bit between his teeth as he looks to hustle his Prancing Horse around this demanding street circuit and score a win on Sunday to get his title aspirations back on track.

It was also intriguing to see Perez just get the better of his usually peerless teammate over the course of their final flying laps. Coming off his spectacular win at Monaco, a career defining moment for the veteran Mexican, not to mention a brand new contract with Red Bull, Perez is brimming with confidence and now must be reckoned as a near-equal threat for the Drivers’ Championship to Leclerc and his Dutch teammate. The relationship between the rapidly ascending Perez and current world champion Verstappen could begin to get rocky as the gap between their performance shaves down to a whisker, though for the fans and team Red Bull it will be all’s the better if the two can continue to push each other as virtual equals. The second Ferrari of Carlos Sainz was overhauled by the top three after setting the benchmark time earlier in Q3 and so will start alongside Verstappen in the second row in P4. Mercedes’ George Russell once again bested his seven time Champion teammate Lewis Hamilton P5 to P7. Unfortunately for the Silver Arrows, chassis’s extreme porpoising was back with a vengeance on the bumpy, often high speed streets of Baku, which will make for a very punishing 51-laps for both Merc pilots tomorrow.

Rounding out the top ten qualifiers, AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly bettered his teammate Yuki Tsunoda P6 to P8. They will be desperate to get a double points finish in this GP after a fairly terrible year for the team so far where they’ve only taken a paltry 17 points from the initial seven contests. Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel set the ninth fastest time in Q3 and will line up alongside Alpine’s Fernando Alonso, who qualified P10.

Top 10 qualifiers for the Azerbaijan GP:

POS NO DRIVER CAR Q1 Q2 Q3 LAPS
1 16 Charles Leclerc FERRARI 1:42.865 1:42.046 1:41.359 19
2 11 Sergio Perez RED BULL RACING RBPT 1:42.733 1:41.955 1:41.641 18
3 1 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING RBPT 1:42.722 1:42.227 1:41.706 19
4 55 Carlos Sainz FERRARI 1:42.957 1:42.088 1:41.814 19
5 63 George Russell MERCEDES 1:43.754 1:43.281 1:42.712 23
6 10 Pierre Gasly ALPHATAURI RBPT 1:43.268 1:43.129 1:42.845 23
7 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 1:43.939 1:43.182 1:42.924 22
8 22 Yuki Tsunoda ALPHATAURI RBPT 1:43.595 1:43.376 1:43.056 22
9 5 Sebastian Vettel ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES 1:43.279 1:43.268 1:43.091 18
10 14 Fernando Alonso ALPINE RENAULT 1:44.083 1:43.360 1:43.173 20

Complete qualifying results available via Formula1.com.

Tomorrow’s race airs live on ESPN beginning at 7AM Eastern here in the States. Can Leclerc turn his supreme run of qualifying form into much needed race wins or will Red Bull’s race pace once again prove superior to Ferrari’s? And who is top dog at Red Bull anyway — Verstappen or the red hot Perez? Hope to see you then to find out how it all shakes out!

2022 F1 Grand Prix of Monaco — Results & aftermath

Perez wins wet & wild Monaco GP; Sainz P2, Verstappen P3; Leclerc a disconsolate fourth place after Ferrari fumble strategy

The Mediterranean weather gods conspired to make the 2022 Monaco Grand Prix one of the most unpredictable and exciting in many a year. After nothing but blue skies and sunshine for every practice session and Saturday qualifying, the drivers and teams arrived on the grid in the midst of downpour on Sunday afternoon in the principality. The start was delayed for over an hour until the rain had subsided enough to insure a safer race. Then the entire field was obliged to start on full wet weather Pirelli tires, the cars lining up behind the Safety Car for several reconnaissance laps to aid the drying of this tight and tricky street circuit until the race finally got underway on what was officially Lap 3. The pole-sitting Ferrari of hometown hero Charles Leclerc led away cleanly, trailed by his teammate Carlos Sainz in P2 and the two Red Bulls of Sergio Perez in P3 and points leader Max Verstappen in P4. By Lap 2, AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly felt adventurous enough to come into the pits and change to the less heavily treaded Intermediate wet tires and the Frenchman soon began setting fast laps, setting off a strategic scramble for everyone else to find the opportune time to make that change themselves.

For the leaders, this was the trickiest of calls because, not only is track position absolutely king on the streets of Monte Carlo, but the drying track would soon be ready for slicks if the weather continued to hold off, as was now predicted. By virtue of his eventful qualifying where he actually benefitted from binning his car at the end of Q3, thereby preventing his teammate from improving his time, thereby being in front of Verstappen, Perez was the first of the Red Bulls to pit. He came in on Lap 16 for the Intermediates, which were so well suited to the current track conditions that the veteran Mexican was able to set a blistering out lap and thereby heap pressure on the two leading Ferraris still trundling around on rapidly deteriorating full Wet tires. Continue reading →