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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 — Results & aftermath

Superb Sainz defies team orders to earn maiden F1 win in incident-packed British GP; Perez storms back to P2 as Verstappen falters to P7; Hamilton bests Leclerc for final podium spot in wild Silverstone action

In a race that had to be seen to be believed, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz emerged form the chaos and unpredictability of Sunday’s British Grand Prix with his first Formula 1 victory. The ostensible number two man at the Scuderia defied a late post-Safety Car strategy call by the Ferrari pit wall that would have had the Spaniard act as a blocker to his teammate Charles Leclerc. Instead, having come in for fresh Pirelli Soft tires under the full course yellow on Lap 39 of this 52-lap contest at the venerable Silverstone Circuit, and knowing that Leclerc had stayed out for some inexplicable reason on his old, well-worn Hard tires, Sainz vetoed that plan and quickly made short work of his stablemate to recapture and keep the lead of a race from which he started on pole.

By the time Sainz claimed that vital first F1 win, the start seemed like a million years ago. On the opening lap on a reasonably clear and sunny day at Silverstone, there was a horror shunt between Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyou, Mercedes’ George Russell and the AlphaTauri of Pierre Gasly. With numerous drivers bogging down at the start due to many closing to do their first stint on the west grip Hard Pirellis, that led to a big shuffle in the field between the quicker cars on softer rubber and the slower runners. Gasly thought he saw an opening between Russell and Guanyu and made for it. But the door quickly closed when Russell jinked to the left, causing the front of the AlphaTauri to strike both the flanking cars rear wheels. That sent Russell into a spin but the rookie Guanyu was upended and flew into a scary barrel roll at high speed across the gravel trap, eventually hitting the catch fence with some force before coming to rest in the space between the tire barrier and the actual concrete wall behind. Wedged in as he was, the Alfa Romeo rookie remained trapped in his car for some time as the medical teams and marshals worked the problem, with Russell sprinting over to see if he could lend a hand. After what seemed like an eternity, the young Chinese driver was successfully extracted and put in an ambulance to be taken to the on site care center for further evaluation. Thankfully, it turned out that Guanyu was not seriously injured. But he, Russell and the Williams’ of Alex Albon, who was also peripherally involved in the mayhem and speared sharply into the pit straight wall, were all out of the race before the first corner had been successfully navigated. Gasly also sustained damage that would eventually end his race on Lap 28. Additionally, Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel, Alpine’s Esteban Ocon, and the second AlphaTauri of Yuki Tsunoda all sustained some degree of damage in that midfield melee.

Pics courtesy GrandPrix247.com

Understandably, the clean up from the resultant debris field and the several stranded cars, as well as Guanyu’s extraction, required an extensive Red Flag period of about 45 minutes. Lost in all that drama was the fact that Red Bull’s Max Verstappen had overtaken the pole-sitting Sainz rather easily heading into that eventful Turn 1. However, as the race was stopped before even the first sector could be completed and timed, everyone went back to their original grid positions when the contest was finally ready to restart, officially on lap 3 after a second formation lap behind the Safety Car. The second time proved the charm for Sainz, as he held off Verstappen’s deja vu challenge. Continue reading →

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 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 →

2022 F1 Grand Prix of Monaco — Qualifying results

Leclerc nabs second consecutive pole at home race while avoiding last year’s drama; Sainz P2, Perez P3 but collide at end of qualifying; frustrated Verstappen only good enough for P4

A year after he had the bizarre and bittersweet experience of taking pole at his home race only to fail to start the GP due to a careless crash on his final qualifying lap, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc set another supremely good time for pole during Saturday qualifying for tomorrow’s Monaco Grand Prix. And this time Leclerc kept it both fast and clean throughout, avoiding a repeat of any dramas that could have kept him starting from P1 tomorrow. Now, the Monegasque title contender, who lost his points lead to archrival Max Verstappen a week ago in Spain, will look to return the favor on the Red Bull ace at a tight and twisty street course where track position is king and passing is always a tricky and sometimes impossible proposition. Verstappen was surprisingly just a bit off the pace today and ended up not only behind the hometown hero’s pole-sitting effort but also the second Ferrari of Carlos Sainz, who pulled his Prancing Horse up to P2 for the second Ferrari front row lockout of the year, as well as his teammate Segio Perez, who outperformed his Red Bull stablemate with a lap good enough for P3. But Perez and Sainz also came together at the end of Q3, when the veteran Mexican had a peculiar spin at Portier just before the tunnel entrance and ended up smashing the rear of his Red Bull into the armco with some force. Sainz then failed to see the resultant yellow flags going into that same corner and looped his own car, subsequently smashing his Ferrari into the front of Perez’s stricken Red Bull. That carnage brought quali to a premature end with a few minutes remaining and balked any hope of Verstappen’s to improve upon his P4 time. It will be interesting to see if Sainz, who has certainly had his share of admonishments from race control this season, will be handed a penalty of any significance after not adequately slowing under yellow. It will also be intriguing to find out if Perez’s chassis and engine components sustained any serious damage after that unfortunate double whammy.

With Verstappen a miffed and somewhat perplexed P4, the Dutchman was left hoping not only for some kind of demotion to Sainz but also a bit of rain on Sunday to spice things up, an atmospheric potentiality that is looking more and more probable at the time of the race in this famously changeable Mediterranean enclave. Behind Verstappen, McLaren’s Lando Norris was the fastest of the rest, earning a P5 start with a hairy but still very rapid final lap, where Norris’s lightning quick hands were on full display. Mercedes’ George Russell came home just a bit adrift of the McLaren in P6, while his seven-time champion teammate Lewis Hamilton could only muster P8 in a Silver Arrow that looked more like a bucking bronco at times. Alpine’s wise old head Fernando Alonso did yeoman’s work to claim P7, though the veteran Spaniard did have a mini-shunt into the barriers of his own in a moment of distraction at the end of quali. That probably didn’t cost him an even better start due to the early end to Q3 due to the mess just up the road from him, however. Aston Martin’s Sebastien Vettel and the second Alpine of Esteban Ocon rounded out the top ten qualifiers in P9 and P10 respectively.

Top 10 qualifiers for the Monaco GP:

POS NO DRIVER CAR Q1 Q2 Q3 LAPS
1 16 Charles Leclerc FERRARI 1:12.569 1:11.864 1:11.376 24
2 55 Carlos Sainz FERRARI 1:12.616 1:12.074 1:11.601 25
3 11 Sergio Perez RED BULL RACING RBPT 1:13.004 1:11.954 1:11.629 25
4 1 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING RBPT 1:12.993 1:12.117 1:11.666 25
5 4 Lando Norris MCLAREN MERCEDES 1:12.927 1:12.266 1:11.849 27
6 63 George Russell MERCEDES 1:12.787 1:12.617 1:12.112 27
7 14 Fernando Alonso ALPINE RENAULT 1:13.394 1:12.688 1:12.247 22
8 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 1:13.444 1:12.595 1:12.560 29
9 5 Sebastian Vettel ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES 1:13.313 1:12.613 1:12.732 28
10 31 Esteban Ocon ALPINE RENAULT 1:12.848 1:12.528 1:13.047 22

Complete qualifying results available via Formula1.com.

Tomorrow’s race airs live on ESPN beginning at 9AM Eastern here in the States. Can Charles Leclerc take the ultimate honors and a dream victory in his home race? Or will Verstappen find a way to vault himself to the front and dash those Monegasque dreams? Hope to see you then to find out!