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2022 F1 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi — Results & aftermath

Verstappen caps historic championship season with win #15 in Abu Dhabi; Perez loses out to Leclerc for P2 in race and total points; Vettel bows out in style with point finish

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen capped off his second successive Formula 1 Championship season  in imperial style, dominating the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix for his record extending 15th win of the 22-round 2022 campaign. Starting from pole under the lights of the futuristic Yas Marina Circuit in this early evening-into-night race, Verstappen stormed away at the start and never truly relinquished his lead or faced a real challenge throughout this 58-lap contest. The Dutch master and his team made a one-stop strategy look easy while other struggled to execute it, a fitting metaphor for just how superior the RB-18 has been in Verstappen’s hands compared to any of the other contenders. In the end, Verstappen took the checkers nearly 9-seconds to the good of the P2 Ferrari of Charles Leclerc, a fitting end to what has been a truly historic F1 season by any era’s standards.

Pics courtesy GrandPirx247.com

However, that second place by Leclerc may also loom equally as large as Verstappen’s superlative accomplishments when the story of 2022 is recounted in years hence. Red Bull gambled on a split, two-stop strategy for their second driver, Sergio Perez, convinced that it was the best path for the Mexican to finish ahead of Leclerc and thereby claim second in the Drivers’ standings. But it didn’t work out, as Perez, who started alongside Verstappen on the grid in P2, lost vital track position when he made his second stop for a fresh set of Hard Pirellis on Lap 34, reemerging in P6 after conceding P2 to the hard-charging Lecerc. Ferrari may have also contributed to Red Bull’s move by relaying a dummy call to Leclerc about their own intentions of a two-stopper but in the end, Leclerc stayed out and ran his second set of tires all the way to the end, only having stopped back on Lap 21.

Crucially, the Ferrari seemed to really come alive on that set of Hard tires, whereas it struggled for consistant pace on the opening set of Mediums. Red Bull were hoping tire deg would doom the Ferarri and Perez’s many laps fresher rubber would prevail in the end. But Perez had to make so many overtakes in his final stint, including of sometimes recalcitrant back-markers, that the laps just ran out on the Mexican’s second-place dreams. Leclerc took P2 in the race by 1.3-seconds and that resulted in the Monegasque eeking out P2 in the Drivers’ Standings by a slim 3-points. While all seemed cordial in the post-race holding pen between Verstappen and his disappointed teammate, one wonders whether Verstappen’s rather petty decision not to allow Perez to overtake him at the end of the Brazilian GP last week will fester in Perez’s mind over the winter break and what it will mean for team dynamics next year.

For Leclerc, on other hand, that strong result in the final race ensured his runner-up states to Verstappen as truly the second best driver of the year despite hopes of perhaps challenging for the title. But after a strong start, Ferrari just couldn’t keep up with Red Bull’s pace of development or the superiority of the car in Verstappen’s peerless hands. Coupled with unforced errors on the pit wall and driver side, Ferrari had to be content to claim runners up in the Constructors’ title and to see Leclerc prevail over Perez for second in the Drivers’. The second Prancing Horse of Carlos Sainz capped off the strong effort in Abu Dhabi with a P4 finish and the fabled Scuderia from Maranello will now have the off-season to try and creep closer to Red Bull even as they watches Mercedes gain on them in the second half.

But much of Mercedes recent momentum appeared illusory at Yas Marina. While Lewis Hamilton and George Russell looked competitive at the start, it quickly became clear that they were once again back to being the third best team on the track, as they had been for much of the season. While Russell was able to salvage P5, he had nothing for Sainz’s Ferrari late in the race. And to add insult to a rare winless season for Lewis Hamilton, the seven-time champion DNF’d with terminal hydraulic failure on Lap 55, perhaps a residual effect from going airborne over the tall curbs while dicing with Sainz on the opening lap. While they were much improved after their woeful, porpoising-plagued start of the fist half, the Silver Arrows braintrust will be working long and hard over the winter to master this era’s tricky new aero formula, which has left them at a severe deficit to both Red Bull and Ferrari after a previous run of eight Constructors’ Titles under the prior formula.

Rounding out the Top 10, McLaren’s Lando Norris drove solidly to take P6 and teammate Daniel Ricciardo scored points in P9 in his last drive for the team after a very difficult year for the affable Aussie. Esteban Ocon was the lone Alpine to score in P7, his outgoing teammate Fernando Alonso having another retirement in a season plagued by them after a terminal water leak on Lap 28. And Aston Martin were able to bring both cars home in the points, with Lance Stroll finishing in P8 and Sebastian Vettel taking the last point in P10. While it was a far cry from his halcyon days when he was winning four titles on the trot for Red Bull, it was still a fine way for Vettel to drive off into the sunset and cap off what has surely been a Hall of Fame-worthy career. As has been said more than once this race weekend — Danke, Seb!

Top 10 finishers of the Abu Dhabi GP:

POS NO DRIVER CAR LAPS TIME/RETIRED PTS
1 1 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING RBPT 58 1:27:45.914 25
2 16 Charles Leclerc FERRARI 58 +8.771s 18
3 11 Sergio Perez RED BULL RACING RBPT 58 +10.093s 15
4 55 Carlos Sainz FERRARI 58 +24.892s 12
5 63 George Russell MERCEDES 58 +35.888s 10
6 4 Lando Norris MCLAREN MERCEDES 58 +56.234s 9
7 31 Esteban Ocon ALPINE RENAULT 58 +57.240s 6
8 18 Lance Stroll ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES 58 +76.931s 4
9 3 Daniel Ricciardo MCLAREN MERCEDES 58 +83.268s 2
10 5 Sebastian Vettel ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES 58 +83.898s 1

Complete race results available via Formula1.com.

The final Driver Standings are here.

And the final Constructor’s’ Standings are here.

With 2022 now done & dusted it’s time to ride out the void of the winter break as best we can and get ready for an even more competitive season next year where Ferrari will hopefully continue their progress towards Red Bull’s high water mark and Mercedes will join the party as a bona fide contender after showing massive improvement to their chassis in the second half of this season. Hope to see you in early March when F1 returns in Bahrain to kick off a jam-packed, potentially 24-round 2023 campaign!

2022 F1 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi — Qualifying results

Red Bull lock out front row for Abu Dhabi season finale with Verstappen on pole, Perez P2; Leclerc P3 & Sainz P4 for Ferrari as Mercedes struggle for pace

‘Looking to end their double championship season in style, Red Bull locked out the front row for Sunday’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix after Saturday’s three-rounds of knockout qualifying. 2022’s Drivers’ Champion Max set down a blazingly quick lap time of 1:23.824, making him the only driver to get into the 1:23s at any point in the day. The Dutch master accomplished this even while somewhat playing the team game, as opposed to last week’s inexplicable fit of pique in Sao Paulo, by helping teammate Sergio Perez with a tow in the first sector of their final flying laps, which enabled the Mexican to outpace Ferraris’ Charles Leclerc for the second fastest time in Q3 and P2 on the grid. Leclerc, who is tied with Perez on points for second in the Drivers’ standings, will start P3 come Sunday but still leads Perez if all things stay equal by virtue of having won more races this year. Leclerc’s Scuderia stablemate Carlos Sainz took P4, outpacing both Mercedes, which struggled for pace under the lights at the high-abrasion Yas Marina Circuit. Lewis Hamilton was able to better his teammate George Russell, last week’s race winner in Brazil, but the Silver Arrows duo could muster no better than P5 and P6 respectively after showing more promising signs of performance improvement in the prior three rounds.

McLaren’s Lando Norris, returned to good health after feeling ill in Brazil a week ago, put in a stout effort to claim P7 on the grid, with outgoing teammate Daniel Ricciardo good enough for P10 in his last race for McLaren. They sandwiched Esteban Ocon’s Alpine in P8 and the Aston Martin of Sebastian Vettel in P9. The German four-time champion had an inspired quali and got the absolute most from his Aston as he prepares to ride off into the sunset after tomorrow’s race.

Top 10 qualifiers for the Abu Dhabi GP:

POS NO DRIVER CAR Q1 Q2 Q3 LAPS
1 1 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING RBPT 1:24.754 1:24.622 1:23.824 17
2 11 Sergio Perez RED BULL RACING RBPT 1:24.820 1:24.419 1:24.052 18
3 16 Charles Leclerc FERRARI 1:25.211 1:24.517 1:24.092 17
4 55 Carlos Sainz FERRARI 1:25.090 1:24.521 1:24.242 16
5 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 1:25.594 1:24.774 1:24.508 21
6 63 George Russell MERCEDES 1:25.545 1:24.940 1:24.511 20
7 4 Lando Norris MCLAREN MERCEDES 1:25.387 1:24.903 1:24.769 17
8 31 Esteban Ocon ALPINE RENAULT 1:25.735 1:25.007 1:24.830 17
9 5 Sebastian Vettel ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES 1:25.523 1:24.974 1:24.961 18
10 3 Daniel Ricciardo MCLAREN MERCEDES 1:25.766 1:25.068 1:25.045 15

Complete qualifying results available via Formula1.com.

Tomorrow’s race airs live on ESPN2 beginning at 8AM Eastern here in the States. Will Verstappen really be ready to help Perez in his quest for second in the Drivers’ or will the return of Me-Me-Me Max rear its ugly head if he sniffs a win? Hope to see you then to find out how it all shakes out as we close out the 2022 F1 season!

2022 F1 Grand Prix of Sao Paulo — Results & aftermath

Russell takes first F1 win in Sao Paulo, Hamilton P2 to extend Mercedes’ late season surge; Sainz P3 for Ferrari ahead of Leclerc; Verstappen vociferously refuses to help teammate Perez

Mercedes up and coming young driver George Russell made good on the team’s constant faith in his talents and earned his first Formula 1 victory at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix on Sunday. Spearheading a late season charge by the Silver Arrows, Russell started first on the grid after winning Saturday’s Sprint race and then survived an incident-filled 71-laps on the short and tricky Interlagos circuit to break his duck and claim his maiden F1 win. Better still for Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton was able to survive early contact with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen to come home P2, proving that the recent improved showing by the W13 were not just flukes due to the thinner atmosphere in Mexico City or a unique synergy between driver and track after Hamilton’s excellent showing at COTA in the USGP. After struggling mightily with porpoising to begin the campaign under the new aero specs and then being simply too draggy to compete with Red Bull and Ferrari until really the latter third of the season, Mercedes’ advancements might be too little too late for this year but bode well for a more competitive, possible 3-team competition in 2023. Hamilton and Verstappen also collided after a Safety Car restart on Lap 7, with neither car badly damaged but Verstappen requiring a new front wing and receiving a 5-second penalty as the guilty party, there were certainly shades of last year’s epic tense and testy season-long duel. Let’s hope it’s foreshadowing for next year.

Behind the top two Mercs there was a ton of tension and intrigue. Ferrari managed to come home with Carlos Sainz in P3 and Charles Leclerc in P4 after somehow recovering from a Lap 7 coming together with McLaren’s Lando Norris just after the Hamilton-Verstappen kerfuffle. It was an impressive rally from the Monegasque, whose Prancing Horse at first looked to be in real trouble after spearing into the barriers. While both Leclerc and his F1-75 proved resilient as they fought their way forward, less impressive was his repeated requests to the Ferrari pit wall to tell Sainz to let him by for the extra points. While it’s understandable that Leclerc would want every available advantage to try and secure second in the Drivers’ championship, bumping his teammate from a podium was never going to fly and simply made Leclerc seem a little whiny and desperate.

But that was nothing compared to what went down late race at team Red Bull. With Verstappen’s race compromised because of that early clash with Hamilton, it seemed that Perez might have the best opportunity to spoil Mercedes’ day. But the team had kept Perez out on Medium tires late in the race and the Mexican was forced to defend rather than attack, as Sainz came upon him after another Safety Car period ended on Lap 59 on fresher and superior Soft tire. Despite his best efforts, the veteran Mexican was easy meat for Sainz, the Spaniard making the overtake on Lap 63, a lap after DRS had been re-enabled. Worse still, Leclerc followed suit a lap later and the Alpine of Fernando Alonso also scooted by him on Lap 65. At this point, Verstappen had caught also up to Perez and the team somewhat curiously told Perez to let Max through to “take some points off Alonso and Leclerc”. But, despite the fact that Verstappen couldn’t make anything happen with that theory and stayed stuck in P6, the current World Champion then inexplicably refused direct team orders to hand the place back to Perez to finish out the race. That proved pivotal in the Drivers’ Standings, because while Leclerc salvaged P4 after his stressful adventures on the day, Perez sank to P7 behind his not-very-team oriented teammate Verstappen. The resultant points scoring on the day put Leclerc and Perez into a tie with 290 points, but Leclerc would earn the tiebreaker if it remained that way because he has more wins on the season. It remains to be seen if Verstappen, who many are theorizing still holds a grudge for Perez bringing out the Red Flag way back at Monaco qualifying to deny the Dutchman pole, will feel he’s made his point and go back to aiding Perez’s quest for P2 in the Championship at the last race in Abu Dhabi. However things turn out at Yas Marina next week, Verstappen’s diva-like behavior in Sao Paulo will likely not be forgotten by the popular Perez or by his legions of Mexican and non-Mexican fans. Frankly, there’s no putting that particular toothpaste back in the tube and it could cast Perez’s continued membership on the Red Bull team into some serious doubt.

With the two Alpine’s of Alonso and Esteban Ocon playing reasonably nice for a change, the team had a very good day at the races. First and foremost was Alonso’s most impressive drive. Staring from P17 on the grid behind Ocon after the pair had tangled multiple times in the Sprint race, the Spanish two-time World Champ put in a brilliant effort to come home all the way up in P5 and ahead of both Red Bulls. Combined with Ocon’s solid P8 and a double DNF for McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo, who knocked out Haas’ Kevin Magnussen along with himself on the opening lap, and Lando Norris, whose car died on Lap 52 bringing out the final Safety Car, it made for a 19-point lead for Alpine over McLaren for P4 in the all-important Constructors’ points with only the one race remaining. Valtteri Bottas also scored decent points for Alfa Romeo with a ninth-place finish and Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll took the final point in P10.

Top 10 finishers of the Sao Paulo GP:

POS NO DRIVER CAR LAPS TIME/RETIRED PTS
1 63 George Russell MERCEDES 71 1:38:34.044 26
2 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 71 +1.529s 18
3 55 Carlos Sainz FERRARI 71 +4.051s 15
4 16 Charles Leclerc FERRARI 71 +8.441s 12
5 14 Fernando Alonso ALPINE RENAULT 71 +9.561s 10
6 1 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING RBPT 71 +10.056s 8
7 11 Sergio Perez RED BULL RACING RBPT 71 +14.080s 6
8 31 Esteban Ocon ALPINE RENAULT 71 +18.690s 4
9 77 Valtteri Bottas ALFA ROMEO FERRARI 71 +22.552s 2
10 18 Lance Stroll ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES 71 +23.552s 1

Complete race results available via Formula1.com.

In one week’s time, it’s the final race of the 2022 season — the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix from the futuristic and colorful Yas Marina Circuit. The last of the prizes will be claimed and it will be more than a little interesting to see if Verstappen can overcome his bizarre fit of pique and actually help his teammate Perez to prevail over Leclerc for P2 in the Drivers’ standings. Likewise, can Mercedes finish on another high and keep the good vibes flowing into the off season? Stay tuned & hope to see you then to find out how it all shakes out as Formula 1 draws to close for the year!

2022 F1 Grand Prix of Sao Paulo — Sprint Qualifying results

Magnussen earns first F1 pole in rain-effected quali but Russell wins Saturday Sprint race at Interlagos

Formula 1’s final Sprint Qualifying of the season went down on Saturday at a wet Interlagos circuit in Sao Paulo. While Haas’s Kevin Magnussen had the thrill of winning his first F1 pole during Friday qualifying thanks in no small part to a well-timed Red Flag and subsequent rainy conditions, that only earned the veteran Dane the honor of starting first in the Sprint race, which will actually set the grid for Sunday’s Sao Paulo GP. While it was a more lively than usual affair, probably due to all the major 2022 prizes having already been scooped up by team Red Bull and their peerless ace, Max Verstappen, the fairly gimmicky 24-lap Sprint format began in dry conditions that saw Magnussen quickly overwhelmed by faster cars. Mercedes’ George Russell, driving aggressively but smartly, eventually earned the win ahead of Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz in P2 and Verstappen in P3. In truth, the Haas driver benefitted greatly on Friday from Russell beaching his Silver Arrow midway through Q3, which brought out a Red Flag just before the skies opened over Interlagos. So, no other drivers could match Magnussen’s fast lap that he had set in drier conditions. But on Saturday the conditions were not particularly wet from the start despite cloudy skies, allowing the field to start on slick tires rather than Intermediates and the stronger cars to perform up to their true capabilities. As Magnussen faded to a P8 finish, Russell surged forward to dice with Verstappen, eventually passing the Dutchman for the race lead, the Red Bull having picked p some front wing damage after a clash with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz early on. That slowed the Red Bull enough to where both Sainz and the second Merc of Lewis Hamilton were also able to pass Vertsppen in the waning laps of the Sprint, though Sainz will be relegated 5-grid spots come race day due to engine component changes, making a front row lockout come race time.

Saturday Sprint Race Top 10:

POS NO DRIVER CAR LAPS TIME/RETIRED PTS
1 63 George Russell MERCEDES 24 30:11.307 8
2 55 Carlos Sainz FERRARI 24 +3.995s 7
3 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 24 +4.492s 6
4 1 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING RBPT 24 +10.494s 5
5 11 Sergio Perez RED BULL RACING RBPT 24 +11.855s 4
6 16 Charles Leclerc FERRARI 24 +13.133s 3
7 4 Lando Norris MCLAREN MERCEDES 24 +25.624s 2
8 20 Kevin Magnussen HAAS FERRARI 24 +28.768s 1
9 5 Sebastian Vettel ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES 24 +30.218s 0
10 10 Pierre Gasly ALPHATAURI RBPT 24 +34.170s 0

Friday Qualifying results:

POS NO DRIVER CAR Q1 Q2 Q3 LAPS
1 20 Kevin Magnussen HAAS FERRARI 1:13.954 1:11.410 1:11.674 26
2 1 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING RBPT 1:13.625 1:10.881 1:11.877 23
3 63 George Russell MERCEDES 1:14.427 1:11.318 1:12.059 24
4 4 Lando Norris MCLAREN MERCEDES 1:13.106 1:11.377 1:12.263 25
5 55 Carlos Sainz FERRARI 1:14.680 1:10.890 1:12.357 24
6 31 Esteban Ocon ALPINE RENAULT 1:14.663 1:11.587 1:12.425 22
7 14 Fernando Alonso ALPINE RENAULT 1:13.542 1:11.394 1:12.504 21
8 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 1:13.403 1:11.539 1:12.611 25
9 11 Sergio Perez RED BULL RACING RBPT 1:13.613 1:11.456 1:15.601 26
10 16 Charles Leclerc FERRARI 1:14.486 1:10.950 DNF 25

Complete results and final starting grid available via Formula1.com.

Sunday’s Sao Paulo GP airs live on ABC beginning at 1PM Eastern here in the States. Hope to see you then to find out if Mercedes resurgence is for real, if Ferrari can overcome their tentative and clumsy strategy calls to grab a victory or if Verstappen has been sandbagging en route to padding his record win total.

2022 F1 Grand Prix of Mexico City — Results & aftermath

Red Bull’s Verstappen cruises to victory in Mexico City; Hamilton out-duels teammate Russell P2 to P4 in strong showing for Mercedes; Perez P3, Ferrari far off the pace

2022 Formula 1 Champion Max Verstappen continued his winning ways at Sunday’s Mexico City Grand Prix, setting a new record  with his 14th victory of the season and doing so with relative ease. With the peerless Red Bull ace starting from pole, the now two-time champ lead the field from the moment the lights went out in this 71-lap contest at Autódromo Hermanos Rodriguez and never really looked back. Verstappen made the most of a one-stop Soft-to-Medium Pirelli tire strategy on a day where tire degradation was less than expected and Mercedes appeared to guess wrong by betting on the Hard tires for their second stint after starting on the Mediums. With Verstappen’s Mediums holding up well despite being swapped out on Lap 25, it was really all over but the shouting as both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell were left to lament lack of performance on their Hards in their radio calls back to the Mercedes pit wall while the lead Red Bull disappeared into the distance. Hamilton had executed a flawless pass for P2 on stablemate Russell on the opening lap, forcing his junior teammate to ride the curbs off the racing line and seizing P2 from Russell, but the English seven-time champ was left over 15-seconds adrift of Verstappen by the time the checkers flew.

That opening lap tussle with his Silver Arrows teammate cost Russell not only a position to Hamilton but also a podium, as the second Red Bull of Sergio Perez was able to capitalize on that pivotal loss of momentum and take P3 from Russell shortly thereafter on Lap 1 to the delight of his countrymen in the stands. The veteran Mexican pilot then followed suit on tire strategy to his teammate, having come in two laps earlier on Lap 23 for the same Soft-to-Medium switch. Perez used that tire advantage to run away from Russell and secure a satisfying P3 podium finish at his home race. Further back of the top four, Ferrari had a majorly off day and were never seriously in contention. Perhaps dialing back their engines to save them for another day or perhaps just struggling at the high altitude and thin atmosphere of this Mexico City circuit, the Prancing Horses never really looked like contenders. Carlos Sainz struggled to a P5 finish some 9-seconds behind Russell and Charles Leclerc, who seems to have lost a bit of the fire since his championship dreams were extinguished a few races back, muddled through to P6. One can only hope that Ferrari put up more of a fight once back at sea level for the next race in Brazil in a couple of weeks.

Rounding out the Top 10, McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo drove his best race of the season, making a slew of aggressive overtaking maneuvers after wheel banging contact with AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda on Lap 51. Despite being handed a 10-second time penalty as a result of the contretemps, the affable Aussie drove like a man possessed to secure P7, making the most of a final stint on Soft tires to maximize the McLaren’s performance and dust his midfield competitors. Teammate Lando Norris was for once overshadowed by Ricciardo and could only muster a P9 finish, still adding up to solid points for McLaren in their battle with Alpine for fourth in the Contractors Championship. They were aided in that quest by Alpine’s increasing reliability issues, which saw Fernando Alonso retire with an engine issue with just six laps to go. That left Esteban Ocon as the lone Alpine to score, coming home P8, and it will be all to play for for the big fourth-place payout between the French team and McLaren in the final two rounds. Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas hung on for the last point in P10, not really having the race pace in his C42 despite qualifying P6.

Top 10 finishers of the Mexico City GP:

POS NO DRIVER CAR LAPS TIME/RETIRED PTS
1 1 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING RBPT 71 1:38:36.729 25
2 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 71 +15.186s 18
3 11 Sergio Perez RED BULL RACING RBPT 71 +18.097s 15
4 63 George Russell MERCEDES 71 +49.431s 13
5 55 Carlos Sainz FERRARI 71 +58.123s 10
6 16 Charles Leclerc FERRARI 71 +68.774s 8
7 3 Daniel Ricciardo MCLAREN MERCEDES 70 +1 lap 6
8 31 Esteban Ocon ALPINE RENAULT 70 +1 lap 4
9 4 Lando Norris MCLAREN MERCEDES 70 +1 lap 2
10 77 Valtteri Bottas ALFA ROMEO FERRARI 70 +1 lap 1

Complete race results available via Formula1.com.

The next race is in a fortnight’s time — the Sao Paolo Grand Prix at Interlagos in Brazil. Can Mercedes maintain their improved performance back t sea level and possibly grab a win off of Red Bull or will Verstappen continue to add to his race-win record? Hope to see you then to find out how it all shakes out!

2022 F1 Grand Prix of Mexico City — Qualifying results

Red Bull’s Verstappen pips Russell for first pole in Mexico City, Hamilton P3 as Mercedes show late season strength; Ferrari adrift at high altitude Autódromo Hermanos Rodriguez

After struggling for grip at the always tricky high altitude/thin air Autódromo Hermanos Rodriguez, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen hooked up a lap to perfection when it counted most, as he so often has this championship season. Trailing the suddenly resurgent Mercedes duo of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell late in Q3, Verstappen was able to lay down an untouchable final fast lap at the death during Saturday qualifying to secure pole for Sunday’s Mexico City Grand Prix. With the Red Bulls struggling for grip in the hot, high altitude conditions and Mercedes paying less of a penalty for what has been a draggy car this season, it seemed that Hamilton might snatch his first pole of 2022. But it was not to be, as the English seven-time champion ultimately fell short not only of the flying Dutchman’s pace but also his teammate Russell, who will slot in alongside Verstappen on the front row with Hamilton settling for P3. Despite that momentary disappointment, this could be Mercedes best chance to win that elusive first race of the already 19-round-old campaign. In addition to Hamilton’s recent personal resurgence and Russell’s slowly improving consistency, if they can keep their tires under them for the duration of the GP, Mercedes may actually have the pace under these conditions to best Verstappen for once.

While Verstappen’s teammate and local hero Sergio Perez struggled to a P4 qualifying effort in front of his home fans, it was worse for Ferrari. The Prancing Horses seemed unmoored at high altitude, with Carlos Sainz only setting the fifth best time in the final quali session and stablemate Charles Leclerc even further off the pace in P7. The loss of downforce here really seemed to effect the F1-75 when putting power down through the low speed corners, of which there are many at this twisty 4.3 kilometer circuit. Such were their struggles that Valtteri Bottas, representing Ferrari’s secondary team Alfa Romeo, split Sainz and Leclerc with a superb P6 effort. Rounding out the top ten qualifiers, McLaren’s Lando Norris was eighth quickest and the Alpines of Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon qualified P9 and P10 respectively.

Top 10 qualifiers for the Mexico City GP:

POS NO DRIVER CAR Q1 Q2 Q3 LAPS
1 1 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING RBPT 1:19.222 1:18.566 1:17.775 16
2 63 George Russell MERCEDES 1:19.583 1:18.565 1:18.079 18
3 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 1:19.169 1:18.552 1:18.084 19
4 11 Sergio Perez RED BULL RACING RBPT 1:19.706 1:18.615 1:18.128 18
5 55 Carlos Sainz FERRARI 1:19.566 1:18.560 1:18.351 17
6 77 Valtteri Bottas ALFA ROMEO FERRARI 1:19.523 1:18.762 1:18.401 18
7 16 Charles Leclerc FERRARI 1:19.505 1:19.109 1:18.555 18
8 4 Lando Norris MCLAREN MERCEDES 1:19.857 1:19.119 1:18.721 19
9 14 Fernando Alonso ALPINE RENAULT 1:20.006 1:19.272 1:18.939 15
10 31 Esteban Ocon ALPINE RENAULT 1:19.945 1:19.081 1:19.010 18

Complete qualifying results available via Formula1.com.

Sunday’s Mexico City Grand Prix airs live on ESPN beginning at 4PM Eastern here in the Sates. Hope to see you then to find out how it all shakes out!

2022 F1 Grand Prix of the United States — Results & aftermath

Verstappen recovers from botched pit stop to overtake Hamilton for victory at COTA, Perez P4 delivering Constructors’ title to Red Bull; Leclerc fights way from P12 start to P3 but pole-sitting Sainz out after Lap 1, Turn 1 collision on another mixed day for Ferrari

On an emotional and exhilarating Sunday deep in the heart of Texas, Red Bull ace Max Verstappen’s dream season continued. Two weeks after being crowned Formula 1 champ at soggy Suzuka in Japan and only a day after the death of team Red Bull’s owner, Dietrich Mateschitz, Verstappen survived a brutally slow pit stop on Lap 36 of the 56-lap United States Grand Prix and proceeded to use all his skill and the significant advantage of the peerless RB18 chassis to hunt down Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and earn victory at the Circuit of the Americas. Amidst blustery conditions that played havoc with the highly aero-sensitive F1 machinery, Verstappen somehow turned around the deficit to Hamilton caused by being stationary for an excruciating 11-seconds with a stuck left front tire and catch and pass the seven-time English champion in a ding dong battle between two of the best to ever drive in Formula 1. Verstappen executed his overtake through the most sinuous parts of this beautiful, purpose-built race track on Lap 50, denying Hamilton the opportunity of his first win of 2022 in the process. While Lewis was able to stay close for a few laps afterwards, his Silver Arrow was no match for the fleet Red Bull in the Dutch master’s hands. And despite the uncharacteristic failure to execute by the usually superb Red Bull mechanics, when Verstappen was finally able to pull away he was on the better performing Medium Pirelli tires while Hamilton was saddled with Hards, which simply could not maintain performance as the laps wound down on a day when degradation was less than initially feared.

Verstappen’s victory was not only his record-tying thirteenth of the season but, along with teammate Sergio Perez’s solid P4 finish, gave Red Bull their first Constructors’ title since 2013. It was a fitting farewell to the late Mateschitz, whose vast resources and marketing savvy took a energy drink company and made it synonymous with excellence in motorsports. Red Bull’s team championship, inevitable as it was, came at the expense of Ferrari, who had yet another very mixed day at the track. With Charles Leclerc relegated to a P12 start on the grid after taking engine component penalties, the Scuderia’s hopes that pole-sitting Carlos Sainz might sprint away to the win were quickly dashed when the Spaniard first had a slow getaway from the line, allowing Verstappen to overtake him almost immediately, and then came into contact with the second Mercedes of George Russell while trying to maintain his position going into Turn 1 at the top of the hill. Sainz trundled to the pits but the damage was terminal and Ferrari were immediately down to a one-car team against the might of the Red Bull duo.

Pics courtesy GrandPrix.com

Leclerc drove admirably, though, and also benefitted from a cheap pit stop under the Safety Car on Lap 18 necessitated when the Alfa Romeo of Valtteri Bottas was beached in Turn 19. That gave the Monegasque track position and he reemerged in fourth place, a whopping eight spots ahead of his start. After another, longer Safety Car due to a hairy crash on Lap 22 between the semi-airborne Alpine of Fernando Alonso and the smashed to bits Aston Martin of Lance Stroll, Leclerc was able to pull up to the gearbox of the P3 Perez when racing resumed and then dispatch the Mexican stalwart on Lap 30. Fleeting dreams of victory may have flashed before his eyes, but even after Verstappen’s messy pit stop and with Leclerc fighting tooth and nail with the Red Bull for multiple laps, Verstappen was able to relegate Leclerc to third by Lap 39 and on his way to his tete a tete with Hamilton. That’s where the lone surviving Ferrari would finish, making it another day of seriously mixed emotions for the fabled Scuderia from Maranello, a sensation they’ve had all too often this season.

While Hamilton was denied that long sought after victory, his second place was still encouraging at the American circuit he has come to love and he drove a stirring race even if he couldn’t quite match the pace of Verstappen. Russell also scored good points for the Merc team, overcoming a 5-second penalty for the contact with Sainz to still finish a solid P5. Of particular note, Alonso’s Alpine somehow survived his up and down shunt with future teammate Stroll to finish the race in a rather remarkable P7. However, the veteran two-time champ was penalized post-race after protests by the Haas team about the state of his car. Alonso plunged out of the points with that harsh 30-second penalty, although the team are appealing the ruling.

Top 10 finishers of the USGP:

POS NO DRIVER CAR LAPS TIME/RETIRED PTS
1 1 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING RBPT 56 1:42:11.687 25
2 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 56 +5.023s 18
3 16 Charles Leclerc FERRARI 56 +7.501s 15
4 11 Sergio Perez RED BULL RACING RBPT 56 +8.293s 12
5 63 George Russell MERCEDES 56 +44.815s 11
6 4 Lando Norris MCLAREN MERCEDES 56 +53.785s 8
7 5 Sebastian Vettel ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES 56 +65.354s 6
8 20 Kevin Magnussen HAAS FERRARI 56 +65.834s 4
9 22 Yuki Tsunoda ALPHATAURI RBPT 56 +70.919s 2
10 31 Esteban Ocon ALPINE RENAULT 56 +72.875s 1

Complete race results available via Formula1.com.

The next race is in but a week’s time as we head south of the border down Mexico way to Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez for the high octane, high altitude Mexican GP. While the big prizes have all been claimed by Verstappen and Red Bull, there are still three rounds remaining before the long, cold winter and the drivers will surely still be giving it their all for potential podiums and wins. Hope to see you then to find out how it all shakes out!

2022 F1 Grand Prix of the United States — Qualifying results

Sainz pips Leclerc for pole but engine penalties shuffle grid at COTA; Verstappen third fastest in Texas

On a race weekend overshadowed by the death of legendary Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz, Saturday qualifying for Sunday’s United States Grand Prix carried on nonetheless. At the beautiful, flowing Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas the track ramped up in the late afternoon Q3 session and it was Ferrari who got the most from their machines as the fierce Texas heat receded. Carlos Sainz pipped his more heralded teammate Charles Leclerc by a mere .065-seconds. The Spaniard earned his second career F1 pole as the checkers flew in the final quali round and also bettered both the Red Bulls of newly minted 2022 champion Max Verstappen and his ace wingman Sergio Perez, who could do no better than P3 and P4 respectively. Further down the pylon, Lewis Hamilton once again out-qualified his young Mercedes teammate George Russell, P5 to P6. However, as happens all too frequently in F1, engine penalties will scramble the grid for the GP, most notably a 10-place grid drop to Leclerc, which will push the Monegasque down to a P12 starting spot and a 5-place penalty for Perez that will drop the Mexican pilot down to ninth on the grid. That means that it will be Sainz duking it out with Verstappen going up the steep hill into Turn 1 instead of his Scuderia stablemate Leclerc, who will be forced to fight his way back up through a crowded midfield and back into relevance.

Top 10 qualifiers for the USGP:

POS NO DRIVER CAR Q1 Q2 Q3 LAPS
1 55 Carlos Sainz FERRARI 1:35.297 1:35.590 1:34.356 14
2 16 Charles Leclerc FERRARI 1:35.795 1:35.246 1:34.421 14
3 1 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING RBPT 1:35.864 1:35.294 1:34.448 15
4 11 Sergio Perez RED BULL RACING RBPT 1:36.163 1:35.864 1:34.645 12
5 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 1:36.148 1:35.732 1:34.947 18
6 63 George Russell MERCEDES 1:36.195 1:35.692 1:34.988 19
7 18 Lance Stroll ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES 1:36.860 1:36.032 1:35.598 15
8 4 Lando Norris MCLAREN MERCEDES 1:36.465 1:36.341 1:35.690 18
9 14 Fernando Alonso ALPINE RENAULT 1:36.446 1:35.988 1:35.876 17
10 77 Valtteri Bottas ALFA ROMEO FERRARI 1:36.746 1:36.321 1:36.319 18

Adjusted Top 10 grid with engine penalties factored in:

POS NO DRIVER CAR TIME
1 55 Carlos Sainz FERRARI 1:34.356
2 1 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING RBPT 1:34.448
3 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 1:34.947
4 63 George Russell MERCEDES 1:34.988
5 18 Lance Stroll ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES 1:35.598
6 4 Lando Norris MCLAREN MERCEDES 1:35.690
7 77 Valtteri Bottas ALFA ROMEO FERRARI 1:36.319
8 23 Alexander Albon WILLIAMS MERCEDES 1:36.368
9 11 Sergio Perez RED BULL RACING RBPT 1:34.645
10 5 Sebastian Vettel ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES 1:36.398

Complete qualifying results available via Formula1.com.

Sunday’s United States Grand Prix airs live on ABC beginning at 3PM Eastern here in the States. Hope to see you then to find out if Sainz can fend off Verstappen for a Ferrari victory in the USA and if Leclerc can fight his way back from the depths to try and nab a seemingly out of reach podium!

2022 F1 Grand Prix of Japan — Results & aftermath

Verstappen clinches second consecutive title at sodden Suzuka with win and last lap penalty to Leclerc in rain-shortened race; Perez promoted to P2 to aid Red Bull team & teammate’s cause

On a day where the rains returned in force to the Suzuka International Circuit and prompted an epically long Red Flag delay awaiting raceable weather, Red Bull’s peerless Max Verstappen still found a way to prevail when Sunday’s eventful Japanese Grand Prix resumed. With the entire field restarting on full Wet weather Pirelli tires, Verstappen and team Red Bull changed for Intermediates a few laps after the restart with approximately 30-minutes remaining along with all the main contenders. But once that switch had been made, Max was simply superior in getting his tires to work on the drenched circuit to greater effect than his few mathematical championship rivals, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and his own teammate Sergio Perez. By the time the checkers flew to end this rain shortened 28-lap contest Verstappen’s lead had ballooned to over 26-seconds to the P2 Prancing Horse of Leclerc, earning him the full 25 Championship points since the race had exceeded the halfway mark of the originally scheduled 53-laps. Better still for the Dutch Master, his teammate Perez hounded Leclerc to the bitter end, forcing the Monegasque into an error on the final lap that saw the P2 Ferrari go off track and then rejoin in front of Perez awkwardly. While Leclerc crossed the line in P2 he was docked five-seconds by the stewards for gaining an advantage and when the points were all recalculated that made Verstappen the winner of the 2022 F1 title, his second in succession. This season, unlike last year’s controversial last race nail-biter, was essentially a runaway, Ferrari’s and Leclerc’s early competitiveness giving way to unforced errors by the Scuderia team and drover and, frankly, the sheer superiority of the Red Bull RB 18 in Verstappen’s masterful hands. While Red Bull as a team will have to wait at least one more race to clinch the all-important Constructors’ title, that, too, is certainly a fait accompli. There may be four more rounds remaining in this year’s F1 season but it’s now all over but the shouting.

Pics courtesy GrandPrix247.com

Outside that consequential top three, Alpine’s Esteban Ocon was able to skillfully fend off the multiple-lap charge of Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton, besting the seven-time champ to the line, P4 to P5. Likewise, the second Alpine of Fernando Alonso pitted late for a fresh set of Inters and was then able to pip Hamilton’s teammate George Russell for P7. Splitting that two-team quartet was the Aston Martin of Sebastian Vettel, who was one of the first to switch to Inters off of full Wets and road that brave decision to finish P6 in a brilliant drive at his final Japanese GP. Williams’ Nicholas Latifi did well to keep his car intact and come home P9, while McLaren’s Lando Norris took the last point in P10.

Top 10 finishers of the Japanese GP:

POS NO DRIVER CAR LAPS TIME/RETIRED PTS
1 1 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING RBPT 28 3:01:44.004 25
2 11 Sergio Perez RED BULL RACING RBPT 28 +27.066s 18
3 16 Charles Leclerc FERRARI 28 +31.763s 15
4 31 Esteban Ocon ALPINE RENAULT 28 +39.685s 12
5 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 28 +40.326s 10
6 5 Sebastian Vettel ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES 28 +46.358s 8
7 14 Fernando Alonso ALPINE RENAULT 28 +46.369s 6
8 63 George Russell MERCEDES 28 +47.661s 4
9 6 Nicholas Latifi WILLIAMS MERCEDES 28 +70.143s 2
10 4 Lando Norris MCLAREN MERCEDES 28 +70.782s 1

Complete race results available via Formula1.com.

The next race is in two weeks time and halfway round the globe — the always enjoyable United States Grand Prix from the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. We’ll hope for drier conditions and you can be sure the newly crowned two time King Max will still be gunning for victory in the Lone Star State. Hope to see you then to find out how it all shakes out!

2022 F1 Grand Prix of Japan — Qualifying results

Verstappen survives stewards after contretemps with Norris to keep pole at Suzuka; Leclerc P2 & Sainz P3 for Ferrari

Inching ever closer to his second consecutive Formula 1 World Championship, Red Bull’s Dutch master Max Verstappen set the fastest lap during Saturday qualifying for the return of the Japanese Grand Prix after a two year hiatus. Verstappen held off not only the hard charging Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz but also survived a stewards inquiry into his leisurely weaving through 130R during Q3, forcing McLaren’s Lando Norris to take evasive action at full chat to avoid the out of shape Red Bull. While Verstappen received a reprimand, he was not penalized and so will start from pole for tomorrow’s race, where he will have the best possible chance of clinching the title with both a win and the bonus point for fastest lap no matter where his rivals finish. Ferrari’s Leclerc, starting alongside Max on the front row in P2, and Sainz in P3, as well as his Red Bull teammate and last race’s winner in Singapore, Sergio Perez, lining up in P4, will all surely give their best efforts to deny the Dutchman that most coveted motorsport prize, if only for one more race.

Outside that elite top four, Alpine’s Esteban Ocon out-qualified his more heralded teammate, Fernando Alonso, P5 to P7 respectively, while Lewis Hamilton got the better of his Mercedes teammate George Russell, P6 to P8. Sebastian Vettel willed his Aston Martin into Q3 and P9 on the grid in the last F1 qualifying effort of his illustrious career at his favorite Suzuka Circuit. And Norris could do no better than P10, perhaps due to the limitations of his McLaren chassis and perhaps as a result of being thrown off rhythm from his earlier hairy encounter with Verstappen.

Top 10 qualifiers for the Japanese GP:

POS NO DRIVER CAR Q1 Q2 Q3 LAPS
1 1 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING RBPT 1:30.224 1:30.346 1:29.304 13
2 16 Charles Leclerc FERRARI 1:30.402 1:30.486 1:29.314 13
3 55 Carlos Sainz FERRARI 1:30.336 1:30.444 1:29.361 13
4 11 Sergio Perez RED BULL RACING RBPT 1:30.622 1:29.925 1:29.709 15
5 31 Esteban Ocon ALPINE RENAULT 1:30.696 1:30.357 1:30.165 18
6 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 1:30.906 1:30.443 1:30.261 20
7 14 Fernando Alonso ALPINE RENAULT 1:30.603 1:30.343 1:30.322 15
8 63 George Russell MERCEDES 1:30.865 1:30.465 1:30.389 19
9 5 Sebastian Vettel ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES 1:31.256 1:30.656 1:30.554 15
10 4 Lando Norris MCLAREN MERCEDES 1:30.881 1:30.473 1:31.003 18

Complete qualifying results available via Fomrula1.com.

Tomorrow’s race airs live on ESPN2 beginning at 1AM Estern here in the States. So set your DVR or brew that extra pot of coffee to find out of Verstappen can clinch the title in Japan or if Leclerc, Sainz or Perez can spoil his day!