Tag Archives: Franco Colapinto

2024 F1 Grand Prix of the United States — Results & aftermath

Ferrari ambush rivals in Austin as Leclerc surges to victory, Sainz P2; Verstappen holds off Norris for last podium spot to extend Championship lead

After being flummoxed and frustrated by their lack of pace in Saturday’s Sprint race and Grand Prix Qualifying, Ferrari unlocked what they thought they had all along in Sunday’s United States Grand Prix at the beautiful, flowing Circuit of the Americas. Charles Leclerc came from P4 on the grid to overtake both the pole-sitting McLaren of Lando Norris and the P2 Red Bull of Max Verstappen, as well as his P3 teammate Carlos Sainz, on the exit of the steeply uphill Turn 1. Norris and Verstappen, with the tunnel vision of the two main Drivers’ Championship contenders, took their personal battle out wide there, with Norris taking evasive action into the runoff, allowing Leclerc to scamper through the open space unimpeded and instantly take the lead of this 56-lap contest on the opening lap. Verstappen recovered enough to keep Sainz at bay and maintain P2 but Norris lost enough momentum to relegate him to P4 behind the Spaniard’s Prancing Horse. The frantic action continued until not long after DRS was enabled  when Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton, starting on the Hard Pirelli tires after a poor qualifying result saw him mired down in P17 on the grid, lost it heading into Turn 18 and beached his Silver Arrow in the gravel trap there. In an abrupt instant, the seven-time champ’s day came to a premature end and a Safety Car was deployed to retrieve the stricken Mercedes.

When racing resumed towards the end of Lap 5, Leclerc was just able to keep Verstappen’s charging Red Bull behind him and then attempt to build a gap from the point utilizing his SF24’s superior performance at this track. The car worked like a charm for the Monegasque and by Lap 20 he had pulled a whopping 8-second lead over the Dutch Master. The Ferrari pit wall then pulled their own successful strategy maneuver by calling in Sainz on Lap 22 for his first pit stop for fresh Pirellis, a swap off the opening-stint Mediums onto the durable Hards. The Scuderia braintrust were hoping the undercut here in Austin would be as powerful as their simulations, with Red Bull waiting until Lap 26 to pull Verstappen in. Indeed, it worked a treat for Sainz when Verstappen’s now Hard-shod car came out behind the Spaniard, Sainz having been able to put in some impressive laps on fresh rubber to build his advantage in the intervening laps. With enough of a cushion and perhaps anticipating that Verstappen might not be their main challenger this day, Leclerc came in a lap later for his own fresh Hards, emerging from the pits in P3, still ahead of his teammate and behind the yet-to-pit McLaren duo of Norris and Oscar Piastri .

McLaren continued to stay out over the next several laps, hoping that track position and running longer than their key rivals would give them the decisive fresh tire advantage in the race’s closing stanza. But when Leclerc made easy work of Piastri for P2 on Lap 31 Team Papaya new that it was time to pull the pin. Continue reading →

2024 F1 Grand Prix of Azerbaijan — Qualifying results

Leclerc claims pole in chaotic Baku qualifying; Piastri edges Sainz for P2 but Norris knocked out in Q1 shocker; Perez out-qualifies Verstappen for once, P4 to P6

On a fascinating and chaotic day of Saturday qualifying for the Azerbaijan Gran Prix at the always challenging Baku City Circuit it was Ferrari’s Chalres Leclerc who carried the momentum from his dream win at Monza two weeks ago and converted it into pole position for Sunday’s Grand Prix. The Monegasque’s excellent run of qualifying form at Baku also continued, as he earned his fourth consecutive pole here. Leclerc, however, has never concerted those into wins in Azerbaijan, something he will be more than eager to do come race day tomorrow. McLaren’s Oscar Piastri slotted in alongside the lead Ferrari with a time good enough for P2, while Leclerc’s Scuderia stablemate Carlos Sainz laid down the third fastest lap in Q3. Unfortunately for McLaren and their highest placed driver, Lando Norris was unceremoniously bounced out of Q1 after some confusion over lifting for a yellow flag that appeared in actuality to be the “slow down” white flag. Starting from a lowly P16, Norris and his brain trust will have it all to do tomorrow to try and keep his points pursuit of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen on track. The young English contender will likely need help from a Safety Car and /or Red Flag, plus some canny strategy calls from the pit wall to get a decent result.

Speaking of Red Bull and Verstappen, it was another bewildering day for the Dutch master, as teammate Sergio Perez firmly bested him in quali, P4 to P6. It was the first time this season that the Mexican veteran, who is fighting to stay in his Red Bull seat after a massive midseason slump, has out-qualified his championship-leading teammate. Mercedes’ George Russell split the Red Bull’s with the fifth fatstest time, clinching the season’s qualifying battle with his highly decorated teammate Lewis Hamilton, 13 to 4. Hamilton could only muster P7 on the day, though the seven-time World Champion has a habit of coming good in the races. Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso over-performed his rather tepid mount to the tune of a P8 starting spot, while raw rookie Franco Colapinto go the better of his senior Williams teammate Alex Albon in only his second F1 effort, P9 to P10. Colapinto, who was drafted into the team to replace the struggling American Logan Seargeant at Monza, has looked impressive throughout the weekend at this rather daunting circuit. He was also helped by Albon not being able to get a final lap due to inexplicably leaving the pits with the airbox fan still attached. It remains to be seen if Albon will face any penalties for tomorrow’s race due to that obvious unsafe release.

Top 10 qualifiers for the Azerbaijan GP:

POS

NO

DRIVER

CAR

Q1

Q2

Q3

LAPS

1

16

Charles Leclerc

Ferrari

1:42.775

1:42.056

1:41.365

20

2

81

Oscar Piastri

McLaren Mercedes

1:43.033

1:42.598

1:41.686

19

3

55

Carlos Sainz

Ferrari

1:43.357

1:42.503

1:41.805

23

4

11

Sergio Perez

Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT

1:43.213

1:42.263

1:41.813

15

5

63

George Russell

Mercedes

1:43.139

1:42.329

1:41.874

20

6

1

Max Verstappen

Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT

1:43.097

1:42.042

1:42.023

20

7

44

Lewis Hamilton

Mercedes

1:43.089

1:42.765

1:42.289

22

8

14

Fernando Alonso

Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes

1:43.472

1:42.426

1:42.369

19

9

43

Franco Colapinto

Williams Mercedes

1:43.138

1:42.473

1:42.530

20

10

23

Alexander Albon

Williams Mercedes

1:42.899

1:42.840

1:42.859

19

Complete qualifying results available via Formula1.com.

Tomorrow’s race aires live on ESPN beginning at 7 am Eastern here in the States. With the grid jumbled and a lot of drivers out of position, it should be an action packed start that Leclerc and Piastri will look to stay ahead of in pursuit of victory. Hope to see you then to find out how it all shakes out!