Tag Archives: McLaren

2023 F1 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi — Qualifying results

Verstappen takes pole for final race in Abu Dhabi, earns 12th of season; Leclerc fights back for P2; Piastri best McLaren in P3 as Norris slides down to P5

Red Bull’s peerless Max Verstappen took the final pole of the season with aplomb during the last Saturday Qualifying of 2023 for tomorrow’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at Yas Marina Circuit. With nothing left to prove in his historically dominant World Championship campaign this year, Verstappen nevertheless outpaced the rest of the field to make it 12 total poles out of twenty-two race weekends. The flying Dutchman will go for his record-extending nineteenth victory of the season in Sunday evening’s Grand Prix under the futuristic light show of Yas Marina and it would be a brave man indeed who would bet against him.

The real battles in tomorrow’s race should be behind the now three-time champion, as Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc pulled a scorching lap out of the bag at the death of Q3 to set the second fastest time and earn the right to start alongside Verstappen on the front row. That makes it five front row starts in a row for the Monegasque, including three poles, as Leclerc looks not only to end his year on a high note with another podium but also help pull the Scuderia ahead of mighty Mercedes for P2 in the all-important Constructors’ standings. But both Ferrari and Mercedes had only one car progress into the final Quali session, as George Russell outpaced teammate Lewis Hamilton to the tune of P4 to P11, while the second Prancing Horse of Carlos Sainz had a disastrous effort that saw him bounced out in Q1 and starting tomorrow down in P16. Sainz had a heavy shunt in Free Practice 2 on Friday so perhaps his car is still ailing after the rebuild but certainly the Spaniard is also lacking for pace and confidence at this sneakily tricky track. Continue reading →

2023 F1 Grand Prix of Las Vegas — Results & aftermath

Verstappen aces out Leclerc for win in action packed Las Vegas GP; Leclerc salvages P2 with last lap pass on Perez

Red Bull’s peerless Max verstappen continued his historic season by taking the win in the return of the Las Vegas Grand Prix after an absence of 41 years. But it was hardly smooth sailing for the already-crowned World Champion on the brand new and quite high speed Las Vegas Street Circuit. While Verstappen made his typically superior getaway to pass the pole-sitting Ferrari of Charles Leclerc at the start of the race steaming into Turn 1, he was adjudged a tad too forceful in pushing Leclerc’s Prancing Horse off the track and was eventually handed a 5-second time penalty. Meanwhile behind the skirmish at the front, a number off cars made minor contact as they got away and compressed under braking and the debris left behind prompted a quick Virtual Safety Car for cleanup. Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez and Fernando Alonso both ducked into the pits under that VSC for new front wings as a result of all that contact, which started when Alonso spun out on the slick surface. The race resumed on Lap 3 but was quickly halted again when something failed on the McLaren of Lando Norris and he went flying into the barriers in the runoff area at Turn 11. It was a heavy hit that required a full Safety Car for repairs and retrieval. Norris was eventually taken to hospital for observation but thanks fully released not long after.

The race resumed again at the end of Lap 6, with Verstappen managing the restart with aplomb but being told about the stewards’ judgement against him. With his initial set of Medium Pirellis already going off, however, Leclerc was actually able to re-pass Verstappen for the lead on Lap 16 without needing those 5-seconds, prompting the Red Bull braintrust to call their main man into the pits on the subsequent lap for a switch to fresh Hards and the serving of his sanction. Following him in were the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton and the sole surviving McLaren of Oscar Piastri, who had just made contact with each other. Hamilton got the worst of the exchange and had to limp in with a puncture but Piastri also needed repairs (although the young Aussie chose to stay on Hard tires meaning he still owed a mandatory pit stop later in the race) and both drivers lost valuable track position due to the incident. Continue reading →

2023 F1 Grand Prix of Las Vegas — Qualifying results

Ferrari fastest in Vegas with Leclerc taking pole, Sainz P2; Verstappen off his usual pace in P3, as shiny new street circuit & cool nighttime temps scramble field

Ferrari were unquestionably the fastest team at the brand new Las Vegas Street Circuit during midnight Saturday qualifying for Saturday night’s Las Vegas Grand Prix. Despite not really being a similar circuit, the Scuderia harkened back to their superior pace at Singapore earlier in the season, outpacing the usually dominant Red Bull of Max Verstappen. With the only real question being which of the two Prancing Horses would take pole, it was Charles Leclerc who bested teammate Carlos Sainz by a minuscule 0.044 seconds, but over three-tenths ahead of Verstappen’s best effort in Q3. Unfortunately for Sainz and Ferrari, though, the Spaniard will be assessed a ten-place grid penalty for the race after he sucked up a drain cover earlier in Free Practice 1, resulting in heavy damage to his car and the need to take a new battery outside his allotment for the year. It seems unfair that Sainz should be penalized for something completely out of his control and due to the teething issues any new street circuit is prone to encounter, but them’s the rules, as they say, and no dispensation was given by the FIA despite Ferrari’s appeals. So that demotes Sainz down to P12 despite his superb quali effort and moves Verstappen to P2 alongside Leclerc on the front row. Continue reading →

2023 F1 Grand Prix of Sao Paulo — Results & aftermath

Verstappen sambas to record extending & record breaking victory in Sao Paulo; Norris takes another second place in breakout season; Alonso out-duels Perez in scintillating battle for P3

Hot on the heels of his Saturday Sprint win, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen continued his campaign of total dominance on Sunday, surviving early race chaos behind him to take yet another assured win at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix in Brazil. Despite a solid effort by eventual runner-up Lando Norris of McLaren, Vertsappen was never put under any real pressure during the 71-lap contest and simply managed the race and his tries from the point all day long. Verstappen bested Norris by a comfortable 8.277-seconds in notching his record-extending seventeenth win of the season, also breaking the 71-year old record for greatest percentage of wins in a season, previously held by the legendary Ferrari pilot Alberto Ascari. With his third consecutive F1 title in the bag several races ago, Verstappen simply keeps putting the pedal to the metal and, with only two more rounds remaining in the season, it’s hard to see the flying Dutchman lifting off the throttle and giving someone else a chance at the top step. Continue reading →

2023 F1 Grand Prix of Sao Paulo — Qualifying results

Verstappen takes pole for Sao Paulo GP in rain-shortened qualifying; Leclerc P2 for Ferrari, Stroll a surprise P2 for Aston, as McLaren get caught out

With qualifying for Sunday’s Sao Paulo Grand Prix taking place on Friday to accommodate the last Sprint Saturday of the season, some of the most ominous clouds imaginable rolled into Autódromo José Carlos Pace between Q2 & Q3. Sure enough, midway through that final quali session, it started chucking down rain onto the Interlagos circuit, bringing a premature end to the day’s efforts and scrambling the top ten for Sunday’s race. Of course, Max Verstappen and the Red Bull brain trust played things perfectly, getting their star pilot out as soon as the pit lane opens up for Q3. The Dutchman promptly set the fastest banker lap of what would be then only hot laps completed. Despite actually being a touch slower than his best effort in Q2, it was still good enough for pole when the session was Red Flagged and then quickly terminated. Charles Leclerc of Ferrari also did well to get out there and set a time good enough for P2 and a start on the grid right beside Verstappen. Aston Martin had a big rebound from their recent lackluster form and surprisingly it was the beleaguered Lance Stroll outpacing his more heralded teammate Fernando Alonso, P3 to P4 respectively. The Mercedes duo slotted in behind the Astons, with Lewis Hamilton wringing the neck of his unruly Silver Arrow to take the fifth fastest time of the session and George Russell* backstopping him in P7 [*Russell was later penalized two grid spots for “driving unnecessarily slowly and failing to follow Race Director’s instructions”.]

Losing out when the rains brought things to a premature end were team McLaren, which failed to put things together early in the going and were punished for it after showing what looked to be pole-challenging pace in Q1 and Q2. Lando Norris could manage no better than the seventh fastest time on the board, while Oscar Piastri had a spin on his only flying lap when the track just started to get wet and did not record a time. The impressive Australian rookie will be relegated to starting from tenth come race day, though look for both McLarens to aggressively fight their way towards the front with what should still be superior race pace to Mercedes and Aston Martin, and perhaps Ferrari, as well. Speaking of which, the second Ferrari of Carlos Sainz was a bit behind the eight ball all day long and could muster no better than a P8 time when all was said and done. Red Bull’s struggling Sergio Perez was similarly off his teammate’s pace and qualified back in P9. Perez will have his work cut out for him in the Grand Prix and must avoid being over-aggressive, as he was when he crashed out on Lap 1 in Mexico City last week. After fading so badly this year, Perez is frankly fighting to retain his Red Bull ride for 2024 and badly needs some sort of positive result from Sunday’s race.

Top 10 qualifiers for the Sao Paulo GP:

POS NO DRIVER CAR Q1 Q2 Q3 LAPS
1 1 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT 1:10.436 1:10.162 1:10.727 18
2 16 Charles Leclerc FERRARI 1:10.472 1:10.303 1:11.021 18
3 18 Lance Stroll ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES 1:10.551 1:10.375 1:11.344 16
4 14 Fernando Alonso ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES 1:10.557 1:10.237 1:11.387 18
5 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 1:10.604 1:10.266 1:11.469 21
6 63 George Russell* MERCEDES 1:10.340 1:10.316 1:11.590 21
7 4 Lando Norris MCLAREN MERCEDES 1:10.623 1:10.021 1:11.987 13
8 55 Carlos Sainz FERRARI 1:10.624 1:10.254 1:11.989 20
9 11 Sergio Perez RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT 1:10.668 1:10.219 1:12.321 17
10 81 Oscar Piastri MCLAREN MERCEDES 1:10.519 1:10.330 DNF 15

Complete qualifying results available via Formula1.com.

Tomorrow’s race airs live on ESPN2 beginning at Noon Eastern here in the States. Will more stormy weather play havoc with the Grand Prix or will it be simply smooth sailing for Verstappen as the flying Dutchman looks to extend his record win tally? Hope to see you then to find out how it all shakes out!

2023 F1 Grand Prix of the United States — Qualifying results

Leclerc bests Norris for USGP pole at COTA, Hamilton earns P3 for Sunday’s race; Verstappen drops from P1 to P6 after final lap deleted due to track limits violation

Formula 1 returned to the United States for the second of three planned visits in 2023, this time to the fantastic Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas for the United States Grand Prix. Round 19 was once again another frantic Sprint weekend for the second race in a row so, qualifying for Sunday’s race took place on Friday, while the Sprint Shootout qualifying and the Sprint will occur on Saturday. On the fast and flowing COTA in front of a packed house on a hot Texas day, it was Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc who came away with pole for the actual race, once again excelling on a Sprint weekend. Leclerc was genuinely fast here but he also benefitted from a rare mistake by Max Verstappen late in Q3. The Red Bull ace, who has already been crowned World Champion with five races still to be run, was pushing hard on his final flying lap but overstepped track limits at Turn 19. So, while he crossed the line with the session’s fastest time unofficially, it was quickly deleted by the stewards for the infraction, plunging him back down the order based on his earlier official time. Unable to try again, Verstappen was eventually relegated to a P6 start for Sunday’s Grand Prix, an unenviable position even for the three-time champ on a circuit where no driver has won from below the front row.

That last, somewhat curious statistic must certainly cheer Leclerc, who is still seeking his first win of 2023, and it certainly also heartened McLaren’s Lando Norris, who ran a nice clean quali and slotted in across from Leclerc in P2, 0.13-seconds off the Monegasque’s pole-setting pace. Lewis Hamilton was also in the mix on a track where he always seems to thrive, wrestling his Mercedes to the third fastest Q3 lap, while teammate George Russell earned P5 on the grid by besting Verstappen’s previously set time. Leclerc’s Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz split the Silver Arrows in P5 and the Alpines of Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon came home P7 and P8 respectively. Sergio Perez continued his recent slump in the second Red Bull and bewilderingly could only manage the ninth fastest time. Likewise, Oliver Piastri was not close to McLaren teammate Norris’s pace a fortnight after beating him out for P2 in the Qatar GP. Starting in P10, the talented young Aussie will have his work cut out for him to get back on the podium come race day in Austin.

Most significantly outside the top 10 qualifiers, Aston Martin’s second-half slide continued, as new “upgrades” for this weekend proved to be duds due to problems getting the cars on track in the only pre-qualifying practice session earlier in the day. Fernando Alonso failed to get to Q3 for the first time this year and was unceremoniously knocked out in Q1, along with troubled teammate Lance Stroll. Alonso will start the race a lowly P17 and Stroll, who is facing heaps of criticism for shoving his physio during qualifying in Qatar, will start P19. That leaves Aston Martin praying for at least some points from the Saturday Sprint, as they feel soaring McLaren’s hot breath on their necks for P4 in the Constructors’ Championship.

Top 10 qualifiers for United States GP:

POS NO DRIVER CAR Q1 Q2 Q3 LAPS
1 16 Charles Leclerc FERRARI 1:36.061 1:35.004 1:34.723 21
2 4 Lando Norris MCLAREN MERCEDES 1:35.110 1:35.441 1:34.853 20
3 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 1:35.091 1:35.240 1:34.862 18
4 55 Carlos Sainz FERRARI 1:35.824 1:35.302 1:34.945 18
5 63 George Russell MERCEDES 1:36.165 1:35.606 1:35.079 18
6 1 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT 1:35.346 1:35.008 1:35.081 18
7 10 Pierre Gasly ALPINE RENAULT 1:36.158 1:35.496 1:35.089 19
8 31 Esteban Ocon ALPINE RENAULT 1:36.131 1:35.413 1:35.154 21
9 11 Sergio Perez RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT 1:35.989 1:35.679 1:35.173 17
10 81 Oscar Piastri MCLAREN MERCEDES 1:36.064 1:35.576 1:35.467 20

Complete qualifying results available via Formula1.com.

Sunday’s race airs live on ABC beginning at 3PM Eastern here in the States. With so many cars and drivers loving COTA’s unique challenges and showing genuine pace, and with Verstappen handicapped by a P6 grid position, it truly could be anyone’s race. Hope to see you then to find out how it all shakes out!

2023 F1 Grand Prix of Qatar — Results & aftermath

Verstappen puts exclamation point on third championship with win in Qatar GP; Piastri, Norris P2 & P3 for high flying McLaren; Russell survives opening lap incident with teammate Hamilton, recovers to impressive P4 finish

After clinching his third consecutive Drivers’ World Championship by virtue of his second place finish in Saturday’s Sprint race, Red Bull’s peerless Max Verstappen went out and put a further stamp on his dominant 2023 by winning the Qatar Grand Prix on Sunday. Despite no longer needing the win, the flying Dutchman nevertheless put his head down during hot and humid evening conditions at Lusail International Circuit and held off the best efforts of the massively improved McLarens of Oliver Piastri and Lando Norris. In the end, it was Verstappen’s eye-popping fourteenth win of the season out of seventeen races run. That’s one behind his own record total from last year so, you can be sure he’ll be looking to exceed even that high bar with five more GP still to go. While Verstappen “only” won by 4.8 seconds over the impressive young Piastri, some of that close margin was undoubtedly due to Pirelli and the FIA mandating maximum 18-lap tire stints out of safety concerns for the durability of the rubber while being punished by the harsh curbs of Lusail, making for three to four stops durning the 57-lap contest, many more than a normal F1 race.

 

The dynamic McLaren duo of Piastri and Norris excelled during the race after starting from P6 and P10 respectively. They were aided in their podium pursuit by an opening lap incident between Mercedes teammates George Russell and Lewis Hamilton when the two collided while steaming into Turn 1. Hamilton, who would later accept the blame for  the collision, tried to force his way past Russell on the outside but there wasn’t enough room and Lewis bounced off his junior teammate, ending up beached in the gravel trap and without a rear right tire. While Hamilton was out on the spot, an exceedingly rare DNF for the seven-time champ, Russell was able to limp back to the pits for a new front wing under Safety Car conditions. That put the exasperated Englishman right at the back of the field. But Piastri was able to capitalize on the mayhem to make a passel of passes before the Lap 1 SC emerged and climbed all the way to P2. Norris was also ambitious and pushed himself to P6. With the McLaren pace advantage  now essentially second best in the field behind Red Bull due to their spectacular in season development, Piastri was able to keep a firm hold on P2 and Norris eventually hustled his way up to P3, where the talented young pair finished the race. It was the second consecutive double podium for the papaya-clad cars and also marked Piastri’s best ever F1 finish. It also elevated McLaren to a mere eleven points behind fading Aston Martin for fourth in the Constructors’ points.

With the help of some tough love from team boss Toto Wolff, Russell managed to get the better of his emotions after the unfortunate clash with Hamilton and then ran a really superb recovery race, maximizing the performance of his Hard tire stint in particular before switching to Softs to finish out the contest and securing a rather miraculous P4. Charles Leclerc was the lone Ferrari to start the race after a fuel leak was discovered on Carlos Sainz’s car  without enough time to repair it before the Formation Lap. While the Monegasque didn’t have the speed of the top four,  he kept it clean while others around him racked up track limits penalties in bunches and took P5 when all was said and done. Aston’s Fernando Alonso had an eventful race to say the least, surviving a hairy offtrack excursion on Lap 33 and then escaping with a post-race reprimand for unsafely rejoining the circuit rather than a time penalty. The Spanish two time champion was able to hang onto his unruly mount after that and survive for a decent P6 finish. Alpine’s Esteban Ocon drove well and aggressively to come home P7, while the two Alfa Romeos of Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu both finished in the points for the first time this season, in P8 and P9 respectively. Zhou was helped to that result by multiple track limits penalties leading to demotions of his closest rivals, including the second Red Bull of Sergio Perez, who survived a whopping three 5-second penalties for repeatedly going over the white lines to take the last point in P10. It was a sloppy effort by the Mexican, whose season started out looking like a genuine threat to Max’s ambitions but has comprehensively devolved into a distant and not very persuasive second in the Drivers’ points.

Top 10 finishers of the Qatar GP:

POS NO DRIVER CAR LAPS TIME/RETIRED PTS
1 1 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT 57 1:27:39.168 26
2 81 Oscar Piastri MCLAREN MERCEDES 57 +4.833s 18
3 4 Lando Norris MCLAREN MERCEDES 57 +5.969s 15
4 63 George Russell MERCEDES 57 +34.119s 12
5 16 Charles Leclerc FERRARI 57 +38.976s 10
6 14 Fernando Alonso ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES 57 +49.032s 8
7 31 Esteban Ocon ALPINE RENAULT 57 +62.390s 6
8 77 Valtteri Bottas ALFA ROMEO FERRARI 57 +66.563s 4
9 24 Zhou Guanyu ALFA ROMEO FERRARI 57 +76.127s 2
10 11 Sergio Perez RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT 57 +80.181s 1

Complete race results available via Formula1.com.

The next race is in a fortnight’s time as Formula 1 returns to the United States for a second time this year — the US Grand Prix from beautiful Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. Can McLaren take the next step and knock Verstappen out of the top spot in a fair fight? Hope to see you then to find out how it all shakes out!

2023 F1 Grand Prix of Qatar — Qualifying results

Verstappen takes race pole under tricky conditions at windy, sandy Lusail Circuit; Russell P2, Hamilton P3 — Piastri wins Saturday Sprint while Verstappen earns third consecutive championship with second place points

F1’s gimmicky Sprint Race format achieved its unintended apex when Red Bull’s peerless Max Verstappen was able to clinch his third consecutive Drivers’ Championship by finishing second in the Saturday Sprint race. Those seven points earned for P2 put him mathematically out of reach of his closest pursuer, teammate Sergio Perez, who collided with Esteban Ocon and Nico Hulkenberg to DNF in the Sprint, with only five more race weekends remaining. While it was an event-filled few days of qualifying, Sprint qualifying and then the actual Sprint due to a very green, newly repaved Lusail International Circuit plus very gusty and sandy conditions making for treacherously low grip, the early coronation in the short race does rob tomorrow’s Grand Prix of any real significance. Verstappen, who only qualified third for the Sprint and watches as the pole-sitting Oliver Piastri flight back against Mercedes’ George Russell to earn his first Formula 1 win, did earn pole for Sunday’s GP ahead of the Mercedes duo of Russell and Lewis Hamilton. Track limits were also once again a talking point, as drivers struggled for grip and then also suffered when the track was slightly reconfigured out of Pirelli’s concern for their tries abnormal rate of wear over the multiple high speed curbs at this very fast and twisty track.

Top 10 qualifiers for the Qatar GP:

POS NO DRIVER CAR Q1 Q2 Q3 LAPS
1 1 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT 1:25.007 1:24.483 1:23.778 19
2 63 George Russell MERCEDES 1:25.334 1:24.827 1:24.219 21
3 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 1:26.076 1:24.381 1:24.305 20
4 14 Fernando Alonso ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES 1:25.223 1:25.241 1:24.369 21
5 16 Charles Leclerc FERRARI 1:25.452 1:25.079 1:24.424 26
6 81 Oscar Piastri MCLAREN MERCEDES 1:25.266 1:24.724 1:24.540 23
7 10 Pierre Gasly ALPINE RENAULT 1:25.566 1:24.918 1:24.553 23
8 31 Esteban Ocon ALPINE RENAULT 1:25.711 1:24.928 1:24.763 24
9 77 Valtteri Bottas ALFA ROMEO FERRARI 1:26.038 1:25.297 1:25.058 21
10 4 Lando Norris MCLAREN MERCEDES 1:25.131 1:24.685 DNF 21

Complete qualifying results available via Formula1.com.

Top 10 Sprint Race results:

POS NO DRIVER CAR LAPS TIME/RETIRED PTS
1 81 Oscar Piastri MCLAREN MERCEDES 19 35:01.297 8
2 1 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT 19 +1.871s 7
3 4 Lando Norris MCLAREN MERCEDES 19 +8.497s 6
4 63 George Russell MERCEDES 19 +11.036s 5
5 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 19 +17.314s 4
6 55 Carlos Sainz FERRARI 19 +18.806s 3
7 16 Charles Leclerc FERRARI 19 +19.860s 2
8 23 Alexander Albon WILLIAMS MERCEDES 19 +19.864s 1
9 14 Fernando Alonso ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES 19 +21.180s 0
10 10 Pierre Gasly ALPINE RENAULT 19 +21.742s 0

Complete Sprint results available via Formula1.com.

Tomorrow’s race airs live on ESPN beginning at 1PM Eastern here in the States. While the major prizes for 2023 have all been handed out due to Verstappen and Red Bull’s sheer dominance, the tricky Losail track should still provide a lot of unpredictability and excitement. Hope to see you then find out how it all shakes out!

2023 F1 Grand Prix of Japan — Qualifying results

Verstappen and Red Bull back on form at Suzuka with dominant pole; Piastri impresses with P2, McLaren teammate Norris P3

After their uncharacteristically modest performance at a rare bogey track in Singapore a week ago, Red Bull and their peerless ace Max Verstappen retuned to their dominating form during Saturday Qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix. The uniquely twisty and flowing figure-eight Suzuka circuit allowed the RB15 to stretch its legs again after the cramped confines of Singapore’s Marina Bay Street Circuit and Verstappen blistered the field with the fastest Q3 lap, well over half second ahead of the P2 McLaren of Oscar Piastri. It was the biggest quali margin at Suzuka since way back in 2004 when the great Michael Schumacher set the pace that day. The result bodes well for Verstappen to get back to his winning ways after that anomalous hiccup a week ago, as well as for the team to clinch the Constructors’ title quite early if everything goes just right on Sunday. Conversely, it was an ominous portent for the rest of the competitive teams, Ferrari in particular, if they were hoping that Red Bull’s Singapore slump would somehow continue when they unloaded in Japan.

The rookie Piastri has been have a very fine second half of the season, as the team’s upgrades have really kicked in and the young Aussie seems to improve a little bit more every week. He bettered his more experienced teammate Lando Norris by a mere four-one hundredths and the papaya-clad duo really did seem to be the only ones within even sniffing distance of Verstappen in one-lap performance. That included the second Red Bull of teammate Sergio Perez, who found himself in P5 nearly eight-tenths down on Max. Perez also ended up in a Ferrari sandwich, with Charles Leclerc a bit quicker than him and taking P4 on the grid for tomorrow and last week’s race winner, Carlos Sainz, just behind of Perez in P6 but across from him come race day Those three are likely to be going at it hammer and tongs in tomorrow’s Grand Prix, which could hamper any of them from getting up to the McLarens and trying to climb onto the podium. Look for differing tire strategies to be a key part in just how the race unfolds among the top contenders.

Further down the order, Lewis Hamilton out-qualified Mercedes teammate George Russell for the first time since Belgium, P7 to P8. Rounding out the top ten qualifiers for tomorrow’s race, Yuki Tsunoda did himself proud in front of his countrymen and women by getting his AlphaTauri into Q3 and a final time good enough for ninth on the grid, while Fernando Alonso barely survived Q2 and couldn’t improve in Q3 either, settling for P10 in what seems to be a rapidly fading Aston Martin.

POS NO DRIVER CAR Q1 Q2 Q3 LAPS
1 1 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT 1:29.878 1:29.964 1:28.877 12
2 81 Oscar Piastri MCLAREN MERCEDES 1:30.439 1:30.122 1:29.458 14
3 4 Lando Norris MCLAREN MERCEDES 1:30.063 1:30.296 1:29.493 12
4 16 Charles Leclerc FERRARI 1:30.393 1:29.940 1:29.542 14
5 11 Sergio Perez RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT 1:30.652 1:29.965 1:29.650 18
6 55 Carlos Sainz FERRARI 1:30.651 1:30.067 1:29.850 14
7 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 1:30.811 1:30.040 1:29.908 18
8 63 George Russell MERCEDES 1:30.811 1:30.268 1:30.219 15
9 22 Yuki Tsunoda ALPHATAURI HONDA RBPT 1:30.733 1:30.204 1:30.303 18
10 14 Fernando Alonso ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES 1:30.971 1:30.465 1:30.560 15

Complete qualifying results available via Formula1.com.

Tomorrow’s race airs live on ESPN2 beginning at the ungodly hour of 1AM Eastern here in the States  So set that VCR or brew an especially strong pot of coffee to find out if Verstappen can get back to his usual winning ways and help team Red Bull clinch the Constructors’ title after only 16 races run!

2023 F1 Grand Prix of Singapore — Results & aftermath

RED BULL TAMED: Sainz & Ferrari snap Red Bull, Verstappen streaks with tense win in Singapore; Norris holds off Hamilton for P2 as Russell crashes out of podium position on final lap

In a tense and eventful Singapore Grand Prix, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and Ferrari were able to do what no other driver had done in ten races and no other team had done in fifteen races: beat Max Verstappen and Red Bull respectively. With former teammate Lando Norris acting as wingman in his McLaren by holding off the hard charging Mercedes duo of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton in the final, fraught laps, Sainz mastered the circuit and his long run tire management to take his first victory for the Scuderia and Ferrari’s first since 2019 at this very same Marina Bay Circuit by a little under a second. Meanwhile, Red Bull’s struggles in Singapore proved to be too difficult to overcome in the short span of a race weekend and Max and the team both saw their record setting win streaks come to an abrupt end. With Verstappen starting from P11 and teammate Sergio Perez from thirteenth, the pair did the best they could with an inverse strategy of starting on Hard Pirellis while the rest of the top runners were on Mediums. But their best laid plans were stymied somewhat when the inevitable Singapore Safety Car was deployed on Lap 20. Due to where they were on the circuit when the SC came out, the team opted to keep running, which garnered them some track position but the front runners were all able to pit under yellow for cheaper first pit stops. Red Bull then pitted under green with Perez on Lap 40 & Verstappen the subsequent lap and ran their final 20-odd lap stint on the very effective Medium tires. Salvaging what they could on this rare bogey track for them and after that ill-timed early Safety Car, Verstappen was able to forcefully pass his way up to P5 and Perez, who had a bit of sloppy race that included a 5-second penalty for causing a collision with Oliver Piastri, was still good enough for P8. Japan and Suzuka next week should see the return of Red Bull dominance as the RB15, especially in Max’s hands, gets to stretch its legs properly again on a much faster course. But on Sunday, it was Sainz and Ferrari raising the trophies and bathing in champagne after what must have seemed an eternity for the team in the garage, pit wall, the braintrust back in Maranello and the legions of Prancing Horse devotees.

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It was a tale of two races, as the first part unfolded methodically with all drivers locked into their chosen tire strategies and therefore not pushing too hard on the first stint. The Safety Car on Lap 20 began spicing things up by forcing Red Bull to make the decision to stay out on their Hards while all the other contenders came in for cheap stops and switches to fresh Hards for their ostensible final stint. The utility of fresh rubber was quickly bourn out as the Red Bulls were  gobbled up by their pursuers within a handful of laps. First, Russell nabbed Verstappen for a true P2 on Lap 23. Then, Hamilton regained P5 against Perez two laps later. Hamilton passed Verstappen for P4 on Lap 27 and Leclerc followed that up with his own successful move on the Dutchman a lap after to get his Ferarri back to P5. But Leclerc never really recovered from a slow first stop when the Scuderia double-stacked their men but Leclerc was both further away from Sainz on entry and the mechanics were slow with his tire change. So, the leaders were really the quartet of Sainz, followed by Russell, then Norris and then Hamilton. The two Red Bulls finally made the decision to get off their Hards in favor of the Mediums for the rest of the race, first with Perez on lap 40, then Verstappen on lap 41. Once again, their timing was not optimal because the Alpine of Esteban Ocon, who had been having a superb race, came to an abrupt stop at Turn 2 near pit out, bringing out a Virtual Safety Car. Continue reading →