Tag Archives: McLaren

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 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 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!

2022 F1 Grand Prix of Spain — Qualifying results

Leclerc recovers from spin to set blustering final lap, earn pole in Barcelona; P2 Verstappen thwarted by engine woes, Sainz P3 on good day for Ferrari

Amidst scorching hot conditions at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya during Saturday qualifying for tomorrow’s Spanish Grand Prix, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc kept his cool. The F1 points leader recovered from a spin earlier in Q3 and, after a pit stop for fresh tires, went back out and laid down an untouchable lap that earned him pole as the checkers flew to end the final quali session. The Monegasque brought some heat of his own to this very familiar Spanish circuit, blistering the track to the tune of 1:18.750, a good quarter-second ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. While Leclerc, who at times this season has seemed be his own worst enemy in terms of unforced errors, showed good mental fortitude to recover from his clumsy spin and hook up that splendid pole lap, Verstappen was hamstrung in his efforts to respond when his DRS failed to open during his final hot lap, robbing the Dutchman of vital speed. Once again, the Red Bull showed a disconcerting fragility but on this day, at least, Ferrari’s lead driver did not.

Behind Verstappen, Leclerc’s stablemate, Carlos Sainz, earned cheers from his countrymen in the grandstands by setting the third fastest time in Q3. That made it a very promising day for Ferrari because Sergio Perez, the Red Bull number two, could hustle himself up to no better than P5 when time expired. That enabled George Russell to sneak his Mercedes into P4 with a sterling effort in what has not been an elite car to this point. So, Russell will line up alongside Sainz on the second row come Sunday, while his Silver Arrows teammate, Lewis Hamilton, qualified a respectable P6 and will be across from Perez on the third row. This circuit does seem to suit the porpoising-plagued Mercs but it is yet to be seen if they can covert that into a much needed positive double points result tomorrow or if they can really match the race pace of this year’s big dogs, Red Bull & Ferrari,  when the lights go out.

Rounding out the top ten qualifiers, Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas continued to deliver the goods for his new team by setting the seventh fastest time. And team Haas had an excellent run, with Kevin Magnussen doing yeoman’s work for P8 and P10 Mick Schumacher getting into Q3 for the first time in his young career thanks to the McLaren of Lando Norris having his best lap in Q2 disqualified for exceeding track limits. Norris’s teammate Daniel Ricciardo flew the McLaren flag with a time good enough for P9 and look for the out-of-position P11 Norris to join him in rapid order tomorrow as he fights his way to the front.

Top 10 qualifiers for the Spanish Grand Prix:

POS NO DRIVER CAR Q1 Q2 Q3 LAPS
1 16 Charles Leclerc FERRARI 1:19.861 1:19.969 1:18.750 12
2 1 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING RBPT 1:20.091 1:19.219 1:19.073 16
3 55 Carlos Sainz FERRARI 1:19.892 1:19.453 1:19.166 16
4 63 George Russell MERCEDES 1:20.218 1:19.470 1:19.393 14
5 11 Sergio Perez RED BULL RACING RBPT 1:20.447 1:19.830 1:19.420 17
6 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 1:20.252 1:19.794 1:19.512 15
7 77 Valtteri Bottas ALFA ROMEO FERRARI 1:20.355 1:20.053 1:19.608 18
8 20 Kevin Magnussen HAAS FERRARI 1:20.227 1:19.810 1:19.682 18
9 3 Daniel Ricciardo MCLAREN MERCEDES 1:20.549 1:20.287 1:20.297 15
10 47 Mick Schumacher HAAS FERRARI 1:20.683 1:20.436 1:20.368 18

Complete qualifying results available via Formula1.com.

Tomorrow’s race airs live on ESPN2 beginning at 9AM here in the States. Hope to see you then to find out how it all shakes out!

2022 F1 Grand Prix of Miami — Qualifying results

Leclerc takes pole, Sainz P2 for Ferrari front row lockout at inaugural Miami GP; Verstappen fumbles late effort, settles for P3

The first-ever qualifying for the first-ever Miami Grand Prix and Round 5 of the F1 Championship  didn’t disappoint. Under the hot Florida sun on the Miami International Autodrome, temporarily laid out around the Miami Dolphins’ Hard Rock Stadium, drivers faced a steep learning curve on this brand new, tight and twisty 5.412 kilometer street circuit where one false move might put them into the foreboding and at times claustrophobic walls. Team Ferrari earned the highest grades this Saturday, with Charles Leclerc wringing the neck of his skittish Prancing Horse to take pole and teammate Carlos Sainz backing him up in P2. Leclerc benefitted not only from his own steady efforts at mastering this virgin circuit but also from his key championship rival’s untimely Q3 error. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, coming off a dominant race win two weeks ago in Emilia-Romagna, uncharacteristically muffed his final quali effort when he ran off the circuit with snap oversteer and was unable to mount another challenge to the day’s Ferrari dominance as time expired. Verstappen will start P3 on a track where overtaking offline looks to be nigh impossible. So the Dutch reigning world champ will be hoping for not only solid strategy form his team to leapfrog the two Ferraris ahead in the pits but also perhaps some further unforced errors by the Scuderia duo. With Sainz having not completed the first lap in the last two races and Leclerc blowing a certain P3 by overdriving and binning it into the wall at Imola last race, team Ferrari will be looking for their talented but mistake prone duo to perhaps dial it back a notch and drive a clean contest come Sunday to take the maximum possible points.

Verstappen’s Red Bull wingman Sergio Perez set a final fast lap good enough to line up alongside his team leader on the second row in P4. Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas did yeoman’s work after he crashed out in Free Practice 1 on Friday, recovering all the way to set an excellent P5 time. That he bested his old Mercedes mate Lewis Hamilton by a position must have been extra pleasing. That said, Hamilton was probably satisfied to haul his twitchy Silver Arrow up to P6 on the grid, as his junior teammate George Russell struggled mightily with severe porpoising, that 2022 Mercedes bugaboo, and was unceremoniously bounced out in Q2. Russell will start way back in P12 and will be looking for strategic help and perhaps some inclement weather to fight his way forward on Sunday. AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda acquitted themselves well in Miami, qualifying P7 and P9 respectively, while Lando Norris of McLaren and Lance Stroll of Aston Martin were their lone teams’ representatives to make it into Q3, with Norris willing himself up to P8 and Stroll rounding out the front of the grid in P10.

Top 10 qualifiers for the Miami GP:

POS NO DRIVER CAR Q1 Q2 Q3 LAPS
1 16 Charles Leclerc FERRARI 1:29.474 1:29.130 1:28.796 25
2 55 Carlos Sainz FERRARI 1:30.079 1:29.729 1:28.986 26
3 1 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING RBPT 1:29.836 1:29.202 1:28.991 18
4 11 Sergio Perez RED BULL RACING RBPT 1:30.055 1:29.673 1:29.036 21
5 77 Valtteri Bottas ALFA ROMEO FERRARI 1:30.845 1:29.751 1:29.475 20
6 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 1:30.388 1:29.797 1:29.625 21
7 10 Pierre Gasly ALPHATAURI RBPT 1:30.779 1:30.128 1:29.690 22
8 4 Lando Norris MCLAREN MERCEDES 1:30.761 1:29.634 1:29.750 22
9 22 Yuki Tsunoda ALPHATAURI RBPT 1:30.485 1:30.031 1:29.932 21
10 18 Lance Stroll ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES 1:30.441 1:29.996 1:30.676 21

Complete qualifying results available via Formula1.com.

Tomorrow’s race airs live beginning at 3:30 PM Eastern on ABC here in the States. Look for a real street fight in Miami with potential for several Safety Cars/Red Flags to shake up the order. Hope to see you then to find out how it all shakes out!

2022 F1 Grand Prix of Emilia-Romagna — Results & aftermath

Red Bull rebound, romp to dominant Verstappen-Perez 1-2 at Imola; Leclerc throws away sure Ferrari podium with late spin gifting Norris P3

After reliability woes cost them dearly in two of the young season’s first three races, team Red Bull came to Imola full of determination to put those issues behind them and enable their drivers to succeed to their full potential this weekend. By the end of the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, aka Imola, on Sunday it was emphatically Mission Accomplished. After both cars failed to finish in Round 1 in Bahrain and their ace Max Verstappen also DNF’d in Round 3 in Australia due to mechanical issues, Verstappen’s car ran perfectly and he dominated this first Sprint weekend of the season. The Dutch master qualified P1 on Friday, fought back against Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc to win Saturday’s Sprint race and claim pole for the GP and then blistered the field for an easy win from the front on Sunday. Verstappen finished some 16.5-seconds ahead of his P2 teammate Sergio Perez, while also running the fastest lap of the race to earn the bonus point. So that made 26 points extracted from the race plus 8 for the Sprint win for a massive 34-point haul that enabled the flying Dutchman to vault back into the championship chase with his key rival this year, Leclerc. Ferrari and Leclerc also did their best to tighten things up through a series of unforced errors at the circuit named for their founder and his son, leading no doubt to brutal headlines in the Italian papers come Monday morning.

Pics courtesy GrandPrix247.com

The first embarrassment for the fabled Scuderia from Maranello came on Lap 1 of the contest when the Prancing Horse of Carlos Sainz and the McLaren of Daniel Ricciardo collided going into Tamburello side by side. While Ricciardo was able to crawl away from the scene and restart, Sainz was beached in the gravel for the second straight race, following up his Lap 1 DNF in Australia with a Lap 1 DNF in Italy, a stunning string of disappointments for the Spaniard. While the team showed their faith in Sainz by signing him to a new 2-year contract in the weeks between the two races, it’s clear that he has got to settle down and get some results for Ferrari if they are to have a fighting shot to beat out ultra quick Red Bull for the Constructor’s title. Frankly, these serious lapses from such an experienced driver are a head scratcher and Carlos had better find his confidence and poise in a hurry.

But that wasn’t the only misfortune to befall mighty Ferrari in front of their home fans, the always passionate and vocal tifosi. Continue reading →

2022 F1 Grand Prix of Emilia Romagna — Sprint results

Verstappen charges back after slow start to win Imola Sprint race, earns pole for GP; Leclerc relegated to P2 after late pass; Perez recovers for P3

Formula 1’s somewhat gimmicky Sprint Race to determine the race day starting grid returned for the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari on Saturday. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen recovered from a slow getaway at the start of this 21-lap mini-race, and eventually hunted down and passed Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc with two to go to take the win and earn pole for tomorrow’s Grand Prix. After an interminable, rain-effected three rounds of standard knockout qualifying on Friday, which saw five Red Flag stoppages due the greasy conditions catching drivers out, the bright and sunny Sprint Saturday was at least entertaining, with good wheel-to-wheel combat up and down the field to change around the initial “qualifying” results and set tomorrow’s starting order for real. Verstappen’s teammate, Sergio Perez, was able to greatly improve on his qualifying effort of P7 to take P3 in the Sprint, while Leclerc’s stablemate Carlos Sainz recovered from another unforced error that saw the Spaniard bin his Prancing Horse in Q2 in the damp on Friday and claw his way all the back to a P4 finish on Saturday. The mixed Red Bull-Ferrari front two rows provide a mouth-watering prospect for tomorrow’s opening lap, especially should rain return to Imola

McLaren had a very good day, albeit with Lando Norris losing two spots off his quali result and coming home in P5 and Daniel Ricciardo finishing where he started the Sprint in P6, which honestly seems to be where those two cars should be at this track. Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas had a nice effort to take 7 and Haas had a beautiful day in northern Italy, with Kevin Magnussen continuing his run of good form since being drafted back into the team taking P8 and teammate Mick Schumacher earning his highest ever F1 grid position in P10. Alpine’s wily old veteran Fernando Alonso filled out the Top 10 of the Saturday Sprint coming home in P9. On the glass-half-empty side of the ledger, alarm bells must be ringing at the Brackley headquarters of mighty Mercedes, as the severe porpoising that has bedeviled them from the very beginning of this year’s new ground effects-dependent formula returned with a vengeance at Imola. This race could well be a write off for the Silver Arrows — George Russell only managed a P11 finish on the day, while seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton was an astonishingly poor P14 when the checkers flew to end the Sprint. Four rounds into the 2022 campaign it’s beginning to look like by the time Mercedes figure out their aerodynamic woes it will be well and truly too late to compete for either title.

Here’s how the Top 10 qualified on Friday:

POS NO DRIVER CAR Q1 Q2 Q3 LAPS
1 1 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING RBPT 1:19.295 1:18.793 1:27.999 22
2 16 Charles Leclerc FERRARI 1:18.796 1:19.584 1:28.778 22
3 4 Lando Norris MCLAREN MERCEDES 1:20.168 1:19.294 1:29.131 22
4 20 Kevin Magnussen HAAS FERRARI 1:20.147 1:19.902 1:29.164 21
5 14 Fernando Alonso ALPINE RENAULT 1:20.198 1:19.595 1:29.202 26
6 3 Daniel Ricciardo MCLAREN MERCEDES 1:19.980 1:20.031 1:29.742 21
7 11 Sergio Perez RED BULL RACING RBPT 1:19.773 1:19.296 1:29.808 25
8 77 Valtteri Bottas ALFA ROMEO FERRARI 1:20.419 1:20.192 1:30.439 23
9 5 Sebastian Vettel ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES 1:20.364 1:19.957 1:31.062 25
10 55 Carlos Sainz FERRARI 1:19.305 1:18.990 13

And here are the results for the Top 10 finishers of the Sprint Race on Saturday:

POS NO DRIVER CAR LAPS TIME/RETIRED PTS
1 1 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING RBPT 21 30:39.567 8
2 16 Charles Leclerc FERRARI 21 +2.975s 7
3 11 Sergio Perez RED BULL RACING RBPT 21 +4.721s 6
4 55 Carlos Sainz FERRARI 21 +17.578s 5
5 4 Lando Norris MCLAREN MERCEDES 21 +24.561s 4
6 3 Daniel Ricciardo MCLAREN MERCEDES 21 +27.740s 3
7 77 Valtteri Bottas ALFA ROMEO FERRARI 21 +28.133s 2
8 20 Kevin Magnussen HAAS FERRARI 21 +30.712s 1
9 14 Fernando Alonso ALPINE RENAULT 21 +32.278s 0
10 47 Mick Schumacher HAAS FERRARI 21 +33.773s 0

Complete qualifying & Sprint results available via Formula1.com.

Tomorrow’s race airs live on ESPN beginning at 9AM Eastern here in the States. Hope to see you then to find out how the elite Ferrari-Red Bull battle plays out in the Scuderia’s back yard — and if more more rain might throw a wrench into the teams’ best laid plans!

2022 F1 Grand Prix of Australia — Results & aftermath

Leclerc romps to dominant win in Melbourne; Perez P2, Russell P3; Verstappen, Sainz DNF

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc absolutely dominated Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix, winning the race handily after starting from pole and leaving even his closest pursuers far, far behind. The Monegasque’s pace in his Prancing Horse here at Albert Park was somewhat of a a surprise, because even after qualifying in the top spot on Saturday the savvy take around the paddock was that Red Bull would have the true race pace. But the famed Scuderia’s return to championship contending form after several years mired in mediocrity was confirmed in this first Aussie GP in two years, as neither the Red Bull of Max Verstappen or Sergio Perez could touch Leclerc on this day. In fact, Verstappen was forced to retire the car on Lap 39 of this 58-lap contest when his engine or hydraulic lines developed a leak leading to a small conflagration in the engine bay. The Dutch reigning world champion, who had been sitting comfortably in second during the race despite not being able to truly challenge Leclerc for victory, instead was forced to resign himself to his second DNF in three races to start the 2022 campaign. The Red Bull is certainly fast but reliability could well be its Achilles heal in what is shaping up to be a season long battle against Ferrari. That left it to Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez to fly the Red Bull team’s flag, which the Mexican did with aplomb by taking an easy P2 on the day, albeit over 20.5-seconds in arrears of Leclerc. To put the exclamation point on his performance, the Ferrari man also took the bonus point by setting race’s fastest lap, reaping the full 26 on a day when his key rival Verstappen scored a big fat zero.

Pics courtesy GrandPrix247.com

All was not totally sunshine and roses at the fabled Scuderia from Maranello, however. Their number two Carlos Sainz had a disastrous weekend, following his somewhat unlucky P9 qualifying when he and the team were caught out but a late Red Flag in Q3 with an early DNF on Sunday when the veteran Spaniard misjudged his braking going into Turn 10 on Lap 2, overshot and then beached himself in the gravel. So like Verstappen, Sainz failed to score for his team in Melbourne, as well, only in his case he barely notched any laps at all and it appeared to be entirely his fault. Sainz will probably not be happy that the next race is two week’s away, since he’ll have all that time to stew on what he freely admitted was a “disaster” of a GP weekend. Continue reading →

2022 F1 Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia — Results & aftermath

GAME ON: Verstappen strikes back for Round 2 victory in Saudi Arabia with late pass on P2 Leclerc; Sainz P3 & unlucky Perez P4, as 2022 appears to be two-team battle between Ferrari & Red Bull

After failing to finish in Round 1 of the 2022 Formula 1 season last week in Bahrain and starting from a disappointing P4 for this Sunday’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen received not only improved reliability but also the key breaks during the race to out-duel Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and take his first win of the season. Leclerc and Ferrari had been brilliant all day, using a devious head fake that lured the pole-sitting Red Bull of Sergio Perez into an early stop on Lap 16 while Leclerc stayed out despite team radio suggesting otherwise. It proved to be the first pivotal moment of an eventful race because Williams’ Nicholas Latifi crashed out on the very next lap and forced the deployment of a Safety Car. That allowed the rest of the field to come to the pits for cheap stops for fresh rubber while Perez had just completed his for the full fare. When everyone had cycled through behind the Safety Car, Leclerc now led the race, with Verstappen leapfrogging both Sainz and his teammate Perez for second, while Sainz and Perez squabbled over P3 and P4 respectively. At that point, it looked for all the world that Leclerc had the best car and he seemed to lead out Verstappen fairly easily once the race went back to green on Lap 21.

But the tricky and tight Jeddah Corniche Street Circuit was not done doling out surprises on the day and after twenty-six fairly straightforward laps with the main contenders staying in lockstep the proceedings were again interrupted. First, the Alpine of a hard charging Fernando Alonso lost power and slowed to a stop just in front of pit entry on Lap 37 and then the McLaren of Daniel Ricciardo followed suit in practically the exact same area a lap later. This forced the race director not only to engage the Virtual Safety Car in order to retrieve the stranded pair of cars but also to keep the pits closed this time due to their proximate location. Interestingly, by the time the VSC ended on Lap 41 Verstappen had crept a little closer to Leclerc than he was able to at race pace and now only trailed the lead Prancing Horse by just under a second, the delta necessary to activate the Drag Reduction System in the rear wing. It also set things up for a grandstand finish between the two drivers, who so far have to be seen as the favorites for this year’s championship. Continue reading →