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2023 F1 Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia — Results & aftermath

Perez holds off Verstappen’s amazing recovery drive to take victory in Saudi Arabia, notching Red Bull’s second consecutive 1-2;  Alonso loses podium then given P3 back after FIA penalty reconsideration

Red Bull’s Sergio Perez maximized his pole start in Sunday night’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix and mastered the tricky Jeddah Corniche Street Circuit, all while holding off his teammate Max Verstappen’s furious comeback, to take a solid victory in F1’s second round of 2023. After a driveshaft issue prematurely ended Verstappen’s qualifying efforts on Saturday relegating the Dutchman to P15 on the starting grid, the veteran Mexican street specialist capitalized on his good fortune to run in clean air from the front on the the tight and twisty streets of Jeddah and proved to be the class of the field this evening.  Even though Perez momentarily lost his lead to the Aston Martin of the resurgent Fernando Alonso on the opening lap, the Red Bull’s pace soon proved to be too much for the Spaniard’s Aston. Perez reclaimed P1 from Alonso on Lap 4 and then simply sailed away, building a seemingly insurmountable gap to the rest of the field. Even after a short Safety Car period due to the sister Aston of Lance Stroll coming to an abrupt on-track stop on Lap 18, with the resultant cheap pit stops and tightening of the field, Perez’s Red Bull still proved the dominant car on the day. He jumped away after the end of Lap 20/beginning of Lap 21 restart, leaving the other top runners to fight over the other two podium positions en route to a solid victory and a tie with Verstappen in the Championship points.

On Verstappen’s side of the garage, it was all about recovery after the mechanical failure in qualifying and the resultant P15 start, and the two-time Champ took to his task with his usual gusto in overtaking. After a somewhat easygoing start, Verstappen really began putting the moves on after DRS became enabled on Lap 3, this year’s RB19 looking like having a nearly unfair advantage when it gets to open its rear wing on the straights. By Lap 8, Verstappen had improved to tenth in the race, and by Lap 12 he had passed the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton for P8. When that first and only Safety Car was deployed, Verstappen wisely dived to the pits for fresh rubber, doffing his opening set of Medium Pirellis for the Hards to see him through to the end of the race. The deft strategy call saw Verstappen well placed in P4 upon the restart and he made short work of Mercedes’ George Russell for P3 on Lap 23, then took P2 from Alonso two laps later. But on this night, Perez had the measure of his more decorated teammate and kept him at bay with aplomb. While Verstappen was able to nick an extra championship point for setting the race’s fastest lap to keep him level in on points, it was Perez who took home top honors some 5.35 seconds to the good. Aside from the intriguing intra-team implications, the result made it two consecutive Red Bull 1-2 finishes to open the 2023 campaign. For the moment, at least, no other team looks anywhere near their raw pace and tis year’s Drivers’ Championship could quickly be reduced to a two man, one team battle.

Alonso had a frustrating but ultimately fulfilling day after his opening-lap pass on Perez for the lead. Very quickly, word came down from the stewards that he had lined up his car incorrectly in his grid box to start the race, which incurred a 5-second penalty. While he got a break by being able to serve that time penalty under full-course yellow conditions during the Safety Car period, the stewards initially also adjudged that an Aston Martin mechanic had improperly put his rear jack onto the car while the 5-seconds were being served. That ran afoul of the interpretation of the rules of “no work may be done on the car while serving a penalty” and the team were then assessed a post-race penalty of 10-seconds for the infraction. That momentarily turned what had been a certain second consecutive podium P3 finish for the Spaniard into a P4 when the time had been added, knocking the streaking Spaniard off the podium. But then, a  day of mixed emotions for Aston Martin with Stroll’s early retirement factored in, got a final positive uplift after the race officials reviewed their decision and rescinded Alonso’s penalty. That negated Russell’s short-lived promotion to P3, the young Englishman keeping his original earned race result of P4. Russell had earlier resisted not-so-veiled team orders to allow teammate Lewis Hamilton by him during the post-Safety Car second tire stint, which saw Hamilton on the quicker Mediums and Russel running the opposite strategy after a change off Mediums to Hards. But Russell fended off Hamilton’s best on-track efforts, as well any internal politics from the pit wall, and Hamilton had to settle for a still better than expected P5 when the checkers flew.

On the other hand, Ferrari may well have categorized their day at Jeddah as a bit of a minor disaster. While it was always going to be tough with Charles Leclerc starting from P12 after already running afoul of engine component limitations for multiple energy control unit replacements in only the second race weekend, the team thought they had a decent shot at a podium with Carlos Sainz starting in P4. But the Prancing Horses never really showed good race pace compared with the Aston Martins and the Mercedes (leaving the untouchable Red Bulls out of the discussion entirely) and the Scuderia saw themselves unable to move forward against those adversaries. Leclerc stalled out after recovering to P7 and Sainz was no match for Hamilton after the Safety Car restart and eventually had to settle for P6 at the finish. Fourth Best Cars in 2023 is certainly not what Ferrari expected coming in to the new race year and it’s definitely not going to be satisfactory for the brass back at Maranello. The Ferrari F1 team is going to be under increasingly heavy pressure to improve their results and reliability and quickly.

Rounding out the Top 10, Alpine had another good double points day, with Esteban Ocon coming home in P8 and new hire Pierre Gasly taking P9. And Haas’s Kevin Magnussen scored the last point  after a late race hammer-and-tongs battle with AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda saw the veteran Dane prevail for P10.

Top 10 finishers of the Saudi Arabian GP:

POS NO DRIVER CAR LAPS TIME/RETIRED PTS
1 11 Sergio Perez RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT 50 1:21:14.894 25
2 1 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT 50 +5.355s 0
3 63 George Russell MERCEDES 50 +25.866s 15
4 14 Fernando Alonso ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES 50 +30.728s 12
5 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 50 +31.065s 10
6 55 Carlos Sainz FERRARI 50 +35.876s 8
7 16 Charles Leclerc FERRARI 50 +43.162s 6
8 31 Esteban Ocon ALPINE RENAULT 50 +52.832s 4
9 10 Pierre Gasly ALPINE RENAULT 50 +54.747s 2
10 20 Kevin Magnussen HAAS FERRARI 50 +64.826s 1

Complete race results available via Formula1.com.

The next race is in a fortnight’s time — the always enjoyable Australian Grand Prix from Melbourne’s Albert Park Circuit. All signs seem to point for a two-man internecine fight for wins between the Red Bull’s of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez with the resultant raising of tensions between the two aces. Can any other team make a dent in Red Bull’s easy season superiority? Hope to see you then to find out!

2023 F1 Grand Prix of Bahrain — Results & aftermath

Verstappen kicks off quest for three-peat with dominant victory in Bahrain; Perez P2 in ominously good start for Red Bull; Alonso nabs P3 podium on debut for improved Aston; Leclerc DNFs as Sainz settles for P4 for Ferrari

If, coming into the 2023 season, the nine other Formula 1 teams thought they had closed the gap to the sheer dominance of the Red Bull in reigning champion Max Verstappen’s hands, the first race of the year rapidly disabused them of that false confidence. The Dutch Master was back to his old tricks, picking up where he left off in 2022 in Abu Dhabi to give a master class in Round 1 this year at the Sakhir Circuit in Sunday’s Bahrain Grand Prix. Verstappen drove away from pole towards an imperious victory on this 57-lap season-opener and it was clear easy that no other car could challenge his Red Bull. That included the sister Red Bull of his teammate, Sergio Perez, who finished P2 in the same equipment and running the same tire strategy. Perez came home nearly 12-seconds in arrears of his peerless two-time World Champion teammate, the Dutchman clearly proclaiming this intentions to make it three titles on the trot by the time this year’s 23 rounds are over.

But Verstappen’s absolute dominance was not even the biggest story of the day. While a Red Bull one-two to start the season had never been done before and so was notable, it was the sublime drive of veteran Fernando Alonso in the massively improved Aston Martin that mad the biggest splash in the desert of Bahrain. Driving his first race in anger for his new team, the 41-year-old Alonso showed all of his brilliance and decades of experience in a Formula 1 car to not only best the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton in close combat but also the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz en route to a frankly astonishing P3 podium finish. This year’s Aston Martin has genuine pace and major aero upgrades over last year’s inconsistent chassis and Alonso put all of that to fine use when the team decided on a second stop over-cut strategy on Lap 34 against both Hamilton and Sainz, who had pitted on Lap 30 and 31 receptively. That forced the Spanish two-time World Champ to then have to pass both cars on the circuit, having given up track position to them by running a few laps longer. But Alonso warmed to his task with alacrity, getting by the Silver Arrow of Hamilton on Lap 38 after the English seven-time champion’s valiant pass-back on the previous lap, and then making relatively quick work of Sainz’s Prancing Horse on Lap 36 to grab P3, which is where he finished to the pure joy of his team at grabbing a podium so quickly in 2023. With Sainz finishing P4 and Hamilton in P5, the newfound pure pace of the Aston has got to now be a worry for both those ostensibly “superior” teams.

Alonso’s teammate Lance Stroll also deserves special mention. Though he finished in P6, that was an excellent result for the young Canadian, who raced the demanding 57-laps with fractures in his wrist and toe after a pre-testing mountain bike accident. It was a determined and gutty effort by Stroll and it should only be up from here from him, as he continues to heal. No doubt he made his team owner and father Lawrence very proud, as well.

If Ferrari were chagrined at having Sainz bested by Alonso for the last podium position they were probably apoplectic at the fate of their ostensible team leader, Charles Leclerc. Expected to give Verstappen a stiff challenge for the title in 2023, the Monegasque’s SF-23 was clearly not as fast as the Red Bull RB19, though Leclerc was able to nab P2 from Perez on the opening lap due to starting on the Soft Pirelli tire compound vs. Perez’s Hards. While Leclerc conceded that second place back to Perez after the first round of pit stops, Leclerc was comfortably ahead of his teammate in P3 when his engine let go on Lap 41 and he had to retire the car. It was bit of a double whammy for Ferrari, as well, since the Scuderia had already changed a power store unit pre-race and if Leclerc’s engine is also toast that will be another limited use component on the road to the dreaded grid spot penalties for the various pivotal engine parts replacements. Not the start Ferrari was hoping for as they seek to inch closer to Red Bull.

While the number two Merc of George Russell finished in the points in P7, it was also not a day to remember for the young Briton. Russell struggled with his tire management and was clearly second best to Hamilton in Bahrain, not to mention the Stroll in P6. On the other hand, the final three of the Top 10 did yeoman’s work and exceeded expectations en route to valuable midfield points. Valtteri Bottas drove a typically canny and perhaps atypically aggressive race to maximize the performance for his Alfa Romeo while making a passel of late race passes and the team used a well-played undercut pit strategy to bring the veteran Finn home in P8. Pierre Gasly was even more impressive on debut with new team Alpine, starting from dead last on the grid after a dismal qualifying to finish a rather amazing P9. If it hadn’t been for Alonso’s heroics at Sakhir, Gasly certainly would have been driver of the day. The Williams of Alex Albon took the last point in P10 with a solid effort, while rookie teammate Logan Sargeant was P12. It was an encouraging start for what looks like a much improved Williams team and a nice F1 debut effort for the young American Sergeant, the first Yank in the series since Scott Speed way back in 2007.

Top 10 finishers of the Bahrain GP:

POS NO DRIVER CAR LAPS TIME/RETIRED PTS
1 1 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT 57 1:33:56.736 25
2 11 Sergio Perez RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT 57 +11.987s 18
3 14 Fernando Alonso ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES 57 +38.637s 15
4 55 Carlos Sainz FERRARI 57 +48.052s 12
5 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 57 +50.977s 10
6 18 Lance Stroll ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES 57 +54.502s 8
7 63 George Russell MERCEDES 57 +55.873s 6
8 77 Valtteri Bottas ALFA ROMEO FERRARI 57 +72.647s 4
9 10 Pierre Gasly ALPINE RENAULT 57 +73.753s 2
10 23 Alexander Albon WILLIAMS MERCEDES 57 +89.774s 1

Complete race results available via Formula1.com.

The next race is in a fortnight — the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit. Can Alonso keep his mojo going? Do Ferrari and Mercedes have anything for Verstappen and Red Bull in Round 2? Look forward to seeing you then to find out!

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 — 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!