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2023 F1 Grand Prix of Australia — Results & aftermath

Verstappen prevails is chaotic, incident-filled Aussie GP; Hamilton runs to a clean P2, Alonso survives late-race carnage & rulings for P3

The only predictable thing in Sunday’s absolutely bonkers Australian Grand Prix at the tricky Albert Park Circuit in Melbourne was Red Bull’s Max Verstappen taking victory. The rest of the race was pure chaos that featured a record three Red Flag periods for debris clean up, followed by nail-biting two standing restarts from the grid, and, not coincidentally, a whopping eight retirements. With the race already having been effected by the first Red Flag on Lap 9 after Williams’s Alexander Albon lost control and crashed out at Turn 7, spewing gravel all over the track that necessitated a lengthy cleanup, it seemed that the results would come down simply to long run tire management by the top 3 of Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso. But right after Verstappen seemed to show a hint of vulnerability on Lap 54 of this 58-lap contest by running off track and through the grass after locking up on his aging Hard Pirellis, the real drama began in earnest. On that same lap, Haas’s Kevin Magnussen misjudged his exit coming out of Turn 2 and bashed his rear right into the concrete barrier. That knocked the rubber off the rim as well as shattering Magnussen’s suspension and a second Red Flag was thrown on Lap 55 to clean up the debris field & haul away the stricken Haas, as well as preserve a few precious final racing laps and not end under yellow. The stewards then made the momentous decision to restart the race from the grid once again, rather than a more conventional rolling start behind the Safety Car, thereby turning the Down Under GP into a 2-lap shootout.

This backfired rather spectacularly when the cars sped off in anger again, as first the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz got into Alonso’s Aston Martin, spinning his fellow Spaniard around amidst a pack of snarling F1 cars. Directly or indirectly, that had the knock-on effect of forcing the Alpine of Pierre Gasly across the road and into the front left tire of his teammate Esteban Ocon, wrecking both of their cars in the process and robbing the team of a certain double-points finish. As a result of all that mayhem, another Red Flag was thrown with no chance of any more competitive laps being left to run. Now the debate within the FIA race directors and rules experts was on how to classify the field for the final ceremonial restart. After another long delay, it was decided that the order would be determined by the positions upon the prior restart, as the field had not even completed one sector before the last Red Flag had come out. That was great news for Alonso and Aston teammate Lance Stroll, the latter having also lost a ton of spots outbreaking himself amidst the mayhem. And while it seemed to be good news for the lone surviving Ferrari of Carlos Sainz in P4, that joy was extremely short lived when the stewards handed down a 5-second penalty to Sainz for the earlier contact with Alonso. With the twelve cars surviving to take the checkered flag all bunched together behind the Safety Car and no racing on the final lap, that saw the disconsolate Sainz dropped out of the points to dead last of the runners in P12. It made for a miserable, pointless day for the fabled Scuderia, which also suffered the ignominy of seeing their other pilot, Charles Leclerc, crash out and beach himself on the very first lap while  going into Turn 1 after contact with Stroll. To say Ferrari and their drivers are seriously in trouble in their championship pursuits after just three rounds would be an understatement.

Possibly lost in all that drama and incident was Verstappen’s first win in Australia and second of the season. And while it didn’t look as if Hamilton or Alonso really had anything for the Dutch points leader, particularly in the face of the Red Bull’s seemingly invincible advantage while using DRS, it was still an excellent race for both veterans, who joined Verstappen on the podium to make it three World Champions taking home trophies when the GP finally ended. Hamilton withstood Alonso’s best efforts and kept it clean to maintain a solid P2, even briefly taking the lead from Verstappen early in the race. That gives some hope and momentum to the Silver Arrows in their quest to creep closer to the imperious Red Bulls. It was also doubly important that Hamilton scored big points on the day because teammate George Russell was forced to retire on Lap 18 when something in his engine caught on fire. For Alonso, who looked like he had been punted out of the points by Sainz, it was another sweet day on what is turning out to be a 2023 renaissance. With his P3 restored after the collision with Sainz and teammate Stroll promoted back up to P4 after Sainz’s penalty, it was also a banner day for Aston Martin, which have made themselves a genuine fourth powerhouse team in F1. Spare a kind word for Sergio Perez, as well. The second Red Bull had to start from the pits after a disastrous qualifying and some engine tweaks while in parc fermé. But the talented Mexican, who excels at driving through the field, patiently worked his way up to P7 at the time of the penultimate Red Flag. And, while he went dirt tracking through the mayhem on that fateful final proper restart, losing several spots in the process, between the ruling on the actual race positions reverting to prior to that start, the double DNF of the Alpines and the penalty to Sainz, that pulled Checo all the way up to a very respectable and hard-earned P5.

If Alpine had a disaster with their late race shunt between teammates and subsequent double DNF, team McLaren finally caught a break after a dismal zero-points start to this year’s campaign. Lando Norris was able to finish in P6 and rookie teammate & Melbourne native Oscar Piastri got a fairy tale P8 in his literal hometown Grand Prix.  Alfa Romero’s Zho Guanyu and AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda also capitalized on the carnage to come home safely in P9 and P10 respectively.

Top 10 finishers of the Australian GP:

POS NO DRIVER CAR LAPS TIME/RETIRED PTS
1 1 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT 58 2:32:38.371 25
2 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 58 +0.179s 18
3 14 Fernando Alonso ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES 58 +0.769s 15
4 18 Lance Stroll ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES 58 +3.082s 12
5 11 Sergio Perez RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT 58 +3.320s 11
6 4 Lando Norris MCLAREN MERCEDES 58 +3.701s 8
7 27 Nico Hulkenberg HAAS FERRARI 58 +4.939s 6
8 81 Oscar Piastri MCLAREN MERCEDES 58 +5.382s 4
9 24 Zhou Guanyu ALFA ROMEO FERRARI 58 +5.713s 2
10 22 Yuki Tsunoda ALPHATAURI HONDA RBPT 58 +6.052s 1

Complete race results available via Formula1.com.

Somewhat suitably after this epic, bizarre and frankly exhausting contest in Australia, the next race is in three weeks time — the equally unpredictable Azerbaijan Grand Prix on the perilous streets if Baku. So rest up and I’ll hope to see you then for what should be even more crazy F1 action!

2023 F1 Grand Prix of Australia — Qualifying results

Verstappen ekes out first Oz pole ahead of fierce competition but teammate Perez crashes out in Q1; Russell qualifies P2, Hamilton P3 for improved Silver Arrows

Red Bull’s peerless ace, Max Verstappen, excellent during crunch time to earn his first career Australian Grand Prix pole during Saturday qualifying at the Albert Park street circuit but it was anything but his usual dominant romp to the top spot. With teammate Sergio Perez unceremoniously crashing out by beaching himself in the gravel early in Q1, the Dutchman had to fend off some very competitive efforts by other cars to emerge in P1. Most notable among them and somewhat surprisingly were the Mercedes duo of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton. After relentlessly tuning on their cars in the three practice sessions leading up to quali, the Silver Arrows suddenly found nearly Red Bull-like pace at this tricky track. While it looked for a while as though Hamilton might be able to ride a mid-Q3 fast lap to grab pole for himself, in the end it was Russell who slotted in behind Verstappen on the final time sheets by just .236-seconds, earning the right to line up alongside him for tomorrow’s race. Hamilton had to settle for P3 and the second row but that still resulted in both Mercs not only besting the Ferraris for fast lap honors on the day but also their newest rival, Aston Martin. While it remains to be seen if that excellent result will translate into true race pace come Sunday, it was still a potential harbinger of better days ahead for Mercedes, especially with major upgrades to their chassis in the pipeline and arriving soon.

With Perez out of the mix and relegated to the rear tomorrow and the top three spots allotted to one Red bull and two Mercedes, Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso was the best of the rest with another solid effort good enough for P4. The veteran Spaniard’s renewal continues and he is seemingly in the mix for podiums every week with this massively improved Aston Martin machine. Lance Stroll, still healing from a pre-season bicycle crash, closed the performance gap to his veteran teammate somewhat by slotting in at P6. Stroll will find himself sandwiched by the Ferraris of Carlos Sainz in P5 and in Charles Leclerc P7. But the Scuderia pit wall and their famously rabid fan base have got to be concerned about those starting positions, as the best part of the Prancing Horses in the first two rounds has been their qualifying speed and the worst has been their lackluster race pace. If that disappointing form holds true tomorrow, it’s hard to see how either Leclerc or Sainz can compete for a podium in this particular contest, although the Melbourne race does have a history of Safety Cars and unpredictable weather to scramble the expected narrative..

Rounding out the top 10 qualifiers, Alexander Albon drove superbly to will his Williams up to P8, while the Alpine of Pierre Gasly was able to set the ninth fastest time and Haas’s Nico Hulkenberg continued his run of good quali form by slotting in at P10.

Top 10 qualifiers for the Australian GP:

POS NO DRIVER CAR Q1 Q2 Q3 LAPS
1 1 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT 1:17.384 1:17.056 1:16.732 24
2 63 George Russell MERCEDES 1:17.654 1:17.513 1:16.968 29
3 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 1:17.689 1:17.551 1:17.104 28
4 14 Fernando Alonso ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES 1:17.832 1:17.283 1:17.139 26
5 55 Carlos Sainz FERRARI 1:17.928 1:17.349 1:17.270 28
6 18 Lance Stroll ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES 1:17.873 1:17.616 1:17.308 26
7 16 Charles Leclerc FERRARI 1:18.218 1:17.390 1:17.369 25
8 23 Alexander Albon WILLIAMS MERCEDES 1:17.962 1:17.761 1:17.609 27
9 10 Pierre Gasly ALPINE RENAULT 1:18.312 1:17.574 1:17.675 25
10 27 Nico Hulkenberg HAAS FERRARI 1:18.029 1:17.412 1:17.735 26

Complete qualifying results available via Formula1.com.

Tomorrow’s race airs live on ESPN beginning at 1AM Eastern here in the States. So, put on a late night pot of coffee or set your DVR because it looks like this year’s Aussie GP could be a wild ride indeed. Hope to see you then to find out how it all shakes out!

2023 F1 Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia — Qualifying results

Perez takes pole at Jeddah Corniche Circuit but Verstappen knocked out in Q2 with mechanical issue; penalty-effected Leclerc qualifies P2, resurgent Alonso P3

Saturday qualifying for Sunday’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix threw up a huge surprise, revising the plot of what seemed like a certain Red Bull lockout of the front row when the team’s top driver, reigning two-time World Champion Max Verstappen, suffered an abrupt and shocking end to his day midway through Q2 with what appeared to be a transmission issue. Despite effortlessly dominating in practice and the early phase of quali, Verstappen was bit by his first reliability issue of the nascent 2023 season and will be forced to fight his way to the front in tomorrow’s race where he will start way back in P15. With the dominant winner of the season opener two weeks ago in Bahrain sidelined prematurely here at the very tricky and technical Jeddah Corniche Street Circuit, that opened up a potential pole position to the other contenders like the resurgent Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin and the always fast Ferrari of Charles Leclerc. But it was Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez who made the most of the Dutchman’s absence in Q3, doing just enough to hustle his car to the top of the time sheets and earn P1 for tomorrow’s race.

Leclerc managed to pip Alonso for P2 but the Monegasque will be hit with a 10-spot grid penalty for tomorrow’s race due to Ferrari already having changed out restricted power unit elements after only running one race, in his case a third electronics control unit. At least his Scuderia teammate Carlos Sainz qualified a decent P5 and has thankfully yet to take any penalties. Leclerc’s steep demotion will move the resurgent Alonso, who scored a podium on his debut for the much improved Aston team a fortnight ago, onto the front row alongside Perez come race day. George Russell handily bettered his senior Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton P4 to P8. Hamilton seems thoroughly nonplussed by the performance of his ride and there have got to be some queasy feelings on the Silver Arrows pit wall about the concept of this year’s car. The new W14 chassis has yet to show the promised improvements relative to Red Bull and Ferrari, and could well end up being only the fourth best team if Aston Martin’s performance upgrades are not just an early season mirage. As if to drive home that point, the second Aston of Lance Stroll followed up Alonso’s P3 effort with a decent Q3 time good enough for P6.

Rounding out the Top 10, Alpine’s Esteban Ocon also outpaced Hamilton in P7, while teammate Pierre Gasly was P10. And McLaren rookie Oscar Piastri recovered from his early DNF in the opening round to make it through to Q3 and then set an impressive lap time good enough for P9.

Top 10 qualifiers for the Saudi Arabian GP:

POS NO DRIVER CAR Q1 Q2 Q3 LAPS
1 11 Sergio Perez RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT 1:29.244 1:28.635 1:28.265 18
2 16 Charles Leclerc FERRARI 1:29.376 1:28.903 1:28.420 19
3 14 Fernando Alonso ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES 1:29.298 1:28.757 1:28.730 18
4 63 George Russell MERCEDES 1:29.592 1:29.132 1:28.857 21
5 55 Carlos Sainz FERRARI 1:29.411 1:28.957 1:28.931 24
6 18 Lance Stroll ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES 1:29.335 1:28.962 1:28.945 20
7 31 Esteban Ocon ALPINE RENAULT 1:29.707 1:29.255 1:29.078 24
8 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 1:29.689 1:29.374 1:29.223 21
9 81 Oscar Piastri MCLAREN MERCEDES 1:29.706 1:29.378 1:29.243 23
10 10 Pierre Gasly ALPINE RENAULT 1:29.890 1:29.411 1:29.357 23

Complete qualifying results available via Formula1.com.

Tomorrow’s night race airs live beginning at 1PM Eastern on ESPN2 here in the States. Hope to see you then to find out just how many risks Verstappen and Leclerc will take forcing their way to the front at what is sure to be a very tight and challenging street fight at Jeddah Corniche!

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!

2023 F1 Grand Prix of Bahrain — Qualifying results

Reigning champ Verstappen picks up where he left off to nab pole for Round 1 of 2023 at Sakhir; Perez P2 for Red Bull front row lockout; Ferrari sacrifice Leclerc’s potential pole challenge for more strategy options in race; Aston Martin and Alonso looking dangerous

The 2023 Formula 1 campaign kicked off in earnest with the first race qualifying of the year on Saturday to set the grid for the opening round of the season at the Sakhir circuit in Bahrain. With the teams masterfully using the short winter offseason & measly on track testing sessions to solidify their understanding of the ground effects-dependent aerodynamics that debuted last year, the result was a much more tightly compacted field that promises potential podiums from more than just the two or three powerhouses of the sport. But the more things change, the more they seemed to stay the same once the teams really showed their hands in the all-out speed contest that is F1’s three rounds of knockout qualifying. 2022’s reigning champion, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, put paid to any other drivers’ hopes of bettering him on this first quali Saturday when he kept improving his pace at an untouchable rate during Q3. In the end, the Flying Dutchman cleared his teammate Sergio Perez by a little under second-and-a-half to take pole for tomorrow’s Round 1 Bahrain Grand Prix and launch his quest for a third consecutive title. Verstappen was aided somewhat by Ferarri’s mildly curious decision to stop their ace Charles Leclerc from running one last flying lap in the final qualifying session and attempt to dethrone Verstappen in favor of having more fresh tires, and therefore more strategy options, for tomorrow’s race. Leclerc had to settle for P3 with stablemate Carlos Sainz backing him up on the second row in P4. Both Red Bull and Ferrari appeared to be hiding their true pace for much of the practice sessions prior and even in Q1 and Q2. But when it really counted, the two teams threw off their sandbags and mimicked last year’s performances as the best and second best teams on the grid, at least at this admittedly extremely early portion of what will be a grueling 23-round season.

While Red Bull and Ferrari were playing it a bit coy in the earlier stages of quali, it looked as though the Aston Martin of new hire Fernando Alonso might spring Saturday’s biggest surprise and claim his first pole since 2012 in Germany. With the wicks fully turned up, however, the veteran Spaniard two-time World Champ settled for a still solid P5, which was still better than both Mercedes were able to achieve. It was a marked improvement for the Aston Martin team and certainly seems to be the payoff for poaching Red Bull’s number two aerodynamicist, Dan Fallows. While Alonso’s teammate Lance Stroll could do no better than a P8 time, the Canadian was hampered by hand and wrist injuries suffered in a pre-testing mountain bike accident so, if he can grit his way through tomorrow’s GP the signs are very promising for the team’s potential going forward. Meanwhile, the aforementioned Silver Arrows duo of George Russell and seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton, while both completely fit, had to settle for P6 and P7 respectively. Though the Mercedes braintrust appears to have mastered the extreme porpoising issues under the new aero formula that doomed their 2022 season to mediocrity, it’s clear that the cars are still not able to challenge for the front row consistently, as least not so yet. Mighty Mercedes and their ambitious and demanding driver duo will be keen to sharpen this year’s weapon in a hurry while simultaneously hoping that one again their cars are better race machines than one-lap specialists.

Rounding out the top ten on the grid, Alpine’s Esteban Ocon did very well to will his rather mediocre looking mount to P9 and Nico Hulkenberg made a solid return to F1 after several years as a super sub and reserve driver to qualify P10 for his new team, Haas. The veteran German, who looked genuinely rapid on the day, may have been hoping for even better positioning but he had his only competitive lap in Q3 deleted for exceeding track limits.

Top 10 qualifiers for the Bahrain GP:

POS NO DRIVER CAR Q1 Q2 Q3 LAPS
1 1 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT 1:31.295 1:30.503 1:29.708 15
2 11 Sergio Perez RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT 1:31.479 1:30.746 1:29.846 15
3 16 Charles Leclerc FERRARI 1:31.094 1:30.282 1:30.000 17
4 55 Carlos Sainz FERRARI 1:30.993 1:30.515 1:30.154 18
5 14 Fernando Alonso ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES 1:31.158 1:30.645 1:30.336 15
6 63 George Russell MERCEDES 1:31.057 1:30.507 1:30.340 15
7 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 1:31.543 1:30.513 1:30.384 15
8 18 Lance Stroll ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES 1:31.184 1:31.127 1:30.836 18
9 31 Esteban Ocon ALPINE RENAULT 1:31.508 1:30.914 1:30.984 15
10 27 Nico Hulkenberg HAAS FERRARI 1:31.204 1:30.809 DNF 17

Complete qualifying results available via Formula1.com.

Tomorrow’s season-opening race airs live on ESPN beginning at 10AM Eastern here in the States. Hope to see you then when this much tighter field should lead to a ding dong race with multiple contenders for the podium and if anyone has anything for Verstappen for the top step!

 

 

2022 F1 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi — Results & aftermath

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

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

Pics courtesy GrandPirx247.com

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

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

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

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

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

Top 10 finishers of the Abu Dhabi GP:

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

Complete race results available via Formula1.com.

The final Driver Standings are here.

And the final Constructor’s’ Standings are here.

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

2022 F1 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi — Qualifying results

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

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

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

Top 10 qualifiers for the Abu Dhabi GP:

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

Complete qualifying results available via Formula1.com.

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

2022 F1 Grand Prix of Sao Paulo — 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!