The 2023 season is officially over which means Round 23 is done! Let’s take a look at how it went in Abu Dhabi…
Max Verstappen once again converted pole position to victory, where he made it win number 19 of the season. Charles Leclerc grabbed P2 and George Russell P3, after Sergio Perez had a five second time penalty due to a clash with Lando Norris which promoted both drivers up a spot.
The full top 10 is: P1: Verstappen, P2: Leclerc, P3: Russell, P4: Perez, P5: Norris, P6: Piastri, P7: Alonso, P8: Tsunoda, P9: Hamilton and P10: Stroll.
A great result for Red Bull, having Max win the final race of the season, ideally they would have wanted Perez on the podium too but with the penalty looming over his head they probably knew they weren’t going to get there.
Leclerc, the only Ferrari in the points, unfortunately it wasn’t enough to beat Mercedes to P2 in the Constructors. Carlos Sainz ended up finishing in 18th due to the alternative strategy which caused him to do a late pit stop which ruined his chance of points.
Overall a strong result for McLaren, a double points finish! I still find it crazy to see that they ended P4 in the Constructors after a shocking start at the beginning of this season, but it makes you think, what can they do next season with a car which is great from the start…
Points for Tsunoda, but it wasn’t enough to grab P7 in the Constructors, they were only 4 more points away and they would’ve been successful.
Alonso came out on top for the fight for P4 in the Driver Standings with 206 points, Leclerc finished P5 with 206 points but Alonso just ahead with higher finishes. Norris in 6th on 205 points and Sainz 7th with 200 points.
Now we have a bit of a wait till the next race… It’s only 97 days away until the new season starts and we have cars back on track!
The last qualifying session of the season is done with a few drivers out of place, so let’s take a look at how it went down!
Max Verstappen claimed another pole position, with Charles Leclerc claiming P2 and Oscar Piastri rounded out the top three.
The full top 10 are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Leclerc, P3: Piastri, P4: Russell, P5: Norris, P6: Tsunoda, P7: Alonso, P8: Hulkenberg, P9: Perez and P10: Gasly.
The only team which had both drivers do well i’d say is McLaren both in the top 5, where as Ferrari and Mercedes one driver is outside the top 10 and the other driver inside the top 10.
Piastriiii, what a result from the Australian driver, a nice way to end the season for him and the team, he will be hoping to grab a podium in the race, and help McLaren in their fight for P4 in the Constructors standings with Aston Martin.
A lovely result from Leclerc and Russell, just what the teams would want from them, however with both their teammates starting outside the top 10 they have a lot of work to do, and will be wanting to score as many points as available. Hamilton starts 11th and Sainz 16th.
A really good result from Tsunoda, P6! That equals his best qualifying result in his F1 career. The team will be wanting him to secure points so that they get that P7 in the constructors.
Nicoooo Hulkenbergggg! A lovely little P8 from the Haas driver, he will have high hopes to score points so Haas don’t finish the season at the bottom of the Constructors.
A bit of a rough one from Aston Martin, P7 for Alonso which isn’t too bad, but Lance Stroll 13th, quite a bit of work to do from the Canadian driver if he wants to score some decent points.
Battles to look out for-
As it’s the last race of the season, there will be a lot to look out for the fight in the constructors, so here are the main ones…
Mercedes VS Ferrari for P2
McLaren VS Aston Martin for P4
Williams VS AlphaTauri for P7
Alfa Romeo VS Haas for P9
Sainz, Alonso, Norris and Leclerc all fighting for 4th in the Driver standings.
Round 22 is officially over and what a thrilling Las Vegas Grand Prix we had! From VSC to full Safety Car’s and penalties, it was all going on…
But, Max Verstappen took the win in Sin City, with Charles Leclerc finishing second for Ferrari and Sergio Perez rounded out the top three.
The full top 10 are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Leclerc, P3: Perez, P4: Ocon, P5: Stroll, P6: Sainz, P7: Hamilton, P8: Russell, P9: Alonso and P10: Piastri.
A brilliant result from Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez, seeing the Mexican come through the field and be fighting for podiums was nice to see and the battle with Charles towards the end of the race.
Leclerc had a great race, I definitely think he could’ve won it if the second Safety Car didn’t come out. He will be hoping that he can hopefully get an even better result next week! His teammate had an okay race, obviously he had a bit of a tangle on lap 1 with Lewis Hamilton with a bit of under-steer, but he still managed to grab P6 after his penalty this weekend.
Alpine have had a good weekend but it seems like their driver’s swapped places? Gasly started the race fourth but finished 11th just outside the points. And Ocon started 16th but finished fourth? In the end it’s a good haul of points for the team.
Stroll has another good result! Two P5 finishes in two weeks, just what him and the team needs for their fight in the Constructors battle. As they look to fight for P4 against McLaren.
Talking of McLaren a mixed day for them, Lando Norris crashed on lap 3 just after the VSC ended due to loosing control of his car through turn 11, he slammed into the barriers and was very close to taking his teammate out. Thankfully he is all okay and went to the hospital for extra precaution but the team has since confirmed his okay.
With Perez finishing third and Lewis 7th this means Perez has claimed P2 in the standings and Hamilton third, as Sainz cannot score more than 32 points next weekend. However, there is a four way battle for P4, Sainz currently sits fourth on 200 points, Alonso in 5th on 200 points aswell, Norris on 195 points and Leclerc 188 points.
Looking at the Constructors, Mercedes are still ahead of Ferrari and are on 392 whereas Ferrari is on 288 just 4 points between the teams. McLaren are still fourth on 284 points, and Aston Martin is on 273 points, just 11 points between the teams.
But we don’t have too long to wait, as the season finale is next week and we close the season out in Abu Dhabi!
Dennis Hauger is to part company with the Red Bull Junior Team but will continue racing in Formula 2 in 2024.
The Norwegian’s second season in F2 has not lived up to expectations, leaving him eighth in the points before the final round in Abu Dhabi this month. He won the sprint races in Melbourne and at the Hungaroring but has not finished on the podium in a feature race, despite having joined the MP Motorsport team that took Felipe Drugovich to the 2022 title.
Hauger has had more of an on-and-off relationship with Red Bull compared to most of its junior drivers, benefitting from strong personal sponsorship from Norway while his career has been guided heavily by experienced countryman Harald Huysman.
He joined the Junior Team for his move from karts into British Formula 4 in 2018, but his switch to Italian F4 the following year was instigated by Hauger’s management group rather than Red Bull, which would have rather moved him up a level. He raced in the black and orange of his Van Amersfoort Racing team instead of the blue of the energy drink firm. Having won that title, he was back in full Red Bull colours for his step up to F3 in 2020, but a difficult rookie season with Hitech – he finished 17th in the standings – this led him to be only a Red Bull supported driver than a full junior in 2021, when he again became champion with Prema.
Red Bull has had six junior drivers racing in F2 this year but there has been speculation about how many will remain with the programme next year. It has already announced Pepe Marti and Tim Tramnitz as new additions to its roster ahead of 2024.
Wow, the Sao Paulo Grand Prix never disappoints, we had drama before the race even started and it continued on into the race!
Max Verstappen grabbed his 17th win this season, ahead of Lando Norris in P2 and Fernando Alonso who returned to the podium in P3!
The full top 10 are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Norris, P3: Alonso, P4: Perez, P5: Stroll, P6: Sainz, P7: Gasly, P8: Hamilton, P9: Tsunoda and P10: Ocon.
Charles Leclerc went off on the formation lap, after he lost the hydraulics which then forced him to retire before it even began…
When the lights went out, we had drama, there was a heavy collision between Alex Albon and Kevin Magnussen. Replays showed that Hulkenberg was squeezed and subsequently made contact with Albon, which ricocheted the Williams into the path of Magnussen. Piastri was also caught up in the incident, having suffered a broken rear wing. This then caused a red flag to be shown due to the extensive debris out on the track.
A strong result from Aston Martin, from both drivers, this is what they needed for the fight in the Drivers’ and Teams’ Standings. Alonso had a great battle with Sergio Perez at the end of the race where they had a photo finish! The gap between the Spaniard and Mexican was less than a tenth of a second in the incredible finish.
Talking about Perez, a really strong performance from him and a good haul of points aswell. This will help him in the fight with Hamilton as he only scored 4 points in the race.
Talking of Hamilton, where did Mercedes pace go?? They certainly had pace in the first part of the race until Hamilton radioed his team about a steering issue with his front right tyre just after pitting. Russell was forced to retire his W14 from the race later on due to high and worsening oil temperature. The team won’t be happy with the result at all.
Tsunoda points again! His loving life at the moment he currently has 13 points, he sits 14th in the Driver Standings. For the team themselves they grow a gap to Alfa Romeo in 9th with 5 points between them. But Alpha Tauri will be looking towards Williams who are only 7 points away in 7th.
Next up for Round 22, we head to a brand new track for 2023 as it’s the Las Vegas Grand Prix!
The last sprint race of the 2023 season is officially over, so let’s take a look at how it went.
Max Verstappen charged ahead to another win after he took the lead from Lando Norris on Lap 1. Norris ended up second, and Sergio Perez rounded out the top three.
The full top 10 are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Norris, P3: Perez, P4: Russell, P5: Leclerc, P6: Tsunoda, P7: Hamilton, P8: Sainz, P9: Ricciardo and P10: Piastri.
Verstappen was on fire today, he knew what he wanted to do and got it done on lap one, which he then went on to be unchallenged even though Norris put a bit of pressure on at times. Perez also had a good result aswell finishing P3, this will add a few points to his tally for his fight against Hamilton.
A great result from Norris aswell, which is needed for his fight in the Drivers’ Standings up against, Alonso and Leclerc. It also helps his team build a gap to Aston Martin’s as they failed to score in the sprint.
More points for Tsunoda! AlphaTauri are on a roll lately, more points on the board, so they now have a 3 point gap to Alfa Romeo in 9th. They will hope to build on the points they’ve got so far as a 3 point gap won’t be enough with three races left…
The Aston Martin’s had a shocker in sprint qualifying, which meant that they had to make up some ground in the Sprint race. Alonso worked his way from 15th to 11th and Stroll finished in 12th after starting 17th, it seems like they’ve got good pace in the race, so hopefully today we see them battling for podiums and get a big haul of points.
Haas had a disappointing sprint, they started 11th and 12th, but they ended up finishing 16th and 18th, that’s not what the American team need, hopefully they have better luck today…
Predictions-
My top five predictions are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Hamilton, P3: Alonso, P4: Norris and P5: Leclerc.
I feel like Aston Martin are finally back this weekend, so let’s hope they can turn it into a podium, but I have a feeling we will get a bit of a crazy race, maybe with a Safety Car appearance?
Another qualifying session done, where it ended early due to the weather rapidly changing and causing a red flag with no-one being able to improve their times.
But Max Verstappen claimed pole position for Sunday’s race, he is joined on the front row by Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and rounding out the top three is Lance Stroll!
The full top 10 are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Leclerc, P3: Stroll, P4: Alonso, P5: Hamilton, P6: Russell, P7: Norris, P8: Sainz, P9: Perez and P10: Piastri.
But three drivers have been hit with grid penalties after impeding incidents in the pit lane during qualifying. George Russell, Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly have all been hit with two place grid penalties.
The new top 10 is: P1: Verstappen, P2: Leclerc, P3: Stroll, P4: Alonso, P5: Hamilton, P6: Norris, P7: Sainz, P8: Russell, P9: Perez and P10: Piastri.
A great result from both Aston Martin’s especially Stroll out qualifying Alonso, which doesn’t happen often but it was nice surprise! The team will be wanting to work on what they did today on Sunday and score some points this weekend.
Hamilton out-qualifies Perez, which is a big step into their fight in P2 for the Drivers’ Championship. Perez will need to provide some good overtakes on Sunday and stay out of trouble as his in the middle of the pack in P9.
Daniel Ricciardo struggled in qualifying as he was knocked out in Q1. Quite a shock compared to last weekend where he was in the top 5. He has a bit of work to do if he wants to get more points on the board.
The Haas duo start 11th and 12th this gives them a good opportunity to score points as they are in that all important fight at the back of the grid where it involves 3 teams including themselves.
Predictions for Sprint-
My top five for the Sprint race are: P1: Verstappen, P2: Alonso, P3: Hamilton, P4: Leclerc and P5: Sainz.
We may get a crazy race today, it’s not meant to rain so that won’t be a factor but its Interlagos so anything could possibly happen…
Round 20 is over, and we had a very mixed race, with a top driver out on lap 1, a red flag due to another crash and a driver coming from the back to end up in the top 10.
Max Verstappen scored a dominant victory at this weekend’s Mexcio City Grand Prix, making it his 16th victory of the season. Lewis Hamilton made it back on the podium after being disqualified the weekend before. Charles Leclerc also makes it on the podium in third.
The full top 10 are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Hamilton, P3: Leclerc, P4: Sainz, P5: Norris, P6: Russell, P7: Ricciardo, P8: Piastri, P9: Albon and P10: Ocon.
A good result for Hamilton and Leclerc, especially after being disqualified from Round 19 last week, this means for Hamilton that his closed the gap down to Perez.
Talking of Perez… he had a good start once the lights went out but it didn’t last very long as he tried to go round the outside of Leclerc, who was sandwiched between both Red Bulls and had no where to go which saw Perez have contact and spin round. He managed to get going again, but he went into the pits and retired from there. It’s not very good for the Mexican at all, with the speculation surrounding his seat for next season and if he will be on the grid next year…
Lando Norris what a drive from the Brit, starting 17th and he had an outstanding recovery drive to end up P5! Piastri also had an okay race, so a decent weekend for the team in total.
Ohhhh Daniel Ricciardooo, POINTS!!! After having an impressive qualifying session he managed to stick it out and battled hard to stay in the top 10 and score some all important points for the team.
The red flag was for Magnussen on lap 33, we saw the Dane spinning into the barrier at the esses, with the rear of his car on fire, forcing the stewards to stop proceedings by waving a red flag.
Looking at the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Standings. Hamilton is only 20 points away from Sergio Perez in second, with three race weekend’s left. Sainz has overtook Alonso in the Standings but they are both on 183 points. Norris is only 3 points ahead of Charles Leclerc in P7, and Russell is 15 points behind the Monegasque driver. Ricciardo moves up to 17th, his only two points behind his teammate whose in 16th and Hulkenberg 3 points ahead in 15th.
McLaren in 4th have built up a gap to Aston Martin in 5th, they will be looking to score more this weekend as its a sprint weekend so more chance for points. AlphaTauri have jumped up to 8th and are on 16 points, after Daniel Ricciardo scored well, but they have work to do as Alfa Romeo are also on 16 points in 9th and Haas are on 12 points in 10th, so its all to play for in the final 3 rounds…
Round 19 is done, the race did start off a little slow, but there was a little bit of drama, so let’s take a look at how it went.
Max Verstappen recovered from sixth on the grid to take a nerve-wracking win as he held off a fast-approaching Lewis Hamilton in second and then Lando Norris in 3rd.
The full top 10 are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Hamilton, P3: Norris, P4: Sainz, P5: Perez, P6: Leclerc, P7: Russell, P8: Gasly, P9: Stroll and P10: Tsunoda.
But, not everything stays the same in Formula 1, as Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, are disqualified from the Grand Prix for a technical breach. After the race, the cars were inspected and irregularities were spotted by the FIA Technical team after a plank wear inspection was carried out.
So the new top 10 is- P1: Verstappen, P2: Norris, P3: Sainz, P4: Perez, P5: Russell, P6: Gasly, P7: Stroll, P8: Tsunoda, P9: Albon and P10: Sargeant.
A great result from Max, he had a brake issue he was looking after, so he will be happy he got the win and especially as it’s his 50th Grand Prix win! Not only this, having his teammate in P4 aswell! A nice little result for Perez also.
Stroll! Back in the points, he had recovered so well considering he had started from the pitlane. The team will be happy with the Canadian’s result especially because of Alonso having a DNF.
Williams, a double points finish, which means… Logan Sargeant first points in F1!!! And on home soil also, the American driver will be very happy with that all important point. This makes him the first American in 30 years to score points.
Looking at the fights in the Constructors championship, Mercedes currently sit in second on 344 points, Ferrari are only 22 points away in third. McLaren have now overtook Aston Martin in the standings as the papaya team have 242 points, and Aston are on 236. Alpha Tauri now have 10 points, meaning they are only two points away from Haas in P9, and 6 points away from Alfa Romeo in eighth.
Looking at the Drivers Standings, Perez has now built up a little bit of gap to Lewis Hamilton in P3. Alonso has to be a bit wary as Carlos is closing in on him, a 12 point gap between them. Norris has overtook Leclerc for 6th, 8 points seperate them, so that could be an interesting little fight coming up.
Now, we don’t have to wait for too long for the next race, as it’s this week! We head to Mexico, for Round 20 and Sergio Perez’s home race!
Before the race had even started we had drama, it was decided in plenty of time that the tyres had a mandatory limit of 18 laps per set due to safety reasons which were spotted on Friday during practice.
Not only this we also saw Sergio Perez having to start at the pit lane, due to Red Bull changing several power unit components and making significant repairs. Just under an hour before lights out, there was more drama as Carlos Sainz was confirmed not to be taking part in the race due to a fuel system issue developing on his car.
Now, onto the race, Max Verstappen made it another win, his first of being a triple world champion! Oscar Piastri claimed P2 making it his second podium in a row, and teammate, Lando Norris grabbed the final podium spot.
The full top 10 are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Piastri, P3: Norris, P4: Russell, P5: Leclerc, P6: Alonso, P7: Ocon, P8: Bottas, P9: Zhou and P10: Perez.
Now first of all a big congratulations to Max and Red Bull for another championship in the bag! I think today was the perfect out come for Max to just win the race and control it! As for his teammate, he had another shocker due to getting time penalties after track limits violations.
Another great result for McLaren! Wow, if you said to me at the beginning of the season that they will be getting double podiums now, I’d be laughing but they are which is great news for the team.
Now onto the Mercedes duo, well they gave us a bit of entertainment at the beginning of the race, Lewis was overtaking George and Max on Lap 1 but as he was going past his teammate they touched which saw Lewis get stuck in the gravel and could not continue and George went down to the bottom of the grid.
A good result for Bottas and Zhou, a double points finish just what the team needed! We also so Zhou do some lovely defending from Perez early on in the race which was crucial to him getting these points.
Logan Sargeant also retired from the race but not due to the car/ crashing it was actually because he felt so unwell he had to retire, to be honest I take my hat off to him and the rest of the drivers, so many were feeling unwell and driving in that heat saw them struggle to get out of the car and were feeling faint afterwards.
Now we have a little wait till the next Grand Prix, which is the weekend of 20th – 22nd October, where we head to the United States, which is another Sprint weekend and we could possibly see Daniel Ricciardo return…
Well, qualifying wasn’t as easy for some drivers, with two drivers from two top teams out in Q2 and lap times being deleted effecting the top 10 results also!
Max Verstappen took his 10th pole position of the season, with George Russell joining him on the front row and his teammate, Lewis Hamilton rounding out the top three.
The full top 10 are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Russell, P3: Hamilton, P4: Alonso, P5: Leclerc, P6: Piastri, P7: Gasly, P8: Ocon, P9: Bottas and P10: Norris.
Amazing result from both Mercedes, and right next to each other aswell, I can see them wanting to go for a double podium on Sunday, but they have Fernando Alonso right on their tails so they’ve got to be wary.
Not a very good result for Perez who is starting 13th, unable to get into Q3 again and joining him is Carlos Sainz who starts just ahead in 12th, not a good day for either driver, they’ve both got some work to do tomorrow.
Both Alpines have done well to get into the top 10, I know they did well here two years ago, but a lot can change in two years as we know. Hopefully they can get some big points in the bag and see if they can bring the fight to the McLaren’s!
Talking of McLaren’s, not the best qualifying session due to both drivers having lap times deleted, Lando was due to start P2 but now starts P10 and Oscar was due to start 3rd and now starts 6th. Its not that big of a deal, and with the car they’ve got they should hopefully be able to get through the grid easier.
Also a little shout out to Valtteri Bottas, P9. Just what he needed, and he will be hoping for a points finish as he is only on 6 points so far this season and his team is on 10 points, just two away from Haas in P8.
Predictions for Sprint-
My top five for the Sprint race is: P1: Verstappen, P2: Hamilton, P3: Norris, P4: Alonso and P5: Piastri.
I feel like we will get a little bit of a crazy race this weekend especially in the sprint, as for some drivers this is the perfect place to score some points.
The Japanese Grand Prix is officially over, and I’d say it was definitely one to remember, with 5 drivers retiring and a dominating drive by a certain driver!
It was Max Verstappen who was victorious in Japan which secured Red Bull back-to-back constructors’ titles! Lando Norris managed to hold onto P2, and Oscar Piastri grabs P3, his first podium in F1!
The full top 10 are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Norris, P3: Piastri, P4: Leclerc, P5: Hamilton, P6: Sainz, P7: Russell, P8: Alonso, P9: Ocon and P10: Gasly.
To start things off, lets go with the reigning World Champion, what a drive by the Dutchman! He almost got pipped by Lando Norris at the start but Verstappen done well to hold him off.
Now McLaren, what a team, and the drivers, wow. They are unstoppable at the moment, and Oscar Piastri getting his first podium aswell, an achievement they should all be proud off!
Now onto one of the retirees, Sergio Perez, what on earth was he doing? He first banged wheel with Hamilton and then had an incident with Magnussen which forced the Mexican driver to pit again for a second front wing after that he then retired.
Onto the Mercedes, somebody definitely put something in their water today, or maybe it was the fact that Toto Wolff wasn’t there? But they were fighting today, where it came too close for comfort, but at the end they played the team game and got a decent amount of points!
The Ferrari’s had a decent race, they are now only 20 points away from Mercedes who are in P2 in the Constructors, so the Italian team will be wanting to close in on them and continue with good points haul.
The next race isn’t for another two weeks, where we head to Qatar for Round 18, where the Sprint returns on the 6th to 8th October!
We are officially half way through Round 17, as qualifying is over and we get to take a look at how it went.
It was Max Verstappen who was back on pole position and he was joined by Oscar Piastri on the front row, and Lando Norris made it both McLaren’s in the top three.
The full top 10 are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Piastri, P3: Norris, P4: Leclerc, P5: Perez, P6: Sainz, P7: Hamilton, P8: Russell, P9: Tsunoda and P10: Alonso.
It’s great to see Max back on pole, after two races where it’s been Carlos Sainz. The Dutchman has definitely come back with a bit of fire underneath him this week, as he didn’t have the best weekend last time out in Singapore.
Great result from the McLaren’s wow, this new package they have got is something else clearly! I think the teams above them like Aston Martin and Ferrari and possibly Mercedes are probably going to be in a bit of a bother if McLaren keeps getting good results like this.
A good result for Yuki Tsunoda in front of his home crowd, especially with his new contract. He starts in the top 10 and will be looking to score more points for the team and boost them up in the constructors championship. A mention for his teammate too, Lawson just missing out in P11.
Another bad result for Logan Sargeant, crashing out in Q1 giving his team a lot of work to do before the race tomorrow… I think his starting to write his own fate unfortunately.
A bit of a shocker from Alpine too, Ocon starting in 14th and Gasly in 12th. They’ve definitely been pushed down the grid more and more as the season goes on, but they’ve got an opportunity this week to try and get a few more points.
Not the best result for Aston Martin, Stroll starting 17th, and Alonso 10th, they have had a strong start to the season but the more it goes on it’s not the best, hopefully we will be seeing a big points haul soon!
My Predictions-
My top five predictions for the race are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Norris, P3: Perez, P4: Hamilton and P5: Piastri.
I feel like we may get a little bit of a crazy race, maybe not as much as last weekend but enough for a 4 way fight for the win.
We could possibly see a safety car appearance and teams will be wanting that as its predicted to be a two stop race so the teams will be wanting that too.
Round 15 is now over and so is the Italian Grand Prix so let’s take a look at how it went!
Max Verstappen and Red Bull came out on top in a battle against the Italian team as they secured victory and make more F1 history – the Dutchman moving ahead of Sebastian Vettel with 10 wins in a row and the team stretching their winning run to 15 races.
Sergio Perez came home to make it a 1-2 for the team and rounding on the podium is pole sitter, Carlos Sainz making the Tifosi proud!
The full top 10 are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Perez, P3: Sainz, P4: Leclerc, P5: Russell, P6: Hamilton, P7: Albon, P8: Norris, P9: Alonso and P10: Bottas.
A great result for Ferrari, and a good haul of points aswell which makes them leap frog Aston Martin in the Constructors. It was great to see them battling together aswell, as teammates fighting each other doesn’t happen often.
Alex Albon holding off the McLaren’s for the majority of the race and scoring some valuable points in P7, he is quite literally carrying Williams all by himself!
Valtteri Bottas, back in the points! What we love to see, he will be wanting to score a few more points in the next coming races, which will help the team as they are now only one point away from Haas in 8th.
We had a bit of drama before the race even started, Yuki Tsunoda reported an engine failure on the formation lap and had to pull over to the side, which resulted in a delayed start due to recovering the Alpha Tauri car.
Now we only have less than two weeks until were back and it will be another double header, and our first stop will be Singapore from the 15th to 17th!
Round 14 is over, as we now take a look at a very action-packed and rain hit race.
Max Verstappen stormed to victory for a third year in a row at the Dutch GP, making it 9 victories in a row, equalling Vettel’s. Fernando Alonso was back on the podium in P2 and Pierre Gasly, yes that’s right brought it home in P3.
The full top 10 are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Alonso, P3: Gasly, P4: Perez, P5: Sainz, P6: Hamilton, P7: Norris, P8: Albon, P9: Piastri and P10: Ocon.
Fernando Alonso, back on the podium? We love to see it! He also bagged driver of the day, so hopefully himself and the team are recharged and ready to fight for some more podiums!
Piereeeee Gaslyyyyy, P3! Wow, if you asked me if I thought he’d be on the podium I’d say no, but I wasn’t expecting an overly crazy race. His first podium with Alpine, and Alpine’s second one this year. The team will be hoping for one or two more so they can bring the fight to McLaren in the Standings.
Now a mixed day for the Ferrari boys, Carlos finishing 5th so a decent amount of points. But Charles… first was the pit stop where there were no tyres ready for him? (Are we surprised? No.) And then he had to retire the car due to floor damage. When will they get a break?
Not a good day for Sargeant, started in the top 10 which is good! However… it didn’t stay that way, the American lost control of his Williams at the exit of Turn 8 and slammed into the barriers which prompted a VSC and then a full Safety Car.
Now looking at a certain New Zealanders Debut… what a brilliant drive from Liam Lawson! He finished 13th, ahead of Tsunoda, which say’s a lot.
We don’t have long to wait, as it’s race week again, and we head to Monza!
Qualifying is now over and we most definitely had a few surprises along the way, lets take a look at how it went…
Max Verstappen made it three pole positions in a row at the Dutch Grand Prix with another dominating display. The Dutchman managed to pull a stupendous final lap to beat Lando Norris and George Russell at the end of a crash-filled session.
The full top 10 are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Norris, P3: Russell, P4: Albon, P5: Alonso, P6: Sainz, P7: Perez, P8: Piastri, P9: Leclerc and P10: Sargeant.
Just the result Max wanted, however I think it would of been better having his teammate with him in the top three, rather than 7th…
A great result for Williams! Albon has his best qualifying result in F1 so far joining Russell on the 2nd row. Not only this, but Logan Sargeant got into his first Q3 session! Unfortunately he crashed which meant he couldn’t get no better than 10th.
Not the best result for Lewis, qualifying 13th. Everyone was improving each lap and with Yuki impeding Lewis so he couldn’t get a decent lap in before the chequered flag so he was just a sitting duck waiting to be pushed down.
A mixed result for Ferrari, both drivers in the top 10, but they would have been hoping to get a bit of a better result. Sainz starts 6th, and Leclerc 9th due to crashing out aswell, which put his session to an end aswell.
Predictions-
My top five predictions for the race are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Russell, P3: Alonso, P4: Norris and P5: Sainz.
I feel like the race win we know who is going to grab it unless there’s a costly mistake which will never really happen. But the chaos behind him? Now that’s what is going to be entertaining.
The last race before summer break is officially over and we had a mid race shower with a few different strategies going on.
Max Verstappen recovered from a five place grid penalty to claim his eighth successive victory in Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix with teammate Sergio Perez adding to the celebration as he completed a one-two result. Charles Leclerc held on to the final podium spot, denying seven-time world champion, Lewis Hamilton.
The full top 10 are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Perez, P3: Leclerc, P4: Hamilton, P5: Alonso, P6: Russell, P7: Norris, P8: Ocon, P9: Stroll and P10: Tsunoda.
Lando Norris had an up and down race, as initially he lost a host of positions after starting on medium tyres and then switched to hards, but a move to softs as spits of rain began to fall proved inspired and he gobbled up the competition and eventually managed seventh.
A clash between Oscar Piastri and Carlos Sainz led to both drivers retiring – the McLaren driver clipping the inside wall at La Source as he had no where to go and Carlos went into him, which led to him having damage to his sidepod.
Aston Martin secured another double points finish, with P5 for Alonso and P9 for Stroll, I think Aston would be happy with that considering past couple of races.
Finally a good result for Perez, a podium! And it’s about time too, the last time he was on there was back in Miami, so he will be hoping to keep this good form going after we come back after summer break.
Mercedes, had a pretty good race, double points again and George had to work his way through the field after dropping a few positions. They go into the break on a high and will be hoping for more good results next month.
Round 14 isn’t until 25th to 27th August where we return to the Netherlands for Max’s home race, can he make it nine in a row?
Max Verstappen was at his best again, as the Red Bull driver narrowly beat the McLaren of Oscar Piastri and the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz to take pole for the Sprint Race.
Verstappen left it late to put a time down as he took the chequered flag with four seconds to go, but he went straight to the top of the timesheet’s with a 1m 49.056s.
The full top 10 are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Piastri, P3: Sainz, P4: Leclerc, P5: Norris, P6: Gasly, P7: Hamilton, P8: Perez, P9: Ocon and P10: Russell.
The drivers were met with worse conditions yesterday, than the day before as the Shootout got postponed by 35 minutes. Once it got started, with each lap the times were beginning to drop as track conditions continued to improve.
Aston Martin made a bold call during SQ2, as they put Lance Stroll on a set of medium tyres. However, the decision proved costly as Stroll ended up in the barrier at Turn 9 which saw a red flag. The session was unable to be restarted, Ricciardo narrowly missed out on a place in SQ3 along with the Williams duo and Aston Martin duo.
It was good enough. Just tricky conditions, you don’t want to make big mistakes so I think the lap was okay – I just didn’t risk too much in the second sector where it was still a bit damp, and it was just enough for first so that’s good. If it’s going to be wet, dry, also if it’s wet, how you’re going to survive with the wet tyres or the intermediates. So a lot of question marks still but we’ll figure it out along the way.
Verstappen on getting pole.
Sprint Race-
Red Bull’s, Max Verstappen converted pole position into victory during Saturday’s Sprint race at the Belgian Grand Prix, as he claimed back the lead from McLaren rival, Oscar Piastri after the two opted for different strategies.
Amid plenty of action at Spa-Francorchamps circuit, Alpine’s Pierre Gasly made the most of the conditions to round out the podium. Lewis Hamilton was demoted from fourth to seventh after the Mercedes man clashed with Sergio Perez and picked up a penalty.
The full top 10 are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Piastri, P3: Gasly, P4: Sainz, P5: Leclerc, P6: Norris, P7: Hamilton, P8: Russell, P9: Ocon and P10: Ricciardo.
With a rain theme of the weekend so far, the heavens opened up again just before the 17:05pm time scheduled start of the Sprint – officials decided to push it back by 30 minutes to allow the latest downpour to pass by.
By the time the formation lap began on mandated full wet tyres and behind the Safety Car which became several laps.
After a lot of near misses in the pit lane as drivers squabble for position after changing tyres to intermediates. Gasly found himself running third behind Piastri and Verstappen, with Perez up to fourth, Hamilton in fifth and Sainz rounding out the top six from Leclerc and Norris.
As the race started to settle down, Verstappen took his chance to gain into Piastri’s lead which stood at just under two seconds after their stops.
But on Lap 4, Fernando Alonso lost control of his Aston Martin at Pouhon and spun into the gravel which then triggered a Safety Car just before Verstappen was about to make a move on Piastri.
Hamilton and Perez dramatically banged wheels through Blanchimont as they battled over fourth position the seven time world champion managing to work his way through around the outside of La Source a few moments later.
I think [staying out on wets at the start] was just a safer call. I could come in first, but then I might be blocked by other cars. There might be a Safety Car and then you lose out massively. I didn’t to stay out, we lost one position, but we know that we are quick. I think you could see that when we put the inter tyres on we were flying, so it was OK!
Round 12 is now complete, we had a dominant display from one driver in particular, and a bit of drama on the opening lap, let’s take a look at how it went…
Max Verstappen claimed his seventh win in a row! Which now saw Red Bull break records with 12 consecutive wins in a row – which was held by McLaren. Talking of McLaren… Lando Norris brings home a second consecutive podium, with Sergio Perez returning to the podium in third.
The full top 10 are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Norris, P3: Perez, P4: Hamilton, P5: Piastri, P6: Russell, P7: Leclerc, P8: Sainz, P9: Alonso and P10: Stroll.
Lovely work from both Bulls in today’s race, Max taking the lead into turn 1 on lap 1 and Sergio Perez making his way through the field and back onto the podium! Hopefully this gives him the momentum next week aswell!
Obviously another good result for McLaren, are they officially back now??!!! Two podiums on a trot for Lando and two good point finishes for Oscar, who will be hoping to get his first podium in F1 soon!
Now Mercedes, obviously great pace in Quali for Lewis, but not the best of days today, finishing 4th is still good but I think the team was expecting a podium at least… But George worked his way through the field and managed to get up into 6th after starting 18th.
Now onto the first lap drama… Both Alpine’s with a double DNF for the second week in a row. However this wasn’t their fault… Guanyu Zhou went into the back of Daniel Ricciardo who then went into Gasly and Gasly into Ocon… So they were kind of sitting ducks in that collision and was just really unlucky.
Now onto Ricciardo, first race weekend back, obviously unlucky with the incident on lap 1 but he managed to fight his way back through the pack and finish 13th, two places ahead of his teammate Tsunoda in 15th…
Now looking towards Round 13, we don’t have to wait too long as the next race weekend is only next week in Belgium the last race weekend before the summer break!
Will 13 be unlucky for Max, and we have a different driver win? Or will it be the Bulls going for a 13th consecutive win in a row?! Find out next week!
Round 11 is now complete, let’s take a look at how it went down at an action-packed British Grand Prix weekend!
Max Verstappen extended his current winning streak to six races and a first at Silverstone. With Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton rounding out the podium putting on a show for the British crowd.
The full top 10 are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Norris, P3: Hamilton, P4: Piastri, P5: Russell, P6: Perez, P7: Alonso, P8: Albon, P9: Leclerc and P10: Sainz.
Norris jumped Verstappen for the lead at the start, with teammate Oscar Piastri almost following him through, meaning it was a Red Bull sandwich over the first few laps – but the reigning double world champion fought back.
We had a late Safety Car period as Kevin Magnussen’s Haas was smoking which saw the leading group come into the pits.
Great result for McLaren!! Wow, so glad we saw Lando on the podium at his home race, as it’s fully deserved! Obviously gutting for Piastri for him to miss out on his maiden F1 podium but either way its a career best finish for him in 4th!
Obviously a great result for the Mercedes team too, I think we had no doubt that Lewis will get on the podium here, but to have George in the top five too, just rounds out the weekend for them.
Not the best result for Ferrari, 9th and 10th is a bit shocking considering their pace in qualifying, but these things happen, they still scored points!
Another great weekend from Albon, so happy to see him doing well at the moment, it’s like his fount something and it just clicks, so more points in the bag for himself and the team! As for Logan Sargeant, he was just missing out on points in P11! But I have a feeling they’ll come soon enough.
A decent result for Perez considering his starting position, I think we all know it could’ve been a better result. I think it’s time he needs to re-group and start fresh as I think RB might get the hump soon if they haven’t already with the Mexican…
We are back racing for Round 12, in just under 2 weeks! And we head to Hungary on the 21st to 23rd July!
What a qualifying session we had yesterday, with changing conditions adding a bit of drama to it, which brought out a few surprises… good and bad!
Max Verstappen made it five pole positions in a row and seven for the 2023 season so far, as he beat the McLaren pair, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri to the top spot.
The full top 10 are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Norris, P3: Piastri, P4: Leclerc, P5: Sainz, P6: Russell, P7: Hamilton, P8: Albon, P9: Alonso and P10: Gasly.
Obviously first few drivers I have to mention are McLaren! WOW, honestly being a McLaren, Norris and Piastri fan I’m so happy. We all saw how Lando did last weekend with the updated car, and now Oscar has it, McLaren have made a huge step forward!
Really good results for Ferrari, nice to see them both there together, so they can push for more points today.
Now Sergio Perez… he is starting 15th, not the place he wants to be that’s for sure, especially when there’s both drivers from three teams in the top 10. It’s his 5th exit not being able to make Q3, I think something needs to change on his side of the garage, whether it’s just bad luck or not.
Valtteri Bottas got disqualified from qualifying as he starts in the race in P20. Bottas ground to a halt at the end of Q1, after bagging himself a spot in Q2.
The FIA were unable to extract the stipulated one-litre fuel sample from the C43 machine, which lead to him being disqualified.
I think we might have an entertaining race, we have Sergio Perez coming through the field, and will the McLaren’s be able to turn the qualifying pace into race pace and keep up with the likes of Ferrari and Mercedes.
The Austrian Grand Prix is now complete, lets take a look at how race number 10 went!
Max Verstappen make its 5 wins in a row, and a clean sweep of wins and poles across this jam-packed weekend as he showed a dominant display today, he led home Ferrari driver, Charles Leclerc and teammate Sergio Perez in third.
The full top 10 are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Leclerc, P3: Perez, P4: Sainz, P5: Norris, P6: Alonso, P7: Hamilton, P8: Russell, P9: Gasly and P10: Stroll.
Great results for Red Bull, finally Sergio Perez having a decent result! Only thing is to see if he can do the same next weekend including a good qualifying result too.
Good result for Ferrari also, nice to see Leclerc back on the podium aswell. They needed a strong weekend as a whole for both drivers and they finally got it. So let’s hope this happens again and we see some closer battles.
A really good result for Lando Norris too, the new upgrades clearly work so hopefully we can see both McLaren boys up in the points more often now!
Not the best weekend for Mercedes, the car just did not like this track. Lewis struggled turning round corners which resulted in him getting a 5 second penalty for track limits. And then George, had to work his way through some of the pack because he didn’t have the best qualifying result on Friday.
However, not everything stays the same. A new classification for the race has been released after the FIA handed out penalties to eight drivers following the conclusion of the race.
Aston Martin had lodged a protest over the provisional classification shortly after the 71 lap encounter.
The eight drivers are: Sainz, Hamilton, Gasly, Albon, Ocon, Sargeant, De Vries and Tsunoda all being hit with penalties.
The new top 10 are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Leclerc, P3: Perez, P4: Norris, P5: Alonso, P6: Sainz, P7: Russell, P8: Hamilton, P9: Stroll and P10: Gasly.
We haven’t got long to wait till the next race as it’s just around the corner, where we race at Silverstone for the British Grand Prix next weekend!
Max Verstappen secured pole position for the Sprint Shootout at the Austrian Grand Prix with a stunning display at the end of a damp-dry session.
He headed Red Bull teammate, Sergio Perez and McLaren’s Lando Norris in third.
The full top 10 are: P1: Verstappen, P2: Perez, P3: Norris, P4: Hulkenberg, P5: Sainz, P6: Leclerc, P7: Alonso, P8: Stroll, P9: Ocon and P10: Magnussen.
A good result for the Red Bull team, finally seeing Perez up there with his teammate, but ideally it should be for the race on Sunday as theirs not much points on offer today.
Big result from number 4, Lando Norris again, like I said yesterday he likes this track a lot.
The Haas duo both done well both in the top 10, so they will be hoping to score some points this weekend.
Not such a good result for Mercedes, neither driver in the top 10, Hamilton had a shock SQ1 exit, as the times just kept on improving which dropped him down and then he had traffic on his final lap so couldn’t improve.
Whereas for George Russell he got into SQ2 but, he had a hydraulic problem and subsequently confirming that he would be taking no further part in the session.
Sprint-
Max Verstappen emerged victorious in an action packed Sprint race at the Austrian Grand Prix, where he survived some early drama to claim an ultimately dominated win on Red Bull’s home soil.
He was followed by Perez in 2nd and Sainz rounding out the top three in third.
The full top 10 are: P1: Verstappen, P2: Perez, P3: Sainz, P4: Stroll, P5: Alonso, P6: Hulkenberg, P7: Ocon, P8: Russell, P9: Norris and P10: Hamilton.
Verstappen lost the lead to teammate Sergio Perez as the start but quickly fought back and settled into a rhythm up front, cruising away from the competition.
A change in the starting order saw Charles Leclerc demoted from sixth to ninth – which then promoted the Aston Martin pair and Alpines, Esteban Ocon.
Lando Norris was a big loser at Turn 3 of lap 1 as he got caught behind the squabbling Bull’s and then suffered a slow exit – where he fell from 4th to 10th.
With eight laps, to go, Russell reported that conditions were not far off slicks and moments after making that call, he headed for the pits.
The start was not ideal, a bit of wheelspin, but after that, after Lap 1, once we got back in the lead, it was good. We were just managing the tyres, knowing that if it wasn’t going to rain anymore, then you know 24 laps on an intermediate is quite a lot, but they were hanging in there. I think of course the last five laps the slicks were quite a bit faster, but I think for us, so far in the lead, it didn’t make sense to pit. We just hung in there with the inters which worked well.
Qualifying is now complete for the Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday, let’s take a look at what went down at the Red Bull Ring.
Max Verstappen made it three pole positions in a row for the Austrian Grand Prix, getting the better of the Ferrari pair Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz in an action-packed session.
Verstappen overcame deleted lap times in Q1 and Q2 – with plenty of drivers falling foul of the track limits – to make it into the top 10 shootout and deliver his pole-grabbing effort of 1m04.391s.
The full top 10 are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Leclerc, P3: Sainz, P4: Norris, P5: Hamilton, P6: Stroll, P7: Alonso, P8: Hulkenberg, P9: Gasly and P10: Albon.
Perez was absent from the Q3 battle, as he dropped out in the second phase of qualifying with successive deleted times. Not a good start to the weekend for the Mexican driver, with him starting 15th on Sunday his got a bit of work to do which isn’t needed for the team or himself.
A good result for Lando, P4 for number 4! Hopefully he can turn it into a better result on Sunday as we all know he likes this track and does well here.
Brilliant result for the Ferrari’s! Is it too early to say their back? Hopefully they can get at least a podium/ possibly two on Sunday and grab some important points for the team in the Constructors!
Also a good result for both Nico Hulkenberg and Alex Albon who make it into the top 10 for another race weekend in a row, hopefully they can grab points when it matters.
Predictions for race-
My top five predictions for Sunday’s race are: P1: Verstappen, P2: Leclerc, P3: Hamilton, P4: Sainz and P5: Alonso.
With a few drivers not in the right position it will be interesting to see how they will do and how well they will come through the field. One thing we have to look out for though is track limits, some drivers might be pushing and then result in a time penalty…
We had a very wet qualifying session, which brought out a few shocks both being good and bad.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen took pole position for the Canadian Grand Prix, as the wet weather dominated the session. Nico Hulkenberg was a surprise second for Haas due to a well-time effort, only to loose the position later on. Alonso rounds out the top three.
Before any penalties are applied the full top 10 are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Hulkenberg, P3: Alonso, P4: Hamilton, P5: Russell, P6: Ocon, P7: Norris, P8: Sainz, P9: Piastri and P10: Albon.
With penalties applied, the grid for today’s race is: P1: Vertappen, P2: Alonso, P3: Hamilton, P4: Russell, P5: Hulkenberg, P6: Ocon, P7: Norris, P8: Piastri, P9: Albon and P10: Leclerc.
A good result for the Mercedes duo, second row start for both drivers so they’ll be looking to see if they can get a double podium again this weekend, or possibly for the win?
McLaren’s duo done well also, both cars in the top 10, hopefully they can get a couple places up the grid and score some decent points.
Sainz, Tsunoda, Stroll and Hulkenberg all have 3 place grid penalties, the first 3 drivers all for impeding other driver’s during qualifying. Hulkenberg fora red-flag infringement during qualifying.
Not a good result for the Ferrari’s, Charles starting 10th and Carlos 11th, they will be hoping to grab some points this weekend and hope to make up for a disappointing session yesterday.
Sergio Perez starting in 12th isn’t what he or his team wanted, his got some ground to work up in today’s race. I also think that Red Bull maybe getting a little annoyed with the Mexican, as he isn’t where his meant to be on the grid, especially as he started the season of so well.
Predictions-
My top five for the race are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Hamilton, P3: Alonso, P4: Russell and P5: Ocon.
I feel like we might have some drama this race, quite a few drivers out of position so there might be a few clashes and safety cars which could change some drivers strategies.
McLaren have signed Rob Marshall as their new Technical Director, Engineering & Design, with the long-time Red Bull man set to join the Woking team on January 1st, 2024.
Marshall’s role, which has been confirmed in the wake of James Key departing as Technical Director, will sit within the F1 Technical Executive team, alongside Peter Prodromou and David Sanchez, reporting directly into Team Principal, Andrea Stella.
He will be supported by Neil Houldey in the newly-created role of Deputy Technical Director, Engineering & Design, to complete the senior technical structure, the pair due to “assess and establish the highest technical standards required to design winning F1 cars”.
Marshall will make the move to McLaren after 17 years with Red Bull, most notably as Chief Engineering Officer, with McLaren describing his appointment as “one of the fundamental steps taken by the team to underpin their journey towards the front of the grid”.
I am incredibly pleased that Rob will be joining McLaren. With over 25 years working in motorsport, Rob comes to us with a wealth of expertise and experience, elevated by his tenure and track record at Red Bull Racing. Rob’s appointment is one of the fundamental steps and a natural fit to aid the team’s journey to get back to our winning ways. We are a team with the ambition of fighting for championships, but over the last couple of seasons we have not shown a steady upward trend from an on-track competitiveness point of view. Over the last few months, we have worked towards inverting this trend. The approach we have adopted is comprehensive and is based on strengthening the team from a people and expertise point of view, along with the ongoing projects to upgrade technology and infrastructure that will shortly come to fruition. People and culture are our most important resource. We have recently invested and worked towards developing and empowering the internal talents available at McLaren, and we already perceive and measure the positive impact. In parallel, we have been strengthening our roster by bringing new talents on board. The list was already strong and encouraging, and the addition of a high-end and skilled individual like Rob will further consolidate our ability to establish the highest technical standards at McLaren and be in condition to design winning F1 cars. We look forward to welcoming Rob in the near future.
Andrea Stella.
In addition to McLaren’s press release, Red Bull released a communication of their own to confirm Marshall’s departure and pay tribute to him through team boss, Christian Horner.
We would like to thank Rob for everything he has done for the team over the past 17 years. His work on the generation of cars that gave us four incredible championship doubles between 2010 and 2013 was truly outstanding. In the years since he has continued to be a key figure at the team and in 2016 took on the broader role of Chief Engineering Officer which has seen him involved in other projects across the business. His influence will be missed but once again we thank him for all he has done and wish him the very best in his new role.
Round 8 is now complete, where we had quite a civilised race with no safety cars/ yellow flags or red flags and no retirements again!
Max Verstappen was victorious once again, as he controlled the race from lights out to the chequered flag making it his fifth win of the season. He led home the Mercedes of both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell making it their first double podium of the season.
The full top 10 are: P1: Verstappen, P2: Hamilton, P3: Russell, P4: Perez, P5: Sainz, P6: Stroll, P7: Alonso, P8: Ocon, P9: Zhou and P10: Gasly.
A great drive from both Sergio Perez and George Russell, both starting from outside the top 10. Damage limitation that drive was and a good haul of points for both drivers.
Not a good race for Leclerc, just an overall bad weekend for the Monegasque. Finishing 11th after starting 19th, which is a good move up but no points aren’t good, so hopefully he will have some good luck soon.
Two points for Guanyu Zhou, which is fully deserved. He had a good race, some nice overtakes and his rewarded by getting points.
Now, lets move on to Yuki Tsunoda, he was having a good race running in the points, making a few moves… And then it all went wrong, he got a 5 second time penalty for forcing Guanyu Zhou off track when he was overtaking. This dropped Yuki out of the points and finished 12th.
With Round 8 now complete, we have to wait a little while till the next race, where we head to Canada for Round 9 on the 16th June to 18th June.
What a qualifying session, we have a very mixed up grid for the race but that’s what will make it all more exciting seeing a few driver’s battle their way through the field.
Max Verstappen took his first pole position for the Spanish Grand Prix by comfortably getting the better of Ferrari rival Carlos Sainz and McLaren’s Lando Norris.
The full top 10 are: P1: Verstappen, P2: Sainz, P3: Norris, P4: Gasly, P5: Hamilton, P6: Stroll, P7: Ocon, P8: Hulkenberg, P9: Alonso and P10: Piastri.
Some bad news for Alpine, as Pierre Gasly may have qualified 4th but he won’t be starting 4th… He impeded both Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz where he was given 3 place grid penalty, twice, so he will be starting the race in 10th.
Now looking a little further down the grid… Charles Leclerc is starting 19th as he dropped out of Q1 due to car complaints.
Sergio Perez was another shock, as he got knocked out of Q2 due to taking a trip through the gravel, so he is due to start just outside the top 10 in 11th.
We also have George Russell who is outside of the top 10, starting just behind Sergio Perez in 12th. During Q2 he had a bizarre incident with his teammate Lewis Hamilton, with the latter progressing on into the top 10.
Predictions-
My top five predictions are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Sainz, P3: Hamilton, P4: Ocon, P5: Alonso.
I think the top five for tomorrow’s race will be mixed depending if there will be any safety cars/ red flags and who will optimise on others down fall.
Round 7 is now complete and we had some late drama in the race due to a rain shower where chaos ensued.
Max Verstappen kept Red Bull’s 2023 winning record intact by keeping his cool overcoming the rain and the chaos in the final stages of the race. Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso came home in P2 and on the final step of the podium is Esteban Ocon in P3!
The full top 10 are: P1: Verstappen, P2: Alonso, P3: Ocon, P4: Hamilton, P5: Russell, P6: Leclerc, P7: Gasly, P8: Sainz, P9: Norris and P10: Piastri.
A really good day for Mercedes, and I think the upgrades for the W14’s have improved a little bit, but we won’t know how well until we get to another circuit. With Russell’s five second time penalty for clashing with Sergio Perez when he rejoined the track from an off in the slippery conditions not affecting his finishing position.
A really good result for Alpine, finally what they need and it’s a podium aswell, which makes it even better for the team. Hopefully this is them on the up as they had pace all weekend and they can keep the good results coming.
Obviously a bad day for Sergio Perez, started plum last due to his crash in qualifying and we all knew it was going to be a hard race for him. Which means the gap between Max and Sergio in the Drivers standings has gotten bigger.
A decent day for the McLaren boys, both in the points, but they still have a lot of work to do if they want to be close to Alpine.
Now we don’t have to long to wait, as the next race is this weekend! We are in Spain for Round 8 the home grand prix of Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz!
Monaco qualifying is complete and the grid is set for tomorrow’s Monaco Grand Prix, with a few shocks and surprises along the way.
Max Verstappen took pole position for the first time in Monaco, he pipped out rival, Fernando Alonso in P2 and hometown hero Charles Leclerc in P3.
The full top 10 are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Alonso, P3: Leclerc, P4: Ocon, P5: Sainz, P6: Hamilton, P7: Gasly, P8: Russell, P9: Tsunoda and P10: Norris.
But, things are never easy especially for Charles Leclerc, who has been given a 3 place grid drop for the race meaning he will start P6, which bumps up Ocon to P3, Sainz P4 and Hamilton P5.
However, one Red Bull driver might have been on pole but the other… was down the other end of the grid. Sergio Perez will be starting in P20 due to crashing out in Q1.
A really really good result for the Alpine’s P3 and P7, obviously it means they should be scoring some good points if they don’t loose out on strategies etc tomorrow.
A good result to see Yuki in the top 10 also, some good pace there and for his teammate aswell who starts just outside the top 10 in P12, hoping to get his first points of the season…
Not such a good result for Zhou Guanyu who is starting P19, the Alfa Romeo driver needing to score points but his teammate isn’t starting from the best place either in 15th, a lot of work to do if they want to get further up the constructors.
Predictions-
My top five for the race are: P1: Alonso, P2: Verstappen, P3: Sainz, P4: Hamilton and P5: Ocon.
Obviously with such a mixed up grid it will definitely be interesting but it will be all about strategy and if it works out with safety cars etc, but i’m hoping it will be an exciting one.
Jordan's Track Talk 