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Analysis: How George Russell Beat Lando Norris And Max Verstappen To British Grand Prix Pole Position

admin — Sat, 06 Jul 2024 15:47:19 +0000

George Russell is the form man in Formula 1 at the moment, as he grabbed a second pole position in four races to head an all-British top 3 in the British Grand Prix qualifying on Saturday. Russell finished 0.171s ahead of Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton, who qualified P2. McLaren’s Lando Norris slotted in third, despite being the favourite going into qualifying. His teammate Oscar Piastri qualified P5. It was a disappointing day for Max Verstappen by his standards, as he qualified only fourth. But how did Mercedes come out on top?

Wet weather the secret to Mercedes success

Not for the first time in 2024, the Mercedes came alive in cooler conditions. Much like the Canadian GP when Russell grabbed pole, a wet-to-dry qualifying session suited the Mercedes car during qualifying, making them the team to beat on the soft tyre runs.

Championship leader Max Verstappen went off into the gravel in Q1, and a possible loss of downforce from that incident meant that the Dutchman was never really in contention for pole.

With rain on the cards on Sunday, George Russell will be eyeing up a second successive win, after his Austrian GP success last weekend.

Watch out for Hamilton, Norris

Lewis Hamilton is an eight-time winner at Silverstone, and no driver drives the circuit quite like the seven-time world champion. Starting on the front row, Hamilton, for once in 2024, will not have to rue a poor qualifying result.

Lando Norris in the McLaren is likely to also take the fight to the two Silver Arrows. In recent weekends, the McLaren has been the fastest car on raceday.

Day to forget for Ferrari

Ferrari have abruptly fallen behind Red Bull, McLaren and Mercedes, proved by the fact that Nico Hulkenberg in the Haas outqualified Carlos Sainz. The day was even worse for Charles Leclerc, who failed to make it to Q3.

Lance Stroll (P8) also outqualified Fernando Alonso (P10) in the Aston Martin team.

Earlier in the day, Sergio Perez beached it in the gravel in Q1, meaning it was yet another Q1 elimination for the Mexican.

British GP Qualifying Top 10: 1. George Russell, 2. Lewis Hamilton, 3. Lando Norris, 4. Max Verstappen, 5. Oscar Piastri, 6. Nico Hulkenberg, 7. Carlos Sainz, 8. Lance Stroll, 9. Alex Albon, 10. Fernando Alonso.

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Max Verstappen Fights Off Valiant Lando Norris For Spanish Grand Prix Win, Lewis Hamilton Gets Podium

admin — Sun, 23 Jun 2024 14:46:37 +0000

McLaren driver Lando Norris fought right to the end, but it was Max Verstappen who won his seventh race of the season at the 2024 Spanish Grand Prix. The gap between the two drivers were separated by only 2.2 seconds at the chequered flag, after a valiant push from the British driver, to close the gap from more than eight seconds at one point. Mercedes finished third and fourth for the second consecutive race, but this time, Lewis Hamilton grabbed his first Grand Prix podium of 2024.

At the start of the race, George Russell went from fourth to first in the first turn, with an audacious move. Crucially, Verstappen also pipped pole-sitter Norris at the start. The Dutchman would soon overtake Russell on Lap 3, a move that would allow him to manage his pace and tyres at the front.

Ferrari duo Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz finished where they started, coming home in fifth and sixth. Leclerc was less than a second behind Russell at the end.

Home hero Fernando Alonso endured a race to forget, finishing pointless at a disappointing 12th place.

Russell was ahead of Norris and Hamilton for most of the race. However, Mercedes’ decision to put hard tyres on his final stint proved to be the wrong choice, as he slipped down the podium places.

Sainz also spent most of the race ahead of Leclerc, having overtaken him in Lap 2. However, he also fell victim to the hard tyres.

Oscar Piastri recovered from his worst qualifying of 2024 to finish seventh, while Sergio Perez got eighth.

And it was a bright day for French constructors Alpine, as both Pierre Gasly (P9) and Esteban Ocon (P10) finished in the points.

Verstappen continues to lead the championship standings, now going 70 points in front of everyone. Norris, however, has leapfrogged Leclerc to second.

The F1 circus next heads to Austria, for the Austrian GP, on June 30.

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Max Verstappen Wins Chinese Grand Prix To Extend Title Grip

admin — Sun, 21 Apr 2024 09:28:47 +0000

Max Verstappen rounded off a dominant weekend with victory in the first Chinese Grand Prix for five years on Sunday to extend his world championship lead a day after romping to sprint victory. The three-time world champion controlled the race on its return to the Shanghai International Circuit for the first time since 2019 to finish 13.7 seconds ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris with Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez third. He was only denied a 100 percent points-scoring weekend when Fernando Alonso picked up the bonus for the fastest lap around the 5.451 kilometre track on the outskirts of the Chinese megacity after a late switch to fresh tyres.

It was another all-conquering display from Verstappen, who won his fourth grand prix this season to add to his sprint victory.

Only a rare brake failure in Melbourne denied Verstappen the chance of a clean sweep in all five races in 2024, as he marches inexorably towards a fourth consecutive world title.

“It felt amazing, all weekend we were incredibly quick,” said Verstappen, who recorded his first victory in China.

“It felt amazing, it was so enjoyable to drive on every single compound. The car was on rails, I could do whatever I wanted to do with it.”

The Ferrari pair of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz were fourth and fifth, George Russell was sixth for Mercedes with Alonso seventh after a late charge through the field.

McLaren’s Oscar Piastri was eighth, chased home by Lewis Hamilton who clawed his way up to ninth from 18th on the grid.

The points scorers were rounded out by the Haas of Nico Hulkenberg in 10th.

Norris was delighted to finish second having started from fourth on the grid.

“Surprised, I’m very happy – today it just worked out, I wasn’t expecting it,” said the Englishman.

“It shows the team has done a good job, and it paid off. I made a bet about how far behind the Ferrari we would finish today, I thought 35 seconds and I was very wrong.”

Perez finished on the podium for the fourth time in five rounds this season but had been second until a safety car cost him places.

“Yeah it cost us quite a bit, we lost two places (under the Safety Car) and it was just tough fighting like that. The life of the tyre goes off dramatically,” said the Mexican.

China’s first Formula One driver Zhou Guanyu has been an enormous draw over the weekend as he made his home grand prix debut.

He was allowed to park his car on the grid in front the grandstands after the race and exited the cockpit in floods of tears to an ovation from the capacity crowd.

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Dominant Max Verstappen Wins Japanese GP In Red Bull One-Two

admin — Sun, 07 Apr 2024 08:25:43 +0000

Triple world champion Max Verstappen romped to victory at the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday, leading team-mate Sergio Perez to a dominant one-two finish for Red Bull. Verstappen failed to finish in Australia a fortnight ago but he was in control for the entire race at Suzuka after starting from pole and claimed his third win from four grands prix this season. The Dutchman finished 12.535sec ahead of the Mexican Perez, who came home in front of Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz in dry, sunny conditions. Verstappen said “the critical bit was the start, to stay ahead”.

“After that, the car just got better and better,” he said.

“Everything just went very well. It couldn’t have been any better.”

Sainz, who triumphed in Australia, took third ahead of Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc, who started from eighth on the grid.

McLaren’s Lando Norris, second in last year’s race, was fifth ahead of Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso.

Mercedes’ George Russell edged out McLaren’s Oscar Piastri for seventh, while Lewis Hamilton was ninth in the other Mercedes.

Verstappen was starting from pole for the fourth time in as many races this season and stamped his authority on the race from the off, leading Perez to the first turn.

He said this week that Suzuka was one of his favourite circuits and he has now won the Japanese Grand Prix three times in a row.

He was back to his breathtaking best after a brake issue in Melbourne saw him retire from a race for the first time in two years.

“It was a little hiccup the last race but I’m very happy that we’re back on top,” said Verstappen, who has taken an early stranglehold on the world championship.

Perez, who failed to finish at Suzuka last year, picked up his third runner-up finish of the season.

“I think we have a good momentum,” he said.

“Last year here was probably my worst weekend, so I think if we are strong here I think we can be strong anywhere else.

“It’s been a good weekend.”

Japan’s Yuki Tsunoda was 10th for RB, scoring points at his home grand prix for the first time.

Early red flag

The race was red-flagged on only the second lap after RB’s Daniel Ricciardo and Williams’ Alex Albon collided in a frenetic start.

Albon’s front wing clipped into the rear of Ricciardo’s car as they jockeyed for position and both slammed into the wall before getting out unscathed, but their race was over.

The action resumed from a standing start and Verstappen picked up from where he left off ahead of Perez.

Leclerc took over the lead after Verstappen pitted on his 17th lap, but the Red Bull driver was back in front four laps later.

Verstappen and Perez both consolidated their positions, leaving Norris fighting for third against the two Ferraris.

A late lock-up cost the McLaren driver his chance of a podium finish.

Sauber’s Zhou Guanyu retired with a gearbox issue on his 19th lap.

Williams’ Logan Sargeant skidded off the track to a standstill late in the race but resumed driving.

The championship resumes in a fortnight’s time with the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai.

It will be the first time the event has been held since 2019, before it was curtailed by the pandemic.

The Japan race was being held in April after being shifted forward from its usual late-season slot.

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Max Verstappen Fastest In Dry Final Practice For Japan GP

admin — Sat, 06 Apr 2024 04:33:28 +0000

Max Verstappen blazed round the Suzuka track in dry conditions in 1min 29.563sec.© AFP

Triple world champion Max Verstappen went fastest in Saturday’s final practice for the Japanese Grand Prix ahead of Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez. Verstappen, who failed to finish the race in Australia a fortnight ago, blazed round the Suzuka track in dry conditions in 1min 29.563sec — 0.269sec quicker than Perez. All the drivers went out after showers spoiled Friday’s second practice and saw just five record timed laps. George Russell was third-fastest with a time of 1min 29.918, ahead of Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton.

Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso was fifth and McLaren’s Lando Norris — second in last year’s race behind Verstappen — was sixth.

Carlos Sainz, who won in Melbourne, was seventh in his Ferrari.

Verstappen won the first two grands prix of this season but he retired in Melbourne after a brake issue.

He did not emerge for the wet second practice at Suzuka on Friday he was first out on the track for the final session in better weather.

Haas’s Kevin Magnussen skidded off early on before resuming his lap.

RB’s Daniel Ricciardo also suffered a setback when he misjudged a corner and spun onto the grass.

Williams driver Logan Sargeant was back in action after crashing in Friday’s first practice and sitting out the second session.

But the American was still not happy, telling his team over the radio that he had “no rear support, zero”.

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Max Verstappen On Pole Ahead Of Carlos Sainz At Australian Grand Prix

admin — Sat, 23 Mar 2024 06:50:38 +0000

Dominant three-time world champion Max Verstappen clinched a third straight pole of the season on Saturday at the Australian Grand Prix as the flying Dutchman targets a record 10th consecutive win. In overcast conditions at Melbourne’s Albert Park, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, back in the car barely two weeks after appendicitis surgery, came second in tense qualifying and will keep the Red Bull ace company on the front row.

“A bit unexpected today, but very happy — both (Q3) laps felt very nice,” said Verstappen, who is looking to repeat his feat from last year when he won in Australia from pole.

“A bit of a tricky weekend so far, Ferrari seem very quick in the long runs so that makes tomorrow exciting.”

The Dutchman knocked out his rivals with a flying lap of one minute 15.915, 0.270 secs ahead of Sainz.

Sergio Perez in the other Red Bull will start third alongside Lando Norris, who scored a surprise fourth in his McLaren.

The 2022 Melbourne winner Charles Leclerc in the second Ferrari was fifth with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri sixth on his home track.

Mercedes’ George Russell came seventh ahead of RB’s Yuki Tsunoda and the Aston Martin pair of Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso.

But there was disappointment for seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton who missed Q3 and will start in 11th.

“It’s been a tough couple of weeks, a lot of days in bed waiting to see if I could be here today,” said a relieved Sainz, who missed the last race in Jeddah for his surgery.

“To put it on the front row after leading through qualifying, I was almost not believing it.”

But despite his best efforts, he could not topple Verstappen, who won the opening two races of the season in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, both from pole.

The 26-year-old is chasing a 10th straight victory to match his own record set last year, while Red Bull are attempting to score a third straight 1-2 finish for the first time in the team’s history.

Sainz topped Q2 from Verstappen and Leclerc with Hamilton — an eight-time Australian pole-sitter — a key casualty.

His loss was Tsunoda’s gain as the only interloper outside of the big five teams joining the Q3 ranks.

Haas’ Kevin Magnussen also missed out in Q2, along with Valtteri Bottas in the Sauber, Esteban Ocon in his Alpine and Alex Albon in the sole Williams.

Sainz was also fastest in Q1 ahead of Perez and Verstappen.

Sauber’s Zhou Guanyu came last with RB’s Daniel Ricciardo, Pierre Gasly in the other Alpine and Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg also failing to progress.

Logan Sargeant was absent after his Williams was given to teammate Albon.

Albon crashed on Saturday and with no spare chassis Williams was left with just one car and opted for the Anglo-Thai driver over the American.

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Max Verstappen Heavy Favourite In Melbourne As Red Bull Drama Rumbles On

admin — Wed, 20 Mar 2024 03:17:01 +0000

Max Verstappen will be heavy favourite to make it three wins from three this season as his Red Bull team attempt to put weeks of paddock intrigue behind them at the Australian Grand Prix. The Dutch three-time world champion emphatically led home teammate Sergio Perez in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, but the celebrations were overshadowed by team disunity and allegations against Christian Horner. The long-serving Red Bull boss was cleared of inappropriate conduct involving a woman colleague ahead of the season-opener in Sakhir and tried to put a lid on the drama in Jeddah.

But the unnamed woman has appealed to Red Bull GmbH, the parent company of the all-conquering Formula One team.

She has also reportedly lodged an official complaint to Formula One’s governing body the FIA, ensuring the saga will rumble on in Melbourne this weekend.

Horner has guided Red Bull to six constructors’ and seven drivers’ world championships since 2005, including the last three won by Verstappen.

But the star driver’s father, the former racer Jos Verstappen, claimed earlier this month that Red Bull faced being “torn apart” if Horner remained in his position.

His son also issued a veiled threat to quit if team adviser Helmut Marko was sidelined in any power struggle.

Horner insisted “it is absolutely fine with Max”, but added the caveat that “we are a team and no single individual is bigger than the team”.

That piqued the interest of Mercedes boss Toto Wolff, who needs a replacement next season when Lewis Hamilton departs for Ferrari.

“There is no team up and down the grid who wouldn’t do handstands to have him (Verstappen) in a car,” Wolff told reporters ahead of arriving in Australia.

Momentum

Intrigue aside, victory in Saudi Arabia was Verstappen’s ninth in a row, with more of the same expected at Albert Park, barring any technical hiccups.

“It has been a great start to the year and we don’t know the full potential of the car yet, so now we want to keep the momentum going,” said the Red Bull ace.

Verstappen won a chaotic race from pole in Australia last year, holding off Hamilton after the grand prix was red-flagged three times, with multiple crashes and just 12 drivers finishing.

It was his maiden win in Australia and Red Bull’s first in the country since Sebastian Vettel in 2011.

Perez, in the other Red Bull, is the only driver to get close to Verstappen this year.

The Mexican is determined to keep pressing hard as Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc snaps at his heels.

“Max is driving at a super-high level and I think he is the only driver who has maximised qualifying and the race so far this season,” said Perez.

“It is great though because I have the best possible challenge in him. I must keep evolving weekend after weekend.”

With Verstappen already 15 points clear of Perez and 23 ahead of Leclerc, the Ferrari number one is desperate to break the stranglehold in Australia and close the gap before it widens too far.

Whether his Ferrari partner Carlos Sainz returns is up in the air after the Spaniard missed Saudi Arabia with appendicitis.

In his absence, reserve driver Oliver Bearman, just 18, scored a stunning seventh on his debut after just one free practice session, showcasing the Briton’s huge potential.

Hamilton’s Mercedes has now gone 47 races without a win, and judging by the car’s performance so far, they won’t be breaking the barren streak any time soon.

Instead, it looks set to be another week of battling for the minor places with Aston Martin and McLaren.

Seven-time world champion Hamilton, who came ninth in Jeddah, believes his car has potential but admitted it was struggling with grip at high-speed corners.

“These next few races will be tricky but we will be putting in a great deal of effort to improve as much as we can,” he said.

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Max Verstappen Cruises To ‘Unbelievable’ Red Bull One-Two In Bahrain

admin — Sat, 02 Mar 2024 18:52:57 +0000

Three-time world champion Max Verstappen began his title defence in flawless fashion on Saturday when he guided his Red Bull team to a crushing one-two triumph, ahead of team-mate Sergio Perez, at the Bahrain Grand Prix. In a statement of emphatic superiority, the 26-year-old Dutchman came home 22.5 seconds clear of Perez, who started from fifth, to ease some of the pressure on team boss Christian Horner. Pole sitter Verstappen held off the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc to lead into the first corner, and it was business as usual from there to the flag as he enjoyed the perfect start to his quest for a fourth consecutive title.

By claiming the 33rd pole of his career, fastest lap and race win, Verstappen delivered the 12th ‘hat-trick’ of his career leaving only the seven-time champions Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton ahead on 22 and 19 trebles respectively.

It was Verstappen’s eighth successive win, his 55th race victory and 99th podium finish as Red Bull dominated an uneventful race on a cold evening at Sakhir’s Bahrain International Circuit.

it also extended his run as championship leader to 40 races since the 2022 Spanish Grand Prix.

“Unbelievable!” said Verstappen.

“I think today went better than expected and we had a lot of pace. It was super-enjoyable to drive and we stayed out of trouble. It’s a good start to the year – it couldn’t be better.

“It was a lot of fun. And it’s very special to have days like today as it doesn’t happen often, when everything is all ok with the car. It felt great today.”

Team-mate Perez praised the team.

“The team definitely had good momentum. We’ve got to keep it up now for the coming weekends,” he said.

“It was the maximum we could achieve – a tricky race with the tyre management and plenty to learn from the race.”

Carlos Sainz, whose seat at Ferrari is to be taken by Hamilton next year, finished a pugnacious third ahead of team-mate Charles Leclerc, who profited from a rare error by Mercedes George Russell in the closing laps.

“I felt really good today and had good pace. We had a clear plan and it worked well,” said Sainz.

“I managed my tyres and then I could overtake a few cars on the way to the podium. A good step forward compared to last year.”

Russell finished fifth ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris, Hamilton in the second Mercedes, Oscar Piastri in the second McLaren and the Aston Martin duo two-time champion Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll.

Horner show of unity

After days of speculation, Red Bull boss Horner arrived hand in hand with his wife, former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell – a show of unity following the release on Thursday of a cache of alleged messages from him to a female member of staff.

That had come just 24 hours after he had been cleared by Red Bull’s internal investigation into allegations of inappropriate behaviour.

On track, the team showed no apparent distraction as Verstappen topped qualifying to secure his 33rd pole position – and lead the pack when the lights went out in cold, dry conditions in the desert.

The Dutchman made a clean start and led from lights to flag.

When he came in for his final set of new softs at the end of lap 37, he re-joined with a 17-second cushion ahead of Perez.

It was a commanding performance from the champion, decorated with a fastest lap of 1:32.608 as he cruised through the final 16 laps: a lap that was fully 1.5 seconds quicker than any other.

“Look, it’s been the best possible start to the season,” said Horner afterwards.

“Very clinical from the team and a well-executed race. The perfect start.”

Asked about his own position and the confidence that Red Bull’s owners have in him, Horner was bullish.

“Do I have their backing? Absolutely, yes,” he said. “Otherwise, I wouldn’t be here.”

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