2021 F1

Mercedes strike back as Hamilton tops 1-2 in FP2 for Austrian GP

Published

2 years ago

July 2, 2021

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Lewis Hamilton tops 1-2 in FP2 for Austrian GP

Defending world champions Mercedes come back to the top of the timesheet at the Red Bull Ring for Australian Grand Prix. Title contender Lewis Hamilton made the best lap-time with a 1m04.523s and his teammate Valtteri Bottas set second quickest, 0.189s behind the leading time. While last Sunday’s race winner and morning practice session pace-setter Max Verstappen was 0.217s behind in P3 for Red Bull; who is leading the drivers’ championship ahead of Hamilton.

Hamilton barely escaped from a crash in the final segments of the second practice session, who made gravel trip at rain hits Turn 4.

Mercedes made some small progression today – Hamilton

“They definitely have something extra in their bag,” Hamilton told to Sky Sports’ about Red Bull.

“I think we made some small progression today. I think they still have the two-tenths lead, or maybe a tenth and a half. We made steps, but not enough to make up that two-tenths deficit.”

“I asked my guys, I don’t understand where they get it from, but it’s impressive and we’ve got to work hard to try and see if we can match them somehow.”

“It’s been a bit of a struggle in FP1 was a bit of a struggle because I just was trying different variants of the car and the car was unhappy. So then I had to make some more changes back to similar to what I had last week or with some other adjustments and felt much better,” The Brit said.

“So, I’m generally happy with where the car is, I’m probably not going to change too much, because most often if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it most often. Most of the time, [if] you always try to eke out more, it gets worse. So it’ll be the tiniest of tweaks.”

Toto Wolff tells Sky F1 after the session that Mercedes are “carefully optimistic” they have made improvements around the Red Bull Ring since last week, saying they “improved in some of the corner sequences, so it’s encouraging”.

Mercedes has become stronger – Verstappen

“Mercedes seems very fast on the soft tyre,” Verstappen told his own official F1 website.

“There are no real issues, so we just need to make sure we find some more speed on the softs, because I think we are looking good on the mediums and also in the long runs it is looking good, and that is the most important thing in the end,” the Dutchman clarified.

“It will be exciting, Mercedes has become stronger, we will see during qualifying tomorrow. The most important thing is to make sure the softer compounds hold up during the race, that will be a challenge,” Verstappen concludes.

Mercedes-powered Aston Martin duo Lance Stroll and Sebastian Vettel made fourth and fifth respectively. AlphaTauri’s ace Yuki Tsunoda set sixth fastest ahead his team-mate Pierre Gasly.

Fernando Alonso blocked by Kimi Raikkonen on a his fastest lap, finished eighth ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris and Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi, who rounded out the top 10 in the Austrian Grand Prix second practice.

F1 Results: Practice 2 Austrian Grand Prix

2021 F1

What penalty do Red Bull face for breaching F1 cost cap?

Published

6 months ago

October 10, 2022

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FIA recently confirmed that, Red Bull Racing have been found guilty of violating Formula 1 budget cap for 2021.

The Official confirmation by FIA said that a “minor” breaking of the budget cap. As resulted exceeding the budget by less than 5% or $7.25m – could have big consequences if the FIA decide to punish them.

Max Verstappen, who won a second F1 championship in weird conditions in Japan on Sunday, clinched the 2021 F1 title after late and controversial drama involving the safety car in Abu Dhabi.

The cost cap breaches penalty ranges from a public reprimand to a financial penalty or secondary level sporting penalties.

• Public reprimand
• Deduction of Constructors’ Championship points awarded for the Championship that took place within the Reporting Period of the breach;
• Deduction of Drivers’ Championship points awarded for the Championship that took place within the Reporting Period of the breach;
• Suspension from one or more stages of a Competition or Competitions, excluding for the avoidance of doubt the race itself;
• Limitations on ability to conduct aerodynamic or other Testing; and/or
• Reduction of the Cost Cap

Red Bull hint they will appeal FIA decision

The statement, released on their social meadi page read: “We note the findings with surprise and disappointment. Our 2021 submission was below the cost cap limit so we need to carefully review the FIA’s findings as our belief remains that the relevant costs are under the 2021 cost cap amount.

“Despite the conjecture and positioning of others, there is of course a process under the regulations with the FIA which we will respectfully follow while we consider all the options available to us.”

2022 F1

Verstappen won his second F1 World Championship

Published

6 months ago

October 9, 2022

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Max Verstappen won the rain hit Japanese Grand Prix and he secure his second world title as well. The Dutchman takes the full 19 points and his teammate Sergio Perez made second place, following the Charles Leclerc receives five seconds penalty, who crossed the line just ahead of Perez… but final corner cutting was given his time penalty.

Verstappen: It’s crazy

“It’s crazy. Very mixed emotions,” he said.

“Looking back, what a year we’ve had so far. It’s been incredible. It’s something I could never have imagined. After last year, fighting until the end, and then having such a good car again this year. I’m so thankful to everyone who has been contributing to this success.”

… More to follow

2023 F1

Nyck de Vries secures 2023 AlphaTauri F1 race seat

Published

6 months ago

October 8, 2022

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The Dutch racing driver Nyck de Vries sealed AlphaTauri F1 racing seat as replaced the Alpine-moved Pierre Gasly for 2023 F1 season.

27 years old, former F2 and Formula E world Champion’s demand has been raised, after he made an extraordinary performance at Monza for Williams racing team, who finished ninth on his F1 debut.

“I’m extremely excited to be joining Scuderia AlphaTauri for 2023 and I want to thank both Red Bull and the team for giving me the opportunity to drive in F1,” the Dutchman said.

“After Formula 2, I took a slightly different path with motorsport, but F1 has always been my dream and I’m grateful to be able to fulfil it.

“I’ve had a lot of chances to experience the 2022 car this year and I think that has put me in a great position for the upcoming season, I hope this has helped to prepare me for what is to come.”

“After Formula 2, I took a slightly different path with motorsport, but F1 has always been my dream and I’m grateful to be able to fulfil it.

“Having spent most of my teenage years in Italy for karting, I’ve always felt at home there, so for me, it’s great to be joining an Italian team, that already has a real family feel,” he added.

“I’m looking forward to meeting everyone and to start to build our relationship before the next season.”

AlphaTauri team head Franz Tost also gave his full care to De Vries, point out: “We are pleased to start a new chapter with Nyck, who’s very much welcome at Scuderia AlphaTauri.

“He is a very highly skilled driver, as he won in all the categories he competed in, with many races and championships under his belt.

“His last big success was winning the Formula E World Championship, and this is clear evidence that he is a very competitive driver, who deserves a seat in F1.

“I am looking forward to seeing him in our car and I’m confident that with Yuki and Nyck we will have a very strong driver lineup for 2023.”

The Austrian also paid praise to Gasly, who has spent at least part of every season at the team since his debut in 2017.

“AlphaTauri had a very successful time with Pierre,” he said.

“We will never forget his fantastic victory in Monza and his podium finishes in Brazil and Azerbaijan.

“I want to thank Pierre for all the effort he’s put into the team in the last years, and I wish him all the best for his future.”