Formula 1

Max Verstappen’s Red Bull car was thoroughly inspected by the FIA after his victory at the Monaco Grand Prix as part of the FIA’s regular inspections on cars throughout the season. Verstappen’s RB16B was randomly chosen among the points-paying cars and met the FIA’s technical regulations following tests on various parts of the car including the power unit, brakes and the chassis. “After the race of the Monaco GP car number 33 was randomly chosen among the top ten cars for more extensive physical inspections,” the FIA said in a press release. “Subject to these physical inspections were the pedal assembly including brake master cylinders, throttle pedal position sensing, associated dampers, surroundings within the survival cell, sensors and their loom rooting and connections to the SECU and other units. “All inspected components were found to be in compliance with the 2021 Formula 1 Technical Regulations.” Verstappen leads the Drivers’ Championship for the first time in his F1 career going into this weekend’s Azerbaijan GP with a four-point advantage over Lewis Hamilton.

Toto Wolff has conceded he fears the Azerbaijan Grand Prix could be another “tricky” weekend for Mercedes. The Silver Arrows surrendered the lead in both the drivers’ and constructors’ championship standings following a nightmare Monaco Grand Prix which saw Valtteri Bottas retire through a machined wheel nut and Lewis Hamilton languishing in seventh after failing to show pace all weekend. Although Mercedes has taken victory on each of the past two visits to Baku, Wolff is concerned things will get worse before they get better for the reigning champions. He said: “Baku is next up. While it’s a very different street circuit to Monaco, we expect it to be another tricky one for us, not particularly suiting the characteristics and traits of the W12. “Red Bull will be strong again, while both Ferrari and McLaren have made great progress recently.” Championships are not won or lost at one race alone and although Mercedes will hope to score maximum points at venues that suit the W12 better, Wolff is acutely aware the team cannot afford to drop too far behind Red Bull. He added: “A key focus for us has to be exploiting the opportunities available to us on those outlier tracks which aren’t suited to our car – when the points are there, we need to grab them.”

Dr Helmut Marko has ruled out a return to Red Bull’s Formula 1 camp for Daniil Kvyat. “Definitely not,” said the 79-year-old Austrian, when asked if the Russian and former Red Bull Racing and Alpha Tauri driver has a chance of a Red Bull comeback. “We are focused on working with our current drivers, but he also has a contract with Alpine,” Marko added, referring to Kvyat’s new reserve role. Speaking to formel1.de, Marko also seemed to play down a promotion for Pierre Gasly. “As far as I remember, Gasly’s contract is for another two years, so either at Red Bull Racing or Alpha Tauri. But as I said, we are not thinking about lineups. “We will think it over and make a decision during the summer break.” While Marko is worried about Alpha Tauri rookie Yuki Tsunoda’s current progress, he is slightly less concerned about Sergio Perez at the senior team. “The positive thing is that Perez is performing in the races,” he said. “Sometimes he is even at the level of Max Verstappen. But we do have to find something extra in qualifying. We must see an improvement there.” Mexican Perez is on a single-year contract. “We are a very popular destination in the driver market, so I don’t think anyone will negotiate until they have had a chance to sit down with us,” said Marko. An outsider for a 2022 seat is Nico Hulkenberg. “He is doing very well at Servus TV at the moment,” said Marko, referring to the former F1 driver and the German’s new role as a TV pundit. “The ratings are very good. “He is the reserve driver for both Aston Martin and Mercedes, so he has to stay fit anyway.”

Ex driver turned commentator Marc Duez from Walloon TV station RTBF in Belgium loses his job with the broadcaster after making several of what many might describe as misogynistic comments during the Formula 1 race in Monte Carlo targetted at Serena Williams. Tennis superstar Serena Williams was invited to the Monaco Grand Prix as Aston Martin’s guest of honour. The 23-time Grand Slam winner was even allowed to wave the chequered flag. Duez commented: “Serena Williams will be waving something different today.” presumably in reference to what would normally be her tennis racket, but in a manner that inferred something else less savoury. When Red Bull driver Max Verstappen then crossed the finish line first, things got even worse. The TV commentator made a snide assessment that one could clearly see that Williams was “not a cheerleader”. But it went further: a friend of the US-American, who was standing next to her on the balcony, called Duez “ugly” – much to the astonishment of his co-commentator Gaëtan Vigneron. For this reason, according to “Het Laatste Nieuws”, his broadcaster RTBF has launched an internal investigation and suspended the commentator. Duez himself has since apologised. “I want to apologise to the people who might be affected by my statements. I didn’t want to shock anyone,” he told Walloon media. However, this does not change his suspension for the time being. Duez was once a racing driver himself. In the 1990s, he won the 24-hour race on the Nürburgring four times. The 64-year-old also made a name for himself as a rally driver.

Red Bull expect to poach 50 Mercedes staff for their new power-unit division including their former engine boss Andy Cowell, according to a report. With Honda set to pull out of Formula 1 at the end of 2021, Red Bull Powertrains has been born to take over the work of the Japanese manufacturer and ensure Red Bull do not need to return to being a customer team. The recruitment drive is already well under way and one of the major talking points has been Red Bull’s contact with Mercedes’ nearby Brixworth engine base. Already six Mercedes staff have jumped ship, the most high-profile being Ben Hodgkinson, who will leave his position as head of engineering at Mercedes High Performance Powertrains to become Red Bull Powertrain’s first technical director. Auto Motor und Sport report another six staff have been lured away from Mercedes to link up with Red Bull, whose team principal Christian Horner “expects the number to rise to 50 by the end of the hiring process”. But by far the biggest name whom the report states will join Red Bull is Cowell, the former head of Mercedes’ engine operations. Cowell left the team in 2020 in search of a new challenge, although one that was not related to F1. Cowell led the design of the Mercedes V6 turbo-hybrid engine introduced in 2014 and which since then has powered the team to seven Drivers’ and Constructors’ title doubles in a row. As recently as the Monaco Grand Prix, Horner said Cowell was not going to Red Bull, while Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said his regular chats with Cowell had not given any hints either that he was interested in Red Bull. “Obviously, there’s a lot of media traction on these topics and with personnel joining obviously this new venture,” Horner told reporters. “But I can say I was surprised to read a story this morning that apparently Andy had agreed to join us because that isn’t the case.” “It would be a great surprise,” Wolff responded. “Because it would mean it’s different to what we have discussed. But there’s nothing stopping him from taking any decision, whether he continues on his entrepreneurial journey or returns to Formula 1 in a different role. “I speak to Andy every week about different things and for me it doesn’t seem he’s going to Red Bull. But in this sport, we’ve seen many black swans, so at the moment what I think? He’s not going there.”

McLaren came with a pleasant surprise just before the Monaco GP. They would drive this race with the iconic livery of sponsor Gulf. Although the majority of the fans were very positive about this, they will probably have to settle for the standard orange livery of McLaren for the rest of the season. Andreas Seidl says that to Motorsport.com. “The only thing I want to say about it now is that this was clearly a one-off livery at the moment. About plans for the future, I can’t say anything at the moment.” That it was a resounding success, however, is certain, both among the fans and the drivers. When McLaren announced Gulf as their new sponsor last year, the possibility of such a retro-livery was already in the air, but the way McLaren announced it still came as a surprise. Zak Brown said at the announcement that he hopes more teams will follow with a throwback livery. It is an idea that came from America. NASCAR already has a throwback weekend. On the historic oval of Darlington, most drivers drive with a livery from the past. It is probably a gimmick, but it has made the race more popular with the fans. The Monaco Grand Prix would be the perfect location for this in Formula 1.

Many Grands Prix will still be held behind closed doors in 2021, but in Austria Red Bull Racing advisor Helmut Marko has come up with a clever trick. This allows no less than 39,000 fans to be present at the Red Bull Ring. “The grandstands will have their own entrances and exits,” Marko explained at Formel1.de. “This means that each grandstand is a unit in itself and no one comes into contact with each other.” This trick allows for far more people to attend the Red Bull Ring than first thought. In Austria, only 3,000 spectators are allowed per open-air event, but because the entrances and exits are distributed over thirteen grandstands, the Red Bull Ring can accommodate thirteen times 3,000 spectators. With the cancellation of the Canadian and later the Turkish Grand Prix, Austria will host two races, just as it did in 2020. The Styrian Grand Prix is scheduled for June 27, while the Austrian Grand Prix will be held a week later on July 4.

Max Verstappen is bracing for a strong reaction from his Mercedes rivals next week in Baku in the wake of the Brackley squad’s Monaco setback. Verstappen clinched a dominant win in the Principality that allowed him to overhaul Lewis Hamilton in the Drivers’ standings while Red Bull also moved ahead of Mercedes in the Constructors’ championship by a single point. Although the Dutchman was delighted to lead the pack after five rounds, the 12-time Grand Prix winner insisted he needed “to be there” at the end of the year when he crosses the finish line in Abu Dhabi. “It was a very good weekend and of course I’ve never stood on the podium there before so it was very nice to get the win,” said the 23-year-old. “Taking the lead in the championship feels good but we need to be there at the end of the final race, that’s all that matters. “Where we are now feels good and of course it shows that we had a decent start to the year but we have to keep on pushing because we still need to improve and do better. “Nobody is ever perfect or standing still in this sport. So far we have made the smallest mistakes but nothing major and that is why we are first at the moment but we all know it can change very quickly.” Looking ahead at next weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Verstappen admitted that Baku – where Mercedes has won two of the three F1races that have taken place along the shores of the Caspian Sea – isn’t among his favorite venues. “The track is okay but probably not a favourite of mine if I’m honest,” he said. “I’ve never been on the podium there so it’s time to change that. Let’s see how competitive we are, I do expect Mercedes to come back strong there though.”

The wing war between Mercedes and Red Bull is continuing to heat up as we head towards round six at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. The battle between the two title rivals is happening not just on the track, but off it as well, with the front wing of the Mercedes W12 and the rear wing of the Red Bull RB16B very much at the centre of attention. Red Bull’s ‘limbo’ rear wing was first mentioned in the media by Lewis Hamilton at the Spanish Grand Prix, something which Mercedes believe gave their rivals as much as three-tenth advantage as it flexed up and down when transitioning between corners and straights. As a result, the FIA are introducing a stricter testing procedure which will eventually see that flexing minimised. However, as it stands, those tests will not be introduced until after the Azerbaijan Grand Prix and, even after that event, there will still be a 20% allowance on passing the test for a further month. That process is creating a scenario where official protests could be launched in the lead-up to race day in Baku, but Red Bull are preparing their own line attack by potentially protesting Mercedes’ front wing, which has also shown a lot of movement in some on-board footage in previous races this season. Marko once again mentioned Mercedes’ front wing when discussing the possible fight the two teams could be having off the track next week. “We find this a bit strange,” Marko said in an interview with Formel1.de. “The FIA has decided that the rules for the test, especially for the torsion resistance, will be changed. This will apply from Paul Ricard onwards. That is a very clear statement and regulation. “If Mr Wolff thinks that is too late for him – in my opinion, it is still the FIA that determines the procedure. If he does that [protest], he is free to do so. “But I think he should also look at his front wings. Because on ServusTV and also on Sky, there was a recording where you saw how drastically this front wing approaches the ground.” Marko went on to say that making changes to the rear wing is nothing new for Red Bull, who have always complied with the regulations in this particular area. “We had to make improvements each time,” Marko said. “A deadline was set and we made improvements within this period. That is a normal process. “At the moment, we are on the road with a legal car. And at Paul Ricard, we will put a corresponding reinforcement on our rear wing.” Meanwhile, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has already said that if Red Bull do protest the W12’s front wing, then they will do exactly the same with the Red Bull front wing as he believes it moves just as much as theirs does.

Mercedes have explained a slight misalignment between wheel gun and wheel nut caused the machining effect that made it impossible to remove Valtteri Bottas’ wheel. Bottas’ race ended at under less than half the distance of the Monaco Grand Prix, when a disastrous pit stop saw mechanics unable to remove his car’s front right wheel.Footage afterwards showed aluminium shearing off the wheel nut, the gun’s force essentially sanding it smooth, rather than connecting to the teeth to loosen the nut. Chief strategist James Vowles explained “Our nuts are what we call captive, they are maintained within the wheel and the tyre, so as the wheel comes off the nut goes with it. “This nut has to hold a wheel to the car such it can cope with 5g forces in braking and laterally as well. It’s a huge amount of force going through the axle and the nut and clearly we can never have it coming loose. So, the gun is an incredibly powerful gun, such that you can actually see the mechanics having to restrain themselves holding themselves to the ground otherwise they get rotated with it at the same time.” He said that the wheel gun’s action, described as ‘hammering,’ required perfect alignment to the nut to work correctly. “It’s an impact force and what happens is the nut typically loosens in four or five impacts against it, a hammering action. “What happened is we came on slightly angled, so when the socket was now connected to the nut, it slightly angled relative to it and as a result of that, now instead of distributing the load across all of the nut it was across a small section and that tore the metal clean off and in fact all of the metal was now removed from the nut. As a result of that, the nut was in place and we were unable to remove it.” The machining on the nut was so severe that Mercedes were unable to remove the wheel in Monaco and were expecting to do so back at their factory. “Clearly, it’s a circumstance that cost Valtteri dearly and cost the team dearly,” Vowles said. “One that we are going to put steps in place to mitigate.”

Lewis Hamilton believes he won’t be following in the footsteps of Kimi Raikkonen and continue racing until he’s 41 as he spoke about his Formula One career being the “biggest ride” of his life. The 36-year-old has been hounded about his future plans in the championship after opting for a one-year deal with Mercedes this season, as the seven-time world champion chases down a record-breaking eighth title. The Briton is currently the third oldest F1 driver on the grid behind Alpine’s Fernando Alonso, 39, and Kimi Raikkonen, 41, at Alfa Romeo, who have three world titles between them. Speaking ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix, which saw Max Verstappen leapfrog Hamilton in the driver’s standings to take the lead for the first time in his Formula One career, the reigning world champion was asked by AS if he may take a leaf out of Raikkonen’s book. “I don’t think so,” stated Hamilton. “I don’t think I’m going to drive forever, even if this was the biggest ride of my life. “There’s a lot of things I want to keep doing for a while, but others don’t. “I’d have five years left for that, and I don’t think I’m going to keep running then, even if you never say never.” Hamilton has recently expressed interest in starting contract negotiations with Mercedes for 2022, with a hope to get talks wrapped up by F1’s summer break in August, admitting delays last time out “ruined” his winter. Team principal Wolff recently expressed that Hamilton’s next deal will be longer than a 12-month add-on. “Yes, it should be [more than a year],” he said. “We don’t want to be in a stressful situation every single year where we are absolutely flat-out trying to win races and needing to negotiate. I would rather that doesn’t happen every year. “We just need to spend a day or two together, put it out there, and decide which are the difficult components. We will then lock the door and won’t walk out until it is sorted. That works best for us and it has worked best for us in the past. “ Hamilton will be 37 in January, however Wolff linked his longevity in the championship to the NFL star Tom Brady, who won his seventh Super Bowl at the age of 43 earlier this year. Asked if Hamilton can compete into his 40s, Wolff replied: “Yes, absolutely. I have no doubt about that. He is so disciplined that in a way it is inspiring. “As long as Lewis continues to look after himself mentally and physically, continues to develop cognitively, then he can go on for much longer. “Look at Tom Brady and we are talking about an athlete that is on the field. Here is a racing driver that has utilised all his senses. “ Mercedes look to bounce back after a tricky weekend in Monaco which saw Valtteri Bottas retire during a pit stop, and Hamilton finish seventh – leaving them trailing Red Bull in the standings.

Max Verstappen took the lead in the Formula One championship race for the first time in his career with a dominating victory Sunday at the Monaco Grand Prix, his first win on the vaunted circuit. Verstappen took control of the race right at the start from the second position, in part because pole sitter Charles Leclerc did not start the race because of a mechanical issue. Verstappen darted in front of Valtteri Bottas and led start to finish for his second win the season and 12th of his career. The Red Bull driver took a four-point lead over seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton in the standings. “That was master class and you’re leading the championship. Well done, mate,” Red Bull team principal Christian Horner radioed to Verstappen as he crossed the finish line. It is the first time since the German Grand Prix in 2018 that Mercedes has not led the championship. Hamilton finished seventh on an uncharacteristically bad day for the usually reliable Mercedes team. Bottas retired from the race after a right-front wheel stub axle was stripped during his pit stop and Mercedes could not remove the tire. Verstappen sprinted over to his team and jumped into their arms after the race. “It is so special to win here. Of course I’m very proud,” Verstappen said. “But I’m thinking ahead to the rest of the season.” He was then greeted by tennis star Serena Williams, who waved the checkered flag and was an honorary guest at the event. “It’s so special around here to win. It’s my first time on the podium here,” said Verstappen, whose father Jos secured two podiums in 106 F1 races and was seven-time F1 champion Michael Schumacher’s teammate at Benetton. “I remember when I was very little, you always want to win this one.” Verstappen finished 8.9 seconds ahead of Carlos Sainz Jr. of Ferrari. Lando Norris scored his third career podium the same week he signed a contract extension with McLaren. “I don’t know what to say, it’s a dream to be on the podium here,” the 21-year-old British driver said. “I didn’t think it was going to happen. I’ll cherish it.” Sergio Perez was fourth for Red Bull, which moved back on top of the constructors championship ahead of Mercedes. Mercedes has won the last seven drivers’ and constructors’ championships, but Sunday marked the first time in five races this season that Hamilton and Verstappen did not finish 1-2. Sergio Perez was fourth for Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel was fifth for his best finish of the season. Leclerc’s chances of winning his home race from pole position ended when he pulled off track with a gearbox problem. He crashed with 18 seconds remaining in Saturday qualifying and risked a five-place grid penalty if Ferrari changed his gearbox. The team initially said Leclerc was good to go and the gearbox was fine, but about 20 minutes before the race Leclerc drove to the garage. Two years ago, Leclerc retired early in Monaco in his first season at Ferrari. The race director decided not to move Verstappen up from second to pole and left that space blank, giving Bottas more room to overtake on the inside. He never got the chance as Verstappen pounced at the start. The 3.4-kilometer (2.1-mile) course is the hardest in F1 to overtake on, and Hamilton found himself stuck in traffic for most of the race. Hamilton took a bonus point for the fastest lap toward the end, a rare bright spot on a dismal day for the defending champion and his team. Monaco Grand Prix race results Position No. Driver Car 1 33 Max Verstappen Red Bull-Honda 2 55 Carlos Sainz Jnr Ferrari 3 4 Lando Norris McLaren-Mercedes 4 11 Sergio Perez Red Bull-Honda 5 5 Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin-Mercedes 6 10 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri-Honda 7 44 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 8 18 Lance Stroll Aston Martin-Mercedes 9 31 Esteban Ocon Alpine-Renault 10 99 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo-Ferrari 11 7 Kimi Raikkonen Alfa Romeo-Ferrari 12 3 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren-Mercedes 13 14 Fernando Alonso Alpine-Renault 14 63 George Russell Williams-Mercedes 15 6 Nicholas Latifi Williams-Mercedes 16 22 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri-Honda 17 9 Nikita Mazepin Haas-Ferrari 18 47 Mick Schumacher Haas-Ferrari Fastest lap: Lewis Hamilton Not classified: Charles Leclerc, Valtteri Bottas

Charles Leclerc has been ruled out of Formula 1’s Monaco Grand Prix before the race even started after he encountered a gearbox issue on his way to the grid. The Ferrari driver claimed a sensational pole position at his home race but crashed out on his final lap of qualifying, leaving him concerned about potential damage to his gearbox. Ferrari confirmed on Sunday morning that it had found “no apparent defects” with Leclerc’s gearbox following several checks ahead of the race. It opted not to change the gearbox so that Leclerc could start from pole and avoid triggering a subsequent five-place grid penalty. But during the reconnaissance laps to the grid, Leclerc reported an issue with the gearbox. “No, no, no, noooo. Guys, the gearbox,” Leclerc said over team radio. The Monagasque returned to the garage so Ferrari could attempt to fix the issue, but the team failed to get Leclerc’s car back out before the pitlane was closed. Leclerc at best was set to be consigned to a pitlane start, but Ferrari sporting director Laurent Mekies told FIA race director Michael Masi that his driver will start the race. Ferrari confirmed the problem related to the left driveshaft that was impossible to fix before the race start. It continues a torrid run of bad luck at home for Leclerc, who is yet to finish a Monaco Grand Prix since starting in F1. Max Verstappen will now lead the field away at the start of the 2021 Monaco Grand Prix.

Mercedes Formula 1 boss Toto Wolff believes the team is willing to take risks with Lewis Hamilton’s strategy in Monaco after he only qualified seventh on Saturday. Hamilton slumped to his worst qualifying performance in almost three years as he struggled to get his tyres in the right temperature window, leaving him low on grip. The seven-time world champion finished three-quarters of a second off pole-sitter Charles Leclerc’s time, and said after qualifying that his hopes of winning in Monaco were over. The lack of overtaking opportunities left Hamilton braced for a difficult race, but it could prompt some creativity from the Mercedes pit wall. Wolff said that while seventh was not a low enough result to prompt any risks on-track from Hamilton, given the close title fight against Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, it could allow for some risky strategies to play out. “Driving-wise, no, because P7 still scores six points,” Wolff said when asked what risks Mercedes could afford to take with Hamilton. “But six points, you’d rather have six points than none. If Max wins the race or finishes second, that’s still a large enough gap. “So driving-wise no, but I think in terms of strategy, we can take risks. They are obviously limited, due to the reasons stated before, with traffic behind. But I think we have a car that is quicker than P7.” Mercedes failed to qualify with a car on the front row for the first time this season after Valtteri Bottas could only finish third, trailing Verstappen in P2. Wolff said that finishing third and seventh would be a result that Mercedes would have to “take on the chin” and learn lessons from its qualifying struggles. “If we can finish in better positions, then I would very much hope so,” Wolff said. “Monaco obviously isn’t the place where you have lots of overtaking opportunities.” Mercedes has struggled through the early part of the season with tyre warm-up on the W12 car, with the issue being exacerbated for Hamilton on Saturday in qualifying. It left the three-time Monaco winner braced for a race of damage limitation, with his 14-point lead in the drivers’ championship under threat. “We definitely struggle [with tyre warm-up], and I think this is magnified here being that is obviously a low energy circuit,” Hamilton said. “There are not really any high-speed areas, and then today, it was much, much cooler. So it’s sort of get worse over the day or so. I’m not really sure how Valtteri is able to get his tyres working. “I saw a glimpse of grip on that last lap, but it’s really short lived, so there’ll be a lot of analysis. “Of course P7 isn’t a great place to start here, but I will have to do the best I can to help the damage limitation tomorrow, and try and see if there’s a way to move forward somehow.”

Haas team principal Guenther Steiner estimates the damage to Mick Schumacher’s car sustained in his final practice crash will cost the team between $300,000 and $500,000. Schumacher crashed in the closing moments of final practice after losing control of his Haas into Casino Square. He caused significant damage to the left-side of his car after striking the barrier at the exit of the corner.Asked for an estimate of the costs involved in repairing the VF-21, Steiner said: “I don’t have the calculation, but between three and five hundred thousand.” “This is what these cars cost,” he explained. “It’s like I always said, the front wing alone is a hundred and fifty thousand.” Steiner admitted he was “disappointed” that Schumacher had missed out on qualifying for his first Monaco Grand Prix after he had stressed to both Haas drivers about the importance of a strong qualifying result around the tight street circuit. “It’s always disappointing because the most important thing in Monte Carlo is qualifying and there’s not many a year. It’s one time only every year. “It’s so different, qualifying here – short track, a lot of traffic. I think if he could have done it, it’s just to get this confidence, how to move out of the way and all these things. He missed out on that which is never good. So it’s never good to miss something.“But this for sure, next time, when he comes back he would’ve liked to have done it once before.” Schumacher will start this afternoon’s Monaco Grand Prix from 20th and last on the grid after being granted permission by the stewards to participate in the race, following his failure to set a lap time in qualifying as a result of his accident.

Ferrari driver Charles will start today’s Monaco Grand Prix from pole position. Ferrari confirmed that Leclerc’s gearbox was not damaged in his qualifying crash on Saturday. As such, the Monegasque will not face a five-place grid penalty for taking on new parts and assumes his position at the front of the pack for his home grand prix. Leclerc’s pole was in doubt after his front-right tyre brushed the Armco on the entry to the swimming pool chicane, destabilising his Ferrari and sending him over the kerb and into the barrier on the opposing side of the track with just 16 seconds of qualifying remaining. A Ferrari statement read: “Following further in-depth checks this morning, no apparent defects were found on Charles Leclerc’s gearbox, therefore the Monegasque driver will start today’s race from pole position, as per the qualifying result.” Leclerc, who claimed both his and Ferrari’s first pole since the 2019 Mexican Grand Prix, will be joined on the front row by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. Lewis Hamilton who leads Verstappen in the championship by 14 points, starts only seventh.