Lewis Hamilton – Page 17 – Racetrackmasters

Hamilton receives a fine for seatbelt infringement after Sao Paulo GP win

Kevin Peterson3 years ago3 years ago03 mins

Lewis Hamilton has been fined for undoing his seatbelts on the cooldown lap after his victory in the Sao Paulo Grand Prix. Hamilton won from 10th place on the grid ahead of championship rival Max Verstappen, but came under investigation for a seatbelt infringement after seeing the chequered flag. The Mercedes driver was seen stopping to take a Brazilian flag from a track marshal, holding it aloft in the cockpit as he celebrated his third win at Interlagos. But the stewards called Hamilton to a post-race hearing for breaching safety regulations in relation to undoing seatbelts after the race has been completed. The FIA announced Hamilton had been hit with a €5000 fine for the incident, with a further €20,000 suspended until the end of 2022. A statement issued by the FIA read, as quoted by Motorsport.com: “The driver of car 44, Lewis Hamilton, undid his seat belts on the in-lap at the end of the race. “While the Stewards are sympathetic to the desire to celebrate, it is fundamentally unsafe to undo the seatbelts while the car is in motion. Slow speeds in these cars are very fast for an unrestrained occupant. “Further, Formula 1 drivers set the example for junior categories. It is critical that junior category drivers learn the importance of using all the safety devices of the car at all times.” It marks the second investigation Hamilton has faced over the Brazil weekend, with the seven-time world champion excluded from qualifying for a technical infringement. The DRS on Hamilton’s car failed the FIA’s post-session check, leaving him at the back of the grid for Saturday’s sprint race, where he recovered to fifth place. Hamilton’s victory over Verstappen has closed the gap between the pair in the drivers’ standings to 14 points ahead of next weekend’s Qatar Grand Prix.

Lewis Hamilton wins Sao Paulo GP after overcoming numerous grid penalties

Kevin Peterson3 years ago3 years ago09 mins

Lewis Hamilton scripted an epic win after a no-holds barred duel with Max Verstappen at the São Paulo Grand Prix in Brazil. Valtteri Bottas joined his team-mate on the podium. This was a must win race for the reigning world champion at the nineteenth race of the 2021 FIA Formula 1 World Championship. With three races to go, Hamilton could not let Verstappen extend his lead in the drivers’ championship to more than a race win. The Brazilian weekend has been an uphill battle after Hamilton won qualification and was disqualified for a DRS technical infringement. Hamilton started last in the sprint qualification race and fought back to fifth position. The Briton started tenth in the race after a five-place grid penalty was applied for a new power unit component. Hamilton from tenth place on the grid fought hard to take his sixth win of the season and cut the gap to Verstappen in the drivers’ championship to fourteen points. The race at the Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace circuit in São Paulo took place under hot conditions with air temperatures at 23 degree C and track temperatures at 55 degree C. Kimi Räikkönen made a pit lane start after his rear-wing was changed. Verstappen had a good start from second position and led pole-sitter Bottas into Turn 1. Bottas for good measure went off the track at Turn 4 and Sergio Pérez was in second position. It was a Red Bull Racing 1-2 by end of lap 1. Hamilton had gained three places and slotted into seventh position. Lando Norris had suffered a puncture as he tried to get past the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz into Turn 1 and pitted and rejoined in last position. By the end of lap 4, Hamilton was let past by Bottas and was in third position. Yuki Tsunoda and Lance Stroll came together withTsunoda suffering extensive damage. The Safety Car was deployed as debris had to be removed from the track. On the restart, both the Red Bull Racing drivers made a good getaway from Hamilton. Hamilton had a hard battle with Pérez and finally overtook the Mexican on lap 19. Hamilton was now 3.6 seconds behind Verstappen and it was going to be a straight fight for the win between the championship rivals. On lap 23, Stroll was the first driver to pit for the hard compound tyres and rejoined in nineteenth position. On lap 27, Hamilton pitted for the hard compound tyres and rejoined in sixth position behind Daniel Ricciardo and ahead of Sebastian Vettel. The undercut is powerful at this track and Verstappen pitted on the next lap but his gap to Hamilton was cut to 1.5 seconds. On the next lap, Pérez pitted and rejoined in fifth position. The Virtual Safety Car (VSC) was deployed due to debris on the track from Stroll’s car. This handed Bottas an advantage as he pitted under the VSC and rejoined in front of Pérez in third position. Behind them the two Scuderia Ferrari drivers, Pierre Gasly and the Alpine F1 team drivers were battling for position. Norris had progressed through the field to get himself into the points. On lap 41, Verstappen pitted for another set of hard compound tyres and rejoined in fifth position behind Leclerc. Bottas and Pérez pitted in quick succession in the next laps. Hamilton stayed out for another three laps in the lead of the race before he pitted and rejoined behind Verstappen. The gap between the two drivers was 2.6 seconds. Hamilton got himself within DRS-range and on lap 47 made an overtake move which Verstappen thwarted aggressively. The stewards noted the incident before deciding no action was necessary. On lap 59, Hamilton finally battled past Verstappen and cruised to a win. With all the setbacks Hamilton suffered this weekend, it was an epic win. Verstappen finished in second position and still leads the championship by 14 points. Bottas finished in third position and helped Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team extend the lead in the constructors’ championship to 11 points. Pérez finished in fourth position as he pitted in the final laps for the soft compound tyres to take the point for fastest lap from Hamilton. Leclerc finished ahead of Sainz as Ferrari had a good haul of points to increase their lead to the McLaren F1 team for third position in the constructor’s championship. Gasly battled his way to seventh position ahead of the Alpine F1 drivers, Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso. Norris took the final solitary point after he battled his way from last position after the first lap incident. The epic duel between Verstappen and Hamilton will resume in Qatar next weekend (Nov 19-21 2021). The track at this new race on the Formula 1 calendar is an unknown quantity and adds more variables to this intense battle for the championships. 2021 F1 SAO PAULO GRAND PRIX – RESULTS POS DRIVER NAT. TEAM TIME 1 Lewis Hamilton GBR Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team 71 Laps 2 Max Verstappen NED Red Bull Racing + 10.496s 3 Valtteri Bottas FIN Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team + 13.576s 4 Sergio Perez MEX Red Bull Racing + 39.940s 5 Charles Leclerc MON Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow + 49.517s 6 Carlos Sainz ESP Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow + 51.820s 7 Pierre Gasly FRA Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda + 1 Lap 8 Esteban Ocon FRA Alpine F1 Team + 1 Lap 9 Fernando Alonso ESP Alpine F1 Team + 1 Lap 10 Lando Norris GBR McLaren F1 Team + 1 Lap 11 Sebastian Vettel GER Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team + 1 Lap 12 Kimi Raikkonen FIN Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen + 1 Lap 13 George Russell GBR Williams Racing + 1 Lap 14 Antonio Giovinazzi ITA Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen + 1 Lap 15 Yuki Tsunoda JPN Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda + 1 Lap 16 Nicholas Latifi CAN Williams Racing + 1 Lap 17 Nikita Mazepin RUS Uralkali Haas F1 Team + 2 Laps 18 Mick Schumacher…

Bottas wins Sao Paulo GP Sprint race as Hamilton finishes 5th after starting from the back of the grid

Kevin Peterson3 years ago3 years ago08 mins

Valtteri Bottas denied Max Verstappen victory in the Sprint Qualifying race at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace on Saturday as Lewis Hamilton drove from twentieth on the grid to finish an amazing fifth. Bottas got the jump on Verstappen at the start and was able to get ahead of the Red Bull Racing driver heading into turn one, whilst behind him Carlos Sainz Jr. moved from fifth on the grid to run third, getting ahead of both Pierre Gasly and Sergio Pérez. Sainz then moved ahead of Verstappen at turn four, with the Dutchman running wide as a result, although the positions switched back a few laps later at turn one once he was able to use the drag reduction system down the main straight. Hamilton, who had started at the back after being disqualified from Qualifying for a DRS infringement, made up four places on the opening lap and then made light work of the midfield runners to enter the top ten, although once there he was made to work harder, particularly against the likes of Daniel Ricciardo and Sebastian Vettel. Bottas, running on the soft tyres, was able to keep enough life in them until the chequered flag to deny Verstappen the win, even when the Red Bull driver got close enough to open his drag reduction system on his rear wing. Bottas took the chequered flag at the end of the twenty-four laps 1.170 seconds clear to take the three points. Bottas and Verstappen ended well clear of the battle for third, with Sainz able to keep Pérez behind him all the way to the chequered flag. Pérez had a few attempts at passing the Scuderia Ferrari driver but to no avail, so the final point on offer went the way of the Spaniard. Lando Norris was a man on a mission early on as he rose to fifth, but he was Hamilton’s final victim heading into turn one on the final lap, with the McLaren F1 Team racer being forced to settle for sixth. Hamilton’s fifth place will turn into a tenth place start for Sunday’s race thanks to his grid penalty for an unscheduled change of Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) ahead of the weekend. Charles Leclerc ended seventh in the second Ferrari ahead of Gasly, with the Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda driver struggling at the start and losing out massively to fall to seventh. Once Hamilton was passed him, he fell back further from those ahead of him and ended down in eighth, while the top ten was completed by Alpine F1 Team’s Esteban Ocon and Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team’s Vettel. Ricciardo missed out on the top ten after a poor start, with the second McLaren driver ending eleventh, just ahead of the second Alpine of Fernando Alonso, who also failed to get a good getaway off the line in Brazil. Antonio Giovinazzi survived an incident with Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN team-mate Kimi Räikkönen at turn one that spun around the Finn to finish thirteenth, with the Italian ending ahead of Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda. Nicholas Latifi beat Williams Racing team-mate George Russell to sixteenth, while Räikkönen ended eighteenth after his spin, with the incident involving Giovinazzi not deemed serious enough to be investigated. The field was rounded out by Uralkali Haas F1 Team duo Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin. Bottas will start Sunday’s main race in São Paulo ahead of Verstappen, while Hamilton will have all the confidence in the world to move forward from tenth on the grid having made up fifteen places in just twenty-four laps on Saturday. After all, there are seventy-one laps to come on Sunday! 2021 F1 SAO PAULO GRAND PRIX – SPRINT QUALIFYING RESULTS POS DRIVER NAT. TEAM TIME 1 Valtteri Bottas FIN Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team 24 Laps 2 Max Verstappen NED Red Bull Racing + 1.170s 3 Carlos Sainz ESP Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow + 18.723s 4 Sergio Perez MEX Red Bull Racing + 19.787s 5 Lewis Hamilton GBR Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team + 20.872s 6 Lando Norris GBR McLaren F1 Team + 22.558s 7 Charles Leclerc MON Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow + 25.056s 8 Pierre Gasly FRA Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda + 34.158s 9 Esteban Ocon FRA Alpine F1 Team + 34.632s 10 Sebastian Vettel GER Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team + 34.867s 11 Daniel Ricciardo AUS McLaren F1 Team + 35.869s 12 Fernando Alonso ESP Alpine F1 Team + 36.578s 13 Antonio Giovinazzi ITA Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen + 41.880s 14 Lance Stroll CAN Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team + 44.037s 15 Yuki Tsunoda JPN Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda + 46.150s 16 Nicholas Latifi CAN Williams Racing + 46.760s 17 George Russell GBR Williams Racing + 47.739s 18 Kimi Raikkonen FIN Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen + 50.014s 19 Mick Schumacher GER Uralkali Haas F1 Team + 61.680s 20 Nikita Mazepin RUS Uralkali Haas F1 Team + 67.474s After

Lewis Hamilton disqualified from Sao Paulo GP Qualifying after DRS infringement

Kevin Peterson3 years ago3 years ago03 mins

Lewis Hamilton will start at the back of the pack for Saturday’s Sao Paulo Sprint after his Mercedes cars’ DRS mechanism was found in breach of technical regulations. FIA Technical Delegate Jo Bauer noticed that the Drag Reduction System (DRS) mechanism on Hamilton’s Mercedes seemed to open up more than the allowed gap of 85mm. The matter was referred to the stewards for investigation where is was deemed that the wing was in breach of regulations. Hamilton’s rear wing was impounded by the FIA following qualifying with Mercedes permitted to swap the wing for Free Practice Two on Saturday. Using a specialist tool, Hamilton’s rear wing was assessed and it was found that the rear wing did in fact open up more than the 85mm that is allowed and as such was in breach of Article 3.6.3 of the technical regulations. The stewards have therefore disqualified Hamilton from Friday’s qualifying and he will start at the back of the pack for Saturday’s Sprint Qualifying. This will surely hurt Briton’s hunt for a eighth title whose woe is compounded by a five-placed grid penalty for Sunday’s Grand Prix after an engine change. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was also called to the stewards office after he was witnessed touching the rear wing on Hamilton’s Mercedes during Parc Ferme conditions after qualifying. The Dutchman was fined fifty thousand euros with no further action taken. This promotes Verstappen to first for the Sprint, with Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas in second. Red Bull’s Sergio Perez will line up third ahead of the Sprint later on Saturday. Hamilton’s five-place grid penalty for the engine change will take place after the Sprint and will be applied for the Grand Prix grid on Sunday.

Verstapen receives a £42,000 fine for touching Hamilton’s wing in parc freme

Kevin Peterson3 years ago3 years ago04 mins

Championship leader Max Verstappen has been fined for touching Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes W12 in perf ferme conditions yesterday following the qualifying session for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix. The talk of the paddock on Saturday morning was the on-going investigation of Hamilton’s DRS overtaking aid and Verstappen’s summons to the stewards for an alleged breach of the International Sporting Code. “The stewards also examined a fan video taken from across the track, CCTV video footage taken from pit lane and in car footage from car 14, car 33, car 44 and car 77. “In all, these videos gave a clear picture of what occurred in parc fermé following the qualifying session. Verstappen exits the car, then moves to the rear of his car. He then takes his gloves off and puts his right hand at the slot-gap of the rear wing of his car. He then moves to car 44 and repeats the exercise, touching the rear wing in two places, once on either side of the DRS actuation device, but on the bottom rear side of the wing, in the area of the slot gap and never near the actuator or the end fixation points.” “Clear, high definition video from the rear facing roll-hoop camera on car 44 shows that there is absolutely no movement of any of the wing elements on car 44 when Verstappen touches the back of the wing and the Stewards are satisfied, from watching all the videos, his body position and the video of the wing, that there was insignificant force when Verstappen touched the wing.” “It is clear to the Stewards that it has become a habit of the drivers to touch cars after qualifying and the races. This was also the explanation of Verstappen, that it was simply habit to touch this area of the car which has been a point of speculation in recent races between both teams. This general tendency has been seen as mostly harmless and so has not been uniformly policed. Nevertheless, it is a breach of the parc fermé regulation and has significant potential to cause harm,” read the FIA statement. “Considering the fact that no direct harm was caused in this case, in the opinion of the stewards, and that no earlier precedent of penalties for this exists – on the one hand; but that it is a breach of the regulation and has potential for serious consequences on the other, the stewards determine to take action in this case and order a fine of €50,000. The stewards further note that it is intended that all teams and drivers take notice that future breaches may incur different penalties from the stewards of those events.”

Mercedes claims Verstappen ‘destroyed’ Hamilton’s rear wing – Marko

Kevin Peterson3 years ago3 years ago02 mins

Mercedes have claimed that Max Verstappen damaged Lewis Hamilton’s rear wing in parc ferme conditions after qualifying for the Brazilian Grand Prix, according to Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko. Hamilton was referred to the stewards over a possible Drag Reduction System (DRS) infringement following Friday’s qualifying session at Interlagos, with the hearing ultimately delayed until Saturday. Meanwhile, Verstappen was also summoned to the stewards over an alleged breach of the FIA International Sporting Code relating to parc ferme conditions, after fan footage appeared to show him touching the rear wing on Hamilton’s car after qualifying. As the F1 world awaits a verdict for both drivers, Marko says Mercedes have turned the tables on Verstappen and Red Bull. “The unbelievable thing is that Mercedes are now claiming that Max damaged Hamilton’s rear wing with his fingers,” Marko told F1-Insider. Although each case initially seemed to be separate, there has been speculation over whether Mercedes would use Verstappen’s actions as evidence in their hearing regarding Hamilton’s rear wing. However, former F1 driver turned pundit Karun Chandhok played down such suggestions of Verstappen causing any damage. “For those asking if Max could have manipulated the wing, let’s all be clear that the wings are designed to sustain hundreds of kilos of load without breaking,” wrote Chandhok on Twitter. “Andre the giant could sit on it! As fit and strong as Max is, I doubt he managed to bend the wing…”

Verstappen summoned by FIA for ‘touching’ Hamilton’s car in parc freme

Kevin Peterson3 years ago3 years ago03 mins

Max Verstappen has been summoned to the stewards’ office in Sao Paulo in the wake of the investigation surrounding the rear wing and DRS of Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes. On Friday after qualifying, the stewards called representatives from Mercedes to their office to explain an alleged breach of the technical rules of car #44 as noted by FIA technical delegate Jo Bauer. In Bauer’s post-session check, it was noted that the gap between the two rear wing lower and upper planes exceeded the authorized maximum 85mm when DRS was open. The same check was conducted on 13 other cars after qualifying but car #44 was the only one that was found not to be in conformity. After a lengthy wait on Friday evening, the stewards opted to adjourn the investigation until Saturday morning as they awaited “further evidence that will not be available until the morning”. However, in an unexpected turn of events, Verstappen was also placed under investigation over a potential breach of parc fermé rules. In footage from an amateur video taken just after qualifying that was published on social media, Verstappen is seen touching his car’s rear wing in several areas and then walking over to Hamilton’s Mercedes and doing the same thing as if to compare the two cars’ wing elements. Verstappen is facing an “alleged breach of Article 2.5.1 of the FIA International Sporting Code”. Article 2.5.1 of the ISC states: “Inside the Parc Fermé, only the officials assigned may enter. No operation, checking, tuning or repair is allowed unless authorised by the same officials or by the applicable regulations.” The end result is that both title contenders are at risk of a sanction from the FIA that could set back either driver or both for Saturday afternoon’s 24-lap Sprint Qualifying event that will determine the grid for Sunday’s race.

Lewis Hamilton under investigation for DRS breach after Sao Paulo GP Qualifying

Kevin Peterson3 years ago3 years ago03 mins

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton faced a stewards’ investigation and possible demotion to the back of the field on Friday after qualifying fastest for the sprint race that will decide the Sao Paulo Grand Prix starting grid.The seven-times F1 world champion dominated the session at the Brazilian city’s atmospheric Interlagos circuit but the rear wing element on his Mercedes then failed a technical inspection. A team representative was summoned to see the stewards. The Briton, 19 points adrift of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen with four races remaining, made the most of a new engine to clock a best time of one minute 07.934 seconds in front of a cheering crowd. Verstappen was second and 0.438 slower, a considerable margin around one of the shortest laps on the calendar. “Let’s go,” exclaimed Hamilton over the team radio on a cold and windy afternoon with brooding dark clouds overhead. The Briton is sure to have a five-place grid penalty for Sunday’s main race as result of his engine change but can take three points on Saturday, with the top three scoring in a 3-2-1 system. “We’re working so hard to try and get this car right and it’s been tough. So to finally get the car feeling like it did today feels great,” said Hamilton. “A lot of the times we get it wrong, I get it wrong, and today I got it right and the car was really nice to drive. It was everything I wanted,” added a beaming Hamilton. That mood might have changed, when a merc team representative was summoned to the Stewards after they received the following report from FIA F1 Technical Delegate, Jo Bauer regarding the #44 Mercedes: “The uppermost rear wing element adjustable positions were checked on car number 44 for compliance with Article 3.6.3 of the 2021 Formula One Technical Regulations. “The requirement for the minimum distance was fulfilled. But the requirement for the maximum of 85mm, when the DRS system is deployed and tested in accordance with TD/011-19, were not fulfilled.”

Lewis Hamilton handed a five-place grid penalty in the Sao Paulo Grand Prix

Kevin Peterson3 years ago3 years ago03 mins

Lewis Hamilton will take a five-place grid penalty for Sunday’s Sao Paulo Grand Prix in another blow to the Briton’s hopes of winning a record eighth Formula One world championship this season. The Mercedes driver is 19 points adrift of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who is building momentum with four races remaining. Formula One’s governing body confirmed on Friday that Hamilton had taken a new engine, his fifth of the 22-race campaign. Drivers have three engines to last the season, with any more triggering a penalty of 10 places for the first time the limit is exceeded and then five places for subsequent engines. Hamilton collected a 10 place grid penalty after taking his fourth engine in Turkey in October and started Friday practice at Interlagos with his fifth. Red Bull are favourites to win at Interlagos, with Dutch 24-year-old Verstappen chasing his third win in a row and 10th of the season. He won the last pre-pandemic race at the Sao Paulo circuit in 2019. Verstappen started the Russian Grand Prix in September from the back of the grid, finishing second, due to power unit penalties. Team boss Christian Horner saw no need for Red Bull, who are only a point behind Mercedes in the constructors’ championship, to take any further engine penalties. “It’s entirely understandable that Mercedes would strategically decide to take that penalty here, which they will incur on Sunday,” he told Sky Sports television. “We’re just focused on ourselves and do the best job we can. “All things being normal, we expect to get to the end of the year with the combustion engines that we have. “Obviously we lost one following the crash at Silverstone (in July between Hamilton and Verstappen) but with the penalty we took in Sochi that got us back into good shape.”

Sao Paulo GP: Hamilton tops in FP1 ahead of Verstappen(Results)

Kevin Peterson3 years ago3 years ago07 mins

Lewis Hamilton was quickest in the first and only practice ahead of Sao Paulo Grand Prix qualifying – but Mercedes and Red Bull had different approaches to the session. Hamilton, who has a five-place engine penalty to overcome on Sunday after a new ICE was fitted to his W12 car, was three tenths quicker than rival Max Verstappen. However, Red Bull seemed more focused on race pace compared to Mercedes, where one-lap pace was of more importance. The data collected from AWS suggested the gap between Hamilton and Verstappen was much closer, just o.50s heading into qualifying. Sergio Perez completed the top three with Valtteri Bottas behind in P4. Pierre Gasly, Carlos Sainz, Charles Leclerc, Esteban Ocon, Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll completed the top 10. There was an even greater importance placed on a cool, overcast FP1 session, with drivers and teams restricted to just one hour of practice before being thrown straight into qualifying later on Friday afternoon – Formula 1 completing its third and final sprint weekend of the 2021 season. As the cars hit the track for the first time, confirmation came from the FIA of a fifth ICE element being fitted to Lewis Hamilton’s W12, which will result in a five-place grid drop for the seven-time World Champion for Sunday’s race. But it wasn’t the new engine causing Hamilton problems in the early stages of FP1, it was the front suspension instead. In the opening runs, Hamilton asked via team radio for a “solution to be found” as he bobbled and bounced around the Interlagos circuit. He found himself eight tenths down on title rival Verstappen, who set the opening benchmark at 1:10.189, a slender 0.020s ahead of Red Bull team-mate Perez. As we approached the halfway stage of the session, Lance Stroll reported spots of rain dropping on the circuit, keeping the paddock on their toes ahead of qualifying. Even though the clouds looked particularly dark and brooding, it was still dry enough for drivers to continue with their dry tyre running for the rest of the session. Verstappen re-emerged on the soft tyre compound for a qualifying sim run and promptly ate five tenths out of his previous best time by the time he had completed the second sector. He crossed the line with a 1:09.417 to his name, Perez still falling just short of the target by being 0.075s behind. In the other Mercedes, meanwhile, Bottas was struggling to make an impression on Verstappen’s leading time. He had to abort his first attempt at a hot lap and, on his second, already found himself two tenths down in the first sector. Traffic in the middle sector did nothing to help his cause and he could only manage a 1:09.857 to sit nearly five tenths off the pace. With 16 minutes of the session remaining, Hamilton, complete with front suspension tweak, put pedal to the metal for his qualifying sim attempt. He all-but matched Verstappen through the first sector, but the gap would slowly increase to three tenths by the time he crossed the finish line. It provided further evidence that Red Bull were the ones to beat heading into Friday afternoon qualifying. Bottas would try to discredit it as he surprisingly went fastest in the first sector on his latest effort and, while still unable to topple Verstappen, he did move above his team-mate and to within a tenth off the pace. 2021 F1 SAO PAULO GRAND PRIX – FREE PRACTICE RESULTS (1) POS DRIVER NAT. TEAM TIME 1 Lewis Hamilton GBR Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team 1m09.050s 2 Max Verstappen NED Red Bull Racing 1m09.417s 3 Sergio Perez MEX Red Bull Racing 1m09.492s 4 Valtteri Bottas FIN Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team 1m09.567s 5 Pierre Gasly FRA Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda 1m09.880s 6 Carlos Sainz ESP Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow 1m10.124s 7 Charles Leclerc MON Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow 1m10.142s 8 Esteban Ocon FRA Alpine F1 Team 1m10.145s 9 Fernando Alonso CHI Alpine F1 Team 1m10.201s 10 Lance Stroll CAN Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team 1m10.352s 11 Yuki Tsunoda JPN Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda 1m10.374s 12 Sebastian Vettel GER Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team 1m10.413s 13 Kimi Raikkonen FIN Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen 1m10.443s 14 Antonio Giovinazzi GBR Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen 1m10.587s 15 Lando Norris GBR McLaren F1 Team 1m10.610s 16 Mick Schumacher GER Uralkali Haas F1 Team 1m10.885s 17 Nicholas Latifi CAN Williams Racing 1m10.902s 18 George Russell ISR Williams Racing 1m10.938s 19 Daniel Ricciardo AUS McLaren F1 Team 1m10.990s 20 Nikita Mazepin RUS Uralkali Haas F1 Team 1m11.342s

F1 drivers give divided opinion on Brazilian Grand Prix sprint race

Kevin Peterson3 years ago3 years ago07 mins

Formula 1’s sprint qualifying format is back for this weekend’s Sao Paulo Grand Prix and the drivers are split as to whether it will be a success this weekend. Brazil completes a three-race trial of the new format which is expected to be run at six grands prix in 2022. Silverstone and Monza have already trialled it out and while there was a lack of track action in the shorter sprint on the Saturday, having three days of meaningful running has been positive. Formula 1 title rivals Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton haven’t spoken too positively about F1 sprint making a return this weekend, with the Red Bull driver still favouring the traditional format. “I mean the main excitement comes from the start because after that with the amount of laps that you do then you put the tyre on that will last to the end mainly – especially the guys in the front – and there’s not a lot of passing going on,” Verstappen said. “So I don’t think it really matters where you do it. I think there are still a few things to fine-tune about it, but if people like the excitement of the start, then to do two starts in a weekend, why not? “I think personally I’m a bit more for the traditional F1 weekend. If we have competitive cars and all the teams closer together then naturally you don’t need to change anything, so we’ll see.” Despite there being a long start-finish straight at Interlagos, Hamilton doubts there will be too much on-track action. “No, this is not a very good track for overtaking,” Hamilton explained. “Of course, you’ve got that long straight but I believe it’s close to one of the hardest places for overtaking in the list of… on the edge on the list of one of the hardest of the year. “I think you’ve got to have something like a 1.1-second advantage on the car ahead to have a 50 per cent chance of overtaking – something crazy like that, so it’s not a great one.” Conversely, Valtteri Bottas is confident we will see more overtaking in Brazil than in Mexico last weekend. “I think so. There’s no reason why it shouldn’t be good,” Bottas said. “Overtaking is possible here, it’s definitely better than Mexico, that’s my feeling, but we’ll find out on Saturday.” Unlike Verstappen, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc isn’t a fan of F1’s traditional format and welcomes the return of sprint qualifying. “I quite like those weekends, especially the Friday which normally I don’t really like on a normal weekend,” Leclerc added. “To have the qualifying straight away, the Friday afternoon, this makes it exciting for everyone and then Saturday the sprint race, maybe there are a few things that we could change in the future but still, I am very excited for this weekend and again, it’s a bit different too normal. Maybe it is an opportunity for us to do even better.” Fernando Alonso has been one beneficiary of the new format, making up five places at the start of the Silverstone sprint in what was a stunning Lap 1. The two-time champion admits that ‘balancing the risk’ is crucial given that one incident could send you to the back of the grid for the main grand prix. “Well it has been positive for us in Silverstone and Monza,” Alonso said. “You never know, it’s a very random result what you can get on those weekends. You can get very lucky and recover some places on Saturday and Sunday or you can be very unlucky. “We saw a couple of examples – I think Checo in Silverstone, Pierre in Monza – where something happened on Saturday and your weekend is very compromised. You have to balance a little bit the risk you put on Saturday especially because it can be good in order to start further up on Sunday or it can be very bad if you have a DNF on Saturday. “We will try to manage that and as I said the most important thing is to feel again a good level of competitiveness.”

Hamilton and Norris give tribute to Valentino Rossi as he retires from MotoGP

Kevin Peterson3 years ago3 years ago06 mins

McLaren F1 driver Lando Norris paid tribute to his boyhood idol, Valentino Rossi, and revealed they had exchanged text messages ahead of the Italian rider’s great’s final MotoGP this weekend.Norris, 21, wore a Rossi tribute helmet at the 2019 Italian Grand Prix and the two have kept in touch since they met at Silverstone that year. “He sent me a message last night, just because he is going into the final race of his career,” the British Formula 1 driver told reporters ahead of the Sao Paulo Grand Prix at Brazil’s Interlagos circuit. “It’s sad times. I’m going to miss him. He was the guy I watched when I was four, five, six years old. He got me into racing, got me onto a motorbike first,” Norris added. “He’s been the guy that I’ve looked up to, the guy who’s kind of helped me get to this position where I am because probably without watching him, my ambition of being a racing driver wouldn’t have been so high.” Norris would not divulge the details of Rossi’s text and said it was in response to a “little heartfelt message” he sent saying how much he would miss him and congratulating him on what he had achieved. Norris said he and Rossi talked “now and then” and still had plans to do some car racing together, mentioning GT sportscar events such as 12-hour races in Abu Dhabi and Dubai or even online. Seven-times F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton, who swapped machinery with Rossi for fun at an event in Valencia in 2019, also paid tribute to the Italian: “It’s obviously sad to see Vale stopping but I think his drive, his approach, just everything he’s done has been incredible. “The passion that he’s had for so long has shown through. And just such a legend, one of the greatest to ever do it,” declared Hamilton. The 41-year-old Italian will make his 432nd Grand Prix start this weekend having amassed a record 89 wins and 199 podium finishes in MotoGP. “I think that the most positive thing in my career is that a lot of people started to follow MotoGP to follow my career from the beginning, and the sport became bigger, more famous in Italy but also all around the world,” Rossi told reporters on Thursday. “It’s good to understand that during my career I became something different, something like an icon and this is a great, great pleasure also if for a rider it’s more important what happens on track, the result, everything.” Rossi started his career in the 125cc category and won a world title in 1997, followed by the 250cc championship in 1999. He moved to the premier class a year later and won seven titles between 2001 and 2009. “I always imagined this presser… this is a strange feeling. I want to keep it normal but that’s not possible. Great emotion right now,” said Rossi, who took part in a special ceremony during which all his championship-winning bikes were presented before the media. The Petronas Yamaha rider said he was disappointed at being unable to add a 10th world title. “I fought a lot for the 10th championship… I was able to race at a good level. My last title in 2009 was a lifetime ago. I would have been happy to win another championship but I cannot complain. I had a great career,” added Rossi.

Lewis Hamilton more likely to face grid penalty in the Brazilian GP

Kevin Peterson3 years ago3 years ago04 mins

Lewis Hamilton’s quest to win a record-breaking eighth world championship could be dealt a further blow in the Brazilian GP this weekend with the Mercedes driver facing a grid penalty. Hamilton’s team are considering an engine change, which would exceed the number of parts their driver is allowed to use. The Englishman served a 10-place grid drop at last month’s Turkish Grand Prix after taking on his fourth power unit of the campaign. He finished fifth, three places behind Max Verstappen. Hamilton heads into the final stretch 19 points adrift of the Dutchman, and the loss of further ground at Interlagos may all but end his title charge with only 78 points remaining after Sunday’s race. When asked about the possibility of an engine change, Hamilton refused to rule it out. “I cannot really comment at the moment,” the 36-year-old said. “As far as I am aware, my engines are fine, but I will find out later on. We have not even done an engineering briefing yet.” Hamilton, who finished a distant second to Verstappen last weekend in Mexico City, would serve any penalty after the conclusion of Saturday’s sprint race. The result of the sprint determines the grid for Sunday’s main event. But Hamilton says a charge back through the field will be fraught with problems after suggesting the Interlagos track – the venue of his superb 2008 maiden championship triumph – is among the hardest to pass on the Formula One schedule. The circuit is also expected to suit Verstappen’s Red Bull machinery. “This is not a very good track for overtaking,” added Hamilton, who has just one victory from his last eight appearances. “You have to have a 1.1 second advantage on the car ahead to have a 50 per cent chance, or something crazy like that, of making the move. “I would imagine the challenge this weekend is as steep as it can be. Red Bull’s pace was phenomenal at the last race, and they have had the strongest car this year, so we have done as well as we could. “We are going to be pushing this weekend to see if we can squeeze any more out of the car. But last time here they were incredibly strong so we anticipate they will be hard to beat. “Every race is a must-win race and it has been that way forever – particularly since we came back from the summer break – but we have not been able to do so.”

Mexican GP: Verstappen wins ahead of Hamilton, Perez third in home race(full results)

Kevin Peterson3 years ago3 years ago07 mins

Max Verstappen stretched his Formula 1 world championship lead by dominating the Mexican Grand Prix, as his Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez narrowly failed to deprive Lewis Hamilton of second. Verstappen had surged down the outside of the front-row-starting Mercedes into Turn 1 on the opening lap, braking later and instantly sweeping into the lead. Polesitter Valtteri Bottas looked set to fall into third behind Hamilton, but was tapped into a mid-corner spin by seventh-place starter Daniel Ricciardo – who was passing Perez down the inside on the dusty line. The ensuing traffic chaos triggered by Bottas spinning in front of the pack led to Yuki Tsunoda and Mick Schumacher sandwiching Esteban Ocon and both sustaining race-ending damage, though the Alpine they had both bounced over continued. After a four-lap safety car period, Verstappen simply stormed away. By lap 20 he was 8s clear of Hamilton, who could not shake Perez off. Mercedes brought Hamilton in for his sole pitstop long before the two Red Bulls in the hope of gaining an undercut advantage. While that made no difference to Verstappen’s comfortable margin, Red Bull responded by extending Perez’s first stint so that he came in a full 10 laps later than Hamilton. That long run on older tyres dropped Perez 8s away from the Mercedes by the time he rejoined, but the hope was he could hunt down Hamilton on his fresher tyres. Sure enough, Perez caught Hamilton with 10 laps to go. Despite his best efforts, and amid various traffic headaches, the home favourite couldn’t quite make it a Red Bull 1-2. Verstappen’s points lead is now up to 19 as he was denied a fastest lap point by Mercedes bringing in the delayed Bottas (who had made little progress from the back after his spin then had a poor second scheduled pitstop) for two extra pitstops for fresh tyres late on so he could deny Verstappen that bonus point. Bottas’s first effort to take fastest lap was ironically denied when he came across Verstappen on track. The second attempt finally proved successful on the last lap. Pierre Gasly spent most of the race in a comfortable fourth for AlphaTauri, but did have to be wary of the closing Carlos Sainz late on. The Ferrari driver had left his sole pitstop very late and was charging on fresh tyres, being let through by team-mate Charles Leclerc along the way. They swapped places back as it became clear Sainz wouldn’t catch Gasly. Ferrari’s fifth and sixth places meant it swept past McLaren into third in the constructors’ championship as its rival only scored one point for Lando Norris’s 10th place – achieved from 18th on the grid. Ricciardo smashed his front wing hitting Bottas and could only recover to 12th. Sebastian Vettel took Aston Martin’s best result in nearly two months with seventh, while Kimi Raikkonen’s eighth place ahead of Fernando Alonso’s Alpine was Alfa Romeo’s highest finish all season. Raikkonen’s team-mate Antonio Giovinazzi looked like he would be Alfa’s hero as he emerged from the first-corner mess sixth, but pitting too early for his sole stop left him in the midfield and he finished 11th. George Russell and Nikita Mazepin had also leapt forward through the lap one chaos and briefly ran ninth and 11th for Williams and Haas. That proved unsustainable and they fell back to 16th and 18th respectively by the finish. 2021 F1 MEXICO CITY GRAND PRIX – RESULTS POS DRIVER NAT. TEAM TIME 1 Max Verstappen NED Red Bull Racing 71 Laps 2 Lewis Hamilton GBR Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team + 16.555s 3 Sergio Perez MEX Red Bull Racing + 17.752s 4 Pierre Gasly FRA Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda + 63.845s 5 Charles Leclerc MON Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow + 81.037s 6 Carlos Sainz ESP Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow + 1 Lap 7 Sebastian Vettel GER Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team + 1 Lap 8 Kimi Raikkonen FIN Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen + 1 Lap 9 Fernando Alonso ESP Alpine F1 Team + 1 Lap 10 Lando Norris GBR McLaren F1 Team + 1 Lap 11 Antonio Giovinazzi ITA Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen + 1 Lap 12 Daniel Ricciardo AUS McLaren F1 Team + 1 Lap 13 Esteban Ocon FRA Alpine F1 Team + 1 Lap 14 Lance Stroll CAN Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team + 2 Laps 15 Valtteri Bottas FIN Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team + 2 Laps 16 George Russell GBR Williams Racing + 2 Laps 17 Nicholas Latifi CAN Williams Racing + 2 Laps 18 Nikita Mazepin RUS Uralkali Haas F1 Team + 3 Laps DNF Mick Schumacher GER Uralkali Haas F1 Team DNF DNF Yuki Tsunoda JPN Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda DNF

Hamilton admits Red Bull are ‘too quick’ after Friday practice

Kevin Peterson3 years ago3 years ago03 mins

Mercedes team secured a one-two in the first practice session at the Mexican Grand Prix on Friday, but that glory was short-lived as Red Bull’s Max Verstappen outperformed both Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas in FP2. The defending world champion got candid about the situation and admitted that his championship rival may simply be too quick this weekend. The Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez has always seen strong performances from the Red Bull, and this weekend may not be any different. Hamilton knows that he needs to step up his game, with even his teammate Bottas trumping him in both the practice sessions so far. More significantly, Verstappen was half a second quicker in FP2. “They’re definitely too quick for us at the moment,” Lewis Hamilton said after the session, before adding that he still feels like they have a strong chance to keep pace with the Red Bulls. “The car has been feeling OK. I’ve not really had any major issues,” he said. Lewis Hamilton is always one to stay positive, but his honest assessment reveals that the Red Bulls currently have an advantage. “We’re giving it absolutely everything we’ve got, and I think they are just quicker than us at the moment,” he said, before pointing to their lack of downforce as a possible culprit. He then assured that the Mercedes team will be busy finding a solution to the pace disadvantage. Bottas also spoke up and complained about low grip on his car. He said that it was a dusty track and that made things more difficult for him and his teammate. Nevertheless, practice pace is often not necessarily reflective of race pace. The Mercedes drivers have always been strong for the long haul on Sunday, and the tight results of the practice sessions make it impossible to predict which team will be dominant on Saturday qualifying and on the main race on Sunday.

Mexican GP FP1: Bottas tops Mercedes 1-2 as Hamilton is under investigation for track limits breach

Kevin Peterson3 years ago3 years ago05 mins

Valtteri Bottas kicked off the Mexican Grand Prix weekend by setting the fastest time in opening practice, ahead of Mercedes Formula 1 teammate Lewis Hamilton. Dusty conditions and a green track made for challenging, low grip conditions for the drivers, but Bottas appeared unfazed as he lit up the timesheets with a 1m18.341s to finish 0.076s clear of Hamilton. Hamilton, who heads into the weekend trialing Max Verstappen in the world championship by 12 points, has been summoned to see the stewards in Mexico City between practice sessions for a track limits incident. The seven-time world champion ran wide at Turn 1 before rejoining at Turn 3 in a moment early on during the first practice session at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. Hamilton reported over team radio that he “couldn’t slow down there” but he will be investigated after FP1 for failing to follow race director Michael Masi’s notes which state that drivers must return to the track by going around the left hand side of the Turn 3 bollard, which Hamilton did not do. However, it is unlikely Hamilton will be given anything more than a reprimand for the transgression. Hamilton’s title rival Verstappen was just 0.123s off the pace as he took third, ahead of Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez, who finished 0.269s down. Home hero Perez recovered from an early setback to his weekend when he missed track running after hitting the Turn 16 barriers following a spin early in the session. He was able to return to the action for the final 20 minutes. AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly was fifth-fastest and the final driver to get within a second of Bottas’ benchmark time. Behind Gasly was Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, Fernando Alonso and Charles Leclerc, who like Perez suffered rear wing damage with an off at Turn 16. Esteban Ocon ensured both Alpine cars finished inside the top 10, which was completed by Sebastian Vettel’s Aston Martin. During the session it was confirmed that both Yuki Tsunoda (11th) and Lance Stroll (13th) will start this weekend’s race from the back of the grid after taking new power unit elements. 2021 F1 MEXICO CITY GRAND PRIX – FREE PRACTICE RESULTS (1) POS DRIVER NAT. TEAM TIME 1 Valtteri Bottas FIN Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team 1m18.341s 2 Lewis Hamilton GBR Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team 1m18.417s 3 Max Verstappen NED Red Bull Racing 1m18.464s 4 Sergio Perez MEX Red Bull Racing 1m18.610s 5 Pierre Gasly FRA Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda 1m18.985s 6 Carlos Sainz ESP Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow 1m19.463s 7 Fernando Alonso CHI Alpine F1 Team 1m19.656s 8 Charles Leclerc MON Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow 1m19.667s 9 Esteban Ocon FRA Alpine F1 Team 1m19.795s 10 Sebastian Vettel GER Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team 1m19.858s 11 Yuki Tsunoda JPN Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda 1m20.011s 12 Kimi Raikkonen FIN Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen 1m20.026s 13 Lance Stroll CAN Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team 1m20.030s 14 Daniel Ricciardo AUS McLaren F1 Team 1m20.273s 15 Lando Norris GBR McLaren F1 Team 1m20.301s 16 Antonio Giovinazzi GBR Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen 1m20.344s 17 George Russell ISR Williams Racing 1m20.517s 18 Nicholas Latifi CAN Williams Racing 1m21.580s 19 Mick Schumacher GER Uralkali Haas F1 Team 1m22.144s 20 Nikita Mazepin RUS Uralkali Haas F1 Team 1m22.819s