Max Verstappen – Page 19 – Racetrackmasters

Bottas and Sainz also summoned by stewards after Qatar qualifying

Kevin Peterson3 years ago3 years ago04 mins

Valtteri Bottas and Carlos Sainz have also been summoned to the stewards after qualifying for the Qatar Grand Prix over alleged yellow flag infringements. This comes after Verstappen was summoned for the same issue. Verstappen qualified P2 in today’s session with a lap time of 1:21.282. However, it appears that the Dutchman kept driving through the final sector of the circuit whilst double-waved yellow flags were shown. AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly qualified fourth today, but he ended up with a puncture in his front right tyre after going over some curbs whilst going through the penultimate corner. Verstappen improved on his first lap of Q3 by a tenth of a second, which has raised suspicion as to whether or not he eased off the throttle. As a result, Verstappen has been summoned to the stewards for a potential infringement, but he will not be going to see them until 13:00 local time tomorrow on race day. Valtteri Bottas, who took third on your grid, is also under investigation. This was for an incident involving singled waved yellow flags. Carlos Sainz, who took seventh, is under investigation for the same thing. After Verstappen at 13:00 local time, Bottas will meet with the stewards tomorrow at 13:30, and Sainz will follow at 13:45. Speaking about this situation, Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel believes that the yellow flag was cancelled at the end of the third qualifying session “because Max was coming”. Vettel was also affected by the flags but is “pretty happy” as he managed to out-qualify Perez, Leclerc, and Ricciardo. He has said that: “I had the yellow flag in the last sector and then the yellow flag cleared, I guess, because Max was coming.” Double yellow flags mean that drivers should ‘abort the lap’ as a car is on the track, which Vettel did but he believes he could have been “the only one”. The flags were there for everyone’s safety and it was clearly shown that debris came off of Gasly’s car when the puncture was obtained. No more has been said at this time as to the outcome of this alleged infringement, so Verstappen and fans will have to wait to find out if a grid penalty will be given to the driver for Qatar Grand Prix race.

Qatar GP: Verstappen under investigation for ignoring yellow flags

Kevin Peterson3 years ago3 years ago04 mins

Max Verstappen has been summoned to the stewards ahead of the Qatar Grand Prix on Sunday afternoon after potentially going through double yellow flags on his final flying lap and not aborting his lap. After Pierre Gasly had run across the kerbs at turn fifteen and damaged his car, the Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda driver continued onto the start and finish straight, only to stop his car on the run to the finish line. Red Bull Racing’s Verstappen continued to attack up until the chequered flag and improved his time, even though it was still 0.455 seconds back on the best time of the session set by Lewis Hamilton. It is unclear to whether the incident triggered a yellow sector with race control. Had it done so, Verstappen’s steering wheel would have illuminated, and he would have been forced to abandon his lap. What is clear was that the double yellow flags were being waved on track. Should he be found guilty, Verstappen faces a grid drop penalty for Formula 1’s first-ever race at the Losail International Circuit, which would give Hamilton an extra advantage at the front of the field. Toto Wolff, the Team Principal of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team, says he will let the stewards make the decision rather than protesting themselves, although he believes the Dutchman is guilty of not slowing under the yellow flags. “I’ve just seen it. I’ve seen that he is passing a flashing light, I think a flashing red or flashing yellow light on the left,” Wolff is quoted as saying by Motorsport.com. “Then he’s passing the double waved yellows and there is a standing car on the road. I guess it’s a bit of a triple whammy. “They’ve gone after us with a yellow flag, passing a yellow flag on the outside. It’s in the stewards’ hands. I wouldn’t want to comment much more of what should happen or not happen. I think the stewards are looking at it and they need to come up with a verdict.” Verstappen said he had no idea that there were any yellow flags coming through the final sector and does not believe he did anything wrong, something also said by Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas. “I heard after the session he had damaged his front wing, but from my side it was all okay,” said the Dutchman. “Same thing I heard only afterwards, and I had no yellow flags or anything,” added Bottas.

Verstappen will not be getting a penalty after FIA declines Mercedes review

Kevin Peterson3 years ago3 years ago06 mins

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen has avoided a penalty for his São Paulo Grand Prix defence against Lewis Hamilton after the stewards rejected Mercedes’ review. The stewards met with representatives from Mercedes and Red Bull on Thursday to discuss Verstappen’s defensive manoeuvre against Hamilton on lap 48 of the 71-lap race at Interlagos. Despite a four-hour session across two periods, the stewards opted to deliberate on their verdict overnight The announcement comes after Mercedes opted for its right to review the incident unfolded between seven-time F1 champion Hamilton and Verstappen. Challenging for the lead, Hamilton attempted an overtake on the outside of turn four at Interlagos, only for both drivers to run wide. The stewards opted not to open an investigation during the race, with race director Michael Masi surprisingly later revealing not all footage was available at the time. Once footage from Verstappen’s front-facing onboard camera emerged, particularly highlighting the Dutch driver’s steering wheel movements, Mercedes launched its right to review. Its belief was the camera angle satisfied the criteria required in that “a significant and relevant new element” had materialised that was “unavailable to the parties seeking the review at the time of the decision concerned”. The stewards’ conclusion was that while the footage was new, unavailable at the time and relevant, it was not, however, significant. Determining why it was not significant, a stewards’ report read: “Whether this footage is ‘significant’ is really a question of whether or not it is likely to change the initial decision of the stewards. “In the pertinent example brought forward by the competitor from Austria in 2020, none of the footage available and viewed at the time of the decision showed a yellow flag visible to the driver [Lewis Hamilton]. “However, the new and previously unavailable 360⁰ camera footage, which was downloaded the next day, clearly showed that the yellow flag was visible from the car and the driver was penalised for failing to slow down. “In that case, the footage absolutely changed the decision of the stewards and was thus significant. “During the hearing, the competitor asked that if the stewards were unconvinced of the significance of the footage, to be given the opportunity to present its view in that respect. “Following the initial part of the hearing, the stewards gave the competitor the opportunity to do so, there being precedent for this. “The previously unavailable footage was played, and the competitor also presented the footage in a side‐by‐side comparison with the previous lap. “As noted above, the stewards often must make a decision quickly and on a limited set of information. “At the time of the decision, the stewards felt they had sufficient information to make a decision, which subsequently broadly aligned with the immediate post‐race comments of both drivers involved. “Had they felt that the forward‐facing camera video from car 33 [Verstappen] was crucial in order to take a decision, they would simply have placed the incident under investigation – to be investigated after the race – and rendered a decision after this video was available. They saw no need to do so. “The competitor’s position is that this new footage provides sufficient information for the stewardst o come to an altogether different conclusion than they did previously. “However, the stewards determine that the footage shows nothing exceptional that is particularly different from the other angles that were available to them at the time, or that particularly changes their decision that was based on the originally available footage. “Unlike the 2020 Austria case, in the judgement of the stewards, there is nothing in the footage that fundamentally changes the facts. Nor even, does this show anything that wasn’t considered by the stewards at the time. “Thus, the stewards determine that the footage, here, is not ‘Significant’.”

Qatar Grand Prix: Verstappen sets the pace in FP1 as Hamilton experiences power issues(Results)

Kevin Peterson3 years ago3 years ago05 mins

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen has topped the times in a sedate first practice session at the Losail International Circuit with the Qatari venue playing host to its first Grand Prix this weekend. With an air temperature around 28 degrees celsius and a track temperature of 38 degrees, the drivers spent the first half of the session learning the track and playing with lines as they put in the laps on the Medium and Hard compound tyres and clear away the dust from the track surface. It was with around twenty minutes to go that the pace of the session started to ramp up as the drivers swapped to the Soft tyre compound. Valtteri Bottas went quickest with a 1:24.194 to go quickest, with Verstappen then beating that time with ease as he set a 1:23.723 to go almost half a second clear. With the Red Bull driver quickest in the first and third sectors, Bottas set the faster time in the middle sector. AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly slotted in behind Verstappen with three minutes left in the session, setting a time almost half a second slower than Verstappen and 0.034 quicker than what Bottas had managed. Lewis Hamilton finished in fourth place, almost 0.8 seconds away from the pace set by Verstappen. However, the Mercedes driver had been on a much quicker lap with about 15 minutes remaining in the session, including the fastest middle sector, but aborted the lap in the final sector after getting a snap of oversteer. Hamilton could be heard on the team radio querying his straight-line speed as he felt his engine was down on power, and also withdrew to the pits in the closing minutes as his team told him he had a car issue. While Mercedes tried to hide the car back in the garage by having personnel stand in front of it, TV footage suggested that Hamilton had an issue with his front wing. With the issue repaired, he returned to the track with two minutes remaining. 2021 F1 QATAR GRAND PRIX – FREE PRACTICE RESULTS (1) POS DRIVER NAT. TEAM TIME 1 Max verstappen NED Red Bull Racing 1m23.723s 2 Pierre Gasly FRA Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda 1m24.160s 3 Valtteri Bottas FIN Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team 1m24.194s 4 Lewis Hamilton GBR Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team 1m24.509s. 5 Yuki Tsunoda JPN Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda 1m24.648s 6 Carlos Sainz ESP Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow 1m24.713s 7 Charles Leclerc MON Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow 1m24.790s 8 Sergio Perez MEX Red Bull Racing 1m24.915s 9 Esteban Ocon FRA Alpine F1 Team 1m24.972s 10 Lando Norris GBR McLaren F1 Team 1m25.215s 11 Daniel Ricciardo AUS McLaren F1 Team 1m25.291s 12 Sebastian Vettel GER Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team 1m25.328s 13 Nicholas Latifi CAN Williams Racing 1m25.688s 14 Antonio Giovinazzi GBR Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen 1m25.757s 15 Kimi Raikkonen FIN Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen 1m25.828s 16 George Russell ISR Williams Racing 1m25.871s 17 Fernando Alonso CHI Alpine F1 Team 1m25.905s 18 Mick Schumacher GER Uralkali Haas F1 Team 1m26.699s 19 Lance Stroll CAN Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team 1m26.712s 20 Nikita Mazepin RUS Uralkali Haas F1 Team 1m27.500s

FIA delays announcing their decision on Hamilton-Verstappen matter to Friday

Kevin Peterson3 years ago3 years ago02 mins

The FIA has delayed a decision on Mercedes request for a right to review the decision not to penalise Max Verstappen in Brazil until Friday. Summoned by the FIA to present new evidence relevant to the case, Mercedes was armed with the onboard footage not available to the Interlagos stewards at the time they decided not in investigate the lap 48 incident. “Following today’s hearing with representatives from Mercedes and Red Bull, the stewards are now considering the matter and will publish their decision tomorrow.” It was only after the race that race director Michael Masi revealed that the decision to flag the incident as a “racing incident” was because the relevant onboard footage wasn’t available.If the FIA grant the right of review a further hearing will be undertaken at which the specifics of the incident, including the new footage, will be carefully scrutinised. While a time penalty could see Max Verstappen demoted to third in the Brazil results if found guilty of forcing Lewis Hamilton off track, alternatively the Dutchman could be hit was a grid penalty this weekend.

Verstappen may face two penalties if Mercedes win appeal

Kevin Peterson3 years ago3 years ago05 mins

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen could face a range of penalties after Mercedes submitted a review of the decision not to penalise the world championship leader for forcing Lewis Hamilton wide at the Brazilian Grand Prix. After being awarded a five-place grid penalty, Hamilton had one of his great drives to climb from P10 and take the chequered flag at Interlagos. The result saw the Brit close the gap to championship leader Verstappen to 14 points ahead of the final three races of the season. On lap 48 on Sunday, the two rivals were battling for the lead with Hamilton’s Mercedes appearing to narrowly edge ahead of the Red Bull, which was on the inside. Verstappen ran wide and the move forced both drivers off the track, with the Dutchman holding the lead for a few more laps before the seven-time world champion finally took the lead. While Hamilton took the lead and won anyway, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff believes Verstappen should have received a penalty. An investigation was deemed unnecessary after the FIA consulted footage provided by broadcast cameras – but Verstappen’s on-board footage shows the Dutchman clearly didn’t turn as aggressively as he could have, forcing Hamilton from the road. Mercedes have submitted a ‘right of review’ after seeing the footage, which officials did not have during the race but emerged on Tuesday. If accepted and the FIA opt to penalise Verstappen, the 24-year-old could be given a retrospective five-second time penalty – which would boost Valtteri Bottas to second-place with the Dutchman dropping three points. It is more likely that Verstappen would be awarded a grid penalty ahead of the Qatar Grand Prix this weekend. The most extreme punishment of all, used for seriously endangering the life of another driver, is to be excluded from the drivers’ world championship that year – but, needless to say, that punishment will not be handed down to Verstappen. Red Bull are reportedly surprised their rivals have protested as they believe the on-board camera from Verstappen’s car supported the view of race director Michael Masi that it was simply hard racing. The sporting code of governing body the FIA says: “Manoeuvres liable to hinder other drivers, such as deliberate crowding of a car beyond the edge of the track or any other abnormal change of direction, are strictly prohibited. “Any driver who appears guilty of any of the above offences will be reported to the stewards.” Mercedes F1 team principal Wolff said after the race that it was ‘laughable’ that Verstappen had not been penalised for the incident. It was not the only controversial incident in Brazil, as Red Bull made several visits to the FIA claiming that Hamilton’s rear wing was illegal, granting the Mercedes a performance advantage on the straights. This led to the investigation that ended with Hamilton being disqualified from qualifying when his wing was found not to be in compliance with the regulations – although in a different way than the one Red Bull had believed. Verstappen admitted he thought the Mercedes wing was flexing backwards on the straights. Red Bull are monitoring the situation but reportedly have no plans to lodge an appeal.

Red Bull ready to forget drivers’ title if Hamilton keeps new form

Kevin Peterson3 years ago3 years ago03 mins

Helmut Marko isn’t giving Max Verstappen much of a chance of holding on to his lead in the drivers’ championship if Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton uphold in the final three races of the season the supremacy they displayed in Brazil. Despite starting a lowly tenth in Sao Paulo, Hamilton was on it from the get-go, carving his way through the field and catching Verstappen, whom he overhauled with twelve laps to go. The straight-line speed of the Briton’s Mercedes – especially relative to Red Bull’s RB16B – was a hot topic all weekend in Brazil, and Marko fears that if Hamilton’s dominant form persists in the final three races of the season, the title will elude Verstappen and Red Bull. Ahead of this week’s Qatar Grand Prix, Verstappen sill holds a 14-point advantage over his rival, but Mercedes’ edge in the Constructors’ standings is now 11 points. “If Hamilton is also so superior this weekend in Qatar, and then in Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi, we can write off the title,” admitted Red Bull’s motorsport boss. “I have never seen such a rocket engine from Mercedes. We couldn’t hold Hamilton on the straights, even though he was driving with a rear wing set at a similar steep angle to Monaco. “But only Hamilton has that speed, the other Mercedes drivers are no cause for concern for us.” Red Bull team boss Christian Horner has suggested on multiple occasions that it is closely monitoring Mercedes’ impressive velocity, while questioning how it is being generated, with the team’s focus centered on the Brackley squad’s engine and on a potential ride-height ploy that reduces the W12’s drag on the straights. “We are mainly concerned with two things, which we may also take up with the FIA for clarification,” said Marko. “But there will only be a protest if we have evidence that something is not compliant with the rules on Hamilton’s car.”

Mercedes requests right to review Hamilton-Verstappen incident in Sao Paulo GP

Kevin Peterson3 years ago3 years ago02 mins

Mercedes confirmed they have requested the right to review the incident between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix. Hamilton had one of his great drives to climb from P10 – after suffering a five-place grid penalty due to a new engine – and take the chequered flag at the Brazilian Grand Prix. The result means the Brit has closed the gap on championship leader Verstappen ahead of the final three races. On lap 48 at Interlagos on Sunday, the two rivals were battling for the lead with Hamilton’s Mercedes appearing to narrowly edge ahead of the Red Bull, which was on the inside. Verstappen ran wide and the move forced both drivers off the track, with the Dutchman holding the lead for a few more laps before the seven-time world champion finally took the lead. While Hamilton took the lead and win anyway, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff believes Verstappen should have received a penalty. An investigation was deemed unnecessary after the FIA consulted footage provided by broadcast cameras – but Verstappen’s on-board footage could be reviewed by the FIA after Mercedes confirmed they have requested the right to review the footage themselves.

F1 releases ‘missing’ Verstappen’s onboard footage

Kevin Peterson3 years ago3 years ago04 mins

Formula 1 has released footage from Max Verstappen’s on-board camera in his first Turn 4 battle with title rival Lewis Hamilton. On lap 48 of the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, Hamilton attempted to overtake Verstappen around the outside of Turn 4, but found himself off the track with Verstappen, on the inside, pushing both cars extremely wide and into the run-off area. At the time, the stewards noted the incident but then quickly came to the decision that no investigation was necessary. Later, Hamilton would eventually make the move stick on Verstappen at the same corner and go on to win the race, narrowing the gap to 14 points behind the Red Bull driver at the top of the Drivers’ Championship. News emerged after the epic battle that the FIA did not have the on-board footage from Max Verstappen’s car to further assess whether an investigation was needed or not. Two days after the race, the missing footage has miraculously been found with Formula 1 posted an ‘all the angles’ video of Lewis v Max on their website. In the UK, Sky Sports also published the on-board footage via their Twitter account. Mercedes boss Toto Wolff called the decision not to penalise Max Verstappen as “laughable”, while Red Bull’s team principal Christian Horner said the incident should form part of the “let them race” mentality. Asked in the post-race press conference about the incident, Verstappen said his worn tyres were to blame in running wide at the corner. Asked by Motorsport.com for viewpoint, Verstappen said: “We both, of course, tried to be ahead into the corner and so I braked a bit later to try and keep the position. “The tyres were already a bit worn, so I was really on the edge of grip. That’s why I think I was already not fully on the apex, so then it’s a safer way of just running a bit wide there. “In a way I was, of course, happy that the stewards decided that we could just keep on racing because I think the racing in general was really good.”

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…

Verstappen tells the stewards to ‘have a fine dinner and expensive wine’ after €50,000 fine

Kevin Peterson3 years ago3 years ago03 mins

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen has urged the Sao Paulo Grand Prix stewards to enjoy ‘a nice dinner and expensive wine’ after being hit with a €50,000 fine. Verstappen was stung after being found guilty of breaking the International Sporting Code regarding parc fermé where he first inspected and then touched Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes following qualifying on Friday at Interlagos. While the stewards noted Verstappen meant no direct harm, the welter of video evidence ensured a punishment had to be meted out, with the Dutch driver hit firmly in the pocket. Asked about the sanction, tongue-in-cheek Verstappen said: “It’s quite a big fine so I hope they have a nice dinner, a lot of wine, good, expensive wine, that would be nice. “They can invite me for dinner as well, I’ll pay for their dinner, too.” Sat alongside Valtteri Bottas after being beaten by the Finn in the sprint, the Finn asked if he had to pay or the team, to which Verstappen replied: “I do have to pay.” Explaining his actions in parc fermé, Verstappen said: “Well, I was clearly looking at the wing. You could see on the video what I did exactly. “I was just looking at how much the wing was flexing at that point. It was nothing to do with the DRS.” On whether he and the team had any specific suspicions about the Mercedes wing, Verstappen made clear that Red Bull is in no doubt it is potentially illegal given its level of flexing. “There have been talks and things to look into because at a certain speed the wing is flexing,” said Verstappen. “At the beginning of the season, we had to all change the rear wings a bit because of the back-off but it seems like something is still backing off over there, that’s why I went and had a look.”

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.

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.”