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Charles Leclerc claimed a place on the front row of the grid but is concerned he may be vulnerable over a race stint. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free The Ferrari came alive on fresh tyres at the end of Q3, but his previous lap on used rubber earlier in the same session was almost a second slower. Those laps were set on the soft tyre compound. Teams are expected to prefer the medium and hard tyres for today’s race, but Leclerc is unsure whether the drop-off in performance they saw on worn rubber will be as significant on the more durable compounds. “Our car is very peaky,” he explained. “On the scrubbed tyres… I was behind everybody basically. Then you put new tyres on the car and suddenly it becomes great and I was feeling much more at ease with the car. “The lap came together nicely, apart from the last corner where I over-pushed. But I think this is a tendency for everybody on this track: You arrive with very overheated tyres so I don’t think there … [Read more...] about Leclerc hoping poor pace on used tyres is “not a negative sign” for the race

With the final qualifying session of 2023 behind us, which drivers and teams mastered the art of the single flying lap this year? Team mate battles Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free With his future in Formula 1 yet to be confirmed, Logan Sargeant would have been anxious to avoid ending the season without managing to out-qualify his team mate at least once. However a ‘double fault’ in Q1 at Yas Marina meant he did just that. Sargeant tripped the track limits twice, meaning he ended the session without a lap time. His team mate Alexander Albon therefore completed an unbeaten run against his team mate. Out of the occasions where both drivers set times in qualifying, Albon was ahead 19 times. On the other three occasions Sargeant failed to set a time – either due to track limits infringements or because he crashed – making this a clear whitewash for Albon. A rookie driver going up against a more experienced driver will always face a challenge. Others with … [Read more...] about Ferrari are the Q3 masters but Sargeant takes a pasting: 2023 qualifying in stats

The Yas Marina circuit was extensively overhauled two years ago in the hope of aiding overtaking and making its Formula 1 race, usually the season-closer, less processional. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free The alterations involved removing several slow corners and replacing them with simpler and less tight bends. While they were generally well-received, the two races held since then indicate they haven’t radically changed how easily drivers can race at the circuit. Speaking after yesterday’s qualifying session the two drivers who occupy the front row of the grid offered similar views on what change the track still needs. “The only thing I would like to change is just the off-camber corners,” said pole winner Max Verstappen . “I think that doesn’t really help the racing. Charles Leclerc agreed. “It’s very difficult to follow in those off-camber corners,” said the Ferrari driver. “During qualifying, as soon as you get it wrong but even by five or … [Read more...] about Why F1 drivers are unlikely to get the Yas Marina track change they still want

Declaring Toto Wolff is either “bored or perplexed” these days, Ralf Schumacher doesn’t believe the “headless” Mercedes team are on the same trajectory as old rivals Ferrari. As Red Bull dominated this year’s championship, Mercedes and Ferrari had to recover from a lacklustre start to sit second and third in the Constructors’ Championship where they’re separated by four points. It’s been a season of ups and downs for both teams who admitted they knew in pre-season testing already that their cars were not World Championship-winning material. ‘The team isn’t falling apart, but it’s a little headless’ But while in the run-in to the season finale Ferrari have taken a step forward, the same cannot be said of Mercedes. The team was left frustrated and annoyed after the Brazilian Grand Prix where they were woefully off the pace while one race later in Las Vegas they would only bring home a seventh and eighth. That same weekend team boss Wolff exploded at the media in a rant for … [Read more...] about ‘Headless’ Mercedes at risk of losing to old rival next season

Sky F1’s pit-lane reporter Ted Kravitz revealed that the Christian Horner-Helmut Marko bet on Max Verstappen in Abu Dhabi was not Red Bull’s first of F1 2023, with Bernie Ecclestone profiting in Brazil. Verstappen has put himself in prime position to end F1 2023 with a remarkable 19th win of the campaign, after claiming pole position for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. His struggles through practice made that an unlikely achievement, Red Bull advisor Marko was confident enough to bet €500 with team principal Horner that Verstappen would not even make the front row, meaning Horner’s pocket is now of course €500 heavier. Sergio Perez lost 10,000 to Bernie Ecclestone in Brazil Apparently, Verstappen’s Red Bull team-mate Perez has also been on the losing side of a bet recently at the Brazilian Grand Prix, giving up 10,000 of an unknown currency to the former boss of Formula 1 Ecclestone who was in attendance. Sky F1’s Kravitz had done some digging after hearing Horner make a “bit … [Read more...] about Details emerge on another Red Bull bet involving Sergio Perez and Bernie Ecclestone

Lining up ahead of the Mercedes drivers, Charles Leclerc is determined to outscore them in Abu Dhabi as Ferrari look to overhaul the Brackley squad for second in the championship. Although Leclerc is starting Sunday’s 58-lap Grand Prix from the front row of the grid after qualifying second to Max Verstappen, he’s not looking forward, but rather backward. Ferrari enter the race trailing Mercedes with runner-up in the championship at stake having slashed Mercedes’ advantage from 56 points to a mere four. ‘The only thing that matters to me…’ But with George Russell lining up fourth and Lewis Hamilton ahead of the other Ferrari of Carlos Sainz, albeit both outside of the top ten on the grid, the battle is on a knife-edge. It has Leclerc conceding beating Verstappen is not the goal, it’s that P2 in the championship . “I don’t know,” he said after qualifying when asked if he could challenge Verstappen. “But I mean the only thing that matters to me is that we challenge the … [Read more...] about Charles Leclerc in Max Verstappen vow at crucial Abi Dhabi Grand Prix

Accusing his rivals of deliberately balking him in qualifying, Daniel Ricciardo says it’s actually Carlos Sainz who is “always the culprit”. Sainz was fuming with his rival Formula 1 drivers during qualifying for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix as he accused George Russell of deliberately hampering him. “So much traffic,” he told Ferrari over the radio. “I think the Merc did it on purpose. He did Turn 5 ahead of me, the Alpine Turn 2-3.” ‘I don’t know why he does it but he is always the culprit’ Additional reporting by Thomas Maher Out in Q1 having been only 16th on the timesheet, he told the media including PlanetF1.com : “Between us drivers, we know that if you do a corner two seconds in front of another car, you’re going to make me lose a tenth or two in the corner. “When it’s tight in Q1 and Q2, I see people giving a bit of third gear on purpose in some corners to maybe make the others lose some time in corners. “We don’t consider [it] impeding because it’s not like you … [Read more...] about Daniel Ricciardo ‘talking s***’ about Carlos Sainz following qualy accusations

Lining up 11th on the Abu Dhabi grid, Lewis Hamilton has one opportunity remaining to end what Martin Brundle called a “shock” win-less streak. Having won six World titles in seven years, and fought for a record-breaking eighth in 2021, little did Hamilton or Mercedes realise that’s where his success would stall. As Mercedes’ charge faulted in the new ground-effect aerodynamic era, the Briton hasn’t won a Grand Prix in two years, extending his win-less streak to 44 races. One chance left for Lewis Hamilton… It’s a stat that has shocked former F1 driver Brundle. “Yeah, it still feels like a shock that you know Lewis hasn’t won a race now for two seasons,” the commentator told Sky Sports. “He’s still got one more chance this weekend but I do feel that he’s been on fine form, particularly in the second half of the season.” Hamilton’s chances of ending his run in Abu Dhabi were dealt a blow on Saturday in a wretched qualifying session. Lacking the pace to progress into the … [Read more...] about The ‘shock’ stat to Lewis Hamilton’s season highlighted by Martin Brundle

Theo Pourchaire survived a difficult weekend at the Formula 2 finale in Abu Dhabi to hold off Frederik Vesti to seal the title. Arriving at the Yas Marina circuit 25 points ahead of his title rival, Pourchaire pipped the Mercedes junior to the crown by a mere 11 points despite having been beaten by Vesti in qualifying, the Sprint race, and the Feature event. He went into the Feature event on Sunday afternoon, 16 points to the good but five places behind his rival on the grid with Vesti needing to finish on the podium to stand a chance of nabbing the title at the final hurdle. An intense late-race battle for the F2 title Opting for different strategies, Pourchaire lined up on the softs with Vesti on the mediums. The protagonists made up positions on the opening lap as Jack Doohan stormed into the lead. But while Vesti continued to make gains, Pourchaire dropped down the order to run as low as P18 after his pit stop. Meanwhile, Vesti, yet to stop, worked his way up to second … [Read more...] about Theo Pourchaire secures the 2023 Formula 2 title ahead of Frederik Vesti