Leclerc pole as Mercedes see improvement. F1 Spanish GP 2022 Review & Results

Back in Europe for the Spanish Grand Prix and after qualifying it sets up the race to be interesting. Historically it has been a track that has been difficult to overtake on, but with these 2022 cars that make following easier, it will be an interesting watch.

Zhou Guanyu starts Q1 off by setting the pace, Yuki Tsunoda and Pierre Gasly go just behind. Tsunoda had his lap deleted for track limits violation.

Red Bull sent their drivers out early, Sergio Perez went fastest, only to be topped by Max Verstappen soon after. Ferrari then topped Red Bull and went 1-2 with Carlos Sainz then Charles Leclerc. Lando Norris went just behind Perez in fifth.

Valtteri Bottas with a good lap went fourth, ahead of Perez. The Mercedes duo of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell then went fourth and fifth respectively, just ahead of Bottas.

Zhou then sets another lap and goes eighth ahead of Norris. The rest that was ahead of the elimination zone were Esteban Ocon, Kevin Magnussen, Fernando Alonso. Then Tsunoda, Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo. Gasly, Alex Albon, Lance Stroll, Mick Schumacher, and Nicholas Latifi were all in the elimination zone.

Last runs saw Haas drivers Schumacher and Magnussen go into eighth and fifth respectively. Stroll stayed down in the bottom five, Gasly up to eleventh, Ricciardo goes tenth. Alonso was not able to improve and was eliminated.

Drivers that ended up being eliminated were Vettel, Alonso, Stroll, Albon, and Latifi.

On to Q2 and Mercedes set the pace with Russell and Hamilton. Schumacher goes behind the Mercedes but in front of both Alpha Tauri’s.

Ocon went just behind Schumacher, Norris then splits them, Magnussen then beat them all going third just before Perez took third from him.

Zhou goes into ninth, then 10th with Bottas going fourth, Sainz slotting into fifth, Leclerc then going fourth and Verstappen only just behind Bottas in sixth.

Last runs in Q2 all except Leclerc, Hamilton and Russell went out for final runs of the session.

Sainz goes fastest, Schumacher with no improvement left him on the cusp of elimination.

Gasly only got to thirteenth, Tsunoda went twelfth, Zhou stayed fifteenth. Ricciardo up to ninth, Norris went seventh, however the time did not stick because of a track limits violation, his time was deleted, this meant he was put down to eleventh and Schumacher was promoted up to tenth making it through to Q3.

Drivers eliminated were Norris, Ocon, Tsunoda, Gasly and Zhou.

The beginning of Q3 had both Haas cars set their times on used tyres, then Hamilton set the pace. Russell, Verstappen, Sainz and Perez all beat his time.

Leclerc had his lap ruined as he spun at the penultimate corner, Bottas and Ricciardo went sixth and seventh.

Final runs came and Leclerc got a lap done and went quickest, Verstappen cited power loss on his lap meaning he did not finish his lap and lost out on a potential pole.

Russell had a good lap that put him up to fourth, Sainz got himself up to third, Perez went fifth, Hamilton sixth. Followed by Bottas, Magnussen, Ricciardo and Schumacher.

In a qualifying session that mixed up the top six, it could be an interesting result, especially after practice where Ferrari seemingly were slower on their race runs than Red Bull and Mercedes. So maybe during the race Mercedes could be fighting Red Bull this time around. But historically third place on the grid has an advantage with the slipstream down to turn 1, so could we see Sainz in the lead out of turn 1 at his home race? Nevertheless, could be an interesting watch.

Spanish GP Qualifying Results

1 – Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 2 – Max Verstappen (Red Bull) 3 – Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) 4 – George Russell (Mercedes) 5 – Sergio Perez (Red Bull) 6 – Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 7 – Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo) 8 – Kevin Magnussen (Haas) 9 – Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren) 10 – Mick Schumacher (Haas) 11 – Lando Norris (McLaren) 12 – Esteban Ocon (Alpine) 13 – Yuki Tsunoda (Alpha Tauri) 14 – Pierre Gasly (Alpha Tauri) 15 – Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo) 16 – Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin) 17 – Fernando Alonso (Alpine) 18 – Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) 19 – Alex Albon (Williams) 20 – Nicholas Latifi (Williams)

Source: https://www.lautosports.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Spanish-Grand-Prix-2022.jpg

Verstappen wins again in the inaugural Miami GP. F1 Miami GP 2022 Review & Results

The inaugural Miami GP has taken place and while it may not have been the most exciting affair. It did make some talking points coming out of the race. With Red Bull once again picking up top form and another win over championship rivals Ferrari, and with the most straight-line speed, it all worked in the favour of Red Bull to pick up the win.

From the start, it was critical for Max Verstappen to get a good start and he did exactly that jumping Carlos Sainz and taking second place, enabling him to go after Charles Leclerc for the lead.

Fernando Alonso also had a great start jumping up to seventh. Overtaking Lewis Hamilton in the process who dropped down to eighth. Daniel Ricciardo made a good start getting himself into eleventh. Mick Schumacher, Kevin Magnussen, Zhou Guanyu and Esteban Ocon all made up three places on the start. Alex Albon also had a decent start getting his Williams up into sixteenth.

Hamilton got himself back past Alonso on lap three, up to seventh from there. By lap six Schumacher and Magnussen were up to tenth and eleventh.

Zhou by lap seven was forced to retire from the race via a technical issue, which was revealed to be a water leak. Disappointing for Zhou who was doing well up until that point.

During the first part of the race Verstappen was on the back of Leclerc but just did not have enough. That was until lap nine where he took the lead of the race with a move into turn 1.

Ricciardo who dropped a couple of places after having a good start got himself back up to twelfth on lap eleven. The following lap Yuki Tsunoda pitted for a set of hard tyres, and come the end of lap twelve, Leclerc cost himself time in his bid to fight back to Verstappen by locking up and losing a couple of seconds.

With George Russell starting further down the grid it was an opportunity to come back through the field, and that is what he did. By lap fourteen he was up to eleventh place. Schumacher came into pit for hard tyres.

Lap sixteen Alonso came in and pitted, slow stop caused him to just come out ahead of the cars behind. The same lap seen Sebastian Vettel make a great move on Nicholas Latifi. Following lap Albon pits.

Sergio Perez was showing the pace he had in the Red Bull, and it was bringing him closer to Sainz in third. End of lap nineteen Lando Norris pitted for hard tyres, as he came out, he was interjected into the ongoing battle between Stroll, Vettel, Magnussen, and Schumacher in which he lost all four places. This being the result of the slow stop he received.

A lot of pitstops happened in the next few laps with Hamilton pitting on lap twenty-three, Leclerc on lap twenty-five, Verstappen the next lap, Valtteri Bottas the lap after who came out just behind Russell, and lap twenty-eight with Sainz and Perez pitting.

Throughout the race, Aston Martin and Haas were battling it out, this continued on lap thirty-one where Vettel took thirteenth from Magnussen, only to lose out on two places to both Haas drivers on the next lap. Four laps later Norris got past Vettel as well, after a lock up from the German. This gave Norris fourteenth.

With Alonso and Gasly fighting it out for ninth, Alonso dived into turn 1 a little too hot, then collided with Gasly. Both drivers continued on, but it did result later in Alonso getting a five second time penalty. This cost Gasly another place, this time to Stroll.

Two laps later, with Gasly having damage to contend with, going through the first sector struggling. Norris came up behind him, a collision between Norris and Gasly as Norris was trying to breeze past but got caught on Gasly’s front left wheel. This meant an end to Norris’s race. Which also caused a virtual safety car to be enabled, which then turned into a full safety car.

With the safety car out, it presented an opportunity to pit for some drivers. Ocon, Russell, Gasly, Vettel, Ricciardo and Perez all pitted under the safety car.

The restart came at the end of lap forty-six. With Perez having fresh tyres he immediately was on the back of Sainz, he just was not able to get past the Spaniard here. Ricciardo gains a place on Magnussen for thirteenth. Russell now with new tyres was close to getting past his team-mate.

The end of lap forty-nine had Bottas going wide out of the ending hairpin which lost him two places to both Mercedes. By the next lap, Russell had overtaken Hamilton. The same lap saw Leclerc get as close to Verstappen as he had been since he lost the lead but did not have enough to get the lead back.

On lap fifty-two it seemed as though Perez would finally get third from Sainz but was not to be as Perez locked up into turn 1, therefore allowing Sainz to take back third.

Two laps later a collision would happen between Schumacher and Vettel, who had been at it all race long. Originally, Vettel had gained two places on Schumacher and Ocon. Going into turn 1, Schumacher crashed into Vettel, effectively sending them both out of any chance of points and all the way down to last.

This chaos allowed Albon to take advantage and gain tenth, giving Williams a chance at getting another point.

End of the race saw Verstappen take the win after a great drive, Leclerc came in second and Sainz was able to hold off Perez to finish third, meaning Perez had to settle for fourth, missing out on the podium. Russell finished fifth, ahead of his team-mate Hamilton in sixth. Bottas, Ocon, Alonso and Albon rounded out the top ten. However, due to another penalty Alonso received after the race, Albon was promoted to ninth, and Stroll getting tenth and a point for Aston Martin.

With the Alonso penalties, he was classified eleventh, Tsunoda twelfth, Ricciardo thirteenth, Latifi fourteenth and Schumacher fifteenth. With the rest of drivers being classified as not finishing.

While Leclerc still holds the lead of the championship, it has been reduced now to 19 points with Verstappen’s win in Miami. Perez being another 19 points behind Verstappen.

With Red Bull getting these wins it is also shrinking Ferrari’s lead at the top of the constructor’s championship, with the gap only being 6 points now. Mercedes are now 62 points off the top, and while they could still make a comeback, winning races will be crucial if that were to happen. McLaren keep fourth while Alfa Romeo get up to fifth with a 5 point gap to Alpine in sixth. Alpha Tauri and Haas are only 1 point apart in seventh and eighth, with Alpha Tauri on top. Then Aston Martin and Williams take the bottom two spots with Aston Martin on 6 and Williams on 3.

Going back to Europe for the next couple of races with the Spanish GP and Monaco GP. Can Ferrari bounce back with a couple of wins or will Red Bull show their pace again and keep on winning? Will Sainz be able to pick up his maiden win when we get to his home race? Whatever the case, it should be an interesting next leg in the championship.

F1 Miami GP Race Results

1 - Max Verstappen (Red Bull)

2 - Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)

3 - Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)

4 - Sergio Perez (Red Bull)

5 - George Russell (Mercedes) 6 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)

7 - Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo)

8 - Esteban Ocon (Alpine)

9 - Alexander Albon (Williams)

10 - Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)

11 - Fernando Alonso (Alpine)

12 - Yuki Tsunoda (Alpha Tauri)

13 - Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren)

14 - Nicholas Latifi (Williams)

15 - Mick Schumacher (Haas) DNF - Kevin Magnussen (Haas) DNF - Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin)

NC - Pierre Gasly (Alpha Tauri)

NC - Lando Norris (McLaren)

NC - Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo)

Source: https://matraxlubricants.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/CRONICA-MIAMI-F1-2022.jpg

Ferrari beats Red Bull to front row lock-out. F1 Miami 2022 GP Qualifying Review & Results

While there have been some struggles with getting to grips fully on the Miami circuit, drivers now tackling the challenge of qualifying where once again the battle between Ferrari and Red Bull continued on. Certain drivers ended up with surprising results. In the lead up to the first ever Miami GP, confidence will be the key for success here.

In Q1 Carlos Sainz showed some early pace going top, with Charles Leclerc coming in behind. Daniel Ricciardo then set a lap to split the Ferrari’s. Lando Norris came in just behind them.

Yuki Tsunoda was in-between the Aston Martin’s, who all were behind the Ferrari’s and McLaren’s.

Max Verstappen then went fastest, Sergio Perez followed that up by slotting in just behind in second.

George Russell put his Mercedes third fastest with a good lap, his team-mate Lewis Hamilton sitting in the bottom five. Hamilton needed a good lap and later on in the session he did just that by getting himself up into fifth.

Both Williams had poor outings, only qualifying in eighteenth and nineteenth. Basically, qualifying last as Esteban Ocon never even set a lap time.

Fernando Alonso got himself out of the bottom five which sent Kevin Magnussen in instead, Magnussen was eliminated. Zhou Guanyu was also eliminated in seventeenth.

In Q2 both Ferrari drivers set early times at the top. Mick Schumacher and Valtteri Bottas also set their early times.

Both Red Bull drivers both set their times going ahead of the Ferrari’s. Norris then goes just behind the Ferrari’s. Hamilton set his lap going into fifth just ahead of Norris. Tsunoda then sets him time going behind Hamilton, which Pierre Gasly then takes his team-mates spot.

Bottas next lap saw him go into seventh, splitting the Alpha Tauri drivers. Alonso then goes eighth.

Russell who backed off on his previous two attempts at flying laps, now going for a third flying lap, he completes the lap, only goes seventh. This pushed Norris into eleventh, bringing him down into the elimination zone.

The final runs started, and Sebastian Vettel sets his time going eighth. Lance Stroll topped his team-mate and went sixth, Bottas improved to fifth. Vettel was left on the cusp of elimination after those two had completed their laps, he soon dropped into the elimination zone after Norris set a great lap going third.

Russell was not doing another lap which left him vulnerable to elimination. Tsunoda then went ninth which meant Russell was eliminated in just Q2. A very disappointing result for Russell who has done well so far this season in a Mercedes that have been disappointing.

Alonso also missed out on the top ten, but not by much and one place from tenth in eleventh, getting ahead of Russell.

In the last lap of Q2, Ricciardo was still on a flying lap and doing well, his final sector was not as good though, and he only ended up in fourteenth, ahead of Schumacher’s Haas.

Alonso, Russell, Vettel, Ricciardo and Schumacher were the drivers that were eliminated.

In the final qualifying session, Ferrari once again come out early to set the pace. Leclerc and Sainz only being a couple of hundredths apart with Leclerc ahead. Verstappen then topped Leclerc going fastest, with his team-mate Perez going fourth.

Bottas went fifth, with Hamilton behind, followed by Norris, Tsunoda, Stroll and Gasly rounding out the top ten for the first runs.

In the final runs, Leclerc went fast enough to beat Verstappen’s time, Sainz going second, ending up close to Leclerc but just a couple of tenths off pole. Bottas went fourth ahead of Perez which did not last long as Perez crossed the line to take fourth back. Gasly grabbed seventh ahead of Norris, both just behind Hamilton.

Verstappen messed up on his attempted hot lap, on turn 6, and so he never got his final flying lap in, missing out on a potential pole, but still qualified third.

Leclerc has a third pole position of the season, and with Sainz getting second, Ferrari got their first front row lock out since Mexico in 2019. Red Bull has taken the second row meaning a lot of potential at the front in the race. Ferrari will be looking to improve a lot from their Imola result and Red Bull will want to keep the success going with another win. It should be another interesting race in Miami.

F1 Miami GP 2022 Qualifying Results

1 – Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 2 – Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) 3 – Max Verstappen (Red Bull) 4 – Sergio Perez (Red Bull) 5 – Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo) 6 – Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 7 – Pierre Gasly (Alpha Tauri) 8 – Lando Norris (McLaren) 9 – Yuki Tsunoda (Alpha Tauri) 10 – Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) 11 – Fernando Alonso (Alpine) 12 – George Russell (Mercedes) 13 – Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin) 14 – Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren) 15 – Mick Schumacher (Haas) 16 – Kevin Magnussen (Haas) 17 – Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo) 18 – Alexander Albon (Williams) 19 – Nicholas Latifi (Williams) 20 – Esteban Ocon (Alpine)

Source: https://cdn-1.motorsport.com/images/amp/YKEBXeO0/s6/formula-1-miami-gp-2022-charle-2.jpg