Tag: Abu Dhabi GP

Verstappen rebounds from practice woes to take Abu Dhabi pole

Max Verstappen took the final pole position of the Formula 1 season at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc after both Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz failed to make the top-10 shootout. Top spot was a marked rebound from …

Max Verstappen took the final pole position of the Formula 1 season at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc after both Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz failed to make the top-10 shootout.

Top spot was a marked rebound from Verstappen’s problematic final practice session earlier in the day, in which he was significantly off the pace and demanded several incremental setup changes that appeared to leave him no closer to a competitive car configuration. But tweaks made ahead of qualifying paid dividends. Verstappen set the quickest time in all three qualifying segments and needed only one lap in Q3 to take top spot comfortably with a time of 1m 23.445s.

Despite failing to improve with his second lap, his first was good enough to secure his 12th pole of the season.

“Very weird,” he said of the recovery. “The whole weekend so far has been a bit of a struggle.

“We definitely improved the car from qualifying. From lap 1 it all seemed a bit more together and we could definitely push more. I’m very happy to be on pole.”

It left the Dutchman somewhat more optimistic about closing off the season with a 19th victory for the year.

“I have no clue how good we’re going to be in the race,” he said. “Normally we’re quite decent.”

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Leclerc was similarly shocked to qualify so well, having struggled for consistency all weekend and having also failed to put together a competitive lap in the practice hour preceding qualifying.

“Considering the weekend we’ve had until now, I did not expect it at all,” he said of his ninth front row of the year. “I’m really, really happy with the second place. Q1 and Q2 I was worried [about] going through. At the end, a front row, it’s amazing.”

Oscar Piastri briefly held a position on the front row, but his 0.337s margin demoted him to third by the end of the session, the best grand prix qualifying result of his career. But the Australian said there would have been more on the table with a cleaner session.

“It’s extremely tight this weekend,” he said. “The pace has been there, but just a lot of mistakes. On the last lap I made a little bit of a mistake as well.

“But I’m happy with that. The car is very quick this weekend, a nice turnaround from Vegas for us. Happy to be back in the top three.”

However, Piastri will see the stewards after the session for allegedly impeding Pierre Gasly in Q3, potentially putting his second-row start at risk.

George Russell came close to overhauling Piastri for the place on pace, but the Mercedes driver fell just 0.006s short.

Leclerc and Russell will lead the battle for Ferrari and Mercedes over second in the constructors’ championship, with their respective teammates, Carlos Sainz and Lewis Hamilton, both failing to make the top 10 in separate qualifying fumbles. Sainz blamed traffic and his run plan for being knocked out in 16th, while Hamilton lamented a possible car problem that left him 11th.

“There’s something not right with this car, man,” Hamilton radioed after his knockout was confirmed, the Briton having been unhappy with his Mercedes car all weekend, a situation perhaps not helped by having to give up FP1 to Mercedes junior Frederik Vesti.

Lando Norris qualified fifth but likely would have been higher had it not been for a snap of oversteer underneath the hotel in the final sector on his last lap, leaving him ahead of Yuki Tsunoda, Fernando Alonso and an on-form Nico Hulkenberg.

Sergio Perez and Pierre Gasly qualified ninth and 10th after having had their fastest times deleted for exceeding track limits. Perez’s final lap would have been quick enough for sixth, but Gasly failed to set a time quick enough to climb out of 10th.

Hamilton will line up 11th after missing out on Q1 progression by just 0.081s, albeit 0.346s slower than teammate Russell.

Esteban Ocon qualified 12th ahead of Lance Stroll, Alex Albon — the Williams driver having completed a qualifying clean sweep against rookie teammate Logan Sargeant, beating him in all 22 grand prix qualifying sessions as well as all six sprint shootouts — and Daniel Ricciardo in places 13 to 15.

Sainz was the shock Q1 elimination in 16th, the Spaniard pinning his lowly knockout on traffic on his final lap. His middle sector in particular left much to be desired, and in a super-tight session he was only 0.578s off the pace but will start in the bottom five.

Kevin Magnussen will line up 17th for Haas ahead of teammates Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu for Sauber’s final race under the Alfa Romeo brand.

Under-pressure Williams rookie Sargeant will start last after having two competitive laps deleted for exceeding track limits at the first turn. His final flying lap would have been quick enough to sneak through in 14th had he kept off the exit curb.

Russell tops final Abu Dhabi practice after Verstappen problems

George Russell topped final practice at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on a troubled afternoon for reigning champion Max Verstappen. Russell, who also topped the daytime FP1 session, had a relatively quiet final hour of practice, completing just 11 laps …

George Russell topped final practice at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on a troubled afternoon for reigning champion Max Verstappen.

Russell, who also topped the daytime FP1 session, had a relatively quiet final hour of practice, completing just 11 laps with two sets of soft tires on his way to the headline time of 1m 24.418s.

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Top spot was closely contested by McLaren’s Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, who were 0.095s and 0.392s off the pace respectively, the two papaya teammates having completely a similarly spartan run plan ahead of qualifying.

Their way was eased by Verstappen’s absence from the top of the order after a frustrating final hour of free track running for the Red Bull driver.

Verstappen made four setup changes through the session but appeared satisfied by none of them. His session started with complaints about rear sliding and ended with concern about the car bottoming out and jumping, a similar problem to that he reported on Friday night. His difficulties left him down in sixth and 0.735s off the pace.

Alex Albon and Charles Leclerc slotted between the champion and the leading trio. Albon’s Williams was particularly strong in the first two sectors, where it was the fastest car of the session, but he shipping almost 0.7s to leader Russell in the slow final split, leaving him cumulatively half a second off.

Leclerc sounded surprised not to be higher than fifth and closer than 0.681s to Russell, having topped the truncated FP2 session, which was run in representative evening conditions.

Both Leclerc and teammate Carlos Sainz, who ended the session last in his rebuilt car following an overnight crash, spent almost the entire session with the medium tire, the only drivers in the field to do so.

Both Ferrari drivers completed 13 laps apiece on the yellow-marked tire to make up for lost race-simulation time in FP2 before two runs on a set of softs in time attack.

Esteban Ocon finished seventh behind Verstappen but ahead of Logan Sargeant, who made it two Williams cars in the top 10, Yuki Tsunoda and Zhou Guanyu.

Sergio Perez was 11th and 0.841s off the pace, though he set his fastest lap earlier in the session, while Lewis Hamilton was 12th and 0.885s behind his session-topping teammate.

Pierre Gasly led Aston Martin teammates Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll, who each set a lap on both their sets of hard tires to prepare them for Sunday, when they’re expected to be the key race compound.

Valtteri Bottas led Nico Hulkenberg, Daniel Ricciardo, Kevin Magnussen and Sainz at the bottom of the order.

Sainz: Current F1 cars made me ‘a passenger’ in heavy crash

Carlos Sainz says he was made a passenger in his heavy crash during practice for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix as the current generation of Formula 1 cars snap away so quickly. The Ferrari driver was entering the high-speed Turn 3 early in FP2 when the …

Carlos Sainz says he was made a passenger in his heavy crash during practice for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix as the current generation of Formula 1 cars snap away so quickly.

The Ferrari driver was entering the high-speed Turn 3 early in FP2 when the car appeared to be unsettled by a bump and he spun through 360 degrees before hitting the barrier hard on the outside of the track. The session was red-flagged for over 20 minutes as a result of the clean-up operation, and Sainz says the way the uneven track surface caused him to lose performance meant there was no time to regain control.

“For some reason there’s been a change in the track compared to other years,” Sainz said. “There’s two bumps — one at the exit of Turn 2 and one at the entry of Turn 3 — that with this generation of car is upsetting it a lot. It nearly caught me out in FP1 and I changed a few things in the setup and in the line trying to get rid of it and then for some reason again on that lap it surprised me.

“It must have been an angle or exactly the way I took the bump and it made me be a passenger from there on. We’ve seen before with this generation of cars that any of these small bumps can really make you spin or make you have a pretty heavy crash. It’s not ideal but it is what it is. We’ll try and make it better for tomorrow.”

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Sainz suggested there could also have been other factors that played a role in the crash after making setup changes between sessions.

“We were definitely changing things from FP1 to FP2 that might have had an effect, but obviously I’m not going to go into details about that,” he said. “Unfortunately I just couldn’t control the car — it just snapped on me and it’s those moments where you feel like you are a complete passenger and you wish you maybe would have done something different.”

Sainz confirmed that he was physically fine despite the heavy impact as a result of the crash, as he went side-on into barrier.

“I’m feeling good, thanks — it was a pretty big crash but again, with these safe cars you can get away with these pretty big hits pretty untouched and that’s the case. I’m obviously a little bit sore but nothing to worry about … We shouldn’t take any penalties, so all good for the rest of the weekend.”

Leclerc leads disrupted second Abu Dhabi GP practice

Charles Leclerc topped a severely interrupted second practice session at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix after two crashes in quick succession truncated running by more than half an hour. The 60-minute session was suspended after just eight minutes when …

Charles Leclerc topped a severely interrupted second practice session at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix after two crashes in quick succession truncated running by more than half an hour.

The 60-minute session was suspended after just eight minutes when Leclerc’s teammate, Carlos Sainz, lost control of his car at Turn 3 and slammed into the inside barrier. The Ferrari appeared to bottom out over a bump through the long right-hander — several drivers complained of bottoming through that section of track during FP1 — when it snapped from beneath him.

The Spaniard said dirty air from a car ahead prevented him from saving the spin, which sent him careening out of control into the wall in a plume of tire smoke, where the SF-23 sustained serious damage.

The Tecpro barriers were also worse for wear, and their repair wiped approximately 26 minutes off the clock. But the session had resumed for barely a minute when Nico Hulkenberg brought out the red flags a second time when he smashed his Haas car exiting the first turn.

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Hulkenberg mounted the wide, flat curb exiting Turn 1 when his car spun suddenly and rear-ended the concrete wall on the inside of the circuit, bringing his session to an immediately close.

It took a further six minutes to get running back underway — bringing the total time under red flag to around 33 minutes — at which point there was only 16 minutes left in the session.

It was a frenetic quarter-hour of running, not only for the lost time in this session but also because 10 drivers had given up their cars to rookie and inexperienced drivers in the earlier first practice session, leaving half the grid down on track time.

Verstappen, who was one of those to skip FP1, was among the most eager to make the most of what was left of the only representative twilight practice session of the weekend, barging past George Russell at the end of the pit lane as the track re-opened and then bizarrely attempting to pass around Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes outside through the narrow tunnel connecting the pits with the circuit, almost causing a collision.

A condensed program on the medium and soft tires was good enough to put him only third in the order, 0.173s adrift of session leader Leclerc. The Dutchman complained that his car was bouncing “like a kangaroo” in the final sector, though by the end of the shortened session he was fastest through the final split.

Between him and leader Leclerc slotted McLaren’s Lando Norris, who was a close match for the leading Ferrari at just 0.043s off the pace.

Valtteri Bottas claimed fourth for the second consecutive session, pipping Sergio Perez, who had several late laps on the soft tire blocked by traffic.

Russell finished sixth ahead of Zhou Guanyu and Hamilton, while Pierre Gasly and Oscar Piastri completed the top 10.

Fernando Alonso, who also made a move through the pit lane tunnel, his pass on one of the AlphaTauri drivers, finishes 11th ahead of Daniel Ricciardo, Lance Stroll, Esteban Ocon and Yuki Tsunoda.

Alex Albon resumed control of his Williams to finish sixth ahead of Kevin Magnussen and Logan Sargeant, with the crashed-out Sainz and Hulkenberg completing the order in 19th and 20th.

McLaren and Mercedes extend PU deal to 2030

McLaren will continue to be a Mercedes power unit customer under Formula 1’s next set of regulations, after signing a new supply contract to continue the relationship until 2030. Mercedes has been the supplier to McLaren since 2020, and prior to …

McLaren will continue to be a Mercedes power unit customer under Formula 1’s next set of regulations, after signing a new supply contract to continue the relationship until 2030.

Mercedes has been the supplier to McLaren since 2020, and prior to that the two teams enjoyed significant success in the late 1990s and early 2000s, before the German manufacturer returned as a constructor itself. McLaren has been investing in its infrastructure in recent seasons and during the second part of this year has regularly been beating Mercedes on track, with McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown saying it shows the partnership doesn’t limit its performance potential.

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“Mercedes-Benz have been a brilliant and reliable partner of the McLaren Formula 1 team,” Brown said. “The extension signifies the confidence that our shareholders and the wider team have in their powertrains and the direction we’re taking with them into the new era of regulations ahead.

“We have been successful together, both in the last three seasons and when they previously powered the team, so we look forward to the success to come as we continue our journey to fight consistently at the front of the grid.”

McLaren will be the only one of the current top six teams without a works partnership deal once Honda joins forces with Aston Martin in 2026, but team principal Andrea Stella says the continuity will prove to be a strength.

“We are pleased to confirm a long-term renewal of our power unit deal with Mercedes-Benz into the new era of regulations,” Stella said. “We have great confidence in Mercedes and our relationship with them.

“They’ve supported our journey back to the front of the grid so far, and the security and stability this partnership brings is vital in ensuring we remain on this upward trajectory. I would like to thank them for their collaboration so far and we look forward to the years to come.”

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff says customer deals are important for the company from a commercial perspective as well as aiming to help ensure the most competitive grid possible.

“It has been a cornerstone of our motorsport strategy to work with strong customer teams,” Wolff said. “This has many advantages: it gives a clear competitive benchmark, accelerates our technical learning, and strengthens the overall F1 business case for Mercedes-Benz. McLaren have been fierce and fair competitors since 2021, especially in the second half of this season.

“McLaren’s strong performances underline the importance of transparent and equal supply to all customer teams in the sport, if we wish to achieve the goal of 10 teams capable of fighting for podium finishes.”

The early confirmation of the five-year deal has benefits in allowing Mercedes and McLaren to work together on the 2026 regulations to ensure strong power unit integration, according to Mercedes-AMG High Performance Powertrains managing director Hywel Thomas.

“The team at HPP enjoys a long and successful history with McLaren, and we’re delighted to confirm the extension of the relationship into the new regulation cycle,” Thomas said. “Securing this agreement now, with two full seasons until we race the 2026 power unit, gives us a great opportunity to optimize our combined efforts for lap time. We are looking forward to renewing our relationship and working together towards that goal.”

Russell leads rookie-packed first Abu Dhabi GP practice

George Russell topped first practice at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix ahead of Aston Martin reserve driver Felipe Drugovich. Russell used a set of softs to lead the unrepresentative daytime session ahead of the night-time grand prix with a time of …

George Russell topped first practice at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix ahead of Aston Martin reserve driver Felipe Drugovich.

Russell used a set of softs to lead the unrepresentative daytime session ahead of the night-time grand prix with a time of 1m26.072s. It was a smooth end after a troubled start to the hour for the Briton, whose first run was curtailed by a loose helmet and his subsequent laps frustrated by steering issues through the Yas Marina Circuit’s many slow-speed turns.

Drugovich was unexpectedly his closest rival, lapping 0.288s adrift in Fernando Alonso’s car, having taken Lance Stroll’s seat for his first F1 appearance in Mexico last month.

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The Brazilian 2022 Formula 2 champion was one of 10 stand-in drivers in the field, with nine of the 10 teams needing to satisfy regulations requiring them to devote at least two practice sessions to rookie or inexperienced drivers this season.

Only AlphaTauri had already satisfied the rule ahead of the weekend, while Red Bull Racing had both full-time drivers out of the car for one of the year’s least critical practice sessions.

Daniel Ricciardo was third for AlphaTauri, 0.361s adrift. Valtteri Bottas following 0.02s further back, while Stroll made it two Aston Martin cars in the top five, although the Canadian was 0.599s off the pace. Stroll could be at risk of a post-session investigation for blocking Red Bull Racing stand-in Isack Hadjar late in the session

Oscar Piastri was also aggrieved by slow drivers on the racing line, having had to take evasive action to avoid a crash with Carlos Sainz in an incident McLaren suggested was dangerous. Piastri and Sainz finished sixth and seventh, with Ferrari reserve driver Robert Shwartzman eighth and just 0.027s behind his full-time teammate.

Pierre Gasly was ninth quickest ahead of Yuki Tsunoda, who completed the top 10 at 0.653s adrift.

Logan Sargeant finished 11th but will see the stewards after the session for blocking Alpine reserve driver Jack Doohan on a hot lap. Sargeant was moving slowly while adjusting some setting on his steering wheel between the last two corners when Doohan suddenly appeared in his mirrors.

Sargeant veered right, to the inside of the track, just as Doohan did likewise in an attempt to avoid a crash. The Australian had to dive deeper still, almost into pit lane, to avoid what he said would have been “the biggest accident of my life.”

Doohan was 13th, just behind Mercedes reserve Frederik Vesti and ahead of F2 title leader Theo Pourchaire, who enjoyed a largely clean session after completing just four laps with brake problems in his first practice outing this season in Mexico.

IndyCar star and 2024 McLaren reserve driver Pato O’Ward was 15th, having survived a big snap of oversteer exiting the final corner early in his run, the wild moment warning other drivers of a tailwind through the turn. He finished ahead Formula E champion Jake Dennis and Hadjar, both Red Bull juniors taking over from Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez.

Williams Formula 3 runner-up Zak O’Sullivan was 18th ahead of Haas duo Kevin Magnussen and Oliver Bearman, the latter a Ferrari junior currently sixth in the Formula 2 standings.

Technical updates: 2023 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

AlphaTauri has the largest amount of new parts at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, with Alfa Romeo and Aston Martin also bringing updates to the final race. The overall development rate has dropped as the end of the season has approached, with limited …

AlphaTauri has the largest amount of new parts at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, with Alfa Romeo and Aston Martin also bringing updates to the final race.

The overall development rate has dropped as the end of the season has approached, with limited returns if teams are going to make significant changes to their cars ahead of 2024. However, with AlphaTauri still trying to catch Williams for seventh in the constructors’ championship, it has brought a major upgrade to Abu Dhabi.

As the main performance differentiator, AlphaTauri has a new floor that is divided into three specific areas of development. The floor body has been updated with the forward and central floor areas modified. That works in conjunction with new floor fences, while the forward part of the floor edge wing has also been adapted as part of the development.

AlphaTauri is also the only team with both race drivers taking part in the entire race weekend, as all other teams have at least one rookie running in FP1, and in Red Bull’s case two.

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Only two other teams have new parts for the final race, with Aston Martin focusing on the rear of its car. A new beam wing works in partnership with a revised rear wing, while there are also subtle changes to the rear wing endplate.

At Alfa Romeo, it’s the front wing that is getting attention, with changes to the main body, flaps and endplate that are “meant to influence the airflow throughout the whole car and improve the aerodynamic efficiency of the car.”

Racing on TV, November 23-26

All times Eastern; live broadcasts unless noted. Thursday, November 23 Dane Idelson 8:00-8:30pm Ben Maier 8:30-9:00pm Gavin Boschele 9:00-9:30pm Jaxon Bell 9:30-10:00pm William Sawalich 10:00- 10:30pm Julian Beaumer 10:30- 11:00pm Friday, November …

All times Eastern; live broadcasts unless noted.

Thursday, November 23

Dane Idelson 8:00-8:30pm

Ben Maier 8:30-9:00pm

Gavin
Boschele		 9:00-9:30pm

Jaxon Bell 9:30-10:00pm

William
Sawalich		 10:00-
10:30pm

Julian
Beaumer		 10:30-
11:00pm

Friday, November 24

Melbourne 3:30-5:30am

Abu Dhabi
practice 1		 4:25-5:30am

Abu Dhabi
practice 1		 4:25-5:30am

Abu Dhabi
practice 2		 7:55-9:00am

Abu Dhabi
practice 2		 7:55-9:00am

Dane Idelson 8:00-8:30pm

Ben Maier 8:30-9:00pm

Gavin
Boschele		 9:00-9:30pm

Jaxon Bell 9:30-10:00pm

William
Sawalich		 10:00-
10:30pm

Julian
Beaumer		 10:30-
11:00pm

Saturday, November 25

Melbourne 3:30-
5:30am

Abu Dhabi
practice 3		 5:25-6:30am

Abu Dhabi
practice 3		 5:25-6:30am

Abu Dhabi
qualifying		 8:55-
10:00am

Abu Dhabi
qualifying		 8:55-
10:00am

Adelaide
qualifying		 6:24-
7:05pm

Adelaide
Top 10
shootout		 8:42-9:10pm

Adelaide
500		 10:42pm-
1:22am

Sunday, November 26

Abu Dhabi
GP		 6:30-7:55am
pre-race
7:55-10:00am
race

Abu Dhabi
GP		 6:30-7:55am
pre-race
7:55-10:00am
race

Valencia 3:00-4:30pm
(SDD)

2023 King of
the Hammers		 8:00-9:00pm
(D)

Key: SDD: Same day delay; D = delayed; R = Repeat/Replay

A variety of motor racing is available for streaming on demand at the following sites:

  • SRO-america.com
  • SCCA.com
  • SpeedSport1.com
  • Ferrari Challenge
  • The Trans Am Series airs in 60-minute highlight shows in primetime on the MAVTV Network. For those wishing to tune in live, the entire lineup of SpeedTour events will stream for free on the SpeedTour TV YouTube page. SpeedTour TV will also air non-stop activity on Saturday and Sunday (SVRA, IGT and Trans Am). You can also watch all Trans Am event activity on the Trans Am YouTube page and Facebook page.
  • All NTT IndyCar Series stream live on Peacock Premium.

Sports world reacts to crazy F1 finish and several pro golfers chimed in

Many pro golfers watched the Formula 1 series finale Sunday and had some thoughts on the wild ending.

Golfers are sports fans, too.

Many were watching the Formula 1 series finale Sunday, which came to a dramatic conclusion in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Max Verstappen made a late pass to win the championship and deny Lewis Hamilton of an eighth title.

A late crash with five laps to go set up the frenzied finish. With one lap to go, Verstappen and Hamilton started side-by-side. This was not without controversy however. A controversial decision from stewards allowed the lapped cars between the two to go ahead of the safety car. As a result, the two rivals raced head-to-head for that last lap, but it left fans furious and questioning if it was fair.

The finish also set Twitter ablaze with reaction and several golfers chimed in.

HVIII with some thoughts.

Matt Fitzpatrick was a bit puzzled, as were many others.

The 2018 Ryder Cup captain for the Euro side with his take.

Netflix could be in a for some new subscribers.

Georgia Hall was there, too, taking in the fun.

Another satisfied customer.

Here’s a look at the last-lap theatrics.

Charles Curtis of For The Win contributed to this article.

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