Tag: Brazilian GP

Alonso rues cost of Ocon crash, but pace is still there for Brazilian GP

Fernando Alonso believes his clash with Esteban Ocon cost him a chance of points in the Sprint, but Aston Martin’s pace bodes well for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix. Ocon was on a flying lap and passing Alonso – on a slow lap and to the outside of the …

Fernando Alonso believes his clash with Esteban Ocon cost him a chance of points in the Sprint, but Aston Martin’s pace bodes well for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

Ocon was on a flying lap and passing Alonso — on a slow lap and to the outside of the track — at Turn 3 when the Frenchman had a snap of oversteer. The correction saw him run wide and hit Alonso’s front left wheel, causing Ocon to crash heavily and damaging the Aston Martin to the extent it couldn’t run again after the end of SQ1.

Starting the Sprint from 15th, Alonso climbed to 11th with some strong overtakes and says it shows more was possible with a clean day.

“Yes, it was [frustrating] because I think we had good pace,” Alonso said. “Now in the race, we saw that we were fast, so we lost a possibility to score a few points. But it is [what] it is. Better that it happened today and not in the main qualifying yesterday. So let’s see tomorrow in the race if we’re going to score big points.”

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The stewards investigated the Sprint Shootout collision and opted to take no further action against either driver, with Alonso feeling both were unlucky.

“I don’t think it could go either way,” the Spaniard said. “I think he lost the car, and unfortunately I was in the wrong place in the wrong moment. But without losing the car, you never go there. But you know, this is the way it is.”

While Alonso is confident the pace shown on Saturday bodes well for Sunday’s grand prix when he will start fourth behind teammate Lance Stroll, he says the psychological boost for Aston Martin could be just as important regardless of the weekend’s final result.

“It was promising,” he said. “Definitely we have to execute a good race tomorrow without any mistakes. Hopefully a good start with the strategy, and we can go through the first couple of laps without any incident, then let’s see the pace. If it’s enough to finish in the top five, top six, whatever, we will take it.

“I think especially after this race we have some kind of relief, some weight off the shoulders of some people, and going into the right direction is a good boost for everyone in the factory. We really needed this type of performance here in Brazil.

“If we had another weekend struggling, maybe that was a little bit worrying, but we always kept pragmatic and doing some tests, some experiments, even if they were painful, and hopefully we have a lot of data now to analyze everything.”

Mercedes ‘clearly got something wrong’ in Brazilian GP sprint

Mercedes’ lack of performance in the Sprint at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix showed the team “clearly got something wrong,” according to George Russell. Interlagos was expected to suit Mercedes after Russell’s double victory across a Sprint weekend last …

Mercedes’ lack of performance in the Sprint at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix showed the team “clearly got something wrong,” according to George Russell.

Interlagos was expected to suit Mercedes after Russell’s double victory across a Sprint weekend last season, and despite only qualifying fourth on Saturday he quickly climbed to second on the opening lap. From there Russell went backwards and finished fourth, some 26s behind race-winner Max Verstappen and over 20s behind Lando Norris.

“Really unexpected,” Russell said. “We didn’t expect to be the fastest; we thought we’d be a couple of tenths behind Max, maybe similar pace to Lando, but clearly we got something wrong today. As always it’s down to tires — tires just dropped off. Story of everybody’s season, and we need to rectify it because that was a disappointing one.

“We know how sensitive the tires are to the conditions. If it’s going to be four or five degrees colder tomorrow, that might transform everything. Not all is lost yet. I guess everybody in the paddock wished they understood it, but it’s a bit of black magic.”

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While Russell expected it to be tough to hold off cars that were within DRS range, he says that weakness should have made tire usage a strength for Mercedes.

“We’re the slowest on the straight at the moment, so we’re very vulnerable if anybody gets DRS behind us,” he said. “We knew that was going to be the case, but that wasn’t the reason for our lack of pace. If anything, being on probably a bit more downforce than everybody else, we were expecting to have less tire deg. We really need to understand what went wrong.”

Things were even worse for teammate Lewis Hamilton who slipped to seventh and a little over half a second clear of Daniel Ricciardo in ninth.

“It was a very tough race,” Hamilton said. “I think we got a good start, then balance… We tried to get right balance of the wing. Just a lot of understeer, snap oversteer and tires just dropped off. In the middle sector, huge understeer. I don’t know whether we got setup wrong… We probably got setup wrong but it is what it is.

“It’s not frustrating [that the car can’t be changed]. It’s frustrating that the car is the way it is.

“The last couple of races we’ve been excited that we’ve been progressing. It’s been really positive to see, and we come to another track and then you have the worst deg that you’ve had for ages. So it’s like you don’t know what to expect, but only a couple more races with this car then it’s gone so I’ll be happy … This year you’re just counting down the days, trying to enjoy every day.”

Verstappen romps to Sao Paulo GP sprint win after lightning start

Max Verstappen won the Sprint at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, beating pole-sitter Lando Norris off the line and cruising to victory. Norris appeared to get a good launch from pole, but in the second phase of the start Verstappen eased alongside to be …

Max Verstappen won the Sprint at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, beating pole-sitter Lando Norris off the line and cruising to victory.

Norris appeared to get a good launch from pole, but in the second phase of the start Verstappen eased alongside to be able to take the lead into Turn 1. The McLaren driver then admitted he was “caught sleeping” by George Russell who passed him for second in the middle sector, while Lewis Hamilton moved up to fourth with a clinical pass around the outside of Sergio Perez at Turn 4.

That was as good as it got for the Mercedes pair, though, as Hamilton was overtaken by Perez into Turn 1 on lap four and then Norris got Russell using DRS into the same corner one lap later and quickly dropped his fellow Brit.

At that point it looked like Norris could still make a race of it — with the Haas pair and Logan Sargeant the only drivers not on soft tires — as he edged back towards Verstappen, cutting a 2s gap to 1.1s at one stage but then seeing the triple world champion respond to pull away and win by over four seconds.

Perez cleared Russell for third place on lap 10 out of 24 — having twice swapped places two laps earlier — and never looked in danger after that, securing his first top three in any race since Monza in September but finishing over 9s behind Norris in a sign of how quick the top two had been.

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Although Russell settled in and had a buffer to his teammate to secure fourth, behind him Hamilton was unable to look after his rear tires enough to remain fifth. Having been over 2.5s clear of Charles Leclerc beyond the halfway point, the gap rapidly shrunk in the closing stages and Leclerc took fifth with four laps to go. Hamilton also couldn’t keep Yuki Tsunoda at bay one lap later, as AlphaTauri scored points in a Sprint event for the first time.

Daniel Ricciardo ended up just outside the points after a thrilling fight with Carlos Sainz eventually led to Oscar Piastri opportunistically jumping his fellow Australian, and by the time Ricciardo regained the spot he was left with a little too much to do in the closing stages. Finally in DRS range and in with a chance of overtaking Sainz, Ricciardo was left frustrated as the Ferrari picked up DRS from Hamilton on the final lap to hold him off to the line.

Further back, both Aston Martin drivers showed impressive pace to fight back from a tough Sprint Shootout — where Fernando Alonso collided with Esteban Ocon — and end up just outside the top ten after some high quality fighting with Pierre Gasly, boding well for their chances of holding onto big points from the second row on Sunday.

All 20 cars finished without major incident or damage, although the Haas medium-tire experiment failed to pay off as Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg slipped to 16th and 18th respectively.

Haas petitions to review USGP results due to track limits issues

Haas has lodged a petition for a right to review the result of the United States Grand Prix, nearly two weeks after the race. Teams are allowed up to 14 days to lodge such a review, and Haas must convince the FIA that it has a significant and …

Haas has lodged a petition for a right to review the result of the United States Grand Prix, nearly two weeks after the race.

Teams are allowed up to 14 days to lodge such a review, and Haas must convince the FIA that it has a significant and relevant new element that was not available to the stewards at the time the decision was made. RACER understands the right of review request is based on track limits violations that went unpunished in the race at Circuit of The Americas.

It is understood at the time that another team other than Haas had flagged a number of track limits to the stewards relating to Sergio Perez — who was ultimately classified fourth after the disqualifications of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc — but the matter was not taken further.

Alex Albon was also investigated for leaving the track after already getting a 5s time penalty for such an infringement, but the stewards stated after the race: “The evidence at hand is not sufficient to accurately and consistently conclude that any breaches occurred and therefore take no further action.”

Haas finished with a car in 11th in the form of Nico Hulkenberg at COTA, just over 3s behind Albon in ninth.

The FIA has yet to state when Haas’ petition will be heard. Should the team convince the governing body of its new evidence, then a separate investigation will be opened into the matter.

Russell, Ocon, Gasly hit with impeding penalties in Brazil

George Russell, Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly have all been handed two-place grid penalties for impeding other cars at the pit exit in qualifying for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix. The FIA had changed the regulations to mandate a maximum delta time …

George Russell, Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly have all been handed two-place grid penalties for impeding other cars at the pit exit in qualifying for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

The FIA had changed the regulations to mandate a maximum delta time between Safety Car Line 2 — at the pit exit — and Safety Car Line 1 — at the pit entry — from the Singapore Grand Prix onwards to reduce the risks of drivers backing up in the final sector to create gaps in qualifying. This served to move the issue of cars slowing to the pit exit — as seen in Mexico last week — so the race director’s notes in Brazil made clear that any car going slowly in the pit lane had to move fully to the left to allow others to overtake if they wish.

However, with a long and narrow pit exit at Interlagos, there were multiple incidents of potential impeding and Russell, Ocon and Gasly all received the same grid penalty for preventing others from passing.

“[When] exiting the pits, preparing for an out lap, [the drivers in question] went slow to create a gap for a clear lap, but did not manage to stay completely to the left,” the stewards’ decision read. “As a result, following car(s) were not able to overtake, as intended by the Race Director’s instructions. This clearly violates the wording and the spirit of item 14 of the Race Director’s Event Notes.”

The penalties apply to the grand prix on Sunday — rather than the Sprint on Saturday — as the incidents occurred in qualifying for the main race. Russell was the highest-placed of the trio originally, so he drops from sixth to eighth on the grid. Ocon and Gasly had qualified next to each other and are demoted to 14th and 15th respectively.

Verstappen beats the rain to take Sao Paulo GP pole

Max Verstappen has taken pole position for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix after a major thunderstorm truncated the pole shootout at Interlagos. Qualifying got underway in cooling and overcast conditions, but dark clouds were gathering rapidly nearby the …

Max Verstappen has taken pole position for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix after a major thunderstorm truncated the pole shootout at Interlagos.

Qualifying got underway in cooling and overcast conditions, but dark clouds were gathering rapidly nearby the circuit and thundered over the track just minutes into Q3.

The thick cloud appeared to turn day into night. Heavy winds gusted through pit lane and lightning crackled overhead as the cars queued at the end of pit lane to try to get one lap in before the heavens opened.

The Aston Martin drivers were first on track, with Lance Stroll pipping Fernando Alonso by 0.043s. Lewis Hamilton followed on the road but ended up slower than both.

Verstappen was next on track and was comfortably fastest, but conditions began deteriorating significantly as he crossed the line. His provisional pole time of 1m10.727s was more than half a second slower than his best Q2 lap.

George Russell was next and couldn’t improve. Charles Leclerc followed and slotted into second behind Verstappen but was 0.294s off the pace.

The Monegasque was the last driver to get anything close to competitive conditions. The wind cruelly whipped the remaining runners still attempting to set a time, with Lando Norris, Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez all more than a second off the pace. The combination of drizzle and wind was even enough to blow Oscar Piastri off the road at Juncao without a time.

Thunder roared and the clouds began to burst as the cars returned to pit lane. With heavy rain lashing the circuit, race control called off the session.

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“We didn’t know when it would hit in qualifying but we thought it would hit,” Verstappen said of the team’s decision to send him out early. “This is of course insane weather.

“Charles and I were just discussing — our laps felt terrible. The winds changed and felt very strong. We lost a lot of lap time because of it. It felt quite hectic, the last lap.”

Leclerc, who just squeaked in ahead of the weather, was surprised to find himself on the front row.

“To be honest, in my whole career I’ve never experienced something like that,” he said. “From Turn 4 there was no rain, but the car was extremely difficult to drive, no grip.

“I was thinking about just coming in at the end of my lap, but then I finished and P2. It was a big surprise.”

Stroll was an impressive third for Aston Martin, outqualifying teammate Alonso for just the second grand prix of the season.

“The car was feeling good throughout the session,” he said. “Q3 was really tricky. My lap was pretty bad, but I think conditions changed a lot.

“I had a few lock-ups and mixed some apexes. In the end good enough for top three, which is a great result.”

However, Stroll will see the stewards after the session for allegedly exceeding the maximum lap time during a slow lap in Q1. Assuming he avoids a penalty, Alonso will line alongside his teammate on the second row ahead of an all-Mercedes third row, with Hamilton ahead of Russell.

Russell, though, is also up for a post-race stewards investigation for blocking the long pit exit lane, with drivers having specifically been warned to keep hard to the left to avoid the sorts of impeding incidents that marred last weekend’s race in Mexico.

Norris was bitterly disappointed to qualify seventh in the worsening weather. The McLaren driver was fastest in Q2 and believed he had the pace to contend for pole position but was helpless in the conditions.

Sainz will start eighth ahead of Perez, who was the only driver behind the spun-off Piastri, forcing him to slow for the ensuing yellow flags. Perez will also face a post-session investigation for impeding in the pit exit lane.

Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg will line up 11th ahead of Alpine teammates Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly. Then again, Gasly and Ocon ended the session also under stewards investigation for blocking the pit exit lane in Q1…

Kevin Magnussen felt he had been baulked by a Ferrari at Turn 7, but television replays suggested the Dane ran deep at the corner and spoiled his own lap.

Alex Albon qualified 15th after having his fastest lap time deleted, though the quicker time wouldn’t have promoted him any higher up the order.

Yuki Tsunoda will line up 16th despite burning through three sets of soft tires in a bid to escape the bottom five, but in a super-tight session he was less than half a second off top spot and 0.044s short of Q2.

Daniel Ricciardo’s steep comedown from his Mexico qualifying heroics ended with 17th on the grid 0.006s behind his teammate and ahead of Valtteri Bottas, Logan Sargeant and Zhou Guanyu at the back of the grid.

Technical upgrades: Sao Paulo Grand Prix

There is only one small update brought to the Sao Paulo Grand Prix by Haas as the end of a tripleheader of race weekends leads to a scarcity of new parts. With Interlagos hosting a sprint event, there’s only one free practice session for teams to …

There is only one small update brought to the Sao Paulo Grand Prix by Haas as the end of a tripleheader of race weekends leads to a scarcity of new parts.

With Interlagos hosting a sprint event, there’s only one free practice session for teams to get a handle on any upgrades that they want to analyze, so the majority introduced developments at the previous rounds in Austin and Mexico City.

The only item that has been submitted to the FIA is at Haas, where a new front wing flap has been produced that will allow it more setup options specific to the Interlagos circuit.

There are no other new parts listed, and with only two races remaining this season there are multiple teams who are unlikely to bring any further updates this year with their full focus now on 2024.

Interlagos to stay on F1 calendar through 2030

Formula 1 has announced a five-year contract extension for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, keeping the race on the calendar through 2030. There were originally two more years on the existing contract beyond this weekend’s event at Interlagos, but with …

Formula 1 has announced a five-year contract extension for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, keeping the race on the calendar through 2030.

There were originally two more years on the existing contract beyond this weekend’s event at Interlagos, but with ongoing investment into the venue to expand its revenue streams beyond motorsport it has been able to commit to a longer-term deal. F1 president and CEO Stefano Domenicali says retaining the history of Interlagos on the schedule was important.

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“I am delighted to announce we will be staying at Interlagos until 2030, and I can’t wait for many more years of the wonderful atmosphere that the Brazilian fans bring,” Domenicali said. “Brazil has such a rich racing heritage, and this iconic circuit is a favorite of drivers and fans around the world. It embodies everything that is great about racing, and we look forward to seeing how it develops over the years to come to create an even better experience.”

Sao Paulo Grand Prix CEO Alan Adler says more investment can now be made given the certainty the extended contract brings to the race.

“It is a great honor to have the contract extension that ensures Sao Paulo’s place on the Formula 1 calendar,” Adler said. “This is the recognition of the work we have been doing, with the crucial support of the Sao Paulo City Hall. Continuing to be a partner of Formula 1 is a matter of great pride. Now, we will immediately start planning for the years ahead so that we can have even better grand prix editions in the coming years.”

Mayor of Sao Paulo Ricardo Nunes highlighted the importance of the coverage the race brings to the city each year, with another late-season slot in 2024 when the race will be held at the start of November.

“The extension of the contract for the Formula 1 Grande Premio de Sao Paulo, broadcasted in approximately 180 countries, solidifies our city as a global leader in hosting major events with economic and social impact, generating jobs, revenue, and opportunities,” Nunes said. “Each year, we also advance our sustainability agenda, incorporating innovations to overcome challenges and bring more benefits to the city of Sao Paulo and Brazil.”

Racing on TV, November 3-5

All times Eastern; live broadcasts unless noted. Friday, November 3 Sao Paulo practice 1 10:25-11:30am Sao Paulo practice 1 10:25-11:30am Sao Paulo qualifying 1:55-3:00pm Sao Paulo qualifying 1:55-3:00pm Phoenix qualifying 6:00-7:00pm Phoenix …

All times Eastern; live broadcasts unless noted.

Friday, November 3

Sao Paulo
practice 1		 10:25-11:30am

Sao Paulo
practice 1		 10:25-11:30am

Sao Paulo
qualifying		 1:55-3:00pm

Sao Paulo
qualifying		 1:55-3:00pm

Phoenix
qualifying		 6:00-7:00pm

Phoenix
practice		 7:00-8:00pm

Phoenix
practice		 8:00-9:00pm

Phoenix 9:00-10:00pm
pre-race (FS2)
10:00pm-
1:00am
race

Saturday, November 4

Bahrain
start		 6:30-8:00am

Sao Paulo
sprint
shootout		 9:55-11:00am

Sao Paulo
sprint
shootout		 9:55-11:00am

Bahrain
finish		 2:00-3:30pm

Sao Paulo
sprint		 2:25-3:00pm

Sao Paulo
sprint		 2:25-3:00pm

Phoenix
qualifying		 3:30-4:30pm

Phoenix
qualifying		 4:30-6:00pm

Phoenix 6:30-7:00pm
pre-race
7:00-10:00pm
race

Sunday, November 5

COTA TA2 11:05am-
12:20pm

Sao Paulo GP 11:30-11:55am
pre-race
11:55am-
2:00pm
race

Sao Paulo GP 11:30-11:55am
pre-race
11:55am-
2:00pm
race

Phoenix 2:00-3:00pm
pre-race
3:00-7:00pm
race

COTA TA 2:10-3:25pm

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.

Red Bull says Perez seat not tied to P2 in drivers’ standings

Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner insists Sergio Perez’s seat on the team for 2024 is not dependent on him beating Lewis Hamilton to second place in the drivers’ championship. Perez retired from his home grand prix in Mexico City on …

Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner insists Sergio Perez’s seat on the team for 2024 is not dependent on him beating Lewis Hamilton to second place in the drivers’ championship.

Perez retired from his home grand prix in Mexico City on Sunday and heads to this weekend’s Sao Paulo Grand Prix with a 20-point advantage over Hamilton after the latter finished second with the fastest lap. After seeing the gap between the two close and with Red Bull chasing its first one-two in the drivers’ standings, Horner says there’s no automatic trigger regarding Perez’s future based on his finishing position.

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“No, it’s not as binary as that,” Horner said. “You’ve got to look at the circumstances and so on. Checo has an agreement with us for next year, and that’s our intention — for him to be in the car in 2024. We’ll give him all the support that we can so that he finishes second. There’s no prerequisite that if he doesn’t finish second, you’re out.

“He’s got three races now to convert that second place, there’s 20 points between him and Lewis. He’s had some misfortune, he’s had some issues. But we still believe he can do it between now and the end of the year.”

Horner says one of the ways Perez has impressed Red Bull is by coming through similar tough spells in the past to deliver strong results.

“He’s a tough operator. That’s why he’s in the car, because mentally, he’s always been able to bounce back. He’ll brush himself down and he’ll turn it into motivation. Sprint race in Brazil, Las Vegas a street circuit — he’s always run well at street circuits. Abu Dhabi, he’s always been competitive there as well. He’ll have the full support of the team to try and achieve something that we’ve not done before.”

Horner also feels special motivation for the upcoming Brazilian race after losing out to Mercedes there last year.

George Russell’s win at Interlagos in 2022 was the only time Red Bull was beaten between Charles Leclerc’s victory at last season’s Austrian Grand Prix and Carlos Sainz’s win in Singapore this year. The Mercedes result marks the only non-Red Bull win in that run of 25 races, and Horner expects another challenge in Brazil this season.

“They’ve (Mercedes) been competitive on race runs (in Mexico). Austin’s difficult to judge because of what happened. We expect them to be competitive in Brazil for sure. Brazil for us is a scratch unitched from last year when we felt we didn’t get the setup quite right. So we’ll try and put that right this year.”