McLaren's Lando Norris dominated at the Marina Bay street circuit to take the third win of his career at the Singapore Grand Prix on Sunday. Norris went from pole position to race victory as he blistered the opposition, as he beat his championship rival Max Verstappen to a victory by over 20 seconds and it will give him a good confidence boost and it will be viewed as big statement made by the man second in the championship. British talent Norris, who is second in the championship, won from championship leader Max Verstappen who would finish second in the race and would limit the damage caused to his championship lead. Oscar Piastri made it a double McLaren podium in third place. Verstappen's championship lead has been shrunk to 52 points over Lando Norris, whereas in the Constructors Championship, McLaren have extended their lead to 41 points. How the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix unfoldedIt was Grand Prix Sunday which meant race day under the night skies of the Marina Bay street circuit for the Singapore Grand Prix. The race that would play host to round 18 of the 2024 FIA Formula One World Championship. After an entertaining qualifying session in the evening of Saturday, it would be McLaren's Lando Norris who would take pole position, for the sixth time in his Formula One career. Norris set a 1:29.525 and would have the chance to close the championship lead. Norris would take pole ahead of Max Verstappen who would qualify in second despite the Red Bull struggling for pace. The championship leader would join Norris on the front row and the top two in the championship would go at it in battle. Starting behind them on the second row would be the Mercedes drivers, Lewis Hamilton would start third with his teammate George Russell alongside him in fourth. All 20 drivers would make the grid with no grid penalties implemented from qualifying the grid would be as the qualifying classification. It would be time for the Singapore Grand Prix. The lights would go out and it would be a clean start for all of the top four as they maintained position through the first few corners with Norris ahead of Verstappen, Hamilton and Russell. Russell did receive pressure from Piastri but maintained position, as Piastri lost out to Nico Hulkenberg of Haas. Franco Colapinto would make a bold move on Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon into turn 1 at the start. It made him move up to ninth but it made Alex Albon less than impressed with his Williams teammate. Hulkenberg would not stay ahead of Piastri for long as the power of the Australian's McLaren was just too fast for the Haas of Hulkenberg. Lando Norris was stretching his legs out in front and was pulling a big gap over Max Verstappen. The British driver, who was second in the standings, was enjoying life in clean air and in the lead of the Grand Prix. The Red Bull of Verstappen was struggling to keep with the McLaren's sheer performance and speed. Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon would be the first drivers who would make their way into the pit lane for a change of tyres first and would put fresh hard tyres on and they would join Danile Ricciardo in being the first three drivers to come into the pit lane. Lap 16 and Albon looked to have an issue. He was on fresh tyres but just seemed to lose performance and the Williams driver was forced to come into the pits and would become the first driver to retire from the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix. A couple of laps later and Lewis Hamilton would make an early stop in comparison from the soft tyres and would mve onto the C3 hard compound. It would be an attempt to go to the end on the hard tyres but there would still be a long way to go. Sainz would be using his fresh tyres to his advantage and would make a move on Lance Stroll to make his way up a position and the Ferrari driver would be looking to recover from the difficult Q3. Russell would be in on lap 24 and the Mercedes driver would be overcut Lewis Hamilton and it would prove Hamilton's opinion that it had been a mistake for his race to pit him so early on in the race. Hamilton had made good progress and had made his way through the field. Passing Esteban Ocon was a significant pass for him to complete if he was to make the strategy work. Lap 30 and Verstappen would be into the pits for his mandatory tyre change. WIth an over 20 seconds worth of an advantage in favour of Lando Norris. Red Bull would have to try and do something different and would have to try and catch McLaren off guard. When Verstappen exited the pits he would come out behind Charles Leclerc and therefore the championship leader would have an overtake to make. The following lap would see Lando Norris make a trip to the pit lane without front wing damage like he was suggesting. He would come out in the lead of the race. Norris had clipped the wall after locking up at turn 14 but amazingly he did not pick up any front wing damage and got away with unscathed. A huge let off for Norris but one that could be critical by the end of the season, in relation to the World Drivers Championship. Verstappen would eventually, before this, get ahead of Leclerc with a good, precise and clean move on his old go-karting rival and he would be up a position. It would be a McLaren 1-2 with Verstappen in third on lap 33, but Norris' teammate Oscar Piastri would be still yet to serve his mandatory pit stop. Lap 35 and George Russell had closed up to the back of Charles Leclerc on the run towards turn 16. Russell would try around the outside but would be defended well by the Ferrari of Leclerc. Leclerc would be called into the pit lane on the following lap a fresh change of tyres and he would come out just ahead of Nico Hulkenberg and in eighth place. Oscar Piastri would then be left to make a mandatory pit stop and would go quite a while into the race but would do so and come out behind the two Mercedes but Piastri would come out right behind Lewis Hamilton who was ahead of him in fourth. It would be a no contest and Hamilton was indefensible and Piastri would breeze past the seven-time world champion and it had been a nightmare strategy for Lewis and Piastri was now hunting down the other Mercedes of George Russell - for the final place on the podium. There would be a bit of a scare for his teammate Lando Norris, who was comfy out in the lead of the race. The race leader had a clip of the wall at turn 10, where Russell lost his third place finish in 2023. Thankfully for Lando he did not incur any damage and this would show on the following lap and he would set the new fastest lap of the race to demonstrate his dominant form. Lap 50 and Leclerc after being let through by his teammate Carlos Sainz a few laps prior, Charles Leclerc was making a charge through the field and would be putting pressure on Lewis Hamilton who had tyres that were falling off and the Brit had zero grip. Hamilton was next to no challenge for Leclerc as on the following lap it would be a comfy pass for the Ferrari man and despite qualifying ninth, he would be up to fifth and would be picking up a decent amount of points. Lap 57 and Kevin Magnussen following on from a puncture that he suffered a few laps previous. He had made a trip to the pits with the puncture on lap 52 and he was just unable to carry on going and he would call it the end of his race. Leclerc was showing great pace on the hard compound tyres and had caught up to George Russell and was hounding the Mercedes driver for fourth place but could he make the move or would he be taking too much out of his tyres in the early part of the stint. Daniel Ricciardo was rumoured to be potentially leaving his seat at Visa RB after the Singapore Grand Prix after there were heavy rumours suggesting he would be being replaced by New Zealander Liam Lawson, who is a young prospect and shined in his cameo in 2023, that was given to him as Ricciardo had a broken wrist. Ricciardo was not going to go out without a fight and he would choose to pit to try and end his final race with the fastest lap by using a fresh set of soft tyres he had saved spare from qualifying. Remarkably, the Australian would get it and he would set the fastest lap of the race where he could race his last ever Formula 1 Grand Prix. On top of this he would be given driver of the day, a nice moment for the Australian and a moment where the fans could show him some support if this was to be his final appearance in a Grand Prix. Out front however, Lando Norris had blown away any thought of a challenge to his first place position that he had started the race from on the grid. The McLaren driver had a difficult round one week prior where he could have thought the win may have been on the cards at Baku but ultimately he just never had the opportunity or things to fall into place. He would shrink the lead in the championship to leader Max Verstappen to 52 points and it would therefore be an important win with six more rounds to go and just who knows what could happen in them rounds. With a 20+ second advantage at the chequered flag, Lando Norris would take his third career Formula 1 victory ahead of Max Verstappen, who limited the damage caused by the sheer brilliance of the McLaren of Lando Norris. Oscar Piastri would put in an amazing effort to take third and complete the podium. George Russell and Charles Leclerc would complete the top five for Mercedes and Ferrari respectively, with Russell fourth and Leclerc fifth. Lewis Hamilton would finish a miserable day is sixth ahead of Carlos Sainz who also suffered from pitting early. Fernando Alonso would drive a splendid effort for Aston Martin by finishing in eighth place and ahead of Haas' Nico Hulkenberg in ninth. Sergio Perez for Red Bull would complete the top 10. All three drivers would finish the race a lap down. At the end of round 18 of the 2024 FIA Formula One World Championship, the standings in both respective championships have taken interesting shapes with just six rounds to go as the 2024 season heads into its final quarter. The drivers championship lead for Max Verstappen has once again come down but the reigning world champion has limited the damage caused by Lando Norris and McLaren and the gap is at 52 points with just the six rounds that remain. Charles Leclerc has fallen to 86 points off the lead of the championship.and it would take an almighty effort from him to become this year's champion. As for the Constructors, McLaren have extended their lead to 41 points over Red Bull with a double podium score and now Ferrari are closing the gap on Red Bull to just 34 points. With Hulkenberg's ninth place, Haas are just three points behind Visa RB's total in the battle for sixth. Formula 1 action will take a break from racing for a few weeks after a relentless five weeks where there has been four rounds and three different winners. The World Championships are both still up for grabs and there will be excitement when Formula 1 returns. The next round will be at the Circuit of the Americas for the fourth sprint weekend of the season in Austin, Texas for the United States Grand Prix. Free Practice 1, the only practice session will commence on October 18. 2024 FIA Formula One World Championship: Round 18 - Singapore Grand Prix race result
Brandon Whiteside
Writer - F1 Journal
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Lando Norris put in an almighty lap in the latter stages of qualifying on Saturday afternoon to take pole position for this weekend's Singapore Grand Prix. The McLaren driver put in a stunning effort with one attempt at trying to take pole position and for the sixth time in his Formula 1 career he has done just that as he beat his competitors as he topped Q3. Norris has taken pole ahead of his championship rival and the championship leader Max Verstappen, who put in a great effort for Red Bull to finish second and he pair will start alongside one another on the front row for Sunday's Grand Prix. A great lap in the latter stages from Lewis Hamilton, saw him take third and out-qualify George Russell for just the fifth time this season. It will be an important confidence boost for Hamilton who saw his teammate George Russell qualify in fourth. Ferrari had a very difficult day with neither driver setting a lap time, whether that be Carlos Sainz or Charles Leclerc, Sainz would have an incident at the start of Q3 bringing out a red flag and Charles Leclerc would have his lap time deleted due to a track limits violation. With rain expected for the Grand Prix on Sunday, this qualifying has given a lot of exciting action in prospect with three Brits and Verstappen on the front two rows. It would be time to begin the qualifying session for the Singapore Grand Prix and with just seven rounds remaining in the 2024 championship, each grid position is going to be hugely significant for the drivers competing for a variety of different positions, which could mean a great deal to the Constructors they race for. The night skies were making the street lights shining on the track as qualifying was raring to go and the grandstands were packed ready for the action with fans excited for the qualifying session that was about to happen. First up in the trilogy of session in qualifying would be Q1, which would see all 20 drivers participate in an 18 minute session for the top 15 spots. The top 15 from the session would progress into Q2, with the bottom five drivers being eliminated from the rest of qualifying. At 21:00 track time, the green light would be on at the end of the pit lane, signalling the session would be underway as the two Alpine cars and the two Kick Sauber cars would head out first, followed by the two bright red Ferrari cars. On the first laps, Leclerc would put down the first benchmark lap time of real representation would be a 1:30.896, which was seven tenths clear of Sergio Perez, who was second and seven tenths behind. However, this would shortly be beaten by McLaren's Lando Norris, who would set a 1:30.724, which would be almost two tenths quicker than Leclerc and the man who topped free practice 3 earlier on in the day looked to have the pace in Q1. Norris' teammate Oscar Piastri would go third - two hundredths quicker than Sainz in fourth. These positions would change though before everyone had set their times, as championship leader Max Verstappen would put himself into third place behind Norris and Leclerc, but ahead of Piastri. The two Mercedes drivers had been struggling a lot over the course of the weekend and by the time everyone had completed their laps, they were 11th and 13th, with Lewis Hamilton in 11th and George Russell would go 13th. All cars would head out again for the second runs with the track severely ramping up with Alex Albon being the first driver to set an improved lap time but this was likely to be beaten as everyone was improving on their personal bests. It came as no great surprise with Lando Norris going straight back to the top of the times by oer six tenths as Perez was able to find a lap to get himself into Q2 after a much better lap than on his first occaision. Franco Colapinto was a risk but he put that all at ease as he set a much improved lap time to join his teammate in the next part of qualifying. Colapinto had never driven at the Marina Bay street circuit, just like Baku, and the Argentine driver had made it through to Q2 on both occasions when experiencing a new track. By the end of the session Norris would finish fastest overall ahead of Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri completing the top three. As for being eliminated it would be Daniel Ricciardo in potentially his last Formula 1 qualifying session for Visa RB this season, Lance Stroll, Pierre Gasly and the two Kick Sauber drivers - Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu It would be time for the second part of qualifying with the 15 drivers who had made it through from Q1, would fight for the top 10 places and get themselves into the third part of qualifying and get in the final hunt for pole position. The green light would come on at the end of the pit lane and this would start the session with the two Red Bull drivers heading out first. It would be Sergio Perez being followed by Max Verstappen. With the early laps in Verstappen would have been looking to sit fastest but him running wide in the final corner saw his lap time be deleted as he had exceeded track limits and therefore would have to do it all again. Lando Norris' time would be legal and more than good enough to go fastest overall with a 1:30.007 and it would be a good lap to see himself ahead of Charles Leclerc, with Oscar Piastri slotting into third. This would be beaten when Lewis Hamilton would eventually set a lap time after Mercedes had come out much later than everyone else to try and attempt a fastest lap with a cler track as everyone else was heading back to the pits. Verstappen would want to make good use of a quiet track too as his lap time had been deleted and would therefore need to find a good enough lap to see himself through to the final part of qualifying. With four minutes to go, it would be well timed and the reigning world champion would see himself go fastest overall as some of the drivers would be starting to head out onto the track to set their final laps in Q2 and to try and book themselves in the top 10 shootout. By the end of the session it would be Piastri who would go top of the time sheets with a great lap from the McLaren driver. As for drivers eliminated, the two Williams cars would come incredibly close to making it through but ultimately would not prevail Alex Albon and Franco Coalpinto would be within a tenth of progressing and within just seven thousandths of a second of one another. Albon and Colapinto would be joined by Kevin Magnussen and Esteban Ocon but more importantly Sergio Perez! The Red Bull driver would be eliminated for the second year in a row in Q2 at the Marina Bay street circuit. He would be out while Verstappen and Visa RB's Yuki Tsunoda would progress. Not a good look for the Mexican driver. It would be then time for the final part of qualifying, the top 10 shootout which would be Q3 and would set the top 10 for Sunday's Grand Prix. Both Ferrari drivers, both McLaren drivers and Verstappen were all in with a shot as were the Mercedes duo with an outside chance. The green light would come on at the end of the pit lane and would head out onto the circuit and it would be the sole Haas of Nico Hulkenberg who would be the first driver to head out for Q3 with other drivers following him out. The seven drivers from the top four teams would all be on fresh tyres whereas Yuki Tsunoda, Fernando Alonso and Huleknebrg on used C5 soft tyres. On their first laps, Lando Norris, Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen were all near enough matched in the opening sector but it would all count for nothing as there were would be a red flag! Carlos Sainz of Ferrari would be the man to bring the halt to proceedings as the 2023 Singapore Grand Prix had crashed at the final corner, a nightmare for Ferrari. This came just after Oscar Piastri and Nico Hulkenberg had set the lap times and therefore they would keep them. Verstappen would have his deleted as he would not get as lucky. Verstappen did lift but as he crossed the line when the red flag was brought out, he would have it deleted. As for Sainz he went into a spin after his tyres had cooled after he was about to go for a lap but had to slow due to Piastri speeding by to complete his lap. In doing so he would lose control and be a passenger to the scene of the accident. Sainz would be out of qualifying and the qualifying session would be halted while the Marshals cleared up the incident by removing Sainz's broken down Ferrari and re-shape the barriers that had been moved due to Sainz hitting them. Eventually the session would be back underway and the drivers would wait a while until they would head out for just the one flying lap at the very end of the session when hopefully the track would be in the best possible position and their tyres would be in the best possible condition. The drivers would head out with three minutes remaining and it would be all nine of them that were still running who fancied their chances at improving their grid positions. It would be McLaren who would bolt first and opt for the front of the queue and therefore would be the first ones across the line. Piastri would be the lead car and he would be dutifully followed by Lando Norris. Piastri could only improve a fraction and would have been hoping for better as meanwhile Lando Norris was producing something spectacular as he had got great rhythm through the car and the circuit and was linking up apex after apex. He would cross the line with a staggering 1:29.525 that would take some beating and that would be if anyone could as Leclerc and Verstappen would be behind as well as the two Mercedes drivers. Lewis Hamilton would find a great lap but could only go second as Max Verstappen would find more pace to dislodge the Mercedes man but was not able to take the pole position away from the McLaren while Leclerc could get nowhere near enough and to add salt to his championship-challenging wounds - he would have his time deleted due to track limits and would only be ninth. Ferrari ninth and 10th after initially looking like the fastest team on Friday. No one could get Lando Norris though, who would register the sixth pole position of his Formula 1 career with a brilliant lap and it would be a crucial one too as the McLaren driver would have the favourable grid position and would start from the front on Sunday Norris will be joined on the front row for Sunday's Singapore Grand Prix by the championship leader and his championship rival Max Verstappen, who qualified second and will fancy his chances to win the Singapore Grand Prix for the first time in his career. Mercedes will be surprisingly happy with their qualifying results as Lewis Hamilton and George Russell were third and fourth respectively and the British duo will lineup on the second row. This was some turnaround and they might have Frederik Vesti to thank as the reserve driver was working hard through the night, on the simulator, back in Brackley. Oscar Piastri would have to settle for fifth as Nico Hulkenberg showed his qualifying skills once again to end up sixth and be the highest of the Ferrari-powered machines. Fernando Alonso is seventh ahead of Yuki Tsunoda in the Visa RB with the top 10 being completed by the two Ferrari drivers in ninth and 10th - Leclerc ahead of Sainz. After an incredible qualifying session, the racing action is the most important as that is where the points are won and lost. The race will commence on Sunday under the night skies of Singapore at the Marina Bay street circuit. Lights out will be from 20:00 track time, which is a race start of 12pm in UK time. This is one that is not to be missed. 2024 FIA Formula One World Championship: Round 18 - Singapore Grand Prix provisional classification
Brandon Whiteside
Writer - F1 Journal Lando Norris in final Singapore practice session! Official F1 Journal Free Practice 3 report21/9/2024 In the final free practice session at the Singapore Grand Prix, it was Lando Norris who was fastest on Saturday for the McLaren team. At the Marina Bay street circuit, Lando Norris set a delightful time of 1:29.646 on the C5 soft compound to end the session fastest and would end a practice session fastest for the second time across the weekend, after finishing top of Friday's free practice 2. Norris was quickest from Mercedes' George Russell, who despite having a car that had been struggling on Friday, finished second but was still almost half a second behind the sensational lap from Lando Norris. Norris' teammate Oscar Piastri completed the top three in a good session for McLaren. There would be six teams within the top 10 at the end of the session as both Williams cars looked strong once again. Championship leader Max Verstappen would finish fourth ahead of the two Ferrari cars, Charles Leclerc fifth and Carlos Sainz in sixth. Verstappen has a 59-point lead coming into this weekend, at a circuit where he has never won at before or led more than three racing laps. How Free Practice 3 unfolded for the 2024 Singapore Grand PrixSaturday would mean qualifying day on the streets of Singapore as the eyes of the motorsport world were clocked onto the Marina Bay Street Circuit for round 18 of the 2024 Championship. The action on Saturday would begin as the sun was beginning to set in Singapore with the final and third free practice session of the weekend, following on the back of two that took place on Friday. Lando Norris topped free practice 2 after Charles Leclerc topped free practice 1. These two drivers are the two who will be the closest challengers to Max Verstappen's championship lead, in the final seven rounds. At 17:30 local time the session would begin with the green light on at the end of the pit lane. However, it would be a fairly slow start to the session but not for a reason that many would have been expecting. The very well known Singapore Lizard took an adventure onto the track in the final few corners and was roaming about in the middle of the track, which made Fernando Alonso pit as it was in the middle part of the track. Track action would be red-flagged while the lizard was safely hurried off the circuit so the action could continue. Therefore, after the first 10 minutes the session would be back underway with drivers eager to get out and set some lap times. Mediums would be the choice for most of the drivers on their first runs apart from the Kick Sauber duo of Zhou Guanyu and Valtteri Bottas, who were running on the soft tyres. The early times would start to come in and it would be Oscar Piastri who would lead the times in the early stages, with a 1:32.957, which was good enough to sit relatively comfortable to the two Mercedes behind in George Russell and Lewis Hamilton. Red Bull had a difficult Friday and they would have been hoping to have got over their issues and Verstappen looked to have pace as he would go fastest overall with Sergio Perez slotting into second. Many drivers were attempting different runs throughout the session and because of this the order on the times was changing as halfway through the session, FP1's fastest driver Charles Leclerc would put himself to the top of the time sheets with a 1:31.525 on the medium C4 tyres. George Russell would run off down the escape road at turn 14 after the car was moving a bit under braking and made the sensible decision and go down the run off instead of attempting to make the corner, which would have been unlikely and would have probably ended him in the barriers. Soon enough it would be time for the rest of the drivers who had not run the soft compound of tyres yet in the session to do so. Therefore the remaining drivers who wanted to get some practice runs in before the day's later qualifying. The Mercedes of Russell would set an incredibly quick time of 1:30.125 which would not be beaten by the likes of Oscar Piastri, Lewis Hamilton or even Max Verstappen, who had the top spot earlier on in the session. It was some lap from Russell that would eventually be beaten by an absolute stunner of a lap from Lando Norris who would rocket up to the top of the times with a 1:29.646. A beautiful lap time from Norris, who after topping FP2 was looking incredibly strong around the Marina Bay street circuit and looked a favourite for pole position. Into the final few minutes runs would continue on the soft tyres but the top two would not be threatened at the top of the time sheets with their great lap times that they managed to put together which could be significant as they could be the two most confident heading into qualifying. It was Lando Norris quickest from George Russell in a British 1-2 with Norris' teammate Oscar Piastri completing the top three, as he ended the session in third. Max Verstappen was fourth for Red Bull ahead of the two Ferrari drivers, who were fifth and sixth -Charles Leclerc in fifth ahead of Carlos Sainz. Lewis Hamilton would end the session in seventh ahead of the two Williams drivers of Alex Albon and Franco Colapinto in eighth and ninth with Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso completing the top 10. At the end of free practice 3, it now means that practice is now completed and all the attention would turn to qualifying, which would set the grid for Sunday's Singapore Grand Prix, which could be a hugely important weekend in the session. Qualifying will begin at 21:00 Track Time, which is 14:00 UK Time. 2024 FIA Formula One World Championship: Round 18 - Singapore Grand Prix free practice 3 result
Brandon Whiteside
Writer - F1 Journal Official F1 Journal Singapore Grand Prix Friday round up: Free Practice 1 & Free Practice 220/9/2024 For the second time in two weekends Formula 1 was ready for action after brilliant action at Baku to the sensational Singapore streets,for round 18 of the Formula One World Championship in 2024. Free Practice 1 and Free Practice 2 would take place on Friday to kick start the weekend's action ahead of qualifying day on Saturday and of course Grand Prix Sunday where the points of the weekend are up for grabs and what important points they could be for the championship contenders. Free Practice 1 taking place in the afternoon daylight around the Marina Bay street circuit and it would be delightful session for Ferrari and Charles Leclerc as the Monegasque driver, who is third in the championship, was fastest. Leclerc was less than a tenth quicker than Lando Norris of McLaren. Carlos Sainz made it two Ferrari drivers in the top three in free practice 1 in Singapore, ahead of free practice 2 that was to come later on in the day. As for free practice 2, McLaren's Lando Norris would be the quickest driver by less than six hundredths of a second. FP1 top driver Charles Leclerc was second quickest and the only one that was within a tenth of Norris, as Carlos Sainz would finish third. The same drivers in the top three for both sessions make it seem that they are the drivers to beat heading into the rest of the weekend with their pace being leap and bounds clear of the others but all can very much still change. There were steady rumours coming into the weekend that Daniel Ricciardo could be having his last weekend in Formula 1 with many sources reporting that RB are considering putting Liam Lawson in that car for the remainder of the season. Lawson scored his only Formula 1 points to date at Singapore in 2023, deputising for Ricciardo who was recovering from a broken wrist. 2024 FIA Formula One World Championship: Free Practice 1 results Free Practice 1 would get underway with the first session of the weekend. Teams would be looking to try and complete some practice runs to help and give them good data for the best possible race strategy on Sunday, which could aid their race result. Oscar Piastri would be going nowhere in the early stages as in the practice pit stops before the session, the wheel and tyre would struggle to be removed and therefore this would cause a delay to getting his car on the track for the session. The Azerbaijan Grand Prix winner would be sat in the pits for the first 15 minutes when eventually he would be able to get out on track. Most of the drivers would get out there early on with Pierre Gasky needing two attempts to turn out of the garage fully and head down the pit lane, which would halt Max Verstappen in his tracks, who would be wanting and needing a good weekend at a circuit that he has not had the best of luck at in the past. In the first 10 minutes, Piastri would be the only one to not adventure out onto the circuit with a mixture of medium and hard tyres being the choice of drivers at a very overcast Marina Bay street circuit, however, there was a low chance that rain would come during the session. After the first 10 minutes, Lando Norris would not be having troubles like his teammate and would sit top of the time sheets with the fastest lap time as drivers began setting lap times early on. A 1:33.903 was the time from Norris, which was half a second faster than Verstappen, who was second. Norris would be ahead of his championship rival Verstappen with the pair both running the medium tyres in the early stages. Carlos Sainz would be third but on the hard tyres. With a quarter of the session completed, Norris' teammate Oscar Piastri would finally gethis McLaren onto the circuit after all the issues had been sorted. He would join the circuit on the C3 hard compound of tyres. On his first lap it would not come to much as he would have to slow to yellow flags due to Perez locking up and going down the run off at turn 16. Soon enough soft tyres would be used by the majority of the drivers as they were trying to get a feel of how the tyre would fair around the Marina Bay street circuit as last year some drivers used the soft tyre during the Grand Prix and made it work well. Norris would be one of the first to bolt onto the C5 soft tyre compounds along with Hamilton and Verstappen. The McLaren of Norris would be the fastest out of them as he would set a 1:32.165. Verstappen and Hamilton were unable to match that effort of Norris as the Red Bull was over two tenths back with the Mercedes being half a second behind. This would be a trendsetter with many different drivers and teams setting the lap times on soft tyres. Norris would find some pace as the track was continuing to evolve. This was before the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc would beat him and would set the new fastest lap of 1:31.763. Leclerc would have top spot with 15 minutes to go and a lot of time still remaining. Sainz would sit third behind Norris but ahead of Verstappen. There would be a bit of impeding going on that would be frustrating some of the drivers on circuit, who were trying to set lap times as traffic was causing drivers annoyance. First, Perez was not pleased with Alex Albon at turn 7 and then Yuki Tsunoda found frustration being stuck behind Stroll on the approach to turn 8. Soft tyre runs would be completed and there would be no time improvements although laps would still be completed on the slower medium and hard tyres and therefore the order would not change, meaning Charles Leclerc would end the session fastest. Leclerc would end the session top ahead of Lando Norris by less than a tenth with Carlos Sainz, Max Verstappen and Yuki Tsunoda completing the top five.
After Formula 1 took a break following on from free practice 1 by the time they would return by free practice 2, the sun had set and the night skies would be upon the Marina Bay street circuit. It would be an important session for all involved as this would be the only session under the night skies before qualifying due to free practice 3 taking place during Saturday daytime. Charles Leclerc had been quickest in the opening session earlier on through the Friday running. Therefore, with it being an important session, all drivers would head out immediately in order to not lose any necessary track time, if they could help it with the potential for red flags with this being a street circuit. Charles Leclerc would set the early pace on the medium tyres ahead of Lando Norris on the hard compound Like FP1, it would be the medium and hard tyres for the early stages of the session as the track would begin to ramp up. Leclerc would be beaten by the Visa RB of Daniel Ricciardo, the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz and the McLaren of Lando Norris and would drop to fourth mainly due to track evolution as the times were constantly changing. Alex Albon would go up to the top of the times by over three tenths with 15 minutes gone in the session ahead of George Russell by over a tenth. Albon would not stay there for long as a stunning lap from Leclerc would see him jump back to the top of the times after his teammate Sainz made a mistake on his run. The Ferrari car looked to have strong pace in the early stages of practice as Red Bull were struggling to find the pace as was the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton, who was complaining of traction issues. Soon enough, soft tyres would be called upon for many of the drivers out on circuit, practicing qualifying runs in the night conditions with the track and air temperature being the way it is. Lando Norris' McLaren would fly up to the top of the time sheets with a brilliant lap time of 1:30.727 that would fail to be beaten by Charles Leclerc on two attempts, who was the only one who seemed to be able to get close to him. Carlos Sainz would sit third but six tenths of Norris' time. All drivers would eventually set a time on the soft tyres and would then pit for a variety of medium and hard tyres in order to do some long runs to help race strategy data for Sunday's Grand Prix once again. It had been a fairly quiet session without any disruption or any real damage to any cars. However, two minutes remaining in the session, George Russell would lock up at turn 8 and would end up meeting the wall breaking his front wing and the end of his nose cone, bringing out the double-waved yellow flags. The session would stay without a red flag, as Russell was able to get the car reversed and continue round the circuit on his way back to the pit lane but this would subsequently end any lap times that were being attempted in the last couple of moments. Therefore, it would be Lando Norris who had the fastest lap of the session and would end the end of Friday top of free practice 2. His lap of 1:30.727 was good enough to stay at the top, despite a challenge from Charles Leclerc in second, who was 0.058s behind Norris' lap. Carlos Sainz would finish third for the second session out of two across the weekend. Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel RIcciardo made it a very good day for Visa RB, as the pair were fourth and sixth as they were split by Oscar Piastri, who was in fifth and over seven tenths behind his teammate. George Russell, Sergio Perez, Alex Albon and Nico Hulkenberg completed the top 10 as Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton had a difficult time under the night sky of Singapore. Formula 1 would return to action on Saturday for free practice 3 on qualifying Saturday for round 18 of the Formula One World Championship in 2024. 2024 FIA Formula One World Championship: Round 18 - Singapore Grand Prix free practice 2 result
Brandon Whiteside
Writer - F1 Journal Formula 1 returns to the streets of Singapore! Official F1 Journal Singapore Grand Prix Preview19/9/2024 Formula 1 is back once again this weekend as the World Championship heads from the brilliant Baku to the spectacular Singapore and more precisely the Marina Bay street circuit for the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix. The circuit that hosted Formula 1's very first night race all the way back in 2008, will play host to round 18 of the 2024 championship with both championships very much in the battle and with many results and points up for grabs. This is the last round outside of North and South America before the double header in Qatar and Abu Dhabi to finish the season. Formula 1 will be supported this weekend by the F1 Academy championship, which will see round 5 of the championship hosted in Singapore, on F1 Academy's very first visit to the circuit in the championship's short history. Lando Norris is a driver who is set on hunting down Max Verstappen in the drivers championship but he is not alone in setting their sights on the championship. With a first and second place in each of their last two Grand Prix, Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri may be fancying their chances at an outside shot at the championship. It was Norris' team McLaren, who after a great result, took the Constructors Championship lead for the first time since the 2014 Australian Grand Prix when the team had Jenson Button and Kevin Magnussen driving for them. With the strong form of McLaren and the strong form of the Ferrari in recent races this title fight is far from over. Speaking of Magnussen, he will return to his seat at Haas this weekend and to once again partner up with Nico Hulkenberg. This was after Magnussen was forced to sit out of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix due to the Danish driver picking up a race ban for accumulating 12 penalty points over a 12-month period. Magnussen was replaced by young Brit Oliver Bearman who will race for the team in 2025. A look at the track: Marina Bay Street Circuit - Singapore Grand PrixAfter a weekend of drama at Baku, the Singapore Grand Prix awaits to produce another a fascinating and thrilling weekend of the 2024 Championship as round 18 of the season awaits at the Marina Bay street circuit. The Formula One World Championship had its very first night race at the Marina Bay street circuit in the very first Singapore Grand Prix all the way back in 2008. With night races that have come onto the calendar such as Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Jeddah and Las Vegas, this makes the Marina Bay street circuit and Singapore Grand Prix trendsetters in the modern era of the sport. So many iconic and critical moments that have happened at this circuit have often gone on to have significant implications on the outcome of the championships. Overtakes, famous crashes and wet weather, the Marina Bay street circuit really does produce some great, dramatic action. Who can forget the iconic "crashgate" saga at Renault in the inaugural Singapore Grand Prix where Nelson Piquet Jr crashed into the wall, bringing out the safety car, and hanging the race in his teammate's favour who just so happened to be Fernando Alonso. This saw Team Principal Flavio Briatore banned from all Formula One or FIA-sanctioned events as he was proved to have played a significant part in causing Nelson Piquet Jr to crash into the wall on purpose, to aid the team and Fernando Alonso. Other iconic championship moments also include the race start of 2017 which saw Sebastian Vettel, Kimi Raikkonen and Max Verstappen all come together and as well that incredible and perfection lap from Lewis Hamilton in the 2018 qualifying. Vettel would pick up his last Grand Prix victory of his Formula One career at the Marina Bay street circuit in 2019 with a stunning performance that day. One driver who has never won here is Max Verstappen, which is quite an unusual stat, certainly with the modern era calendar and with how dominant the three-time world champion has been in recent season. Verstappen has only led three laps here throughout his career, which is remarkably lower than Antonio Giovinazzi who has led four laps. Giovinazzi has raced at Sinagpore just the once. The Marina Bay street circuit, home to the Singapore Grand Prix underwent changes and the most modern layout was first raced around in 2023. From the 2022 layout, turns 16, 17, 18 and 19 have all been removed with now it being just a long straight to add extra potential for overtaking. The modern circuit is now 19 corners as opposed to the 23 corners in the previous layout with a lap distance of 4.94km, with the race distance being a total of 306.143km, with 62 racing laps to come during Sunday's Grand Prix. In terms of DRS Zones, there has been an extra one added, with four DRS Zones now being around the 4.94km meaning a great chance of overtaking, which will create extra excitement. DRS zones run into turns 1,7, 14 and 16. Lewis Hamilton set the fastest lap here with a 1:35.867, and in doing so has the race lap record around this Singapore Grand Prix layout. He set it for Mercedes in 2023 as he went onto inherit a third place finish on the final lap. In 2023, at the Marina Bay street circuit, it was a hugely dramatic weekend and a very surprising one of that too considering the domination of Max Verstappen and Red Bull throughout the course of the season. The shocks begun in qualifying when both Red Bull drivers were eliminated in Q2 by AlphaTauri stand in driver Liam Lawson, as the New Zealander got through to Q3 leaving both Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez on the sidelines while the top 10 went on to fight for pole position. Carlos Sainz would be the man to take pole position for the second time in two rounds as thr Ferrari man would set an impressive lap time and give himself a great chance of victory and to become the first driver other than the Red Bull pair to win a Grand Prix in 2023. Sainz would do just that after some tactical defending of brilliance that was well within the rules and was fair. The Spanish driver would take the flag and would take victory for Ferrari in what was an incredible drive throughout the weekend. The Ferrari driver would hang onto victory ahead of his former teammate Lando Norris, who was second for McLaren. The Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton would finish third after his teammate George Russell locked up and found the barrier on the final lap and therefore the seven-time champion would take the podium instead of Russell. Verstappen would use the RB19 well and use its incredible race pace to fight back to fifth, behind Leclerc as Liam Lawson would take his first Formula 1 points in just his third Formula 1 Grand Prix. Last time out: Round 17 - Azerbaijan Grand PrixLess than a week ago was when Formula 1 was last in action, at another street circuit, but this time it was in the daylight of the city of Baku in Azerbaijan, for round 17 of the season taking place near to the coastline of the Caspian Sea. It would be a critical round in the championship with so much great excitement building around the weekend, as Baku had a good track record when producing dramatic moments and eventful Grand Prix. The action and drama would start when Lando Norris was unable to get a lap time in under green flag conditions in Q1, good enough to see him progress into the second part of the session. A huge shock for the driver who had taken the two previous pole positions at Zandvoort and Monza. Norris would have it all to do as he qualified 17th but would start 15th as he would be promoted due to Pierre Gasly's grid penalty for power unit changes and Lewis Hamilton starting from the pit lane for doing it during parc ferme conditions. Norris' teammate Oscar Piastri would fly the flag high for McLaren as he would qualify on the front row of the grid but the Australian would have to settle for second as it was the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc who would take pole position. Leclerc, for the fourth Azerbaijan Grand Prix in a row, would start from pole position. He would be looking to win at Baku for the first time. Leclerc would fail in his attempt to do so as Piastri's bold and brilliant move at the start of lap 20, into turn 1, would see the lead change hands and would not change again with Piastri managing to hold off countless attacks from Leclerc and Perez, who were hungry behind him and hunting the Australian down. However, Piastri would eventually break free of Leclerc with the Monegasque driver having worn tyres. Leclerc would manage to hold onto second after he had to defend from Perez and also Carlos Sainz who had come into the fight for a podium position. On lap 50 after Leclerc had defended on Perez and Sainz through the first couple of corners, the pair came together in a separate incident and would both crash into the wall, ending each other's race meaning that George Russell would inherit an unlikely podium for Mercedes, in what was a difficult weekend. T This would promote Lando Norris into fourth and Max Verstappen to complete the top five. The race would also see Franco Colapinto score his first Formula 1 points in his very first outing at the Baku City circuit in any category, in a superb weekend from the Argentine - who also manage to out qualify Alex Albon. Oliver Bearman, who stood in for the banned Kevin Magnussen, also scored a point making him the first driver to score points for two different teams in each of his first two Formula 1 Grand Prix. An incredible achievement. A change at the top of the Constructors but both championships still far from overMcLaren taking the lead of the Constructors standings for the first time since 2014 will make them feel delighted with how their season is shaping up after a tremendous run of form since the Miami Grand Prix and with them being the favourites to go on and take the title from here on in. However, seven rounds are still to go in this 2024 championship so absolutely nothing is settled yet in the reflection of both championships. As mentioned at the top of this preview, McLaren and Red Bull have had the main talking points throughout the season with the two teams being the front runners and Max Verstappen and Lando Norris being sat in the top two of the drivers standings for most of the season. Despite this, Ferrari and Charles Leclerc remain in the balance proving that after all consistency might be key with their form really having picked up over the last five races, Leclerc securing a podium four of them and he is tied with Piastri. Piastri himself with two wins to his name in 2024 and some fine form is not out of the fight yet either so it is really is all to play for in these final seven rounds. Free Practice 1 will kick start the weekend action on Friday in a non-sprint weekend event. 2024 FIA Formula One World Championship: Round 18 - Singapore Grand Prix session timesTrack Times
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Brandon Whiteside
Writer - F1 Journal Oscar Piastri win the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in a race that featured drama, overtakes, and a collision two laps from the end. Charles Leclerc finishes in second place, with George inheriting third place after Perez and Sainz crash on lap 50. McLaren takes the lead in the constructors championship by 20 points ahead of Red Bull for the first time since 2014. Colapinto and Albon both finished in the points for Williams, and Bearman scored points in his second F1 race. Race Facts
Charles Leclerc started in Pole Position for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix for the fourth consecutive year at Baku. Norris, Albon, Zhou, Gasly, and Ocon all started on hard tyres, with the rest of the grid starting on medium tyres. Charles Leclerc held onto the lead into turn one and throughout the first lap, while Piastri remained behind in P2. However, Perez overtook Sainz at the first corner, with Verstappen and Norris both making up places on the first lap. Norris was the highest gainer on the first lap, gaining three places and moving into 12th. Meanwhile, Stroll hit a curb and gets a puncture, having to pit at the end of the first lap. The top ten drivers break away from the rest of the pack going into lap two, with Tsunoda running in 11th, holding back the drivers behind him. Norris wasn't satisfied and overtook Tsunoda for 11th on lap two, with Hulkenberg following Norris through. At the front, Leclerc broke away from DRS range on Piastri by lap three. Meanwhile, at the back, Hamilton, who started in the pit lane, had already overtaken Zhou, Bottas, and Tsunoda by lap four and was running in 15th. Piastri stayed with Leclerc for the first five laps, staying just within the DRS zone, but wasn't close enough on lap five. Further back, Russell remained within the DRS range of Verstappen, battling for 5th and 6th place on lap six. Norris continued his push to the front of the pack, battling with Bearman for P10. Norris overtook Bearman for P10 and ended up four seconds behind Albon for P9. Leclerc continued to retain the lead into lap eight, now 2.408 ahead of Piastri setting the fastest lap times. Perez was just 1.194 second behind Piastri, closing in on the McLaren. Bearman was overtaken by his teammate for the weekend, Hulkenberg, on lap ten for 11th place. On lap 11, Colapinto went into the pits, changed to hard tyres, and rejoined the track in 15th. Further forward, Verstappen was struggling with his tyres, over 4.5 seconds behind Sainz in 4th position. Alonso also pitted and rejoined just ahead of Colapinto in 14th. Verstappen and Russell both pitted for hard tyres on lap 13 and rejoined the track in 10th and 12th positions, while Hamilton also pitted with a slow stop and rejoined in 18th. Perez also pitted for hard tyres and rejoined the track in 6th, while Verstappen overtook Ricciardo for 9th. Piastri was at risk of being undercut by Perez, with McLaren opting to keep Piastri out on lap 15. They realised their mistake, and McLaren asked Norris to hold up Perez for a couple of laps, allowing Piastri to pit on lap 16. It worked perfectly, with Norris holding Perez back for a short while, Perez overtook Norris while Piastri was in the pit lane, and Piastri rejoined the track ahead of Perez in 4th place. Tsunoda retired on lap 16 after contact with Stroll on the first lap, and his side pod had a huge hole. Leclerc pits on lap 17 and rejoins behind Sainz in P2 but in front of Albon, Piastri, and Perez. Sainz also pits on lap 18, rejoining in 6th. Piastri overtook Albon for P2 down the start-finish straight on lap 18, giving himself some breathing room with Perez. On lap 19, Perez overtook Albon for P3 while Albon still pitted onto the hard tyres. But Perez was still 2.254 seconds behind Piastri in P2, and Leclerc was one second in front of Piastri. By lap 19, Norris had moved into P5 but had yet to pit, running on the hard tyres. Piastri battles Leclerc for P1 and takes the lead of the Grand Prix on lap 20, running side by side with Leclerc having to slot behind Piastri into P2. The battle didn't stop, with Leclerc trying to overtake for the lead on lap 20, with Perez waiting patiently behind them both for one of them to make a mistake. Further behind, Bearman and Hamilton battle for 14th, with Bearman not making it easy for the seven-time world champion. The battle for the lead continued into lap 22, with a three-way battle between Red Bull, McLaren, and Ferrari. The front three drivers were within 1.5 seconds, with Albon six seconds behind them, with a second battle behind Albon, between Sainz, Norris, and Verstappen, all battling for 5th, 6th, and 7th. Sainz overtook Albon and moved back up to fourth. Behind them, Norris and Verstappen battle for 6th and 7th position, with Norris staying ahead on lap 24. However, Norris has yet to pit. At the halfway point (lap 25), the leaderboard was Piastri, Leclerc, Perez, Sainz, Albon, Norris, Verstappen, Russell, Alonso, Colapinto, Gasly, Hulkenberg, Bearman, Hamilton, Ricciardo, Zhou, Ocon, Bottas and then Stroll, with Tsunoda the only retirement on lap 26. Norris and Verstappen struggle to get in front of Albon on lap 27. Both Norris and Albon have yet to pit after starting on hard tyres. Leclerc was still on the back of Piastri on lap 28, with Perez 1.3 seconds behind Leclerc. Sainz is also 9 seconds behind Perez. Leclerc is closer to Piastri on lap 28 but not quite close enough, with Piastri defending well. The battle continues to lap 31 between the front three drivers. Albon pits on lap 32 and rejoins the track in 10th after Norris, Verstappen and Russell lose significant time after being held up by Albon for a considerable number of laps. Leclerc has another dive and tries to go down the inside on Piastri but doesn't quite make it on lap 33, with Perez waiting patiently for something to happen. Russell overtakes Verstappen for 6th place as Verstappen continues complaining about his tyres and brakes. Norris finally pits for medium tyres on lap 38 and rejoins the track in 7th ahead of Alonso and Albon but is 15.546 seconds behind Verstappen in 6th. Further behind rookies, Colapinto and Bearman battle hard with Hamilton for 11th, 12th, and 13th place on lap 39. With ten laps to go, the battle between Piastri and Leclerc continued. Piastri continues to hold off the Ferrari, which was within DRS range of the leader. Hamilton finally gets past Bearman on lap 41 into 12th while Norris eats time out of Verstappen on every lap, bringing down a 15-second gap to just over 10 seconds in four laps. Sainz gets closer to Perez, but Perez stays behind Leclerc. Russell is fourth, but he is 15 seconds behind the front-pack. Sainz joined Perez, Leclerc, and Piastri in the leading pack on lap 47 as Stroll retires with a breaking issue. Leclerc drops down to 1.7 seconds from Piastri on lap 47 for the lead, with the four-way battle continuing. Leclerc has hit the cliff on his rear tyres, dropping back to 2.4 seconds behind Piastri on lap 48. Norris takes Verstappen on lap 49 for 6th place with Leclerc now 3.4 seconds behind Piastri. With two laps to go, Perez tries to overtake Leclerc for P2 but runs wide, allowing Sainz to overtake Perez into P3. But Sainz and Piastri collide, and both hit the wall, taking them both out of the race. Oscar Piastri wins the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in his second race win of the season, with McLaren also overtaking Red Bull to take first in the Constructors Championship! Leclerc finished in P2 and George Russell was once again in the right place at the right time to take P3. Race Results1) Oscar Piastri 2) Charles Leclerc +10.910 3) George Russell +31.328 4) Lando Norris +36.143 5) Max Verstappen +77.098 6) Fernando Alonso +85.468 7) Alex Albon +87.396 8) Franco Colapinto +89.541 9) Lewis Hamilton +92.401 10) Oliver Bearman +93.127 11) Nico Hulkenberg +93.465 12) Pierre Gasly +117.189 13) Daniel Ricciardo +146.907 14) Zhou Guanyu +148.841 15) Esteban Ocon +1Lap 16) Valtteri Bottas 17) Sergio Perez 18) Carlos Sainz DNF - Lance Stroll DNF - Yuki Tsunoda McLaren's Oscar Piastri takes his second race victory of the season, he said afterwards: “I tried at the start of the race to get in front and once I dropped out of DRS I didn’t have the race. After we stop I saw we were pretty close again, I felt like we had a little bit of extra grip and I had to go for it because knew that if I didn’t get past at the start of the stint that I was never going to get past. “I went for a pretty big lunge and managed to pull it off and hang on for dear life for the next 35 laps. The last couple of laps when Leclerc dropped out of DRS were a little bit more relaxing but there’s no such thing as a relaxing lap around here so it was hard work. I think that definitely goes down as one of my better races of my career.” On McLaren now leading the constructors’ championship, he added: “Considering where we started when I joined the team last year, we were literally last, and now we are leading the world championship. It’s full credit to the team and for the turnaround we’ve managed to have, first in terms of improving the car but also helping me improve as well. "Results like this definitely weren’t possible 12 months ago for myself so it’s a massive team effort and I’m excited to see what the future holds.” ![]() Anny Wooldridge Writer at F1 Journal Charles Leclerc takes his fourth pole in a row around the streets of Baku, taking the pole position for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Charles is followed by Oscar Piastri in P2 and Carlos Sainz in P3. In a dramatic qualifying session, Lando Norris was knocked out in Q1, and Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez only managed to finish in P6 and P4 for tomorrow's race. Franco Colapinto out-qualified teammate Alex Albon for the first time, having both made it to Q3. However, Albon's session was over after he left his pit box with an airbox still attached and didn't make it across the start/finish line quickly enough to set a final lap time. Free Practice ThreeTop Ten Results 1) George Russell 1.42.514 2) Charles Leclerc +0.013 3) Lando Norris +0.223 4) Oscar Piastri +0.235 5) Max Verstappen +0.348 6) Carlos Sainz +0.454 7) Sergio Perez +0.510 8) Alex Albon +0.680 9) Franco Colapinto +0.724 10) Lewis Hamilton +0.787 Before anyone had even set a lap time, Esteban Ocon's Alpine came to a complete stop on track, bringing out a Red Flag in the first 15 minutes of the session. Once the session resumed, the times started to be set, with most drivers running on the soft tyre compound. Albon and Colapinto set the top two times on the soft tyres during the middle of the session. With 25 minutes remaining, the Red Flag was brought out once again after Oliver Bearman crashed into the barrier in the run-off area. He tried to bail out of the corner but left it too late. Late in the session, Lando Norris set the fastest lap time with his first time on the board, but it was quickly knocked off the top spot by Alex Albon and then Charles Leclerc. Sergio Perez sets the session's fastest lap by 0.066 in the final 15 minutes, but Piastri goes quicker by 0.640secs. But ultimately, it was George Russell who topped the timesheets with a 1.42.514-second lap, finishing ahead of Charles Leclerc, Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri, and Max Verstappen in fifth. QualifyingQ1Out in Q1 16) Daniel Ricciardo 17) Lando Norris 18) Valtteri Bottas 19) Zhou Guanyu 20) Esteban Ocon Most drivers were waiting at the end of the pit lane minutes before qualifying started, and the threat of a red or yellow flag loomed over the sessions. Zhou Guanyu has taken a new power unit, so he will start from the back of the grid no matter where he finishes in qualifying. All the drivers headed out on soft tyres except Mercedes, who chose to start on the medium tyres. Perez topped the timesheet early in the session, and the at-risk drivers for most of the session were Alpines, Ricciardo, and Sauber drivers. With five minutes to go, Leclerc was leading from Russell and Perez, with just 0.438 between the three of them. Meanwhile, Stroll, Ocon, Bottas, Ricciardo and Zhou are in the bottom five. It was a dramatic end to the session, with track evolution playing its part. Lando Norris got knocked out in Q1 and finished 17th, with both Colapinto and Bearman making it through to Q2 in 8th and 14th, respectively. Q2Out in Q2 11) Oliver Bearman 12) Yuki Tsunoda 13) Pierre Gasly 14) Nico Hulkenberg 15) Lance Stroll Verstappen started Q2 by setting the fastest lap on a new set of soft tyres, followed by Perez and Piastri. Tsunoda and Stroll were the last to set lap times in the session. After Lando Norris exited Q1, teams were cautious of a yellow or red flag late in the session, so they changed onto soft tyres earlier than they did in Q1. With five minutes to go, Colapinto, Alonso, Gasly, Tsunoda, and Stroll were in the bottom five at risk. Both rookie drivers beat their teammates, with Colapinto making it to Q3 in 6th and Albon in 10th, and Bearman just missing out on Q3 with Hulkenberg in 14th. Q3Starting Top 10 1) Charles Leclerc 1.41.365 2) Oscar Piastri +0.321 3) Carlos Sainz +0.440 4) Sergio Perez +0.448 5) George Russell +0.509 6) Max Verstappen +0.658 7) Lewis Hamilton +0.924 8) Fernando Alonso +1.004 9) Franco Colapinto +1.165 10) Alex Albon +1.494 Colapinto and fellow Williams driver Albon participated in their first Q3 session in Formula One. All drivers were quick to get out onto the track, and some almost collided in the pit lane. Russell and Hamilton took the lead in the first stages of the session but were both quickly beaten by Piastri, Sainz, and Leclerc. Max Verstappen could only manage 6th, with his teammate ahead in 5th in the early stages. With five minutes to go in the session, Hamilton complained about the lack of heat in his tyres after the track temperature had cooled. Albon left the pit lane with an airbox still attached to his car, stopping at the edge of the pit lane. With two minutes to go, he managed to pull it off himself but got back on track. He was later noted for an unsafe release. Albon doesn't make it back to the line quick enough to set a final lap time. Charles Leclerc takes the pole position for the race tomorrow, with his fourth pole position in a row around Baku. Charles Leclerc, who earns his four consecutive pole position at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, said: "It's one of my favourite tracks of the season, I really like it, it hasn't been an easy weekend because of the crash in FP1, it didn't make me lose confidence as I knew that the pace was there, but you've got to be back up to speed. "In Q3 and qualifying it was all about trying to stay as far as possible from the walls and on the last lap I went for it a bit more and the lap time came very nicely. "The car felt really good and everything felt great, so it's amazing to be on pole." ![]() Anny Wooldridge Writer at F1 Journal Free Practice One was filled with Red Flags as all drivers complained of track conditions. Leclerc and Colapinto hit the wall and Esteban Ocon also had a short session after a power unit investigation. Free Practice Two was far less dramatic than the first session of the day with all the drivers who crashed back on track, but it's Charles Leclerc who takes the fastest lap of the session. Free Practice OneTop 10 Results 1) Max Verstappen 1.45.546 2) Lewis Hamilton +0.313 3) Sergio Perez +0.376 4) Lando Norris +0.481 5) Carlos Sainz +0.627 6) Oscar Piastri +0.736 7) Fernando Alonso +0.906 8) George Russell +0.970 9) Charles Leclerc +1.062 10) Daniel Riccardo +1.141 The Baku City Circuit always delivers with two Red Flags brought out in FP1 alone, with the first being waved due to debris on the track and the second after Charles Leclerc crashes into the wall at Turn 15 after a heavy hit. Before hitting the wall, Leclerc was the fastest in the session up to that point, but the three-time Baku pole-sitter had to climb out of his Ferrari, but they should be able to repair his car for the next session this afternoon. Rookie Franco Colapinto is joined by fellow F2 driver Oliver Bearman this weekend. Oliver is racing in Kevin Magnussen's Haas, giving Oliver a taste of what he will be experiencing next season. A third Red Flag was brought out after Franco Colapinto hit the wall after losing the car's backend after running wide. He was running in 13th place at the time. Before the third Red Flag, drivers had started doing some soft tyre running with 16 minutes left on the clock. Esteban Ocon had to end his session early as Alpine investigates a power unit issue. Max Verstappen topped the timesheets for FP1 running on soft tyres along with Lewis Hamilton in second and Sergio Perez in third. Lando Norris finished fourth but only ran on medium tyres as did Piastri who finished in sixth place. Free Practice TwoTop 10 Results 1) Charles Leclerc 1.43.484 2) Sergio Perez +0.006 3) Lewis Hamilton +0.066 4) Carlos Sainz +0.466 5) Oscar Piastri +0.499 6) Max Verstappen +0.545 7) Lance Stroll +0.609 8) Nico Hulkenberg +0.991 9) George Russell +1.052 10) Oliver Bearman +1.063 Charles Leclerc heads back on track after the Ferrari mechanics fix his car from his crash in FP1, but continues to complain about problems with his car early in the session. Carlos Sainz sets an early fastest lap with a 1:44.323 on mediums, while Verstappen has a lock-up around Turn 6. George Russell goes back into the garage with a suspected power unit issue, and Mercedes chooses to change the engine and misses half of the session. Franco Colapinto and Esteban Ocon are also back on track after their problems in FP1. Oliver Bearman had an impressive session and finished in 10th place, just behind his teammate for the weekend. Sergio Perez heads to the top of the leaderboard in the second half of the session ahead of his teammate, who seems to have been struggling during both the morning and afternoon sessions. Ultimately, Charles Leclerc finishes at the top of the timesheet in just 0.006 seconds in front of Sergio Perez. ![]() Anny Wooldridge Writer at F1 Journal As Formula One leaves Central Europe for the season, the Azerbaijan Grand Prix is the 17th race of the season and the first of a doubleheader between Azerbaijan and Singapore. Kevin Magnussen will be replaced by Oliver Bearman. He received a race ban after an incident in Monza, bringing his total penalty points in 12 months to 12. With just eight points between Red Bull and McLaren in the constructors championship, will this weekend be the weekend that McLaren takes the lead from Red Bull for the first time since 2022? With Ferrari just 39 points behind Red Bull, will Red Bull be in third place by the end of the weekend? Only time will tell. However, Baku has been known to produce some incredible overtakes and unexpected results. Race StatsLaps - 51 Circuit Length - 6.003km Race Distance - 306.049km Corners - 20 DRS Zones - 2 Detection 1 - SC2 before Turn 2 Activation 1 - 54m after Turn 2 Detection 2 - On Turn 20 Activation 2 - 347m after Turn 20 Pit Stop Time Lost - 19.8 seconds (2.5s stationary) Overtakes Completed in 2023 - 50 Tyre Compounds - Hard Medium Soft C3 C4 C5 Minimum Starting Tyre Pressures - Front Rear 26.5psi 25.5psi Maximum Tyre Camber - Front Rear - 3.00° - 1.75° Track Stats
SchedulePrevious Results2021 Qualifying - 1 LEC 1.41.218 2 HAM 1.41.450 3 VER 1.41.563 Race - 1 PER (2 stop) 2 VET (2 stop) 3 GAS (2 stop) Fastest Lap - 1.44.481 Verstappen Lap 44 2022 Qualifying - 1 LEC 1.41.359 2 PER 1.41.641 3 VER 1.41.706 Race - 1 VER (2 stop) 2 PER (2 stop) 3 RUS (2 stop) Fastest Lap - 1.46.046 Perez Lap 36 2023 Qualifying - 1 LEC 1.40.203 2 VER 1.40.391 3 PER 1.40.495 Race - 1 PER (1 stop) 2 VER (1 stop) 3 LEC (1 stop) Fastest Lap - 1.43.370 Russell Lap 51 Track Changes
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![]() Anny Wooldridge Writer at F1 Journal A very emotional Charles Leclerc won the Italian Grand Prix, and the Tifosi went wild! This win marks Charles's second of the season after pulling off an incredible one-stop race. Franco Colapinto's debut in the F1 Grand Prix was a thrilling moment as he secured the 12th position. Alex Albon also added to the excitement by scoring points for Williams, as did Kevin Magnussen for Haas. McLaren finished the weekend just eight points behind Red Bull in the constructors' championships, with Ferrari in third, just 39 points behind Red Bull. Race Facts
Lando Norris started on the pole for the fifth time at the Italian Grand Prix, with teammate Oscar Piastri locking out an all-McLaren front row. Norris leads into the first corner as Russell tries a move but ends off the track and rejoins behind both Ferraris. But Norris's lead doesn't last long when his teammate overtakes him on the chicane, and Oscar takes the lead in the Italian Grand Prix. Things got worse for Norris as Leclerc also overtook him, and Norris went from P1 to P3 in less than a lap. At the end of lap one, Piastri was in the lead, followed by Leclerc, Norris, Sainz, Hamilton, Verstappen and Russell. Russell picked up some front-wing damage on the first lap. Russell lost the most places in the first lap of the front runners, with Nico Hulkenberg dropping down six places in the back runners after a collision with Daniel Ricciardo. The top ten drivers all started on medium tyres, except Verstappen and Perez, who initially opted for hard tyres. On lap 7, Yuki Tsunoda retires his car on lap eight after picking up damage after a collision on lap one with Hulkenberg. Daniel Ricciardo picked up a five-second time after his collision with Hulkenberg on lap one. Nico Hulkenberg receives a ten second time penalty after colliding with Tsunoda and forcing him to retire from the race. On lap 11, Perez caught up to Russell, who, with damage, didn't fight to keep Perez behind him. Perez moved into 7th behind his teammate. Russell entered the pits on lap 12 to change his front wing and rejoined the race in 16th behind Zhou. Lando Norris pits on lap 15 to cover Russell, changes to hard tyres, and rejoins in 9th. McLaren also adjusts his front wing on the pit stop. Leclerc pits on lap 16 along with Hamilton to try to undercut Norris. They rejoin the track both behind Norris. Piastri pits on lap 17 and rejoins the track in 4th place. Further back, Colapinto also pits and gets back on track in 17th place. Meanwhile, Ricciardo was again noted for failing to follow a time penalty correctly and received a ten-second penalty. Sainz leads the Italian Grand Prix on lap 18, still yet to pit, just in front of Verstappen and Perez, with Piastri in fourth place but net first as the cars in front were yet to pit. Sainz pitted on lap 20 onto hard tyres and rejoined the track in 6th place, or net 4th and 8.566 seconds behind his teammate. Kevin Magnussen is noted for causing a collision with Pierre Gasly on lap 18 and receives a ten-second time penalty and two penalty points. On lap 22, Verstappen pits for hard tyres but has a slow stop of 6.2 seconds and confirms he is using a two-stop strategy. Norris is told he is allowed to race Piastri with 'papaya rules' - keep distance and don't crash. On lap 29, Piastri leads, followed by Norris and Leclerc, with Sainz 12.328 seconds behind. Russell and Perez avoid contact and Perez overtakes Russell easily on lap 31. Meanwhile, further in front, Norris makes a mistake on Turn 4 going down the escape road on lap 31, and Leclerc is within DRS range, ready for the overtake. Norris pitted once again on lap 33 with a slow pit stop and came out ahead of Perez in 6th place. On lap 36, Perez pits for a second time from 7th and rejoins the track in 9th place in reaction to Russell's pit stop, and it pays off for Perez coming out ahead of Russell. Norris gains rapidly on Verstappen while Hamilton pits on lap 38 and rejoins in 6th place, 15.136s behind Norris in 6th. Russell makes another move on Perez, and this time, Russell stays ahead. Piastri pits again on lap 39 from the lead of the race and rejoins in 3rd place 2.105s ahead of Verstappen in third place. Leaving Leclerc to lead the race ahead of Sainz. On lap 40, Norris tries to overtake Verstappen, but some great defending leaves Norris waiting patiently behind. But he manages to get the overtake done on the start/finish straight and goes into 4th. On lap 42, both Ferraris are still 14 seconds ahead of the rest of the field, and the teams worry that they are using a one-stop strategy. Verstappen pits again on lap 42 for medium tyres. McLaren tells its drivers to push as they realise the Ferraris are using a one-stop strategy and have a big lead. But with ten laps to go, can they pull off the ultimate surprise? On lap 44, Verstappen chases down Hamilton for 5th place, with Hamilton 14.108 seconds behind Norris in fifth place. Sainz gets chased down by Piastri but also complains about his tyres. Piastri gets past on lap 45 but has seven laps to chase down an 11.397 gap to Leclerc. Hamilton continues to charge ahead, closing the gap between himself and Norris, ensuring that if Ferrari needs to pit, they will be ahead. On lap 48, Norris reaches the back of Sainz, overtakes him, and moves into third place. Piastri continues to chase down Leclerc, closing the gap slowly. With five laps to go, the gap between first and second is 8.307 seconds. Meanwhile, Russell gains on Verstappen with a 4.543-second gap. Piastri takes time away from Leclerc, but he is just too far ahead. Charles Leclerc wins the Italian Grand Prix, with Piastri 4.015 seconds behind after Ferrari pulls the ultimate strategy game. Race Results1) Charles Leclerc 1:14.40 2) Oscar Piastri +2.664 3) Lando Norris +6.153 4) Carlos Sainz +15.621 5) Lewis Hamilton +22.820 6) Max Verstappen +37.932 7) George Russell +39.715 8) Sergio Perez +54.148 9) Alex Albon +1:07.456 10) Kevin Magnussen +1:08.302 11) Fernando Alonso +1:08.459 12) Franco Colapinto +1:21.308 13) Daniel Ricciardo +1:33.452 14) Esteban Ocon + 1 Lap 15) Pierre Gasly 16) Valtteri Bottas 17) Nico Hulkenberg 18) Zhou Guanyu 19) Lance Stroll DNF - Yuki Tsunoda The crowd cheered Charles Leclerc across the line as he took his second Monza victory for Ferrari, after his first in 2019. "An incredible feeling," Leclerc said. "I thought the first time would feel like this and the second time, if there was one, wouldn't feel as special. "But my god, the emotions in the final laps - just like 2019. Incredible. "Monaco and Monza are the two races I want to win every year. "Obviously I want to win as many as possible, and the world championship as soon as possible, but these are the two most special and I have managed to win them this year. It is so, so special." ![]() Anny Wooldridge Writer at F1 Journal |
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