Max Verstappen won the Qatar Grand Prix, with Charles Leclerc second and Oscar Piastri third. The race was filled with penalties and three safety cars.

Lando Norris received a ten-second stop/go penalty for failing to slow under double yellow flags, George Russell received a five-second penalty for a safety car infringement, Lewis Hamilton received a five-second penalty for a false start and a drive-through penalty for speeding in the pit lane.

Perez, Colapinto, Stroll, Hulkenberg and Ocon all retired from the race.

Alex Albon's wing mirror fell off his car and Valtteri Bottas ran it over after they failed to bring out a safety car to retrieve it. Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz both ran over the debris and got punctures.

The constructors' championship battle continues in Abu Dhabi, with Ferrari and McLaren separated by 21 points. Red Bull is officially out of the fight and will finish in third place.

George Russell started on pole for the Qatar Grand Prix, inheriting the position from Max Verstappen, who received a one-place grid penalty for impeding in Qualifying. 

​All drivers started on the medium compound tyre except Nico Hulkenberg, who started on the hard tyre.

George Russell lost the lead before Turn 1 to Max Verstappen, with Lando Norris also overtaking George Russell into Turn 1.

Franco Colapinto and Esteban Ocon collided at Turn 1 and were both out of the race, bringing out a safety car at the end of lap one. Nico Hulkenberg also got a puncture but made it back into the pits after he lost the rear of the car and took out both Colapinto and Ocon. This incident was noted but no further investigation was given.

Alex Albon also got caught up with Lance Stroll at Turn 1 but spun and managed to get back on track.

Piastri dropped from fourth to fifth, Perez moved up to seventh, and Hamilton dropped from sixth to ninth.

The safety car came in at the end of lap four.

Max Verstappen retained the lead at the safety car restart, with Lando Norris and George Russell sticking with him.

Piastri overtook Leclerc at Turn 1 on the safety car restart on lap five, but Liam Lawson and Valtteri Bottas collided, and Liam went backwards exiting Turn 1 but rejoined the track in 18th, as did Bottas.

​Magnussen and Gasly overtook Alonso on lap six.

On lap seven, Max Verstappen managed to pull 1.5s away from Lando Norris, who was in second. Piastri was gaining on Russell, closing up to within DRS range.

Lance Stroll pitted on lap eight to serve his ten-second time penalty for causing a collision with Alex Albon. Lance Stroll then pitted to retire the car on lap ten.

Alonso was noted for rejoining the track unsafely after going wide but was ruled no further investigation. Just as Hamilton was noted for a false start and later received a five-second time penalty, going slightly before the lights went out.

Magnussen and Tsunoda go wheel to wheel for ninth with Magnussen getting ahead and Tsunoda immediately under pressure from Gasly on lap 11.

Liam Lawson received a ten-second penalty for causing a collision with Valtteri Bottas.

Magnussen, Tsunoda, Gasly, and Alonso were battling on track for highly coveted constructors championship points and places. Gasly got past Tsunoda on the outside for tenth.

Lando Norris chased down Verstappen to within 1.8s, setting the fastest laps. Just as Alonso also got ahead of Tsuonda for 11th, but not for long as Zhou got past Tsunoda on lap 15, who moved to 13th.

​Max Verstappen led the Grand Prix by 1.8s from Lando Norris, with George Russell a further three seconds behind him, but George was under threat with Piastri within DRS range in fourth place, but Piastri fell back after losing the rear at the final corner and going wide.

Charles Leclerc was running in fifth, Sainz in sixth, Perez in seventh, Hamilton in eighth, Magnussen in ninth and Gasly in tenth.

Valtteri Bottas went wide slightly into the gravel on lap 21, all on his own, running in 13th.

George Russell dropped to six seconds behind Lando Norris, with Piastri moving back into DRS range of Russell on lap 23, with Leclerc closing the gap behind them.

George Russell was the first to pit onto hard tyres on lap 24 from fourth. He had a very slow seven-second stop and rejoined the track in 11th, costing him three places on the track in the process.

Piastri moved up into third eight seconds behind Lando Norris in second.

Bottas was the next to pit on lap 25 onto hard tyres and came back out 18 seconds behind Lawson in 17th.

​Lando Norris moved to within 1.5 seconds behind Verstappen, setting another fastest lap. On lap 27, Piastri was 10.2 seconds behind the two front runners.

After pitting, George Russell struggled on the hard tyres, held up by Alonso. This gave the other teams valuable data for the hard tyre compound, which wasn't an advantage, with no other top runners pitting so far on lap 29. Lewis Hamilton was also struggling with his Mercedes.

Alex Albon's wing mirror fell off his car and was on the track on the start and finish straight, with teams hoping for a safety car to clear it. Valtteri Bottas hit the wing mirror on lap 34 before they had a chance to remove it.

​Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz both got punctures from hitting the mirror debris on the start/finish straight. Oscar Piastri pitted to get off the main straight. Lewis Hamilton moved down into sixteenth place, with Sainz rejoining the track in 10th.

Finally, a safety car was deployed on lap 36, allowing Verstappen, Norris, Leclerc, and Perez to pit under the safety car. George Russell pitted again for a second set of hard tyres and rejoined the track in seventh, but he complained that he wanted medium tyres.

Alonso, Gasly and Zhou also pit behind the safety car, with Alonso changing on another set of mediums.

The safety car went through the pit lane, as Verstappen led the Qatar Grand Prix behind the safety car, followed by Lando Norris, Charles Leclerc, Oscar Piastri, Sergio Perez, Pierre Gasly, George Russell, Carlos Sainz, Zhou Guanyu, Fernando Alonso, Kevin Magnussen, Yuki Tsunoda, Alex Albon, Nico Hulkenberg, Liam Lawson, Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas in 17th.

Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas were allowed to un-lap themselves on lap 38. Alex Albon gambled and put on a set of soft tyres for the race restart.

​Sergio Perez lost drive and spun before the safety car restart, having to retire the car.

The safety car ended on lap 40, with Verstappen and Norris going wheel to wheel on Turn 1, but Verstappen managed to hold onto the lead.

A virtual safety car was deployed on lap 40 then another full safety car, to collect Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg who ended up in the gravel on his own.

Lando Norris was investigated for failing to slow under double yellow flags and received a ten-second stop/go penalty.

The safety car ended on lap 43, with the pack closed up, but this time, Verstappen got going as Lando Norris went to the inside to try to defend his position against Leclerc.

​After the safety car restart on lap 43, Verstappen led the race, followed by Norris 0.7s behind him, with Leclerc, Piastri, Russell, Gasly, Sainz, Alonso, Zhou, Albon, Magnussen, Bottas, Tsuonda, Hamilton, and Lawson.

Hulkenberg, Perez, Stroll, Ocon and Colapinto were all out of the race.

Lando Norris headed into the pit lane from second on lap 46 to serve his stop/go penalty and rejoined the track in 15th and last in the race.

Moving Leclerc into second place, Piastri in third and Russell in fourth.

Lewis Hamilton also received a drive-through penalty for speeding in the pit lane. He served his penalty and rejoined the track in 15th behind Lando Norris. Lewis said on the radio that he wanted to park the car.

Further back, Gasly was fifth, Sainz sixth, Alonso seventh, Zhou eighth, Albon ninth, and Magnussen tenth. Albon, Tsunoda, and Lawson were running on soft tyres.

On lap 51, Lando Norris overtook Liam Lawson as he fought his way through the field, lapping three seconds faster than the cars around him. Norris overtook Tsunoda on the start/finish straight.

Bottas and Albon battled for tenth place and the last points position with five laps to go. Further ahead, Sainz and Gasly battled for fifth place.

Bottas overtook Albon on lap 53, but Norris was right behind them and overtook Albon for 11th. As Albon received a ten-second penalty for causing a collision.

Norris overtook Bottas on lap 54 for tenth place, with Zhou running in eighth position and on track for his first points of the season.

Max Verstappen had the lead over Charles Leclerc by six seconds, with Piastri behind him and Russell in fourth.

Albon pitted on lap 56 as Hamilton moved into 12th place. George Russell received a five-second time penalty for a safety car infringement but stayed in fourth.

Max Verstappen wins the Qatar Grand Prix with Charles Leclerc in second and Oscar Piastri in third - the constructors' championship heads to Abu Dhabi between McLaren and Ferrari.

1) Max Verstappen
2) Charles Leclerc     +6.031
3) Oscar Piastri          +6.819
4) George Russell      +14.104
5) Pierre Gasly           +16.782
6) Carlos Sainz          +17.476
7) Fernando Alonso   +19.867
8) Zhou Guanyu         +25.360
9) Kevin Magnussen. +32.177
10) Lando Norris        +35.762
11) Valtteri Bottas       +50.243
12) Lewis Hamilton    +56.122
13) Yuki Tsunoda       +61.100
14) Liam Lawson       +62.656
15) Alex Albon            +1 Lap
DNF Nico Hulkenberg
DNF Sergio Perez
DNF Lance Stroll
​DNF Franco Colapinto
​DNF Esteban Ocon

Max Verstappen wins the Qatar Grand Prix for the second year running in the Red Bull, he said: “It was a very good race, yesterday in qualifying the car was a lot better and today, that first stint was very, very fast, Lando [Norris] and I doing 1.8seconds of each other the whole time and pushing each other, it was honestly a lot of fun out there.

“This track has a lot of grip and this year the tyres were really holding on so that was a lot of fun to really be pushing the tyre and we went really long in that first stint, after that there were a lot of safety car moments that you had to take car.

“I’m very happy it’s been a long while in the drive and to be this competitive and I’m very proud of everyone in the team to turn it around within a day so they definitely deserve this victory.” On the safety cars: “On the hard tyres there’s very little grip, you just come out of the box and it was already called and immediately we had the safety car and behind the safety car you can’t warm them up.

​“I tried something different out of the last corner where I had no rear grip basically so I just struggled for traction out of the corner and it got a bit spicy into Turn One, but I think that’s great to see and after that we drove it until the end with good pace, so I’m happy to win here.”

​On the potential performance of the last race: “It’s difficult to say, the last three years we’ve always been quite competitive there [Abu Dhabi] so I hope we can be competitive there again but we will pay attention to detail to try and optimise the car and hopefully we can fight for a win there again.”

Anny Wooldridge
​Writer at F1 Journal

George Russell inherited Pole Position for the Qatar Grand Prix, after Max Verstappen received a one-place grid penalty for driving unnecessarily slow on his cool-down lap in qualifying. Max will line up second on the grid with Lando Norris in third.
​
Oscar Piastri will start fourth after his Sprint race win, followed by Leclerc, Hamilton, Sainz, Alonso, Perez, and Magnussen, rounding out the top ten.

Earlier, Oscar Piastri won the Qatar Sprint race, followed by Lando Norris in second place and George Russell in third.

Drivers Championship winner Max Verstappen finished the Sprint race in 8th position. In a race that saw McLaren play the team game, Lando Norris kept Oscar Piastri in DRS range for the whole 19 laps to keep George Russell behind them both.

Lando Norris started on pole for the Qatar Sprint race, while further back, Franco Colapinto and Sergio Perez both started from the pit lane after setup changes during Parc Ferme.

​The Sprint race was 19 laps with no mandatory pit stops and eight points up for grabs. All the drivers started on the medium compound tyres except Zhou who started on soft tyres.

Lando Norris retained the lead into Turn 1 as Oscar Piastri overtook George Russell at the race start. Lewis Hamilton managed to overtake Charles Leclerc.

Further behind, Max Verstappen dropped back to ninth, and Liam Lawson dropped back from 10th to 16th.

Franco Colapinto overtook Sergio Perez out of the pit lane at the race start after Sergio had a slow start out of the pit lane, in which it seemed he failed to react to the green light.

By lap two, Lando Norris had pulled ahead of his teammate by 1.2s, with George Russell in third, Carlos Sainz in fourth and Lewis Hamilton in fifth.

George Russell closed down and tried to go down the inside of Oscar Piastri in Turn 1, but Piastri retained second place. George Russell stayed with Oscar Piastri, and Lando Norris slowed down to help Piastri stay ahead, giving him DRS.

​Behind the top three, Carlos Sainz was under threat from Lewis Hamilton, who had DRS behind him with 2.5s covering the top five.

Further behind, Verstappen was within DRS range of Pierre Gasly for eight place, but Verstappen managed to overtake Pierre Gasly into Turn 1 on lap eight.

​Zhou on soft tyres was running 3.5s slower than the rest of the field running in 20th and had to pit on lap 11 for medium tyres.

With ten laps to go, the top four were stuck in a DRS train. Hamilton was not that far behind the top four, and Charles Leclerc was within the DRS range of Hamilton in sixth.

Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton go wheel to wheel for a number of corners, but Leclerc managed to get past Hamilton after finding a way through after some great racing from the both of them.

Piastri found himself under pressure from Russell after losing DRS from Norris, with Sainz closing in on the back of the both of them.

Lando Norris continued to help Oscar with five laps to go but Norris complained about his front tyres.

Sergio Perez pitted on lap 15 to change his front wing and play with his setup in preparation for tomorrow's race after failing to overtake a single car in the race. His teammate Verstappen struggled to close the 1.6-second gap to Hulkenberg in seventh place.

On the final corner, Lando Norris pulled to the inside and slowed out of the final corner, allowing Oscar Piastri to win the Qatar Sprint race by 0.136 seconds as he came past.

Top Eight Finishers
1) Oscar Piastri 
2) Lando Norris           +0.136
3) George Russell       +0.410
4) Carlos Sainz           +1.326
5) Charles Leclerc       +5.073
6) Lewis Hamilton        +5.650
7) Nico Hulkenberg      +8.508
8) Max Verstappen      +10.368

Out In Q1
16) Alex Albon
17) Liam Lawson
18) Nico Hulkenberg
19) Franco Colapinto
20) Esteban Ocon

George Russell was first out on track on a set of medium tyres, scrubbing them for tomorrow's race before changing to soft tyres.

The drivers quickly headed out onto the track in the first qualifying session.

Stroll and Alonso set the fastest laps of the session, followed by Bottas, Colapinto, and Zhou with 13 minutes left in the session, as other drivers had yet to set lap times.

Colapinto, Albon and Magnussen all have track times deleted for track limits as Verstappen sets a lap time of 1m 21.713s, followed by Norris 0.3s behind.

With ten minutes to go, Zhou, Lawson, Colapinto, Gasly, and Ocon were in the bottom five, with George Russell topping the timesheets ahead of Lando Norris by 0.059s.

​Oscar took a little dip into the gravel with one of his tyres, as the times were so close at the bottom of the timesheet.

Norris's lap time was deleted for track limits, but he had the fourth fastest time, so he was safely through to Q2.

George Russell tops the timesheet with a 1m 21.241, with Alex Albon, Liam Lawson, Nico Hulkenberg, Franco Colapinto and Esteban Ocon were out of qualifying.

Out in Q2
11) Pierre Gasly
12) Zhou Guanyu
13) Valtteri Bottas
14) Yuki Tsunoda
15) Lance Stroll

The drivers lined up at the end of the pit lane for Q2, eager to get out on track and avoid traffic.

​George Russell was the first driver to set a lap time in Q2, with a time of 1m 21.161, one-tenth faster than his time from Q1. Piastri went into second place, followed by Leclerc, Sainz, and Hamilton - the only drivers to set a lap time with over 11 minutes to go.

With ten minutes to go, Magnussen, Gasly, Alonso, Stroll, and Tsunoda were in the bottom five, with Verstappen at the top with a lap time of 1m 21.085.

Perez took a trip into the gravel on a flying lap and remained in fifth place.

Sainz was noted and investigated after the session for an unsafe release too close to Hamilton in the pit lane.

With five minutes to go, Bottas, Zhou, Tsunoda, Stroll, and Alonso were in the bottom five. Alonso had no lap time set, as Verstappen went fastest with a 1m 21.049 lap time.

Verstappen goes quickest in Q2 with a 1m 20.687, with Gasly, Zhou, Bottas, Tsunoda and Stroll out in Q2.

Starting Top 10
1) Max Verstappen     1m 20.520
2) George Russell        +0.055
3) Lando Norris            +0.252
4) Oscar Piastri            +0.309
5) Charles Leclerc        +0.332
6) Lewis Hamilton        +0.491
7) Carlos Sainz            +0.521
8) Fernando Alonso     +0.731
9) Sergio Perez            +0.905
10) Kevin Magnussen  +0.980

Red Bull found some pace from the Sprint race, with both Verstappen and Perez making it into Q3.

All drivers except Verstappen and Norris were out at the start of the session.
Perez, Alonso, and Magnussen only had one set of new tyres available for the session, but they were all out on used tyres at the start of the session.

Magnussen was the first to set a lap time on a set of used soft tyres. Alonso's first lap time, which was third on the timesheet, was deleted for track limits.

George Russell set a lap time of 1m 20.575 to top the timesheet, with Norris heading slightly into the gravel on his first flying lap.

With five minutes to go, Verstappen goes second fastest behind George Russell, with Leclerc in third place.

Norris had yet to set a lap time with just over three minutes to go in the session.

Carlos Sainz was the first to cross the line with the checkered flag but only managed fourth. Leclerc went fifth, Lando Norris only managed third, and Verstappen went fastest with a lap time of 1m 20.520.

An incident between Max Verstappen and George Russell was investigated after the race and Max received a one-place grid penalty for driving too slowly around the track, giving pole position to George Russell.

Anny Wooldridge
​Writer at F1 Journal

Lando Norris will start on Pole for tomorrow's Sprint race, followed by George Russell in P2 and Oscar Piastri in P3.

Sainz will start the Sprint race in fourth, followed by Leclerc, Verstappen, Hamilton, Gasly, Hulkenberg and Lawson rounding out the top ten.

Sergio Perez and Tsunoda failed to make it out of SQ1. Aston Martins, Valtteri Bottas, and Alex Albon also failed to make it through to SQ3.

Charles Leclerc topped the only Free Practice of the weekend in an uneventful Free Practice One session.

Top 10 Results
1) Charles Leclerc           1m 21.953
2) Lando Norris                 +0.425
3) Oscar Piastri                 +0.472
4) Carlos Sainz                 +0.582
5) Yuki Tsunoda                +1.091
6) Valtteri Bottas               +1.111
7) Lance Stroll                   +1.146
8) George Russell             +1.207
9) Alex Albon                     +1.208
10) Lewis Hamilton           +1.235

With the Qatar Grand Prix being a Sprint weekend, Free Practice One is the only practice session of the weekend.

The temperature and track temperature were much cooler than last year's hot and humid race.

The session started with most drivers on track, making the most of the limited running time during the weekend. The drivers took to the track on a mixture of hard and medium tyre compounds.

A third of the way into the session, Charles Leclerc set a time of 1m 23.702s on a set of hard tyres, putting him a couple of tenths clear of Max Verstappen, Pierre Gasly, Lando Norris, Carlos Sainz and George Russell.

A few runs later, Lando Norris was on a very fast lap on a set of medium tyres but had an unfortunate slide into Turn 10, and Piastri also had a moment at Turn 15.

With ten minutes to go, the drivers headed out on the soft compound tyres, with all changes at the top of the leaderboard. However, Leclerc remained at the top with a 1m 21.953s lap, ahead of Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri, Carlos Sainz, Yuki Tsunoda, Valtteri Bottas, Lance Stroll, George Russell, Alex Albon, and Lewis Hamilton, rounding out the top ten.

Out In SQ1
16) Sergio Perez
17) Yuki Tsunoda
18) Esteban Ocon
19) Zhou Guanyu
20) Franco Colapinto

The Ferrari, Haas, Williams, Alpine, Verstappen and Sauber drivers were first out on track for SQ1. All the drivers were running medium tyre compounds as required for the first session.

Norris set his first lap time and went immediately to the top of the timesheet with a lap time of 1m 22.785, followed by George Russell, Kevin Magnussen and Valtteri Bottas.

With five minutes to go Ocon, Albon, Perez, Colapinto and Lawson were in the bottom three.

Leclerc, Sainz and Verstappen were in the top three with three and half minutes to go, but with two minutes to go it was all change at the top and the bottom.

Lando Norris tops the timesheets for SQ1, followed by Sainz and Russell.​ Sergio Perez, Yuki Tsunoda, Esteban Ocon, Zhou Guanyu and Franco Colapinto were knocked out in SQ1.

Out In SQ2
11) Fernando Alonso
12) Alex Albon
13) Valtteri Bottas
14) Lance Stroll
15) Kevin Magnussen

Both Haas, McLaren, Aston Martin and RB drivers Lawson and Alex Albon were all out on the track at the very start of SQ2, running once again on medium tyres.

Verstappen set an early fastest lap time with a time of 1m 22.188s, but it was quickly beaten by Charles Leclerc by 0.058s.

With five minutes to go, George Russell, Lewis Hamilton, Kevin Magnussen, and Valtteri Bottas had yet to set a lap time and were in the bottom five, along with Liam Lawson.

George Russell heads to the top of the timesheet with a 1m 21.488 as Oscar Piastri gets a lap time deleted for track limits. Lando Norris takes the lead with a lap time of 1m 21.231 with two minutes to go in SQ2.

With less than two minutes to go, Alonso, Stroll, Bottas, Piastri, and Magnussen were in the bottom five.

​Lando Norris tops the timesheets for the second session in a row, followed by Russell and Piastri. Alonso, Albon, Bottas, Stroll and Magnussen get knocked out in SQ2.

Sprint Race Starting Top 10
1) Lando Norris      1m 21.012
2) George Russell    +0.063
3) Oscar Piastri        +0.159
4) Carlos Sainz        +0.269
5) Charles Leclerc    +0.296
6) Max Verstappen    +0.303
7) Lewis Hamilton     +0.462
8) Pierre Gasly          +0.966
9) Nico Hulkenberg   +1.076
10) Liam Lawson      +1.565

With a mix of drivers opting to stay in the garage and heading out onto the track at the start of the session, with Russell, Hamilton, Verstappen, Sainz, Leclerc, Gasly and Lawson heading out onto the track first.

Leclerc was the first to set a lapt time with a time of 1m 21.705s, followed by Gasly, Lawson, Hamilton, Russell, Verstappen and Sainz.

The ten drivers were all out on track for the whole session, with just quick pit stops of wing adjustments or to make space on track.

Lando Norris aborts his final lap heading into the pits but he was on provisional pole at the time.

Lando Norris take Pole Position for the Qatar Sprint race, followed by George Russell, Oscar Piastri, Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc.

McLaren's Lando Norris, who secured sprint pole said: "It is tough here because it is so quick. It feels like the quickest circuit of the year. The final sector feels like you are hanging on.

"But great qualifying today, especially to bounce back from where we were in Vegas.

"We came here to get pole and we got that so job done for today."

Anny Wooldridge
​Writer at F1 Journal

The Qatar Grand Prix is back for its third Grand Prix, this time as the penultimate race of the season, moved until the end of November/December to reduce the temperature for the drivers on track after last year's race.

Max Verstappen won his fourth consecutive Drivers World Championship last weekend in Las Vegas after having won the title in the Qatar Sprint race last year.

With the Drivers Championship title sealed this weekend is all about the Constructions Championship title, with Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari all in the battle for the top three places.

The Qatar Grand Prix is holding the last Sprint race of the season, with even more points up for grabs than usual.

F2 and F1 Academy are also both racing at Lusail this weekend. 

Friday
F1 Academy
Free Practice One     10:00 (GMT)
Free Practice Two     15:00 (GMT)
​
F2 
Free Practice              11:05 (GMT)
Qualifying                   16:10 (GMT)

F1
Free Practice One       13:30 (GMT)
Sprint Qualifying          17:30 (GMT)

Saturday
F1 Academy
Qualifying                   12:20 (GMT)
Race One                   20:05 (GMT)

F2
Sprint Race                16:20 (GMT)

F1
Sprint Race                 14:00 (GMT)
Qualifying                    18:00 (GMT)

Sunday
F1 Academy
Race Two                    11:00 (GMT)

F2
Feature Race              12:20 (GMT)  

F1
Race                           16:00 ​(GMT)

2021
Qualifying - 
                 1 HAM 1.20.827
                 2 VER 1.21.424
                 3 BOT 1.21.478
Race Result - 
                    1 HAM (2 stop)
                    2 VER (3 stop)
                    3 ALO (1 stop)
Fastest Lap - 1.23.196  Verstappen Lap 57   
     
2023
Qualifying -
                  1 VER 1.23.778
                  2 RUS 1.24.219
                  3 HAM 1.24.305
Race -
                 1 VER (3 stop)
                 2 PIA (3 stop)
                 3 NOR (3 stop) 
Fastest Lap - 1.24.319 Verstappen Lap 56

Anny Wooldridge
Writer at F1 Journal

George Russell wins the Las Vegas Grand Prix, with Lewis Hamilton in second and Carlos Sainz in third.

Max Verstappen wins his fourth consecutive Drivers World Championship finishing ahead of Lando Norris in fifth place.

In a race filled with overtakes, two pit stops and two cars retiring with power unit issues, the Las Vegas Grand Prix had a bit of everything.

George Russell started on Pole for the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

At the start of the race, all the drivers started on medium tyres, except Alonso, who started on soft tyres, and Perez, Bottas, and Colapinto, who started on hard tyres.

George Russell managed to hold the race lead into Turn 1 after a very short run up to the first corner, as Leclerc got past Sainz and moved into second place, dropping Sainz to third.

On the first lap, Lawson and Magnussen battled side by side for the majority of the lap. Verstappen used DRS to pass Gasly and put a car between him and Lando Norris.

Leclerc and Russell battle for the race lead on lap five, almost coming together, but Russell held onto the lead.

Alonso pitted first on lap five, switching from his soft tyres to hard tyres, a bold choice of tyre for the start from Aston Martin. Maybe they hoped for an early safety car.

Oscar Piastri was noted for a false start, then investigated and given a five-second time penalty.

Leclerc battled Russell for the race lead, but by lap nine, he had been overtaken by his teammate Sainz and Verstappen. Leclerc dropped to fourth, perhaps overcooking his tyres battling Russell. Norris overtakes Gasly and moves into fifth.

​Leclerc pits on lap nine and returns as Norris, Stroll, and Albon pit for hard tyres. Leclerc comes back out in 16th, with Norris in 17th.

Piastri, Sainz, Gssly, and Tsunoda also pitted on lap 11. Piastri served his five-second time penalty. Verstappen came into the pits on lap 11 and came back out in sixth, in front of Sainz, Leclerc, and Norris.

Russell was still in the lead of the Grand Prix, followed by Hamilton, Hulkenberg, Perez, and Magnussen. Russell had a 15-second gap over the rest of the field as he pitted on lap 13. Coming back out in second, Russell gave Hamilton the race lead by over five seconds.

​Ocon pitted but missed his pit box. He had to leave the pit lane and do another racing lap before pitting again, as Tsunoda hit a bollard at the end of the pit lane.

After all the pit stops, on lap 15, Russell was leading the race with a 5.6-second gap to Perez, who hadn't pitted but started on hard tyres. Verstappen was racing in fourth, followed by Sainz, Leclerc, Norris, Hamilton, Magnussen, Bottas, Tsunoda, Colapinto, Gasly, Alonso, Piastri, Albon, Hulkenberg, Zhou, Lawson, Ocon, and Stroll.

On lap 16, Gasly's car started smoking after he reported no power. He managed to get back to the pit lane but had to retire his car.

Verstappen and Sainz overtook Perez, just as Hamilton set the fastest lap and overtook Norris for sixth. Perez pitted from his hard tyres to medium tyres, not giving good signs for the rest of the field after not even 20 laps on his hard tyres.

​On lap 22, Russell held the lap from Verstappen by almost ten seconds, with Sainz two seconds behind Verstappen and Leclerc two seconds behind him. Hamilton was all over the back of Leclerc's gearbox, waiting for an opportunity as Hamilton continued to set the fastest laps.

Norris and Piastri were both struggling, with Norris sitting in six and Piastri in eight, both complaining about lack of speed and wanting to pit again.

Further behind, Hulkenberg overtook Albon on lap 23 for ninth place, with Zhou overtaking Alonso and moving up into 11th. Perez and Lawson meet again on track, but this time, Perez has the upper hand and easily overtakes Lawson, moving up into 12th place.

Piastri pitted again on lap 26 for another set of hard tyres, as Albon is called into the pits to retire his car due to a power unit issue.

Russell was still out in front leading but over 11 seconds, with Leclerc, Sainz and Hamilton further behind only covered by just two seconds.

Verstappen was called to pit on lap 27, but called it off at the last moment leaving the Championship leader out in second.

Verstappen and Hamilton both pit on lap 28, coming back out in fifth and sixth, with Sainz going over the solid white line of the pit entry before Ferrari made a very late call and he stayed out. Sainz pits on lap 29 and this time his team were ready, he returned to the track three seconds behind Hamilton.

Russell was leading by over 15 seconds on lap 30, with Leclerc in second, Norris in third, 12 seconds behind them, and Verstappen having to defend from Hamilton behind in fourth.

Ocon came over the radio and said he got hit by Lawson. Norris pits for a second time on lap 31 and rejoins the track in seventh, over six seconds behind Hulkenberg.

Lewis Hamilton overtook Verstappen on the back straight moving into second for a Mercedes 1-2, as Leclerc pitted for a second time, coming back out in fifth place.

George Russell with a 32 second gap, pitted on lap 33 and stays in the lead of the race over his teammate by 12 seconds. Perez pitted for the third time and rejoins the track in 15th place.

Franco Colapinto passes Bottas for 16th place after his 50G crash in qualifying. Hulkenberg pitted on lap 34 from sixth place on the grid with a great tyre offset from the cars around him, rejoining in 12th.

Hamilton took a second out of George Russell's lead on one lap closing the gap to nine seconds. With Verstappen in third, Sainz in fourth, Leclerc in fifth, Norris in sixth, Piastri in seventh, Tsunoda in eight, Ocon in ninth and Lawson in tenth.

Perez moved up into 12th place, overtaking Lawson and Magnussen on the corner of Turn 14, somehow they all got through cleanly.

With ten laps to go Russell was leading the race with Hamilton just over seven seconds behind him. Verstappen was running in third, but was under pressure from not one but two Ferraris behind him, with Sainz being within DRS range of Verstappen.

Norris was running thirteen seconds behind Leclerc and Piastri fourteen seconds behind him in seventh.

​Sainz overtook Verstappen on lap 42 but Verstappen was quickly under pressure from Leclerc. Hamilton was down to 5.8 seconds behind Russell, taking out a good chunk of time from his team mate.

​With five laps to go Russell was in the lead of the race, with Hamilton 5.2 seconds behind, Sainz nine seconds behind them, Verstappen with DRS range of Sainz. Leclerc within DRS range of him, Norris was ten seconds behind them in sixth, with Piastri a further 19 seconds behind him.

Followed by Tsunoda, Hulkenberg, and Alonso rounding out the top ten and the points places. Perez was running in eleventh, with Magnussen, Colapinto, Ocon, Zhou, Lawson and Bottas rounding out the drivers still running in the race.

Hulkenberg overtook Tsunoda for eight at Turn 14, crucial for the Constructors Championship fight.

Leclerc overtook Verstappen for fourth place on lap 47, with Norris ten seconds behind him in sixth.

Hamilton cuts the corner and drops to six seconds behind Russell, as he complains his tyres have gone.

With Verstappen just three seconds away from becoming a four-time world champion, Norris pits for fastest lap moving onto soft tyres.

George Russell wins the Las Vegas Grand Prix, with Lewis Hamilton making it a Mercedes 1-2. Carlos Sainz finishes in third and Lando Norris takes the point for the fastest lap.

Max Verstappen wins his fourth Drivers Championship in row with Red Bull!

Mercedes’ George Russell wins his third race of his career, he said: “It’s going to be a good party, I was planning on flying in a couple of hours but I’m definitely not getting on that flight. I’m going to enjoy this evening with all my team.

“It’s been a dream of a weekend I don’t know how we’ve been so quick but I’m just riding this wave right now.”

On driving at night in Las Vegas: “Vegas is just crazy place and when you’re driving and you see all of this in the background, I can’t describe this place and to get victory here, pole position and a dominant weekend, one-two with Lewis as well, we couldn’t have chosen a better place to make this happen.”

On the race itself: “I was just waiting for something to happen, the two races I’ve been on pole before it’s always been chaos, rain, dry, always something happening, last race in Brazil with the red flag there is always something happening. “I was feeling confident and I had a good gap but I was just waiting for something to happen and it didn’t, so I guess luck has turned and I’m so happy right now.”
​
Max Verstappen on winning his fourth consecutive world championship: "It’s been a long season, we start off amazing and we were cruising but then we had a tough run as a team but we kept it together, we kept working on improvements and I couldn’t be more proud of everyone what they have done for me.

​"To stand here as a four-time world champion is something I never thought was possible. At the moment I’m feeling relieved but also very proud.”

Anny Wooldridge
​Writer at F1 Journal

Lewis Hamilton topped the timesheets for Free Practice One and Two in Las Vegas on Thursday night. George Russell and Lando Norris finished second and third in both sessions, just switching the order - for the second all-British top three of the day.

Drivers used both sessions to get a feel of the cool and slippery track, with numerous drivers going wide on the corners and briefly leaving the track.

Alex Albon brought out the only Red Flag of the two sessions after a previous fuel system problem left him in the garage for a considerable time in Free Practice Two. When he did get back on track, his Williams stopped and had to be removed.

Meanwhile, further back in the field, Valtteri Bottas will receive a five-place grid penalty for a new power unit component.

Top 10 Results
1) Lewis Hamilton     1:35.001
2) George Russell      +0.396
3) Lando Norris          +0.953
4) Charles Leclerc      +1.006
5) Max Verstappen     +1.037
6) Carlos Sainz           +1.217
7) Fernando Alonso    +1.262
8) Oscar Piastri           +1.450
9) Pierre Gasly           +1.477
10) Sergio Perez         +1.535

Free Practice One started at 18:30 Las Vegas time on Thursday evening, with drivers heading out onto the track immediately to feel the track's grip levels.

The first part of the session brought plenty of slips and slides in the cool and slippery track conditions. Drivers struggled to stay on track, especially at Turn 14, with both Verstappen and Norris taking to the run-off area early in the session.

Drivers struggled to see the white line at the pit entry, with lots of other lines and dirt on the track. Alex Albon and Franco Colapinto were both noted for failing to follow the Race Director's instructions and for crossing the white line at the pit entry.

At the halfway point, Lewis Hamilton topped the timesheet ahead of his teammate Russell and Norris in third. Leclerc, Sainz, Verstappen, Piastri and Gasly followed this.

Hamilton increased his lead with a lap time 1:35.001 to finish four-tenths ahead of Russell in second, with Norris rounding out the top three.

Top 10 Results
1) Lewis Hamilton       1:33.825
2) Lando Norris             +0.011
3) George Russell         +0.190
4) Carlos Sainz              +0.280
5) Charles Leclerc         +0.488
6) Pierre Gasly              +0.826
7) Kevin Magnussen     +0.861
8) Oscar Piastri              +0.973
9) Nico Hulkenberg       +0.993
10) Yuki Tsunoda          +1.172

Starting at 22:00 Thursday night, Las Vegas time, Free Practice Two again saw drivers leaving the track and briefly raising yellow flags as the even colder conditions got the better of their breaks with the long Las Vegas Strip straight.

Lewis Hamilton again topped the session with a 1:33.825 lap on soft tyres, followed by Lando Norris and George Russell for the second all-British top three of the day.

Alex Albon briefly brought out the only Red Flag of the session after a previous fuel system problem left him in the garage for a considerable time. When he did get back on track, his Williams stopped and had to be removed, and he didn't participate in the session further.

Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc also had a number of runs on soft tyres and finished the session in fourth and fifth place behind the Brits. Pierre Gasly finished in sixth place after a great session for Alpine.

Haas drivers also ended the session in the top ten, as did Yuki Tsunoda in his RB. Further back, Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez finished the session in 17th and 19th after the Red Flag interrupted their soft tyre compound running.

Anny Wooldridge
​Writer at F1 Journal

The Las Vegas Grand Prix is back for its second running. After last year's drama during the practice sessions, organisers hope improvements have been made for smoother running this year.

Filled with glitz, glamour, celebrities, and everything Las Vegas, this year's Grand Prix could be the race in which Max Verstappen wins the championship for a fourth time, with just 86 points between him and Lando Norris.

Max Verstappen will take the championship if he finishes above Norris this weekend or if both drivers fail to score a point. Verstappen would also be crowned the 2024 drivers champion if Norris doesn't outscore him by more than two points.

This weekend, the race takes place on Saturday night (Las Vegas time) at 6am GMT. This means that Free Practice One and Two will take place on Thursday in Vegas, and Free Practice Three and Qualifying will take place on Friday.

Stars and celebrities are expected to be out in full force with the city, hotels and teams holding events and activations all around the city.

Alpine, RB and Sauber have all launched special liveries for the weekend.

Friday
Free Practice One       02:30am (GMT)
Free Practice Two.      06:00am (GMT)

Saturday
Free Practice Three    02:30am (GMT)
Qualifying                    06:00am (GMT)

Sunday
Race                           06:00am ​(GMT)

Anny Wooldridge
Writer at F1 Journal

Carlos Sainz won the Mexico City Grand Prix after overtaking Max Verstappen early in the race after losing the lead into the first corner. Charles Leclerc finished second in Ferrari's second 1-2 in a row.

Yuki Tsunoda and Alex Albon collided before the first corner, and Fernando Alonso also had to retire his car in his 400th Grand Prix.

Max Verstappen and Lando Norris battled once again; this time, Max came away with two ten-second time penalties.

Sergio Perez finished his home race in 17th place after receiving a five-second time penalty for starting outside of his grid box and also picked up both side pod and floor damage.

Carlos Sainz started on Pole position for the Mexico City Grand Prix.

For the race start Lawson, Bottas, Colapinto, Perez, Zhou, and Ocon started on hard tyres, with everyone else starting on medium tyres.

​​The Mexico City Grand Prix has an 800m straight to Turn 1, and Carlos Sainz lost the lead to Max Verstappen at the first corner. Tsunoda hit the barrier before the first corner with a big spin, bringing out the safety car. Alex Albon was also caught up in the incident after clipping Tsunoda.

At the race start, Perez made up five places to 13th but was given a five-second penalty for being outside his grid box. Hamilton also passed Russell, with Franco Colapinto moving up into 14th, and Lawson into 10th.

The safety car ended on lap seven with Verstappen in the lead, followed by Sainz, Norris, Leclerc and Hamilton in fifth. Verstappen retained the lead at the race restart, but Sainz kept within one second of the race leader.

Surprisingly, Piastri didn't gain any places at the race start and was still in 17th place after the safety car and eight laps into the race.

Sainz took back the race lead at the start of lap nine, with Verstappen, Norris and Leclerc all chasing him down behind.

Norris and Verstappen have a repeat of Austin, with Norris ahead at the apex. Verstappen and Norris leave the track at Turn 4 and again at Turn 8 on one lap, leaving space for Leclerc to benefit and move into second place.

The Turn 4 and Turn 8 incidents between Norris and Verstappen were noted and then investigated. Verstappen received a ten-second time penalty for forcing a driver off the track. He also received a second ten-second time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage, giving him a 20-second time penalty to serve in his pit stop.

On lap 14, Sainz led the Grand Prix, followed by Leclerc, Verstappen, Norris, and Hamilton. Further behind, Piastri moved into 15th, with Perez into 11th. Russell overtook Hamilton on lap 15 for fifth place.

Alonso was told to retire the car on lap 16 due to a brake issue related to cooling, an unfortunate ending to his 400th Grand Prix, just as the Ferrari drivers are told to keep it clean.

Perez and Lawson battled for 10th on lap 18, battling it out for a few corners side by side, wheel to wheel, with Lawson staying ahead. Perez was then in trouble from Stroll behind, again going wheel to wheel. Perez was under investigation for forcing Stroll off the track, but it was ruled no further action.

Perez pitted on lap 22 and served his five-second time penalty. He also picked up a big hole in his side pod from going wheel to wheel with Lawson. He came back out onto the track on medium tyres in 18th.

On lap 25, Sainz was still in the lead, followed by Leclerc 4.5 seconds behind, Verstappen 5.7 seconds behind, and Norris within the DRS zone behind him.

Further behind, Piastri overtook Colapinto, and Stroll moved up into 11th. Verstappen pitted on lap 27, serving his 20-second time penalty. He changed onto medium tyres and came out in 15th, in front of his teammate in 16th, as Stroll also pitted and came out in 17th.

Hamilton pitted on lap 29 onto hard tyres and came back onto the track in tenth place as Verstappen overtook Zhou and moved into 13th, trying to charge through the pack.

On lap 30, Verstappen overtook Ocon as Hulkenberg stopped for hard tyres. Norris also pitted on lap 31 for hard tyres and rejoined the track in 4th, with Verstappen setting the fastest lap.

Leclerc pitted on lap 31 from second and rejoined the track in second, as Russell also pitted and rejoined the track in 6th. Sainz pitted on lap 33 but had a 31.130-second gap to Leclerc behind him and rejoined the track still in first place nine seconds ahead of Leclerc. 

Russell overtook both Piastri and Lawson moving up into fourth, 11 seconds behind Norris. Lawson lost two places in two corners, being overtaken by both Piastri and Hamilton on lap 34. Hamilton then overtook Piastri on Turn 1 for fifth place.

By lap 35, Verstappen had moved up into eighth place, with Sainz eight seconds in front of Leclerc. Perez however hadn't passed anyone still running in 16th place with the damaged side pod and floor.

Russell lost time due to a broken front wing, just as Sainz complained about a misfire on lap 38.

​Colapinto complained that he had an issue with his steering, going stiff and then soft. Piastri and Lawson pitted on lap 40 with Piastri coming out in 13th and Lawson in 17th. Verstappen was up into sixth place 7.9 seconds behind Hamilton.

Verstappen complained on lap 42 that it was getting dark with a small chance of rain at the end of the race, with Russell saying on his radio that he had small raindrops on his visor on the next lap.

Perez pits for the second time, just as Zhou pits for the first time. Both return onto the track at the back of the pack. Verstappen's run through the pack finished at Hamilton when he started dropping back 0.4s a lap slower than Hamilton.

Norris set the fasted lap on lap 47 as he tried to catch Leclerc for second place, chasing down the 4.5s gap. Norris had a 20-second gap back to Russell behind, with Verstappen dropping back to 10s behind Hamilton.

Colapinto took the fastest lap in 13th place as the Russell and Hamilton battle continued, with Hamilton unable to get quite close enough to make a move. Piastri gained on Hulkenberg to within 1.4 seconds, and Norris gained slowly on Leclerc to within 3.6 seconds.

​With 15 laps to go, Piastri passed Hulkenberg for P8, with Magnussen eight seconds ahead. Norris was still closing up to Leclerc, with just a 2.4-second gap.

Leclerc was stuck in traffic in the stadium section, allowing Norris to move within 1.2 seconds of Leclerc. Hamilton and Russell still battled for fourth place, with a 28.8s gap to Norris in front of him.

Norris set the fastest lap on lap 62 and was within DRS range of Leclerc, with Sainz eight seconds ahead in the lead. Leclerc went off track at the final corner and was lucky to rejoin the track after an incredible save as Norris went through into second.

​Russell and Hamilton still having their own little race for fourth place, with Hamilton still all over the back of Russell's gearbox, with Hamilton finally getting past on lap 66 after about 12 laps of trying.

Lawson pitted again for a new wing and soft tyres after Colapinto clipped his front wing and was looked at after the race. Norris was still gaining on Sainz but was still 6.6s in front of him, with Leclerc 7 seconds behind and Hamilton 30 seconds behind him.

​With two laps to go, Leclerc pitted for soft tyres to try and take the fastest lap from Lawson and rejoined the track ahead of Hamilton. Perez also pits for soft tyres to try and take the fastest lap, with a fight between Red Bull and Ferrari for the fastest lap.

​Carlos Sainz wins the Mexico City Grand Prix, with Lando Norris in second and Charles Leclerc in third, with Leclerc also taking the fastest lap.

1) Carlos Sainz
2) Lando Norris         +4.705
3) Charles Leclerc     +34.387
4) Lewis Hamilton     +44.780
5) George Russell     +48.536
6) Max Verstappen    +59.558
7) Kevin Magnussen +63.642
8) Oscar Piastri         +64.928
9) Nico Hulkenberg   +1 Lap
10) Pierre Gasly
11) Lance Stroll
12) Franco Colapinto
13) Esteban Ocon
14) Valtteri Bottas
15) Zhou Guanyu
16) Liam Lawson
17) Sergio Perez
DNF Fernando Alonso
​DNF Yuki Tsunoda
DNF Alex Albon

Carlos Sainz, who wins his second race of the season in the Ferrari" “It’s incredible to see this crowd, I’ve been feeling their support all week and I feel like I’ve got a lot of fan support here in Mexico and they’ve given me a lot of strength.

“Honestly I really wanted this one, I needed it for myself, I wanted to get it done, I’ve been saying for a while I wanted one more win before leaving Ferrari and to do it here in front of this mega crowd is incredible. Now four races left I want to enjoy as much as possible and if another one comes I will go for it.”

On the overtaking of Max Verstappen: “I didn’t prepare to be honest. I was just a bit annoyed at the start having lost position to him and I said I need to surprise him one way or another, as he’s super difficult to pass, he’s proven it many many times.

​“I was a bit far back but I said I’ve got nothing to lose I’m just going to send one down the inside, I’ve been confident in the braking to Turn One this weekend and I knew I could make it.”

Anny Wooldridge
​Writer at F1 Journal

Carlos Sainz took pole position for the Mexico City Grand Prix for the first time since the 2023 Singapore Grand Prix. Carlos is followed by Verstappen in P2 and Lando Norris in P3.

In a dramatic qualifying session, both Sergio Perez and Oscar Piastri were knocked out in Q1. Yuki Tsunoda ruined his and Lawson's chances of making it through to Q3 after Tsunoda hit the barrier while on a flying lap at the very end of Q2.

Both Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg will start the Grand Prix in the top ten, along with Alex Albon and Pierre Gasly.​

Top 10 Results
1) Oscar Piastri         1:16.492
2) Lando Norris           +0.059
3) Carlos Sainz           +0.340
4) Max Verstappen      +0.511
5) Lewis Hamilton        +0.568
6) Charles Leclerc       +0.740
7) Yuki Tsunoda           +0.810
8) George Russell        +0.849
9) Kevin Magnussen    +0.982
10) Liam Lawson         +1.002

For Free Practice Three, Verstappen was back on track after his issues in FP1 and FP2 yesterday. The problem was caused by an "intake air circuit leakage which couldn't be thoroughly resolved before the third practice session."

George Russell had a heavy impact with the barriers at the high-speed corner of Esses, but the team fixed his car, making it ready for running in FP3, as he headed out to the track early in the session.

Verstappen set the first leading lap of the session with a 1:18.329 but continued to complain about low grip.

Russell was the first to go out on the soft tyre and instantly jumped ahead of Verstappen with a time of 1:18.284. But by the halfway mark, Carlos Sainz was ahead with a 1:17.825, followed by Leclerc, Norris, Hamilton and Russell.

Liam Lawson came to a brief stop in his RB at Turn 14 in the stadium sector, bringing out a very short yellow flag, but the New Zealander quickly turned his car around and continued on his way.

With 15 minutes to go, Verstappen again topped the timesheet with a 1:17.003 soft tyre run, but his time didn't stay at the top for long. Championship rival Norris took the lead, quickly followed by his McLaren teammate. Piastri managed to just top his teammate to the top of the leaderboard at the end of the session with a 1:16.492 lap, just 0.059 seconds ahead of Norris.

Out in Q1
16) Franco Colapinto
17) Oscar Piastri
18) Sergio perez
19) Esteban Ocon
20) Zhou Guanyu

The first cars to get out on track were the Saubers, the Alpine drivers, the Red Bulls and the Aston Martins.

Norris, Russell, Sainz, Leclerc and Piastri were all running on medium tyres in the first part of the session, with them all topping the leaderboard above all the other drivers, who were running soft tyres with ten minutes to go.

However, Verstappen quickly took the lead on the soft tyre by 0.205 seconds with just under ten minutes to go.

With five minutes to go, Colapinto, Ocon, Zhou, Piastri, and Perez were sitting in the bottom five, with Norris topping the timesheet with a 1:16.505.

With two minutes to go, Magnussen, Ocon, Zhou, Piastri, and Perez were in the bottom two, managing only 14th and 15th place.

Shock as Piastri and Perez were both eliminated in Q1 along with Zhou, Ocon and Colapinto with Norris topping the timesheet.

Out in Q2
11) Yuki Tsunoda
12) Liam Lawson
13) Fernando Alonso
14) Lance Stroll
15) Valtteri Bottas

Alex Albon was the first driver out on the track in Q2. He had the track all to himself for a lap before being joined by Verstappen and Leclerc.

Verstappen took an early lead on new tyres, with Leclerc only managing third. However, he was on used tyres and had his lap time deleted for track limits.

Norris reclaimed the lead with 1:16.301, 0.328 seconds quicker than Verstappen, followed by Russell, Hamilton and Sainz, with Magnussen, Stroll, Hulkenberg, Bottas and Leclerc in the bottom five with five minutes to go.

​Yuki Tsunoda brings out a Red Flag after hitting the kerb with his left front tyre, causing a lock up and headed into the barriers at Turn 12 with ten seconds left on the clock in the session, ending the session for him and everyone else.

Yuki Tsunoda, Liam Lawson, Fernando Alonso, Lance Stroll and Valtteri Bottas were eliminated, with Norris topping the timesheet.

Starting Top 10
1) Carlos Sainz         1:15.946
2) Max Verstappen     +0.225
3) Lando Norris           +0.314
4) Charles Leclerc      +0.319
5) George Russell      +0.410
6) Lewis Hamilton       +0.705
7) Kevin Magnussen   +0.940
8) Pierre Gasly            +0.946
9) Alex Albon               +1.119
10) Nico Hulkenberg   +1.419

The track temperature dropped going into Q3 due to clouds covering the sky, and teams had to decide whether to use new or used soft tyres in the first runs.

Verstappen started on brand-new soft tyres, and Magnussen and Hulkenberg also started on the track first in the session.

Verstappen set a provisional pole time of 1:16.368 with eight minutes to go but had his lap time deleted for track limits.

Sainz took provisional pole with a time of 1:16.055, followed by Leclerc, Russell and Hamilton, with Norris only managing fifth.

With three minutes to go, all the drivers were out on track, trying to make gaps when leaving the pit lane. Mercedes waited until the last moment to get out on track.

Carlos Sainz takes pole position for the Mexico City Grand Prix, with Max Verstappen in second, Norris in third, Leclerc in fourth, and Russell in the top five.

Carlos Sainz takes his sixth career pole, he said afterwards: “I’m very happy and a great couple of laps, with a lot of times around Mexico you always have a feeling that you can not put a lap together and it’s extremely difficult with how much sliding there is, but today my two laps of Q3 were pretty much identical and almost perfect. I’m very happy because it’s not normally the case around Mexico with how tricky it is.”

“Since Austin on our side we’ve done a step up, also in qualifying trying to find something extra with the out-lap and tyre preparation so it seems like we are going in the right direction. “I’m looking forward to finishing the job tomorrow but at least pole position I will take it because it shows progress and really solid laps.”

Anny Wooldridge
​Writer at F1 Journal

Free Practice One was filled with reserve driver running with Oliver Bearman (Ferrari), Felipe Drugovich (Aston Martin), Pat O'Ward (McLaren), Robert Shwartzman (Sauber) and Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes).

Free Practice Two was an extended session with one hour 30 minutes of running to allow for a Pirelli 2025 tyre test.

Top 10 Results
1) George Russell             1:17.998
2) Carlos Sainz                   +0.317
3) Yuki Tsunoda                  +0.701
4) Max Verstappen             +0.841
5) Kevin Hulkenberg           +0.906
6) Oscar Piastri                   +0.960
7) Esteban Ocon                 +0.998
8) Valtteri Bottas                  +1.050
9) Liam Lawson                   +1.095
10) Sergio Perez                 +1.096

Free Practice One in Mexico was filled with Red Flags and Rookie running. Oliver Bearman (Ferrari), Felipe Drugovich (Aston Martin), Pat O'Ward (McLaren), Robert Shwartzman (Sauber) and Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) were all out on track in FP1.

All of the drivers started on hard tyres, but the running didn't last long after debris on the track on the run to Turn 1 brought out the first Red Flag of the session. Antonelli hit the debris in Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes but didn't pick up any damage.

Once running was back underway, the Red Flag was shown again 22 minutes into the session after Alex Albon hit the barrier with force. Albon lost the rear in the Esses, and Oliver Bearman was on track but off-line, letting Albon through. Albon was fighting his car, and his rear hit Bearman's front left tyre, and Albon spun off at high speed.

Both drivers climbed out of their cars and Alex Albon went to the medical centre as a precaution before joining the team in the garage at the end of the session. The incident was noted and sent to the stewards but no further action was taken. An incident involving Shwartzman, for overtaking under yellow flags. Shwartzman was given a five-place grid penalty for the next race in which the driver starts, which will be carried over to his F1 debut, if or when it comes.

With six minutes to go, Verstappen returned to the pits after complaining over the radio that he had no power. Red Bull confirmed that Verstappen's car had a power unit issue.

Top 10 Results
1) Carlos Sainz          1:17.699
2) Oscar Piastri          +0.178
3) Yuki Tsunoda          +0.179
4) Charles Leclerc      +0.188
5) Lando Norris          +0.249
6) Kevin Magnussen  +0.540
7) Lewis Hamilton      +0.580
8) Valtteri Bottas         +0.652
9) Sergio Perez           +0.693
10) Liam Lawson         +0.861

Free Practice Two was an extended session used as a Pirelli tyre test, with drivers testing the 2025 Pirelli prototype tyre.

Pirelli gave each team a run plan, which featured two fast runs and two longer runs per car. This helped Pirelli make comparisons across C4, C5, and C6 compounds.

Lando Norris was the first driver out on the track, with Verstappen heading back after his power unit issue in FP1. Verstappen's running didn't last long, however, as he reported a weird and disturbing noise and returned to the pits.

Just over ten minutes into the session, George Russell hit the barriers heavily at Turn 9 after taking too much kerb into the corner. George climbed out of his car and went to the medical centre, where he was later deemed fit to leave.

The red flag gave Red Bull the chance to work on Verstappen's car. However, when the track was clear and running started again, it wasn't fixed, and he returned to the pits, running just 18 laps in FP1 and FP2.

Alex Albon did not make it onto the track during the session after taking a big crash in FP1, as his team was still working to rebuild the car.

Sainz topped the timesheet with 30 minutes left in the session, followed by Piastri in second place. As the regular session ended, Hamilton, Norris, Alonso, Zhou Guanyu and Leclerc put on a set of medium tyres and continued running after rookies drove their cars in FP1.

Anny Wooldridge
Writer at F1 Journal