Tag: gp

George Russell and Lewis Hamilton lock out front row, Sergio Pérez falters at British GP george,russell,and,lewis,hamilton,lock,out,front,row,sergio,p,rez,falters,at,british,gp,sbnation,com,front-page,formula-one

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Given where the Formula 1 grid is this week, the three cars at the front of the grid simply feel right.

The British trio of George Russell, Lewis Hamilton, and Lando Norris will start up front in Sunday’s British Grand Prix, with Russell on pole position as Mercedes locked out the front row during Saturday’s qualifying session. Norris, looking to rebound after a bitter result last week at the Austrian Grand Prix, will start third alongside Max Verstappen, who qualified fourth.

According to F1TV, it marks the first time the top three drivers on the grid at the historic Silverstone circuit are British drivers.

But the story is Mercedes.

This Silver Arrows got off to a slow start this season, but a series of upgrades the team began rolling out at the Miami Grand Prix have certainly delivered the improved performance they were seeking. Mercedes has been the hottest team over the last three race weekends — having scored 100 points over that stretch — and since Miami only McLaren has scored more points, 144 to the 132 posted by Mercedes.

That hot streak looks to continue this weekend.

“Nice one team,” exclaimed Russell as he crossed the line having put his W15 on pole position, knowing he and Hamilton had locked out the front row. “Race to win tomorrow.”

Whether the Silver Arrows can deliver a win tomorrow remains to be seen, and the fight at the front looks fascinating between the McLarens, the Mercedes duo, and an ever-lurking Verstappen starting fourth.

But make no mistake, Mercedes are back, and if they keep their streak of results alive on tomorrow, it could set things up for a fascinating second half of the season.

Here are the full results, as well as more winners and losers from a thrilling qualifying session at the British Grand Prix

Winners: McLaren

In terms of the big picture, Saturday was another strong day for McLaren.

Norris is set to start the British Grand Prix on the third row, right behind pole-sitter Russell in P3. When the lights go out tomorrow he will have a friendly face right behind him, as teammate Oscar Piastri qualified fifth and will be in Norris’ rear-view mirror at the start tomorrow.

Those starting positions give McLaren a tremendous chance to bring home another big haul of points in the British Grand Prix.

When I spoke with Oscar Piastri following his podium finish in the Monaco Grand Prix, the second-year driver told me in no uncertain terms that the F1 Constructors’ Championship is far from over, and that McLaren is in the fight.

“The Constructors’ [Championship] I would say is still open. We’re still a third of the way through the year. So it’s definitely still all to play for,” said Piastri to me back at the end of May.

“I think in the position I’m in in the driver’s standings, [I’m] probably not gonna win the Championship unless I really take it up a notch again. But I think in the Constructors’, we’re not out of contention for winning that,” added Piastri.

“So, that’s definitely the aim of the team.”

Much has been said and written about how Norris would respond following the late-stage incident with Verstappen at the Austrian Grand Prix. While their wheel touch ended Norris’ chances at a win at Red Bull Ring, Piastri’s ability to finish on the podium — combined with results from the F1 Sprint Race the day before — saw McLaren pull a few points closer to Red Bull in that potential title fight.

And with both Norris and Piastri starting inside the top five — while Verstappen will be alone at the front of the grid when the lights go out Sunday — McLaren is primed to do that again tomorrow.

Loser: Sergio Pérez

With just over seven minutes to go in Q1, the red flag flew.

Sergio Pérez was in the gravel.

The Red Bull driver was the first victim of the tricky conditions, as teams and drivers alike performed the cost-benefit analysis of slick tires versus the intermediates. While the track was drying out and there was a dry racing line taking shape, Pérez was one of the first drivers to make the change to slicks.

As he was winding his way around Silverstone on that set of slicks, he ran wide at Copse and found the gravel.

Despite his protests and pleas for a push, the crane eventually came out, and the driver reluctantly climbed out of his RB20, as a chagrined Christian Horner looked on from the pit wall.

On F1TV Jolyon Palmer summed it up as “nightmare” stuff for Pérez and Red Bull. “Oh no for Sergio Pérez,” said Palmer. “That is nightmare stuff for team and driver … this is off the back of what Christian Horner was saying yesterday they need a second driver in the fight … this is tough times for Sergio Përez.”

Complicating matters for the team when it comes to the Constructors’ Championship is that Verstappen could only qualify fourth, and will start alongside Norris and behind the Mercedes duo. That could mean Red Bull sees their rivals inch even closer in the Constructors’ standings by the time the checkered flag flies on Sunday.

But that is a team issue, returning to Pérez, the early end to his day comes at a critical time for the driver.

As Palmer and Ben Edwards noted, the incident comes as Pérez is under renewed pressure regarding his seat with the team. Not only has his mid-season swoon come as teams such as McLaren, Ferrari, and Mercedes have pulled closer to Red Bull in the standings, but this week brought renewed speculation about a potential driver change at Red Bull, despite Pérez’s new contract.

To the point about the standings, as we outlined earlier in the week Pérez has secured just 15 points since the Miami Grand Prix, miles off the 101 points added by Max Verstappen during that stretch. Pérez is dead last among the eight drivers from the top-four teams in the standings during that period of the calendar:

Driver Points Since Miami Grand Prix

Driver Points since Miami
Driver Points since Miami
Max Verstappen 101
George Russell 74
Lando Norris 73
Oscar Piastri 71
Charles Leclerc 62
Lewis Hamilton 58
Carlos Sainz Jr. 52
Sergio Pérez 15

Pérez is set to start P19 in Sunday’s Grand Prix, thanks to a massive grid penalty handed down to Pierre Gasly for changing components.

But at this point, he might have bigger problems than a start at the back of the grid.

Winners: Williams

This was a week that Williams truly needed, and their best qualifying session of the 2024 campaign.

Alexander Albon advanced into Q3, posting the ninth-fastest time in the second segment of qualifying. He ended his third segment of qualifying in that position as well, and he will start inside the top ten on Sunday. Putting the team on track to bring home some much-needed points in Sunday’s main event.

“Yes very happy,” said Albon after qualifying.

As for Albon’s teammate Logan Sargeant, the lone American driver on the grid took to the track over the Fourth of July weekend sporting a Union Jack on his FW46 and facing continued speculation about his F1 future. But Sargeant advanced into Q2 for just the second time this season, and while he was eliminated in Q2 and is set to start P12, it was another positive sign for the young driver.

And perhaps of note, it marked the third time in the past five grands prix that he out-qualified Sergio Pérez.

It might not be enough to save his seat for next season, and interestingly enough Williams Team Principal James Vowles even opened the door to replacing Sargeant at some point this season earlier in the week. “We’re continually evaluating it,” said Vowles on Friday when asked about a potential mid-season change. “What we’ve said to Logan is it’s a meritocracy. You have to make sure you earn your place in the sport continuously. That’s been the same message that has been for 18 months really for him. And we are open-minded to things.”

Sargeant’s performance on Saturday might not save his seat for 2025, but it could keep him in the FW46 for a little while longer.

But for Williams, who are seeking their first points since Albon’s P9 at the Monaco Grand Prix, Saturday was a massive step in that direction.

Losers: Alpine

This was going to be a bad weekend at least for Pierre Gasly.

But things got worse for Alpine on Saturday.

Gasly’s British Grand Prix got off on the wrong foot as the team changed components on his A524. The team added the fifth Internal Combustion Engine, the fifth Turbo Charger, the fifth Motor Generator Unit – Heat, the fifth Motor Generator Unit – Kinetic, and the third Control Electronics.

As all five components were more than the allowed number per season under the Sporting Regulations, Gasly was hit with a ten-place grid drop, for a total penalty of 50 places on the grid.

As a result, he was locked into starting at the back of the grid on Sunday no matter what happened today.

That means if the team was to salvage something this weekend, their hopes likely rested with Esteban Ocon.

Who was eliminated in Q1.

Ocon perhaps fell victim to circumstances, as he noted after the checkered flag flew at the end of Q1 that his one push lap came just as the rain fell near the end of the segment, which threw the session into chaos. But he could not find the time he needed and is set to start at the back of the grid near his teammate.

Alpine has made substantial progress throughout this season, given where they began the 2024 F1 campaign. Recent results have pulled the team out of the basement, and into P8 in the Constructors’ Championship standings. They entered the British Grand Prix having scored points in four straight races, and five of the last six.

But given how their Sunday is shaping up, that streak is likely to end tomorrow.

Winner: Nico Hulkenberg

“[Nico] Hülkenberg is driving a blinder this weekend.”

That was the description from Jolyon Palmer from the F1TV commentary box, as the Haas driver stormed into Q3 and put his VF-24 onto the third row, as Hülkenberg qualified sixth for the British Grand Prix.

It is his best qualifying result of the 2024 season, as well as the best result for Haas this year.

Hülkenberg starting sixth gives the team a legitimate chance at carving into the advantage Visa Cash App RB F1 Team currently holds over them in the Constructors’ Championship standings. VCARB sits sixth in the Constructors’ standings entering the British Grand Prix, with 30 points on the season. Haas, meanwhile, is in seventh, 11 points adrift of VCARB in the Constructors’ table.

But, hypothetically, should Hülkenberg manage to finish where he starts tomorrow, a P6 would see Haas add eight points to their account, bringing their season total to 27. With both Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda starting outside the top ten, that would pull Haas to within three points of VCARB for sixth.

Which would be a massive result for the team.

Of course, there is a long way to go before points are handed out at Silverstone, but this was a tremendous day for Hülkenberg, and Haas.

Loser: Charles Leclerc

Ferrari has been on the back foot all week, and that continued on Saturday.

Charles Leclerc bore the brunt of things, as he failed to advance into Q3 and is slated to start the main event alongside Logan Sargeant in P11.

Ferrari has struggled in the wake of Leclerc’s breakthrough victory at the Monaco Grand Prix, which saw the driver finally reach the top of the podium at his home race. Leclerc has scored just 12 points since that win at home, and the upgrades the team introduced following the Monaco Grand Prix have yet to deliver the improved performance Ferrari was seeking. While Carlos Sainz Jr. advanced to Q3 at Silverstone and scored a podium last week in Austria, Ferrari has slipped away from Red Bull in the Constructors’ Championship standings since Monaco.

Starting from 11th Leclerc can certainly work his way into the points, but that is a small-picture issue. The bigger-picture question facing Leclerc — and Ferrari — is whether they can find the answers they need to the upgrades to the SF-24 introduced following Monaco.

Speaking with the media on Friday Leclerc indicated that the upgrades are doing what they expected, but it is a matter of getting the SF-24 into the right operating window to maximize the package. “We are still trying to work out where we need to set up the car in order to maximise the potential of those upgrades,” Leclerc told media on Friday. “Because, as I’ve said many times, the [performance] numbers that we were expecting from this upgrade is there.

“The upgrade is working the way it should be, but it’s more about where you run the car to optimise those numbers that we see that for now, we haven’t quite managed to do that. So we are still working on that.”

That work continues …

Jack Doohan set for FP1 session at British GP ahead of critical test next week jack,doohan,set,for,fp,session,at,british,gp,ahead,of,critical,test,next,week,sbnation,com,front-page,formula-one

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Alpine reserve driver Jack Doohan is set for his second FP1 session of the 2024 Formula 1 season this weekend, as he will get into the cockpit of Pierre Gasly’s A524 during FP1 at Silverstone on Friday.

The session is part of F1’s rookie driver program. Under current regulations each team must run a rookie in practice — defined as a driver with less than two Grand Prix starts in their career — twice over the course of a single F1 campaign.

Doohan last participated in FP1 back at the Canadian Grand Prix, but wet weather conditions limited the reserve driver to just three laps.

The news comes ahead of a critical test session for Doohan scheduled for next week. As part of Alpine’s Testing of Previous Cars (TPC) program he, along with Mercedes reserve and Alpine World Endurance Championship driver Mick Schumacher, will drive the A522 at a session at Circuit Paul Ricard.

“As part of our TPC program, we will test reserve driver Jack Doohan, in line with his 2024 schedule, as well as Mick Schumacher as part of his Alpine Endurance project next week at Circuit Paul Ricard,” an Alpine spokesperson said last week. “We look forward to continuing to use our Race Support Team and the A522 Formula 1 car during our TPC program.”

Both Doohan and Schumacher are considered among the favorites to replace Esteban Ocon for next season. Alpine and Ocon previously announced that the two would be parting ways at the end of the 2024 F1 campaign. While Doohan and Schumacher are under consideration for that seat, the team has made a push in recent weeks to lure Carlos Sainz Jr. to Alpine for next year.

Schumacher’s previous F1 experience with Haas could give him an edge when compared with Doohan, but it also makes him ineligible for practice sessions under F1’s rookie driver program.

That gives Doohan a chance of his own to impress both this week, and then next.

McLaren demanding answers following Oscar Piastri’s track limits violation at Austrian GP mclaren,demanding,answers,following,oscar,piastri,s,track,limits,violation,at,austrian,gp,sbnation,com,front-page,formula-one,2024-formula-one

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At the 2023 Austrian Grand Prix last Formula 1 season, track limits were a massive part of the story. Lap times being deleted for the violation dominated the entire race weekend and even led to an official protest from Aston Martin, who argued that race officials failed to catch every instance of the violation.

Race promoters at the Red Bull Ring took steps to mitigate the issue ahead of this year’s Austrian Grand Prix, installing gravel traps around Turns 9 and 10 to try and dissuade drivers from running wide at those sections of the track, and even adding another feature: An artificial intelligence system to monitor cars as they rocket around the track. Fans watching this weekend might have seen a new pale blue line around the circuit, installed to help the AI system catch violations.

Despite the best efforts of the race officials in Austria, we still have a track limits issue to discuss, and potentially a protest from a team regarding them for the second-straight season.

In the closing stages of Q3, it appeared Oscar Piastri was set for a third-place start in Saturday’s Austrian Grand Prix, as a strong lap had him up in P3 as the seconds ticked down. But within moments, Piastri was dropped down to seventh, as his impressive lap was deleted for you guessed it, exceeding track limits.

You can see the moment in question here:

Speaking with Sky Sports F1 following the session, Piastri vented his frustration.

“For me it’s embarrassing,” began the Australian driver. “We did all of this work for track limits, put gravel in places, and I didn’t even go off the track. I stayed on the track. It was probably my best Turn Six and it gets deleted. I don’t know why they’ve spent hundreds of thousands trying to change the last two corners when you still have corners you can go off.

“That was probably the best Turn Six I took. I was right to the limit of the track, I think that’s what everyone wants to see,” continued Piastri. “Again, we have spent so much effort trying to get rid of these problems. There is no reason this corner should be an issue for track limits, especially when you stay on the track, like I did, or not on the gravel.

“So, yeah, for me being the only one that has had that happen to me I’m probably more vocal about it right now but I think it’s embarrassing that you see us pushing right to the limit of what we can do and one [centimeter] more I’m in the gravel and completing ruin my lap anyway – and it gets deleted.”

Piastri, however, seemed resigned to his fate. “But, anyway, everyone else kept it in the track, I didn’t,” concluded the McLaren driver. “That’s how it goes.”

Yet, his team may not concur with that bit of resignation. Following the session McLaren Team Principal Andrea Stella was spotted headed to speak with FIA officials regarding the decision:

Could we see a protest regarding track limits at the Austrian Grand Prix for the second season in a row?

We just might.

UPDATE: According to Medland, McLaren has indeed lodged a protest over the incident:

This story will be updated with additional information.

Yuki Tsunoda ‘horrified,’ apologizes after fine for offensive language at Austrian GP yuki,tsunoda,horrified,apologizes,after,fine,for,offensive,language,at,austrian,gp,sbnation,com,front-page,formula-one,2024-formula-one

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A “horrified” Yuki Tsunoda has issued an apology after race officials fined the Visa Cash App RB F1 Team driver €40,000 for using ableist language during Saturday’s qualifying session at the Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix.

Tsunoda was summoned to meet with race officials following the qualifying session, after an exchange with race engineer Mattia Spini during the first segment of qualifying. As Tsunoda was waiting in his RB01 as cars queued up during Q1 Tsunoda exclaimed over his team radio “[t]he guys are f——— r———-,” to which Spini replied simply “Yuki no worries, don’t worry, plenty of time.”

When Tsunoda met with race officials, he apologized for the comment and explained that because English is not his first language, he was not fully aware of the meaning of his comments. According to the decision from race officials the statement violated Article 12.2.1 k) of the International Sporting Code in the following manner:

“[d]uring the hearing the driver was very apologetic and explained that because English is not his first language he was unaware until after the session what the meaning of the words used is in the English language. He said that he was horrified when he learned this. He contended that his understanding of the words was different, but acknowledged that this should not be considered as an excuse for what he did.”

In their decision race officials noted that while they appreciate Tsunoda’s “honesty,” a penalty is appropriate to “reinforce the fact that the words used are offensive and wholly inappropriate.”

“The Stewards appreciate the honesty of the driver, but reinforce the fact the words used are offensive and wholly inappropriate. To have used such words over a platform that is available to the public amounted to misconduct as defined in Article 20 of the International Sporting Code,” read the decision.

However, officials took Tsunoda’s “genuine remorse” into consideration and suspended part of the fine. “Considering the circumstances, the Stewards determine that a severe fine is required, but also take into account the genuine remorse of the driver and his offer to issue a public apology and for these reasons decided to suspend part of the fine imposed,” continued the stewards.

Under this part of the decision half of the fine — €20,000 —- will be suspended until the end of the season providing Tsunoda does not repeat such conduct.

As indicated by the officials, the driver issued a public apology on all his social media channels:

Tsunoda is set to start 14th in Sunday’s Austrian Grand Prix.

Max Verstappen seizes victory in F1 Sprint at Austrian GP, but Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris made him earn it max,verstappen,seizes,victory,in,f,sprint,at,austrian,gp,but,oscar,piastri,and,lando,norris,made,him,earn,it,sbnation,com,front-page,formula-one,2024-formula-one

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For the opening laps of Saturday’s F1 Sprint Race at the Austrian Grand Prix, Max Verstappen’s rear-view mirrors matched the color that filled the grandstands at the Red Bull Ring.

A whole lot of orange.

That orange in Verstappen’s rear-view mirrors, of course, was the color of both Oscar Piastri’s MCL38 and that of Piastri’s teammate, Lando Norris. Over the first few laps of the race Norris was right on Verstappen’s rear wing, and the British driver managed to overtake Verstappen for the lead.

But only for a moment, because Verstappen took the lead back, and the battle between the two friends opened the door for Piastri to execute his attack, and when the dust settled it was Verstappen up in P1, with Piastri in second ahead of his teammate Norris:

And that is how the field finished, with Verstappen pulling away from the two McLarens at the end to capture victory in the F1 Sprint at the Austrian Grand Prix.

Verstappen once again handled the challenges that the field offered up to him, specifically the dual MCL38s of Piastri and Norris, fending them off as he has done so many times before throughout his already legendary Formula 1 career. His effort on Saturday showed that Verstappen remains in control when it comes to the Drivers’ Championship, as he gained two more points on Norris, his closest challenger.

But when it comes to the Constructors’ Championship, as we will discuss in a moment this was a solid session for McLaren. Verstappen and Red Bull remain the favorites in that fight as well, but the Woking-based team is coming, and coming fast. As Norris noted when speaking trackside with Alex Wurz, they could have even more for Red Bull on Sunday. “We’re there, and we can definitely give them a fight tomorrow,” said Norris after the F1 Sprint Race.

Whether Verstappen and Red Bull can fend them off in that Constructors’ fight is a much more open question.

Here are some quick winners and losers, as well as the full results, from Saturday’s F1 Sprint Race at the Austrian Grand Prix.

Winners: McLaren

Lando Norris led Saturday’s F1 Sprint Race for a brief moment, but the big points are handed out on Sunday.

And given where McLaren finished today — with Piastri in second and Norris behind him in third — the team is primed for an even bigger Grand Prix after what Norris called a “good load of points” in the F1 Sprint Race.

Norris’ late lunge by Verstappen will give his friend and budding rival a lot to think about in the overnight hours, which could create even more opportunities should the two lock horns again in the Grand Prix. But perhaps more importantly for McLaren is the fact that both Norris and Piastri demonstrated impressive race pace throughout the F1 Sprint on Saturday. Getting both Piastri and Norris on the podium saw McLaren add another 13 points to their account, inching them closer to both Ferrari and Red Bull in the Constructors’ Championship.

Piastri noted that haul when speaking with Alex Wurz trackside after the sprint. “Yeah, some things to look out for this afternoon and for tomorrow’s race, but we’ll definitely take the points,” described Piastri. “A really good haul compared to the other teams around us.”

All told, the 13 points for McLaren moved them four points closer to Red Bull in the Constructors’ standings, and seven points closer to second-place Ferrari. Those might not seem like massive numbers — and again the big points are handed on on Sunday — but in an F1 season that is looking tighter than ever, every single point counts.

Losers: Alpine

Both Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly advanced to SQ3, and after a failure for Charles Leclerc in the closing minutes of that segment of F1 Sprint Qualifying, both Alpine drivers qualified ahead of Leclerc, putting Alpine in a position for points on Saturday.

They saw the session end without anything to show for their effort.

Both Alpines were shuffled back in the order, with Ocon coming across the line 11th and Gasly behind him in 12th. That might signal that when it comes to longer runs and race pace, Alpine still has some questions to answer.

In addition, there were a few close calls between the teammates as they wound around Red Bull Ring, moments that probably saw Team Principal Bruno Famin’s heart rate spike a bit, given what happened at the start of the Monaco Grand Prix just a few short weeks ago.

Those moments also led to the producers on F1TV cutting to Famin watching on … with Jack Doohan alongside him.

Make of that what you will.

Winner: Charles Leclerc

Starting tenth was not the way Charles Leclerc wanted to begin his F1 Sprint Race.

But given where he began, finishing seventh — and inside the points — was an impressive performance.

During the third segment of qualifying for the F1 Sprint Race on Friday, Leclerc’s SF-24 went into anti-stall along pit lane, costing him precious moments as the seconds ticked down. Leclerc was able to get his car rolling and onto the circuit, but he could not post a lap in time, and as a result, started outside the points on Saturday.

Despite that, Leclerc rocketed off the line after the lights went out, picking up multiple spots to work inside the top eight. Among those he was able to overtake? Sergio Pérez in the RB20.

That might speak volumes about what we see on Sunday.

As for what we might see this afternoon, however, a seemingly frustrated Leclerc hinted at some more aggression regarding the upcoming qualifying session:

h boy …

Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon in ‘good position’ heading into F1 Sprint at Austrian GP pierre,gasly,and,esteban,ocon,in,good,position,heading,into,f,sprint,at,austrian,gp,sbnation,com,front-page,formula-one,2024-formula-one

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Friday was another positive session, with more evidence of progress, for Alpine.

Amidst the picturesque backdrop provided by the Styrian mountains, 20 Formula 1 cars roared to life on Friday at Red Bull Ring, as qualifying for tomorrow’s F1 Sprint Race was on the schedule. Once again Alpine saw both Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon advance into the third and final segment of qualifying, as both drivers moved out of SQ2 and into SQ3.

While thoughts of an even bigger surprise were quashed there, as Ocon qualified eighth and Gasly ninth, the result was hailed by the team as even more evidence that they are making progress this F1 season.

“I’m happy to have reached SQ3 today and starting in eighth place for tomorrow,” said Ocon in the team’s post-session media report. “Again, we reached the top ten in Qualifying as a team, which is another good performance. SQ3 was far from straightforward as we were at the back of the queue.

“We probably got a little fortunate with Charles [Leclerc] missing the flag at the end and gained a position as a result,” added Ocon. “Even so, the positive is we performed well and we are in a good position in the Sprint Race. We still have work to do and things to understand but it’s pleasing to be heading in a good direction.”

Leclerc’s SF-24 stopped on pit lane with just minutes remaining in SQ3 and while the Ferrari driver was able to get it started and onto the track, he could not post a time during SQ3 and will start the F1 Sprint Race in P10.

On the other side of the garage, Gasly pointed to the improved pace from the A524 as a “good sign” for tomorrow.

“It was a good Sprint Qualifying for the team overall today with both cars reaching SQ3,” described Gasly, who earlier this week announced a new “multi-year” deal with Alpine. “We managed SQ1 and SQ2 well, showed good pace and we progressed through both sessions. We certainly did not [maximize] SQ3. It was a messy one and I did not get a proper push lap. These are things we will review as we always aim to [maximize] all sessions and get the most from it.

“Even so, we had good pace again today – that is pleasing – and again we are inside the top ten. Those cars ahead of us are quick and only the top eight score in the Sprint Race tomorrow. It will not be easy to pick up points but we will try our best and see what we can achieve.”

Thanks to their recent form — Alpine has picked up six points over the last two race weekends — the team has climbed to seventh in the Constructors’ Championship. Coming into the Austrian Grand Prix one of the major storylines was whether Alpine could keep that recent run of form going.

They are certainly off to a good start.

Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo remaining ‘positive’ despite hard Saturday at Spanish GP yuki,tsunoda,and,daniel,ricciardo,remaining,positive,despite,hard,saturday,at,spanish,gp,sbnation,com,front-page,formula-one,2024-formula-one

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Visa Cash App RB F1 Team has come away with points in four straight races, dating back to the Miami Grand Prix. That weekend saw both Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda finish in the points in the F1 Sprint Race — a result Ricciardo enjoyed deep into the afternoon in Miami, even after his struggles in qualifying for the Miami Grand Prix — and kicked off a string of good results for the team, including Ricciardo’s P8 in the Canadian Grand Prix.

That streak appears headed for an end at this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix.

Like many teams, VCARB brought a series of upgrades to Barcelona, but those upgrades have yet to materialize into results on the track. After a Friday that saw both drivers at the back of the field, the team hoped the data would uncover some answers for improved lap times on Saturday.

No such luck. Both Ricciardo and Tsunoda were eliminated in Q1, and they will start alongside each other in the ninth row on Sunday, with Tsunoda in P17 and Ricciardo in P18.

Despite that result, both drivers remained positive in their post-qualifying comments.

“We’ve been struggling with pace this weekend and tried multiple things to try and improve, and in the end, I felt better in qualifying than in Free Practice. At least I’m happy with my lap and feel like I was able to maximise the current package,” said Tsunoda. “The last races have been going well and even if it’s a shame, I think it’s important that we’re facing this more difficult moment together as a team. It’s a good opportunity to learn from our struggles and grow as a team. The most important thing is to remain positive, and we certainly will.”

While the lap times were not there for Ricciardo, he still believes that the team made progress overnight with the setup.

“It’s a tricky weekend. We have a lot of new parts on the car, and we still need to understand the best way to make them work,” began Ricciardo. “After yesterday, when we were still finding a bit of balance, we made pretty big changes overnight and today in qualifying the car felt much more together.

“We made progress in terms of feeling and balance, but unfortunately, we’re still in a tough spot in terms of the stopwatch. Being out of Q1 with both cars, especially using three sets of soft each, shows that at the moment, we don’t have the pace,” continued the VCARB driver. “There’s still more to find and we’ll keep chipping away. Tomorrow is going to come around quick, but we have a few races ahead of us with similar track characteristics, so we obviously need to figure out together the things we’re missing.”

Jody Egginton, the team’s Technical Director, praised both drivers for their feedback to the team. While VCARB may not be happy with the results at the moment, Egginton sounded hopeful that this weekend has laid the groundwork for further progress over the rest of the year.

“In terms of car balance, there has been some improvement,” began Egginton. “This alone has not been enough, so clearly, we have a lot of homework to do tonight, but also ahead of Austria, to extract more from the car and a large part of this work will be [analyzing] in detail the aero data we have gathered here in Barcelona.

“On the flip side, both drivers have done a good job of supporting the engineering team with feedback on the numerous test items we have evaluated here and also extracting the maximum from the cars we have been able to provide them with, so we have plenty of data to work with to make the necessary steps forward.”

Lance Stroll and Charles Leclerc avoid penalties after dramatic FP3 at Spanish GP lance,stroll,and,charles,leclerc,avoid,penalties,after,dramatic,fp,at,spanish,gp,sbnation,com,front-page,formula-one,2024-formula-one

Lance Stroll and Charles Leclerc avoid penalties after dramatic FP3
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Sparks were flying Saturday at the Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix.

Not during qualifying — that has yet to take place — but to paraphrase the legendary Allen Iverson, we’re talking about practice.

The final free practice session ahead of qualifying at the Spanish Grand Prix saw tempers flare in two separate incidents, one involving Lance Stroll and Lewis Hamilton and the other involving Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc. All four drivers were summoned to meet with race stewards following the session, and following those meetings race officials decided to show some leniency, rather than hand down grid penalties.

Let’s dive into both incidents, and the decisions from the stewards.

Lewis Hamilton and Lance Stroll

Let’s first talk about the incident between Lewis Hamilton and Lance Stroll. That incident occurred during the session, near the apex of Turn 5. As you will see here, Hamilton is operating slowly along the right side of the track when Stroll comes up behind him. You will see the seven-time Drivers’ Champion wave his hand towards Stroll and concede over the radio to his team that he did not see the Aston Martin driver, but then Stroll looks to turn into Hamilton’s W15 in what the commentators on F1TV termed as perhaps a “ … bit of a sidepod rebuke:”

Both drivers were summoned to meet with race officials at 2:00 p.m. local time. Shortly after the hearing, the race officials released their decision, which was a reprimand for Stroll.

As you can see from the stewards’ report, during the hearing Stroll admitted that “ … he wanted to express his displeasure to the other driver by pulling over on him at the exit.” However, the hearing found that the contact between the two was “incidental,” and while the move by Stroll was found to be “erratic” race stewards did not believe it to be “dangerous,” and therefore thought a reprimand was more in line with previous decisions.

Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc

The incident between Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc came later in the session. The Ferrari driver was on a push lap at the very end of FP3 and came upon Norris near Turn 5. The McLaren driver was moving at a much slower pace and on the left side of the track, off the racing line.

Leclerc was frustrated when he came across Norris, and let the McLaren driver know it:

Following the session, both Norris and Leclerc were summoned to meet with race stewards at 2:15 p.m. local time. In the moments ahead of qualifying, the stewards released their decision, which was right in line with the decision handed down regarding the Stroll-Hamilton incident: A reprimand for Leclerc.

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Similar to the Stroll incident, Leclerc indicated that he felt he was impeded by Norris and that it “ … upset him.” Leclerc then admitted that he aborted his push lap, but then stated that he “misjudged the position of his car” and made contact with Norris as a result.

Race officials, as they did with Stroll, found the driving “erratic” but not “dangerous,” and determined that a reprimand was in line with previous decisions.

However, some wondered if these decisions were the right approach. Speaking on F1TV ahead of qualifying David Coulthard stated that both Stroll and Leclerc could probably consider themselves “incredibly lucky to get away with just a reprimand.”

Remember, this was just practice.

Qualifying begins in minutes.