Sainz Tops Leclerc in FP2 at Marina Bay

The Ferraris came to the Singapore Grand Prix with something to prove. For the first time this season Ferrari swept both FP1 and FP2 running the fastest overall between the two sessions. Carlos Sainz led the way for the team. FP2 was a more accurate representation of how qualifying will go because they cars will qualify at around the same time of day. Temperature for qualifying are forecasted to be similar to FP2 as well so the data gathered during the session will definitely influence qualifying strategy.

In uncharacteristic fashion the Red Bulls ran 7th and 8th fastest. We may see them start to dial up the pace in FP3 but if the cars are truly this far behind then Red Bull and Verstappen’s win streak might be in jeopardy this weekend. We anticipate that the cars will be faster in FP3. There did not appear to be any technical or mechanical setbacks for the team on day one in Singapore. Mercedes put both cars in the top 5 flanking a fourth fastest Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin). George Russell was the faster of the two Mercedes drivers; leading Lewis Hamilton.

Liam Lawson Wows

Liam Lawson (Alpha Tauri) continues to impress finishing as the lead Alpha Tauri driver on day one. Lawson finished P12 with Yuki Tsunoda finishing P16. We haven’t caught wind of any intra team rivalries but it cant be good for Tsunoda to have a reserve driver with limited race experience in the car out competing you. We will monitor this story as it develops further into qualifying tomorrow.

Full FP2 Results are Below

This article was not written by Speed Trap Magazine Staff

From Andretti Autosport now Andretti Global…

INDIANAPOLIS (Sept. 5, 2023) – Andretti Autosport, a Championship-winning motorsports organization, today announced a major rebranding initiative that will see the international organization adopt the branding of Andretti Global, the identity previously named as the parent company to the U.S.-based race team.

As a brand that is built on a foundation of racing excellence, the new Andretti Global name will unite all aspects of the organization under a single identity, more closely aligning with the team’s already-established legacy. Andretti Global currently operates in eight motorsports platforms racing across six continents with an appetite to expand its worldwide footprint into other major motorsports series.

Along with the name change, the current Andretti Autosport shield will be replaced with the Andretti Global logo. As each of the 2024 racing seasons get underway, fans can look forward to a new digital experience from the most trusted name in motorsports with the rebrand additionally bringing a new structure to the team’s social media presence.

Andretti Formula E will be the first of the Andretti Global teams to take on the new branding as the reigning Drivers’ World Championship team kicks off Season 10 with testing in October.

MICHAEL ANDRETTI, CHAIRMAN AND CEO, ANDRETTI GLOBAL

“I’m proud of what Andretti Autosport has accomplished over the years, and all the memories that have come with so many special moments. Just as proud as I am of our past, I’m equally excited about our future. As we continue to expand and build a global racing institution, our goal is to be engrained in the culture of our fans, teams and partners. This rebrand is a major milestone in our team’s journey, but we are only getting started. We are determined to achieve success and confident that there are big things in store for Andretti Global.”

DAN TOWRISS, PARTNER, ANDRETTI GLOBAL

“The words Andretti and motorsports are synonymous, and I’m impressed and excited by the worldwide fanbase and reach of the Andretti name. I’m proud to be working with Michael and his team to build that name and legacy into an even stronger brand that reflects our ambitions and values. We are committed to excellence, and I believe our work will benefit our fans and partners around the globe.”

Max Verstappen (Red Bull) continued his dominance at Monza after missing out on pole position in qualifying. The win marked his 10th in a row and 13 wins on the season. The feat means Red Bull still retain the possibility of winning every race this year with 15 currently under their belt in 2023. Sergio Perez sweetened the deal by helping the team secure the 1-2; their 6th of the season. Perez also helped his case for retaining second in the championship after a bad stretch over the summer.

Drama ensued for P3 in the race. The Ferraris fought back and forth trading lock ups into turn one and almost making contact multiple times. Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz fought until the end but it was Sainz who won the battle after a late lock up by Leclerc. Fans were on the edge of their seats as the two made contact in the closing minutes of the race. It was a decent finish for the Scuderia at their home race.

Behind the drama Mercedes secured a P5 and P6 finish with George Russell finishing ahead of Lewis Hamilton. Russell had a 5 second penalty for passing off track earlier in the race which wouldn’t have benefitted Hamilton in the final standings anyways. Hamilton finished over 21 seconds behind his teammate. Hamilton also carried a 5 second penalty for causing a crash with Piastri who’s race was ruined by the incident. Piastri had to pit for a new nose which dropped him out of the points finish.

Elsewhere on the Grid

Alex Albon walks away with a great result on the weekend scoring points for Williams. Albon had finished P6 in Q3 and lost one position finishing in P7 in a hard fought race. Albon had the following words, “That was probably my toughest but my most proud race I’ve done,” said Alex after bringing his FW45 home in P7, continuing to say, “I’m very happy. I’m sure Lando didn’t enjoy that one too much, but I did! We went into today knowing it was going to be a tough, long race and we knew tyre deg would be high. I think on paper we went into this weekend expecting to be a little bit quicker than we were and four laps into the race I knew it would be long, but we managed to keep everyone behind.”

Two drivers failed to finish the race. Esteban Ocon (Alpine) retiring late and Yuki Tsunoda (Alpha Tauri) watching the action from the sidelines after a reported engine failure on the formation lap. Alpha Tauri teammate Liam Lawson finished 12th as he continues to show he is hitting the ground running after being called up to replace the injured Danial Ricciardo.

Full Championship Standings are Below

Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) edged out the reigning champion, Max Verstappen by 0.013seconds in today’s qualifying session. On the final lap of qualify Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), Max Verstappen (Red Bull) and Sainz all set fastest laps as they crossed the line. Sainz was the last of the three to cross securing him pole and Ferrari putting both drivers in the top 3 for the start of the race tomorrow. George Russell (Mercedes) secured P4 ahead of Sergio Perez (Red Bull). In surprising fashion Alex Albon (Williams) found the pace with Williams to secure a P6 finish in Q3.

McLaren had a lackluster qualifying session. Even though both cars made it into the top 10. Both Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris will be left wondering what happened after running more towards the front of the pack throughout the weekend practice sessions. The Alpha Tauri pair finished P10 and P11. Liam Lawson just missed the cut off to get into Q3. There were no track incidents during the session.

The session was largely uneventful with all drivers finishing their respective sessions.

Full Qualifying Results are Below

Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) put down a blistering lap to edge out Lando Norris (McLaren) 0.019s to run fastest in FP2. Despite crashing out of the session Sergio Perez retained the his third fastest spot running a 0.185 seconds behind Sainz. One driver who was not as fortunate was Lance Stroll who had to stop his Aston Martin after just 2 laps before any flying laps could be completed. It appeared that Stroll had a mechanical failure related to the fuel delivery system. Red flags flew to clear the car and the session continued 10 minutes later.

Oscar Piastri (McLaren) who has been in great form recently finished in the top 5 making it a double top 5 finish in practice for McLaren. Championship leader Max Verstappen would have to settle for P5. Verstappen complain of on track traffic during FP2. He was wanting to run faster but was reprimanded by his Race Engineer Gianpiero Lambiase to focus on the task at hand.

Full Italian Grand Prix FP2 Results Are Below

Lewis Hamilton has finally decided on his future in Formula One. Hamilton has reportedly signed a contract extension that would see him with Mercedes through the 2025 season. the same can also be said for his teammate George Russell. The contract announcement has come after season long speculation as to whether Hamilton would retire this year or possibly take on an ambassador role with Mercedes. It is now clear that neither of those things are happening and Hamilton will be in F1 for 2 more years.

Hamilton stated: “We dream every day of being the best and we have dedicated the past decade together to achieving that goal. Being at the top does not happen overnight or over a short period of time, it takes commitment, hard work and dedication and it’s been an honor to earn our way into the history books with this incredible team. We have never been hungrier to win. We have learnt from every success but also every setback.

Hamilton continued, “We continue to chase our dreams, we continue to fight no matter the challenge and we will win again. I’m grateful to the team who have supported me both on and off the track. Our story isn’t finished, we are determined to achieve more together and we won’t stop until we do.”

Team Principal Toto Wolff had the Following Words After the Announcement

“Continuing with our current driver line-up was a straightforward decision. We have the strongest pairing on the grid and both drivers are playing a crucial role in the team to move us forward. The strength and stability they provide will be key building blocks for our future success.”

“Our partnership with Lewis is one of the most successful in the sport’s history. It was always a formality that we would continue together – and it’s energising for us all to be confirming that publicly. His qualities as a pure racing driver are illustrated by his remarkable track record; but over our years together, he has grown to become a pillar and leader of our team.

“Those leadership qualities are crucial as we focus on fighting for world championships again. As F1’s biggest global star, he has also played a key role in shaping our commitments to diversity, inclusion and sustainability, that will be foundations for our success in the years ahead.”

Max Verstappen (Red Bull) makes it three Dutch Grand Prix wins in a row after securing yet another win at Zandvoort in mixed weather conditions. The race began in dry conditions but that soon changed by lap 2 as the rain came pouring down. Multiple drivers opted to jump from slicks to intermediate tires which proved to be the dominant strategy. Sergio Perez (Red Bull) was one of the first to pit which ultimately handed him the lead position after the pit stops were completed.

Come lap 11 the track started to dry again triggering multiple drivers to pit again for their second stop to go back on slicks. In a seemingly odd turn of events Logan Sargeant (Williams) lost the rear as the track dried up crashing in turn 7 triggering a safety car. The race remained under a safety car until lap 21.

At the restart Verstappen and Perez pulled away ahead of Fernando Alonso in third place. The three held these positions for about 20 laps. Unfortunately Ferrari was forced to retire Charles Leclerc’s car on Lap 41. The car has suffered floor damage which we severely hindering the car’s performance. Verstappen and Perez continued to hold the top 2 positions in the race.

The Rain Returns and Intesifies

By Lap 60 reports of heavy rain were on the forecast. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) was on soft tires behind teammate George Russell (Mercedes) who was on hard tires. In an effort to make up as much time as possible before the race went wet again Mercedes made a team call to allow Hamilton to pass Russell. The call didn’t have a lasting effect because the rain only held out until the end of lap 60. In anticipation for the coming heavy rain all drivers had entered the pits for intermediate tires except for Esteban Ocon (Alpine). Ocon opted for the full wets. Initially Ocon was skeptical on the call to go on full wets but it ultimately proved to be the best choice as the rain intensified.

Perez suffered from a very poor pit stop but because he was one of the first to pit for intermediates he was able to make up the lost time in the pits to regain P2 while the other drivers were in the pits. Unfortunately, Perez had a spin out at turn 1 which saw him lose track position to Fernando Alonso. The race continued until on lap 64 Zhou Guanyu (Alpha Romeo) crashed triggering a Virtual Safety Car. The rain was very heavy at this point.

Verstappen was able to come in for full wets. Perez came in to follow suit but unfortunately before Perez could exit the pit lane the race was red flagged and Perez ended up losing 3 positions due to the timing of his stop. The strategy call was very questionable as a safety car or red flag was likely given the conditions.

The Race was Red Flagged

The race stewards decided that the race would be restarted. Because Perez was in third at the time of the red flag his decision to pit was no longer detrimental and he was able to reclaim the position on the restart. Conditions started to improve and the teams switched the cars to intermediate tires across the board for the restart.

The race was restarted with a rolling start procedure. The lap went green on lap 66. Verstappen put the pedal down and didn’t look back. By lap 67 Verstappen had already built a 1.3 second lead. Sergio Perez held third place but it was announced that Perez would be handed a 5 second time penalty for speeding in the pit lane. The call came very late but it effectively removed Perez’s chance at a podium.

Russell Suffers a Late Puncture, Perez Penalized

On lap 68 George Russell suffered from a puncture which dropped him to the back of the grid essentially ending his race. In the closing laps Pierre Gasly charged after Perez. Perez was not able to maintain a 5+ second delta and thus would lose the position due to his penalty. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) claimed P3 and Fernando Alonso held on to second place. Perez ultimately settled for P4 after his penalty was applied. Behind, Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) had a last lap scuffle but Sainz was able to hold his ground and keep P5.

Verstappen crossed the finish line for his 9th consecutive victory in 2023. Red Bull continued their streak having won every race this year. Verstappen extended his championship lead to 138 points ahead of teammate Sergio Perez.

Liam Lawson finishes P13 in his first Grand Prix appearance. Lawson finished ahead of teammate Yuki Tsunoda.

Full Dutch Grand Prix Race Results are Below

Max Verstappen secured pole once again for the Dutch Grand Prix in wet conditions at Zandvoort. Verstappen stated, “Just try to keep on doing the same thing – that would be nice. But, of course, after a break, you never know how you get back into things. Also [with] the track, and the weather that is forecast, I think it’s always a bit more tricky. We’ll see. We have a quick car, but it’s again about putting everything together to have a really strong weekend.”

It’s clear that the summer break only gave Verstappen more time to recoup and he’s come back in full swing. Now that Verstappen has kept his pole position streak alive, Red Bull will be looking to do the same thing in the win column. Red Bull have won every single race this season and have not shown any signs of slowing down. The team will be pushing to extending their streak to 13 wins in a row tomorrow in the grand prix.

Elsewhere on the Grid

After it was announced that both Haas drivers Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen would be returning in 2024 having recently signed new contracts. Qualifying for the pair did not go as planned as both drivers failed to make it to Q3. In unfortunate fashion, 7 time world champion Lewis Hamilton failed to make it into Q3 after getting caught out on rain tires as the track dried rapidly. His pace suffered and he was not able to set a good enough lap to make it into Q3.

At the start of Q3 teams took a gamble between staying on intermediates or switching to the soft compound tires as the track was drying with every passing minute. Logan Sergeant’s (Williams) gamble on slick tires did not pay off with him crashing in turn 2 at high speed. It was confirmed that he was unharmed in the wreck.

Norris Impresses Again

Lando Norris had yet another flying qualifying session finished P2; just 6 tenths behind Verstappen. Norris had the following words, “P2 was a good result in these conditions. Every now and again you hope Max makes a mistake and he doesn’t. Frustrating in a little way but I’m very happy! The team’s done a good job. It was a chaotic qualifying but another P2, so a good start to being back in the car.”

“The first half of the lap was mega, the second half was probably one of the worst second halves of a lap that I’ve done! I’ve always enjoyed these conditions, it’s when we do well. So, I’ll take P2. I think there’s quite a bit of tire degradation here and not our forte when it comes into play: we start to struggle quite a bit in certain corners. But we’ve improved the car quite a bit since Friday, so I want to be a little bit more hopeful. There are opportunities, but it’s going to be tough.” Rounding out the top 3 was George Russell (Mercedes).

Tsunoda Handed a 3 Place Grid Penalty for Impeding, Ferrari Fined

Yuki Tsunoda (Alpha Tauri) was handed a three place grid penalty for impeding Lewis Hamilton during Q2 ultimately costing Hamilton a shot at Q3. The penalty effectively drops Tsunoda to P17 after the penalty. Tsunoda will have his work cut out for him if he wants to score points. Alpha Tauri teammate Liam Lawson made his debut for the finishing P20.

Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) was reprimanded for an incident involving he and Piastri in Turn 2 resulting in a €5000 fine for Ferrari. No grid penalties were issues for the scuffle.

Full Qualifying Results for the Dutch Grand Prix

F1 returns this weekend for the Dutch Grand Prix. FP1 took place earlier this morning with Max Verstappen (Red Bull) finishing on top of the session along side Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) and Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes). However, the tides turned in FP2 when Lando Norris (McLaren) ran fastest by 0.023 seconds. Verstappen did not seem bothered when ask how he thought the session went, “Pretty good.” he said. “Tried some things on the car. I think FP2 was a little bit more difficult. But I think overall FP2 was really difficult to get a clean lap, there were a lot of cars always around. It was fine, but we have a few things that we want to improve, but even on the long runs the car was handling quite well, so overall I think it was quite a good day.”

Piastri and Ricciardo Crash

FP2 did not end with out incident. Both Oscar Piastri (McLaren) and Daniel Ricciardo (Alpha Tauri) crashed out of the session at Turn 3. Piastri lost the rear and spun around into the wall. Ricciardo locked up after not seeing Piastri parked in the turn and locked up sending him into the wall as well. The Alpha Tauri of Ricciardo was also heavily damaged as Ricciardo wasn’t able to slow the car down in time to prevent the contact. Ricciardo was taken to thew hospital for further evaluation after the crash. It was later announced that Ricciardo broke his hand in the accident and will be replace by reserve driver Liam Lawson for the remainder of the weekend.

It is an unfortunate outcome for Ricciardo after making his return to F1 and finally getting acclimated with the car only to sustain an injury before the grand prix. There do no appear to be any obvious reasons why he can’t make a speedy recovery.

Full Dutch Grand Prix FP2 Results

Ferrari have had a tough year with multiple poor finishes and almost no ability to answer the might of Red Bull to challenge for a championship run in 2023. The campaign has mostly been a reflection of the last two years. Ferrari has struggled to have any continued success to bring the team back into title fighting contention. After firing Mattia Binotto at the end of last season. The move led many to believe he was the issue. What fans soon found was that this was not the case.

The same issues that plagued Ferrari last year still seem to linger. Lack of performance, reliability issues and questionable strategy calls all seem to be playing a role. However, one man does not seem to be wavered by any of that. That man is team principal Frédéric Vasseur.

With Formula 1 teams enjoying some down time during the mid season break Leclerc took the opportunity to speak on the recent status at Ferrari and how the manufacturer needed to reset before their more recent return to the podium. Driver Charles Leclerc finished second in Austria, and third in Spa in the final Grand Prix before the summer break. Is this late success indicative of a turnaround point for Ferrari?

Frédéric Vasseur Speaks on the Status at Ferrari

In an interview with F1.com, Vasseur stated, ” “What we have to keep in mind is the whole pack is very tight. But if you have a look at McLaren, [in Hungary] they were at the top, [in Belgium] they were at the bottom, and it was the opposite for us. It means we have to continue to develop the car, continue to pay attention to details. Because for one or two tenths you can move from the bottom to the top and it’s a good lesson from the first part of the season.”

Also speaking to F1.com was Charles Leclerc. He stated, “Before the first race, the target was to do a step better compared to last year, which was to win the world championship. If we look at the first half of the year, we are very far from where we put our expectations before the season. So, on the other hand, as soon as we understood that we reset it and there was an incredible reaction from the team. They brought upgrades, sometimes a month and a half earlier, and this requires a lot of effort from everybody at Maranello. It helped us have great results.”

Leclerc Continued

“I think we still need to try to understand, because if I do a step back in the last two races, I think we expected to be much more competitive in Budapest than on a track like here [at Spa] and at the end, it’s the opposite…these are things that we need to look at because maybe we haven’t optimized the package in races like Budapest, and maybe we’ve done something that was surprisingly good on a track like [at Spa]. It’s good, anyway, to finish on a positive note the first part of the season and now we will take the time of the summer break, or at least whenever the guys can work again, to try to analyze those two last races and hopefully maximize the package at all races for the second half of the season.”