Charles Leclerc Thinks Vasseur is the Man for the Job

The Ferrari F1 camp has undergone some dramatic changes over the years. The most recent developments have seen their cars suffer from multiple reliability issues as well as poor strategy calls. Ferrari sacked former team principal Mattia Binotto after multiple questionable decisions in 2021 and 2022. Ferrari replaced him with Frédéric Vasseur. Vasseur left his role as Alfa Romeo Team Principal to take over at Ferrari.

Ferrari currently sits 4th in the constructors championship; a position they are not familiar with. When interviewed by F1.com Leclerc stated that he is 100% behind Vasseur and the direction he’s setting for the team. “Well, I think he’s just starting this process now. Until now he was basically trying to analyze the situation as quickly as possible in order to do the best changes possible for the future.”

He continued, “So yeah, I think the big part of the job will be done from now on – so we will see. Obviously, I speak a lot with Fréd and I know what are his middle and long term plans for the team, and I’m completely behind him and I trust him fully…So I’m sure these are the right choices, and it goes in the right direction for the team. So, for that, I’m looking forward to it. But yeah, let’s wait and see.”

Leclerc Speaks on Reliability Issues

Leclerc has had a disappointing season in 2023 with multiple retirements and reliability concerns with the car. In an interview with Autosport.com Leclerc stated, “I was speaking just now with Carlos [Ferrari Teammate] and what we are lacking is consistency from the car. Not even from corner to corner, just in the same corner I can have a huge oversteery balance and then a huge understeery balance, and our car is so wind-effected. This year we have a car that is much more wind sensitive, and we are struggling much more with that. So there is a lot of work going on that. Other than that, for some reason this is off because it is not something I have had for the rest of the weekend so we’ll have to check the car, but I had a lot of bottoming especially in high speeds which is something I can’t quite explain, because I didn’t have that yesterday. So this we’ll have a look at in the data. ”Teammate Carlos Sainz told F1 Sky Sports, “I think we are in the middle of a learning process.”

Where to from here?

Regardless of the source the Ferraris are approaching the half way point of the season and need to find answers if they are to mount any offensives towards getting back into constructors and drivers championship contention. After a P7 and P5 finish for Leclerc and Sainz respectively they are looking to improve for the next race at Imola. Team principal Vasseur told F1.com, “We will have updates, but honestly [in Miami] the issue is not the potential of the car, I think that when we are putting together everything we are there. It is more on the exploitation on the tools that we have rather than the updates. For sure we will bring updates but it’s not the issue.” We will report more as this story continues to develop.

For more on this story be sure to check out Formula 1.

Sergio Perez (Red Bull Racing) started the race from pole and maintained the lead of the races until pitting for hard tires. Perez fell to 4th place but quickly made up 1 place by Lap 23. Teammate Max Verstappen fought from P9 to win the race after a very long stint on the hard compound tire.

The hard compound tire appeared to offer the best performance with most drivers switching to the tire for their mandatory pits pots. By lap 25 all drivers were on the hard with Verstappen leading the race having started on the tire. Verstappen, Esteban Ocon (Alpine), Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) and Zhou Guanyu (Alphe Romeo) were the only drivers to start on the hards and at this point of the race they had yet to pit. By lap 30, Verstappen’s lead fell to 16s ahead which would put him behind teammate Perez after his inevitable pit stop which on average takes 20s at the Miami Grand Prix street circuit under normal race conditions.

Alonso Secures Another Podium

Fernando Alonso took third place securing another podium with the Red Bull drivers. Alonso is flying high in 2023 having shared the podium 3 times with the Red Bull drivers. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) completed another points finish in a great season start for the driver. Teammate Esteban Ocon (Alpine) also finished in the points. Haas found the pace to complete a points finish with Kevin Magnussen finishing in 10th place to score the final point up for grabs on the weekend.

Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) received a 5 second time penalty for speeding in the pitlane. Due to the race being a one stopper this penalty was served on total race time instead of stationary in the pit lane. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) had improved to P6 by lap 32 after starting 13th on the grid. Fernando Alonso moved up to the podium positions effectively running in 2nd because Verstappen still had not yet pit.

Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) will be disappointed after not making it into the top 5 given the pace of the Ferraris all weekend. After crashing in Q3 Leclerc started P7. By lap 37 he was in 11th having lost 4 positions since the start but made up time in the closing laps ultimately finishing P7 where he started. Teammate Carlos Sainz finished in P5 despite his 5 second penalty for speeding in the pit lane. The Mercedes secured a double points finish with George Russell (Mercedes) finishing P4 and Hamilton finishing P6.

Max Takes P1

Team radio chatter with Red Bull revealed that Verstappen was to push until there was no more usable life in his current set of tires. Perez and Verstappen traded fastest laps until Verstappen pitted. Max did not pit until lap 46. He came out of the pitlane 1.5 seconds behind Sergio Perez on brand new medium tires with 12 laps to go after a slow pit stop lasting 3.1s. By lap 48 Verstappen’s tire advantage saw him through to first place.

Hometown driver Logan Sargeant had a very disappointing home grand prix finishing dead last as nothing seemed to go right for his weekend. On a positive note there were no crashes during the race and all of the cars finishing running. This was the 14th retirement free race in Formula 1 history. There were no yellow flags and no safety cars during the race.

Full Race Results are Below

2023 Miami Grand Prix Results

1. Max Verstappen
2. Sergio Perez
3. Fernando Alonso
4. George Russell
5. Carlos Sainz
6. Lewis Hamilton
7. Charles Leclerc
8. Pierre Gasly
9. Esteban Ocon
10. Kevin Magnussen
11. Yuki Tsunoda
12. Lance Stroll
13. Valterri Bottas
14. Alex Albon
15. Nico Hulkenberg
16. Zhou Guanyu
17. Lando Norris
18. Nyck de Vries
19. Oscar Piastri
20. Logan Sargeant

For more coverage check out F1.com

The Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix qualifying session is complete. Azerbaijan GP winner Sergio Perez secured pole position in setting a 1:26.841s lap on the Miami street circuit. In a not so fortunate finish, Charles Leclerc had a late session spin that ended his session. He was only able to secure 7th fastest, but will have an uphill battle to reach the podium places.

Leclerc had the following comments about taking risks. “That pays off nine times out of 10, but obviously, this is a weekend where twice I put it in the wall, and this is just not the level that I want it to be. I’m just very disappointed with myself. If I did a great lap in the first lap of Q3, there’s no point to say that when you don’t finish a lap and you lock up in the last corner. And the second lap, I put it in the wall. So, again, really angry with myself.” Veteran Fernando Alsonso (Aston Martin) and Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) finished Q3 P2 and P3 respectively.

Championship point leader Max Verstappen (Red Bull) had an even more frustrating session finishing P9. In an interview with Sky Sports Verstappen stated after the session, “Well, yeah, clearly… I mean that was definitely a mistake of mine, trying to put it on the limit, and then I made a mistake and had to abort the lap.

Verstappen continued referring to the spin that Leclerc had that causes a red flag, “Then you rely on a bit of luck as well, that there is not going to be a red flag [at the end], and that can happen on a street circuit – [so I’m] just a bit upset with myself.” Verstappen was asked what his expectations are for tomorrows races and he responded, “A podium, for sure, but I want to win, so this is not great. [Winning is] not impossible, but it’s not going to be easy.” We’ve seen Verstappen win a race from the back of the grid in previous years. We will see if the Red Bull can make some magic happen on Sunday.

Elsewhere on the Grid

Hometown driver Logan Sargeant (Williams) had a difficult afternoon. It was not the homecoming he had hoped for as he will start P20 on the gride for the grand prix. Sargeant offered his thoughts to The Atlantic, “We made a pretty good step from FP3 to quali and had the car in a good place.” I had the couple of tenths needed to advance to Q2. I needed to do it on the first push, but I did it on the second, and I felt like the tires were graining towards the second and third sectors of that lap. It was extremely tight out there with fine margins. We’ll take the positives, which should leave us in a better place for the race. Looking ahead to tomorrow, we’ll try and be opportunistic and make the most of it.”

7 time world Champion Lewis Hamilton said, “It was one of those days.” Hamilton did not make it out of Q2 and had to settle for a P13 start in Sunday’s race. He stated after the session, “But at the end there I went out, they put me out behind seven cars – or something like that…so when I got to the last corner I was like the last of the group. I had to back up and lost all my temperature in the tires, so when I started the lap I just had no grip.”

Full Qualifying Results are Below

More video clips and content are available at F1.com

Day one of the Miami Grand Prix weekend is in the books. Two practices sessions are complete and there is one to go Saturday morning before qualifying. Here are the events of the day.

Max Verstappen (Red Bull) seemingly cruised in FP2 to top the table over the Ferraris. He complained about a headrest issues the entire session but it did not seem to effect his track pace. Teammate Sergio Perez ( Red Bull)who currently sits 6 points shy of Verstappen’s championship lead was almost a half second behind Verstappen in practice. However the practice session was cut short due to Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) crashing. FP3 in Miami will be the last opportunity for tweaks before qualifying so we expect the times tomorrow morning to be more predictive than FP2 results.

Verstappen spoke to F1.com after the conclusion of FP2 and said, “Today was a good day. Initially we were getting used to the track with the new tarmac, it was ramping up a lot throughout the day. It’s still quite slippery off line but on the driving line it’s okay. Most importantly today we had good balance in the car so I feel happy. There are still a few things we want to look at overnight, ideally we want to be faster on every corner, which isn’t always possible. We’ll have to see what the weather will do tomorrow, but overall it’s been a positive day.”

Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) finishes second fastest and despite the crash Leclerc held at third fastest to beat out Perez. F1 veterans Fernando Alonso (Aston martin) rounded out the top 5. The Ferraris seemed to have found some pace to contend with the Red Bulls and Aston Martins. The hurdle for Ferrari now seems to be keeping their cars on the track.

The Ferrari Drivers Commented on the Day

Leclerc had the following to say after FP2, “”The feeling in the car is good on one-lap runs. In terms of race pace, we are still lacking compared to our competitors and are focused on closing that gap. Let’s see what is possible tomorrow.”

Sainz commented by stating, “Today in Miami was, as expected, an intense Friday with high temperatures and a lot of running. The tarmac is very different to last year so it was important to get a good feeling for the new conditions. We completed the whole program, we tried all three compounds and we’ve got plenty of data for tonight.”

Lewis Hamilton’s Thoughts, Mercedes AMG F1

7 time world Champion Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) voiced his frustrations with falling to the middle pack in FP2. “FP1 looked quite good, and then we come into FP2, and the true pace come out. It’s just a kick in the gut, so it’s a little bit difficult to take sometimes. But it’s okay, we will just continue to work on it, we will regroup tonight and try and see if we can make some set-up changes and get the car in a sweeter spot,” he said. The Mercedes camp seems to have made some improvements but they do not yet appear to be enough to bring them back into regular podium contention.

The Top 10 in FP2 at the Miami Grand Prix

The Miami Grand Prix has ignited the motorsports world for what is set to be an extraordinary weekend under the sun. The 3.363 mile street circuit has received a number of improvements from last years inaugural race. This weekend marks the introduction of a brand-new permanent Paddock Club building constructed above the pit garages. The F1 paddock was expanded onto the Miami Dolphins field at Hard Rock Stadium. Team hospitality and vendors will be located here to create the Formula 1 Team Village. MIA Marina, Hard Rock Beach Club and the F1 Fan Zone were all enhanced for 2023. Two new spaces were introduced. The Vista at Turn 1 and The Boathouse at MIA Marina created to increase hospitality capacity.

Hometown Love for Sargeant

For the drivers the track has also been resurfaced. Many drivers complained about the track surface in 2022 leading to premature tire graining. It will be interesting to see how the drivers respond to the improved pavement come Free Practice 1 later today. One driver who seems extraordinarily excited about the race is Williams and sole American F1 driver Logan Sargeant.

“It’s good to be home,” said Sargeant to F1.com. “I got to spend Tuesday with my parents and family at home, get out on the beach, get in the water – it felt good. It’s been a busy couple of days. It’s going to be a tough weekend; it’s going to be hot, physical, and a track I don’t know but I’m ready to take on the challenge. The American fans are always here to put on a good atmosphere and a good show. I’m excited to go out there and perform. It’s just another great opportunity for us to keep building something and have a good weekend.”

A Message from the Miami Grand Prix President

Tyler Epp, President of Formula 1 Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix stated, “After an incredible debut race, we have been working flat-out to ensure the 2023 event is an even greater experience for everyone visiting the Miami International Autodrome…With new and enhanced hospitality experiences, the creation of the F1 Team Village directly on the football field and increased capacity we are expecting our second race to be even bigger and better for the fans, the teams, drivers, partners and everyone in South Florida.”

The first-ever Formula 1 Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix last May was a sell-out success. The event saw 242,955 spectators visit over the three-day event. It’s expected that this record to be broken this weekend. The hype surrounding circuit upgrades and large investments in infrastructure at the circuit. Check out the weekend schedule below.

Watch the Miami GP live with F1 TV Pro

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About FORMULA 1 CRYPTO.COM MIAMI GRAND PRIX

The inaugural Formula 1 Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix made its debut on 6-8 May, 2022. Located in Miami Gardens, Florida, the 3.363 miles circuit features 19 corners, three straights and has top speed of 198+mph.

Adrian Newey has signed a contract extension with Red Bull F1 Team. Newey, current Chief Technical Officer at Oracle Red Bull Racing has signed a contract extension as reported by motorsport.com. A team spokesman said contracts were not publicly discussed but indicated Newey, “won’t be going anywhere for some time”. Newey’s contract was set to expire at the end of the 2023 season. Speculation arose that he could be making a move to a competitor. However, those whispers can be put to rest as it appears the Brit is happy with the success he has achieved at Red Bull.

Newey will continue in his role as chief technical officer, having oversight of the progress of Red Bull’s F1 team, its Advanced Technology business and its new Powertrains division.

There has not been an official announcement of the new contract. However, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner welcomed the fact that Newey was now formally committed to the squad.

“Adrian has been such a fundamental part since almost the beginning,” Horner told Motorsport.com. “He covers a lot of a lot of areas and, to have the depth of his experience and knowledge to draw upon, and the way he works with the young guys, it’s great. He’s just as motivated as he always been. Obviously, he has a great interest in what’s going on in Powertrains, and Red Bull Advanced Technology as well. So, he covers the three pillars of the campus in Milton Keynes.”

Newey is one of F1’s most successful car designers, having won titles with Williams, McLaren and Red Bull during his career. It appears he isn’t done yet.

The Azerbaijan Grand Prix comes to an end with Red Bull securing the 1-2. Sergio ‘Checo’ Perez (Red Bull) was able to capitalize on the weekend winning both the Sprint race and the Grand Prix. Perez missed out on the extra point for fastest lap as George Russell (Mercedes) was able to muster enough pace to secured the extra point. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) was not able to convert his pole position to a win which is a disappointment for Monegasque driver. Leclerc did however secure his first podium of the season which is a consolation given the issues Ferrari has faced so far this season with reliability.

How it Happened

Red Bull drivers Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez checked out at the front of the grid early in the race. The two traded fastest laps but on Lap 11, De Vries (Alpha Tauri) clipped the wall at Turn 5, stopping his car just before the Turn 6 barriers and bringing out the yellow flags. Verstappen jumped into the pits to swap to hard tires – the Safety Car then being deployed to cover the sidelined AlphaTauri.

The defining moment for the race winner came after Verstappen pitted. The following lap that yellow flag changed to a safety car and Perez was able to pit for a cheap stop which allowed him to return in the lead with on a lap fresher tires. Verstappen came out of the pits in 3rd but was later able to pass the Ferrari of Leclerc ahead. With the win Perez climbs to within 6 points of Verstappen in the drivers championship points standings.

Elsewhere on the grid

Esteban Ocon (Alpine) and Nico Hulkenberg (Haas) made suspension set-up changes under parc ferme conditions which meant they both had to start from the pit lane. The two did not finish in the top 10. There were talks of the medium tires not lasting as long as expected due to track temperatures. Some teams opted to pit early in an effort to create separation from the field on a longer tire stint with the hard tires. Ultimately the early stops had no effect as the front runners were able to extend their tire life to pit later in the race; erasing any advantaged that would have been gained with an earlier stop.

Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) and George Russell (Mercedes) had a bit of a scuffle as the entered the pit lane. Stroll was pacing back to ensure he did not come in too early behind his teammate Russell ended up along side of Stroll in the pit lane in a bizarre move. However, no contact was made and the Mercedes pit was positioned before the Aston Martin garage. No action was taken by the stewards. Stroll would later make contact with the barrier at Turn 5 clipping the wall. He was able to avoid major damage. Stroll also had another late run off after struggling to find a groove all weekend.

The Battle for the Top 5

Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) was putting pressure on Leclerc for 3rd place in the later stages of the grand prix. Leclerc started to fall off pace as Alonso seemed to find pace, but there was not enough race distance left for Alonso to make a lung for 3rd. This ended Alonso’s streak of podium finishes in 2023. However, Alonso took home valuable points to help Aston Martin maintain their second place standing in the constructors championship.

The Mercedes were not able to amount an offensive to challenge for podium positions in this race. Unfortunately, for Lewis Hamilton his success in Australia did not translate to the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku. Zhou Guanyu also had a failure that required him to retire the car for the race’s second and final DNF. Guanyu was not in points contention.

After the Race

Perez had the following comments for F1.com after the race, “It really worked out today for us. We managed to stay in the DRS train, and we managed to keep the pressure on Max. I think we had better deg on that first stint. It was looking good already from that side, then the Safety Car came and bunched everyone up and it was again another race on the hard tire.

I think it was very close between us [myself and Verstappen]. We pushed to the maximum today. We both clipped the wall a few times…we were pushing out there. The way Max pushed me throughout the race was really hard, but we managed to keep him under control.”

Max Verstappen also commented post race,

“Overall it was quite a good race. Of course, I was a bit unlucky with the safety car call, but I think in that second stint both of us were pushing flat out. We used every centimeter on that track and touched a few walls! It was a good Team result and there were a lot of learnings from this weekend to take forward to the rest of the season. We bought it home and a 1-2 for the Team was ideal, Checo had a great race and did very well today. I’m already looking forward to Miami and seeing what we can do there.”

Full Race Results are below

Red Bull extended its lead in the constructors championship with Aston Martin retaining second place. Full championship standings are available here: Formula 1 Championship standings

Sergio Perez takes the win in the Azerbaijan Sprint Race. The Sprint shootout and race are part of the new Sprint Race weekend format that the FIA adopted starting this weekend. The Azerbaijan Sprint race was full of action. Most of the drivers opted to start on medium tires for the 17 lap race. The exceptions were Lando Norris (McLaren) and Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo) who started on the softs which proved to be a mistake come race time.

During the race championship leader Max Verstappen (Red Bull) had an on track incident that cause some side pod damage to his car. Verstappen was verbal over the radio that the incident be investigated after losing a position. Ultimately, Verstappen was able to pass Russell and regain third place where he would finish in the race. After the race they two had the following to say:

Max Verstappen Comments

After Verstappen and Russell exchanged words post race Verstappen stated the following to the media, “No, it’s not clarified,” said Verstappen when asked if the talk with Russell cleared things up. “I just don’t understand why you need to take some much risk on Lap 1. Understeering into my sidepod, created a hole.

“We all have cold tires, it’s all easy to lock up, but in his beautiful way of explaining, ‘Oh mate, locked up, look at the onboard’, it doesn’t make sense. It’s fine, we still got into P3, got some good points, but it is what it is.” Clarifying where his sidepod damage came from, Verstappen said: “Not the wall, just Turn 2, I think, where he tapped me. There is a hole in the sidepod. It doesn’t look that great, but it is what it is now, and we will focus on tomorrow.”

George Russell Comments

Russell stated that he feels he, “probably exceeded where we deserved to finish”, and explained that he was taken aback by Verstappen’s behavior when they stepped out of the car.

“I don’t really know if it was a chat,” Russell commented. “I was quite surprised, I thought he was coming over to say ‘good battle’, to be honest. From my side, I was on the inside, the position was already lost from him, and I was really quite surprised he was still trying to hold in round the outside. Ever since we were eight years old in go karting, if you are on the inside on the apex, it’s your corner, and if you try and hold it round the outside, you are taking the risk.”

“I’m here to fight, I’m here to win. I’m not just going to wave him by because he’s Max Verstappen in a Red Bull. [There’s] nothing really more to say. I thought the move was on and that’s about it, really.”

Mercedes Team principal Toto Wolff also chimed in

Wolff said to F1.com, “If I’m George, I’m doing exactly the same; if I’m Max, I’m upset. I think [Russell] defended well. I think it’s dangerous to overtake round the outside, because you could either end up in the run-off or end up in the wall, or you could have somebody on the inside who is weak and gives you all the place in the world.”

“But, you know, on the inside it’s quite an angle you need to achieve, and if you try to turn around there tightly, you’re going to lose out on the next straight.”

Wolff added: “If it’s your team mate winning and you finish third, and you don’t have performance in the car because you have a big hole, absolutely you’re upset, and each of them vents that differently. As long as you’re authentic, that’s good. And Max is quite outspoken – probably [he] forgets about it one hour later – that’s OK.”

It’s clear the two disagree on how the events unfolded. The FIA stewards took no action on the incident.

Back to the front

Sergio Perez spent most of the race in P2 before finding a bit of pace late in the race and passing Leclerc who was then pressured by a quick lapping Verstappen behind. Leclerc was able to hold Verstappen off to salvage a P2 finished after starting on pole. Perez checked out at the front finishing 4.5s ahead.

“It was good,” said Sprint race winner Perez to F1.com. “With these tricky sessions, it’s been a lot of pressure put on us and our teams – engineers, mechanics, drivers. So, to get away with maximum points was the main objective, but obviously we know that tomorrow is the main race. We were able to learn a bit [for the Grand Prix], but obviously tomorrow we are going to be on much higher fuel loads [and] track conditions are going to be different. I think there is good learning today. P3 is not ideal for tomorrow’s race, but I will give it a go and fight for the win.”

Incidents Elsewhere

Yuki Tsunoda had a major failure that resulted in him limping his Alpha Tauri back to the pits. He suffered from a bit of understeer which put his car into the wall at Turn 13. Tsunoda would ultimately retire because the damage ended up being terminal. The team will be scrambling to get the car repaired for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. The incident triggered a safety car.

On the restart Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) took advantage of the restart and pulled away. However, Perez stay in tow and when DRS we enabled again he took advantage and passed Leclerc on Lap 8. Perez had clean air in front and started to pull ahead which developed a battle for second between Leclerc and Verstappen. Leclerc was able to hold off Verstappen taking a hard fought P2. Russell and Sainz completed the fourth and fifth respectively. Fernando Alonso (Aston martin), Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) and Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) secured the final points on offer. Two car in the points was a great showing for Aston martin as they try to maintain their constructors standing point lead over Mercedes.

Logan Sargeant (Williams) did not start the sprint after crashing out of the sprint shootout.

Full Azerbaijan Grand Prix Sprint Race Results are Below

Pos.	Driver	Team	Time
1	Sergio Perez	Red Bull	LAP 17
2	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	+4.463
3	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	+5.065
4	George Russell	Mercedes	+8.532
5	Carlos Sainz	Ferrari	+10.388
6	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	+11.613
7	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	+16.503
8	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	+18.417
9	Alexander Albon	Williams	+21.757
10	Oscar Piastri	McLaren	+22.851
11	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	+27.990
12	Guanyu Zhou	Alfa Romeo	+34.602
13	Pierre Gasly	Alpine	+36.918
14	Nyck De Vries	Alpha Tauri	+41.626
15	Nico Hulkenberg	Haas	+48.587
16	Valtteri Bottas	Alfa Romeo	+49.917
17	Lando Norris	McLaren	+51.104
18	Esteban Ocon	Alpine	+60.621
19	Yuki Tsunoda	Alpha Tauri	DNF

You can find more details on the main Azerbaijan race here Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

In a time when Ferrari F1 team seemed to be struggling with every issue possible, a silver lining emerged in Baku. Charles Leclerc has secured his first pole position of 2023 for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. This is Leclerc’s third consecutive pole position in Baku having secured the same in 2021 and 2022. This pole finish is the ray of hope Ferrari has needed this year currently sitting 4th in the constructors championship. It also marked a turn of fortunes for Leclerc, who’s last pole was at the 2022 Singapore Grand Prix 6 months ago.

Leclerc is in an unfamiliar P10 in the drivers championship standings. The Ferraris have experienced reliability issues in the early season stages. Leclerc has had two DNFs thus far in 2023. It is promising to see them back on top as a contender for taking the competition to Red Bull who have seemed almost untouchable thus far in 2023.

The top 3 was rounded out by Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing) and Sergio Perez (Red Bull Racing). Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) finished in 4th as the best of the rest; 8 tenths behind his teammate Leclerc. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes AMG F1) showed good form with a P5 finish in qualifying which is a positive after early season complications with the W14. Hamilton will be building off of his P2 finish from Australian and the Mercedes camp look to improve the car and get back to being competitive for race wins.

The Bottom Half of Q3

Lando Norris (McLaren) and Yuki Tsunoda (Aplha Tauri) secure a spot in the top 10 with P7 and P8 finishes. McLaren have failed to make Q3 in two of the three races in 2023 thus far. Both cars finishing in the top 10 is a good sign that the team has made some improvements. We won’t know if this early success will lead to a meaningful finish until the grand prix, but before that we have a sprint race. We will use the sprint as a proxy to determine how well the McLarens are stacking up to the competition. Piastri rounded out the last spot in Q3 finishing about 1.4s slower behind the session leader.

Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) surprisingly fell back in the pecking order. He finished P6 in Q3 a full second behind the leader Leclerc. George Russell failed to make it out of Q2 which is surprising considering his early found pace. You can check out the full results below.

Full Azerbaijan Grand Prix Qualifying Results

Q1 107% time – 1:48.357
Note – De Vries failed to set a time within 107% in Q1. It is yet to be determined if he will race.

The FIA have been in discussions with the 10 Formula 1 championship teams on a new sprint race grand prix weekend format. Sprint races were first introduced to Formula 1 in 2021. The change offered drivers additional opportunities to score championship points and to create more variability

Old Format

The old format featured qualifying being held as usual on Saturday to determine the starting order for the sprint race. The sprint race results would set the Sunday starting grid and the sprint winner was credited with a pole position.

New Format

The new format adopts the MotoGP style of sprint race grid setting. The Sprint race will become an independent race with its own qualifying session taking the place of FP3 on Saturdays. The main grand prix qualifying will take place on Friday after 1 practice session. The grids will be independent of one another. Points for the F1 Sprint race remain the same. The top eight finishes will receive points

The FIA have stated the following process for applying penalties at F1 Sprint events. Grid penalties incurred in first practice or qualifying will apply to the race. Any grid penalties incurred in the Sprint Shootout will apply to the Sprint. Any grid penalties incurred in the Sprint will apply to the race.

Oracle Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner had previously expressed concerns with the introduction of a new format in a race such as Baku. Horner stated “The reality is it’s absolutely ludicrous to be doing the first sprint race of the year in a street race like Azerbaijan.” His concern was the high probability of crashes at this circuit. Additionally, cost cap concerns are also looming. Resources are stretched thinner by the addition of sprint races. There is also concern that incidents that arise in Sprint races may have a high impact on the outcome of a grand prix.

For more information be sure to check out F1.com