Red Bull’s RB17 Turns Heads at Goodwood Festival of Speed

Adrian Newey’s RB17 design was unveiled at the 2024 Goodwood Festival of Speed this weekend. The team released the following trailer after the RB17 was announced:

Formula 1 team principal Christian Horner said, “With 20 years of legacy in the world of F1 to draw from, and as a performance centered organization, it only made sense for us to design our own Hypercar from the ground up. Combining technical innovation, achievement and emotional appeal, the RB17 is a landmark car. I’m very proud of the team and am delighted to see it make its world debut. We expect the RB17 to be a future classic.”

Adrian Newey added: “I had been mulling around the idea to take on the challenge to design our very own hypercar, from concept to delivery, for many years and it has been a magnificent project and journey.

For it to finally be the day we pull the covers off and see the birth of the RB17, is truly remarkable. The RB17 Hypercar embraces everything we stand for: undeniable power, speed and beauty. It is very adaptable in its abilities, and we made sure to design it as a two seater so that the thrill of driving at F1 speeds can be enjoyed with a friend or partner.”

Lewis Hamilton has finally returned to the top of the podium at Silverstone after winning the British Grand Prix this weekend for Mercedes. Hamilton held off an eager Verstappen who was looking to bounce back after finishing P5 in the previous grand prix; surprisingly one of his worst finishes of the year. Hamilton has been searching for a path back towards the top and what better scenario for that to occur on home soil. Hamilton said,

“Today means so much. It is the most incredible honour to be standing on the top step of the podium here at Silverstone. I think my heart is still racing! We’ve had so many amazing times here and today was the most emotional end to a win I’ve ever had. It has been a really challenging few years for everyone in the team. Knowing how hard everyone has worked to fight back, I think it was a real release of emotion. I am forever grateful to everyone in this team, to Mercedes, and to all our partners. To finally succeed is the greatest feeling I remember having.

It was a tricky race out there. The changeable conditions made it a real challenge. We kept our cool though and made the right call at the right time to switch back to slicks. That helped us take back the lead and from there, we were able to bring it home.”

Unfortunately for Hamilton’s teammate George Russell, Mercedes would settle for a single points finish which holds the team in P4 in the constructors championship race.

British Grand Prix Results

Note – Sainz scored an additional point for setting the fastest lap of the race.

George Russell provided a stroke of brilliance in Austria after a somewhat disappointing day one in Austria failing to get on the podium in the Sprint Race. Russell however found the pace to outshine the competition He said, “Incredible! That’s the only way I can describe it. We had a tough fight in the early stages to make sure we held on to P3. That would prove crucial at the end. I could see that Max (Verstappen) and Lando (Norris) were having a big battle. We were only just over 10 seconds behind the pair of them, which is really encouraging pace-wise.

I knew there was a possibility that they could come together, even if it was only a slim chance. You have to be there at the end to pick up the pieces and that’s exactly where we were. I am so proud to be back on the top step of the podium.

The team have done an amazing job to get us closer to the fight at the front. We have made so many strides since the start of the season. The last few races have been great and hopefully there is more to come. It’s no secret that Max and Lando are a little bit ahead of us at present but we’re now consistently putting ourselves in that third position. It’s an exciting time for us; we’re riding a bit of a wave, and I can’t wait to go to my home race at Silverstone next week and see what we can do there.”

Verstappen Hit With 10 Second Penalty

Despite his early season dominance with Red Bull. The Dutchman Max Verstappen seems to be a bit off of his game after a collision awarded him a 10 second penalty which dropped his finish to P5 in today’s grand prix in Austria. Verstappen ahd the following comments after the race.

“We were battling today and Lando tried to move around the outside, and then we touched with the rear tyres. It was very hot so immediately we had a puncture. From my side it seemed like a weird move but we obviously need to review this and of course we will talk about it. The shape of the corner also provides these kinds of issues sometimes and it is never nice to come together. This, however, isn’t currently my main focus as we need to take a look at the overall performance today and the difficulties we had with the car.

It was very hard to manage the tires, the first stint was not too bad and I had a fairly comfortable lead, the second stint was difficult; I think we stayed out a bit too long and then there was the issue with the pit stop. The overall Team performance wasn’t what we expected it to be and the strategy didn’t work that well in this case. It was a shame because of the lead that we had. There are definitely a few things we need to improve looking to next week and hopefully we can work on the performance, tires and balance.”

Austrian Grand Prix Results

Note – Albon received a five-second time penalty for crossing the line at pit entry. Norris received a five-second time penalty for leaving the track without a justifiable reason multiple times. Verstappen received a 10-second time penalty for causing a collision.

Max Verstappen won the Austrian Grand Prix Sprint race. Verstappen got away immediately and didn’t look back. Verstappen said, “It was a good day today. I am extremely happy that we got P1 in the Sprint and put it on pole in Qualifying and am really proud of the Team that we were able to be so competitive. We definitely saw some good improvements after the Sprint race, it all connected and the balance of the car felt a lot better, so hopefully we can keep that going. I could really push to the limit and it felt great to be that competitive in qualifying.

The whole session went really well and the car was in a better window; I could push harder, the car was sticking and I am actually quite surprised by the gap! It shows that small changes that you make to the car can really make a difference. I am looking forward to tomorrow. We have had a really good weekend so far but the most important part has to happen tomorrow, so let’s see what the race brings.”

McLaren Continues Points Chase to Red Bull

Despite not winning the race McLaren had an incredible showing in the race finishing P2 and P3 securing 13 points for the team as they encroach on Red Bull’s lead. McLaren has taken advantage of Sergio Perez’s shortcomings as of late and with time red Bull will start asking whether signing Perez for a contract extension was the right move as they continue to lose ground to their competitors. Tomorrow is the grand prix. We will see if McLaren can improve on their result.

Austrian Sprint Race Results

Note – Hulkenberg received a 10-second time penalty for forcing another driver off the track.

Max Verstappen has once again topped the F1 tables on day of the Austrian Grand Prix Weekend. This weekend Verstappen has Lando Norris slowly finding pace behind; making it a real fight at the front between Red Bull and McLaren. It’s clear the pair wouldn’t have it any other way however. Given their relationship off track, Norris and Verstappen have emerged as one of F1’s favorite rivalries. McLaren have found a recent stroke of confidence in their development of the 2024 car and that success at the factory has shown making them very formidable contenders in the championship this year.

Sergio Perez Continues to Fall Behind Verstappen?

To make matter worse for Sergio Perez, he qualifying an unimpressive P7 for Red Bull. Considering his recent contract extension, Perez has some answering to do as he has yet again finished behind both McLarens and doesn’t seem to have an answer from his teammates continued success at the front. The Austrian Grand Prix Sprint is a few hours time away and Perez will need to prove that he can hold his seat because one thing that holds true at Red Bull is if you don’t perform you are out and Red Bull is losing its grip on the constructors championship with every sub top 5 finish Perez contributes. The Sprint race is up next and we will report how the championship standings sit after the dust settles.

Sprint Race Qualifying Results From Austria

Lando Norris squeaked by to take pole away from Max Verstappen today in Q3 beating out the dutchman by 2 one hundredths of a second. Both drivers completed 12 laps in qualifying. After a seemingly positive FP1 the Ferrari’s fell backward on pace in Q3 finishing P5 and P6. After Sergio Perez’s penalty from last weekends mishap after he drove a malfunctioning car on track in an irresponsible manner. He will start P11 after qualifying P8 prior to the penalty.

Words From Lando Norris

Norris said, “I’m super, super happy. We’ve been close to the front all weekend, but needed to have a perfect lap, and I think we delivered that. We’ve been quick for the last two months, and we’ve probably missed a pole by not having that perfect lap. Today, for the final run, we made a few changes, found some places to make tiny improvements and it all worked out.

“We’re in a great position to convert pole into a victory but it’s going to be incredibly tough against Max, against Lewis and everyone behind them – but we’ve been strong since Miami, we’re here to win, and that’s definitely the target.” 

Spanish Grand Prix Qualifying Results

Lewis Hamilton drove his Mercedes to the top spot on day one of the Spanish Grand Prix weekend. The Mercedes topped the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz and the Mclaren of Lando Norris in FP2 with championship point leader Max Verstappen finishing 5th fastest in the session. Hamilton said, “FP1 wasn’t the best session for us but we still learned quite a lot. FP2 was a lot better though and the car was feeling great. The track was very hot, so it was tough on the tyres, especially on the long run. Overall, though, it didn’t feel like we were too far off being right in the mix at the front.
 
We have taken a step forward with the car in recent races. Everyone has worked so hard to get us to this point and make those incremental gains. We’ve got a clear direction of where we want to go moving forward too. We’re starting to see that feed through to our performance on track. Hopefully we can continue the momentum from today into Saturday and get closer to our competitors ahead.”

FP3 is up next before the sole qualifying session of the weekend.

FP2 Results from the Spanish Grand Prix

The Canadian grand Prix was full of spectacle as the race progressed from a wet race to dry conditions. George Russell started on pole in the race and would hold the lead for the first 18 laps. On Lap 19 Verstappen finally found a gap to get past and he would lead the race for the rest of the afternoon. As the track dried tire calls became the deciding factor for the outcome of the race.

Charles Leclerc Pits for Slicks Early

Charles Leclerc and Ferrari made the call to be early adopters of the slicks but it proved to be the wrong call and Leclerc quickly fell behind in the pecking order all the way to the back of the grid. He pitted again to put intermediates and with an attempt to fight back but ultimately retired on lap 43 of the race. He said, “The bottom line today is that the engine issue is what compromised our race.

We were losing substantial lap time compared to the other cars, so we tried to go on slicks, knowing that it was our only chance to try to finish in the points. There was nothing to lose and I’ve got no regrets on that…This one hurts and it’s a big loss of points for the team with both of us unable to finish. We will look into the issue we had to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

Red Bull Again Sees Positives and Negatives

Max Verstappen secured his 60th win after fighting from the front row after qualifying P2; setting the same time as Russell. Max Verstappen stayed patient and waiting for his time to strike to secure another win for Red Bull. Sergio Perez on the other hand again DNF the grand prix. The Canadian Grand Prix is the first race after Red Bull has announced that Sergio Perez has signed a new two year contract. Unfortunately for Perez a mistake on lap 54 cost him yet another opportunity to score points. Perez is limiting Red Bull’s ability to build the dominant lead they had in 2023 at this point in the season. While Red Bull still netted a positive point gain over second place rivals Ferrari who’s double no points finish didn’t do them any favors. Red Bull knows that both cars should be finishing in the top 3 in every race.

Mercedes Revived?

Mercedes pulled of a P3 and P4 finish netting the team 28 points after Hamilton set the fastest lap for the bonus point. George Russell who started from pole was disappointed in the finish despite it being the first podium of the year. Russell said,

I’m disappointed with myself today. I made too many errors that set us back and cost us a chance of victory. I was really pushing the limits out there. That said, it feels great to be disappointed with P3. We’ve made small steps over the past few races and to come to Canada, get pole position and a podium is really encouraging. We’ve been one of the fastest cars on track all weekend, so we’ve definitely made progress. There are many positives to take away from here.
 
The conditions were incredibly challenging out there. Put a wheel even one millimetre off line and you would be in trouble. “Unfortunately, the errors I made came with consequences as it let other cars past. Other drivers made errors too, but they didn’t come at the same cost. We were still able to battle back to the podium though with the pace we had. We will continue to work hard, develop the car, and I’m looking forward to heading to Barcelona.”

His teammate Lewis Hamilton said, “We scored some good points for the team today. We’re also looking like we’ve made a step closer to the front this weekend which is really encouraging. Thank you so much to everyone at Brackley and Brixworth who has worked so hard to deliver our recent updates. It has moved us in the right direction, and we will continue to put the effort in to continue that progress.
 
On my side, it wasn’t the best weekend. We had the pace to be fighting higher up but we ultimately ended up with P4. I’ll go away and work out what I need to do to come back stronger. I made too many mistakes overall but the positive I will take away is the performance of the car.”

Full Race Result – Canadian Grand Prix 2024

Note – Hamilton scored an additional point for setting the fastest lap of the race.

In what was a statistical anomaly George Russell claimed pole after setting a 1:12.000 laps time in Q3 which was followed by Max Verstappen setting the exact same lap time. Russell claimed pole position for Sunday’s race because he set the time first. Its a very rare occurrence for two drivers to have matching lap times in qualifying. In addition, Lando Norris was right within striking distance finishing just 0.021s behind Verstappen and Russell. It’s clear that the competition at the top is starting to shake up as the drivers seem to get closer and closer to matching the pace of Verstappen’s Red Bull.

Sergio Perez Out in Q1

Sergio perez had yet another Q1 exit in qualifying. After Perez just inked a 2 year contract extension with Red Bull he will have his work cut out for him to stay in the good graces of the team. To add insult to injury Daniel Ricciardo finished P5 in qualifying which is his best finish in qualifying thus far this season.

He said, “I’m very pleased about today. It’s been a really good weekend, a lot of fun, and one of those ones where everything’s just feeling good. We are less than two-tenths from pole, and even if it’s not today’s case, sometimes this means being on the front row, so it’s nice being competitive and feeling comfortable in the car. In Q3 it was very important to have a fast warm-up lap and this is what I told the team. I did it and then had the right confidence for the push lap.

It was nice to put the lap together, but I’m not surprised, I know when I feel like this, I can do these things. I’m happy that I was able to get it out of myself, but happy and credit to the team, both cars going into Q3 and happy to reward them with a very nice result. I always feel something special coming here to Montréal and I’ve got good memories: exactly ten years ago I got my first win here and my life changed. Also, the team feels there’s some good energy this weekend, so happy to convert that into some good driving. Tomorrow, we start in a good spot inside the top 5, with some good front-running guys around me, so I’ll get the best out of myself during the race.”

Ferrari Left Wondering What Happened in Canada

After Ferrari found a brief stroke of recent success, in Canadian Grand Prix qualifying the Ferraris failed to come alive. Both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz failed to make the cut for Q3. Team principal Fred Vasseur said, “Everyone in the team is rather frustrated at the way today’s qualifying went. Today, since FP3, we were lacking something a little bit everywhere, even if yesterday it seemed we were going pretty well and the pace was there over a long run in both wet and dry conditions.

I think everyone was struggling a bit with tires, to the point that even Russell’s pole position was obtained on a scrubbed set, but we struggled more than others and we were unable to put everything together to switch on the tires at the right moment. We will now analyze everything  very carefully but we must keep our spirits up and remember that the points are given out tomorrow.

As for the race, we will have to wait and see what the weather has in store because it’s the big unknown. I remember that last year here we also started from far back and we managed to move up the order.” 

Full Qualifying Results for the Canadian Grand Prix

From hail to rain was the story in Montreal as the weather punished the paddock in Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, Montréal today for FP1 and FP2. Conditions were far from ideal in FP1 with the entire grid running in the 1:24+ lap times. However, in FP2 Fernando Alonso set the tone ahead of George Russell by setting a 1m15.810s lap time to top day one of Canadian Grand Prix weekend.

Championship leader Max Verstappen had spoke over the team radio about smelling smoke coming from somewhere in his RB20. He immediately retired from the session for the mechanics to investigate. Charles Leclerc caught attention from the stewards who noted an incident where Leclerc left the pits with intermediate tires on without the session being declared a wet session. Further investigation is undergoing review currently.

In Third was Lance Stroll, a surprising finish for the Aston martin driver but nothing to judge the weekend by as many of the driver were testing different tire management strategies while withhold true qualifying pace. FP3 kicks off tomorrow where we will have a better idea of where the cars stand heading into Qualifying.

Full Canadian Grand Prix FP2 Results