Latest news with #CircuitdeCatalunya
Japan Times
6 hours ago
- Automotive
- Japan Times
Verstappen one point from a race ban after clash with Russell
Formula One world champion Max Verstappen is one penalty point away from a race ban after being punished for driving into Mercedes rival George Russell during Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix. In addition to a 10-second time penalty, dropping the Red Bull driver from fifth to 10th, stewards handed Verstappen three penalty points on his super license. That took his tally to 11 for a 12-month period, with 12 points triggering a one-race ban. Two of those points expire at the end of June but there are two races before that. The Red Bull driver had clashed twice with Russell at the restart following a late safety car period at the Circuit de Catalunya. The pair made contact first at Turn One when Verstappen, who was defending fourth place on hard tires against a rival on quicker softs, was pushed wide but stayed ahead. He was then told by Red Bull to hand back the place. Stewards noted Verstappen "was clearly unhappy with his team's request. "At the approach to Turn 5, Car 1 (Verstappen) significantly reduced its speed thereby appearing to allow Car 63 (Russell) to overtake," they added. "However, after Car 63 got ahead of Car 1 at the entry of Turn 5, Car 1 suddenly accelerated and collided with Car 63." 'Intentional retaliation?' The incident, as well as an earlier clash with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, triggered accusations of road rage and a return to the "Mad Max" days of old, before Verstappen's four world titles. "It looked like a very intentional retaliation. Wait for the opponent, go ramming into him, just like you felt the other guy rammed into you at Turn One," said Mercedes' 2016 world champion Nico Rosberg on Sky Sports television. "That's something which is extremely unacceptable and I think the rules would be a black flag, yes. If you wait for your opponent to bang into him, that's a black flag." McLaren's Lando Norris, who finished second behind teammate Oscar Piastri, watched a replay in the cooldown room and commented: "I've done that before in Mario Kart." Russell told reporters he did not know what Verstappen was thinking. "It felt very deliberate. It is something I have seen numerous times in sim racing and iRacing and never have I seen it in a Formula One race so that was something new," said the Briton. "It is a shame because Max is one of the best drivers in the world but maneuvers like that are totally unnecessary. It lets him down and it is a shame for all of the young kids looking up to us, aspiring to be Formula One drivers. "It is something you see in go-karting but never in F1. It doesn't make sense to crash into somebody and risk damaging your own car and risk a penalty. And he could have come back to fight for the podium." Verstappen, who had accused Leclerc of ramming into him, accepted the two had different opinions. "I'll bring some tissues next time," the Dutch driver said when told of Russell's concerns.
Asharq Al-Awsat
12 hours ago
- Automotive
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Verstappen One Point from a Race Ban After Clash with Russell
Formula One world champion Max Verstappen is one penalty point away from a race ban after being punished for driving into Mercedes rival George Russell during Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix. In addition to a 10-second time penalty, dropping the Red Bull driver from fifth to 10th, stewards handed Verstappen three penalty points on his super-license. That took his tally to 11 for a 12-month period, with 12 points triggering a one-race ban. Two of those points expire at the end of June but there are two races before that. The Red Bull driver had clashed twice with Russell at the restart following a late safety car period at the Circuit de Catalunya. The pair made contact first at Turn One when Verstappen, who was defending fourth place on hard tires against a rival on quicker softs, was pushed wide but stayed ahead. He was then told by Red Bull to hand back the place. Stewards noted Verstappen "was clearly unhappy with his team's request. "At the approach to Turn 5, Car 1 (Verstappen) significantly reduced its speed thereby appearing to allow Car 63 (Russell) to overtake," they added. "However, after Car 63 got ahead of Car 1 at the entry of Turn 5, Car 1 suddenly accelerated and collided with Car 63." 'INTENTIONAL RETALIATION'? The incident, as well as an earlier clash with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, triggered accusations of road rage and a return to the "Mad Max" days of old, before Verstappen's four world titles. "It looked like a very intentional retaliation. Wait for the opponent, go ramming into him, just like you felt the other guy rammed into you at Turn One," said Mercedes' 2016 world champion Nico Rosberg on Sky Sports television. "That's something which is extremely unacceptable and I think the rules would be a black flag, yes. If you wait for your opponent to bang into him, that's a black flag." McLaren's Lando Norris, who finished second, watched a replay in the cool-down room and commented: "I've done that before in Mario Kart." Russell told reporters he did not know what Verstappen was thinking. "It felt very deliberate. It is something I have seen numerous times in sim (video) racing and i-racing and never have I seen it in a Formula One race so that was something new," added the Briton. "It is a shame because Max is one of the best drivers in the world but maneuvers like that are totally unnecessary. It lets him down and it is a shame for all of the young kids looking up to us, aspiring to be Formula One drivers. "It is something you see in go-karting but never in F1. It doesn't make sense to crash into somebody and risk damaging your own car and risk a penalty. And he could have come back to fight for the podium." Verstappen, who had accused Leclerc of ramming into him, accepted the two had different opinions. "I'll bring some tissues next time," the Dutch driver said when told of Russell's concerns.
Reuters
14 hours ago
- Automotive
- Reuters
Hulkenberg's fine fifth lifts Sauber off the bottom
BARCELONA, June 1 (Reuters) - Nico Hulkenberg lifted Sauber off the bottom of the Formula One standings with a fifth place at the Spanish Grand Prix for the future Audi team. Sunday's result, in a car with upgrades, was Swiss-based Sauber's best in three years and they left the Circuit de Catalunya eighth overall and ahead of Aston Martin and Renault-owned Alpine. They had not scored points since Hulkenberg was seventh in the Australian season-opener in March. "It was one of those Sundays where everything came together really well," said Hulkenberg, who passed Ferrari's seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton for fifth. "Right from the beginning, we were in the mix; a strong start, a clean first lap, and we were immediately able to fight for points. "Ironically, not having the best Saturday and saving a set of softs gave us a strategic edge with the tyre allocation. The safety car mixed things up a bit, and having those fresh compounds turned out to be a golden ticket." Hulkenberg has scored all of Sauber's points this season with Brazilian rookie teammate Gabriel Bortoleto, who finished 12th, yet to open his account in nine starts. Sauber, who become the Audi factory team next year, are level on 16 points with Aston Martin but ahead on placings. Alpine are last and five further adrift.
RNZ News
2 days ago
- Automotive
- RNZ News
Oscar Piastri on pole in Spain, Liam Lawson to start 13th
Liam Lawson of Racing Bulls at the Spanish Grand Prix, 2025. Photo: CHARLY LOPEZ / AFP Formula One championship leader Oscar Piastri seized pole position for the Spanish Grand Prix on Saturday with teammate and title rival Lando Norris completing a McLaren front row sweep. New Zealand's Liam Lawson will start 13th for Racing Bulls. Red Bull's Max Verstappen, last year's winner, qualified third fastest in the same time as Mercedes' George Russell, who will start fourth because the reigning champion finished his lap first. Piastri had led the final shootout with a lap of one minute and 11.836 seconds but Norris then made the most of an aerodynamic tow to go quicker by 0.017 as stricter front wing flex tests made no difference to McLaren's speed. Norris, winner in Monaco last Sunday to close the gap at the top to three points, managed to improve his time only to 1:11.755 before Piastri clinched pole with a final effort of 1:11.546 around the Circuit de Catalunya. The pole was the Australian's fourth in nine races so far this season. "It wasn't the perfect lap but I think around here with the tyres going off so much through the lap it's very tough to do that," Piastri said. "I'm very happy with all the work we've put in." After starting the day with some good speed, Lawson was a little disappointed with his final qualifying position. "We were always chasing balance throughout the session, but the speed was strong," Lawson said. "The car felt really good and I thought we had a great final lap in Q2, so we'll be reviewing it as a team ahead of tomorrow, particularly given this was the first time the car lacked speed during the weekend. "There are opportunities for overtaking here, so as always we'll be pushing for points." Seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton qualified fifth for Ferrari with Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli sixth. Charles Leclerc was seventh for Ferrari, doing only one flying lap, with Alpine's Pierre Gasly eighth and Isack Hadjar ninth for Racing Bulls. Spain's double world champion Fernando Alonso completed the top 10 for Aston Martin in front of his home crowd. -RNZ/Reuters
Irish Times
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Irish Times
Oscar Piastri takes pole in McLaren one-two for Spanish GP
Oscar Piastri delivered a hammer blow to Lando Norris's bid to win back-to-back races by seeing off his title rival and team-mate to take a commanding pole position for the Spanish Grand Prix . Piastri holds a three-point championship lead over Norris, and the Australian delivered in qualifying to beat the British driver by an impressive 0.209 seconds at Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya – the biggest pole margin of the season so far. World champion Max Verstappen took third place for Red Bull, one spot clear of Mercedes' George Russell. Verstappen and Russell set identical times with the former taking the higher grid slot after setting his time first. Lewis Hamilton qualified fifth with Kimi Antonelli sixth for Mercedes and Charles Leclerc, who completed just one quick lap in Q3, seventh. READ MORE McLaren have won six of the eight rounds so far, and their rivals might have hoped that a clampdown on flexible front wings – which some believe has contributed to the team's rise – would slow them down. However, the rule tweak has done little to influence McLaren's speed, with Piastri and Norris embroiled in a tense battle for pole. Norris secured top spot in Monaco a week ago before going on to claim his first win since March's season opener in Melbourne. Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen after Saturday's qualifying session at Circuit de Catalunya. Photograph: Lluis Gene/AFP via Getty Images He ended the first runs here in Q3 holding a slender 0.017 sec margin over his team-mate. Norris enjoyed a tow off Piastri's McLaren with the Australian calling his team-mate's antics 'cheeky'. The McLaren duo returned for a final shot at pole and although Norris improved on his first lap, it was Piastri who lit up the time sheets by taking his fourth pole of the season by two tenths. 'I am very happy,' said Piastri. 'It didn't start off in the best way. I was struggling but I found pace and the car has been mega. 'I improved quite a lot in Turn 1 on my second lap and it all came together. It wasn't the perfect lap. It is going to be an interesting one tomorrow and I am pretty glad I am starting from pole.' Home favourite Carlos Sainz qualified a disappointing 18th while Red Bull's Yuki Tsunoda will prop up the grid after he clocked the slowest time with just eight tenths separating first to last in Q1. In Formula 2, Ireland's Alex Dunne has regained the top spot in the drivers standings after coming second in Saturday's sprint race. The Offaly 19-year-old, racing for Rodin Motorsport, earned nine points with his second-place finish behind MP Motorsport's Richard Verschoor, which sees him retake the lead in the drivers championship, four points ahead of Hitech TGR's Luke Browning. Dunne starts Sunday's feature race from fifth on the grid.
