Latest news with #JapaneseGrandPrix
Daily Tribune
a day ago
- Automotive
- Daily Tribune
Lando Norris Leads First Practice at Spanish Grand Prix as Teams Test Major Upgrades
McLaren's Lando Norris set the pace in Friday's opening practice session at the Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona, ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen and Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton. Under scorching conditions at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, the one-hour session served as a testing ground for several teams trialing new upgrades. It was also the first opportunity for teams to adapt to the FIA's latest technical directive, which required stiffer front wings. During the first half-hour, most teams ran Pirelli's hardest C1 tyres to gather correlation data and evaluate the performance of new components against pre-event simulations. In response to the grass fires seen during April's Japanese Grand Prix—believed to have been sparked by titanium skid blocks—teams tested heavier steel skid blocks on one car per team. The steel skids weigh approximately 750 grams more and degrade faster than their titanium counterparts. Local favorite Fernando Alonso led early running on the hard compound, before Norris claimed the top spot. As the session progressed and teams switched to softer compounds, lap times improved significantly. Nico Hulkenberg briefly went second on softs, while Charles Leclerc topped the timesheets before being eclipsed by Verstappen and finally Norris. Norris's best time of 1:13.718 put him over three-tenths of a second clear of Verstappen. Hamilton followed closely in third, with Leclerc just behind in fourth. Oscar Piastri rounded out the top five in the second McLaren. Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson continued his impressive form, finishing sixth, ahead of Haas's Oliver Bearman and team-mate Isack Hadjar. Red Bull's Yuki Tsunoda and Alpine's Pierre Gasly completed the top 10. The session ran smoothly with no major incidents, though Haas stand-in Ryo Hirakawa—filling in for Esteban Ocon—took a brief detour through the gravel. The other FP1 rookie was F2 star Victor Martins, who stepped into Alex Albon's Williams for the session.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Liam Lawson and Isack Hadjar have been waiting for this moment
Liam Lawson has been driving in Formula 1 during each of the past three seasons. He made his F1 debut at the 2023 Dutch Grand Prix, stepping into the seat at AlphaTauri after Daniel Ricciardo broke a bone in his hand. He again replaced Ricciardo last season, after Visa Cash App RB F1 Team decided to make a driver switch ahead of the United States Grand Prix. And while Lawson began this season alongside Max Verstappen at Red Bull, he is back with the junior team, racing for Visa Cash App Racing Bulls after a switch was made before the Japanese Grand Prix. But this week, he will finally experience another first in F1. Advertisement His first F1 Monaco Grand Prix. It is a 'challenge' he is looking forward to. 'This will be my first time racing here in Monaco in a Formula One car and it's a moment I've been looking forward to for a long time,' said Lawson in VCARB's media preview. 'I've raced here before in the junior categories and it has always felt incredibly special, but doing it in F1 takes it to another level. There's so much history and prestige around this track. The margin for error here is tiny, and the challenge is massive, but that's exactly what makes Monaco so special. It's going to take a bit of time to get fully comfortable on track, so all three practice sessions will be crucial. I'm really excited to be here.' While Lawson has yet to finish in the points this season, his VCARB teammate, Isack Hadjar, is coming off his fourth finish in the points this year, as he came across the line ninth in the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. Advertisement Like Lawson, he will get to experience the Monaco Grand Prix in an F1 car for the first time this week. 'Monaco is nearly a home race for me and I'm sure it's going to be a really special weekend,' said Hadjar. 'I believe it's the best Qualifying session of the year as it's a really intense one, so I'm looking forward to it. Following last week's great result in Imola, I feel like the car is working really well. We found a bit more performance, so I'm happy to go again and drive for the first time a Formula One car in Monaco, aiming to fight for a few more points.' Hadjar delivered one of the more memorable moments of the 2024 F2 season last year in Monaco, with this lightning-quick reaction during qualifying a season ago: Hopefully, Hadjar will not need those reflexes for a similar moment this week.
The Hindu
20-05-2025
- Sport
- The Hindu
Max Verstappen's thrilling Imola GP win: Top numbers, stats from the race
Verstappen took his second win of the season, and first since last month's Japanese Grand Prix, and denied Piastri, who finished third, what would have been his fourth win in a row.
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First Post
19-05-2025
- Automotive
- First Post
Max Verstappen equals Michael Schumacher's feat after winning Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in Imola
Defending four-time F1 world champion Max Verstappen snapped Oscar Piastri's winning streak to win the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in Imola, Italy on Sunday and collect his second victory of the season. In the process, he collected his 116th podium finish for Red Bull Racing. read more Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen celebrates after winning the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in Imola, Italy on Sunday, 18 May. AP Reigning Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen snapped Oscar Piastri's three-race winning streak in the ongoing season by winning the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in Imola, Italy on Sunday. And with his latest triumph, the Dutchman emulated a feat achieved by the legendary Michael Schumacher. The defending four-time world champion finished the race 6.1 seconds clear of Lando Norris, who beat McLaren teammate and current championship leader Piastri to the second spot. Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton profited from two safety car interventions to finish fourth after starting 12th on the grid while Williams' Alex Albon completed the top five. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Charles Leclerc finished sixth in the second Ferrari ahead of Mercedes' George Russell. Carlos Sainz (Williams), Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) and Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull Racing) finished eighth, ninth and 10th respectively. Verstappen thus won his second race this year, after triumphing in the Japanese Grand Prix ahead of Norris and Piastri last month, and the 65th of his F1 career that completes a decade this season. His latest win, which lifts him to the third spot in the drivers' standings with 124 points, also comes in Red Bull's 400th Grand Prix race. Verstappen equals Schumacher's record In the process, the 27-year-old equalled seven-time world champion Schumacher's feat of 116 podiums for Ferrari during a 10-year run with 'The Prancing Horse' from 1996 to 2006. While the German F1 legend raced for four different constructors, Verstappen has been part of Red Bull for a majority of his F1 career, having begun his career in the elite division of single-seater racing with Toro Rosso in 2015. All of Verstappen's podium finishes, however, have come in Red Bull's colours. Only Hamilton has secured more podium finishes for a single constructor (153 for Mercedes) than Schumacher and Verstappen. 'Thank you everyone for a great job today and on Saturday,' said Verstappen said after his victory in Imola. 'It was a great weekend.' Piastri and Norris too congratulated Verstappen after what is only the second race of the season to not have either McLaren driver standing on top of the podium. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'I braked too early. But it was a great move by Max and then we had a few wrong calls so it was not one of our best Sundays,' Australian racer Piastri, who leads the driver's standings with 146 points, said. 'Congratulations to Max. We couldn't match him this weekend,' added Briton Norris, who's second on the table with 133 points.
1News
19-05-2025
- Automotive
- 1News
Formula 1: Verstappen wins at Imola, Liam Lawson 14th
Max Verstappen isn't about to let Oscar Piastri and McLaren walk away with his Formula 1 title. The defending champion ended Piastri's three-race win streak and gave his title defence a big boost with victory at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix on Monday after a daring overtake on Piastri at the start. Piastri and his teammate Lando Norris — whose McLaren car has been the one to beat so far this season — had no real answer to the pace of Verstappen's Red Bull after that. Verstappen built a commanding lead which was wiped out when the safety car bundled the field back up and injected more drama into the race late on. He still held on to win ahead of Norris, who overtook Piastri for second with five laps remaining. New Zealand's Liam Lawson was 14th for Racing Bulls, having qualified in 15th. Verstappen took his second win of the season, the first win since last month's Japanese Grand Prix, and his fourth in a row at Imola. Verstappen praised Red Bull's 'fantastic execution all round' as the team marked its 400th F1 race with a win. 'The start itself wasn't particularly great, but I was still on the outside line, or basically the normal (racing) line, and I was like, 'Well, I'm just going to try and send it round the outside,' and it worked really well," Verstappen said of his crucial overtake. "That, of course, unleashed our pace because once we were in the lead, the car was good.' It was also a clean overtake after Verstappen's aggressive style brought controversy at the last two races in Saudi Arabia and Miami. Norris' late-race move on Piastri was almost a copy of Verstappen's, though Norris had the advantage of being on fresher tires than his teammate. 'We had a good little battle at the end between Oscar and myself, which is always tense, but always good fun,' Norris said, admitting that Verstappen and Red Bull were 'too good for us today.' Piastri's lead over Norris in the standings was cut to 13 points, with Verstappen nine behind Norris. Lewis Hamilton recovered from 12th on the grid to finish fourth in his first race for Ferrari in Italy. Hamilton profited from a late-race fight between his teammate Charles Leclerc and Alex Albon of Williams. Albon complained Leclerc had pushed him off the track as they battled for fourth, and Hamilton passed both drivers before Ferrari eventually asked Leclerc to yield fifth to Albon. George Russell was seventh for Mercedes, ahead of Carlos Sainz, Jr. in the second Williams. Isack Hadjar was ninth for Racing Bulls and Verstappen's Red Bull teammate Yuki Tsunoda was 10th after starting last following a crash in qualifying. Overtaking was expected to be rare in what could be F1's last race for the foreseeable future at Imola. Instead, the Italian fans were treated to Verstappen's spectacular move at the start and plenty of other overtakes. The narrow, bumpy Imola track has been a favourite among drivers, who have relished its old-school challenge since it returned to the F1 schedule during the Covid-19 pandemic. Still, its status as Italy's second race — only the United States also hosts more than one — makes its position vulnerable. Today's race was the last under Imola's current contract, and while it isn't officially goodbye yet, there has been no word about next year. Verstappen said it would be 'a shame' to lose a track like Imola. 'If you want to grow the business and make it more popular, I get it," he said. "From me personally, when I just speak about the enjoyment of driving, it's these kind of tracks that made me fall in love with racing in general.'
