Marko: Perez improved F1 form because 2025 contract talks are at stake
Perez missed out on pole position for the 2024 Japanese Grand Prix to reigning world champion team-mate Max Verstappen by a slender 0.066 seconds as Red Bull scored a 1-2 result.With Perez out of contract at the end of the year, many believed RB driver Daniel Ricciardo would take hisContinue Reading
Russell explains how low-fuel runs expose Mercedes F1 inconsistency
Russell was only ninth fastest in Q3, with team-mate Lewis Hamilton marginally better in seventh – albeit the latter was still 0.589 seconds slower than polesitter Max Verstappen.An eventual 0.811s deficit for Russell was partly the result of a final-sector mistake. Otherwise, he reckoned he would have been 0.4s betterContinue Reading
Verstappen not “as comfortable” at Suzuka as in previous F1 races
The Suzuka weekend has unfolded unusually, with FP2 effectively being washed out by drizzle, which meant the teams spent most of FP3 on Saturday morning concentrating on long-run data gathering, rather than the typical qualifying simulation efforts.In these, Verstappen trailed his team-mate Sergio Perez by an average of 0.122 secondsContinue Reading
Alonso: Aston Martin F1 upgrades provided “unexpected” pace in Japan qualifying
The Spaniard ended Q1 second fastest but as the pace sharpened he dropped to fifth place in both Q2 and Q3, but he still felt the pace jump from Aston’s car updates were greater than predicted.Alonso ran the previous AMR24 car package during Friday practice at Suzuka, with team-mate LanceContinue Reading
Leclerc: No answer for “once in a season” Japan F1 qualifying struggle
Leclerc, renowned for his one-lap pace, was only eighth fastest as he lapped 0.589 seconds slower than polesitter Max Verstappen while outgoing Scuderia team-mate Carlos Sainz ranked fourth.But the Monegasque was at a loss to explain the disappointing performance on his side of the garage, implying that it was justContinue Reading
F1 Japanese Grand Prix – Start time, starting grid, how to watch, & more
The world champion led a Red Bull 1-2 in qualifying with a dominant display as he looks to bounce back from retiring from the Australian GP due to a brake issue.McLaren’s Lando Norris was Red Bull’s closest challenger, 0.292s off pole, and he will line up third on the gridContinue Reading
F1 Japanese Prix – Start time, starting grid, how to watch, & more
The world champion led a Red Bull 1-2 in qualifying with a dominant display as he looks to bounce back from retiring from the Australian GP due to a brake issue.McLaren’s Lando Norris was Red Bull’s closest challenger, 0.292s off pole, and he will line up third on the gridContinue Reading
F1 team-mates’ qualifying battles: Japanese GP
After every F1 qualifying session, Autosport each team’s qualifying record in terms of team-mate duels.This record is based exclusively on qualifying results so that grid penalties don’t alter the statistics.When a driver can’t put in a representative lap time due to a technical issue or an incident, this will beContinue Reading
2024 F1 Japanese GP qualifying results: Verstappen takes pole
Verstappen will start ahead of team-mate Sergio Perez and McLaren’s Lando Norris after the one-hour qualifying session, which is split into three segments with five cars each being knocked out in Q1 and Q2 before the top-10 shootout of Q3. Japanese Grand Prix grid: Verstappen on pole from PerezWhat happened inContinue Reading
F1 Japanese GP: Verstappen takes pole in Red Bull front row lockout
The Red Bull drivers were amongst just a handful of drivers to gain time on the second runs in Q3, where Ferrari’s challenge failed to materialise and the Mercedes drivers ended up behind Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso.Verstappen led the way on a 1m28.240s on the first Q3 fliers, where NorrisContinue Reading