lando norris – Artifex.News https://artifexnews.net Stay Connected. Stay Informed. Sun, 01 Sep 2024 16:01:09 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.6.1 https://artifexnews.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/cropped-Artifex-Round-32x32.png lando norris – Artifex.News https://artifexnews.net 32 32 Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc Wins Italian Grand Prix As Max Verstappen Falters Again https://artifexnews.net/ferraris-charles-leclerc-wins-italian-grand-prix-as-max-verstappen-falters-again-6467947/ Sun, 01 Sep 2024 16:01:09 +0000 https://artifexnews.net/ferraris-charles-leclerc-wins-italian-grand-prix-as-max-verstappen-falters-again-6467947/ Read More “Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc Wins Italian Grand Prix As Max Verstappen Falters Again” »

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Charles Leclerc won the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday to delight Ferrari’s massed ranks of fans as Lando Norris again chipped away at struggling champion Max Verstappen’s lead in the Formula One drivers’ standings. Monegasque Leclerc claimed victory at Monza for the second time after winning in 2019, holding off McLaren pair Oscar Piastri and Norris in a thrilling race in which Verstappen finished nearly 38 seconds off the pace in sixth. Huge roars engulfed the stands as Leclerc took the chequered flag for his second win over the season, after his own home Monaco GP, after holding out on a set of hard tyres he had changed during his one and only pit stop on the 16th lap.

“I thought that the first time would feel like this and the second time wouldn’t feel as special,” said Leclerc as he basked in the cheers of fans who made the track a joyous, noisy sea of red after the race.

“But my god the emotions in the last few laps; Monaco and Monza are the two races I want to win every year and I’ve managed to win them this year. It is so, so special.”

All of Leclerc’s major rivals, apart from teammate Carlos Sainz who ended up finishing fourth ahead of his Ferrari replacement Lewis Hamilton, pitted twice and McLaren were hoping that the Ferrari pair would do the same.

Instead Leclerc managed to keep his tyres in good enough condition to stay ahead and in the end finish the race comfortably in front of Piastri, who had taken the race lead early on after an overtake manoeuvre on Norris which was as daring as it was tactically questionable.

“Not going to lie it hurts a lot. I did a lot of things right today,” said Australian Piastri.

“Happy with the race, the pace I achieved but when you finish second it hurts.”

Verstappen woes

Briton Norris — who clocked the fastest lap right at the end — will be disappointed by his finish after starting on pole but he managed to chop Verstappen’s championship lead to 62 points with eight races remaining as his Dutch rival’s barren run continued.

“We considered (pitting once) the whole race but it was impossible with our graining. Just disappointed. Ferrari did a better job, so hats off to them,” said Norris.

Verstappen has now failed to win any of the last six GPs after claiming the honours in seven of the first 10, and his and Red Bull’s dominance of F1 looks increasingly in question.

A fourth straight world title looked a near certainty when Verstappen won in Spain back in June, but since then he has only finished on the podium twice.

And his teammate Sergio Perez finishing in eighth meant that McLaren are now only eight points behind Red Bull in the constructor’s standings and look favourites to win it for the first time since 1998.

Argentine rookie Franco Colapinto, who replaced axed Logan Sargeant for Williams following his disastrous showing at the Dutch Grand Prix last weekend, finish in 12th in his F1 debut.

Earlier Leonardo Fornaroli became the first Italian to win the F3 title, the 19-year-old doing so without winning a single race in this year’s championship.

Trident driver Fornaroli overtook Australian Christian Mansell on the final corner of the 10-race season to grab third place and snatch the title from Gabriele Mini by two points.

Gabriel Bortoleto won the F2 race in dramatic fashion after starting last on the grid, cutting Isack Hadjar’s lead at the top of the stands to just 10.5 points with three races remaining in the season.

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Max Verstappen Quickest In Opening F1 Italian GP Practice https://artifexnews.net/max-verstappen-quickest-in-opening-f1-italian-gp-practice-6453977/ Fri, 30 Aug 2024 13:50:03 +0000 https://artifexnews.net/max-verstappen-quickest-in-opening-f1-italian-gp-practice-6453977/ Read More “Max Verstappen Quickest In Opening F1 Italian GP Practice” »

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Championship leader Max Verstappen clocked one minute, 21.676 seconds.© AFP




Max Verstappen was fastest in Friday’s first practice session for the Italian Grand Prix, pipping Charles Leclerc to the top time as he tries to get his Formula One title defence back on track. Championship leader Verstappen clocked one minute, 21.676 seconds, 0.228sec ahead of Leclerc who is the main hope for the massed ranks of Ferrari fans at Monza. McLaren driver Lando Norris, Verstappen’s closest rival for the world title, was 0.241sec off the pace in third.

Norris trails by 70 points in the drivers’ championship after a stunning win at last weekend’s Dutch GP, the fifth straight race not to be won by Red Bull’s Verstappen.

Rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s first ever F1 drive ended quickly and in spectacular fashion as he span off the track with just four completed laps under his belt.

The 18-year-old was given a chance by Mercedes to drive George Russell’s car but lost control at the Parabolica turn 10 minutes into the session and smashed into the trackside barriers, seriously damaging the front end.

Antonelli apologised as he climbed out apparently unhurt, and Mercedes called the incident “unfortunate but all part of the learning curve”.

The Italian, who competes in the Formula Two championship for Prema Racing, is reported to be one of the drivers in contention to be Russell’s teammate when seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton switches to Ferrari at the end of year.

He was not the only driver to have problems at the Parabolica as Carlos Sainz nearly slid off and Franco Colapinto, another rookie who has replaced Logan Sargeant at Williams, hit the gravel at the same corner but managed to get his car back on the track.

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Brilliant Lando Norris Stuns Max Verstappen To Win Dutch Grand Prix https://artifexnews.net/brilliant-lando-norris-stuns-max-verstappen-to-win-dutch-grand-prix-6416179/ Sun, 25 Aug 2024 15:05:35 +0000 https://artifexnews.net/brilliant-lando-norris-stuns-max-verstappen-to-win-dutch-grand-prix-6416179/ Read More “Brilliant Lando Norris Stuns Max Verstappen To Win Dutch Grand Prix” »

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McLaren’s Lando Norris dashed to victory at the Dutch Grand Prix Sunday, a superb drive consigning home favourite Max Verstappen to his first-ever loss in front of his “Orange Army” fans. The British driver claimed his second career chequered flag after winning in Miami in May, closing Verstappen’s lead over him in the world championship to 70 points, with the Dutchman coming second. Despite raucous encouragement from a packed Zandvoort circuit, Verstappen could not extract enough from his Red Bull to compete with a recently upgraded McLaren that is beginning to look like the car to beat in Formula One.

“It feels amazing… The pace was very strong and the car was unbelievable today,” said Norris, who also secured a point for the fastest lap. 

The start was critical. Questions have been asked of the starting ability of Norris, who has three times this season failed to convert pole position into a first lap lead.

And again Norris was sluggish off the line, allowing Verstappen to power around the outside to huge cheers from the crowd, who saw their man take a 0.9-second advantage into the second lap.

Buoyed by the fast start, Verstappen clocked the quickest lap in lap two, putting clear daylight between him and the McLaren of Norris.

But the McLaren had been the fastest car in the paddock all race weekend and Norris started slowly but surely eating into Verstappen’s lead.

By lap 17 out of 72, Norris was only a few tenths of a second behind Verstappen, the Dutchman complaining on his team radio of a lack of grip from his tyres.

‘I can’t go faster’

Norris passed him a lap later on the outside at turn one, Verstappen powerless to prevent the overtake and quickly falling further behind.

“I can’t go faster. The car is not responding to my inputs,” a desperate Verstappen told his engineers as Norris stretched his advantage to more than four seconds.

On lap 25, Verstappen decided enough was enough and he needed a new set of tyres.

Norris pitted the lap after, his team taking 0.6 seconds longer than the Red Bull for the pit stop.

Nevertheless, Norris emerged from the two stops five seconds ahead of his rival and promptly produced the fastest lap of the race on his new set of tyres.

By lap 40, Norris had extended the advantage to more than 10 seconds over the three-time champion and just had to stay out of trouble to take the chequered flag.

His eventual margin of victory was 22.896 seconds, with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc holding off Norris’s McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri to claim the third podium spot after a thrilling battle.

Red Bull’s struggling second driver Sergio Perez finished in sixth position, meaning the gap in the constructors’ championship also narrowed from 42 points to 30.

“I wouldn’t say a perfect race because of lap one again, but afterwards it was beautiful,” said Norris.

“I expected Max to start pushing and get a bit of a gap. And he never did. So from that point, I knew we were in with a good fight,” added Norris.

“But he seemed to just keep dropping off. And my pace was getting better. So it’s a nice feeling inside the car. And especially when I got past, you know, I could just get comfortable.”

The F1 circus now moves on to the famous Monza track in Italy next weekend, round 16 of 24 with everyone snapping at Verstappen’s heels.

Verstappen has not won a Grand Prix since Barcelona in June, his longest barren spell since 2020 and while it is premature to talk of panic stations at Red Bull, the Dutch weekend will have given some cause for concern.

“You always try to do better and we had a good start, we tried everything we could today, but throughout the race it was quite clear that we are not quick enough, so I tried to be second today,” said Verstappen.

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Lando Norris Fastest In First Dutch Grand Prix Practice https://artifexnews.net/lando-norris-fastest-in-first-dutch-grand-prix-practice-6402465/ Fri, 23 Aug 2024 13:48:39 +0000 https://artifexnews.net/lando-norris-fastest-in-first-dutch-grand-prix-practice-6402465/ Read More “Lando Norris Fastest In First Dutch Grand Prix Practice” »

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Britain’s Lando Norris was fastest in the first practice session for the Dutch Grand Prix Friday, pipping home favourite Max Verstappen in wildly unpredictable weather conditions on the Zandvoort circuit. In classic Dutch seaside fashion, the weather veered from torrential rain to bright sunshine and back again in a matter of minutes, making tyre and racing strategy a real headache. On a thrilling last lap of practice, Verstappen briefly took the fastest lap time in his Red Bull before McLaren’s Norris seized back the advantage with a 1:12.322 lap.

Verstappen was just 0.201 seconds behind, with the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton third, a further 0.483 seconds behind the Dutchman.

On the wet track, even Verstappen locked up his wheels and spun out of control just as he looked to be delivering the fastest lap.

Then the clouds parted, the sun emerged, and the lap times quickened appreciably, the lead changing hands several times over the hour of practice.

Local hero Verstappen has never lost at his “home” Grand Prix since it was reintroduced to the circuit in 2021.

The three-time champion had a blistering start to the season, picking up from where he left off in 2023 with seven wins out of the first 10.

But he has endured a lean spell by his high standards, failing to take the chequered flag in any of the last four Grands Prix — his most barren period since 2020.

This has given the chasing pack, led by Norris, some hope they can somehow prevent Verstappen cruising to a fourth world championship.

Norris sits 78 points behind Verstappen in the drivers’ championship and while he hopes to overhaul the Dutchman, he was realistic about his chances before the race.

“It’s a lot of points and it’s against Max, so I want to be optimistic and say there’s still chances, I know it’s a lot and it’s going to be a very difficult challenge.”

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Max Verstappen Tops Belgian Grand Prix Qualifying, Charles Leclerc To Inherit Pole https://artifexnews.net/max-verstappen-tops-belgian-grand-prix-qualifying-charles-leclerc-to-inherit-pole-6203178/ Sat, 27 Jul 2024 16:48:18 +0000 https://artifexnews.net/max-verstappen-tops-belgian-grand-prix-qualifying-charles-leclerc-to-inherit-pole-6203178/ Read More “Max Verstappen Tops Belgian Grand Prix Qualifying, Charles Leclerc To Inherit Pole” »

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Max Verstappen, facing a 10-place grid penalty for taking a new engine, topped the times for Red Bull ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in a qualifying session run in mixed wet-and-dry conditions at the Belgian Grand Prix on Saturday. Leclerc will start Sunday’s race from pole position as he did in 2023 with Sergio Perez alongside him in the second Red Bull, the Mexican having ended a nightmare run of qualifying failures amid reports that his future with the team is at risk.

Seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton qualified fourth for Mercedes and will share the second row of the grid with McLaren’s Lando Norris, who qualified fifth ahead of team-mate Oscar Piastri and George Russell in the second Mercedes.

Carlos Sainz was eighth in the second Ferrari in front of compatriot and two-time champion Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin, Esteban Ocon of Alpine and Alex Albon of Williams — who will be 10th on the grid ahead of Verstappen.

“It was a nice qualifying and luckily the weather was ok,” said Verstappen, referring to earlier heavy rain that turned final practice into a washout. “It was raining a little bit, but we could do a decent session.

“I know I have to start 10 places back so this was the best I could do today and we’ll go from there. I don’t know quick we are going to be, but I hope we can be in the mix.”

Verstappen will be bidding to win the Belgian race for the fourth consecutive year, having won previously after taking grid penalties, but his car this year lacks the same clear superiority. Last year, he won from sixth. This year he starts 11th.

“It’s exactly the same as last year and, for me, it’s good as I didn’t expect that. We had tricky conditions and the rain helped us a bit and it’s good to be back at the front of the grid,” said Leclerc.

In steady but light rain, Norris led a train of cars from the pitlane for Q1, followed by both Haas cars and his McLaren team-mate Piastri, who was forced to drop to fourth by an exit by Kevin Magnussen that he described as “dangerous”.

– Racing in the rain –

A heavy shower was forecast by McLaren and this accelerated all 20 drivers to join the fray in pursuit of an early banker lap before the conditions deteriorated. All were on intermediates as Norris clocked 1:58.894 before being beaten by Piastri, in 1:57.411.

Verstappen then took over on top in 1:56.003 with Piastri threatening and taking second before rising to take command with five minutes to go in 1:55.549, before the Dutchman regained the ascendancy.

He clocked 1:54.938 to go six-tenths clear of Piastri while Norris struggled to match him and Russell fought to survive, rising from 17th to third in the final seconds of Q1.

Taking advantage of a problem for Verstappen, who was involved in a blocking incident with Zhou Guanyu’s Sauber, Piastri took top spot again in 1:54.835 ahead of Pierre Gasly.

The early departures were taken by the two Haas men, Nico Hulkenberg and Magnussen, RB’s Yuki Tsunoda, who will start from the back of the grid after taking a penalty for new power unit parts, Logan Sargeant of Williams and Zhou.

Q2 began in similar fashion, with rain forecast and all 15 runners on track, Alex Albon setting the early pace for Williams before Norris took over in 1:54.459 and then Verstappen, in 1:53.857. All were on ‘inters’ again.

With five minutes to go, Russell and Leclerc, with fresh tyres, were both in the drop-zone as the rain intensified. Russell reacted by leaping to fourth followed by Leclerc, taking third, and Hamilton up fifth.

Late faster laps from Perez, Ocon and Gasly pushed the Mercedes pair to go second and third while the under-pressure Perez survived by 0.003 seconds. Albon, Pierre Gasly of Alpine, Daniel Ricciardo of RB, Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas and Lance Stroll, whose Aston Martin team had rebuilt his car after his crash in FP3, missed the cut.

Hamilton was first out for Q3 and posted a lap in 1:54.011 as a marker.

On their first runs, only the two Red Bulls beat him, Verstappen going top in 1:53.159, leaving it all down to the final laps to decide the final grid order.

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Lando Norris On Pole As Mclaren Lock Out ‘Sweet’ Hungarian Grand Prix Front Row https://artifexnews.net/lando-norris-on-pole-as-mclaren-lock-out-sweet-hungarian-grand-prix-front-row-6150217/ Sat, 20 Jul 2024 17:33:40 +0000 https://artifexnews.net/lando-norris-on-pole-as-mclaren-lock-out-sweet-hungarian-grand-prix-front-row-6150217/ Read More “Lando Norris On Pole As Mclaren Lock Out ‘Sweet’ Hungarian Grand Prix Front Row” »

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Lando Norris grabbed pole position ahead of his team-mate Oscar Piastri for the Hungarian Grand Prix on Saturday as McLaren locked out the front row of the grid for the first time since 2012. Red Bull’s three-time champion Max Verstappen had to settle for third and the second row in the tense wet-dry qualifying. The 24-year-old Briton, who is 84 points behind Verstappen in this year’s title race, clocked a best lap in one minute and 15.227 seconds to outpace the Australian by 0.022 seconds.

Verstappen was three-hundredths of a second adrift in third ahead of Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, who leaves the team at the end of the year, and seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes, who will replace him.

Charles Leclerc, in the second Ferrari was sixth ahead of two-time champion Fernando Alonso and his Aston Martin team-mate Lance Stroll and the RBs of Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda, who had survived a high-speed crash earlier in Q3.

It was Norris’s second pole in four races and the third of his burgeoning career as he gains front-running experience in his bid to challenge Verstappen who, on Sunday bids to complete a hat-trick of Hungarian wins.

“I’m very happy with that and it wasn’t easy at all in difficult conditions so ending up on top is the best for us all and a great result for the team,” said Norris.

“We have come into this weekend confident we can do a good job so to be on pole is sweet.”

“It’s the first 1-2 for McLaren for a long time and an amazing result for us,” said Piastri. “I had a tricky day yesterday so for me it is nice to bounce back.”

Verstappen said: “I tried. We have been behind the whole weekend and I tried to make it as close as possible, but it wasn’t enough. I would have liked a bit more grip…”

After Friday’s sweltering conditions for practice, qualifying began in much cooler weather with temperatures and light rain falling.

The McLaren pair were first out on soft slick tyres along with Kevin Magnussen in his Haas.

Under pressure Perez

George Russell was also struggling before the session was red-flagged when Sergio Perez smacked the wall at Turn Eight, having lost control and made a sideways slide into the barriers in the second Red Bull.

For the under-pressure Mexican driver, it was another Q1 setback in a sequence of bad qualifying outings and came just seconds after Russell had saved his car sliding off at the same place as the rain intensified.

After a 12-minute break, the action resumed with Perez hanging on in ninth from his earlier efforts, before he suffered his fourth Q1 exit in six outings as he embarked on two racing weekends that many observers believe offer him a last chance to save his seat at Red Bull.

In a frantic finale to Q1, on a damp circuit, Russell managed to jump from 14th to 10th but it was not enough as others improved to leave him 17th and out, taking an early exit for the second year running at the Hungaroring along with Perez, 16th, Zhou Guanyu of Sauber and the two Alpines of Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly who stayed in the pits.

Unexpectedly, Daniel Ricciardo was fastest for RB in the changing conditions while Norris was only 13th.

“I’m sorry about this session guys,” said Russell, who had asked for more fuel to prolong his running to three laps. “That one is on me.”

The Q2 segment started with Sainz on top, until Hamilton and then Verstappen took over, the Dutchman in 1:15.770, nine-tenths faster than Hamilton’s pole in 2023. Piastri went second only 0.015 off the pace.

On his second run, Norris took command in 1:15.540 while Hamilton struggled to survive in 10th and Haas’s Nico Hulkenberg, Valtteri Bottas of Sauber, Williams’ Alex Albon, Sargeant and Magnussen missed the cut to the top-ten shootout.

All this left Norris and Verstappen to scrap for pole, as rain was forecast, and the Dutchman led them out to clock 1:15.555 before Norris cut that time by 0.328 with his lap in 1:15.227. It was provisional pole, as rain began to fall.

The world champion pushed to improve but stayed third as Yuki Tsunoda crashed at Turn Five in his RB to prompt a red-flag stoppage. It was a big accident, but the Japanese driver was unhurt.

Two minutes and 13 seconds remained, enough time for one more flying run as the marshals cleared the debris. In the event, as it drizzled, only Ricciardo improved his time to take ninth from his team-mate.

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Feature: The Storyline Behind Lewis Hamilton’s Romantic British Grand Prix Win https://artifexnews.net/feature-the-storyline-behind-lewis-hamiltons-romantic-british-grand-prix-win-6061086/ Mon, 08 Jul 2024 13:24:26 +0000 https://artifexnews.net/feature-the-storyline-behind-lewis-hamiltons-romantic-british-grand-prix-win-6061086/ Read More “Feature: The Storyline Behind Lewis Hamilton’s Romantic British Grand Prix Win” »

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945 days. 56 Grand Prix races. For a man who had won in every season of Formula 1 till then to have to wait for so long for another win seems beyond belief. But Sir Lewis Hamilton – the most successful driver in the history of his sport – had to wait that long. Through spells of agony, self-doubt and crushed glimmers of hope. But when it came, it came in the best way possible. Lewis Hamilton claimed his 104th F1 win at his home British Grand Prix on Sunday.

The win was, by all means, a fairytale. On a track no one drives quite like he does. In front of a colosseum of fans adorned in his masks and race number ’44’. He had won in Silverstone a record eight times before – including perhaps one of Formula 1’s greatest-ever drives in 2008 – but his ninth win, in 2024, is perhaps the most special.

“I can’t stop crying,” said Hamilton in the post-race interview. “Since 2021, every day getting up, trying to fight, to train, to put my mind to the task and work as hard as I can,” Hamilton tried to reason.

He didn’t need to. After having a championship taken away from him in heartbreaking circumstances at the end of 2021, Hamilton never got a chance to fight back as Mercedes fell down the pecking order.

Too many times, he had had his ability questioned. Sunday allowed Lewis Hamilton to release years of pent-up emotion: from needing a result for the effort he put, to being able to prove, to himself, that he has still got it. Oh boy, has he still got it.

On Sunday, Hamilton rode the ebbs and flows better than anyone else. He overtook teammate and pole-sitter George Russell on track. He then closed the gap to Lando Norris in a faster McLaren through a tricky spell of rain. Blitzed his outlap to overtake Norris after the final pitstops. And when Norris faded, Hamilton stayed strong, taking care of his soft tyres till the end to hold off a fast-charging Max Verstappen.

It wasn’t a win through luck, or in the fastest car; accusations that’ve unfairly been thrown Hamilton’s way in the past. Instead, it was a display of sheer genius. Hamilton was the best driver on Sunday. Period.

Hamilton himself admitted that he rarely cries. But as he teared up inside his car and then went on to have a long embrace with his father, it brought back memories of Turkey 2020.

Turkey 2020 was the race when Hamilton equalled the record for the most championships in Formula 1 history. The fact that this win caused Hamilton to react in a similar manner to that record-breaking race tells you everything about the magnitude, and what it meant to him.

To top it all off, the win came in Silverstone, his home race. The circuit where a part of the track is named after him. It’s the place where the crowd roars loudest for Formula 1’s most popular driver. As an emotional Hamilton jumped over the barriers and waved the Union Jack high, it was hard to not let a tear escape.

“To make him win again, at the British Grand Prix, in his last race for Mercedes here, it’s almost like a little fairytale. You couldn’t have scripted it better,” quipped Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff at the end of the race.

Despite turning 40 next year, Hamilton may still have many more romantic chapters to write as he prepares to don the Ferrari red next season. But he’ll have to do quite something to beat Sunday’s storyline.

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Analysis: How George Russell Beat Lando Norris And Max Verstappen To British Grand Prix Pole Position https://artifexnews.net/analysis-how-george-russell-beat-lando-norris-and-max-verstappen-to-british-grand-prix-pole-position-6048862/ Sat, 06 Jul 2024 15:47:19 +0000 https://artifexnews.net/analysis-how-george-russell-beat-lando-norris-and-max-verstappen-to-british-grand-prix-pole-position-6048862/ Read More “Analysis: How George Russell Beat Lando Norris And Max Verstappen To British Grand Prix Pole Position” »

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George Russell is the form man in Formula 1 at the moment, as he grabbed a second pole position in four races to head an all-British top 3 in the British Grand Prix qualifying on Saturday. Russell finished 0.171s ahead of Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton, who qualified P2. McLaren’s Lando Norris slotted in third, despite being the favourite going into qualifying. His teammate Oscar Piastri qualified P5. It was a disappointing day for Max Verstappen by his standards, as he qualified only fourth. But how did Mercedes come out on top?

Wet weather the secret to Mercedes success

Not for the first time in 2024, the Mercedes came alive in cooler conditions. Much like the Canadian GP when Russell grabbed pole, a wet-to-dry qualifying session suited the Mercedes car during qualifying, making them the team to beat on the soft tyre runs.

Championship leader Max Verstappen went off into the gravel in Q1, and a possible loss of downforce from that incident meant that the Dutchman was never really in contention for pole.

With rain on the cards on Sunday, George Russell will be eyeing up a second successive win, after his Austrian GP success last weekend.

Watch out for Hamilton, Norris

Lewis Hamilton is an eight-time winner at Silverstone, and no driver drives the circuit quite like the seven-time world champion. Starting on the front row, Hamilton, for once in 2024, will not have to rue a poor qualifying result.

Lando Norris in the McLaren is likely to also take the fight to the two Silver Arrows. In recent weekends, the McLaren has been the fastest car on raceday.

Day to forget for Ferrari

Ferrari have abruptly fallen behind Red Bull, McLaren and Mercedes, proved by the fact that Nico Hulkenberg in the Haas outqualified Carlos Sainz. The day was even worse for Charles Leclerc, who failed to make it to Q3.

Lance Stroll (P8) also outqualified Fernando Alonso (P10) in the Aston Martin team.

Earlier in the day, Sergio Perez beached it in the gravel in Q1, meaning it was yet another Q1 elimination for the Mexican.

British GP Qualifying Top 10: 1. George Russell, 2. Lewis Hamilton, 3. Lando Norris, 4. Max Verstappen, 5. Oscar Piastri, 6. Nico Hulkenberg, 7. Carlos Sainz, 8. Lance Stroll, 9. Alex Albon, 10. Fernando Alonso.

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Brilliant Max Verstappen Wins Austrian Grand Prix Sprint Ahead Of Oscar Piastri And Lando Norris https://artifexnews.net/brilliant-max-verstappen-wins-austrian-grand-prix-sprint-ahead-of-oscar-piastri-and-lando-norris-5997169/ Sat, 29 Jun 2024 13:33:28 +0000 https://artifexnews.net/brilliant-max-verstappen-wins-austrian-grand-prix-sprint-ahead-of-oscar-piastri-and-lando-norris-5997169/ Read More “Brilliant Max Verstappen Wins Austrian Grand Prix Sprint Ahead Of Oscar Piastri And Lando Norris” »

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Red Bull’s Max Verstappen outperformed the McLarens of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris to win the Sprint race at the Austrian Grand Prix on Saturday. Verstappen held the lead since the start before Norris soon closed in and briefly moved into P1 with a bold overtake, only for the reigning world champion to reclaim the position moments later in a squabble that enabled Piastri to pass his teammate. Behind the top three drivers, who maintained that formation to the chequered flag despite some more moments of excitement, George Russell and Lewis Hamilton sandwiched Carlos Sainz, followed by the recovering Charles Leclerc and Sergio Perez.

Sainz got the jump on Russell with a fine move around the outside of Turn 4, as Hamilton held sixth over the fast-starting Leclerc, Perez, Kevin Magnussen and Lance Stroll -– the Alpines of Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly dropping out of the top 10 places.

Having kept Piastri behind him, Norris went on the attack, lighting up the timesheets to close in on Verstappen and, on Lap 5, bravely sent his car up the inside of the Red Bull at Turn 3, just about slowing it down at the apex to emerge with the lead.

But more excitement swiftly followed as Verstappen responded with a lunge at Turn 4, where Norris’ exit was compromised and Piastri managed to slip past his teammate, with Sainz, the two Mercedes drivers and Leclerc all watching on.

Talking about his performance after the Sprint, Verstappen said, “It was a good first lap, I would say, but then once the DRS opens it’s very hard to get out of it – (it) took a few laps. A few exciting battles as well, but I think once we cleared the DRS then I could do a bit more of my own race and it looked all a bit better.

“You could see they [McLaren] have two cars that are pushing flat-out trying to of course make it difficult for me, and we had to work for it in that race. A few things to think about where we could do better, for tomorrow especially. I think tomorrow is also going to be a longer race and harder on the tyres, so it’s going to be quite interesting to see how that will evolve,” he added.

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Lando Norris Targets Austrian Grand Prix To Put Pressure On Max Verstappen https://artifexnews.net/lando-norris-targets-austrian-grand-prix-to-put-pressure-on-max-verstappen-5979067/ Thu, 27 Jun 2024 03:42:36 +0000 https://artifexnews.net/lando-norris-targets-austrian-grand-prix-to-put-pressure-on-max-verstappen-5979067/ Read More “Lando Norris Targets Austrian Grand Prix To Put Pressure On Max Verstappen” »

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Lando Norris seeks to be a party-wrecker this weekend when he takes on series leader and three-time Formula One world champion Max Verstappen at his Red Bull team’s home Austrian Grand Prix. After a series of impressive results including two consecutive second place finishes behind the Dutchman, the McLaren driver wants to trim his 69-point deficit in the title race. The 24-year-old Englishman believes he has the car and the confidence to put together a winning sequence himself. 

“We’re on a roll and we’re doing well,” said Norris, adding he was frustrated by his own errors.

“I need to tidy up a few little bits and pieces and we’ll be on top. I am confident. 

“Every weekend we go into now, the car is performing extremely well and we’re always there, or thereabouts, within a couple of tenths.”

He blamed himself for not winning from pole in last Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix after beating Verstappen in qualifying. 

Since winning the Miami Grand Prix in May, Norris has moved up a gear to become his friend’s main rival for the title.

He has finished within four seconds or less of Verstappen at Imola, Montreal and Barcelona as he extended his run to 10 seconds in the last 23 races. 

However, he and McLaren know Verstappen will be strong and motivated by massed ranks of his ‘orange army’ on a track where he dominated last year as he stamped his supremacy on the season.

‘Big strides’

This year has been different, however, and a close scrap is in prospect in the 11th round of the championship where a third sprint race this year may also spring a surprise. 

Red Bull’s team boss Christian Horner warned his team are no longer having it their own way and said he expects a difficult weekend. 

“On such a short lap, it’s going to be tight and we expect McLaren, and Lando, to be fast again along with Ferrari and Mercedes.

“Who knows? 

“The one who’s really stepped up is Lando and we’re having to fight really hard for wins at the moment and be on top of our game as a team. But, you know, that’s F1 as it should be!”

After their recent resurgence, Mercedes will hope to stay in contention with seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton buoyed by his first podium this year and team-mate George Russell feeling the Silver Arrows have rediscovered their form and mojo. 

“We’re all feeling excited for the remainder of the season,” said Russell.

“We’ve got more wind tunnel time than all of our rivals and we know what we need to do to make these big strides now.

“We don’t want to get ahead of ourselves, but I’m 100 per cent confident we’ll win races this year now.”

Whatever the outcome this weekend, as he seeks a fifth win, Verstappen will extend his record for leading the championship to 50 races.

It is a welcome certainty in the light of last year’s chaos when the result was revised five hours after the event following a spate of penalties for drivers’ exceeding track limits. 

That is unlikely this year as the Red Bull-owned circuit has installed 2.5-metre gravel traps at the exits of Turns Nine and Ten. 

Last year, a total of more than 1,200 possible infringements were investigated resulting in 83 being identified and eight drivers penalised.

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