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F1 2022

Nelson Piquet facing court battle and eye-watering fine over Lewis Hamilton racist abuse​

Nelson Piquet is set to attend a court hearing regarding his racist abuse of Mercedes star Lewis Hamilton while the three-time Formula 1 world champion could also be handed a £1.5million fine. Piquet was filmed referring to Hamilton with Brazilian-Portuguese racist language along with a homophobic slur. The footage resurfaced from an interview he gave in a podcast last November back in Brazil, but it only gained traction late last month. The 69-year-old was discussing the epic rivalry between Hamilton and Red Bull star Max Verstappen, who eventually went on to win the 2021 world championship in dramatic and controversial circumstances. Piquet was commenting on the incident between the duo at last year’s British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

The duo battled for the lead heading into Copse corner on the opening lap and Verstappen crashed out into the barriers at high speed. Hamilton was ultimately blamed for the incident by Piquet, whose daughter Kelly has been dating the Dutchman for a number of years. However, Piquet launched into a horrendous torrent of racist abuse aimed at Hamilton. In a longer clip, the Brazilian also uses awful homophobic slurs against the Brit. Piquet later apologised, although he attempted to justify the use of such abhorrent language. Regardless, a judge in Sao Paulo has ordered an investigation into his comments after a human rights group pressed charges against the former racer for causing moral damage to black and LGBTQ+ people. The charges include a claim for Piquet to pay around £1.5m in damages. Piquet will have 15 days to state his case to judge Felipe Costa da Fonseca Gomes of the Distrito Federal court.

Both F1 and Mercedes have vehemently condemned Piquet’s comments, with the sport insisting discriminatory language is "unacceptable in any form and has no part in society". The Silver Arrows added: “We condemn in the strongest terms any use of racist or discriminatory language of any kind. Lewis has spearheaded our sport’s efforts to combat racism, and he is a true champion of diversity on and off track.” Hamilton responded by posting an inspirational message online about the gravity of the comments. Taking to Twitter, the seven-time world champion wrote: “It’s more than language. These archaic mindsets need to change and have no place in our sport. I’ve been surrounded by these attitudes and targeted my whole life. There has been plenty of time to learn. Time has come for action.”
 
"Crepe suzette, Rodders, it's another big pricks weekend.

It's all going plume de ma tante in France."

Yes, this weekend Dutch fans will be disgracing themselves at the Paul Ricard - the only track with more blue stuff than a Hockney painting.

The telly times in the UK will be:

Fri 22 Jul
FP1 - 13:00
FP2 - 16:00

Sat 23 Jul
FP3 - 12:00
Qual - 15:00

Sun 24 Jul
Race- 14:00

"Free de mare, as they say, Rodders. Unleash the horse power."
 

Mercedes developing floor upgrade to leapfrog Ferrari and Red Bull​

Plenty of work has been going on at Brackley in recent weeks to solve the endemic problem running through the Mercedes team of late. The German side have had all hands on deck since the beginning of the season trying to eradicate “porpoising” and bouncing which, as well as costing them bags of performance, have been causing some physical torment for George Russell and Sir Lewis Hamilton. The latter struggling to clamber out of his W13 at the end of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix was proof enough that something needed to change, but the last thing on anyone’s mind was panic.

This is a group of engineers and mechanics who have been at the side since the BAR and Honda days when, particularly at the end of 2008, things looked a lot more bleak than they do now. The 2009 title victory with Jenson Button, who would seal the Constructors’ Championship with Rubens Barrichello under the Brawn name, was the end of one chapter, and the start of a historic one. Eight straight constructors’ crowns would follow upon the turn of the hybrid era after Hamilton, Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher had put in the hours to develop the car, and it would be the karting buddies that would bring home seven straight drivers’ crowns between them.

This has very much been a season of working back towards their previous success for the German side, and the last few rounds have been extremely promising. Between them, Hamilton and Russell have been on the podium in all of the last four races, with the seven-time champion managing three straight rostrum appearances for the first time this season, giving indications that the W13 has a clearer working window that is easier to exploit. This has come from months of dedication to eradicate “porpoising” by correcting aerodynamic efficiencies, and then bouncing when the floor and suspension could not sustain the low ride height brought about by the new technical regulations.

Of course, the wooden plank on the bottom of the cars has been a cause of controversy after some teams were found to be using some very smart tricks to avoid wearing away the skid block, giving their drivers more cushioning down the straight. This will changed as of the Belgian Grand Prix after the teams return from the summer shutdown and, if Red Bull and Ferrari have indeed been using some loopholes in the regulations, they will not be allowed to any more. This could certainly bring the Silver Arrows back into play with a simpler set of rules, but it will also answer a very big question: have Red Bull and Ferrari really been using a game-changing piece of innovation, or have they simply built a fundamentally better race car than Mercedes anyway?

We have seen the W13 work exceptionally at circuits such as Silverstone, but horribly at tracks like Monaco and Baku, and their performance varies depending on the smoothness of the track surface, as well as the nature of the corners. The eight-time champions seem to have found better performance at tracks with high-speed corners, so this weekend’s French Grand Prix at Paul Ricard may suit them just fine. A massive sense of anticipation will await at the Hungarian Grand Prix before the teams split for the summer though, as the track surface is an awful lot rougher than Paul Ricard, and there are more awkward, lower speed corners that require patience on the throttle and solid mechanical grip. What will help them compared to before is that they essentially have some invisible bits and pieces on the car as part of their development of the misbehaving 2022 challenger, and if they can perform well at the Hungaroring, there will be a lot of buoyance going into the second part of the season.

This upgrade, which is “one you don’t see,” according to the engineers, will undoubtedly be a floor alteration, and if it can further stabilise the W13, it could further enhance the already immaculate tyre wear we saw in Silverstone and Austria. Can they win either of the last two races before the summer break? If things go their way, then why not? But it would take an extraordinary Esteban Ocon, Pierre Gasly or indeed Sergio Perez situation for that to happen, because the pace of the Mercedes car is not quite there… yet.
 

Manager tells Schumacher family to stop ‘lies’​

Michael Schumacher’s former manager is calling on the family of the F1 legend to finally tell “the truth” about his physical health condition. It is approaching a full decade since the now 53-year-old fell whilst skiing with his son Mick in France, striking his head and sustaining brain injuries. German Schumacher has not been seen or heard from publicly since then. “It was a huge pain for me,” his former manager Willi Weber told La Gazzetta dello Sport. “I tried hundreds of times to contact Corinna and she didn’t answer. I called Jean Todt to ask him if I should go to the hospital and he told me to wait – it’s too early. I called the next day and no one answered. I didn’t expect behaviour like that and I’m still angry about it. They kept me out, telling me it’s too early, well now it’s too late. It’s been nine years. Maybe they should just say it the way it is. I could understand the situation initially as I always did everything I could for Michael to protect his private life. But since then we have only heard lies from them,” Weber, 80, added. He says he occasionally talks to Michael’s brother Ralf, who he also managed in Formula 1. “Years after the accident, I said to myself to just look out for the family as I couldn’t change things. He was like a son to me. Even today it hurts me to talk about it.”
 

Hill backs Mercedes to take 1-2 finish at French GP​

1996 Formula 1 World Champion Damon Hill believes Mercedes will end its win drought at this weekend’s French Grand Prix. The reigning Constructors’ Champions have endured a difficult opening half to the 2022 campaign, and is still yet to step atop the podium this year. Mercedes’ concept for the new-for-2022 cars hasn’t worked as well as Red Bull’s and Ferrari’s, however it has consistently been the third-fastest team. It has suffered from severe bouncing at a number of grands prix this year, but measures installed at recent events appear to have aided the issue. Ahead of the French GP weekend, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff says that the team “hopes to be back on the podium” after a recent run of success for Lewis Hamilton.


But Hill believes that the race will be Mercedes’ best chance yet to secure a race win this campaign. “I’m going to go for Lewis Hamilton [to win],” Hill said. “I think there’s going to be an incident. We’ve been talking about how well they [Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc] have been getting on. I think that first corner [in France] is a bit tricky, the little chicane thing. Let’s say Charles loses his front wing or Max gets a puncture or something like that. Or maybe even on pure pace the Mercedes springs a surprise. I think in their race trim, Lewis has been on occasion, very, very quick. It could even be Lewis first, George second and Carlos Sainz third.”

Former F1 driver Gerhard Berger believes the on-track respect shown between Verstappen and Leclerc this year is bound to end soon. “It’s brilliant how Max and Leclerc are racing each other and giving space to each other. They don’t do stupid things,” he said. "They’re really, really highly professional, very good. But one moment [there] will be not be enough space, and maybe it will be this weekend. It was too smooth the last few races.”
 

Sainz gets 10-place grid drop in France after power unit element change​

Sainz was forced to retire from the Austrian Grand Prix while running third in the closing stages two weeks ago after a fire emerged on his car following an engine failure. The issue and fire left Ferrari weighing up whether or not to change Sainz's power unit and take a grid penalty at Paul Ricard this weekend. Ferrari F1 boss Mattia Binotto said after Austria that it was "very likely" a change would be required, while Sainz said on Thursday that there was "a chance" he may have to do so.

Following the start of opening practice in France, the FIA issued an update confirming the new power unit elements taken for this weekend, one of which was a fresh control electronics on Sainz's car. As it is Sainz's third control electronics of the season, breaking the yearly limit of two, it has triggered an automatic 10-place grid drop. Sainz's power unit has also been fitted with a fresh energy store, but as it is only his second element of the season, he remains within the yearly limit and has no additional penalty. But should Ferrari it opt to stagger any further power unit changes through the rest of the weekend - an approach taken with Charles Leclerc in Canada - and take a fresh engine, turbocharger, MGU-K or MGU-K, then it would drop Sainz to the back of the grid.

The penalty will come as a further setback for Sainz, who said on Thursday that the Austria retirement came just as he was "getting my championship hopes back up" following his win at Silverstone. The Spaniard now sits 75 points behind standings leader Max Verstappen, and is 37 back from teammate Charles Leclerc. Changes have also been made to Lewis Hamilton's car at Mercedes for France, where he will run with a fresh turbocharger, energy store and MGU-H this weekend. All the new elements remain within the limit, meaning Hamilton will serve no grid drop. Hamilton is joined in taking a new energy store by Sainz, George Russell and Zhou Guanyu, while Verstappen and Lando Norris both have a new exhaust system for this weekend without any penalty.
 

Leclerc heads Verstappen in FP1​

Charles Leclerc set the fastest time during the opening practice session for Formula 1’s French Grand Prix at Circuit Paul Ricard. Leclerc set a time of 1:33.930s to finish 0.091s up on title rival Max Verstappen in hot and sunny conditions on Friday afternoon. Carlos Sainz was third for Ferrari, three-tenths down, as he prepares to take a grid drop for Sunday’s race. Sainz has incurred a 10-place grid penalty for a fresh Control Electronics but it is expected that Ferrari will take on more fresh components prior to Saturday’s running. It comes after he suffered a race-ending failure at the preceding round in Austria.

George Russell was fourth-fastest for Mercedes but faced a deficit of almost a second to pacesetter Leclerc. Pierre Gasly was an encouraging fifth for AlphaTauri as the team’s heavily upgraded AT03 made its on-track debut. Sergio Perez had a scruffy session, spinning through Turn 3, before having to pit after a visor tear-off lodged in the right-rear of the car. Perez recovered to wind up sixth overall, ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris in the updated MCL36, while Williams’ Alexander Albon was a surprising eighth.

Mercedes’ Nyck de Vries was ninth as the Dutchman replaced Lewis Hamilton for the one-hour session per Formula 1’s new-for-2022 rules on young drivers. It was a second practice outing of the year for long-term Mercedes co-reserve driver de Vries, who had a run out for Williams in Spain in May. De Vries, the reigning Formula E champion, was briefly in contention for a 2022 seat with Williams before it opted to recruit Albon. Daniel Ricciardo rounded out the top 10 for McLaren, ahead of Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu and Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll.

Alpine had a low-key start to its home grand prix, with Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso only 13th and 15th respectively, sandwiching Sebastian Vettel. Haas enters France off the back of successive double points but was another team to put in a subdued display, leaving Mick Schumacher and Kevin Magnussen 16th and 17th respectively, in front of Yuki Tsunoda.

Robert Kubica returned to Alfa Romeo’s C42 in place of Valtteri Bottas and finished 19th overall. Kubica has been Alfa Romeo’s reserve driver since 2020 and last year stepped in to compete in two grands prix when Kimi Räikkönen contracted Covid-19. Nicholas Latifi had his first experience of Williams’ updated FW44 and finished as the slowest of the 20 entrants, setting his best time on Mediums compared to the Softs utilised by the other 19 drivers.

FP1 result
1 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:33.930 22 laps (soft)
2 Max Verstappen Red Bull 0.091s 17 laps (soft)
3 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 0.338s 20 laps (soft)
4 George Russell Mercedes 0.951s 24 laps (soft)
5 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri 1.049s 20 laps (soft)
6 Sergio Perez Red Bull 1.244s 19 laps (soft)
7 Lando Norris McLaren 1.302s 20 laps (soft)
8 Alex Albon Williams 1.484s 23 laps (soft)
9 Nyck de Vries Mercedes 1.496s 22 laps (soft)
10 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren 1.730s 20 laps (soft)
11 Guanyu Zhou Alfa Romeo Racing 1.746s 19 laps (soft)
12 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 1.880s 17 laps (soft)
13 Esteban Ocon Alpine 1.898s 19 laps (soft)
14 Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin 1.921s 23 laps (soft)
15 Fernando Alonso Alpine 1.945s 21 laps (soft)
16 Mick Schumacher Haas 2.092s 18 laps (soft)
17 Kevin Magnussen Haas 2.174s 20 laps (soft)
18 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri 2.197s 25 laps (soft)
19 Robert Kubica Alfa Romeo Racing 2.402s 19 laps (soft)
20 Nicholas Latifi Williams 3.113s 22 laps (soft)
 

Wolff gives 'underwhelming' Mercedes progress update ​

Toto Wolff has described Mercedes' performance level in Friday's opening free practice session for the French Grand Prix as "underwhelming". After a difficult start to the season, Mercedes have been pushing to close in on front-runners Red Bull and Ferrari at recent events, claiming four podiums on the bounce. The smooth nature of the Circuit Paul Ricard had also been tipped to help the team amid their ongoing battle with porpoising. But the Silver Arrows started the weekend the best part of a second off the pace set by Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen. George Russell was the lead Mercedes driver in fourth, with Formula 2 and Formula E title winner Nyck de Vries – getting a 'young driver' run in Lewis Hamilton's car – half a second further back in ninth.

Mercedes simply "lacking pace" in FP1 at Paul Ricard
Reflecting on the session, Wolff pointed to struggles getting the Pirelli tyres in their "optimum grip window". "It's not where we want to be," the Mercedes boss told Sky Sports F1 after FP1. "We're trying lots of parts, but we're just lacking pace at the moment in the free practice session. It's early days, but the performance in FP1 was a bit underwhelming. We don't seem to extract enough out of it. We're going to do some [comparisons] and see what it gives in [FP2 in] the afternoon." As for the upgrades Mercedes have brought to the track this weekend, Wolff said: "We have a few aerodynamic modifications on the floor, on the side edges – little things that should make it better."

Wolff surprised by Hamilton sitting in the garage
Wolff went on to describe his surprise at Hamilton sitting at the back of the Mercedes garage at the start of the session. It marked the first time Hamilton has given up his car on what is his 300th Grand Prix appearance to date. "I was a bit confused!" Wolff said, when asked about Hamilton being on the sidelines. "I came in [the garage] and he sat on my seat, and I thought, 'Why are you not in the car?' And then obviously I realised..."
Wolff also revealed the role the seven-time World Champion played from the garage. "He was coaching Nyck," the Austrian went on to comment. "He was helping him with the [telemetry] overlays and it was quite interesting to see."
 

French GP FP2​

Carlos Sainz led Charles Leclerc at the top of the times on Friday as Ferrari dominated second practice for the French Grand Prix ahead of world championship leader Max Verstappen of Red Bull. The Ferrari pair swapped fastest laps in a closely-contested session in bright sunshine, Sainz making light of the prospect of a 10-place grid penalty for Sunday's race after taking new power-train components. The Spaniard, who scored his maiden victory at the British Grand Prix earlier this month, clocked a best lap in one minute and 32.527 seconds to beat his Monegasque team-mate by 0.101seconds.

Verstappen was a competitive third ahead of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton in the two freshly-updated Mercedes and Lando Norris who was sixth for McLaren. Kevin Magnussen was seventh for Haas ahead of Pierre Gasly of AlphaTauri, Daniel Ricciardo in the second McLaren and Sergio Perez, in the second Red Bull. The session was uninterrupted and largely uneventful as the teams adapted to the heat – the track temperature was 50 degrees and the air 34 degrees – in front of a big holiday crowd.

The circuit is sold out for both Saturday and Sunday, according to the organisers at the Paul Ricard circuit, where the two Alpine drivers set the initial early pace with Fernando Alonso topping Esteban Ocon before Magnussen and then Russell took over until Leclerc arrived. The reinvigorated Leclerc, who won the last race in Austria, had been quickest in the first session and was swift to pick up where he left off in the earlier action. As expected, it was a tight contest and four minutes later Verstappen edged ahead by 0.010 seconds only for Sainz, facing a grid penalty on Sunday, to sweep clear at the top by 0.850 in 1:33.322. The heat appeared to have a soporific effect on everyone for a short period before Leclerc returned to beat his Ferrari team-mate’s time by 0.186 only for the Spaniard to respond and jump six-tenths clear. It was clear that Ferrari had found a sweet spot in their car set-up, but Verstappen was close to matching them on soft tyres, the Dutchman moving up to second briefly before Leclerc replaced him.

FP2 Results:​


PosNoDriverNat.TeamTimeGapLaps
155Carlos SainzESPScuderia Ferrari1:32.52722
216Charles LeclercMONScuderia Ferrari1:32.628+0.101s22
31Max VerstappenNEDOracle Red Bull Racing1:33.077+0.550s17
463George RussellGBRMercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team1:33.291+0.764s20
544Lewis HamiltonGBRMercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team1:33.517+0.990s23
64Lando NorrisGBRMcLaren F1 Team1:33.607+1.080s21
710Pierre GaslyFRAScuderia AlphaTauri1:33.906+1.379s24
820Kevin MagnussenDENHaas F1 Team1:33.928+1.401s24
93Daniel RicciardoAUSMcLaren F1 Team1:33.984+1.457s23
1011Sergio PerezMEXOracle Red Bull Racing1:34.060+1.533s16
1114Fernando AlonsoESPBWT Alpine F1 Team1:34.259+1.732s24
1277Valtteri BottasFINAlfa Romeo Racing1:34.264+1.737s27
135Sebastian VettelGERAston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team1:34.420+1.893s27
1422Yuki TsunodaJAPScuderia AlphaTauri1:34.540+2.013s24
1518Lance StrollCANAston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team1:34.595+2.068s26
1623Alexander AlbonTHAWilliams Racing1:34.653+2.126s23
1724Zhou GuanyuCHNAlfa Romeo Racing1:34.654+2.127s26
1831Esteban OconFRABWT Alpine F1 Team1:34.660+2.133s26
1947Mick SchumacherGERHaas F1 Team1:35.195+2.668s22
206Nicholas LatifiCANWilliams Racing1:35.412+2.885s26
 
1%er said:

Wolff gives 'underwhelming' Mercedes progress update ​

Toto Wolff has described Mercedes' performance level in Friday's opening free practice session for the French Grand Prix as "underwhelming". After a difficult start to the season, Mercedes have been pushing to close in on front-runners Red Bull and Ferrari at recent events, claiming four podiums on the bounce. The smooth nature of the Circuit Paul Ricard had also been tipped to help the team amid their ongoing battle with porpoising. But the Silver Arrows started the weekend the best part of a second off the pace set by Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen. George Russell was the lead Mercedes driver in fourth, with Formula 2 and Formula E title winner Nyck de Vries – getting a 'young driver' run in Lewis Hamilton's car – half a second further back in ninth.

Mercedes simply "lacking pace" in FP1 at Paul Ricard
Reflecting on the session, Wolff pointed to struggles getting the Pirelli tyres in their "optimum grip window". "It's not where we want to be," the Mercedes boss told Sky Sports F1 after FP1. "We're trying lots of parts, but we're just lacking pace at the moment in the free practice session. It's early days, but the performance in FP1 was a bit underwhelming. We don't seem to extract enough out of it. We're going to do some [comparisons] and see what it gives in [FP2 in] the afternoon." As for the upgrades Mercedes have brought to the track this weekend, Wolff said: "We have a few aerodynamic modifications on the floor, on the side edges – little things that should make it better."

Wolff surprised by Hamilton sitting in the garage
Wolff went on to describe his surprise at Hamilton sitting at the back of the Mercedes garage at the start of the session. It marked the first time Hamilton has given up his car on what is his 300th Grand Prix appearance to date. "I was a bit confused!" Wolff said, when asked about Hamilton being on the sidelines. "I came in [the garage] and he sat on my seat, and I thought, 'Why are you not in the car?' And then obviously I realised..."
Wolff also revealed the role the seven-time World Champion played from the garage. "He was coaching Nyck," the Austrian went on to comment. "He was helping him with the [telemetry] overlays and it was quite interesting to see."
Click to expand...


very weird the team boss did not know they had another driver in the car who making the decisions

for all the Merc upgrades going to a track where the surface temp is around 60 degrees might not be the best place to start pondering tyre performance
also the cooling issue common to the car cannot be help with the minimal sidepods design concept
 

Williams explain why they haven’t yet signed Lewis Hamilton’s diversity charter​

Hamilton revealed ahead of the F1 French Grand Prix this weekend that only nine out of 10 F1 teams have committed to The Hamilton Commission, which he set up in 2021 to boost diversity and inclusion. Hamilton opted not to publicly name that team. Williams clarified their position “We last had conversations with the Royal Academy of Engineering back in March and we are awaiting further information from them on such an important topic, of which we at Williams Racing already have serious active programmes. We have no knowledge of the progress and of who has and has not signed up to date, as it has been several months since we had any communication from them. Once we are in possession of further information and a copy of the final charter, we can look into it.”

Hamilton said earlier this week: ““We’ve gone back and forth with them and for some reason they don’t want to, but all the other nine teams have, which is really encouraging. F1 needs to do more. All the teams need to do more. I think we are very close to getting this diversity inclusion charter going and I think there’s one team, still the same team, is not willing to engage. But I’m grateful to see that the other teams are willing to step forward and do the work.” Hamilton was racially abused by Nelson Piquet, the ex-F1 champion, earlier this season and has spoken out in favour of diversity in the wake of that outrage.
 
FP3
Sergio Perez got the final hour of practice at a toasty Le Castellet underway. Red Bull's Mexican driver was also the first man to get a tentative time on the board with a 1m33.628s on medium Pirelli tyres. Perez' teammate Verstappen also came out uncharacteristically early after admitting Red Bull had run some experiments in FP2, taking to the track after only a handful of minutes to try a different set-up. The reigning world champion immediately took eight tenths out of Perez' time to go top with a 1m32.837s on mediums and then improving to a 1m32.808s, just three tenths off Carlos Sainz's best time from FP2. Perez got to within half a second of the Dutchman on his second attempt, until Ferrari's Sainz split the two Red Bulls with a 1m33.217s effort.

Shortly after his teammate Charles Leclerc had spun off at the tricky Turn 12 left-hander, Sainz too had to abort what looked like a potential fastest lap after going wide through the preceding Beausset double right-hander. Ferrari's brace of errors meant Verstappen's time went unchallenged until well past the halfway mark. Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton briefly took third with a 1m33.255s on softs, a prelude to a flurry of more soft-shod attempts. Sainz briefly reclaimed second with a 1m33.172s lap, only to be demoted again by Leclerc's 1m32.909s, still one tenth removed from Verstappen's time on mediums. Sainz, who is set to start from the back of the grid after taking a new Ferrari engine, finally overhauled the Red Bull in the final 10 minutes by virtue of a 1m32.626s lap, proving quicker in the first and third sector.

But Verstappen immediately replied on his first lap on softs by definitively reclaiming top with a 1m32.272s effort. Sainz and Leclerc finished the session in second and third, three and six tenths down respectively, followed by Hamilton in the Mercedes, the Briton a second behind on Verstappen's time. Perez and Hamilton's teammate George Russell followed in fifth and sixth, ahead of Fernando Alonso, who set a promising seventh time in Alpine's home race with a late improvement. Williams' Alex Albon impressed with a shock eighth place, while Lando Norris led the line again for McLaren in ninth, with AlphaTauri's Yuki Tsunoda completing the top 10.

The second McLaren of Daniel Ricciardo was 11th, narrowly ahead of the second Williams of Nicholas Latifi. Latifi demoted AlphaTauri's Pierre Gasly to 13th, followed by Alfa Romeo duo Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu. Kevin Magnussen, who will also start from the back of the grid due to an engine penalty, was 16th in the first Haas, following by Alpine's Esteban Ocon. Aston Martin languished down the bottom with Lance Stroll 18th and Sebastian Vettel last, the pair being split by the second Haas of Mick Schumacher, who spent the middle part of the session in the garage. Aston Martin said Vettel was unable to complete his final runs due to car damage.

2022 F1 French Grand Prix - FREE PRACTICE RESULTS (3)
PosDriverNat.TeamTime
1Max VerstappenNEDOracle Red Bull Racing1m32.272s
2Carlos SainzESPScuderia Ferrari1m32.626s
3Charles LeclercMONScuderia Ferrari1m32.909s
4Lewis HamiltonGBRMercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team1m33.255s
5Sergio PerezMEXOracle Red Bull Racing1m32.293s
6George RussellGBRMercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team1m33.376s
7Fernando AlonsoESPBWT Alpine F1 Team1m33.505s
8Alexander AlbonTHAWilliams Racing1m33.558s
9Lando NorrisGBRMcLaren F1 Team1m33.669s
10Yuki TsunodaJPNScuderia AlphaTauri1m33.751s
11Daniel RicciardoAUSMcLaren F1 Team1m33.788s
12Nicholas LatifiCANWilliams Racing1m33.841s
13Pierre GaslyFRAScuderia AlphaTauri1m33.869s
14Valtteri BottasFINAlfa Romeo F1 Team Orlen1m33.872s
15Guanyu ZhouCHNAlfa Romeo F1 Team Orlen1m33.911s
16Kevin MagnussenDENHaas F1 Team1m34.031s
17Esteban OconFRABWT Alpine F1 Team1m34.122s
18Lance StrollCANAston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team1m34.177s
19Mick SchumacherGERHaas F1 Team1m34.222s
20Sebastian VettelGERAston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team1m34.536s
 

Chadwick bags fourth successive pole​

The Briton, hoping to take her seventh consecutive series win in France, faced a stern threat to her reign from the young Spaniard, who held provisional pole for much of the session. But Garcia was unable to better Chadwick’s time, finishing in fourth, with a last-ditch attempt from Beitske Visser putting her up into second, just 0.011 seconds behind the leader, while Nerea Marti improved to third.

Chadwick, driving for Jenner Racing, faces an investigation after the session for crossing the line at the pitlane exit. Fabienne Wohlwend led the field out as the sun set on Le Castellet, closely followed by Chadwick, who has won every race so far this season. The benchmark was set at 2m04.825s by the Briton, with Garcia quick to better it by 0.2s. Chadwick improved by 0.5s on her second attempt, but Garcia once again went top, with Belen Garcia slotting into second with a 2m03.806s.

Marti was next to challenge for provisional pole, with a 2m03.596s putting her into contention behind Chadwick. The Briton clung onto third with her next attempt, a 2m03.665s, before Visser took second with a 2m03.473s. The Dutch driver improved on her next run, knocking Marta Garcia off the top spot with a 2m03.268s. The field pitted for fresh Hankooks at the halfway mark before Marti put in the quickest time, having got her tyres in the window quickly to set a 2m03.150s.

Marta Garcia was next to reclaim the top spot, almost 0.1s quicker than Marti while, further back, Alice Powell, who was struggling for pace having not driven at the French circuit before, slotted into eighth. As the times tumbled, provisional pole changed hands several times, with Visser taking the top spot first before Marta Garcia went quicker, with Chadwick settling for second, 0.045s behind the leader. Heading into the final five minutes, Marti once again took the advantage, with a 2m02.339s, while Chadwick was unable to improve on fourth place. But in the final two minutes, Chadwick managed a 2m02.235s to snatch pole, just 0.1s clear of Visser, who also improved. Belen Garcia took fifth, with Abbie Eaton in sixth and Wohlwend in seventh. Jess Hawkins was eighth, with fellow Briton Sarah Moore in ninth and Emma Kimilainen rounding off the top 10.
 
Qualifying result


Q3
  1. Charles Leclerc Scuderia Ferrari -1:30.872
  2. Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing +0.304
  3. Sergio Perez Red Bull Racing +0.463
  4. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes +0.893
  5. Lando Norris McLaren +1.160
  6. George Russell Mercedes +1.259
  7. Fernando Alonso Alpine +1.680
  8. Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri +1.908
  9. Carlos Sainz Scuderia Ferrari NC
  10. Kevin Magnussen Haas NC
Q2
  1. Carlos Sainz Scuderia Ferrari -1:31.081
  2. Charles Leclerc Scuderia Ferrari +0.135
  3. Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing +0.909
  4. Sergio Perez Red Bull Racing +1.039
  5. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes +1.193
  6. Fernando Alonso Alpine +1.550
  7. George Russell Mercedes +1.552
  8. Kevin Magnussen Haas +1.568
  9. Lando Norris McLaren +1.696
  10. Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri +1.755
  11. Daniel Ricciardo McLaren +1.841
  12. Esteban Ocon Alpine +1.967
  13. Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo +1.971
  14. Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin +2.195
  15. Alexander Albon Williams Racing +2.226
Q1
  1. Charles Leclerc Scuderia Ferrari -1:31.727
  2. Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing +0.164
  3. Carlos Sainz Scuderia Ferrari +0.570
  4. Sergio Perez Red Bull Racing +0.627
  5. Lando Norris McLaren +0.945
  6. Kevin Magnussen Haas +1.029
  7. Fernando Alonso Alpine +1.092
  8. Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo +1.307
  9. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes +1.314
  10. George Russell Mercedes +1.382
  11. Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin +1.558
  12. Esteban Ocon Alpine +1.619
  13. Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri +1.667
  14. Daniel Ricciardo McLaren +1.677
  15. Alexander Albon Williams Racing +1.696
  16. Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri +1.712
  17. Lance Stroll Aston Martin +1.712
  18. Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo +1.947
  19. Mick Schumacher Haas +1.974
  20. Nicholas Latifi Williams Racing +2.067
 
I don’t understand how it made sense to sacrifice Sainz to help LeClerc, unless Sainz is starting from the very back of the grid with his engine penalty? I had heard he had a ten place grid drop, so how is it a better use of his time to gift LeClerc a few thousandths, instead of bettering his 9th place quali result?

French GP track living down to its reputation of being world’s most anodyne layout. I do hope we get a good race, but I’m not optimistic.
 
Speed-trap-frenchgp.jpg
 

Christian Horner lashes out at Mercedes as Ferrari prepare to protest ‘nonsense’​

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner is unhappy at Mercedes as he feels they are trying to change the rules to suit them. Safety has become a concern for some of the drivers amid the “porpoising” and bouncing caused by the new technical regulations which saw the return of ground effect aerodynamics. The FIA stepped in at the Canadian Grand Prix by introducing a new technical directive that enables them to ask teams to raise the ride height of their car if it is bouncing too much. They measured everyone’s oscillation during that weekend, and found that some unnamed teams have been using flexible planks in parts of the floor that are not covered by regulation, as well as moving skid blocks to provide better comfort for the drivers due to a reduction in wear.

The moving blocks will be banned as of the Belgian Grand Prix, while the flexing floors are up for debate going into next season. Furthermore, a raft of changes is being proposed for 2023, with the front wing edges and diffuser throats set to be raised, while stronger deflection tests and more accurate oscillation sensors are expected to be brought in. There is a general feeling from the Red Bull camp that changes are being made at Mercedes’ behest so that they can climb back to the front. “It’s not so much the directive that’s an issue, I think the problem is what they are looking at as a remedy is for next year because the directive is neither here nor there for us,” he told Sky Sports. “I think there’s an awful lot of lobbying to change regulations significantly for next year so a certain team can run their car lower and benefit from that concept, which, you know, it’s a very late point in the year to be doing this.”

Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto is reported by Auto Motor und Sport to believe that safety is a nonsense argument for changing the regulations. “There is no reason to classify the whole thing as a safety problem,” said the Italian. “Most teams have long since had bouncing under control and for the race at Spa there are fixed limits anyway. If the cars comply with the specifications, they should be safe with it. And if there is no safety argument, the normal voting process has to be followed when the rules are changed.”

The German publication also report that the 52-year-old plans to protest the rule changes should they come into effect. “Binotto even went so far as to say people would protest against the rules if they just wanted to push them through with the safety argument,” explained Binotto. “The FIA does not have to prove there is a safety problem, however proof could have to be provided before a civil court that safety is not endangered in this case.” Mercedes responded to the accusations against them by affirming that there is no evidence the change in regulations would work in their favour.
 
Was Flavio not given some sort of ambassador/ advisery role within F1


He been hanging around a few races this year
 
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