Charles LeClerc won the British GP, starting from P2. George Russell finished P2 and Lewis got the last podium in his home race.

Charles win in British GP

Charles had a strong quali session as he was P2. Starting from the front row he got a good start and was ahead of Kimi at the first turning point. Since then he kept the pace and was ahead throughout the race.

Kimi did not get a good start but he had the pace. In the second stint he was catching up to Charles nicely. However he got front-left damage as he went over the kerbs and lost the race pretty much. His lead is now only of 25 points after the British GP. Lewis Hamilton started from P3 and in the end finished there. He would have got P2 but a late safety car meant coming in the pits and he ended up losing a position. George Russell was unlucky and lucky at the same time. He lost positions due to a puncture but then the safety car helped him and he eventually finished P2 while his rival and team-mate Kimi Antonelli got zero points.

Max spun off the track as the rear wing failed to close. Isack Hadjar finished P5. Liam and Arvid finished P6 and P7, their best result this season. Gabby got 4 points for Audi. Colapinto and Gasly finished P9 and P10 respectively.

British GP Top 10 : Charles winner

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Lewis wins his first race for Ferrari in Barcelona. Kimi unfortunately had to retire due to engine issues. George was P2, Lando P3.

1st win for Lewis for Ferrari in Barcelona

Lewis wins for 106th time and this is for Ferrari, in Barcelona. The move to Ferrari from Mercedes was always a controversial one. The first year did not go well. Many doubted whether the move was a right one or not. Some even questioned Lewis’ ability to win races given that age is not on his side. While the first year and the ground-effect rules in general were not helpful, Lewis looked more positive with the new regulations. He was in the groove. While Mercedes had the outright pace, Lewis was there was on the podium regularly. He came P2 in Monaco and P2 in Canada too. The top step was right around the corner.

Ferrari got a lot of upgrades and that seemed to have worked. Still Lewis started P2 and not P1. Mercedes seemed to have an upper hand. Lewis started on softs, hoping to get a jump. But he could not get the jump. However he had the pace and was able to keep up with the leader. Lewis decided to go for a 3 stop strategy and made it work. A lucky virtual safety car meant he got ahead in the race and there was just no looking back from it. Charles on the other hand had a race to forget with another retirement.

Mercedes ahead in Barcelona but not by much

Mercedes still has the better car, even with the Ferrari upgrades. George seems to have found his groove again and he put his car on P1. However in the race it was not that clear that he was the fastest. Lewis was catching with him in the first half and he simply raced away once he was in the lead in the final stint. Before Kimi had to retire due to engine issues, he had actually overtaken George and would have finished P2 comfortably. So George has made a step up but not by much. The Championship is very much in Kimi’s hand.

Kimi had a weekend to forget in Barcelona. He did not seem that strong in the car, started the race at P3, actually got ahead of George in the race but then had to retire due to engine issues. He is still ahead in the Championship but this is a long season and he cannot take things for granted.

Decent McLaren and RedBull in Barcelona

Lando got the final step of the podium as Kimi retired. McLaren has the pace but not enough to compete with the Mercedes and Ferrari. Oscar finished P5. Max showed hints of performance but he was nowhere to be seen in the race, finishing P4 and Isack P6.

Both the Alpines and the Racing Bulls ended up in points. It was a weekend to forget for Williams, Audi and HAAS. Cadillac and Aston Martin have a lot of work to do.

Barcelona GP top 10 : First Ferrari win for Lewis

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Carlos Sainz leads from the front and wins in Mexico. Lando came in second and Charles made in to P3.

Chilly Carlos in Mexico

Mexico is know for its chillies and ‘Chilly’ Carlos certainly did spice it up. After a Ferrari 1-2 in US GP, it was almost a 1-2 finish here too. However Charles could not keep the lead under pressure from Lando and eventually had to settle for P3. He would be a bit disappointed as he could not get a good qualy start nor hold on to the P2 position. It was still a good haul of points for Ferrari and they are now second in the Contructors, pushing Red Bull to the third position.

Carlos did everything as expected. Mexico has a long straight and the person behind generally gets a good slip stream. As the race started Max actually went ahead of Carlos. However Carlos kept at it and lunged down at the first opportunity to get the lead. From then it was no looking backwards. Ferrari had a solid race pace and Carlos managed it well in the fresh air. This is a good way for him to sign off from Ferrari with still 4 more races to go.

Lando and Max tussle in Mexico

The two title contenders were at each other again in Mexico. However the FIA decided that they will not let Max get away this time and was given two 10 second penalties for pushing Lando off the track and then trying to gain an unfair advantage. While Max still has a comfortable lead in the Championship he is not comfortable with the car at all. He still looks better than his team Checo who despite his home race struggled to get points. Oscar had a race to forget but still would take the P8 finish. McLaren is now in a tight battle with Ferrari and Red Bull for the Constructors and all three teams would be working hard for the final four races.

Mercedes did a decent job with Lewis finishing P4 and George P5. It was a great day for HAAS and especially K-Mag who finished P7 and Hulkenburg P9. Stroll got the final point at P10.

Mexico Race Classification : Carlos at the top

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Charles LeClerc wins the US GP and makes it a Ferrari 1-2 with Sainz. Max and Lando fight hard for the final podium position.

Ferrari dominance : LeClerc shines in US

Charles LeClerc recently celebrated his 27th birthday. When asked what he would like as a birthday gift, he said a win on Sunday would be nice. This is exactly what he got. Ferrari while not having good Quali pace certainly looked better in Race mode. While the entire focus was on Lando and Max, Ferrari quietly built a strong case for themselves. Starting from P4, Charles took the lead on first turn as Lando and Max squabbled in the first row. From then onwards there was no turning back. Driving in fresh air throughout the race LeClerc kept the pace and neither Max in Red Bull or Lando in McLaren could catch up to him. This is certainly one of the unexpected win and he relish his birthday gift a lot.

Not to be outdone even Carlos Sainz had a great weekend. There was hardly much to show in the practice session but Carlos got a P5 in Sprint Quali and finished P3 in the Sprint. Then for the main race he qualified P3 and finished P2, while overtaking Max. He would rue his chances of race win but would be very happy with a Ferrari 1-2. Ferrari are just 8 points behind Red Bull in the Constructors and it would be very embarassing for Red Bull to finish third in Constructors while Max wins the World Championship.

Max and Lando at each other in US

In the Sprint Quali and Race it seemed like the Max of the first half of the season was back. He found his mojo, easily taking Pole for Sprint and then winning the Sprint easily, just like the good old days. However that was not the case to be for the main race. He had to abort the final lap in Q3 but still managed to start from the front row. As the race started he got ahead of Lando but then the Ferrari of LeClerc went past everyone to take the lead. Surprisingly Max did not have the race pace to catch up to LeClerc. In fact he kept losing time to LeClerc and eventually Sainz went ahead with an undercut.

However it was the fight with Lando for the final podium position that got everyone’s attention. Both the drivers went hard at each other but Lando was unable to overtake Max despite having better pace. Eventually did he overtake Max but only after going off the track, when Max went off the track too. Still it was Lando who the 5 seconds penalty and had to settle for the P4 position. The fight between them is very much on, although realistically the gap is too big to be covered in the last 5 races.

Both their teammates had races to forget. Oscar drove average at best and finished P5. Checo even worse with a P7 finish. Lewis also had a weekend to forget as he spun into gravel while starting from the pit lane. His team mate George also started from the back but managed to recover to a good P6 position.

Rookies had their moment of sunshine. Lawson in his first foray for RB this season managed to score points at P9. Colapinto finished in the P10 position while it was another strong performance by Hulkenburg with P8 finish.

US GP Race Classification : LeClerc shines

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Charles LeClerc pulled on a stunning 1-stop race to win at Monza. Oscar and Lando came P2 and P3.

LeClerc : King of Monza

No one had expected this to happen. Ever since the home win for LeClerc at Monaco Ferrari have been on a backfoot and really struggled with the car pace. LeClerc has mostly been disappointed after the race and the standard statement is that there is a lot of work to be done on the car. Monza, the home race for Ferrari, was where they got a lot of upgrades and specially a new ultra-slim back wing. All this apart from a new race suit for the drivers in Carbon black and a slight change in livery.

The practice sessions were good and they were in the mix with the Mercedes and the Red Bulls. LeClerc started P3 and Carlos P5. At the race start Oscar pipped Lando and the Charles overtook him to secure P2. After the first pit stop LeClerc found himself behind Lando again. However Ferrari decided to go for only one pitstop as compared to two for the McLarens. LeClerc worked his magic and made the 1 pit strategy work somehow and winning the race. Carlos couldn’t do the same but still finished P4.

McLaren woes at Monza

McLaren were actually not that bad. It is just that LeCLerc pulled off a stunner by making a one-stop strategy work. Still they would be disappointed. Lando starting from pole was ahead at the first turn but then Oscar pulled off a great move to secure the race lead. In all of this LeClerc got ahead of Lando but Lando got the second position back after the first pit stop. The McLarens soon had a second pit-stop too but the Ferraris did not and that made all the difference. This was a great opportunity for McLaren to come equal to the Red Bull, something which was unthinkable a few months ago. Now they are still 10 points behind and with 8 races to go. McLaren has to put their best if they want to win the championship.

Red Bull disaster at Monza

Red Bull had the third or fourth fastest car and it showed. Both Max and Checo qualified a lowly P7 and P8. From then it was just a recovery race with Max finishing P6 and Perez P8. While there is a big gap between Max and Lando, the Constructor’s battle is truly on and Red Bull literally needs to change the enitre car, according to Max.

Mercedes showed promise but it did not convert into race result. Lewis did a decent job to finish P5. George had a bad start and he finished P7. Albon drove decently to finish P9. Kevin Magnussen got the final point at P10 but he also got a one race ban for accruing too many penalty points.

Monza GP : Top 10 with LeClerc race winner

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Charles wins his maiden F1 home race in Monaco. Oscar followed him in P2 and Carlos P3

King Charles of Monaco

Finally the curse is broken. Charles LeClerc manages to win the home race of Monaco for the first time in his career. This was his third attempt starting from Pole and it was all nerves and jitters for everyone. Yet he managed it in as calm as fashion as possible. Overall it was a boring race with hardly any overtakes happening. Monaco is a narrow street circuit and modern F1 cars are very wide. Barring one overtake from Bottas it was more of a race of tyre management than of going fast and overtaking other cars. Charles and Ferrari were overjoyed with the win at Monaco. He got a big big hug from the teary eyed Prince Philip.

The Monaco race actually started with a bang – literally. First Carlos and Oscar touch each other at turn 1 and Carlos got a puncture. This pretty much meant race over for him. But the heavenly bodies had other plans for him. In the back there was a massive collision as Magnussen tried to go past Sergio Perez and also took Hulkenburg down with him. Red flag happened and the Ferrari team were not only able to fix his car, he got to keep his P3 position as one lap was not done by then. Carlos must be thanking his stars for the second life.

First Podium of 2024 for Oscar

Oscar has been in very good touch but the past results unfortunately do not reflect so. The McLaren has been working well but he was overshadowed by Lando, especially in Miami, as Lando won the race and Oscar was way back the grid due to an accident. That was not the case today. Oscar started P2 and maintained his position throughout the race. In the end he was a bit slow as compared to Charles but it did not matter much. He got the Silver. Meanwhile Lando will have to be satisfied with the P4 as there was hardly any overtaking opportunity. He should still be positive and look forward to the next races. While Red Bull and Max Verstappen are clearly ahead, the 2024 season is long and anything can happen in the future.

A weekend to forget for Red Bull

Red Bull knew that the street circuits do not suit them and Monaco exposed their weakness. Sergio Perez could not get beyond Q1 and crashed in just 500m from the race start. Even Max Verstappen started from P6 and could not do much from there despite having a faster car at times. Still there are quite dominant on normal race tracks. They should be vary though as the development gap is reducing and Red Bull cannot take things that easy.

Mercedes have a slew of upgrades planned but they are still far from McLaren and Ferrari. George finished P5 and Hamilton P7. Yuki Tsunoda got a brilliant P8, Albon got P9 and Gasly finished P10. Some much needed points for Williams and Alpine.

Monaco GP Top 10 : Charles wins home race

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Home boy Charles LeClerc scores his third Pole in Monaco. Oscar Piastri takes P2 in his McLaren. Carlos Sainz manages to put his car on P3.

Monaco Magic for LeClerc

This is the third time that Charles LeClerc has put his Ferrari on Pole position in his home track of Monaco. However this time he would be fully focused on the race day and convert this pole into a race win. Till date his best finishing position in Monaco has been P4 and LeClerc would dearly want to change that. Monaco is a street track and very difficult to overtake. Track position matters a lot and being on Pole significantly helps in converting it to a race win. This has not happened the last two times. Once Ferrari fumbled in strategy as the rains poured in and the second time the team could not detect that the drive shaft is broken. This time LeClerc would be hope there would be no more gaffes and he cruises to victory. Just a week before at Imola, Ferrari looked like a distant third to Red Bull and McLaren. However here in Monaco they are on the front foot.

Well not so much for Carlos Sainz. He struggled in all the practice sessions and lacked the confidence of LeClerc. Still he pushed hard when it mattered and managed to put in on P3. He must be hoping to get a good start and at least take the P2 position and may be even a race win if somethings falters.

Adopted LeClerc of Monaco

Who would have thought there will be two local boys on the front row. Aussie Oscar Piastri mentioned on social media that he is checking his family history to see if there is any Monagasque roots. Charles LeClerc jokingly said that he can adopt him. Some more jokes ensued and Oscar’s name was put as Oscar Piastri-LeClerc on the time-sheets. McLaren looked really strong in the last week with Lando just 0.7 seconds behind race winner Max Verstappen. They had a good car here too with Oscar at P2 and Lando P4. Lando is still he alpha in the team and he would be a bit disappointed with P4 as he did not have a clean Quali session. Oscar did well in the last two races but it did not convert into good position. He must be hoping to correct that this weekend.

Missing RedBulls at Monaco

The Red Bulls struggled the entire practice sessions but no one anticipated it to be this bad. Sergio Perez had a tough time coming to terms with the car and he could not even get out of Q1. His job is still on the line for next year and this does not bode well for him.

We are all used to seeing Max Verstappen struggle in practice sessions only to pull out a stunner in the final lap of Q3. Well that did not happen in Monaco. He took too much risk and ended up touching the barriers too hard in his final run. Eventually he had to give up. The time margins are so less in Monaco that he will be starting P6 in the race. Yes it is tough to overtake in Monaco but Max would be giving it all to jump up a few places.

Mercedes looked good all weekend, probably the best this season. However they did not have it in them to be better than the Ferraris and McLarens. In the end George was P5 and Hamilton P7. They have made gains but there is a lot of work to be done. Yuki was impressive with a P8, so was Albon in P9 and his first Q3 appearance in 2024. Gasly managed a P10.

Monaco Quali Classification : LeClerc on Pole

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Yes its true. No we are not hallucinating. Yes it is happening. No we are not on some fancy stuff. No its not April 1st. This is not a joke.

LEWIS HAMILTON IS ENDING HIS 11 YEAR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE SILVER ARROWS AND WILL BE MOVING TO FERRARI FOR THE 2025 SEASON.

The last time we saw such a shocker was when Lewis moved from a fairly decent McLaren team to a barely upcoming Mercedes team. Of course that turned out to be a dream move and one of most successful partnerships ever in the history of Formula 1, with Hamilton winning 6 World Championships with the team in Brackley.

Lewis to Ferrari

The move came out of nowhere. Yes there have always been rumors of Hamilton planning to move to Maranello but he has always turned them down, stating that he has and will always be associated with Mercedes, just like Sterling Moss.

But then came this stunning news of Lewis moving to Mercedes, despite have a contract with Mercedes for 2025 season. There must have been some exit clause. What is surprising is that he has not even driven the 2024 W15 car and even before that he has decided to switch. Yes the past two years have been frustrating but Lewis is not someone who would bow out so quickly. 

However this is exactly what had happened a decade ago. McLaren was the team which gave Lewis a break into F1 and Lewis gave them a Championship. However they were all over the place from 2009 to 2012 and it was then that he decided to make a move to the untried Mercedes team. Many called it an unwise move but then he proved them all wrong as Mercedes gave him the best car on the grid when the rules changed in 2014. 

Lewis looking forward

This time however there are no rule changes, at least until 2026. But then like last time this would give him a good opportunity to gel with the Italian team before new rules kick in. Ferrari has not won a championship in more than 15 years. Their 2022 car was good but they fumbled their way through the season as the car development got bad and they made many errors – strategic as well as silly. It will be a wonderful opportunity for Charles to put himself against the 7-time World Champion. No better way to compare than putting two good drivers in the same car. It will be a great opportunity for Ferrari too, to learn from the Champ the winning ways of Mercedes team and how to get things together. 

This move also leaves us with two interesting follow-up questions. Who will replace Lewis in that Mercedes seat? Can it be Carlos, or Albon or even Alonso. Or will they put their rising star Kimi in the hot seat. Also what will now happen to Carlos, who will have to drive the Ferrari knowing well that he will be leaving at the end of the season. Ideally, him moving to Red Bull to replace Checo and Alonso filling in the Mercedes seat for the time-being would be the best case scenario. 

Only time will tell how things unfold from here. 

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It was not Charles but Carlos who managed to pull out a stunner and put Ferrari on Pole in their home race in Italy. Max was also in the mix for Pole and narrowly missed the P1 spot.

Ferrari Pole at Italy

Ferrari put all of their energies to ensure a good weekend at home. There is a new livery on the car, harking back to the fashion in the 70’s. The same Red, Black and Yellow was seen on the race-suit of Charles and Carlos too. But the revision was not limited to the external. Ferrari put new engines – from the same allocation – to ensure a good performance in Italy. Till now it has worked well. Carlos Sainz Jr. in particular looked in good touch right from the practice sessions. Charles was also right there but still missed that winning touch. It was to be seen whether it will convert into positive results. Carlos ensured that the Tifosi had enough reason to celebrate, at least on Saturday.

It was very tight between Carlos, Charles and Max in the Q3 session. Charles first lit up the screen and took the Pole position, to the delight of Tifosi. Then Max beat him to take P1. Finally Carlos pulled off a stunner and took the Pole. Monza erupted in joy. It will be seen whether he can covert his P1 to a race win but Tifosi was at least happy on a Saturday.

Max narrowly missed in Italy

It wasn’t that Red Bull had a bad car. However in the first run of Q3 Max went off the track and into the gravel, losing valuable time and track position. The second run was much better and he was in the mix for Pole but narrowly missed it to Carlos. He is still in the form of his life. The car is working wonderfully and Max would be hoping for a race win on Sunday to secure a record braking 10-consecutive F1 race wins.

Perez meanwhile had another day to forget. He is still not completely in grip with the car and managed a P5, behind his team-mate and the Ferraris and Russell. Once again he would be doing the catching-up work to at least ensure a podium finish.

Varying fortune for Merc in Italy

George Russell pulled off a great lap and exceeded beyond his expectation to get a P4. Will he be able to hold on to this or even get a podium needs to be seen. Lewis meanwhile couldn’t get in grips with the track and he will be starting P8.

McLaren had a quali with both the cars in Q3. Rookie Oscar Piastri pipped Lando to get P7 and P9 respectively. Albon did a respectable job to end up at P6 and it would be wonderful if he could hold on to it. Aston Martin knew that they would struggle on the high-speed track and Alonso managed a P10. Alpine in a tragic turn of events could not get out of Q3,both the cars. This has happened for the first time since the Renault team entered in 2016.

Italy GP starting grid : Ferrari on pole

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In a completely new format at Baku, Charles LeClerc took pole in Quali as well as Sprint shootout. However Ferrari doesn’t have the race pace. In the Sprint race it was clear that Red Bull has better race pace than the Ferraris.

Top Gun Charles at Baku

When it come to a single lap pace, Charles LeClerc is undoubtedly the fastest person on the grid. He can make the fresh tires work like magic and extract the maximum out of his car to secure Pole position. 2023 is his worst start to a season as a Ferrari driver. He is currently languishing at P10 whereas Championship leader Max Verstappen is miles ahead. Ferrari were expecting a tough weekend at Baku but were positively surprised to find their pace, at least in Quali sessions. Charles LeClerc, who recently launched a music album, would be chuffed with the outcome. This would give him a spring in his steps and make the 2023 a bit more exciting.

Meanwhile his teammate Carlos Sainz Jr. was completely out of touch. He struggled in FP1 and then in Quali and then in Sprint Quali too. Carlos needs a lot of work to do and get his game up and match Charles.

Red Bull has the race pace

Max Verstappen looked frustrated but he knows deep down he has a car which has the race pace. Points come only in Sprint and the Race and this is where the Red Bull shines. For Quali session Max Verstappen was P2 and Sergio P3. In the Sprint shootout Sergio was P2 and Max P3. As the Sprint started Sergio overtook Charles quite easily and maintained the gap. Charles had no other option but to hold on to his P2 position. Max had an altercation with Mercedes driver George Russell which caused a damage to his sidepod and compromised his race performance. He was really angry with George and said some stuff which shouldn’t have been mentioned in open. This is very unlike of a Championship Leader. Still he finished P3 in the Sprint and will be starting from the front row of the grid, knowing very well that he the best car in terms of race pace.

Mercedes lacking the pace

Everyone had high hopes from Mercedes after a long gap between the race. Toto Wolff had hyped up the upgrades and we were expecting them to challenge the Red Bulls for wins. Reality turned out to be a bit different. They were barely able to match the Ferraris and no way they are matching the Red Bulls. Still both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell are trying their best to at least put themselves ahead of the Aston Martins and may be even ahead of Carlos who is not looking in good form this weekend.

Aston Martin seems to have fallen behind the Mercedes mainly because their DRS was not working. McLaren upgrades are working and they can now fight to be in Q3. Pierre Gasly’s bad luck continues and he needs to work hard. Albon is in touch in his Williams and should be expecting to score some points if luck is in his favour.

Baku always gives us unexpected result and this year should be no different. Expect a spicy race ahead.

Baku Sprint Classification : Checo P1, Charles P2

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