SAFETY CAR DEPLOYED
#Essere Ferrari II
foggy locust
SAINZ GOES FOR THE OVERTAKE ON VERSTAPPEN, VERSTAPPEN CLIPS HIM AND SAINZ IS INTO THE WALL!!!! MORE DISASTER FOR SAINZ AT MERCEDES!!!
PITSTOPS: This is hucs for the likes of Gasly, Ocon, Iwasa, Lawson, Tsunoda, Bearman, Antonelli, Bortoleto, Zhou, Pourchaire, Hadjar who all come in, free of charge! Although Lawson has a delay!
CAR 33 (VERSTAPPEN) - CAUSING A COLLISION WITH CAR 55 (SAINZ)
That one feels fair. Verstappen very much at fault for that one.
(PIA) "Plan E feels more viable now."
(ADA) "Copy. We are checking."
GREEN FLAG ON LAP 34, WE ARE RACING
Leclerc trying to get away while Piastri is both attacking his teammate and defending Russell simultaneously!
(BOZ) "We need full push, full push. Build the gap."
(LEC) "Copy, leave me to it, please."
Brilliant move by Russell on Piastri and the Williams is into P2!!
The two Red Bulls are wheel to wheel and Verstappen moves ahead of Norris!
The fresh Hards paying off for Gasly, who is up to P3!
IWASA
Iwasa currently in the top ten - as it stands, Subaru will get their first ever F1 points. Long way to go, though.
Gasly now all over the back of Leclerc. Gasly very much in play for the race win here!!
PIERRE GASLY LEADS THE RACE!!! OH MY WORD!
That Safety Car might have come at the worst time for not only the Ferraris, but Russell, Norris and Verstappen as well! We could very be on for a real shocker here today!
Bearman with a lock-up and he drops from P15 behind Pourchaire to P16!
Lap 43: Gasly, Leclerc, Russell, Piastri, Bottas, Norris, Ocon, O'Ward, Iwasa, Lawson, Albon, Verstappen , Bortoleto, Antonelli, Pourchaire, Bearman, Herta, Colapinto, Zhou, Tsunoda, Hadjar. Sainz out of the race.
Tsunoda having gearbox issues, likely that FP2 crash has compromised his entire weekend!
Antonelli with a spin!
Tsunoda into the pitlane, and his race is done for the day.
Hadjar also having car issues here!
Iwasa ahead of O'Ward for P8!!!
(BOZ) "Box Charles, confirm pit this lap."
(LEC) "Confirm, copy, box this lap. Where are we expected to exit?"
(BOZ) "P19 most likely."
(LEC) "F---!"
PITSTOP: Leclerc in for his scheduled second stop! He takes Softs, a 2.7 stop and he rejoins in P16. Work to do now for the former Champion.
(ADA) "Pit confirm and box."
(PIA) "Yep. Box."
PITSTOPS: Bottas and Verstappen both in. Verstappen takes his penalty, and gets a new front wing put on. A long, long stop for Max and he's 54 seconds off the lead - his weekend is completely compromised.
PITSTOPS: Piastri and O'Ward in! Piastri onto Softs, O'Ward Mediums. Piastri 2.6 stop, and he's back out in P12, P17 for O'Ward.
PITSTOP: Norris onto Mediuns and he's rejoining in P14.
PIASTRI
Piastri has the fresher tyres on Leclerc and overtakes him for P8!
Gasly could be on for his second career win here. This could be a generational result for they can hold on.
PITSTOPS: Albon and Lawson don't though, and Lawson jumps ahead of Albon in the pits!
Iwasa trying to hold off Leclerc and Piastri here!
PITSTOP: Never mind, Iwasa is in. Is that Subaru's best chance of points this far this season gone?
Russell and Ocon are likely to have to box again here. Both are struggling heavily with their tyres.
No such problems for Piastri and Leclerc, who are now pushing Ocon!
PITSTOP: Bearman pits for Softs and he rejoins P20, last of those still running.
Piastri and Leclerc now both ahead of Ocon, while Russell is now just ahead of the two Ferraris.
Lap 58: Gasly, Russell, Piastri, Leclerc, Norris, Ocon, Antonelli, O'Ward, Bottas, Bortoleto, Pourchaire, Lawson, Albon, Iwasa, Verstappen, Herta, Colapinto, Hadjar, Zhou, Bearman. Tsunoda and Sainz out of the race.
NORRIS
Bearman with a spin, but a quick recovery.
Norris goes ahead of Leclerc, and Piastri gets his teammate as well!
Gasly's lead is slipping - with 10 laps to go, Gasly only 2.7 ahead of Norris.
Piastri gets ahead of Norris, and Piastri is chasing down Gasly for the race win here!!
Not entirely sure what has happened to Russell today - he's just been lapped.
PITSTOPS: Antonelli and Ocon pit and rejoin P13 and P20.
SIX LAPS LEFT AND OSCAR PIASTRI TAKES THE LEAD OF THE MEXICO CITY GRAND PRIX! Norris and Leclerc both ahead of Gasly, who has given it everything but those tyres are struggling.
(BOZ) "We need you to take a few laps without the kerbs."
(LEC) "Nope."
Norris holding off Leclerc for P2, meanwhile Piastri is coasting into the distance, and looks like he is on for his first win of the season!!
Alex Albon has gained FOURTEEN places today. An incredible effort.
(ADA) "Focus for two more laps."
(PIA) "Copy."
(ADA) "Keep nursing your tyres, do not risk the puncture."
(LEC) "Norris pushed me wide."
(BOZ) "We saw that."
LAST LAP
What was looking like a quiet race turned into a chaotic one, an upside down result, BUT IT IS GOING TO BE THE FIRST WIN FOR FERRARI FOR OSCAR PIASTRI, WHO COMES HOME TO WIN THE MEXICO CITY GRAND PRIX!!!! CHARLES LECLERC OVERTAKES LANDO NORRIS ON THE FINAL LAP AND IT IS A THIRD 1-2 FOR FERRARI, LANDO NORRIS P3! PIERRE GASLY FOR ALL HIS EFFORTS WAS P4, THEN DELIGHT FOR THE MEXICAN FANS AS PATO O'WARD COMES HOME 5TH. SIXTH FOR ALEX ALBON, MAX VERSTAPPEN IN A GREAT RECOVERY FOR P7, LAWSON P8, BOTTAS P9, AND AYUMU IWASA HAS HIS, AND SUBARU'S, FIRST EVER F1 POINTS. WOW.
(ADA) "And P1, P1, Oscar! A fantastic job, you've done a wonderful race!"
(PIA) "Lovely stuff! YES. Mega job guys, great work with the strategy and the deg, first win for Ferrari, fantastic. Thank you guys, that was a stressful afternoon but a brilliant job."
(ADA) "You've done really well."
(BOZ) "And P2, P2. Fantastic overtake at the end, well done on the recovery."
(LEC) "Goooood job! Thank you, guys. Great effort, it could've been bad after the Safety Car but we did a good job. That's a good result."
(BOZ) "Fantastic podium mate."
(LEC) "Congrats to Oscar for his first Ferrari win. First of many."
RUSSELL
Russell has broken down on the final lap! Looks like the Williams ran out of fuel!!! He's been classified anyway, though.
2027 MEXICO CITY GRAND PRIX
RACE CLASSIFICATION
- Oscar Piastri 01.40.10
- Charles Leclerc +3.472
- Lando Norris +1.447
- Pierre Gasly +9.536
- Pato O'Ward +5.554
- Alex Albon +9.759
- Max Verstappen +3.564
- Liam Lawson +2.848
- Valtteri Bottas +1.969
- Ayumu Iwasa +3.760
- Andrea Kimi Antonelli +3.627
Gabriel Bortoleto +9.913- Colton Herta +4.647
- Théo Pourchaire +0.277
Zhou Guanyu +7.129- Isack Hadjar +1.021
- Oliver Bearman +8.015
- George Russell +1 lap
- Franco Colapinto +1 lap
- Esteban Ocon +1 lap
- Yuki Tsunoda DNF
- Carlos Sainz DNF
DRIVER OF THE DAY: ALEX ALBON, WILLIAMS
A brilliant drive from Alex Albon, starting P20, to take P6 and a good amount of points for Williams. Alex Albon is your Driver of the Day!
FASTEST LAP AWARD:
George Russell 1.17.795
FASTEST PITSTOP AWARD:
Pato O'Ward 2.413s
Tables coming.later!!!
foggy locust
2027 FIA FORMULA 1 WORLD DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP
Leclerc 70
Piastri 62
O'Ward 36
Verstappen 30
Norris 29
Gasly 29
Russell 23
Albon 16
Lawson 4
Sainz 4
Bottas 3
Tsunoda 1
Iwasa 1
Antonelli 0
Ocon 0
Bortoleto 0
Herta 0
Pourchaire 0
Zhou 0
Bearman 0
Hadjar 0
Colapinto 0
2027 FIA FORMULA 1 WORLD CONSTRUCTORS CHAMPIONSHIP
Ferrari 132 
McLaren-Ford RBPT 65 
Red Bull-Ford RBPT 59
Williams-Ferrari 39
Alpine-Renault 4
Mercedes 4
Aston Martin-Honda 4
Subaru-Mercedes 1
Andretti-Ferrari 0
Audi Sauber 0
Haas-Mercedes 0
2027 FIA FORMULA 1 WORLD TYRES CHAMPIONSHIP
Bridgestone 172
Pirelli 136
2027 DHL FASTEST PITSTOP COMPETITION
McLaren 84
Red Bull 66
Andretti 45
Ferrari 27
Alpine 18
Williams 16
Audi Sauber 14
Mercedes 14
Subaru 13
Haas 4
Aston Martin 2
foggy locust
2027 UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX
WEEKEND PREVIEW
And so to Round 4 of this 2027 Formula 1 World Championship. After three entertaining rounds so far, we are heading to the Circuit of the Americas for the first of two races in the United States - this year reduced from three.
Last time around, Oscar Piastri won his first Ferrari win - an entertaining race in Mexico City, that saw McLaren's Pierre Gasly leading for a long time before his tyres fell away towards the end, ending up fourth, while Charles Leclerc overtook Lando Norris on the last lap to take a Ferrari 1-2, with Norris getting his first Red Bull podium.
And so to the Circuit of the Americas. Home of the United States Grand Prix since 2012, and one of two races in the States - Las Vegas will be the season finale in December - COTA in Austin, Texas is a 5.513km circuit with 20 turns, 2 DRS Zones, and several gigantic flags. Known for being rough on tyrewear - this is almost certainly at least a two stop race - and dominated with a mix of Low and High Speed cornering - the Circuit of the Americas remains a challenge for any driver.
Three races, three 1-2s. Can anyone stop Ferrari this season? Well, we might have a Drivers’ title battle on between Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri, but it is too early to tell for sure. For now, Leclerc has two wins to Piastri's one, and the Ferraris, with dominant cornering, remain the team to beat once more this weekend. Will Piastri be able to challenge for the Championship for the first time this year? Can Leclerc regain his crown?
McLaren look like the main contenders this weekend, and Pierre Gasly arguably should've won in Mexico after a brilliantly timed Safety Car, but the tyrewear proved just too much at the end and Gasly fell away, eventually ending up fourth, with Pato O'Ward fifth. This is a team that seem to be once again going in the right direction and seem like the biggest challenger to Ferrari - O'Ward will have plenty of backing this weekend, and knows this track very, very well from his IndyCar days.
Red Bull are bringing upgrades this weekend in order to try and fix the flailing RB23 - this is a car that both Max Verstappen and Lando Norris are having to outperform and are having difficulties driving. Both have challenged but Norris has one podium to Verstappen's zero this season so far, a surprising statistic considering Verstappen was being tipped to be Leclerc's closest challenger going into this year. With the Mercedes rumours in full swing, can the Bulls hold onto their biggest asset?
Williams meanwhile have been the early surprise package of this season, with both George Russell and Alex Albon getting the best out of the car, but a badly timed pitstop in Mexico left Russell out at sea having led the race at one point, and he ended up being lapped and running out of fuel at the end. Williams simply must do better with their strategies to get the best out of what is a very, very strong car - their strongest car since the 1990s. A team certainly going in the right direction, but the strategy needs some work.
Alpine meanwhile took their first points of the season last time around and also look like a team that could upset the teams at the top this year - Liam Lawson took P8 in Mexico - and they're also a team with a very good car this year - but Esteban Ocon hasn't quite hit his late season form last year and Alpine haven't quite gotten the best out of their car in a packed midfield.
They are above Mercedes on countback, and it was yet another crash for Carlos Sainz - albeit this time it wasn't his fault, as Max Verstappen moved into him - but that won't change the fact that he is still struggling at the Silver Arrows, and with his contract set to expire - will Sainz even be on the grid next season? Ironically Mercedes seem set on trying to sign Max - and where would Sainz likely end up if he can't keep the Mercedes seat? Andrea Kimi Antonellli looks like breaking through to his first points - could that happen this weekend?
Valtteri Bottas took home points once again for Aston Martin which leaves them tied for fifth with Mercedes and Alpine, but all three teams are way back off from the top four. Yuki Tsunoda was forced to retire this past weekend after a gearbox failure, caused by his FP2 crash that compromised his weekend. Aston are also bringing upgrades this weekend in the hopes of challenging against the top four once more this season.
It was a first F1 point for Ayumu Iwasa and Subaru this past weekend, as the rookie team and rookie driver finished in P10 in Mexico, a brilliant result for the young team. They'll look to build on that at the Circuit of the Americas - Iwasa and Oliver Bearman have a car that could challenge for the lower points here - and the Japanese team have some momentum - time to build upon that.
Andretti's second home race and the first home race in Formula 1 for Colton Herta, and after their incredible first season in Formula 1, the American team have struggled in the early going of their Sophomore season. The Sophomore slump needs to be addressed, and there is no better place to do it than on home soil. Herta knows this track very well from his IndyCar days, and even holds the IndyCar record for this track, so expectations are high for him here. Gabriel Bortoleto meanwhile races around here for the first time.
Meanwhile the other American team - Haas, do not quite have the momentum they'd hoped for. The car has been a struggle so far for Zhou Guanyu and Franco Colapinto, and the pressure is mounting on Team Principal Ayao Komatsu. Haas simply need to improve the car, and the team, and any kind of points on US soil would be a great momentum shifter.
Audi are in a similar boat to Haas - a Team Principal under pressure, a struggling car, one driver with experience and one rookie that haven't quite adapted to said struggling car. It feels like whomever bags points of the two might avoid bottom - can Théo Pourchaire and Isack Hadjar do the job for Audi at any point this year? Now could be the time.
No Sprint here for the first time since the 2022 season - the first Sprint of the year comes in two weeks in Canada - and no rain, either. Likely no shortage of drama and excitement will follow, either. And one thing's for sure - you won't want to miss it.
ABBI PULLING TO RUN FP1 FOR FERRARI
Ferrari Academy Driver Abbi Pulling will be the first FDA driver to get an FP1 session this season, as she will get the run-out in Charles Leclerc's car.
The FIA have mandated that each team must have several sessions where a reserve driver steps in, and Ferrari have opted to put Pulling in the car for this first practice.
Abbi Pulling is currently driving in F3, but with F3 being off this weekend, she gets a run-out in the SF-27.
FP1 Reserves: Pulling (Leclerc), Sztuka (Norris), Martins (Ocon), Drugovich (Tsunoda), Arnold (Bearman)
FP1: PIA RUS PUL
Oscar Piastri quickest in FP1, ahead of George Russell and Ferrari junior Abbi Pulling in P3, ahead of Max Verstappen in P4. Liam Lawson fifth, with Andrea Kimi Antonelli P6, and Franco Colapinto P7. Colton Herta P8 in his first FP1 on home soil, with Alex Albon P9 and Pato O'Ward P10.
FP2: PIA NOR GAS
LEC P5
Piastri quickest in FP2, ahead of Norris in P2 and Gasly in P3. Sainz P4 ahead of former teammate Leclerc in P5, with Verstappen P6 and Russell P7. Lawson P8, ahead of the two Astons of Bottas and Tsunoda.
FP3: LEC PIA GAS
Leclerc quickest in FP3 ahead of Piastri and Gasly, with Verstappen fourth and Lawson fifth. Tsunoda in sixth, while both Subarus made the top ten - Bearman in P7, Iwasa in P9, with the Williams of Russell in P8 and Albon in P10.
Welcome to COTA and to the heart of the USA, it is time for Qualifying here in Austin, Texas. And while the home hopes rest on Colton Herta and Andretti, as well as Haas, it's Ferrari who look the team to beat, but McLaren, Williams and Red Bull have all shown pace. Who will get Pole?
OUT IN Q1: Bearman, Pourchaire, Herta, Zhou, Colapinto, Antonelli
Bubble: Hadjar
Top Five: PIA, GAS, LEC, VER, NOR
Heartbreak for Colton Herta, who hit traffic on the end of a very good final lap and misses out on Q2. Iwasa knocked his own teammate Bearman out of Q1, while both Haas drivers go out in Q1 in the team's home race. Antonelli also struggled with traffic and is out, as well as Pourchaire. Piastri quickest from Gasly and Leclerc. O'Ward had a spin on his second run, but recovered for P6.
OUT IN Q2: Iwasa, Bottas, Gasly, Ocon, Bortoleto, Hadjar
Bubble: Tsunoda
Top Five: LEC, PIA, RUS, SAI, NOR
A shocker for McLaren as Gasly exited in Q2, while Iwasa just missed out on Q3. Bottas and Ocon both drop out behind their teammates who both make Q3, and Bortoleto and Hadjar also exit. Leclerc quickest from Piastri and Russell.
Q3: Leclerc, Piastri, Verstappen, Russell, Norris, Albon, O'Ward, Lawson, Tsunoda, Sainz
A third Pole of the season for Charles Leclerc in the early going, as he finishes about 2 tenths ahead of Oscar Piastri - neither driver improved on their final lap. Verstappen third with Russell fourth, while Norris took fifth and Albon sixth. O'Ward seventh on a track he's familiar with, while Lawson was eighth, and Tsunoda went ahead of Sainz on his final lap.
2027 UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX
STARTING GRID
LEC PIA
VER RUS
NOR ALB
OWA LAW
TSU SAI
IWA BOT
GAS OCO
BOR HAD
BEA POU
HER ZHO
COL ANT
Welcome to Austin, Texas, and it is showtime. Round Four of the 2027 Formula 1 World Championship, we've been to the US early in recent years but usually in Miami, not Texas. 56 laps around this 5.513km circuit, 20 turns, an elevation of 30.91m, 2 DRS Zones, and it is tough on the tyres. A two stop almost certain, three stop potentially in play, as well.
Kimi Antonelli starts at the very back today and it's Franco Colapinto alongside him, Zhou Guanyu just one spot ahead then Colton Herta P19 on a track where he holds the IndyCar lap record. Théo Pourchaire lines up P18 then Ollie Bearman in P17, Isack Hadjar begins directly ahead of his teammate and Gabriel Bortoleto starts from 15th. Former teammates Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly together on the seventh row, then Valtteri Bottas P12 and Ayumu Iwasa just missed Q3 in 11th. Carlos Sainz starts from 10th and he really needs a good result today, Yuki Tsunoda begins 9th with Liam Lawson 8th, Pato O'Ward is popular round these parts and he starts 7th. 6th for Alex Albon and Lando Norris begins from 5th, George Russell begins 4th then it's Max Verstappen alongside Russell on row two. Ferrari lock out the front row, Oscar Piastri begins P2 and it is a third Pole of the year for Charles Leclerc.
S/H/M for Charles, M/H/S for Oscar
Let's go racing!
One light, two, three, four, five...
AND IT'S LIGHTS OUT AND AWAY WE GO
Leclerc off to a good start, Piastri holding off Verstappen who was a little quicker off the line, and Verstappen moves up to P2! Norris 5th, O'Ward ahead of Albon and the fans love that! Tsunoda up to 8th, Lawson 9th, Iwasa is ahead of Sainz! Gasly P12, Herta now P18!
LECLERC
Leclerc had gotten away very quickly but Verstappen has gotten back in DRS range very quickly here!
(BOZ) "It's a long race, don't burn out the tyres too quickly here."
(LEC) "Yeah. That Red Bull has a lot of pace."
Norris has gotten off to a very good start and he's up ahead of Piastri!
Russell overtakes Piastri for P4! He's chasing down Norris and gets him in quick succession!
(PIA) "Having some difficulties with pace here."
(ADA) "Copy, we are checking. Do what you can in meantime."
Early days but Leclerc is having to defend significantly from Verstappen here. This feels like 2022, 2024, 2026 all over again.
(LEC) "Max pushed me wide, you cannot do that, Max"
(BOZ) "We saw it, focus, you kept ahead there, good job"
DISASTER FOR LAWSON! A BIG SPIN OFF AND HE TAGS THE BARRIER! He's managed to keep the engine going and kept on track but he's down to P22!
Piastri with a lovely move on Russell and he moves up to third! Still about 4 seconds back on Leclerc and Verstappen, though.
O'Ward moves ahead of Albon!
Herta using his experience round here well, and he is up to P15, overtaking Isack Hadjar!
PITSTOP: Lawson in, replacing his damaged tyres...he's onto the...Softs. That's a choice, Alpine
Brilliant stuff from the front two as Leclerc is defending Verstappen superbly, and Max is giving Charles a lot of hassle in turn.
Verstappen going for the move down the straight, he has DRS and that was a brilliant move by Verstappen, who takes the lead!
Lap 9: Verstappen, Leclerc, Piastri, Russell, Norris, Tsunoda, O'Ward, Albon, Sainz, Iwasa, Gasly, Bottas, Ocon, Herta, Bortoleto, Pourchaire, Antonelli, Zhou, Hadjar, Colapinto, Bearman, Lawson
(LEC) "I think these tyres have a lot more life in them than thought."
(BOZ) "Copy, thoughts on extended?"
(LEC) "Yes I think we should"
Leclerc retakes the lead of this race!! Verstappen keeping the pressure on though!
Gasly moves ahead of Iwasa and into the points!!
PITSTOP: Zhou comes in for Mediums, but they can't get that front right tyre on properly!! He's left with a delay and down to P22!
All three teams who have pit so far - , and have had a delay. Pourchaire had one too.
PITSTOPS: Bortolero and Colapinto in - these ones were cleaner. Both out in P18 and P22.
(BOZ) "Box to overtake"
PITSTOPS: Ocon and Gasly both in. Onto the Hards for the long stint. Hadjar in and going the same route.
Leclerc stays out! I think Ferrari were trying to dummy Red Bull into making a stop there, Verstappen hasn't fallen for it though!
PITSTOPS: Tsunoda in from P7, Antonelli from P13.
PITSTOP: LECLERC IN ON LAP 16. That seems appropriate! 2.707, and he's onto the Hards. Leclerc rejoins P5, ahead of O'Ward.
MISTAKE BY HERTA! HE SPINS OFF ON THE FINAL CORNER. Was pushing the points at the time!
(ADA) "Box, box, pit confirm, Oscar!"
(PIA) "Pit confirm. Oscar pit lane."
PITSTOPS: Piastri, Russell and Bottas all in! 2.731 stop for Piastri, and he rejoins in P5.
It is a current Red Bull 1-2, but neither Verstappen nor Norris has pit yet.
PITSTOPS: AS WE SAY THAT, A DOUBLE STACK BY THE BULLS. Both in and away cleanly.
(ADA) "Defend position, Oscar. Defend from Verstappen."
(PIA) "Yep. Will do."
Verstappen's going for the overtake on Piastri, but that was brilliant defending by Oscar! Oscar very much playing the team game today!
Piastri making life very difficult for Veratappen, he is going for P2 and retakes second!
Herta going for the overtake on Hadjar, and Hadjar closes the door, and Herta picks up some damage!!! He then runs wide in the process, a bit of a nightmare home GP for Herta!
Piastri currently pushing Verstappen all the way for P2!
PITSTOP: Bearman in for Mediums. He's the last to stop for the first time, in fact Lawson has had two stops in that time.
(BOZ) "You are managing your tyres well, Charles."
(LEC) "Copy. What is the gap to Max?"
(BOZ) "7.6. Oscar is right behind him at the moment.'
Piastri is sticking with Verstappen here - Verstappen's race might now be with Oscar for P2.
PITSTOP: Zhou in for a second time, for Hards - will those go to the end?
(LEC) "F---, F---!"
(BOZ) "We saw it, we are on it."
(LEC) "What the actual f--- was Lawson doing?"
(BOZ) "Are you okay?"
(LEC) "I'm okay, doesn't seem to be any damage to the car either. We got lucky."
Leclerc laps Lawson, but Lawson seems to have thought it was a car he was racing and clips the race leader!! Leclerc, understandably, furious on the radio, but seems to have avoided damage.
PITSTOP: Lawson however comes in and takes a new front wing. Seems like the Alpine came off a lot worse.
Piastri back ahead of Verstappen, Verstappen in range of the Australian though with DRS!
Lap 31: Leclerc, Piastri, Verstappen, Russell, Norris, Albon, O'Ward, Sainz, Gasly, Tsunoda, Bottas, Ocon, Iwasa, Bortoleto, Antonelli, Hadjar, Herta, Bearman, Zhou, Pourchaire, Colapinto, Lawson
PITSTOP: Williams double stack! Russell and Albon are far enough away that it's viable.
Ocon, running P12, runs wide, but doesn't seem to have done any advantage. Make that P11 now as Albon is behind him.
PITSTOP: SAINZ IN. He's going onto Hards until the end now.
Piastri seems to have shaken Verstappen here! About 4 seconds the gap now and climbing.
PITSTOP: Verstappen comes in! He is onto the Hards and about 2 seconds off Norris for P3, and 25 behind Piastri.
(BOZ) "How's the tyres?"
(LEC) "Better than expected, but Plan C is likely off the table."
(BOZ) "Copy. Plan D?"
(LEC) "Better."
PITSTOPS: Gasly in for his likely final stop. Onto the Mediums. Lawson in for his FOURTH stop today, and he's almost 2 laps down. Yeesh.
(ADA) "Full push for two laps."
(PIA) "Yeah, copy."
(BOZ) "Box, box"
(ADA) "Box, box"
PITSTOPS: THE FERRARIS ARE DOUBLE STACKING. Well, there's an eight second gap but it's still the same lap. Leclerc in, and onto Softs. A 2.674 stop and the leader is away, Piastri pits, 2.7, and Leclerc retains the lead, Piastri retains P2!!
PITSTOPS: Norris in and rejoins P6, Aston Martin double stacking too! A lot of double stacking today! Tsunoda away clean, but Bottas has a delay with the car! Bearman also in, and onto Softs to the end.
Lap 43: Leclerc, Piastri, Verstappen, Russell, O'Ward, Norris, Albon, Gasly, Sainz, Tsunoda, Ocon, Iwasa, Bottas, Antonelli, Bortoleto, Herta, Pourchaire, Zhou, Bearman, Hadjar, Colapinto, Lawson
NORRIS
PITSTOP: O'Ward in, and this is a very, very late stop by McLaren!
PITSTOPS: Late stops by Herta, Pourchaire and Zhou, who have all three stopped today. Haas double stacking with Colapinto in too, for his third stop.
The closest battle on track right now is the fight for P7 between former teammates Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz. Albon defending from Sainz, but Sainz gets the move done for P7.
Just a nightmare day for Colton Herta. Awful awful home GP.
O'Ward chasing down Albon for P8, and he takes it, Pato could well get P7 from Sainz here as well. Good comeback from him right now.
Oliver Bearman has just lapped Liam Lawson.
Oliver Bearman is P16.
Lap 54: Leclerc, Piastri, Verstappen, Russell, Norris, Gasly, Sainz, O'Ward, Albon, Tsunoda, Bottas, Ocon, Iwasa, Antonelli, Bortoleto, Bearman, Pourchaire, Hadjar, Zhou, Herta, Colapinto, Lawson
LAST LAP
A comfortable, dominant performance from Charles Leclerc, who lays down a marker to the rest of the field, catch him if you can, catch Ferrari if you can, his third win of the season in four races and he extends his early title lead, CHARLES LECLERC WINS THE UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX!!! OSCAR PIASTRI HOME IN P2, FOUR RACES, FOUR FERRARI 1-2s. DOMINANT THUS FAR.
(BOZ) "And P1 Charles, P1! Incredible drive today, another win, another amazing performance!"
(LEC) "LET'S GOOOOO!!! LET'S GO COME ON!!! Ahhhh, thank you, brilliant job again today guys. An amazing car. One hell of a team."
(BOZ) "Amazing job. Normal end of race procedures please Charles."
(ADA) "And P2, Oscar, P2. Great job, great start to the season!"
(PIA) "Sweet! Good job guys, thanks for today. Was a lot of fun!"
(ADA) "Great performance, Oscar. P0. End of race pickup please."
Verstappen P3, Russell P4, Norris P5 and FL, Gasly P6, O'Ward P7, Sainz P8, Albon P9, Tsunoda a lap down in P10.
sterile breach
<:Subaru:1344621367995142156> <:Alpine:824211922282086430> Oliver Bearman has ju...
Accurate Lawson
foggy locust
2027 UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX
RACE CLASSIFICATION
- Charles Leclerc 01.33.15
- Oscar Piastri +13.785
- Max Verstappen +32.698
- George Russell +21.845
- Lando Norris +3.112
- Pierre Gasly +9.180
- Pato O'Ward +8.101
- Carlos Sainz +1.660
- Alex Albon +6.355
- Yuki Tsunoda +1 lap
- Valtteri Bottas +1 lap
- Esteban Ocon +1 lap
- Ayumu Iwasa +1 lap
- Andrea Kimi Antonelli +1 lap
- Gabriel Bortoleto +1 lap
- Oliver Bearman +1 lap
- Théo Pourchaire +1 lap
- Isack Hadjar +1 lap
- Zhou Guanyu +1 lap
- Colton Herta +1 lap
- Franco Colapinto +1 lap
- Liam Lawson +2 laps
DRIVER OF THE DAY: CHARLES LECLERC
An utterly dominant performance from the two-time World Champion as he goes in search of his third. Having lapped more than half the field and finished over half a minute ahead of everyone other than his teammate, this was a statement win by Charles Leclerc, your Driver of the Day!
FASTEST LAP AWARD:
Lando Norris 1.35.615
DHL FASTEST PITSTOP AWARD:
Pierre Gasly 2.409s
2027 FIA FORMULA 1 WORLD DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP
Leclerc 96
Piastri 80
Verstappen 45
O'Ward 42
Norris 40
Gasly 37
Russell 35
Albon 18
Sainz 8
Lawson 4
Bottas 3
Tsunoda 2
Iwasa 1
Antonelli 0
Ocon 0
Bortoleto 0
Herta 0
Pourchaire 0
Zhou 0
Bearman 0
Hadjar 0
Colapinto 0
2027 FIA FORMULA 1 WORLD CONSTRUCTORS CHAMPIONSHIP
Ferrari 176
Red Bull-Ford RBPT 85
McLaren-Ford RBPT 79
Williams-Ferrari 53
Mercedes 8
Aston Martin-Honda 5
Alpine-Renault 4
Subaru-Mercedes 1
Andretti-Ferrari 0
Audi Sauber 0
Haas-Mercedes 0
2027 FIA FORMULA 1 WORLD TYRES CHAMPIONSHIP
Bridgestone 230
Pirelli 181
DHL FASTEST PITSTOP COMPETITION 2027
McLaren 111
Andretti 75
Red Bull 72
Alpine 33
Ferrari 28
Williams 24
Subaru 17
Audi Sauber 14
Mercedes 14
Aston Martin 12
Haas 4
GOODYEAR TO PARTNER WITH ANDRETTI, HAAS FOR 2028 SEASON
An old foe has arrived in the tyre war.
Goodyear have announced their return to Formula 1 at the US Grand Prix post press conference, and will partner with the two American teams on the grid next season - Andretti and Haas.
Goodyear have not supplied tyres to Formula 1 since 1998, when they took on Bridgestone in the then tyre war, but have announced their intention to return after 30 years away.
Goodyear have also said they are looking for "one or two" more teams to supply for next season.
Huge breaking news, as both Andretti and Haas currently use Bridgestone tyres, which will leave Bridgestone down to just three teams, as it stands - Ferrari, Subaru and Williams.
foggy locust
2027 CANADIAN GRAND PRIX
WEEKEND PREVIEW
Round 5 of the 2027 F1 season sees us head to Montreal, and to the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, for the Canadian Grand Prix. It's four races, four Ferrari 1-2s. Will the first Sprint weekend be enough to break their early season dominance?
Charles Leclerc ran away with victory last time out at the Circuit of the Americas, as he was 13 seconds up on his teammate Oscar Piastri, and 46 ahead of Max Verstappen in an incredible performance by the two time Champion. Leclerc is now 16 points ahead of Piastri, and already 51 up on the closest non Ferrari driver, Max Verstappen.
The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve will host a Sprint weekend for the first time, which of course means more chances for points and of course chaos in Canada. An annual race since 1961, and on the F1 calendar since 1967, the Canadian Grand Prix moved to the man-made Notre Dame Island in Montreal in 1978. Famous for the Wall of Champions and the numerous groundhogs who often invade the Circuit, the 14 turn, 4.361 km circuit is often a favourite of the calendar. With 3 DRS Zones and a mix of low and medium speed cornering, plenty of overtaking opportunities and often carnage, the Canadian Grand Prix is a favourite of the calendar.
The Wall of Champions is known so for seeing Damon Hill, Jacques Villeneuve and Michael Schumacher all crashed into it on the same weekend in 1999. It has also seen crashes for Jenson Button, Carlos Sainz, Juan Pablo Montoya and Charles Leclerc over the years.
Speaking of Leclerc, he has that previously mentioned 16 point gap to his teammate as Ferrari have dominated the early part of the 2027 season, although McLaren's Pierre Gasly pushed them close in Mexico, and George Russell came close to a shock win in China. It's hard to see past Ferrari taking yet another 1-2 this weekend though, so if so, can Oscar Piastri deny his former Champion teammate a fourth win in five races this season?
Red Bull went above McLaren in the Constructors at COTA, and Lando Norris seems to be beating the “second seat curse” at the Austrian team, being just five points behind Max Verstappen after four races, and with an equal number of podiums this year. The problem for Red Bull is that both Verstappen and Norris seem to be outperforming a car that is struggling to reach its potential - the reason that is a problem is that it is limiting their chances for wins this year. Montreal looks like another track that doesn't suit the Red Bull car - they might need more miracles out of Verstappen and Norris.
McLaren could only take P6 and P7 at COTA as they finished behind both Red Bulls and the Williams of George Russell. Pierre Gasly's heroics at Mexico were ultimately in vain and they couldn't repeat the trick in Austin, and the MCL41 looks like the car closest to the dominant SF-27 thus far this year. However, the team has one podium in four races - Pato O'Ward's stunning debut at Melbourne - and they'll need more of that if they're going to beat Red Bull to second, never mind challenge Ferrari.
Williams have continued to impress this year with another fantastic performance at the US Grand Prix, and George Russell's P4 has kept them in touching distance of Red Bull and McLaren. Is this a team that could potentially challenge for a Championship in a year or two? For now, Russell and Alex Albon have continued to work well together since they both returned to Williams from Mercedes.
Speaking of Mercedes, the rumours continue regarding Max Verstappen, and Carlos Sainz got a much needed P8 in Austin. However the team is lagging behind the top four, and Andrea Kimi Antonelli's qualifying form has even letting him down so far - he has made up places in three out of the four races so far - but he seems poised to make a breakthrough into the points. Could that happen as early as this weekend?
Aston Martin have remained consistent and are quietly going about their business this year. Yuki Tsunoda took another point for Aston in Austin, and one of the two drivers have scored points at every race this year. Aston would like that to turn into both drivers scoring points - they had the previous problem of one driver vastly outscoring the other before Tsunoda's arrival, but he and Valtteri Bottas have been consistently equal - we are just yet to see both in the points on the same weekend. If Aston are going to challenge for top four this year, that must change.
Esteban Ocon and Liam Lawson have been struggling to get the best out of the Alpine this year, and Liam Lawson had a disaster in the US - being lapped twice, pitting four times, clipping the leader of the race and taking damage. It was one to forget and Alpine must simply rebound. We have yet to see the true potential of their car this year - one points performance in four simply isn't good enough for Flavio Briatore and the Alpine team.
Subaru are still adjusting to life in Formula 1 and currently sit 9th in the Championship with a single point - Ayumu Iwasa's P10 in Mexico. He and Oliver Bearman are taking this so far as a learning year, but Iwasa is under more pressure than Bearman - Iwasa has a one year deal, Bearman two. A good opportunity to score some more points on a weekend that may very well suit their car.
Andretti meanwhile didn't have a particularly good first home Grand Prix - and it was a nightmare for Colton Herta in his first home US Grand Prix in F1. The sophomore season has been a struggle thus far with a more difficult car - Herta and F2 Champion Gabriel Bortoleto have put in some strong performances, but have yet to crack the points this year. The team will need to put Austin behind them and focus on Canada.
As for Audi, it was another forgettable weekend where neither driver troubled the points, and the pressure is very much on Mattia Binotto to turn it around. Nicking any kind of points from either the Sprint or the race would go a long way towards that, and would do Théo Pourchaire and Isack Hadjar's confidence in the team a lot of good.
And it is a similar situation at Haas, with an under pressure Team Principal and two drivers struggling to get the best out of a badly performing car. Haas have looked completely lost this year, and many are questioning if Ayao Komatsu's time as Team Principal is up after they finished a distant last last year, and have struggled for any kind of momentum this year. Pressure also is on for Zhou Guanyu, whose contract expires this year, while Franco Colapinto has yet to rediscover that form that did him well as a Williams and Ferrari junior.
And so to Montreal, for the first Sprint Race to take place on Canadian soil, and following that, one of the most exciting and chaotic races of the season. Rain is expected for Sprint and Qualifying on Saturday, should be dry elsewhere. And you absolutely will not want to miss it.
FP1 Reserves: Sztuka (Norris), Vesti (Sainz), Schumacher (Antonelli), Marti (Lawson), Al Qubaisi (Bortoleto), Arnold (Bearman)
FP1: PIA LEC VER
Piastri lays down a marker to Leclerc in FP1, going 0.072 faster than his teammate, as Verstappen takes P3. Russell P4, with Gasly P5, and Mercedes junior Vesti P6. Albon, Tsunoda, Iwasa and Colapinto are your top ten. O'Ward P11, Schumacher P12.
It is time to go Sprint Qualifying for the very first time on Canadian soil, here in Quebec on this man made Notre Dame Island, it is the Canadian Grand Prix Sprint Shootout. Ferrari have looked dominant in practice - can anyone step up to the Scuderia? Red Bull, Mercedes, Williams and McLaren look most likely - but they have work to do here.
OUT IN SQ1: Iwasa, Hadjar, Herta, Lawson, Zhou, Bortoleto
Bubble: Colapinto
Top Five: PIA, LEC, VER, RUS, NOR
Antonelli needed a late lap to get out of the bottom six, sending Iwasa out at the very last. Hadjar exits alongside Lawson and Zhou, as well as both Andrettis. Piastri 2 tenths up on Leclerc at the top - 6 tenths up on Verstappen.
OUT IN SQ2: Ocon, Antonelli, Pourchaire, O'Ward, Bearman, Colapinto
Bubble: Albon
Top Five: PIA, VER, RUS, LEC, NOR
Ocon just missed out on SQ3 by 0.007, while Antonelli couldn't put the final lap together. Pourchaire, O'Ward, Bearman and Colapinto also exit. Piastri quickest from Verstappen, Russell and Leclerc.
SQ3: Leclerc, Piastri, Verstappen, Russell, Norris, Bottas, Gasly, Sainz, Albon, Tsunoda
Leclerc puts it all together in SQ3, taking the first Sprint Pole of the year, with Piastri beside him on the front row. Verstappen about half a second back off the lead in P3, then Russell in P4, and Norris in P5. Bottas P6, with Gasly P7, then Sainz, Albon and Tsunoda completing the top ten.
2027 CANADIAN GRAND PRIX
SPRINT GRID
LEC PIA
VER RUS
NOR BOT
GAS SAI
ALB TSU
OCO ANT
POU OWA
BEA COL
IWA HAD
HER LAW
ZHO BOR
Quick break for a bit to charge the phone - back at 2pm for the Saturday action!
foggy locust
Welcome to Montréal and for the first time this season, it is Sprint Saturday! And in typical Canadian Grand Prix fashion, we have some rain here on the Saturday, and some carnage might be inbound. 23 laps of this 4.361km circuit, could we see the Wall of Champions come into play? The groundhogs have their raincoats on this weekend and we go racing in the rain.
Gabriel Bortoleto starts at the very back and he's accompanied by Zhou Guanyu on the back row, then it's Liam Lawson who is trying to recover from his disastrous US Grand Prix alongside Colton Herta, who is also trying to recover from a disastrous US Grand Prix. Isack Hadjar and Ayumu Iwasa on row eight, then it's Franco Colapinto and Oliver Bearman the row ahead. Pato O'Ward shockingly exited in SQ2 so the McLaren starts P14, Théo Pourchaire has his joint highest start of the year in P13 - he started there in China. Kimi Antonelli just missed SQ3 so he's 12th and Esteban Ocon was 0.007 out of getting into SQ3, he's 11th. Appropriately enough it's an Aston Martin who made it by 0.007 - Yuki Tsunoda is P10, then Alex Albon in P9. Albon's former teammate Carlos Sainz starts P8 and it is Pierre Gasly in P7, then Valtteri Bottas in P6 and Lando Norris begins P5. George Russell on the second row beside Max Verstappen once again, and Ferrari have again locked out the front row - Oscar Piastri starts P2, and it is the first Sprint Pole of the year for Charles Leclerc.
(LEC) "There is a groundhog on the track!"
(BOZ) "Careful with him Charles."
(LEC) "He's all good, he made it safely."
(ADA) "And some good warmup here, Oscar."
(PIA) "Yeah, tricky conditions here. Hope those groundhogs have a jacket."
Let's go sprinting!
One light, two, three, four, five...AND IT'S LIGHTS OUT AND AWAY WE GO!
Leclerc and Piastri wheel to wheel at the start, Leclerc just holds off his teammate, Verstappen P3, then Russell, Norris, Bottas ahead of Gasly, Sainz, Tsunoda up to P9, Albon P10, then Antonelli, Ocon and O'Ward! Colapinto now P14!
PIASTRI GOES WIDE AND HITS THE WALL OF CHAMPIONS!!! OH MY GOD!!!
(ADA) "Are you okay?"
(PIA) "All okay. Damage I think, front wing is broken, can we box?"
(ADA) "Box, box immediately"
This is a disaster for Piastri, who has fallen to P4 and his front wing is broken! An inauguration to the Wall of Champions for the former F2 Champion!
PITSTOP: Piastri pits, ans his race is completely compromised! An 8.529 stop as he has to take on a new front wing, and unsurprisingly he is P22!
Meanwhile Leclerc is 4.247 seconds ahead of Verstappen here and looking very strong.
Lap 4: Leclerc, Verstappen, Russell, Norris, Bottas, Gasly, Sainz, Tsunoda, Albon, Antonelli, O'Ward, Ocon, Colapinto, Pourchaire, Hadjar, Iwasa, Bearman, Lawson, Herta, Bortoleto, Zhou, Piastri
Verstappen under a lot of pressure from Russell, as Leclerc's lead is growing significantly as a result.
(LEC) "What happened to Oscar? Is he okay?"
(BOZ) "He hit Turn 14, he is okay, pit for a new front wing."
(LEC) "Glad he is okay."
Zhou runs wide! He doesn't lose too much time doing so though!
(BOZ) "And keep the tyres cool, go through the puddles in Turn 8 and 9 if need be"
(LEC) "Copy that"
Piastri catching up to the backmarkers already! He's within 2.6 of Zhou in P21!
The problem for Piastri here is he's caught in traffic and doesn't have a lot of time to work with - just 15 laps left.
That's one place back at least. Oscar back up to P21.
Lap 10: Leclerc, Verstappen, Russell, Norris, Gasly, Bottas, Sainz, Tsunoda, Albon, O'Ward, Antonelli, Ocon, Colapinto, Pourchaire, Iwasa, Hadjar, Lawson, Bearman, Herta, Bortoleto, Piastri, Zhou
One former F2 Champion overtakes the current F2 Champion, as Piastri is up past Bortoleto. You feel if he had more time - i.e., the race - Oscar could get points out of this.
Russell still pushing Verstappen for P2.
Norris under a lot of pressure from Gasly for P4.
Piastri is up past Herta, and now has his sights set on former Ferrari reserve Ollie Bearman.
Max Verstappen's life just got a little easier - George Russell goes aquaplaning, and spins off!! He loses about four seconds, but keeps P3.
(PIA) "Overtaking is very, very difficult in traffic here."
(ADA) "Copy. Do your best."
(LEC) "What is the gap to Verstappen?"
(BOZ) "12 seconds, Charles"
(LEC) "Do we want to know the margins?"
(BOZ) No Charles, we know the margins"
(LEC) "You said no, right?"
(BOZ) "No, we know them"
(LEC) "Rude as always, Bryan"
(BOZ) "Haha, sorry"
Piastri moves ahead of Hadjar for P17. Slowly moving through the pack.
Colapinto spins off! More aquaplaning here!
It is a Red Bull 2-3 as Norris gets ahead of Russell!!
Antonelli with a lock-up there! He slides off and keeps P13.
Piastri up to P15, moving ahead of Lawson. You feel he would've had a chance of challenging in this Sprint with this kind of pace, were it not for that lap 1 crash at the Wall of Champipns.
That being said, Leclerc is currently 16 (SIXTEEN) seconds up on Verstappen. Seems appropriate.
RUSSELL
Russell has retaken P3 from Norris!
VERSTAPPEN
(ADA) "This is some great pace, Oscar, keep this up."
(PIA) "Yep."
Piastri ahead of Iwasa, and has now gained back 11 places. What could've been, this afternoon.
Make that P11. A superb recovery drive by Piastri, who overtakes Ocon, even if it won't yield any points today.
Lap 22: Leclerc, Verstappen, Russell, Norris, Gasly, Sainz, Bottas, O'Ward, Tsunoda, Albon, Piastri, Ocon, Iwasa, Antonelli, Pourchaire, Lawson, Colapinto, Hadjar, Bearman, Herta, Zhou, Bortoleto
It's gone completely under the radar, but O'Ward has had a very good drive and got P8 from Tsunoda just now - he will likely claim a point today.
LAST LAP
PIASTRI
It's been a dominant performance today, he has run away with it and then some, Charles Leclerc, in the Montreal rain, has been superb, and rounds the final corner TO WIN THE CANADIAN SPRINT!!!
(BOZ) "And P1 Charles, that was fantastic driving. Great job today!"
(LEC) "Amazing. Fantastic job guys! Good job to the guys at the factory. This car is simply amazing."
(BOZ) "You've done a fantastic job today."
Verstappen P2, Russell P3, Norris P4, Gasly P5, Sainz P6, Bottas P7, O'Ward P8
(ADA) "And taking the flag. So P11, P11. Very tough result."
(PIA) "Should've been a better result. That's my bad, sorry guys."
(ADA) "Good recovery after the crash. You'd have gotten points in the main race with that kind of performance. Head up."
2027 CANADIAN GRAND PRIX
SPRINT CLASSIFICATION
- Charles Leclerc 00.32.23
- Max Verstappen +17.236
- George Russell +5.627
- Lando Norris +1.865
- Pierre Gasly +1.318
- Carlos Sainz +0.527
- Valtteri Bottas +4.301
- Pato O'Ward +0.342
- Yuki Tsunoda +0.757
- Alex Albon +0.693
- Oscar Piastri +6.345
- Esteban Ocon +7.747
- Ayumu Iwasa +0.458
- Andrea Kimi Antonelli +3.225
- Théo Pourchaire +0.662
- Liam Lawson +0.639
- Franco Colapinto +4.863
- Isack Hadjar +0.403
- Oliver Bearman +0.695
- Colton Herta +0.867
- Zhou Guanyu +0.461
- Gabriel Bortolero +0.449
2027 FIA FORMULA 1 WORLD DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP
Leclerc 104
Piastri 80
Verstappen 52
Norris 45
O'Ward 43
Gasly 41
Russell 41
Albon 18
Sainz 11
Bottas 5
Lawson 4
Tsunoda 2
Iwasa 1
Antonelli 0
Ocon 0
Bortoleto 0
Herta 0
Pourchaire 0
Zhou 0
Bearman 0
Hadjar 0
Colapinto 0
2027 FIA FORMULA 1 WORLD CONSTRUCTORS CHAMPIONSHIP
Ferrari 184
Red Bull-Ford RBPT 97
McLaren-Ford RBPT 80
Williams-Ferrari 59
Mercedes 11
Aston Martin-Honda 7
Alpine-Renault 4
Subaru-Mercedes 1
Andretti-Ferrari 0
Audi Sauber 0
Haas-Mercedes 0
2027 FIA FORMULA 1 WORLD TYRES CHAMPIONSHIP
Bridgestone 244
Pirelli 203
It is time for qualifying here in Quebec, in Canada, in Montreal. Round 5 of the 2027 F1 World Championship, and with the first Sprint of the year in the rear view mirror, we go to Qualifying. And it is rainy, it is very, very wet and the possibility of a mixed up grid is very much there. Charles Leclerc won the Sprint, can anyone challenge him today for Pole?
Appreciating a brief Subaru 1-2 moment
OUT IN Q1: Lawson, Colapinto, Ocon, Zhou, Pourchaire, Hadjar
Bubble: Iwasa
Top Five: LEC, PIA, RUS, NOR, SAI
The chance at a brief mixed up grid for a while saw Verstappen, Leclerc and Piastri all in the bottom six, and the two Subaru 1-2, but it disappeared quickly as Leclerc and Piastri went 1-2, however Bearman and Iwasa both got through in P15 and P16. It is the two Alpines, two Haas, and two Audi Saubers that exit in Q1.
OUT IN Q2: Bottas, Bearman, Bortoleto, Iwasa, Antonelli, Herta
Bubble: Tsunoda
Top Five: LEC, PIA, OWA, VER, SAI
Most of the top contenders all make Q3, as it is the two Subarus, the two Andrettis, Bottas and Antonelli who exit in second Qualifying, with the rain not playing too much of a part. Leclerc quickest over Piastri by 0.088, O'Ward third, Verstappen and Sainz follow.
Q3: Leclerc, Piastri, Sainz, Gasly, Russell, Verstappen, Norris, Albon, O'Ward, Tsunoda
No surprises as Charles Leclerc takes his fourth Pole of the season, 0.175 ahead of Oscar Piastri. Sainz third, with Gasly fourth and Russell fifth. Just sixth for Verstappen, with Norris seventh, while Albon took eighth, and O'Ward and Tsunoda rounded off the top ten.
2027 CANADIAN GRAND PRIX
STARTING GRID
LEC PIA
SAI GAS
RUS VER
NOR ALB
OWA TSU
BOT BEA
BOR IWA
ANT HER
LAW COL
OCO ZHO
POU HAD
Break for a bit, we'll go racing in an hour or so!
foggy locust
Welcome to Montreal and to Canadian Chaos. It is Round 5 of the 2027 Formula 1 World Championship, and already this weekend, we've had Groundhog Day, a lot of rain and a new entry to the Wall of Champions. And now it is raceway, 70 laps of this 4.361km circuit, 14 turns, 3 DRS Zones, a lot of overtaking opportunities. Ferrari and Charles Leclerc ran away with the Sprint and both qualifyings, can anyone stop him today from a fourth win of the season? The C5, C4 and C3 tyre in play, tyre degradation is not high, a one stop is very, very possible.
An all Audi back row as Isack Hadjar starts P22 and Théo Pourchaire joins him on the back row, then it's Zhou Guanyu and Esteban Ocon on row ten behind their less established teammates, Franco Colapinto starts P18 and Liam Lawson P17. Colton Herta starts alongside Andrea Kim Antonelli on the eighth row, then it's Ayumu Iwasa in P14 and Gabriel Bortoleto begins P13. Oliver Bearman close to the top ten in 12th and Valtteri Bottas begins P11, Yuki Tsunoda just one spot ahead of his teammate then Pato O'Ward also representing North America in P9. It's eighth for Alex Albon and Lando Norris begins P7, just P6 for Max Verstappen who is once again beside George Russell, this time on the third row. Pierre Gasly begins from fourth and Carlos Sainz is third, his highest start for Mercedes and his highest start in F1 since Abu Dhabi 2024, and it's his former team once again locking out the front row. Oscar Piastri begins P2 and looks to recover from a Sprint where he hit the Wall of Champions, and it is a fourth Pole of the season for Charles Leclerc.
Let's go racing!
Splitting the strategies - Leclerc S/M, Piastri M/S
AND IT'S LIGHTS OUT AND AWAY WE GO
Leclerc has a strong start, Piastri sticking with him, Sainz stays P3, Russell ahead of Gasly, then Verstappen, Norris, Albon and Tsunoda are ahead of O'Ward who drops to P10!
Piastri pushing Leclerc at the front here but cannot get the breakthrough just yet!
LECLERC
DISASTER FOR PATO O'WARD!!! TRYING FOR THE OVERTAKE ON YUKI TSUNODA AND TSUNODA CLIPS O'WARD!!! PATO DROPS TO THE BACK OF THE PACK!
PITSTOP: O'Ward picked up some tyre damage and he's pitting for new Mediums.
CAR 22 (TSUNODA) - CAUSING COLLISION WITH CAR 29 (O'WARD)
Piastri has DRS and goes down the inside of Leclerc to take the lead!! The Mediums against the Softs not proving vital here!
Bearman gets past Tsunoda, and then Bottas! That Subaru is flying early doors here!!
Leclerc moves ahead of Piastri, and this is a track where tyrewear isn't huge. This could be a fascinating battle for the win between the two Ferraris!
Bottas ahead of Bearman, who's left the door open for his teammate Iwasa, and Iwasa grabs P10! Colton Herta now pushing Bearman for P11!
George Russell is currently leading a six car DRS train from P3 to P8. Russell, Sainz, Norris, Gasly, Verstappen and Albon all stuck in traffic right now!
Piastri back in front, and seems to have the slightly better tyre grip than his former Champion teammate, but scratch that as Leclerc regains P1!
Norris up to P3 from Russell!!
Lap 11: Leclerc, Piastri, Norris, Russell, Verstappen, Sainz, Gasly, Albon, Bottas, Iwasa, Bearman, Herta, Tsunoda, Antonelli, Bortoleto, Ocon, Colapinto, Lawson, Zhou, Hadjar, Pourchaire, O'Ward
PITSTOP: TSUNODA IN TO TAKE HIS PENALTY. The Aston Martin driver takes his penalty and rejoins P21 with fresh Mediums to boot, just ahead of O'Ward.
Verstappen and Gasly have gotten ahead of Sainz, who seems to be really struggling for race pace here.
Iwasa up to P9! He's doing very well so far, having just overtaken Bottas!
Russell with some brilliant defence on Verstappen! He holds onto P4!
Russell is going for P3 and he's up to third!! What a move by the Williams!
Piastri retakes the lead of the race going into Lap 16! Leclerc keeping the pressure on though!
Verstappen putting the pressure on Norris for P4! What's the Red Bull answer to "Papaya Rules"?
Speaking of Papaya Rules, Gasly takes the opportunity of the Red Bull in-fighting and overtakes both of them in one move! That was brilliant by Pierre!
That McLaren is starting to come alive here as Gasly takes P3 from Russell with DRS! Just 5.7 to Piastri and Leclerc, though.
Speaking of which, Leclerc leads once more, but Piastri is pushing his teammate with DRS!
(BOZ) "Oscar with DRS, watch for the overtake."
(LEC) "I see him."
PITSTOP: Verstappen in! The first non forced pitstop of the day, and Verstappen goes from Softs to...Softs. Two stopper incoming.
PITSTOP: Russell in! He's coming in off the Mediums, and he also takes the Softs. Looks like Williams are also going for the two stopper.
Leclerc currently fending off Piastri, but Oscar is giving Charles a lot to think about on Lap 21!
PITSTOPS: Bottas, Herta and Hadjar in! More two stoppers?
Bortoleto reporting some issues with his car!
Albon runs slightly wide, but doesn't lose any time.
PITSTOPS: Iwasa, Lawson, Bortolero and Pourchaire all in. Only Lawson has taken the Hards, could he go to the end? Norris and Sainz pit a lap later, BOTH take Softs and seem to have committed to the two stop.
(LEC) "Rears are starting a little graining here."
(BOZ) "Copy. Stick to the plan?"
(LEC) "Stick to the plan."
(BOZ) "Okay, now push for five, push for five."
Lap 27: Leclerc, Piastri, Gasly, Russell, Verstappen, Norris, Sainz, Albon, Iwasa, Herta, Zhou, Bearman, Tsunoda, Hadjar, Antonelli, Ocon, Bortoleto, Lawson, Colapinto, Pourchaire, O'Ward
Still to pit: Leclerc, Piastri, Gasly, Zhou
PITSTOP: As we say that, Gasly comes in! And so does Zhou! Zhou onto Mediums, Gasly onto Softs!
It is getting incredibly feisty between the two Ferraris at the front here! Neither driver giving any quarter, nor asking any!
(BOZ) "Box Charles, box this lap."
(LEC) "Copy, box."
PITSTOP: LECLERC IN. A 2.619 stop for the former Champion, who looks like he'll rejoin in P4, and that is indeed where he rejoins!
Herta, chasing points, with a bit of a lock-up on turn 1, and loses some time in chasing Iwasa!
PITSTOP UPDATES: Piastri is the only one yet to stop.
Verstappen, Albon, Iwasa, Hadjar, Colapinto and Bortoleto must all stop again though or risk DSQ, as none of them have changed from the Soft tyre compound.
Leclerc has Verstappen in his sights for P3 here. 14 seconds between Leclerc and Piastri right now.
ALBON
A fantastic move down the inside for Leclerc on Verstappen, and that one was without DRS!
(ADA) "And push the tyres, Oscar."
(PIA) "Yeah, can do."
Verstappen using DRS to keep in contact with his old time title rival!
PITSTOP: Tsunoda in for a second stop, and has a delay! It has been an afternoon to forget for the Aston Martin driver!
(PIA) "Can we switch the plan one early?"
(ADA) "We are checking, we will come back to you"
Leclerc moves ahead of Russell into P2!!
(ADA) "That is viable, pit confirm and box."
(PIA) "Sweet. Box."
PITSTOP: "Oscar pit lane." Piastri is in and onto the Softs, a 2.775 stop and he will rejoin in P6! Work to do now for the Australian!
Leclerc and Russell lap O'Ward, who is struggling with damage from that early collision with Tsunoda, and that might have broken Russell's DRS in the process!
Piastri up ahead of Sainz, and has his sights set on the two Red Bulls!
NORRIS
Piastri rounds his former McLaren teammate, Norris, and is up to P4!
PITSTOP: Verstappen in, and completes that mandatory change to Mediums. He drops down the order though in the process - he's rejoining P7.
PITSTOP: Not a mandatory stop for Russell, but he goes onto a fresh set of Softs!
Colapinto having some issues there with his car.
PITSTOP UPDATES: Albon, Iwasa, Hadjar, Colapinto and Bortoleto must all stop again though or risk DSQ, as none of them have changed from the Soft tyre compound.
PITSTOP: Hadjar takes himself off that list and comes in for Mediums to the end.
PITSTOP: You can take Albon off that list now too. He stops for Mediums, rejoins P9.
Iwasa, Colapinto and Bortolero all need to mandatory stop again.
PITSTOP: Colapinto fulfills that on Lap 46, and onto the Mediums. Just Iwasa and Bortoleto to go.
Piastri not closing the gap like he'd hope here.
PITSTOP: Iwasa in and he takes on the Mediums.
Bearman defending that final point from Herta - this could be vital for not just both teams, but indeed, both drivers.
PITSTOPS: Scratch that as Herta follows Bottas into the pitlane.
Antonelli has now taken on the role of chasing Bearman for a point!
Herta locks up, and is quite close to catching Piastri in the process!! Narrowly avoided by Oscar.
PITSTOPS: Norris and Gasly come in for Softs. Antonelli also in not long after, also taking Softs. Bortoleto comes in and he takes the Mediums! No DSQs today!
Lap 50: Leclerc, Piaatri, Sainz, Russell, Verstappen, Norris, Albon, Gasly, Bottas, Bearman, Iwasa, Ocon, Lawson, Antonelli, Herta, Zhou, Pourchaire, O'Ward, Hadjar, Tsunoda, Colapinto, Bortoleto
BOTTAS
PITSTOP: Ocon in, AND HAS A DELAY! The Alpine team couldn't get the jack up from the car, and Ocon is stuck for longer than he'd like! Another wasted afternoon for the French driver!
RUSSELL
PITSTOP: Sainz is in from P3! He takes Softs to the end.
Iwasa gets ahead of Bearman for P10!! Could be a very interesting battle between the two Subarus for the final point, and Bearman isn't giving up without a fight against Iwasa, who has the much fresher tyres!
About 10.9 between Leclerc and Piastri. Piastri is closing, but not as much as he'd like!
(BOZ) "Oscar was about 4 tenths quicker on thar last lap."
(LEC) "Leave me to it please."
Right now, the most fascinating battle on track is Subaru v Subaru. The two rookie teammates giving themselves a hell of a fight here!
A brilliant move by Ollie Bearman and he's up to P10 against Iwasa! This is a brave effort on far more worn tyres!
ZHOU OFF AT TURN 4!!! THAT WAS A BIG SPIN AND HE LOST THE CAR! He's kept the engine running that would've been a red flag situation if not!
PITSTOPS: Seems like McLaren and Audi were thinking Safety Car there, and they brought both cars in. Zhou having gearbox issues from that crash and he's also damaged his front wing, so he's in and onto Mediums. At this point, his race is long gone.
(ADA) "We need faster if you can."
(PIA) "Alright."
Iwasa takes P10 back from Bearman!! Both cars are then lapped by Piastri.
Lap 60. Piastri has brought the gap down to 8.9. Can he catch his teammate?
PITSTOP: A late holdout for a potential SC hasn't worked out for Bearman, who pits and rejoins P13, well back from his teammate in P10.
(ADA) "We have Charles in front. 8.8. P2."
(BOZ) "And P1, 8.8 to Oscar. He is lapping about 2 tenths quicker."
(LEC) "Yeah, copy. Rear tyres are graining a little bit, fronts are still good for now."
(BOZ) "Eight laps to go. You can do this."
Lap 64: Leclerc, Piastri, Russell, Verstappen, Norris, Sainz, Albon, Bottas, Gasly, Iwasa, Antonelli, Herta, Bearman, Ocon, Tsunoda, Bortoleto, Hadjar, Colapinto, O'Ward, Lawson, Pourchaire, Zhou
(PIA) "Lot of graining now."
(ADA) "Copy, understood. Manage them best you can."
Five laps to go
SAINZ
Piastri's tyres falling away now, and Leclerc is coasting now. It is looking like four from five for Charles Leclerc!
Worth noting Iwasa, Herta and Antonelli have all made up four places. Future is bright for F1.
HOWEVER IN THE HERE AND NOW, IT IS CHARLES LECLERC'S TIME, AND HE HAS COME HOME FOR FOUR WINS IN FIVE, CHARLES LECLERC WINS THE CANADIAN GRAND PRIX!!!!
(BOZ) "Amazing, amazing job. How you make me dream, how you make me dream!"
(LEC) "YESSSS! LET'S GOOOOOO!!!! COME ON!!!! Ah, fantastic. Fantastic job guys. Brilliant once again."
(BOZ) "Incredible start to the season, let's keep this going!"
OSCAR PIASTRI MAKES IT FIVE 1-2S IN FIVE RACES
(ADA) "Taking the flag. P2, P2!"
(PIA) "Very very well managed. Good job, tyres fell off at the end but I'm happy with that."
(ADA) "Good job, another podium!"
It'll be George Russell joining the two Ferraris on the podium, as he takes P3! Verstappen P4, Norris P5, Sainz P6, Albon P7, Bottas P8, Gasly P9, Iwasa P10!
2027 CANADIAN GRAND PRIX
RACE CLASSIFICATION
- Charles Leclerc 01.30.01
- Oscar Piastri +9.878
- George Russell +19.084
- Max Verstappen +7.523
- Lando Norris +5.755
- Carlos Sainz +0.515
- Alex Albon +17.925
- Valtteri Bottas +6.985
- Pierre Gasly +0.211
- Ayumu Iwasa +1 lap
- Andrea Kimi Antonelli +1 lap
- Colton Herta +1 lap
- Oliver Bearman +1 lap
- Esteban Ocon +1 lap
- Yuki Tsunoda +1 lap
- Gabriel Bortoleto +1 lap
- Pato O'Ward +1 lap
- Isack Hadjar +1 lap
- Franco Colapinto +1 lap
- Liam Lawson +1 lap
- Théo Pourchaire +1 lap
- Zhou Guanyu +1 lap
DRIVER OF THE DAY: AYUMU IWASA
Ayumu Iwasa's battle with teammate Ollie Bearman over P10 was a highlight of the Canadian Grand Prix, and the rookie fought up the grid to take his second point and his first ever Driver of the Day award!
FASTEST LAP AWARD:
Carlos Sainz 1.11.900
DHL FASTEST PITSTOP AWARD:
Pato O'Ward 2.357s
2027 FIA FORMULA 1 WORLD DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP
Leclerc 130
Piastri 98
Verstappen 64
Russell 56
Norris 55
O'Ward 43
Gasly 43
Albon 24
Sainz 20
Bottas 9
Lawson 4
Tsunoda 2
Iwasa 2
Antonelli 0
Ocon 0
Herta 0
Bortoleto 0
Bearman 0
Pourchaire 0
Zhou 0
Hadjar 0
Colapinto 0
2027 FORMULA 1 WORLD CONSTRUCTORS CHAMPIONSHIP
Ferrari 228
Red Bull-Ford RBPT 119
McLaren-Ford RBPT 86
Williams-Ferrari 80
Mercedes 20
Aston Martin-Honda 11
Alpine-Renault 4
Subaru-Mercedes 2
Andretti-Ferrari 0
Audi Sauber 0
Haas-Mercedes 0
2027 FIA FORMULA 1 WORLD TYRES CHAMPIONSHIP
Bridgestone 310
Pirelli 240
DHL FASTEST PITSTOP COMPETITION
McLaren 146
Andretti 75
Red Bull 72
Williams 57
Alpine 45
Ferrari 28
Subaru 25
Mercedes 21
Aston Martin 18
Audi Sauber 14
Haas 4
wraith sedge
you signed Piastri 🔥
foggy locust
I did indeed!
He's off to a good start, five races, one win, four P2s, one inauguration into the Wall of Champions
foggy locust
SUBARU, HONDA AGREE PARTNERSHIP FOR 2028 SEASON AND BEYOND
Some breaking news as Subaru Impreza Formula 1 team have agreed a deal with Honda to receive engines from them for the 2028 season and beyond.
Aston Martin's Honda exclusivity deal expires at the end of this year, and Honda have agreed to expand their engine partnerships in Formula 1, by taking on fellow Japanese manufacturer Subaru as a customer.
Subaru will move from Mercedes engines to Honda engines at the end of the year, sharing the deal with Aston Martin.
2027 EMILIA ROMAGNA GRAND PRIX
WEEKEND PREVIEW
And so, to Round 6 of the Formula 1 World Championship in 2027, and after five Ferrari 1-2s to start the year, and the first Sprint of the season in the rearview mirror, the question remains: can anyone stop the Scuderia?
Last time around, it was an eventful weekend at the Canadian Grand Prix, with Oscar Piastri hitting the Wall of Champions during the Sprint Race, and Charles Leclerc coasting to victory in the end. In the main race, Oscar Piastri was far more competitive, but Charles Leclerc coasted to victory in the end.
And so to a race where Ferrari, and Andrea Kimi Antonelli in the Mercedes, will have a whole lot of support. The European leg of the F1 world tour begins, from Italy to…Italy, with Monaco, Hungary, Britain, Austria, Belgium and Netherlands in between. And we start at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, and that means, Imola.
The Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari is named for Ferrari’s principal founder and his son, is a 4.909 km circuit that is one of the few major international circuits to run anti clockwise. Featuring one DRS zone and 19 turns, overtaking is a bit more difficult here, and tyre degradation is kind - it is almost certainly a one-stop.
And with the best car so far this year and a monster level of support, Ferrari come into this weekend as the overwhelming favourites. It is one of two back to back home race weekends for Championship leader Charles Leclerc - Monaco is next weekend - and he has won four of the first five races. Oscar Piastri has been strong in P2, and did win in Mexico City, but already has a 32 point gap to the former Champion.
Red Bull's drivers have been outperforming a difficult car so far this season, but frustration is starting to kick in, particularly for Max Verstappen, as the tyre degradation of the car combined with the struggling aero has made the RB23 tricky to drive. He and Lando Norris might get some joy out of the long straights this weekend, but it feels like another weekend where they will have to outperform the car.
In Canada, Pato O'Ward's weekend was entirely compromised as Yuki Tsunoda clipped him on the first lap and O'Ward struggled through the rest of the race with car damage. O'Ward and Pierre Gasly will look to bounce back on a track that could very well suit their high speed cornering. McLaren have just one podium this season - Pato O'Ward in Australia, and would love to change that. They have done a famous 1-2 in Italy before, but that was at Monza.
Williams might be in the position that they have the second strongest car on the grid, after Ferrari, and sit just six points behind McLaren - and 39 behind Red Bull - after five race weekends. They have been the surprise package so far this season, and could even mount a potential challenge for second, as George Russell and Alex Albon continue to get the best out of a brilliant FW49.
Carlos Sainz got a much needed P6 in Canada to boost Mercedes up to 20 points, but they are still a distant 60 points off former customer team Williams, and nine ahead of former customer team Aston Martin. Andrea Kimi Antonelli has yet to score his first F1 points, but he has been close, and what better place to do it than at his home Grand Prix in Italy?
Aston Martin meanwhile continue with the same issues they've had for years - one driver scoring, one driver not scoring. The difference is, this year the driver scoring has changed from weekend to weekend, with both Valtteri Bottas and Yuki Tsunoda performing well on different occasions. Aston are looking to get some consistency, as Tsunoda clipped Pato O'Ward which wrecked both men's races in Canada - double points, and soon, is the target.
Alpine have been an enigma this year. Having performed well at testing - say it with me, “it's just testing” - the team have only scored once in the first five races, a P8 for Liam Lawson in Mexico City. Esteban Ocon hasn't capitalised on his late run of form last year, and tensions seem to be growing between him and Flavio Briatore. Could Ocon be on his way out of the team after eight years at Alpine?
Subaru meanwhile have agreed a new engine deal for next season, with Honda. A Japanese engine for a Japanese team, and so far, it is Ayumu Iwasa who has scored both of their points. Iwasa and teammate Oliver Bearman had a great battle in Canada over that final point, and there's no doubting that Subaru feel capable of getting both drivers points sooner rather than later. Could it happen here? As a Ferrari Academy Driver, Ollie Bearman will have a lot of support here.
Andretti meanwhile have been struggling to capture anything close to their debut season’s form, however you feel Colton Herta in particular is close to a breakthrough, and Gabriel Bortoleto is also performing well enough in a tough car. This very much feels like a team for the future, rather than now, but points around Imola would be a big bonus - their first of the season.
Audi Sauber might already be looking towards 2028, and it is looking increasingly likely that it will be with a new Team Principal in charge, as Mattia Binotto’s seat gets warmer and warmer. Théo Pourchaire has struggled as a team leader and Isack Hadjar hasn't really had much opportunity to show what he can do yet. The pressure is on Binotto - they need to beat out at least two teams here.
Haas are in a similar position with Team Principal Ayao Komatsu, but even more so - Komatsu has been in charge since 2024, and Haas seemingly have gone backwards in that time. Franco Colapinto and Zhou Guanyu will have a lot of support here, like Bearman of Subaru, as both spent time in the Ferrari Academy. That boost may be what Haas, and Komatsu, needs.
So, to Imola. A brilliant atmosphere is expected, as Ferrari are on form, and are firm favourites. There might be rain on Saturday, which will make qualifying very interesting. Can anyone beat out the Scuderia on their home soil? One thing's for sure - you will not want to miss it.
DINO BEGANOVIC TO RUN FP1
Dino Beganovic will run FP1 for Ferrari this weekend at Imola, in their second mandated FP1 appearance by a junior driver.
Dino will drive on the track for Ferrari named for Enzo Ferrari and his son, Dino. He will be in the car for Oscar Piastri for FP1.
The Swedish driver has impressed in the junior rankings, and gets his chance to show what he can do in an F1 car this weekend.
FP1 Reserves: Beganovic (Piastri), Hirakawa (Gasly), Tramnitz (Verstappen), Sztuka (Norris), Vesti (Sainz), Drugovich (Bottas)
FP1: LEC ALB ANT
BEG P5
Leclerc quickest but it is a brilliant start for Williams as well as Antonelli, as Albon takes P2 and Russell P4, with Antonelli in-between. Ferrari junior Beganovic P5, with Bortoleto P6 and Herta P10 for Andretti. Tsunoda P7, Mercedes junior Vesti P8, Red Bull junior Tramnitz P9.
FP2: LEC PIA SAI
Leclerc quickest in FP2, with Piastri P2 and Sainz P3. Gasly Fourth, ahead of Russell, Bearman and Iwasa. Albon, Norris and Tsunoda complete the top ten. Verstappen just P18.
Both drivers 100% BTW
FP3: LEC PIA RUS
Three from three for Leclerc, who was 0.227 quicker than Piastri, with Russell P3. O'Ward takes P4 with Sainz P5, then Verstappen, Albon and Norris. Herta and Bortoleto complete the top ten.
Welcome to Imola and to qualifying for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix! On Ferrari's home soil, it has been a dominant practice for the Scuderia, but that rain is looking like it will hit and that could make this session very, very intriguing. Possibilities of a mixed up grid this weekend. Let's see how we go.
OUT IN Q1: Leclerc, Herta, Iwasa, Zhou, Hadjar, Colapinto
Bubble: Pourchaire
Top Five: PIA, NOR, SAI, VER, RUS
We did mention the possibility of a mixed up grid and that is an absolute stunner. Championship leader Charles Leclerc is out in Q1 for the first time since Spain 2023. He got stuck in traffic and couldn't improve due to the weather. Colton Herta had a crash that wrecked his chances of getting out of Q1, Iwasa, Hadjar, Pourchaire and Colapinto out in Q1 too. A huge opportunity for Oscar Piastri now who went quickest in Q1 ahead of Norris, Sainz, Verstappen and Russell.
Absolute frustration for the former Champion, who didn't blame the traffic but he couldn't put the lap together in the rain.
OUT IN Q2: Tsunoda, Bearman, Gasly, Lawson, Bortoleto, Antonelli
Bubble: Pourchaire
Top Five: PIA, SAI, RUS, NOR, VER
The two biggest exits were Pierre Gasly and Andrea Kimi Antonelli, the latter of whom crashed in what has been a tough day so far for Italian fans. Tsunoda, Bearman, Lawson and Bortoleto also miss out on Q3, Pourchaire makes it to Q3 for the first time since Las Vegas last year. Piastri quickest from Sainz and Russell.
Q3: Piastri, O'Ward, Verstappen, Norris, Sainz, Bottas, Albon, Russell, Ocon, Pourchaire
Ferrari keep their Pole streak for the year alive as Oscar Piastri takes his second Pole of the season, while Pato O'Ward will be on the front row in his sixth F1 race. Verstappen and Norris lock out the second row, then Sainz and Bottas, the two Williams on row four, and Ocon and Pourchaire round off the top ten.
2026 EMILIA ROMAGNA GRAND PRIX
STARTING GRID
PIA OWA
VER NOR
SAI BOT
ALB RUS
OCO POU
TSU BEA
GAS LAW
BOR ANT
LEC HER
IWA ZHO
HAD COL
Screen break, back in a bit for race!
foggy locust
Welcome to the 2027 Formula 1 MSC Cruises Gran Premio Del Made In Italy E Dell 'Emilia-Romagna. Or to put it simply: Imola. Got all that? Round 6 of the 2027 Formula 1 season, one round earlier than last year and we are in northern Italy, 40km, 25 miles from Bologna,
Maranello isn't too far down the road either and there is a Ferrari on Pole to delight the sea of Tifosi fans here, but it is not the Championship leader, who starts a bit further back than usual. 63 laps around this 4.904km circuit, 19 turns, a top speed of 345.6km/h, and an elevation of 34.45m. Overtaking might be at a premium, just the one DRS Zone, but it should be a very intriguing race.
Former Ferrari junior Franco Colapinto is at the very back alongside Isack Hadjar, then it's his teammate and also former Ferrari junior Zhou Guanyu beside Ayumu Iwasa. Colton Herta in P18 then stunningly it's Championship leader Charles Leclerc, the Tifosi will want to see him make a comeback. Andrea Kimi Antonelli starts his first Formula 1 home race from P16 alongside Gabriel Bortoleto, Liam Lawson and Pierre Gasly on row seven. Ollie Bearman begins P12 in his first Italian race in F1 and he also has plenty of support here, he has Yuki Tsunoda for company. Théo Pourchaire begins P10 for the first time since Las Vegas then it's Esteban Ocon who is desperate for his first points of the year. George Russell and Alex Albon lock out the fourth row, Albon outqualifies Russell for the first time this season. Valtteri Bottas begins P6, with Carlos Sainz beside him, then it's the two Red Bulls of Lando Norris and Max Verstappen, Verstappen now 5-1 against Norris in qualifying, and on the front row, Pato O'Ward has his first Formula 1 front row in just his sixth race, while it is the second Pole Position of the season for Oscar Piastri in his first race on Italian soil for Ferrari. And what an opportunity Piastri has here, with Leclerc in P17, to close the Championship gap.
(ADA) "So Oscar, Pole Position, let's get a good launch off the line and go from there."
(PIA) "Yep, copy."
(BOZ) "So Charles, P17, we have work to do today. You know what you're capable of."
(LEC) "Yep. Let's do this."
Let's go racing!
One light, two, three, four, five...AND IT'S LIGHTS OUT AND AWAY WE GO
Piastri holds firm here, O'Ward up to P2, then Verstappen, Sainz ahead of Norris, Bottas, Albon, Russell, Ocon, Tsunoda, Herta has gained two places, Bortoleto has dropped two, Leclerc still P17 in the process of that!
Colton Herta is absolutely flying out there on circuit. He's already made it up to P15.
Pato O'Ward is pushing Oscar Piastri here! Very entertaining stuff at the front!!
Meanwhile, at the back, Leclerc is up ahead of Gasly into P16!
PATO O'WARD HAS DRS IN THE MAIN STRAIGHT, PATO O'WARD LEADS!!! PIASTRI COMING BACK AT HIM THOUGH AND RETAKES P1!
Leclerc now gets position back from Herta, the former Champion now P15.
Sainz meanwhile has taken position from both Verstappen and Norris and is running P3!!
O'Ward is keeping the pressure on Piastri at the front here!
Leclerc doing what he needs to do thus far. He's up to P14.
(ADA) "Oscar this is abreally good pace, keep this up."
(PIA) "Yep, got it."
A mistake by George Russell!! He locks up and goes across the grass, and he is down to P8!
Some good news for Williams though as Albon takes Norris for P6!
(BOZ) "We need you to break Lawson's DRS, Charles."
(LEC) "I'm trying but it is very difficult...Ocon in the grass."
(BOZ) "Yep, so that is P13. He's okay, he's back on track now."
Ocon goes wide and completely loses position, bumping everyone else up one slot! He returns to the track in P22!
Sainz putting O'Ward under pressure and takes P2 off the McLaren driver!!!
Leclerc moves past Pourchaire, and into P12. Next up, Leclerc's long time protégé, Bearman.
Lap 10: Piastri, Sainz, O'Ward, Verstappen, Norris, Bottas, Albon, Tsunoda, Russell, Antonelli, Bearman, Leclerc, Pourchaire, Gasly, Lawson, Iwasa, Herta, Bortoleto, Hadjar, Zhou, Colapinto, Ocon
Leclerc has DRS and he moves past Bearman for P11!! The title leader now almost in the points!
Hadjar has a lock-up! He's into the gravel, but lucky to avoid the sandtraps and returns to track in P21.
(ADA) "So P1, about 5.8 to O'Ward, Oscar. Tyres are good here."
(PIA) "Yep, understood, happy with the tyres right now."
Sainz takes P2 off O'Ward and is now trying to push down the road!
The rookie struggling on his tyres, and Verstappen takes advantage for P3!
Antonelli ahead of Tsunoda, and they both have Leclerc to deal with! Leclerc takes P10 off Tsunoda with a lovely move down the inside and he's into the points!
(ADA) "Update your tyre phase please, Oscar."
(PIA) "Feel okay so far. Little graining here."
Antonelli flying as he catches Russell out and he's up to P8!!!
Leclerc down the inside of Russell who is defending well and so far, holds P9!
(BOZ) "Tsunoda has DRS here Charles, watch for the overtake."
(LEC) "I have it too."
Leclerc gets the move done and he's up to P9!
Norris overtakes O'Ward and he's up to P4! He seems to be having ERS issues though!
A brilliant battle for P2 here as Sainz is defending so well from Verstappen!
Oscar Piastri about 6.7 ahead of Verstappen and Sainz right now.
Conflict of emotions for Italian fans here, as an Italian team overtakes an Italian driver. Leclerc ahead of Antonelli, who's having a superb drive in his own right, and into P8.
Lap 18: Piastri, Sainz, Verstappen, Norris, O'Ward, Albon, Bottas, Leclerc, Antonelli, Russell, Tsunoda, Bearman, Gasly, Iwasa, Lawson, Herta, Pourchaire, Bortoleto, Ocon, Zhou, Colapinto, Hadjar
(LEC) "Rears starting to drop a little bit."
(BOZ) "Understood. Find some cooling on the tyres where you can."
O'Ward finding a rhythm again, and is up to P4, while Albon has taken fifth off Lando Norris!
PITSTOPS: Early stops for the two backmarkers! Hadjar onto the Hards, Colapinto the Mediums!
Piastri is absolutely coasting at the front. A comfortable 6.7 seconds to Sainz.
Leclerc gets DRS, a lovely move down the inside of Bottas, and he's up to P7. This has been a sensational drive so far from Leclerc.
(ADA) "Head down and push. Use the tyre."
(PIA) "Copy."
PITSTOPS: Verstappen, Russell and Antonelli all pit, as do Lawson, Herta, Pourchaire and Ocon, and Zhou too! All Hards to the end here.
(BOZ) "Box, box"
PITSTOPS: O'Ward, Norris, Leclerc, Bottas, Iwasa all in! A big delay for Bottas and Iwasa, but everyone else away cleanly. 2.414 for Leclerc.
(ADA) "Box, box"
PITSTOPS: The front two, Piastri and Sainz are in! 2.542 for Piastri, as Alex Albon now leads this race!!
ANTONELLI
PITSTOP: Albon in from the lead! He now drops to P8.
Leclerc has just overtaken Bearman and Norris in quick sucession, the former of whom has yet to pit.
SAINZ
Lap 32: Piastri, Sainz, Verstappen, O'Ward, Leclerc, Bearman, Norris, Albon, Bortoleto, Bottas, Antonelli, Russell, Gasly, Tsunoda, Iwasa, Lawson, Herta, Ocon, Colapinto, Pourchaire, Hadjar, Zhou
Yet to pit: Bearman, Bortoleto
Verstappen and Sainz, who are both interestingly out of contract at the end of the year, continue their battle for P2. Verstappen with a lovely overtake but Sainz is coming back at him, and will have DRS on this go of things, Verstappen holds him off for now though.
PITSTOPS: Bearman and Bortoleto both in, and both onto the fresh Mediums! They re-join P16 and P21, but will have that speed advantage to the end now.
For the second time today, O'Ward is battling against a Ferrari, this time it is Leclerc putting the Mexican driver under pressure here!
(BOZ) "Okay, let's push and break that DRS now."
Leclerc has DRS and takes Fourth off O'Ward!
BOTTAS
Lawson has a lock-up at Tosa, and loses position to Herta!
(ADA) "Update, 13.7 to Sainz and Verstappen, 18 to Charles, 23 to O'Ward."
(PIA) "Understood, yeah."
VERSTAPPEN
Gasly ahead of Antonelli for the last points paying position!
Lap 48: Piastri, Sainz, Verstappen, Leclerc, O'Ward, Norris, Albon, Bottas, Russell, Gasly, Antonelli, Tsunoda, Iwasa, Bearman, Herta, Lawson, Ocon, Bortoleto, Pourchaire, Hadjar, Zhou, Colapinto
PITSTOP: Hadjar in for Softs. Is this simply a fastest lap attempt? It wouldn't matter to Hadjar or Audi, they're outside the points anyway, but it would annoy Verstappen anyway.
Leclerc is closing in quick on Sainz and Verstappen. Is a sixth Ferrari 1-2 potentially on here??
(BOZ) "Sainz and Verstappen, 1.227 ahead. This is a brilliant pace, keep this up. Should have DRS next lap."
This has been an incredible drive from Charles Leclerc, who goes down the inside of Max Verstappen for P3!!
Tsunoda runs wide! He doesn't lose position but he is in under threat from Iwasa.
This has been an astonishing drive from Charles Leclerc. From P17 on the grid to P2, as he overtakes Carlos Sainz for position on track!
(ADA) "Tyre phase, tyre phase if you can."
(PIA) "Front left is struggling quite a bit."
(ADA) "Copy. Focus on tyres."
(PIA) "Copy. Will do."
Sainz and Verstappen still having a fantastic battle here for what is now P3. Verstappen moves ahead of Sainz for position!
Lap 57: Piastri, Leclerc, Verstappen, Sainz, O'Ward, Norris, Albon, Russell, Bottas, Gasly, Antonelli, Tsunoda, Iwasa, Besrman, Herta, Lawson, Ocon, Bortoleto, Pourchaire, Hadjar, Colapinto, Zhou
(LEC) "The tyres are struggling, really struggling here."
(BOZ) "Copy. Get the car home Charles. Five laps left."
Wild statistic here - through six rounds, Ferrari have yet to have a fastest lap of the race.
Three laps remaining now
(ADA) "Two more laps."
(PIA) "Copy."
LAST LAP
The attention may have been focused elsewhere today, but nobody can take away from what a composed, fantastic drive this has been from Oscar Piastri, as a Ferrari driver, he is going to win his first Italian race, the Ferrari fans are coming alive for the Australian as he rounds the final corner, OSCAR PIASTRI WINS THE EMILIA-ROMAGNA GRAND PRIX!!!!
(ADA) "And P1 Oscar, P1, an absolutely brilliant race, first win on Italian soil!"
(PIA) "Woooo! Well done everyone! Was a great race, and honestly, one of the most relaxing afternoons I've had in an F1 car! Thanks to the team for making it possible."
(ADA) "You've done a wonderful job."
Meanwhile, from P17 to P2, to bring home a sixth Ferrari 1-2 in six races this season, an amazing job by the team and by Charles Leclerc, Charles Leclerc comes home second!!
(BOZ) "And P17 to P2 Charles, an incredible race! Well done mate, well done. Bravo, bravo."
(LEC) "Let's goooo! Ahhh, I'm not usually one to celebrate P2, but that was good, the pace was really really good. Really happy with that."
(BOZ) "An amazing drive. And Driver of the Day, too."
(LEC) "Thanks to the fans, and congrats to Oscar. Great drive by him today too."
It is Redemption Day for Carlos Sainz, as he takes his first Mercedes podium!!! Verstappen P4, O'Ward P5, Norris P6, Albon P7, Russell P8, Bottas beats Gasly on the line to P9!!!
2027 EMILIA-ROMAGNA GRAND PRIX
RACE CLASSIFICATION
- Oscar Piastri 01.23.06
- Charles Leclerc +18.117
- Carlos Sainz +6.310
- Max Verstappen +4.884
- Pato O'Ward +13.775
- Lando Norris +3.130
- Alex Albon +8.442
- George Russell +5.502
- Valtteri Bottas +3.236
- Pierre Gasly +0.046
- Andrea Kimi Antonelli +9.276
- Yuki Tsunoda +1 lap
- Ayumu Iwasa +1 lap
- Oliver Bearman +1 lap
- Colton Herta +1 lap
- Esteban Ocon +1 lap
- Liam Lawson +1 lap
- Gabriel Bortoleto +1 lap
- Théo Pourchaire +1 lap
- Isack Hadjar +1 lap
- Franco Colapinto +1 lap
- Zhou Guanyu +1 lap
DRIVER OF THE DAY: CHARLES LECLERC
An astonishing drive from the two time former Champion, Charles Leclerc went from P17 on the grid to P2 on the podium, in an absolutely brilliant drive. You duly noticed this, and awarded Charles Leclerc your Driver of the Day!
Top Five: Leclerc, Piastri, Sainz, Gasly, Antonelli
FASTEST LAP AWARD:
Max Verstappen 1.15.648
DHL FASTEST PITSTOP AWARD:
Max Verstappen 2.345s
2027 FIA FORMULA 1 WORLD DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP
Leclerc 148
Piastri 124
Verstappen 77
Norris 63
Russell 60
O'Ward 53
Gasly 44
Sainz 35
Albon 30
Bottas 11
Lawson 4
Tsunoda 2
Iwasa 2
Antonelli 0
Ocon 0
Herta 0
Bortoleto 0
Bearman 0
Pourchaire 0
Zhou 0
Hadjar 0
Colapinto 0
2027 FIA FORMULA 1 WORLD CONSTRUCTORS CHAMPIONSHIP
Ferrari 272
Red Bull-Ford RBPT 140
McLaren-Ford RBPT 97
Williams-Ferrari 90
Mercedes 35
Aston Martin-Honda 13
Alpine-Renault 4
Subaru-Mercedes 2
Andretti-Ferrari 0
Audi Sauber 0
:Mercedes Haas-Mercedes 0
2027 FIA FORMULA 1 WORLD TYRES CHAMPIONSHIP
Bridgestone 364
Pirelli 289
foggy locust
2027 MONACO GRAND PRIX
WEEKEND PREVIEW
We head to the Crown Jewel of Motorsport, the Monaco Grand Prix, for Round 7 of the 2027 World Championship, and it is a homecoming for Charles Leclerc, who looks to fourpeat his home race. And with Ferrari having taken six 1-2s in 6 races, it is hard to bet against them this weekend.
Last time around, it was Oscar Piastri who took his second victory of the season, and his first Italian win as a Ferrari driver, in a comfortable performance, but Charles Leclerc went from P17 to P2 in a stunning drive to keep his Championship lead at 24 points. Carlos Sainz meanwhile grabbed his first podium as a Mercedes driver, and his first since Mexico City 2024.
And so to Monaco. Run since 1929, it is widely considered one of the most important and prestigious races in the world - forming the Triple Crown with the Indianapolis 500, which takes place the same day, and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. It is a narrow and twisty course that doesn't allow for much overtaking, but the drama and danger of those barriers is always lurking, and Safety Cars and Red Flags are always in play here. It is also the most important Saturday of the season, due to the sherr difficulty of overtaking. Graham Hill was known as “Mr Monaco” for his five race wins in the 1960s, while Ayrton Senna won five straight Monaco Grand Prixs between 1989 and 1993, and six in total - a record that stands to this day.
Only two Monegasque drivers have ever won the race - Louis Chiron won it in 1931, then the fans here needed to wait 93 years for the next home winner - Charles Leclerc in 2024. Leclerc has since won it in 2025 and 2026, and is looking for his fourth consecutive win here. Oscar Piastri however will be brimming with confidence after his comfortable win in Imola, and could well provide Leclerc's greatest challenge to winning his home race.
Max Verstappen finished fourth in Imola, and for the fourth race in six he's just missed out on the podium. Despite some difficulties in driving the car, Verstappen and Lando Norris have still gotten Red Bull up to a comfortable, but distant, second in the Constructors Championship. Can the Bulls get on top of their car and provide a challenge to Ferrari this weekend? The Verstappen to Mercedes rumours are persisting, Red Bull have a job to do to convince Verstappen of his future at their team.
McLaren have a fight on their hands for third, as they've slipped behind Red Bull in the fight for second, and now sit just seven points ahead of Williams. McLaren have been quick this year - especially in Qualifying - but they are still struggling to match the sheer pace of Ferrari and the driver line-up of Red Bull. Pierre Gasly has been very solid in his step up from Audi, and Pato O'Ward has far and away been the best rookie on the grid thus far, but they'll need more if they want to give Red Bull a fight.
Williams meanwhile have had arguably their best season since the 1990s, and sit fourth in the Championship, well ahead of Mercedes, and very much in the fight for third with McLaren. They have two Podiums this year - both for George Russell, and Russell and Alex Albon have performed well as a team, as Albon has picked up the pieces when Russell has had issues. Williams are a team that can challenge at the front - could they even take a victory this season?
Carlos Sainz got an incredibly needed first Mercedes podium at Imola, a redemption day for the Spanish driver after two very rough years at the Silver Arrows. Will it be enough though to retain his seat? Andrea Kimi Antonelli is very much thought of as the future at Mercedes, and Toto Wolff has long since been an admirer of Max Verstappen - Sainz has a point to continue to prove this weekend at Monaco.
Rinse and repeat for Aston Martin, as once again they only had one driver scoring - Valtteri Bottas in P9, as Yuki Tsunoda finished P12. Tsunoda hasn't quite adapted to the Aston Martin as well as he was doing at Andretti, with just two points finishes in the first six races, both P10s. It is early days, but Aston are having the same problem that kept them out of the top four in 2026 - only this time, the midfield has gotten a lot closer and it's now the top five, especially with Mercedes taking a podium at Imola. Work to do for Aston, who have also lost the exclusivity deal with Honda for next year - Honda will also work with Subaru from 2028 onwards.
Alpine meanwhile had a rough Imola - P16 and P17, with both drivers going off the track at different points in the race. Frustration is growing with the Renault management and it is looking more and more likely that after eight years with the team, Esteban Ocon may well leave at the end of the season. They're Seventh in the Championship, and although it is still early, they seem to be slipping back in development compared to teams around them. Has the opportunity gone?
Subaru announced a big partnership with fellow Japanese company Honda to provide their engines for them from 2028 onwards, and with a growing support base in their homeland already, F1's newest team seem to be thriving in the sport. Ayumu Iwasa and Oliver Bearman both seem to be growing in the sport, and they have two points finishes to the team's name - both Iwasa - after six races. Can Subaru add more to the board in Monte Carlo?
Andretti's biggest problem this season seems to be their qualifying pace - they have a car that is performing decently in the races, as well as two drivers who have a lot of pedigree in Formula 2 Champion Gabriel Bortoleto and IndyCar runner-up Colton Herta. Herta in particular seems to be showing some brilliant race pace. But the problem is, the car is struggling over one lap, and so far, no points to show for it. A poor qualifying in Monaco would be absolutely destructive of their chances this weekend - the team must get on top of their one lap pace. Can they?
Decisions to be made at Audi Sauber as to the future of their team - they are missing Pierre Gasly in the team, badly - and Isack Hadjar and Théo Pourchaire have been very much stuck at the back. But Monaco does provide an opportunity, if chaos strikes ahead of them - Audi need to make sure they're not part of said chaos, and then the opportunity could be there for points? They'll need a lot of luck to go their way this weekend.
Haas are in the same boat - a struggling team and two drivers who haven't been able to show anything of what they can do - and like Audi, may have to root for chaos ahead of them if they hope to get anything out of this weekend. Gene Haas, as well as Toyota, gave Team Principal Ayao Komatsu a much needed vote of confidence - what will that do for the team going forward?
And so, to Monaco. No rain expected, but it will still be an intriguing race, and anything can happen in the Principality. One thing's for sure - you won't want to miss it.
FP1 Reserves: Hirawaka (Gasly), Tramnitz (Verstappen), Sztuka (Norris), Vesti (Antonelli), Al Qubaisi (Bortoleto), Maloney (Pourchaire), Drugovich (Bottas)
VSC IN FP1!
LECLERC CLIPS THE WALL IN FP1. However, that's not what the VSC is for, as Leclerc has kept the car going...
Hadjar hits the wall and is out of the session towards the end! A big off but he's thankfully okay!
FP1: LEC PIA ALB
Despite a late FP1 shunt that broke his front wing, Charles Leclerc was quickest in first practice on home soil. Piastri P2, ahead of Albon then Russell. Sainz took P5 ahead of O'Ward and Hirakawa, while Bearman, Vesti and Lawson completed the top ten. No Red Bulls in the top ten.
foggy locust
FP2: LEC PIA OWA
Ferrari's pace has looked terrifying here, with Leclerc about a second up on O'Ward in P3. Piastri P2, with an impressive Bearman fourth. Sainz P5, with Albon P6, Iwasa P7, Gasly P8, Herta P9, Russell P10. Tsunoda had a crash that compromised his FP2.
FP3: LEC PIA SAI
Leclerc goes quickest in FP3, with Piastri P2 and Sainz P3. Verstappen fourth quickest ahead of Gasly, while Antonelli takes P6, and Norris P7. Bearman, Albon and O'Ward complete the top ten.
It is time for the most important qualifying session of the season. Qualifying means everything in Monaco, as overtaking is at a premium on this circuit. Charles Leclerc has looked very quick around his home track, can anyone beat him to Pole this weekend?
OUT IN Q1: Antonelli, Zhou, Hadjar, Colapinto, Herta, Bortoleto
Bubble: Pourchaire
Top Five: LEC, PIA, SAI, RUS, VER
A nightmare for Andretti as they lose both drivers at the very back, while Kimi Antonelli hit traffic and will start his first Monaco GP in the bottom six. Hadjar out as well as both Zhou and Colapinto, the latter of whom had problems with his engine. Leclerc quickest from Piastri, while Sainz, Russell and Verstappen were in the top five.
OUT IN Q2: Bottas, Iwasa, Ocon, Bearman, Lawson, Pourchaire
Bubble: Tsunoda
Top Five: LEC, PIA, VER, RUS, NOR
Bottas just misses out to teammate Tsunoda, as Iwasa and Bearman are both out. Bearman hit traffic while on a good lap, and can feel hard done by. Ocon also exits alongside Lawson and Pourchaire. Leclerc again quickest from Piastri, with Verstappen, Russell and Norris in the top five.
Q3: Piastri, Leclerc, Russell, Norris, Sainz, O'Ward, Verstappen, Albon, Gasly, Tsunoda
Just 0.021 in it as Oscar Piastri beats Charles Leclerc to Pole Position!! A stunning lap by Piastri took Pole away from the home hero, while Russell was third and 5 tenths back off the Ferraris. Norris P4, with Sainz P5, while O'Ward took P6 and Verstappen just P7. Albon P8, with Gasly P9 and Tsunoda P10.
2027 MONACO GRAND PRIX
STARTING GRID
PIA LEC
RUS NOR
SAI OWA
VER ALB
GAS TSU
BOT IWA
OCO BEA
LAW POU
ANT ZHO
HAD HER
BOR
PITLANE START - COL - QUAL P20
It is Motorsports Sunday, and welcome to the Crown Jewel of the Formula 1 calendar. The Indy 500 and Coke 600 are later today, for now, it is the 73rd running of the Monaco Grand Prix, we have been racing round the streets of Monte Carlo since 1929 - give or take a few years. This 3.336km circuit is the only one that doesn't adhere to F1's 305km race distance rule - as a result, it is the shortest race of the season. 78 laps, 1 DRS Zone, it won't be an overtaking fest, but danger lurks at every single turn with those barriers looming- one wrong move and it is game over. Just two Monegasque drivers have won this race - one of them is looking for his third win today, but it's his teammate that starts on Pole.
And Franco Colapinto has chosen to start from the pitlane after taking on a new engine, so it is Gabriel Bortoleto alone on the back row, Colton Herta, an Indy 500 regular, starts his first Monaco Grand Prix from P20, with Isack Hadjar starting from P19, then Zhou Guanyu and Andrea Kimi Antonelli on row nine. Théo Pourchaire begins alongside Liam Lawson, Ollie Bearman makes his Monaco GP debut alongside Esteban Ocon, while Ayumu Iwasa is joined by Valtteri Bottas on the sixth row. Yuki Tsunoda had a crash in FP2 but made it to Q3 and starts alongside his old mate Pierre Gasly, then we have Alex Albon in P8 and former winner here Max Verstappen in P7 - Verstappen the only other previous winner of this race aside from Charles Leclerc on the grid today. A former Indy 500 winner Pato O'Ward goes for his second leg of the Triple Crown in P6, and Carlos Sainz starts P5, then it's Lando Norris and George Russell on the second row. Charles Leclerc looking for the home threepeat and he has a lot of support here to do it, he's P2, but it is a first Monaco Grand Prix Pole Position for Oscar Piastri.
(PIA) "And radio check?"
(ADA) "Radio check okay. P1 today, Oscar, starting P1. Free to race but keep it clean around here."
(PIA) "Gotcha."
sterile breach
It is Motorsports Sunday, and welcome to the Crown Jewel of the Formula 1 calend...
If O'Ward wins, all he has to do then is win Le Mans
foggy locust
(BOZ) "Radio check, Charles?"
(LEC) "Radio check okay."
(BOZ) "P2 start, get a good start off the line and keep it clean with Oscar. It's your home race, give it your all."
(LEC) "Yeah, I will do."
foggy locust
If O'Ward wins, all he has to do then is win Le Mans
This is very true!
Pato won the Indy 500 2025 in this save, and it's his Monaco debut
Let's go racing around the principality!
One light, two, three, four, five...AND IT'S LIGHTS OUT AND AWAY WE GO
Piastri with a good start, Leclerc also gets a good start, Piastri holds his teammate off though at the start! Russell P3, then Norris, Sainz P5, Verstappen ahead of O'Ward! Albon, Gasly and Tsunoda are your top ten!
Right then. Now the job begins. Piastri and Leclerc have broken clear of the pack already, and it's between the front two so far.
LECLERC
PIASTRI
Leclerc trying to find his opportunity down the middle but can't get it done...
AND IT IS A RED FLAG ON LAP 2. OH MY GOD.
Pierre Gasly slides off into the barrier, and his race is already over! Heartbreak for the McLaren, and this has brought Monaco to an early standstill!!
Restart order on Lap 5: Piastri, Leclerc, Russell, Norris, Sainz, Verstappen, O'Ward, Albon, Tsunoda, Bottas, Ocon, Iwasa, Bearman, Lawson, Pourchaire, Antonelli, Zhou, Hadjar, Herta, Bortoleto, Colapinto. Gasly out of the race.
AND IT'S LIGHTS OUT AND AWAY WE GO FOR A SECOND TIME TODAY
LECLERC HAS GOTTEN OFF THE LINE QUICKEST AND NOW LEADS HIS HOME RACE!!! PIASTRI DOWN TO P2, Russell P3, then Norris, Verstappen, Sainz, Albon, O'Ward, Tsunoda and Bottas!
(BOZ) "That is a lovely restart, keep focused, long way to go here Charles."
(LEC) "Okay, copy."
LECLERC
Within a couple of laps, Leclerc has gained about 2 seconds on Piastri. This has been an astonishing restart for Leclerc.
(PIA) "Where are we losing time to Charles?"
(ADA) "You are quicker in the first half of the lap, slower in the second half, particularly at the hairpin."
Verstappen's up to P5 in the early carnage, and he's now chasing Lando Norris, his teammate, for P4.
Sainz going wheel to wheel with O'Ward, but Pato has fended him off here!
Worth noting that, as it stands, Williams are above McLaren in the Constructors. Long way to go, not just today, but on the season, however.
(BOZ) "Easy turn 3 and turn 4 please. 4.7 to Oscar, this is a good pace, tyre management is strong, keep it up."
(LEC) "Yeah, copy."
We have an overtake! Sainz ahead of O'Ward, O'Ward pushing down the main straight and retakes the position.
Lap 17: Leclerc, Piastri, Russell, Norris, Verstappen, Albon, O'Ward, Sainz, Bottas, Tsunoda, Iwasa, Bearman, Ocon, Pourchaire, Lawson, Antonelli, Herta, Zhou, Bortoleto, Hadjar, Colapinto.
(BOZ) "How are your tyres?"
(LEC) "They're fine."
(BOZ) "Some slight tyre management in 12 and 13 please."
There's that ol' Renault reliability that plagued them last year. Ocon having issues with his engine and he's dropped behind Bearman.
What's the earliest a team has ever wrapped up the Constructors? With the slightly shorter season than last year, even with the double points in Vegas, Ferrari might have this wrapped up by the summer break at this rate.
ALBON
(ADA) "Currently P2, you have Charles in front, 5.5, Russell behind, 13.3."
(PIA) "Yeah. Struggling a bit more on tyres than I'd like."
(ADA) "And so tyre management where you can."
For the record: the only ones to change tyres at the Red Flag were Leclerc, Piastri, Albon, O'Ward and Colapinto. Everyone else stayed on their original tyre choice.
Albon has gotten ahead of Verstappen for P5! That was a lovely move by the Williams Driver at the Hairpin!
PITSTOP: First of the day and it's Zhou! He's taken Softs, which is...surprising. he returns to the track to the sight of Oscar Piastri, in P2, lapping him.
(ADA) "Tyre phase update Oscar?"
(PIA) "Still okay for now, struggling a little to keep pace but yeah, still okay."
Ferrari can afford to wait to see what Williams and Red Bull do with Russell and Norris, pitstop wise. Leclerc could probably pit now and get out ahead of both, Piastri not quite in that window yet.
PITSTOPS: Ocon and Hadjar in! Ocon takes Softs and has a delay, his day goes from bad to worse, while Hadjar has a clean stop but is well back at this point.
(ADA) "Less lift off. Build that gap for the stop, please."
(PIA) "Yeah, copy."
PITSTOP: Norris in! He's onto the Hards and that should see him to the end!
(ADA) "Box."
(PIA) "Copy, box."
PITSTOPS: Russell, Verstappen, Bottas, Tsunoda all in! An easy double stack for Aston as Bottas is well clear of Tsunoda and all four take Hards!
(BOZ) "Box Charles, box"
(LEC) "Copy, box"
(BOZ) "Don't stay out, don't stay out this lap"
(LEC) laughing "...don't do that to me Bryan"
PITSTOPS: Piastri and Herta in and both onto the Hards! Piastri rejoins in a comfortable P2!
PITSTOP: LECLERC IN. A 2.779 stop and he will retain a comfortable lead of about 7 seconds to Piastri.
RUSSELL
PITSTOP: Albon onto the Hards as well! He'll rejoin in P7!
Still to pit: Sainz, Antonelli, Iwasa, Bearman, Lawson, Bortoleto
ALBON
You sense both Mercedes and Subaru are trying to hang on here, hoping for a Red Flag or Safety Car.
PITSTOPS: Unsurprisingly, the Softs haven't lasted for Zhou and Haas. He makes another stop for Hards. Sainz is in, and he's onto the Mediums...but a delay in getting the jack out from under the car! Sainz will rejoin in just P8!!
PITSTOP: Iwasa and Subaru also admitting defeat - Iwasa pits for Mediums and rejoins in P14.
PITSTOPS: And one lap later, Iwasa's teammate Bearman is into the final garage along the pitlane, rejoining P13! Antonelli in as well and he's back out there in P14.
PITSTOPS: Haas' pit crew are having a horrendous day. They cannot get the tyre off for Colapinto!! He is well back in last. Bortoleto is the final driver to make a first stop, and he takes the Mediums, down in P19.
Lap 49: Leclerc, Piastri, Russell, Norris, Verstappen, Albon, O'Ward, Sainz, Bottas, Tsunoda, Ocon, Iwasa, Bearman, Antonelli, Pourchaire, Herta, Hadjar, Lawson, Bortoleto, Zhou, Colapinto
The closest on track battle at the moment is the fight for...ahem, P15. Pourchaire, Herta, Lawson in a three car DRS train, with Hadjar not far behind.
There's a Red Bull immediately behind them - that's Max Verstappen, in P5, who is lapping all of them.
PITSTOP: Ocon has another stop...and good lord, another delay. He is furious down the team radio right now. Frustration setting in for him.
PITSTOP: Pourchaire in from P19, and he's taken Softs. Fastest lap attempt?
RUSSELL
Speaking of which, that currently sits with George Russell.
Lap 60. Leclerc has lapped everyone up to and including Bottas in P9. He's 13.6 ahead of Piastri, and had he started on Pole, I feel a fastest lap attempt would be likely from the former Champion.
Midfield battle to keep an eye on - Sainz looking to overtake Albon for P6!
Lap 69: Leclerc, Piastri, Russell, Norris, Verstappen, Albon, Sainz, O'Ward, Bottas, Tsunoda, Iwasa, Bearman, Antonelli, Ocon, Lawson, Bortoleto, Herta, Zhou, Hadjar, Pourchaire, Colapinto
Red Bull civil war continuing as Norris under pressure from Verstappen, but finding some speed and breaking away from him!
Ocon has had a rough afternoon. Really struggling with engine issues.
Five laps left!
MAX VERLAPPEDEN. Leclerc has just lapped the Red Bull of Max Verstappen. Wild.
Leclerc has lapped the entire field, bar Piastri and Russell. This has been a ridiculous performance.
LECLERC
LAST LAP
An astonishing drive on home soil, for Charles Leclerc. Ferrari have been dominant, he has been especially dominant, it hasn't been in question for most of the afternoon, he has lapped almost the ENTIRE FIELD, AND HE ROUNDS THE FINAL CORNER, CHARLES LECLERC, FOR THE THIRD TIME IN A ROW, WINS THE MONACO GRAND PRIX. PURE DOMINANCE FROM THE FORMER CHAMPION.
(BOZ) "Astonishing, simply astonishing. We won it, three in a row at home, Charles. Three in a row!!!"
(LEC) "YESSSSS! YESS YES YESSSS! YESS, AHH, YESSSSS!!!! Ahhhh, it never gets any less here. This is a wonderful car, a wonderful team, wonderful effort. Amazing."
(BOZ) "Astonishing today, Charles. Brilliant job, once more."
(LEC) "Tonight is going to be a big night."
(ADA) "And taking the flag, P2 confirmed. Great job today, Oscar. Amazing job."
(PIA) "Yeah, I am happy with that. Great job today. P2, another podium."
(ADA) "You've done very well today."
Russell the only one left on the lead lap so he's P3, Norris P4, Verstappen P5, Sainz P6, Albon P7, O'Ward P8, Bottas P9, Tsunoda P10
2027 MONACO GRAND PRIX
RACE CLASSIFICATION
- Charles Leclerc 01.35.08
- Oscar Piastri +20.835
- George Russell +47.817
- Lando Norris +1 lap
- Max Verstappen +1 lap
- Carlos Sainz +1 lap
- Alex Albon +1 lap
- Pato O'Ward +1 lap
- Valtteri Bottas +1 lap
- Yuki Tsunoda +1 lap
- Ayumu Iwasa +1 lap
- Oliver Bearman +1 lap
- Andrea Kimi Antonelli +1 lap
- Esteban Ocon +2 laps
- Liam Lawson +2 laps
- Gabriel Bortoleto +2 laps
- Colton Herta +2 laps
- Isack Hadjar +2 laps
- Zhou Guanyu +3 laps
- Théo Pourchaire +3 laps
- Franco Colapinto +3 laps
- Pierre Gasly DNF
foggy locust
DRIVER OF THE DAY: CHARLES LECLERC
It couldn't have been anyone else today. Having taken his third home victory and lapped everyone bar his teammate and George Russell, and probably would've gotten Russell with a couple more laps, this was an utter statement win for Charles Leclerc on home soil. Charles Leclerc, Driver of the Day.
Top Five: Leclerc, Piastri, Bottas, Russell, Verstappen
foggy locust
any plans on switching teams?
Not anytime soon, but we may have to retool this save to make it more competitive for other teams
I've been running a CAT stream on Twitch as well, but I like having my Ferrari save - I feel like I always struggle to keep motivated in managing other IRL teams that aren't the Scuderia
2027 FIA FORMULA 1 WORLD DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP
Leclerc 174
Piastri 143
Verstappen 87
Russell 75
Norris 75
O'Ward 57
Gasly 44
Sainz 43
Albon 36
Bottas 13
Lawson 4
Tsunoda 3
Iwasa 2
Antonelli 0
Ocon 0
Herta 0
Bearman 0
Bortoleto 0
Pourchaire 0
Zhou 0
Hadjar 0
Colapinto 0
2027 FIA FORMULA 1 WORLD CONSTRUCTORS CHAMPIONSHIP
Ferrari 317
Red Bull-Ford RBPT 162
Williams-Ferrari 111
McLaren-Ford RBPT 111
Mercedes 43
Aston Martin-Honda 16
Alpine-Renault 4
Subaru-Mercedes 2
Andretti-Ferrari 0
Audi Sauber 0
Haas-Mercedes 0
2027 FIA FORMULA 1 WORLD TYRES CHAMPIONSHIP
Bridgestone 430
Pirelli 326
DHL FASTEST PITSTOP COMPETITION:
McLaren 158
Andretti 128
Red Bull 125
Williams 76
Alpine 57
Ferrari 44
Subaru 29
Mercedes 27
Haas 23
Audi Sauber 22
Aston Martin 18
wraith sedge
new Senna?
foggy locust
Three wins in a row at Monaco. The curse is a thing of the past
foggy locust
LOUIS FOSTER WINS INDIANAPOLIS 500
Louis Foster has become the first driver with a British Racing licence to win the Indianapolis 500 since Dario Franchitti, taking victory in the 111th running of the Indianapolis 500 this afternoon in Indianapolis.
Foster, competing for Chip Ganassi Racing, bested the challenge of Felix Rosenqvist in what turned into a two car race for the victory. Álex Palou had to settle for third, finishing ahead of Sergio Perez and Alexander Rossi for the final spot on the podium.
Kyle Larson and Sting Ray Robb finished P6 and P7, with Daniel Ricciardo's Indy 500 debut for Andretti seeing him finish P8. Pascal Wehrlein, who at times led the race and looked to become the first German driver to win the Indy 500, had to settle for P9, with Scott Dixon P10.
Marcus Ericsson crashed out the race and brought out the only Safety Car of the day, while former winners Josef Newgarden and Will Power struggled at the back of the pack.
But it was Foster's day, as the 2024 Indy NXT Champion took the greatest race in American motorsport.
foggy locust
2027 HUNGARIAN GRAND PRIX
WEEKEND PREVIEW
And so we go from Monaco to Monaco without the barriers”. After an utterly stunning show of domination in Monaco by Charles Leclerc and Ferrari, where does the rest of the field go from here?
The Seventh Ferrari 1-2 in seven races. Charles Leclerc lapped every driver except Oscar Piastri and George Russell. A ridiculous performance from the two time Champion to win his home race, as Piastri was a distant second. Monaco wasn't even close, and Leclerc, and Ferrari, now have a comfortable lead in both Championships.
So, to Hungary. The first F1 Grand Prix held behind the Iron Curtain in 1986, and the original plan was a Monaco esque Street circuit, but the Hungarian government instead opted for a new circuit just outside the city. Known for minimal overtaking opportunities, as well as a dusty circuit that doesn't hold well to track evolution over a weekend - Hungaroring remains a challenge. Damon Hill nearly famously won this race in a midfield Arrows, so anything is possible.
There might be signs of life for the rest of the field going forward, as Ferrari are not bringing upgrades this weekend, and McLaren, Williams and Mercedes all bring fresh upgrades in hopes of upending the Champions in Hungary. Charles Leclerc is 31 points ahead of Oscar Piastri, while Ferrari are an astonishing 155 points clear of Red Bull after seven races.
And so to the challengers - Red Bull were fourth and fifth, as they continue to outperform a difficult car. Lando Norris and Max Verstappen are doing wonders with what they have this year, but it is not enough, particularly for Verstappen, who may well be heading out of the Red Bull family, where as Norris seemingly has not adjusted to the differences between life at McLaren and life at Red Bull. Tension is high at the Austrian team.
Williams on the other hand are presenting a United front, as George Russell took a podium in Monaco, his third of the season. This is turning into the best Williams season since the World Championship win in 1997, and may present the best opportunity for a race win this weekend outside of the two Ferraris.
McLaren meanwhile had Pierre Gasly crash out on the second lap in Monaco, and Pato O'Ward could only take Eighth. McLaren seem to have fallen away from Best of the Rest to the Fourth Force in the mid-season, but they are bringing upgrades with minds of challenging Ferrari, particularly at Silverstone next time out. The Hungaroring might not be a t4qdk that suits them.
Carlos Sainz has looked revitalised this season at Mercedes and his redemption has low key been one of the best storylines of this season. Andrea Kimi Antonelli hasn't quite managed to get into the points just yet, but Mercedes are a team that seem to be going in the right direction, and bring upgrades with that in mind.
Aston Martin finally got what they've been looking for for some time - Double Points. Both Yuki Tsunoda and Valtteri Bottas scored points in Monaco. Now, consistency is key for the Astons, who still trail Mercedes for fifth by some distance. Aston are also bringing upgrades with this in mind for Hungary.
Alpine and Esteban Ocon were at loggerheads after Monaco, and it looks all but certain that he will leave the team after this coming year. As Alpine, and Ocon, look at their options for next year, the next few races will be vital for both. The Renault team only have one points scoring finish this entire year - a P8 for Lawson in Mexico City - and they simply must do better.
Subaru meanwhile were pushing the points in Monaco, with both Ayumu Iwasa and Oliver Bearman impressing, but they only have two points to show for it this year. Can Subaru challenge Alpine for seventh in the Constructors, which would not quite be at Andretti's debut level, but still be an impressive first season.
As for Andretti, they haven't quite reached their levels of the first season with the rookie line-up. Colton Herta and Gabriel Bortoleto had a solid race in Monaco, but were fighting from poor qualifying, and it is that one lap pace that Andretti are struggling to replicate from last year. Meanwhile, Daniel Ricciardo took Eighth in the Indy 500 - could he return to the team next year?
Audi and Haas both struggled once more in Monaco, and it does look like both will go in different directions at Team Principal for 2027. The question is - who do they bring in if that's the case? Hungary is known well for silly season - Sebastian Vettel's retirement kicked off 2022's edition - could we hear something from either team this weekend?
And so to the Hungaroring. This should be a fascinating weekend, but will it be an Eighth Ferrari 1-2? One thing's for sure, you won't want to miss it.
FP1 Reserves: Hirakawa (O'Ward), Bustamante (Gasly), Tramnitz (Verstappen), (Norris), Vesti (Antonelli), Martins (Lawson), Browning (Russell), O'Sullivan (Albon), Al Qubaisi (Bortoleto), Maloney (Pourchaire)
FP1: LEC PIA SAI
Leclerc and Piastri 1-2 to begin the weekend, with Sainz third. Bearman and Iwasa P4 and P5, while Herta took P6, with O'Sullivan P7, while Bottas, Vesti and Ocon finished top ten.
FP2: LEC PIA NOR
Leclerc and Piastri quickest again, but Norris, Verstappen, Gasly and Albon all came closer. Russell just behind his teammate, while Tsunoda, O'Ward and Sainz complete the top ten.
FP3: LEC PIA OWA
Leclerc and Piastri 1-2, as O'Ward takes P3. Sainz, Norris, Verstappen and Albon follow, then Antonelli, Ocon and Russell complete the top ten.
It's time to go qualifying in Hungary, and after three practices and three Ferrari 1-2s, it is hard to see anything but that on the grid here in Hungary, but you never know. Red Bull, McLaren, Williams and Mercedes have shown pace as well - who will challenge the Scuderia for Pole?
OUT IN Q1: Pourchaire, Hadjar, Colapinto, Zhou, Bortoleto, Bearman
Bubble: Antonelli
Top Five: LEC, PIA, GAS, OWA, SAI
Both Audis, both Haas drivers, Bortoleto and Bearman exit in Q1. Ferrari dominant once more, with Gasly and O'Ward about six tenths back.
Colton Herta into the barrier!!! A big spin off by the Andretti driver, and his session is over! Thankfully he's OK, but that is a disaster for the American driver!
OUT IN Q2: Lawson, Tsunoda, Ocon, Albon, Antonelli, Herta
Bubble: Iwasa
Top Five: Piastri, Leclerc, O'Ward, Verstappen, Sainz
Lawson, Tsunoda, Ocon, Albon and Antonelli join Herta, who crashed in Q2, at the exit door. Subaru have their first Q3 as Iwasa makes it through, with Piastri quickest from Leclerc.
Q3: Leclerc, Piastri, Sainz, Norris, Russell, Verstappen, O'Ward, Iwasa, Bottas, Gasly
Leclerc takes another Pole, 2 tenths up on Piastri, with Sainz third, and Norris fourth. Russell takes P5 with Gasly P6, while O'Ward, Iwasa, Bottas and Gasly round off your top ten!
2027 HUNGARIAN GRAND PRIX
STARTING GRID
LEC PIA
SAI NOR
RUS VER
OWA IWA
BOT GAS
LAW TSU
OCO ALB
ANT POU
HAD COL
ZHO BOR
BEA
PITLANE START - HER
Welcome to the Go-Kart Track, to the Hungaroring in Mogyoród, 18km from the centre of Budapest, and it is race day here. 70 laps, 4.381km, 14 turns, 2 DRS Zones and not the easiest overtaking job. Monaco without the barriers, and as Ferrari aim for their Eighth 1-2 in eight races, can anyone beat them here?
Colton Herta starts from the pitlane having Qualified 16th and crashed in Q2, Oliver Bearman on the back row alone, while Gabriel Bortoleto and Zhou Guanyu are on row ten. Franco Colapinto one spot ahead, while Isack Hadjar starts P17. Théo Pourchaire begins from P16 and just P15 for Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who has some work to do for his first points of the year. Alex Albon and Esteban Ocon on the seventh row, then Yuki Tsunoda beside Liam Lawson. Pierre Gasly starts P10 with Valtteri Bottas P9, Ayumu Iwasa has Subaru's highest ever start in P8 and he's alongside fellow rookie Pato O'Ward. Max Verstappen and George Russell are on the third row, then it's old friends on the second row, Lando Norris in P4 and Carlos Sainz in P3, then a familiar story as Ferrari lock out the front row. Oscar Piastri starts P2 and Charles Leclerc begins in P1.
Let's go racing!
Splitting the strats - Leclerc S/H/S, Piastri M/H/S
One light, two, three, four, five...AND IT'S LIGHTS OUT AND AWAY WE GO
Leclerc holds position, Piastri next, Sainz up to P3, Norris drops to P4, Russell fifth, Verstappen sixth, O'Ward P7, Bottas and Gasly have both gotten ahead of Iwasa!!!
(ADA) "DRS enabled, DRS enabled. We have Charles in front, point seven."
HERTA
(BOZ) "You have the fastest lap, that was a really strong lap."
(LEC) "Yeah, copy."
LECLERC
Lap 5: Leclerc, Piastri, Norris, Sainz, Russell, Verstappen, Bottas, O'Ward, Gasly, Iwasa, Ocon, Tsunoda, Antonelli, Lawson, Pourchaire, Albon, Hadjar, Bearman, Bortoleto, Herta, Colapinto, Zhou
Sainz and Russell currently chasing Norris for that third step on the podium. Ferrari are in the distance already, and it is Lap 6.
Sainz holding off Russell for P4, as both chase Norris!
PITSTOP: It is an early stop for Hadjar! He stops for the Hards on Lap 11!
DISASTER FOR HADJAR AS HE'S IMMRDIATELY SPUN OFF ON HIS OUTLAP!!!
PITSTOPS: Lawson and Zhou into the pitlane!
PITSTOP: O'Ward in on Lap 13, and he's down to P17, and that's early for the Mediums.
PITSTOP: Antonelli and Bortoleto in!
To say how disastrous that spin off for Hadjar was - that's Leclerc just behind him, and Hadjar has been lapped on Lap 15.
Lap 16: Leclerc, Piastri, Sainz, Norris, Verstappen, Russell, Bottas, Gasly, Iwasa, Tsunoda, Ocon, Albon, Pourchaire, O'Ward, Herta, Antonelli, Colapinto, Bearman, Zhou, Bortoleto, Hadjar
PITSTOP: Verstappen in and onto the Hards!
Meanwhile Tsunoda having gearbox issues!
PITSTOPS: Sainz, Norris and Bottas in, Aston are double stacking with Tsunoda!
(BOZ) "Box this lap Charles, box this lap"
(LEC) "Copy box"
(ADA) "And box this lap Oscar, box this lap."
(PIA) "Oscar pitlane"
PITSTOPS: Piastri and Russell in, and they both take Hards!
PITSTOP: LECLERC IN FROM THE LEAD...LECLERC HAS A DELAY!! They struggle with the tyre, but even with a four second stop, he keeps the lead!
(BOZ) "Sorry about the delay Charles, the jack didn't set right."
(LEC) "Okay, let's talk about it later. Still a race. Where are we exiting?"
(BOZ) "So you are still P1, Oscar 3.4."
LECLERC
Zhou, running P18, has a spin!!! He drops down to P20, disaster for Haas.
Lap 27: Leclerc, Piastri, Sainz, Russell, Norris, Verstappen, O'Ward, Iwasa, Gasly, Bottas, Ocon, Tsunoda, Albon, Antonelli, Lawson, Bearman, Herta, Bortoleto, Zhou, Colapinto, Hadjar
PITSTOPS: Iwasa and Tsunoda, either side of Ocon, both pit for the second time today. That puts the Alpine in the points for now.
Gasly struggling away on the Hards, and has just been lapped by Leclerc.
(ADA) "Update your tyre phase when you can, Oscar?"
(PIA) "Tyres feel okay, happy so far."
(BOZ) "And this is a good pace Charles, keep this up, that was a good lap."
O'WARD
Sainz has a lock-up and goes off!!
Sainz got lucky there andsis still P3, but has lost time to Russell.
PITSTOPS: Sainz and Russell are in!! Sainz takes Softs, which is risky to the end of the race! Russell onto the Hards!
The closest battle on track is the fight for P10, as Iwasa is being pushed by Gasly!
VIRTUAL SAFETY CAR CALLED
A miserable weekend for Colton Herta comes to an end as he spins off for the second time this weekend and is in the barrier again!!
(BOZ) "And VSC, Herta in the wall, he is okay. Box, box."
(LEC) "Copy, box."
(ADA) "Herta crashed, VSC. Big crash there."
(PIA) "He okay?"
(ADA) "He's okay. Box now."
(PIA) "Yeah, box."
PITSTOPS: Leclerc and Piastri both pit for free, Leclerc taking Mediums, Piastri seems to be gambling with the Softs!!
GAME ON
PITSTOP: Norris in from P3, surprised he didn't pit during the VSC! He is onto the Mediums. Iwasa and Albon in too.
LECLERC
PITSTOP: Aston double stacking again, but enough distance between the two to make it work. Bottas P10, Tsunoda P16.
(LEC) "Can we go for fastest lap at the end?"
(BOZ) "No Charles, we already have the fastest lap, we don't think anyone can beat it."
(LEC) "Okay, but...okay."
Verstappen having some issues with his gearbox! He has dropped behind Norris into P5!
SAFETY CAR DEPLOYED!!!
Colapinto is into the wall!!! A big spin off at the final corner, and his race is over!
(BOZ) "Safety car, Colapinto is in the wall at the final turn."
(LEC) "Is Franco okay?"
(BOZ) "He is okay. Box please."
(LEC) "Yeah, Box."
(ADA) "And Safety Car. Box, please."
(PIA) "What happened?"
(ADA) "Colapinto in the wall. He is okay. Box please."
(PIA) "Yeah, Box."
PITSTOPS: Leclerc and Piastri both pit, and even with the Safety Car in front of them, retain the 1-2!!!
Lap 56, under VSC: Leclerc, Piastri, Russell, Sainz, Norris, Verstappen, O'Ward, Bottas, Albon, Iwasa, Gasly, Ocon, Tsunoda, Antonelli, Bearman, Pourchaire, Lawson, Bortoleto, Zhou, Hadjar. Colapinto and Herta out of the race.
So this is a unique one - lapped cars will be allowed to overtake, but that is P12 downwards. This might take some time to sort out.
RACING ON LAP 59!
Lawson has a lock-up!
Leclerc has gotten away well at the restart, and is now out in front of the pack, Piastri also putting some distance between himself and Russell!
(ADA) "Some LiCo for the engine please."
(PIA) "Yeah, copy."
(BOZ) "And ease the tyre through turns 11-13, please, Charles. Oscar 4.8 behind."
(LEC) "Copy that. How many laps?"
(BOZ) "Six laps to go."
ANOTHER SAFETY CAR!!!
Yuki Tsunoda into the barrier and his race has ended!!! It is an awful, awful day for the Aston Martin driver!
Sainz had just gotten Russell for P3, and Sainz might have another podium to his name because of that late move.
Lap 67, under SC: Leclerc, Piastri, Sainz, Russell, Norris, Bottas, Verstappen, O'Ward, Albon, Gasly, Iwasa, Ocon, Bearman, Antonelli, Pourchaire, Bortoleto, Lawson, Zhou, Hadjar. Tsunoda, Colapinto, Herta out of the race.
LAST LAP. This will end under the Safety Car!!!
(BOZ) "And that's P1, Charles, fastest lap, Pole Position to flag, that's a third Career Grand Slam!!! Congratulations, an amazing drive!"
(LEC) "Let's gooooo! Ahh, I never like to win it under a Safety, but I can't complain with this result. Very happy with the Grand Slam. Thank you, Bryan, and to the entire team."
(BOZ) "Amazing job."
(ADA) "And P2, Oscar, great job today! Great podium for the team!"
(PIA) "That was really nice, good job guys. Enjoyed that race."
(ADA) "You've done really well."
2027 HUNGARIAN GRAND PRIX
RACE CLASSIFICATION
- Charles Leclerc 01.41.55
- Oscar Piastri +0.351
- Carlos Sainz +0.269
- George Russell +0.589
- Lando Norris +0.301
- Valtteri Bottas +0.165
- Max Verstappen +0.223
- Pato O'Ward +0.283
- Alex Albon +0.465
- Pierre Gasly +0.594
- Ayumu Iwasa +0.371
- Esteban Ocon +0.203
- Oliver Bearman +0.371
- Andrea Kimi Antonelli +0.642
- Théo Pourchaire +0.723
- Gabriel Bortoleto +1.131
- Liam Lawson +0.191
- Zhou Guanyu +1 lap
- Isack Hadjar +2 laps
- Yuki Tsunoda DNF (+4 laps)
- Franco Colapinto DNF
- Colton Herta DNF
DRIVER OF THE DAY: CHARLES LECLERC
A third straight Driver of the Day for the two time World Champion, who took the fastest lap, led from Pole to the flag, and did not concede the lead once. A third career Grand Slam, after 2022 Australia and 2024 Monaco, Charles Leclerc is your Driver of the Day!!
FASTEST LAP AWARD
Charles Leclerc 1.15.416
FASTEST PITSTOP AWARD
Ayumu Iwasa 2.401s
Tables coming later on!!
foggy locust
2027 FIA FORMULA 1 WORLD DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP
Leclerc 201
Piastri 161
Verstappen 93
Russell 87
Norris 85
O'Ward 61
Sainz 58
Gasly 45
Albon 38
Bottas 21
Lawson 4
Tsunoda 3
Iwasa 2
Antonelli 0
Ocon 0
Bearman 0
Herta 0
Bortoleto 0
Pourchaire 0
Zhou 0
Hadjar 0
Colapinto 0
2027 FIA FORMULA 1 WORLD CONSTRUCTORS CHAMPIONSHIP
Ferrari 362
Red Bull-Ford RBPT 178
Williams-Ferrari 125
McLaren-Ford RBPT 106
Mercedes 58
Aston Martin-Honda 24
Alpine-Renault 4
Subaru-Mercedes 2
Andretti-Ferrari 0
Audi Sauber 0
Haas-Mercedes 0
2027 FIA FORMULA 1 WORLD TYRES CHAMPIONSHIP
Bridgestone 489
Pirelli 370
DHL FASTEST PITSTOP COMPETITION 2027
McLaren 158
Red Bull 143
Andretti 128
Williams 88
Ferrari 62
Alpine 57
Subaru 54
Mercedes 44
Haas 28
Aston Martin 24
Audi Sauber 22
foggy locust
LECLERC, PIASTRI EXTEND FERRARI DEALS THROUGH 2032
A big announcement ahead of the British Grand Prix by Scuderia Ferrari, as the team have announced new five year deals for BOTH Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri.
Leclerc and Piastri have so far dominated the 2027 Formula 1 season, with eight 1-2s in eight rounds, with Leclerc winning six races and Piastri two.
Ferrari have shown faith in this lineup long-term by announcing new five year deals for both drivers.
Leclerc's new deal will likely take him towards the tail end of his career, as he will have been at Ferrari for an incredible 14 years at that point.
Meanwhile Piastri joined Ferrari this past off-season and Ferrari clearly see him as a future World Champion, and have agreed to keep him at the team long-term.
wraith sedge
2032 is crazy
foggy locust
Will be Friday for Silverstone, then that will be last one till next week!
foggy locust
BRITISH GRAND PRIX 2027
WEEKEND PREVIEW
And so to Silverstone. The ninth round of this 2027 Formula 1 season sees us go to the heartland of British motor racing, but it is the Italian team that have dominated this 2027 season thus far. Can anyone break their hold on this Championship season in our second Sprint weekend?
And what was turning into another dominant showing by Ferrari and Charles Leclerc in Budapest ended under the Safety Car after a late crash by Yuki Tsunoda, but it ended in a Grand Slam victory for Leclerc, his third of the season.
And so, Silverstone hosts its first Sprint since the 2021 season. Back then the Sprint was worth three points and Pole Position for the race itself - this is the first time Silverstone will hold a Sprint since, and the first under the new format. The inaugural F1 Championship race in 1950 - we will run the British Grand Prix for the 77th time this weekend, and for the 62nd time, a World Championship race will happen here. The 52 laps around this 5.891 km circuit on a former RAF airfield is a staple of the F1 calendar, and last year Lewis Hamilton had an emotional victory in his final British Grand Prix, on his way to his Eighth World Championship.
This year though, Ferrari come in on hot form once more, with eight 1-2s in eight races, and very much remain the team to beat this weekend. Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri have renewed on a five year deal each to 2032, a long term commitment by the Ferrari team to their drivers. For now though, can Piastri challenge Leclerc for a World Championship this season? It's a 40 point gap with a lot still to play for - we could yet see a title fight.
Red Bull meanwhile have had to rely on Max Verstappen and Lando Norris this season to bail out a difficult car, but the rumours are growing with Max's frustration with the team, and could it be possible that he is heading elsewhere? If so, who will Red Bull look to replace him - one of their juniors, an experienced hand, or even a old legend?
Meanwhile at Williams, they prepare for their home Grand Prix with a real chance of their best result at Silverstone in a long, long time. George Russell has gotten three podiums this year and a home podium for Williams would go over very well with the British fans - but could he or Alex Albon even challenge for a potential victory this weekend?
McLaren's challenge for second has faltered significantly in recent weeks, and they find themselves behind not only Red Bull, but Williams as well, down in fourth. At Budpaest they could only take P8 and P10 on a weekend they were completely off the pace. McLaren now find themselves 72 points behind Red Bull and 19 behind Williams. Still a lot to play for, but picking up more points is crucial, and the best time is now.
Mercedes have had a weekend dominated by the Max Verstappen rumours, despite a recent resurgence by Carlos Sainz. Sainz took his second podium of the season at Budapest, and is proving his ability to stay on the F1 grid, but it might not be with Mercedes after a difficult couple of seasons. Andrea Kimi Antonelli is very much seen as Mercedes’ future, and a lineup with him and Verstappen could be terrifyingly good - Sainz would have to make way in that case. It might be time for proving himself on a circuit he won back in 2022.
Aston Martin saw a late Yuki Tsunoda crash in Budapest, but it was a race he was struggling in and not anywhere near the points when the crash happened. After getting double points at Monaco, the team have fallen further behind a resurgent Mercedes, and sixth is looking more and more like the ceiling for the team. Can Tsunoda and Valtteri Bottas bring home a big result for them?
Esteban Ocon meanwhile continues to come so close yet so far from the points, while Liam Lawson is struggling to adapt to the Alpine. But it is Lawson with the long term deal, and Lawson who has gotten the only points this season for the Renault team. Can Ocon, like Sainz, prove his place on the F1 grid - if not for his own team, then for other teams that might well consider him?
Oliver Bearman has his first home Grand Prix in Formula 1, and he and Ayumu Iwasa have been working well as a team so far with Subaru. The team however are still looking for their first points since Montreal, and Bearman is still looking for his first points in F1. This would be the perfect race for him to do it - can he clinch some points for Subaru?
Speaking of which, Andretti are still looking for their first points of the season, and after Colton Herta crashed twice in a weekend, it has been a difficult sophomore season for the team that finished fourth in their debut year. Herta has been linked with a move back to IndyCar for next year after just one half season in Formula 1 - will the American driver stick around in F1 beyond the 2027 season? A big result here could help his cause.
Audi meanwhile have a different problem, one that has continued for a while, and it is the same for Haas - Team Principal. Both of these teams badly, badly need points over the course of this weekend, but they're likely to remain the back markers in Britain.
And so to Silverstone, home of British motorsport, home to the British Grand Prix, and home to the second Sprint of the 2027 season. One thing's for sure - you won't want to miss it.
FP1 Reserves: Hirakawa (O'Ward), Bustamante (Gasly), Browning (Russell), O'Sullivan (Albon), P. Fittpaldi (Zhou)
FP1: HIR PIA LEC
A great start to McLaren's weekend as Ryo Hirakawa went quickest ahead of the Ferraris of Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc, with Bianca Bustamante fourth. Ocon fifth with Bearman sixth, while Tsunoda was seventh, Norris eighth, Pietro Fittipaldi ninth and Max Verstappen tenth.
It is time to go Qualifying for the Sprint here at Silverstone, as we have a Sprint here for the first time since 2021. Ferrari remain the favourites this weekend but McLaren have shown some pace - could the applecart be upset this weekend and could we see a home win for them or Williams?
OUT IN SQ1: Zhou, Pourchaire, Herta, Bortoleto, Albon, Gasly
Bubble: Sainz
Top Five: LEC, PIA, OWA, RUS, VER
Gasly and Albon both go out shockingly in SQ1, as neither could put a time together at the end. Both Andrettis are out as well as Zhou and Pourchaire. Leclerc quickest from Piastri, O'Ward, Russell and Verstappen.
OUT IN SQ2: Antonelli, Tsunoda, Iwasa, Ocon, Hadjar, Colapinto
Bubble: Bearman
Top Five: LEC, PIA, OWA, VER, RUS
Antonelli misses out on SQ3 by 0.009, as Ollie Bearman makes it. Tsunoda also out, alongside Iwasa, Ocon, Hadjar and Colapinto. Leclerc and Piastri about 6 tenths up on O'Ward.
SQ3: Piastri, Leclerc, Verstappen, Bottas, Norris, Lawson, Bearman, Russell, Sainz, O'Ward
Piastri takes Sprint Pole away from his teammate! Leclerc has to settle for P2, with Verstappen P3 and Bottas P4. Norris P5 in his home Sprint, with Bearman an impressive P7 in his, and Russell P8 in his. Lawson starts P6, with Sainz P9 and just P10 for O'Ward.
2027 BRITISH GRAND PRIX
SPRINT GRID
PIA LEC
VER BOT
NOR LAW
BEA RUS
SAI OWA
ANT TSU
IWA OCO
HAD COL
ZHO POU
HER BOR
ALB GAS
foggy locust
It is time to go Sprinting here in the UK for the first time since 2021! 17 laps around this former RAF airfield that the world now knows as Silverstone. It's a sunny, warm Saturday in the United Kingdom - how often do we say that? 5.891km, 18 turns, 2 DRS Zones, it is a staple of the F1 calendar, and with three Brits in the top ten, a lot to cheer for.
Pierre Gasly starts at the very back and he has Alex Albon alongside him, then it is Gabriel Bortoleto and Colton Herta on row ten. Théo Pourchaire begins alongside Zhou Guanyu on the ninth row, Franco Colapinto is joined by Isack Hadjar on row eight. Esteban Ocon starts beside Ayumu Iwasa on the seventh row, then it's Yuki Tsunoda beginning P12 and Andrea Kimi Antonelli just outside the top ten. Pato O'Ward begins alongside Carlos Sainz on the fifth row, George Russell and Ollie Bearman, two Brits, on row four. Liam Lawson starts P6 with Lando Norris beginning his home Sprint from P5, Valtteri Bottas begins P4 and P3 for Max Verstappen, and Ferrari lock out the front row for the Sprint. Charles Leclerc starts P2, Oscar Piastri has Sprint Pole.
(ADA) "Okay Oscar, let's get a good launch off the line here and get a good start under our belts here."
(PIA) "Yeah, understood completely."
(BOZ) "Okay Charles, beginning P2, keep it clean and tidy at the start and into turn 1."
(LEC) "Yeah, copy."
Let's go Sprinting!
AND IT'S LIGHTS OUT AND AWAY WE GO
Piastri holds firm at the start, then Leclerc, Bottas ahead of Verstappen, Norris P5, Bearman is P6 and Russell P7, Sainz P8, LAWSON LOCKS UP AND GOES OFF
Piastri challenged by Leclerc at the front and the two Ferraris have not broken away from the pack here!
Russell going for P6 from Bearman and Russell takes it!
Leclerc grabs the lead from his teammate on Lap 2!!
Piastri down the inside of his teammate and he's up to P2!
Oh that was a lovely move from Russell who moves ahead of Norris!
Sainz up to P7, with Bearman now under pressure from O'Ward!
(ADA) "What you're doing is good here Oscar, keep this pace up."
Leclerc retakes the lead from his teammate and the two Ferraris still trying to break on the pack here!
Norris is struggling with his ERS and he's dropped to P10!
Antonelli meanwhile is absolutely FLYING. He's up to P7, having just taken the places off Bearman and O'Ward!
Bortoleto runs wide there!
(BOZ) "And some slight lift off into 11 please, Charles. P1, Oscar about 1.3 behind."
(LEC) "Did he lose DRS?"
(BOZ) "Oscar does not have DRS on you just now.
(ADA) "Charles, car in front. 1.3 behind. Verstappen 0.7 behind you. You need to push more."
(PIA) "Yep, copy."
Lap 8: Leclerc, Piastri, Verstappen, Russell, Bottas, Sainz, O'Ward, Antonelli, Bearman, Tsunoda, Norris, Ocon, Iwasa, Colapinto, Pourchaire, Hadjar, Gaaly, Herta, Albon, Zhou, Bortoleto, Lawson
Russell takes P3 from Verstappen!!!
A brilliant fight shaping up for that final point between two rookies - Antonelli and Bearman battling well here!
Norris and Tsunoda in thr picture there as well!
(BOZ) "Oscar 1.5 behind you now. That was a good lap."
Bearman tries to overtake Antonelli but leaves himself open and Norris and Tsunoda get by! Norris is moving ahead of Antonelli and into the points!
A lock-up for Iwasa, but he keeps it on track!
Lap 16: Leclerc, Piastri, Russell, Verstappen, Sainz, Bottas, O'Ward, Norris, Tsunoda, Antonelli, Bearman, Pourchaire, Iwasa, Gasly, Hadjar, Herta, Ocon, Colapinto, Albon, Zhou, Bortoleto, Lawson
HAAS ON HAAS VIOLENCE!!! ZHOU LOCKS UP AND CLASHES INTO COLAPINTO!! Disaster for Haas!
Max Verstappen moves ahead of George Russell into P3!
FINAL LAP
(BOZ) "And P1, P1! Amazing job Charles, amazing."
(LEC) "Let's goooo!!! Ah, fantastic start to the weekend, let's keep that up. Thank you guys."
(BOZ) "Great job out there."
(ADA) "And P2, Oscar, P2. Good effort mate, well done."
(PIA) "Yeah, thank you guys. Appreciate it, good job."
2027 BRITISH GRAND PRIX
SPRINT CLASSIFICATION
- Charles Leclerc 00.25.53
- Oscar Piastri +4.398
- Max Verstappen +15.022
- Carlos Sainz +0.433
- George Russell +0.007
- Valtteri Bottas +2.325
- Pato O'Ward +0.354
- Lando Norris +4.968
- Andrea Kimi Antonelli +0.837
- Yuki Tsunoda +0.581
- Oliver Bearman +5.194
- Pierre Gasly +1.209
- Théo Pourchaire +1.209
- Colton Herta +3.215
- Isack Hadjar +0.543
- Ayumu Iwasa +1.143
- Esteban Ocon +0.386
- Zhou Guanyu +4.609
- Alex Albon +0.704
- Liam Lawson +0.977
- Gabriel Bortoleto +0.347
- Franco Colapinto +11.073
2027 FIA FORMULA 1 WORLD DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP
Leclerc 209
Piastri 168
Verstappen 99
Russell 91
Norris 86
Sainz 63
O'Ward 63
Gasly 45
Albon 38
Bottas 24
Lawson 4
Tsunoda 3
Iwasa 2
Antonelli 0
Ocon 0
Bearman 0
Herta 0
Bortoleto 0
Pourchaire 0
Zhou 0
Hadjar 0
Colapinto 0
2027 FIA FORMULA 1 WORLD CONSTRUCTORS CHAMPIONSHIP
Ferrari 377
Red Bull-Ford RBPT 185
Williams-Ferrari 129
McLaren-Ford RBPT 108
Mercedes 63
Aston Martin-Honda 27
Alpine-Renault 4
Subaru-Mercedes 2
Andretti-Ferrari 0
Audi Sauber 0
Haas-Mercedes 0
2027 FIA FORMULA 1 WORLD TYRES CHAMPIONSHIP
Bridgestone 509
Pirelli 382
It's time for Qualifying here at Silverstone, and after Charles Leclerc and Ferrari won the Sprint earlier this afternoon, it would take a brave person to bet against Ferrari again here, but Red Bull, Williams, McLaren and Mercedes all look to stop the Scuderia here.
OUT IN Q1: Bortoleto, Sainz, Verstappen, Hadjar, Herta, Bearman
Bubble: Lawson
Top Five: PIA, LEC, OWA, GAS, RUS
A stunning Q1 exit for Max Verstappen. Verstappen and Sainz both go out, while it was a disappointing home qualifying for Oliver Bearman as well. Both Andrettis and Hadjar also exit, while Piastri was quickest ahead of Leclerc, O'Ward, Gasly and Russell.
OUT IN Q2: O'Ward, Ocon, Bottas, Antonelli, Colapinto, Zhou
Bubble: Pourchaire
Top Five: LEC, PIA, IWA, ALB, LAW
A very surprising grid awaits us as O'Ward, Bottas and Antonelli all miss Q3, with Ocon, Colapinto and Zhou also out. Leclerc quickest from Piastri, with Iwasa a stunning P3.
Q3: Leclerc, Piastri, Albon, Lawson, Russell, Tsunoda, Norris, Gasly, Pourchaire, Iwasa
Leclerc takes yet another Pole, SEVEN TENTHS up on Piastri and the field. Albon P3, while Lawson will have a very strong starting platform in P4. Russell and Tsunoda on row three, seventh for Norris and eighth for Gasly, Pourchaire and Iwasa on row five.
2027 BRITISH GRAND PRIX
STARTING GRID
LEC PIA
ALB LAW
RUS TSU
NOR GAS
POU IWA
OWA OCO
BOT ANT
COL ZHO
BOR SAI
VER HAD
HER BEA
Going to break for dinner and the like. Back later!
foggy locust
foggy locust
It is time to go race on this sunny Sunday at Silverstone. The home of the first Formula 1 World Championship race, still going strong 77 years later. 5.891km around this former RAF airfield, 52 laps, 18 of the most famous turns in world motorsport, 2 DRS Zones, always one of the more exciting races of the season and an entertaining spectacle. A favourite of fans and drivers alike, it is Silverstone.
Oliver Bearman starts his first home Grand Prix last of all, with Colton Herta for company, then it is Isack Hadjar P20 and surprisingly, Max Verstappen begins P19, the first time he's started in the bottom half since a P14 start in Mexico in 2025. Carlos Sainz P18, he's a former winner here as well, Gabriel Bortoleto begins P17, then it's the two Haas drivers as Franco Colapinto is just ahead of Zhou Guanyu. Andrea Kimi Antonelli nearly took points in the Sprint and he starts P14 today alongside Valtteri Bottas, then it's Esteban Ocon P12 and Pato O'Ward P11. Théo Pourchaire begins P9, just ahead of Ayumu Iwasa in P10. Pierre Gasly starts P8, while Lando Norris starts his home race from P7. Yuki Tsunoda starts from P6 while it's a P5 start on home soil for George Russell. Liam Lawson has his highest start since a P3 start in COTA, P4 today and Alex Albon starts his defacto home race from P3, and it is another Ferrari front row lockout. Oscar Piastri begins from P2, and it is Pole number six of the year for Charles Leclerc.
Let's go racing at Silverstone!
One light, two, three, four, five...AND IT'S LIGHTS OUT AND AWAY WE GO
Leclerc off to a good start, Piastri P2, Albon stays P3 but Russell is ahead of Lawson, Tsunoda up to P6, Norris, Pourchaire, Gasly and O'Ward ahead of Iwasa who drops round P11, Antonelli goes wide and drops to the back!! Verstappen struggling as well in the early going!!
RUSSELL
Could Williams challenge Ferrari for the win here? Albon and Russell are both staying I range of Leclerc and Piastri in the early going. Long way to go but it is a great apartment for the Grove team!
Tsunoda up ahead of Norris, who is struggling already with his car!
Piastri moves ahead of Leclerc! Oscar needs this one if he's going to make it a title fight this season!
OCON WITH A SPIN!!! He's having a miserable season at Alpine, and he spins round and off!
Leclerc is back in front here. Albon and Russell staying in range with DRS, and Albon trying to overtake Piastri just now!
Lawson getting in the conversation at the front here! He's ahead of Russell for P4!
Lap 7: Leclerc, Piastri, Albon, Lawson, Russell, Tsunoda, Norris, Gasly, O'Ward, Bottas, Iwasa, Sainz, Pourchaire, Bortoleto, Zhou, Herta, Bearman, Verstappen, Hadjar, Colapinto, Antonelli, Ocon
(BOZ) "You're driving well, keep it up. 1.879 to Oscar."
(LEC) "Copy."
Albon up to P3! Brilliant move on Lawson there!
ANTONELLI
PITSTOP: Ocon in and for Hards, first stop of the day. This still feels like a two stop, would be an incredibly ambitious one stopper from here.
Russell overtakes Lawson, then Albon in quick succession, and has his sights set on Piastri's P2.
(ADA) "And gap to Russell now 2.415. Currently P2."
(PIA) "Yeah, understood. Do we have margin to push?"
(ADA) "Can push more in the High Speed."
PITSTOP: Alpine bring Lawson in to undercut the two Williams, and he's onto the Hards.
PITSTOPS: Tsunoda onto Softs, O'Ward onto Hards. Both Subaru and Andretti are double stacking! IT IS FAR MORE SUCCESSFUL FOR SUBARU, WHO GRT. BOTH DRIVERS OUT AHEAD OF BOTH ANDRETTIS. WOW. BIG delay for Bortoleto, and for Herta, who was the lead Andretti and had a six second pitstop. Massive blunder by the American team!
Norris having issues with his car! It has been a home weekend plagued with mechanical failures for Lando!
PITSTOPS: Albon, Sainz and Verstappen all in! Albon goes back onto Softs so he's definitely two stopping this race! Verstappen also onto Softs as he looks to continue to make up places!
PITSTOP: Russell in! He's taking the Mediums, so he's likely on a two stopper as well!
IWASA
BEARMAN
The two Subarus take fastest laps in succession.
Norris, yet to pit and really struggling with his car, is holding off Albon, Russell and Lawson best he can for now.
IWASA
(BOZ) "And box Charles, box."
(LEC) "Copy, box."
PITSTOP: Leclerc in from the lead! Piastri inherits the lead, and Leclerc had a delay on that back left tyre going on!!!
(LEC) "What happened there?"
(BOZ) "The back left didn't go on properly initially. Sorry about that."
(LEC) "We'll talk about it later."
(ADA) "And box, Oscar box."
(PIA) "Oscar pitlane."
PITSTOP: Piastri in from the lead...AND FERRARI HAVE ANOTHER DELAY WITH THE BACK LEFT TYRE! What is happening today?
(PIA) "What happened there?"
(ADA) "Sorry about that, problem with the wheel gun."
(PIA) "There goes the momentum."
Despite the pitstop errors, Ferrari still have a very, very comfortable 1-2.
PITSTOP: Gasly in and onto the Hards. Are McLaren attempting the one stop? Norris also going onto the Hards and that could also be a one stop play, but he's really struggling with mechanical issues.
Lap 26: Leclerc, Piastri, Russell, Albon, O'Ward, Lawson, Tsunoda, Verstappen, Sainz, Bottas, Iwasa, Gasly, Bearman, Herta, Bortoleto, Antonelli, Pourchaire, Norris, Ocon, Hadjar, Zhou, Colapinto
VERSTAPPEN
(BOZ) "And you're managing these tyres well, keep it up."
GASLY
PITSTOPS: Sainz, Iwasa and Bearman all pit. A second Subaru double stack, and there's enough of a gap to make it work well.
PITSTOPS: VERSTAPPEN HAS A DELAY ON THE TYRE CHANGE, AND TSUNODA IS AHEAD OF HIM AS A RESULT!
More mechanical woes for Aston Martin, as Bottas is having gearbox issues!
PITSTOP: Albon in and onto the Mediums! He rejoins in P8!
TSUNODA
Iwasa also having issues with his engine.
(ADA) "Tyre phase update when you can?"
(PIA) "Bit of graining on the front left. Front left is struggling a bit."
(BOZ) "Box Charles, box."
(LEC) "Copy box. Have the wheel gun ready please."
PITSTOPS: Leclerc and Russell both coming in. 2.668 for Leclerc, much better than last time! Both onto Softs now!
(ADA) "And box Oscar, box."
(PIA) "Yeah. Copy, box."
PITSTOP: Piastri in! A 2.635 stop and he rejoins in P2.
Lap 40: Leclerc, Piastri, Gasly, Bottas, Albon, Sainz, Verstappen, O'Ward, Tsunoda, Russell, Lawson, Iwasa, Bearman, Antonelli, Herta, Bortoleto, Norris, Pourchaire, Ocon, Hadjar, Zhou, Colapinto
PIASTRI
Bottas' tyres falling away quickly and it looks like the gamble of Aston Martin on the one stop isn't paying off here.
PITSTOP: And it has been abandoned. Aston bring Bottas in with ten laps to go, and he's now P12.
Albon overtakes Gasly for P3!
Verstappen has fought back from P19 to P5. A very under the radar drive today!
Russell having gearbox issues, and that has completely wrecked his home race.
Albon and Gasly fighting for P3 and that final step on the podium!
Russell runs wide!
Norris' gearbox has gone, but he's struggling on here.
Norris pulls into the garage, a lap down, and will officially retire from his home GP. He'll be classified three laps down.
Gasly now having to defend Verstappen who has a run on him and takes P4! Could Verstappen take a late shot at the podium?
FINAL LAP
(BOZ) "And P1, Charles! Another win, incredible incredible drive!"
(LEC) "Let's gooooo! Let's go, come on! Ahhhh, thank you Bryan, thank you to the team. Amazing weekend. Amazing."
(BOZ) "You've done a fantastic job."
(ADA) "And P2, Oscar, P2. Great job today, you did very well."
(PIA) "Well done everyone, thanks. Another podium, lovely stuff."
(ADA) "You've done really well."
This is an astonishing comeback from Max Vedstappen who has snatched P3 away from Alex Albon and Pierre Gasly! O'Ward P6, Sainz P7, Tsunoda P8, Lawson P9, Bottas P10, Russell's car issues dropped him out of the points. Wow.
2027 BRITISH GRAND PRIX
RACE CLASSIFICATION
- Charles Leclerc 01.20.29
- Oscar Piastri +14.206
- Max Verstappen +53.851
- Alex Albon +1.395
- Pierre Gasly +0.313
- Pato O'Ward +2.346
- Carlos Sainz +0.725
- Yuki Tsunoda +7.608
- Liam Lawson +0.551
- Valtteri Bottas +3.438
- George Russell +0.509
- Andrea Kimi Antonelli +1 lap
- Colton Herta +1 lap
- Ayumu Iwasa +1 lap
- Oliver Bearman +1 lap
- Théo Pourchaire +1 lap
- Gabriel Bortoleto +1 lap
- Esteban Ocon +1 lap
- Zhou Guanyu +1 lap
- Isack Hadjar +1 lap
- Franco Colapinto +1 lap
- Lando Norris DNF (+3 laps)
DRIVER OF THE DAY: MAX VERSTAPPEN
An incredible drive that reminded the world why he's one of the best in the world. From a P19 grid position to P3 on the podium, a sensational performance from Max Verstappen, Driver of the Day!
FASTEST LAP AWARD:
Oscar Piastri 1.28.538
DHL FASTEST PITSTOP AWARD:
Ayumu Iwasa 2.338s
2027 FIA FORMULA 1 WORLD DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP
Leclerc 235
Piastri 187
Verstappen 114
Russell 91
Norris 86
O'Ward 71
Sainz 69
Gasly 55
Albon 50
Bottas 25
Tsunoda 7
Lawson 6
Iwasa 2
Antonelli 0
Ocon 0
Herta 0
Bearman 0
Bortoleto 0
Pourchaire 0
Zhou 0
Hadjar 0
Colapinto 0
2027 FIA FORMULA 1 WORLD CONSTRUCTORS CHAMPIONSHIP
Ferrari 422
Red Bull-Ford RBPT 200
Williams-Ferrari 141
McLaren-Ford RBPT 126
Mercedes 69
Aston Martin-Honda 32
Alpine-Renault 6
Subaru-Mercedes 2
Andretti-Ferrari 0
Audi Sauber 0
Haas-Mercedes 0
2027 FIA FORMULA 1 WORLD TYRES CHAMPIONSHIP
Bridgestone 566
Pirelli 428
FASTEST PITSTOP COMPETITION
Red Bull 161
McLaren 158
Andretti 144
Williams 102
Subaru 89
Alpine 65
Ferrari 62
Mercedes 44
Haas 32
Aston Martin 30
Audi Sauber 22
FERRARI RENEW BRYAN BOZZI AS CHARLES LECLERC'S RACE ENGINEER
Ferrari have today announced the renewal of Bryan Bozzi as Charles Leclerc's race engineer for the next three seasons.
Bozzi and Leclerc have worked together since the 2025 season, and both are said to be very happy with the partnership, and keen to see it continue.
Leclerc is contracted through to 2032 with Ferrari.
WILLIAMS ANNOUNCE SWITCH TO GOODYEAR TYRES FOR 2028 SEASON
Williams Racing have announced that they will switch tyre provider to returning American manufacturer Goodyear for the 2028 season.
Williams and Goodyear worked together with Williams' last Championship in 1997, and look to return to that level of form. They currently sit third in the Constructors Championship.
Goodyear will also provide Andretti and Haas for next season, meaning three teams have switched away from Bridgestone for 2028 - only Ferrari and Subaru currently remain on Bridgestone tyres.
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AUSTRIAN GRAND PRIX
WEEKEND PREVIEW
And so we head to Austria for Round 10 of the 2027 Formula 1 World Championship, and after 9 races, it has been nine Ferrari 1-2s. Can they make it ten from ten, or will anyone be able to beat them this weekend?
Last time around, it was a dominant Silverstone win for Charles Leclerc and Ferrari, as Leclerc extended his title lead over teammate Oscar Piastri to 48 points, while Max Verstappen finds himself 121 points behind. Leclerc also took the Sprint in another Ferrari 1-2.
So we go to a Red Bull home game - the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria. Having held two previous stints on the Formula 1 calendar between 1970 and 1987 as the Österreichring, its founding name, and then again in 1997 to 2003 as the A1 Ring, it rejoined the calendar under its current name in 2014 and has been an ever-present ever since. It will be the first time since 2023 however that the race doesn't host a Sprint event. The Red Bull Ring held the first race of the shortened 2020 season, and also held the second race the same season, the Styrian Grand Prix. At 4.318 km and just 10 turns, it is one of the shortest races of the season, but features 3 DRS Zones and generally, plenty of overtaking.
We are already looking at when Ferrari could wrap up a fourth consecutive Constructors title, with a 222 gap over Red Bull. It is too early to say, with a lot of racing left with 12 rounds and three Sprints remaining, but keeping up this unprecedented level of form could see the Constructors title heading back to Maranello sooner rather than later. In the Drivers, Charles Leclerc remains the favourite to take his third WDC - but Oscar Piastri remains in with a shout of his first.
Meanwhile Max Verstappen might be in his last Austrian Grand Prix as a Red Bull driver - Verstappen has a decision to make regarding his future, being out of contract at the end of the year. Red Bull want to retain Max and Mercedes want to sign him - the decision remains in his hands. A big result for him or Lando Norris this weekend could go a long way towards keeping his place.
Williams still have ambitions of potentially winning a race this weekend, and they're bringing upgrades to Austria with one thing in mind - challenging Ferrari for victory. This season's surprise package had to settle for fourth for Albon, as Russell had reliability issues that cost him any chances of points at the end at their home Grand Prix, but this is a team that believe they can win races.
McLaren's early promise this season has faded a little bit, but they have remained a solid fourth in the Championship, and Pato O'Ward has adjusted very well to life in Formula 1. O'Ward has McLaren's only podium this season - P3 in Melbourne - and haven't looked as fast as the front three since around Mexico and the early upgrades. The Papaya look for answers going forward into Austria.
Mercedes meanwhile are trying to convince Max Verstappen to make the move to the Silver Arrows for next year, but Carlos Sainz had a good recovery drive of his own at Silverstone. Andrea Kimi Antonelli remains fast growing in his first season, even if he hasn't quite broken the points barrier yet. Could this be the weekend for him?
Aston Martin scored double points for just the second time at Silverstone, with a P8 for Tsunoda and P10 for Bottas. Consistency is starting to kick in a little bit for the British Racing Green, but they do find themselves a way back to even Mercedes in P5, never mind the top four. Can they put in a challenge to the Silver Arrows and continue their recent consistent run?
Alpine got their second points finish of the season at Silverstone, as Liam Lawson took a P9 finish. It has been a disappointing season for Esteban Ocon and he and Alpine look set to go their separate ways after eight years at the end of this season. And for Ocon, it is all about proving himself to other teams on the grid - points this weekend would help his case.
Subaru have been quietly going about their business in their first Formula 1 year, although Silverstone was quiet as Oliver Bearman recovered well from a difficult qualifying, finishing just behind his teammate Ayumu Iwasa. Iwasa and Bearman have continued to work well together and look likely to continue as a team next season.
As for Andretti, Haas and Audi, all three desperately need points this coming weekend, and will continue to push for them - but the window already feels like it is closing for two of the three Team Principals. Andretti have a lot of credit in the bank for their first season in F1 - things that cannot be said of Haas or Audi. Something has to give.
And so to Austria, where we are not expecting any rain, but it should be an entertaining weekend. Can anyone beat the Scuderia? One thing's for sure - you won't want to miss it.
FP1 Reserves: Hirakawa (O'Ward), Vesti (Russell), Schumacher (Antonelli), Browning (Albon), O'Sullivan (Russell), Drugovich (Tsunoda)
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FP2: LEC PIA SAI
Leclerc quickest from Piastri, with Sainz in P3. Bottas and O'Ward P4 and P5, with Lawson, Albon, Bortoleto, Gasly and Norris completing the top ten.
FP3: LEC SAI NOR
PIA P4
Leclerc quickest from Sainz and Norris, with Piastri P4. Gasly P5, with O'Ward P6, and Bottas P7. Albon, Herta and Ocon complete the top ten, with Verstappen P12, outside the top ten for the second session in a row.
It is time to go qualifying here in the Styrian Forest, it is Saturday afternoon at the Red Bull Ring, and the home fans will be hoping for a Verstappen or Norris Pole. Ferrari remain the favourites, but Red Bull and Mercedes showed pace - this won't be easy for any of them. This should be a very interesting session.
IT IS A RED FLAG
Lawson with a MASSIVE OFF! He's spun off at the first corner, and he is thankfully okay, but his session is over!
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OUT IN Q1: Iwasa, Hadjar, Zhou, Colapinto, Pourchaire, Lawson (no time)
Bubble: Antonelli
Top Five: LEC, PIA, VER, NOR, SAI
Lawson's Red Flag crash brought a halt to all momentum for several drivers, as both Audis, both Haas and Iwasa join him in exiting in Q1. Antonelli just makes it to Q2, while at the top, it was Leclerc quickest from Piastri, then Verstappen, Norris and Sainz.
OUT IN Q2: Bearman, Bortoleto, Albon, Herta, Antonelli, O'Ward
Bubble: Ocon
Top Five: LEC, PIA, GAS, NOR, VER
O'Ward the big casualty of Q2 alongside Antonelli, as Ocon just knocked Bearman out late. Bortoleto and Herta both exit as well as Albon. Leclerc fastest again from Piastri, with Gasly ahead of Norris and Verstappen.
Q3: Piastri, Leclerc, Gasly, Sainz, Norris, Verstappen, Tsunoda, Bottas, Ocon, Russell
It is Pole number four of the season for Oscar Piastri, who is a tenth and a half up on Charles Leclerc. Pierre Gasly takes P3, with Carlos Sainz P4 and Lando Norris P5. Verstappen P6 behind his teammate, with Tsunoda and Bottas on row four, and Ocon and Russell completing the top ten.
2027 AUSTRIAN GRAND PRIX
STARTING GRID
PIA LEC
GAS SAI
NOR VER
TSU BOT
OCO RUS
BEA BOR
ALB HER
ANT OWA
IWA HAD
ZHO POU
LAW
PITLANE START - COL QUAL P20
Welcome to the Green Hills of Austria in the Styrian Forest, it is race day. Spielberg is calling, and it could be a finish worthy of Hollywood. Round 10 of this 2027 Formula 1 season, it is one of the shortest circuits of the season at 4.318km and just ten corners, but overtaking opportunities are a plenty, and with 71 laps, plenty of chances to do it. Red Bull have a lot of support here but they have some work to do to upend the two Ferraris.
Franco Colapinto takes a power unit change so he's starting from the pitlane, Liam Lawson starts on the back row alone after his Q1 crash. Théo Pourchaire is alongside Zhou Guanyu on row ten, then it's Isack Hadjar and Ayumu Iwasa on row nine, Pato O'Ward and Kimi Antonelli both went out in Q2 so they're on the eighth row. Colton Herta starts alongside Alex Albon on row seven, then it's Gabriel Bortoleto and Oliver Bearman on row six, both having just missed Q3. George Russell starts P10 and Esteban Ocon looks for his first points of the year from P9, the two Astons on row four with Yuki Tsunoda just ahead of Valtteri Bottas. Lando Norris starts ahead of Max Verstappen in his first Austrian GP as a Red Bull driver, Carlos Sainz begins from P4 with Pierre Gasly P3, and it is another Ferrari front row lockout. Championship leader Charles Leclerc begins today from P2, while it is the fourth Pole of the season for Oscar Piastri. But can it be his third win?
Let's go racing!
AND IT'S LIGHTS OUT AND AWAY WE GO
Piastri takes the lead, Gasly moves ahead of Leclerc who had a slow start, Norris up to P4, then Sainz, Vertsappen, Bottas, Russell, Bearman is into the top ten and Albon goes P10!
Ocon goes wide!! He runs through the side of the track and he's down to P21!
Leclerc has DRS and overtakes Gasly!
Leclerc goes down the inside of Piastri and takes the lead!!!
(BOZ) "That was a lovely move Charles, good job!"
(ADA) "And gap to Charles 0.5. Stay focused, keep it clean."
(PIA) "Overtaking proving difficult."
(ADA) "We are still in the race don't worry"
Verstappen storming up the pack, as be goes ahead of Norris, then quickly takes Gasly for P3!
Piastri regains the lead from Leclerc, but Verstappen now putting both under pressure!
Antonelli doing very well and has fought his way into the top ten!
Lap 8: Piastri, Leclerc, Verstappen, Gasly, Norris, Russell, Bottas, Sainz, Antonelli, Bearman, Albon, Iwasa, Bortoleto, O'Ward, Herta, Zhou, Lawson, Pourchaire, Hadjar, Tsunoda, Ocon, Colapinto
Not entirely sure what's happened to Tsunoda here but he seems to be struggling, having dropped from a P7 start down to P20.
Piastri goes wide!!! Leclerc, Verstappen and Gasly move past the Australian!
(PIA) "I made a mistake."
(ADA) "Focus for now."
Verstappen taking advantage of the chaos and leads the Austrian Grand Prix! Feels like a little while since we've had a two team fight at the front!
(LEC) "Max pushed me wide, what the f--k?"
(BOZ) "We are on it, Charles."
(LEC) "F--k!"
Pierre Gasly leads the Austrian Grand Prix, and this is one hell of an opportunity for McLaren now!
Piastri regains P1 from Gasly!
PITSTOPS: First of the day! Lawson and Russell both box for Mediums.
PITSTOPS: Verstappen, Bottas, Sainz and Antonelli, Bearman, Zhou all in, a flurry of stops. VERSTAPPEN, SAINZ AND ZHOU ALL HAVE DELAYS!
Leclerc gets ahead of his friend Gasly for P2! Gasly isn't giving up without a fight here, though!
Lap 24: Piastri, Leclerc, Gasly, Norris, Verstappen, Albon, Bottas, Tsunoda, Sainz, Ocon, Russell, Pourchaire, Colapinto, Antonelli, Herta, Lawson, O'Ward, Bearman, Bortoleto, Hadjar, Zhou
SAINZ
(ADA) "Update tyre phase when you can?"
(PIA) "Still okay...fronts are graining a lot though."
Hadjar tries to overtake Zhou, and clips his sidepod in the process!!
(BOZ) "And deploy, you can close this gap to Oscar."
PITSTOP: Norris in from P4, and onto the Hards - is this a one stop to the end?
(ADA) "Box, box"
PITSTOP: Piastri in from the lead on Lap 30! He takes Hards and this could be a one stop!
(BOZ) "Box, box"
Verstappen catching Piastri cold and moves up to P3!
PITSTOP: Leclerc in from the lead! A 2.573 stop and he's also onto the Hards, and rejoins in P4.
Gasly leads, but he started on Hards and is the only driver yet to pit.
Piastri moves ahead of Verstappen for P2, it is a net P1 however!
Piastri and Verstappen closing in on Gasly here on Lap 37.
Herta just overtook Antonelli for P9. Andretti desperate for points today.
GASLY GOES OFF!!! He locks up and completely wrecks the struggling tyres!!! Gasly drops to P4 as Piastri, Verstappen and Leclerc go on through!
PITSTOP: Gasly in after that error and onto the Mediums. Will they go to the end, though?
Leclerc overtakes Verstappen and is up to P2!
PITSTOP: Verstappen in for Hards, and he's got a long way back if Piastri and Leclerc are going to the end here.
Antonelli with a lock-up and he drops out of the points and into P13!
PITSTOPS: Bearman, Sainz, Bottas, Iwasa and O'Ward all pit for the second time.
(BOZ) "And some LiCo for temps, LiCo for temps."
Lap 49: Piastri, Leclerc, Verstappen, Norris, Gasly, Sainz, Bottas, Russell, Tsunoda, Ocon, Herta, Iwasa, Bearman, O'Ward, Albon, Lawson, Hadjar, Colapinto, Bortoleto, Pourchaire, Hadjar
O'Ward with a lock-up! Both McLarens seemingly having cooling issues today, and he goes off as well!
BEARMAN
PITSTOP: Antonelli in on Lap 54! He takes Mediums to the end.
(PIA) "I'm not entirely sure what Iwasa was doing there."
Iwasa is lapped by Piastri, then unlaps himself, then is shown the blue flags, lapped, unlapped again, then lapped a third time, and unlaps again. On the fourth attempt, Piastri moves past Iwasa and is on his way
Pourchaire with a big spin off!!!
PITSTOP: Ferrari bring Piastri in for a fresh set of Softs, and he's comfortably P2.
(BOZ) "Box this lap Charles. Box."
(LEC) "Box."
PITSTOP: Leclerc follows a lap later, and be rejoins P2, about 2.7 behind his teammate.
PIASTRI
Another spin for Pourchaire! A rough day for the Audi driver.
VIRTUAL SAFETY CAR CALLED!!!
And that is a brutal one for Geoege Russell, who hits the wall with four laps remaining! He's out of the points and out of the race. A brutal blow for Russell AND Williams today, who look to go scoreless.
Lap 69, under VSC: Piastri, Leclerc, Verstappen, Norris, Gasly, Sainz, Bottas, Bearman, Iwasa, Tsunoda, O'Ward, Albon, Herta, Ocon, Bortoleto, Lawson, Antonelli, Zhou, Colapinto, Hadjar, Pourchaire. Russell out of the race.
What a day it is going to be for F1's newest team, as Subaru look on for double points. It's Bearman's first points of the season, and what a drive he has had as well.
FINAL LAP
It is a perfect ten on 1-2s for Ferrari on Sundays this season, and for the third time this year, that one-two is lef by OSCAR PIASTRI, A PHENOMENAL DRIVE FROM THE AUSSIE DRIVER AND HE COMES HOME TO WIN THE AUSTRIAN GRAND PRIX! CHARLES LECLERC P2, ANOTHER 1-2 FOR THE SCUDERIA.
(ADA) "Yes we have it baby, P1, P1! Great job today, Oscar!"
(PIA) "Very very very nice! Ahh, thank you guys, that was a very enjoyable race! Well done guys, thanks to the team today."
(ADA) "Incredible effort at the end. Mode slow please."
(BOZ) "And that's P2 Charles, well done today."
(LEC) "Good job! Thank you Bryan, thank you guys. Good result in the end, congrats to Oscar on his win."
(BOZ) "Another 1-2, amazing work this year."
Verstappen P3, Norris P4, Gasly P5, Sainz P6, Bottas P7
BEARMAN GETS POINTS IN P8. Iwasa P9, Double Subaru points!!
O'Ward takes P10
2027 AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX
RACE CLASSIFICATION
- Oscar Piaatri 01.21.16
- Charles Leclerc +3.408
- Max Verstappen +31.853
- Lando Norris +9.386
- Pierre Gasly +1.201
- Carlos Sainz +6.765
- Valtteri Bottas +4.139
- Oliver Bearman +1 lap
- Ayumu Iwasa +1 lap
- Pato O'Ward +1 lap
- Yuki Tsunoda +1 lap
- Alex Albon +1 lap
- Colton Herta +1 lap
- Esteban Ocon +1 lap
- Liam Lawson +1 lap
- Andrea Kimi Antonelli +1 lap
- Gabriel Bortoleto +1 lap
- Zhou Guanyu +1 lap
- Franco Colapinto +2 laps
- Isack Hadjar +2 laps
- Théo Pourchaire +2 laps
- George Russell DNF (+4 laps)
DRIVER OF THE DAY: OLIVER BEARMAN
A brilliant performance from the young Subaru driver to take his first points as a full time driver, a superb P8. Oliver Bearman is your Driver of the Day!
FASTEST LAP AWARD:
Oscar Piastri 1.03.367
DHL FASTEST PITSTOP AWARD:
Oliver Bearman 2.400s
2027 FIA FORMULA 1 WORLD DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP
Leclerc 253
Piastri 214
Verstappen 129
Norris 98
Russell 91
Sainz 77
O'Ward 72
Gasly 65
Albon 60
Bottas 31
Tsunoda 7
Lawson 6
Bearman 4
Iwasa 4
Antonelli 0
Ocon 0
Herta 0
Bortoleto 0
Pourchaire 0
Zhou 0
Hadjar 0
Colapinto 0
2027 FIA FORMULA 1 WORLD CONSTRUCTORS CHAMPIONSHIP
Ferrari 467
Red Bull-Ford RBPT 227
Williams-Ferrari 141
McLaren-Ford RBPT 137
Mercedes 77
Aston Martin-Honda 38
Subaru-Mercedes 8
Alpine-Renault 6
Andretti-Ferrari 0
Audi Sauber 0
Haas-Mercedes 0
2027 FIA FORMULA 1 WORLD TYRES CHAMPIONSHIP
Bridgestone 616
Pirelli 485
2027 FIA FORMULA 1 WORLD TYRES CHAMPIONSHIP
Bridgestone 616
Pirelli 485
foggy locust
ASTON MARTIN SWITCH TO BRIDGESTONE FOR 2028
Aston Martin have announced that they will switch away from Pirelli for the 2028 season, joining up with Bridgestone for next season.
Aston Martin will share works status with Honda with Subaru next season, and will take on Bridgestone's tyres in co-ordination with this next season.
Subaru and Aston Martin will be alongside Champions Ferrari on Bridgestone tyres next season.
foggy locust
RED BULL POTENTIALLY CONSIDERING BOTTAS AS VERSTAPPEN REPLACEMENT
Red Bull have a plan B, and apparently the B is Bottas.
With the continuing rumours of Max Verstappen making a move to Mercedes at the end of this season, Red Bull may be looking for a new driver to replace him, and it is believed that Aston Martin's Valtteri Bottas is the top choice.
While Red Bull are in negotiations with Verstappen regarding a new deal, the team are keeping their options open in regards to if Verstappen leaves.
And while Bottas is under contract until 2028, Red Bull believe a deal could be reached to let him out of it a year early.
More as we get it.
viral wraith
Plan B(ottas)
humble totem
RED BULL POTENTIALLY CONSIDERING BOTTAS AS VERSTAPPEN REPLACEMENT
Red Bull hav...
Thought you did a soft reboot
Is max on a one year salary?
sterile breach
Thought you did a soft reboot
Is max on a one year salary?
What I think he did was he took Max out of Red Bull, and then put him back in Red Bull and it gave him a 1 year deal. That's my best guess
humble totem
He is on console
So he can't do that
sterile breach
Season customization?
What I mean is: Going to Red Bull, selecting car 1, clicking Max so he gets out of the team, then clicking on him again and putting him back in the Red Bull
humble totem
Hmmmm
Ok
Maybe that's what happened
wraith sedge
What I think he did was he took Max out of Red Bull, and then put him back in Re...
no, he's on 2028, Max's contract ends 2028 irl so that's why.
foggy locust
2027 (in universe), but yeah, I moved Max to seat two so that he wouldn't have the five year deal. The game gave him the 10 months left
wraith sedge
@foggy locust are you doing more tonight?
foggy locust
BELGIAN GRAND PRIX 2027
WEEKEND PREVIEW
ROUND 11: SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS
We head to Belgium for the third Sprint weekend of the season! And after another Ferrari 1-2, this time led by Oscar Piastri, in Austria, can they continue the Streak?
LAST TIME OUT:
It was a familiar story this season, as Ferrari dominated the Austrian Grand Prix once more, but this time around Oscar Piastri took his fourth victory of the season, leading Charles Leclerc home in a Ferrari 1-2. Max Verstappen was third and best of the rest, ahead of Lando Norris, while McLaren had Pierre Gasly fifth and Pato O'Ward tenth. Subaru picked up their first double points, with Oliver Bearman in P8 and Ayumu Iwasa in P9.
THE CIRCUIT:
The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, lovingly known as Spa, is a 7.004km circuit located in Francorchamps, Stavelot, Belgium, just 8km east of the city of Spa. It has held a Grand Prix every year since 1985 with the exception of 2003 and 2006, and was recently extended to a long term annual contract from 2027 onwards. The longest circuit on the F1 calendar and arguably the most difficult, featuring the Bus Stop Chicane, La Source and that infamous run up to Eau Rouge. It takes place over just 44 laps, and is known for its High Speed cornering, with 2 DRS Zones. It is a staple of the F1 calendar, and has also featured several times in the Tour de France.
FIVE STORIES WE ARE WATCHING:
FERRARI'S QUEST FOR A PERFECT SEASON:
Ferrari have taken a 1-2 on every single Sunday of this season, and have just one blemish - Oscar Piastri finishing outside the points in the Sprint. However, they are looking to become the first team to ever take a 1-2 in every single feature race in a season. Can they do it, and how will it feature in a potential Leclerc v. Piastri title fight? Leclerc has 39 point advantage over his teammate, but there's double points at Vegas. All to play for as the team strives for perfection.
THE BRITISH FIGHT FOR THIRD
Two British teams find themselves in the midst of a scrap for third in the Championship, and it is two of the most traditional teams on the grid - Williams and McLaren. Williams have been this season’s surprise package, and currently hold that third spot - but McLaren find themselves just four points behind after a scoreless result in Austria for the Grove team. Their Woking rivals could go ahead of them this weekend in what is shaping up into an intense fight for third spot.
ALPINE, ANDRETTI, AUDI AND HAAS ALL ON THE HOTSEAT
The bottom four teams had to watch last weekend as Subaru grabbed double points and jumped up to Seventh in their debut season, and of the bottom four, only Alpine have scored points this season. You feel changes may be coming in both driver staff and Team Principals sooner rather than later at the bottom four. Esteban Ocon is almost certain to leave Alpine at the end of this season, and Oliver Oakes may need more from his team to retain his position. Colton Herta and Zhou Guanyu, whose contracts ends at the end of the year, are fighting for their places in F1. And Mattia Binotto and Ayao Komatsu are under serious pressure to retain their positions. Points, any points for any of these four teams, could be crucial.
MAX'S CHOICE - RED BULL OR MERCEDES?
Max Verstappen has a decision to make in the next few weeks - likely in the summer - stick or twist? Both Mercedes and Red Bull will be in play for Verstappen, and Red Bull look like they've proven they can compete this year - but it is also felt that Verstappen has outperformed his car. Mercedes’ car may offer the bigger upside to the three time World Champion, and so, can Toto Wolff get his man?
AND WHERE DOES THAT LEAVE CARLOS SAINZ?
Carlos Sainz might be the driver most affected by Max's decision. After two down years with Mercedes, Sainz has looked like a driver rejuvenated and is a big reason why Mercedes sit fifth in the Constructors - but it's just that. Fifth. Mercedes want to be back competing for Championships - can Carlos prove he's a driver to get them there?
PREDICTION
It is very hard to see past another Ferrari 1-2 this weekend, with all things being in order and correct. Spa can throw up some drama, but it's likely that Ferrari take the top two spots again in both the race and the Sprint. Outside of that, Williams have the car more suited to this track and McLaren may be in contention, but you cannot count out the Max factor, either. But will Max be enough to overcome some serious shortcomings with the RB23? We believe Leclerc takes his seventh win of the year, with Piastri second, and Russell just beats Verstappen to third in the race, while Verstappen takes it in the Sprint.
Pole Position: Charles Leclerc
Podium:
Charles Leclerc
Oscar Piastri
George Russell
Sprint Winner: Charles Leclerc
Sprint Podium:
Charles Leclerc
Oscar Piastri
Max Verstappen
One bold prediction: Subaru double points again.
FP1 Reserves: Sztuka (Norris), Martins (Ocon), Mini (Lawson), Browning (Russell)
foggy locust
FP1: GAS LEC VER
PIA P4
Pierre Gasly goes quickest in today's only practice session ahead of Sprint Qualifying, as Charles Leclerc was P2 and Max Verstappen P3. Oscar Piastri settled for P4, while Williams junior Luke Browning was an impressive P5, ahead of Carlos Sainz. Ayumu Iwasa, Victor Martins, Pato O'Ward and Colton Herta complete the top ten.
It is time to go Sprint Qualifying on this warm Friday Belgian afternoon. The longest lap of the season at 7.004km, it leaves very little room for error on the first attempt, especially in limited timing such as Sprint Qualifying. McLaren were quickest ahead of Ferrari in FP1, let's see if that can keep up through Sprint Qualifying.
OH MY GOD IT IS A RED FLAG TO END SQ1!!!
Zhou crashes into the wall and that ends SQ1 prematurely! He's okay but he's out of the session! He had made it through, so only 15 cars will take part in SQ2!
OUT IN SQ1: Iwasa, Colapinto, Bearman, Bortoleto, Hadjar, Lawson
Bubble: Herta
Top Five: RUS, PIA, LEC, GAS, VER
A Zhou crash at the end of SQ1 ended the Sprint Qualifying hopes of both Subarus, his teammate Colapinto, Bortoleto, Hadjar and Lawson. Zhou made it through but will take no further part in qualifying. Russell quickest from Piastri and Leclerc, with Gasly and Verstappen following.
OUT IN SQ2: Ocon, Antonelli, Tsunoda, Herta, Bottas, Zhou (no time)
Bubble: Pourchaire
Top Five: LEC, VER, RUS, PIA, OWA
Ocon just misses Q3 by 0.073, as Antonelli, Tsunoda, Herta and Bottas join the already eliminated Zhou. Pourchaire through to SQ3 to join the two Ferraris, McLarens, Red Bulls, Williams and Carlos Sainz. Leclerc quickest from Verstappen, Russell, Piastri and O'Ward.
SQ3: Norris, Verstappen, Piastri, Sainz, Leclerc, Albon, O'Ward, Pourchaire, Gasly, Russell
A bit of a surprise as Lando Norris pulls out Sprint Pole ahead of Max Verstappen! Oscar Piastri P3 with Charles Leclerc just P5, while Carlos Sainz split the two Ferraris. Alex Albon P6 ahead of Pato O'Ward and Théo Pourchaire, and it was an under performance by Pierre Gasly and George Russell who settle for P9 and P10 respectively.
2027 BELGIAN GRAND PRIX
SPRINT GRID
NOR VER
PIA SAI
LEC ALB
OWA POU
GAS RUS
OCO ANT
TSU HER
BOT IWA
COL BEA
BOR HAD
PITLANE START - ZHO QUAL P16
PITLANE START - LAW QUAL P22
foggy locust
It is time to go-a-Sprinting here in Belgium. Round 11 of the 2027 Formula 1 World Championship, and it is a rare moment without a Ferrari on Pole. Just 15 laps of this 7.004km circuit await us, the longest lap of the season, and it is absolutely game on today. Red Bull locked out the front row, the Scuderia have work to do in P3 and P5.
Both Zhou Guanyu and Liam Lawson have opted to start from the pitlane, Zhou crashed in SQ1, Lawson qualified P22. Isack Hadjar and Gabriel Bortoleto, former F2 title rivals, on row ten, then it's Ollie Bearman and Franco Colapinto on row nine, Ayumu Iwasa beside Valtteri Bottas on the eighth row. Colton Herta starts beside Yuki Tsunoda on row seven, Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Esteban Ocon still looking for their first points of the year start on row six. George Russell begins from P10 while it's P9 for Pierre Gasly, Théo Pourchaire has a real opportunity for Audi's first points of the year from P8 while Pato O'Ward starts P7, then it's Alex Albon in P6 and Championship leader Charles Leclerc beginning P5. Carlos Sainz starts P4 with Oscar Piastri P3, and for the first time this season, it is a Red Bull lock-out of the front row. Max Verstappen begins today from P2, while Lando Norris will start from Sprint Pole. Can Red Bull capitalise on this massive opportunity today?
Let's go Sprinting!
Verstappen gets away quicker than Norris, Piastri P3, Leclerc is ahead of Sainz, O'Ward ahead of Albon, Pourchaire, Gasly, Russell, Ocon, Tsunoda up to P12 ahead of Antonelli, Herta P14!
Verstappen gaining on the pack, as Norris now has a major Ferrari problem to deal with - Piastri and Leclerc both attacking him, and Piastri gets ahead of his former teammate for P2!
(PIA) "Sweet!"
(ADA) "Lovely job there, now P2"
(BOZ) "Charles you have the margin to push, get into the rhythm"
(LEC) "This is the rhythm"
Piastri gaining on Verstappen, while Leclerc is battling Norris.
Gasly has fought his way into the points ahead of Pourchaire, now pressuring Albon.
(BOZ) "That was a good move, well done Charles"
Leclerc has moved ahead of Norris and is into P3! Both Ferraris now trying to chase Verstappen for P1!
Oscar Piastri is going for the lead of the Sprint and he overtakes Verstappen going into Eau Rouge!!! But Verstappen is coming back at him and retakes position!
Sainz grabs P4 from Norris!!!
(ADA) "Fighting with Vsrstappen in front, car behind is Charles, use K1, use K1."
(PIA) "Yep, copy."
Lap 7: Verstappen, Piastri, Leclerc, Sainz, Norris, O'Ward, Albon, Gasly, Pourchaire, Russell, Tsunoda, Antonelli, Ocon, Bottas, Bortoleto, Herta, Iwasa, Bearman, Zhou, Lawson, Hadjar, Colapinto
Piastri retakes P1 from Verstappen! Verstappen seems to be struggling on his tyres a lot more compared to Piastri and Leclerc!
Tsunoda ahead of Pourchaire for P9! He's pushing for that final point now!
Gasly meanwhile seems to be having engine issues!
Verstappen retakes the lead and you feel this battle might go all the way to the flag!
Leclerc isn't too far behind the leaders, bur he's got former teammate Sainz to deal with right now!
Sainz is absolutely flying! He overtakes Piastri, then grabs the lead of the Sprint from Verstappen!!!
Lap 10: Sainz, Verstappen, Piastri, Leclerc, Norris, Gasly, O'Ward, Albon, Tsunoda, Antonelli, Bottas, Pourchaire, Russell, Bortoleto, Ocon, Herta, Zhou, Bearman, Iwasa, Lawson, Colapinto, Hadjar
Piastri and Leclerc both get Verstappen for P2 and P3!!!
This could be a huge, huge statement for Carlos Sainz, who has pulled out a 4 second gap our of nowhere!
It's not all good for Mercedes as Antonelli locks up and goes off!! He's down to P11!
Leclerc overtakes Piastri for P2!! That move could be huge for the Championship!
The two Ferraris lapped a second quicker than Sainz that time around. Piastri back up to P2!! Could this be redemption day for Carlos Sainz?
COLAPINTO AND HADJAR COLLIDE, and that sends Franco into the off road!
Two laps to go!
(BOZ) "Okay Charles, let's go for this here. And you can push now."
Can Sainz hang on here? Leclerc and Piastri are closing the gap!
Piastri back up to P2!
FINAL LAP
Through two really tough years at Mercedes, after being let go by Ferrari for Lewis Hamilton, Carlos Sainz has needed a day like this, he is going to hold on to take the first non Ferrari victory of 2027, CARLOS SAINZ ROUNDS THE FINAL CORNER TO WIN THE BELGIAN GRAND PRIX SPRINT!!! Oscar Piastri takes P2 from Charles Leclerc in P3, Verstappen P4, Norris P5!
(ADA) "And that's the flag, P2, Oscar, P2! Great effort at the end, we nearly had Carlos."
(PIA) "Great job guys. Let's go get 'em tomorrow. One more lap and that would've been ours."
(ADA) "Great job today."
(BOZ) "And that's the flag Charles. P3, P3."
(LEC) "Goood job. Let's gooo. Ahhh, we had to lose one eventually, but that's still a good race from where we started."
(BOZ) "We'll get 'em tomorrow. Great job today."
2027 BELGIAN GRAND PRIX
SPRINT CLASSIFICATION
- Carlos Sainz 00.26.42
- Oscar Piastri +1.157
- Charles Leclerc +0.721
- Max Verstappen +3.595
- Lando Norris +0.360
- Pierre Gasly +6.823
- Pato O'Ward +2.972
- Valtteri Bottas +4.157
- Yuki Tsunoda +4.821
- George Russell +0.319
- Alex Albon +1.436
- Andrea Kimi Antonelli +2.785
- Gabriel Bortoleto +1.038
- Théo Pourchaire +0.921
- Colton Herta +6.025
- Esteban Ocon +0.882
- Oliver Bearman +0.360
- Ayumu Iwasa +0.447
- Zhou Guanyu +1.132
- Liam Lawson +0.421
- Isack Hadjar +6.748
- Franco Colapinto +2.905
2027 FIA FORMULA 1 WORLD DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP
Leclerc 259
Piastri 221
Verstappen 134
Norris 102
Russell 91
Sainz 85
O'Ward 74
Gasly 68
Albon 60
Bottas 32
Tsunoda 7
Lawson 6
Bearman 4
Iwasa 4
Antonelli 0
Ocon 0
Herta 0
Bortoleto 0
Pourchaire 0
Zhou 0
Hadjar 0
Colapinto 0
2027 FIA FORMULA 1 WORLD CONSTRUCTORS CHAMPIONSHIP
Ferrari 480
Red Bull-Ford RBPT 236
McLaren-Ford RBPT 142
Williams-Ferrari 141
Mercedes 85
Aston Martin-Honda 39
Subaru-Mercedes 8
Alpine-Renault 6
Andretti-Ferrari 0
Audi Sauber 0
Haas-Mercedes 0
2027 FIA FORMULA 1 WORLD TYRES CHAMPIONSHIP
Bridgestone 629
Pirelli 508
It is time to go Qualifying here at Spa-Francorchamps and after Carlos Sainz's shock victory in the Sprint, there's a real feeling that anything can happen this weekend. Ferrari remain the favourites, Red Bull, McLaren and Williams will be in the mix - are Mercedes the new dark horse this weekend? This should be very intriguing.
OUT IN Q1: Antonelli, Pourchaire, Hadjar, Iwasa, Norris, Tsunoda
Bubble: Bearman
Top Five: Russell, Piastri, Sainz, Herta, O'Ward
LEC P6
A couple of real shockers as Lando Norris, who took Pole in the Sprint, is out in Q1! Antonelli also exits in Q1, while Tsunoda qualified last. Iwasa and the two Audis also exit, with Bearman just making Q2, and Verstappen just P15. Russell went quickest from Piastri and Sainz, with Colton Herta a phenomenal P4. O'Ward P5 and just P6 for Leclerc. Colapinto and Bortoleto also in the top ten.
OUT IN Q2: Sainz, Bearman, Lawson, Russell, Colapinto, Zhou
Bubble: Piastri
Top Five: LEC, BOT, VER, OWA, HER
Sprint Winner Carlos Sainz drops out in Q2, as Oscar Piastri just makes Q3 by 0.031. Oliver Bearman just misses out by a tenth, while George Russell was another shock Q2 exit. Liam Lawson and the two Haas drivers also drop out. Leclerc quickest from Bottas, while Verstappen needed a late lap to get out of the bottom six and into Q3, while O'Ward and Herta follow.
Q3: Leclerc, Piastri, Verstappen, Bottas, Herta, Bortoleto, Gasly, O'Ward, Albon, Ocon
Order restored at the very top as Leclerc grabs Pole from Piastri by just 0.002! Verstappen three tenths back with Bottas fourth, but what a day for Andretti as they take P5 for Herta and P6 for Bortoleto, both drivers getting their best qualifying in F1 so far. Gasly and O'Ward P7 and P8, while Albon and Ocon take P9 and P10.
2027 BELGIAN GRAND PRIX
STARTING GRID
LEC PIA
VER BOT
HER BOR
GAS OWA
ALB OCO
SAI BEA
LAW RUS
COL ZHO
ANT POU
HAD IWA
NOR TSU
foggy locust
Well, an hour later than planned, we are ready to get going here in Spa-Francorchamps. A glitch in the TV cameras caused an hour's delay to this race, so it's a 4pm local start instead of a 3pm, but it is time for the 2027 Belgian Grand Prix. The longest lap of the season, at 7.004km, 44 laps around one of the most iconic F1 tracks there is, and with a brand new deal, we will be racing here annually for years to come. 19 turns including the Bus Stop Chicane, La Source and that run up to Eau Rouge. After Carlos Sainz's shock Sprint win, it was business as usual for Ferrari in qualifying, but a mixed up grid elsewhere.
Yuki Tsunoda starts at the very back and he has Lando Norris for company, who shockingly went out in Q1. Ayumu Iwasa and Isack Hadjar on row ten, while Théo Pourchaire starts much further back than he did in the Sprint in P18, with Kimi Antonelli P17. An all Haas eighth row with Franco Colapinto ahead of Zhou Guanyu, George Russell begins from P14 and P13 for Liam Lawson! It's Ollie Bearman P12 and yesterday's Sprint Winner Carlos Sainz starting P11 today, Esteban Ocon begins P10 and Alex Albon starts ahead of his teammate again in P9. Both McLarens on the fourth row with Pierre Gasly ahead of Pato O'Ward, it is F1 career highest starts for both Andretti drivers - Colton Herta begins P5 and Gabriel Bortoleto P6. Valtteri Bottas starts from P4 with Max Verstappen P3, and a familiar story at the front - Oscar Piastri begins P2, and it is Pole Position number 7 of the year for Charles Leclerc.
Let's go racing in Belgium!
One light, two, three, four, five...AND IT'S LIGHTS OUT AND AWAY WE GO
Leclerc holds the lead going up to Eau Rouge, Piastri staying in contention, Verstappen holding third, Bottas, Herta, Bortoleto, Gasly, O'Ward, Ocon, Sainz, Albon has dropped down significantly already!!
PIASTRI
(PIA) "Overtaking Charles is very difficult here."
(ADA) "No worries, no worries. Keep it clean."
Leclerc holding firm so far under pressure from Piastri, Piastri trying for the switchback and Piastri grabs the lead from Leclerc!!
Gasly grabs P6 from Bortoleto! He's now putting Herta under pressure for P5!
And Gasly with a lovely move down the straight to take P5 from Herta!
Verstappen challenging Leclerc for P2 and he has DRS, Max moves ahead of Charles for position!
Verstappen takes the lead of the race from Piastri! Verstappen now defending both Piastri and Leclerc!
Piastri back in front on Lap 6!
Gasly moves ahead of Bottas and into P4!
Sainz is ahead of Bortoleto for P7!
(BOZ) "And some lift off into 12-13, please Charles. Lap 7 now, 0.7 behind Verstappen, Gasly directly behind, 0.6."
Ocon and O'Ward now battling for P9! O'Ward just holding firm for now!
Lap 8: Piastri, Verstappen, Leclerc, Gasly, Bottas, Herta, Sainz, O'Ward, Ocon, Russell, Lawson, Bearman, Antonelli, Norris, Pourchaire, Colapinto, Zhou, Iwasa, Albon, Hadjar, Tsunoda
Leclerc gets Verstappen for P2 and we are back to the Ferrari 1-2!
Leclerc and Piastri wheel to wheel, Leclerc briefly ahead and Piastri regains it!
Gasly overtakes Verstappen for P3!
LECLERC DOWN THE INSIDE OF PIASTRI INTO LA SOURCE, AND HE HAS P1 BACK!
Sainz ahead of Herta and into P6! He's having a superb weekend!
Piastri gets ahead of Leclerc a lap later! This is a superb battle between the top two in the Championship!
Ocon with a brilliant move on Bortoleto for P8!
PITSTOPS: First stops of the day with Russell, Bearman, Hadjar and Pourchaire in! Russell and Bearman go Soft/Soft, guaranteeing the two stop! Hadjar and Pourchaire go Soft/Medium!