Essere Ferrari II

[foggy locust]

(BON) "Gap currently 1.1, you're within striking distance. This is awesome work, come on"

Tsunoda slides wide and Verstappen and Norris get ahead of him!!

Piastri struggling a bit, Gasly has made his way up the order and is now fifth!

Antonelli back ahead of Piastri now too!

(PIA) "Struggling quite a bit on these tyres, grip isn't there"

(BON) "Copy, we will get you in soon, do what you can in the meantime"

COLAPINTO

SAFETY CAR CALLED

Maloney locks up and completely wipes out Ricciardo in the process!!! Both cars out of the race, and for the second time this weekend, Ricciardo won't finish this race!!

(BOZ) "Safety Car, Safety Car. Maloney into Ricciardo, both out."

(LEC) "Are they okay?"

(BOZ) "Both okay and out of the car. Box now, box now."

(LEC) "Copy, box"

(BON) "And that's the Safety Car. Ricciardo and Maloney collided."

(PIA) "Are they alright?"

(BON) "Both okay, both unhurt. Box now, box now."

(PIA) "Yeah, box"

PITSTOPS: Flurry of pirstops there as we wait for the arrival of the Safety Car, Bottas, Colapinto, Russell, Bearman, Pérez and Lawson all make the switch of tyres. Leclerc comes in! He makes the switch to Mediums a lap later! 2.035 for Leclerc, brilliant stop! Pretty much every car now stopping, Piastri a 2.008 stop, that was lightning quick by Ferrari!!

Lap 14, under SC: Leclerc, Verstappen, Norris, Tsunoda, Gasly, Antonelli, Piastri, Sainz, O'Ward, Pourchaire, Ocon, Bottas, Hadjar, Bortoleto, Colapinto, Herta, Russell, Bearman, Pérez, Lawson. Ricciardo and Maloney out of the race.

WE GO RACING AGAIN ON LAP 17!

Leclerc trying to build the gap back up to Verstappen and Norris, but so far both card are sticking with him!

Norris distracted by the fight with Tsunoda, and Tsunoda gets him for P3!

LECLERC

(BON) "Just keep trying to drop temp if you can"

(PIA) "Copy. Antonelli proving difficult to overtake here, yeah"

(BON) "Just keep it up."

VERSTAPPEN

Antonelli retakes P5 from Gasly! He's having a very good drive today!

Piastri up to P6 ahead of Gasly! As it stands, Piastri and Leclerc would be exactly level on points.

Herta very very wide at Eau Rouge! He gets away with it, but yeah, not ideal.

Ocon ahead of Pourchaire for P10!

Antonelli overtakes Norris for fourth!

Piastri ahead of Norris, then Antonelli, and he's up to 14th!

Hadjar and Colapinto make contact!!! Colapinto goes sliding off and drops to last!

CAR 6 (HADJAR) - CAUSING A COLLISION WITH CAR 43 (COLAPINTO)

CAR 72 (MALONEY) - CAUSING A COLLISION WITH CAR 3 (RICCIARDO)

Two penalties announced to dissect there. Hadjar has a five second penalty for now, Maloney will take a grid penalty at Zandvoort.

Piastri on the attack on Verstappen, but cannot get the move done.

Norris ahead of Antonelli for P5!

Piastri gets it done! He's now up to 3rd!

Piastri ahead of Tsunoda! He's made the comeback to P2, can he now complete it and catch Leclerc?

Pérez and Colapinto bang wheels! No penalty given to either driver, however.

Tsunoda on the attack for P2! Piastri holds him off though for position, and keeps the Ferrari 1-2!

PITSTOP: Norris in for a second time! He goes back onto the Softs here with 15 laps to go! O'Ward also in, he'll take the Softs and rejoin P12, with Norris P11!

Russell and Bearman make contact!!! Russell goes past Bearman and Bearman clips him!

RUSSELL RADIO "That's a penalty, surely, he turned into me"

PITSTOPS: Verstappen and Sainz make second stops! They're onto the Softs and rejoin P10 and P11.

Tsunoda overtakes Piastri for P2!!!

PITSTOP: Tsunoda comes in and takes on new Mediums! He'll be going to the end on those, rejoining P8!

(BON) "Box to cover Tsunoda, box to cover Tsunoda. Box box."

(PIA) "Okay"

PITSTOP: Piastri in for the second time today! Ferrari have a delay and that is the WORST time to do that!! A 5.093 stop for Piastri. Disaster. He rejoins just behind Tsunoda down in P8.

(PIA) "What happened?"

(BON) "Sorry about that Oscar, the jack stalled"

(PIA) "Nothing we can do now, we'll talk about it later"

LECLERC

(BON) "Okay Charles, box this lap"

(LEC) "Yeah, box"

VERSTAPPEN

Piastri back ahead of Tsunoda and up to P7!

PITSTOP: Leclerc in from the lead! New Mediums and a much better 2.040 stop, he will comfortably retain the lead!

Tsunoda wide out of Eau Rouge!!! He drops behind Verstappen and Sainz!

Piastri ahead of Antonelli into P6!

Make that P5, as he goes ahead of Bottas!

Norris gets Ocon for third! It is currently a McLaren 2-3!

Piastri rounds Ocon for P4!

PITSTOPS: Russell and Herta both stop for the second time, and they're now both running P19 and P20.

PITSTOPS: Bottas in, Antonelli in. Bottas onto Softs, Antonelli Mediums, can both find their way back into the points?

Norris moves ahead of Gasly for P2!

VIRTUAL SAFETY CAR CALLED

Bortoleto is off and into the wall!!! He's thankfully okay, but his race is over. Another miserable weekend for Andretti comes to a close.

We are racing again on Lap 41!

Three laps to go!

Piastri ahead of Gasly and into P3!

LECLERC

LECLERC

FINAL LAP

An incredible drive from Pole to flag, he's led every second of this race, it's another Grand Slam for Charles Leclerc, CHARLES LECLERC WINS THE BELGIAN GRAND PRIX!!

(BON) "That's the flag, P1, amazing job, Charles. Amazing job."

(LEC) "Let's goooo!!! Thank you...thank you to everybody. Amazing, amazing work on this car. Fantastic guys. Just fantastic."

(BOZ) "P1, fastest lap, Grand Slam and Driver of the Day as well. I'd say that was a good day's work"

BUT FOR THE FIRST TIME THIS SEASON, IT IS NOT A FERRARI 1-2. LANDO NORRIS COMES HOME SECOND! OSCAR PIASTRI HAS TO SETTLE FOR THIRD!

(BON) "So we have taken the flag. So, P3 mate. All things considered that's a good job."

(PIA) "Yeah, that was pretty fun. Cheers guys, nice to get a podium considering where we started the day. Happy enough."

(BON) "Well done you."

Verstappen P4, Sainz P5, Gasly P6, O'Ward P7, Tsunoda P8, Bottas P9, Pourchaire P10.

2029 BELGIAN GRAND PRIX
RACE CLASSIFICATION

1. Charles Leclerc 1.24.17
2. Lando Norris +24.087
3. Oscar Piastri +26.560
4. Max Verstappen +36.718
5. Carlos Sainz +39.485
6. Pierre Gasly +39.821
7. Pato O'Ward +40.132
8. Yuki Tsunoda +41.984
9. Valtteri Bottas +42.580
10. Théo Pourchaire +45.360
11. Esteban Ocon +45.898
12. Andrea Kimi Antonelli +46.625
13. Oliver Bearman +66.194
14. Franco Colapinto +67.615
15. Liam Lawson +70.581
16. George Russell +73.875
17. Sergio Pérez +75.460
18. Isack Hadjar +70.095
19. Colton Herta +81.420
20. Gabriel Bortoleto DNF
21. Daniel Ricciardo DNF
22. Zane Maloney DNF

Charles Leclerc 1.41.985
Carlos Sainz 1.923s
Charles Leclerc

DRIVER OF THE DAY: CHARLES LECLERC

A Grand Slam performance from the World Champion, who reduced the Championship gap to just six points. An incredible performance from Charles Leclerc, Driver of the Day!

Top Five: Leclerc, Gasly, Piastri, Sainz, Bottas

2029 FIA FORMULA 1 WORLD DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP

🇦🇺 Piastri 269
🇲🇨 Leclerc 263
🇫🇮 Bottas 117
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Norris 107
🇪🇸 Sainz 99
🇯🇵 Tsunoda 88
🇳🇱 Verstappen 78
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Russell 68
🇲🇽 O'Ward 41
🇫🇷 Gasly 37
🇫🇷 Ocon 23
🇺🇸 Herta 19
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Bearman 14
🇫🇷 Pourchaire 12
🇮🇹 Antonelli 4
🇧🇧 Maloney 1
🇦🇷 Colapinto 0
🇳🇿 Lawson 0
🇦🇺 Ricciardo 0
🇧🇷 Bortoleto 0
🇫🇷 Hadjar 0
🇲🇽 Pérez 0

2029 FIA FORMULA 1 WORLD CONSTRUCTORS CHAMPIONSHIP

Ferrari 532
Aston Martin-Honda 205
Red Bull-Ford 167
McLaren-Mercedes 144
Subaru-Honda 90
Audi 42
Mercedes 33
Haas-Ferrari 23
Williams-Ferrari 4
Alpine-Mercedes 0
Andretti-Ford 0

2029 WORLD TYRES CHAMPIONSHIP

Bridgestone 766
Pirelli 414
Goodyear 60

DHL FASTEST PITSTOP AWARD:

Ferrari 199
McLaren 183
Red Bull 178
Williams 117
Subaru 114
Alpine 92
Andretti 76
Mercedes 53
Aston Martin 50
Audi 49
Haas 0

F2 SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS

SPRINT

1. Dennis Hauger
2. Rafael Câmara
3. Kacper Sztuka
4. Zak O'Sullivan
5. Dayton Coulthard
6. Dino Beganovic
7. Tim Tramnitz
8. Jak Crawford
9. Gabriele Miní
10. Taylor Barnard

FEATURE RACE
Pole Position: Dennis Hauger

1. Dennis Hauger
2. Jak Crawford
3. Dayton Coulthard
4. Tim Tramnitz
5. Zak O'Sullivan
6. Rafael Câmara
7. Kacper Sztuka
8. Taylor Barnard
9. Gabriele Miní
10. Pepe Marti

F3 SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS

SPRINT

1. Abbi Pulling
2. Udo Arnold
3. John Bennett
4. Nina Gademan
5. Alexander Dunne
6. Joshua Dürksen
7. Hamda Al Qubaisi
8. Oliver Goethe
9. Leonardo Fornaroli
10. Callum Voisin

FEATURE RACE
Pole Position: Udo Arnold

1. Udo Arnold
2. Hamda Al Qubaisi
3. Callum Voisin
4. Vincenzo Testa
5. Oliver Goethe
6. Alexander Dunne
7. Laurens van Hoepen
8. Nina Gademan
9. John Bennett
10. Leonardo Fornaroli

F2 STANDINGS

🇳🇴 Hauger 169
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 🇧🇪 Coulthard 136
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Grant 129
🇧🇷 Câmara 118
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Barnard 115
🇯🇵 Miyata 96
🇩🇪 Tramnitz 88
🇫🇷 Pin 77
🇵🇱 Sztuka 60
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 🇸🇪 Lindblad 35
🇪🇪 Aron 29
🇺🇸 Crawford 26
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 O'Sullivan 17
🇪🇸 Marti 13
🇦🇷 Araya 13
🇧🇷 E. Fittipaldi 11
🇳🇱 Verschoor 9
🇨🇿 Staněk 9
🇮🇹 Miní 6
🇸🇪 🇧🇦 Beganovic 5
🇮🇳 Maini 1
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Browning 0

F3 STANDINGS

🇮🇪 Dunne 186
🇳🇱 Arnold 147
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Bennett 118
🇦🇪 Al Qubaisi 67
🇵🇹 Afonso 59
🇺🇸 Esterson 56
🇩🇪 🇩🇰 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Goethe 55
🇦🇺 Mansell 52
🇲🇽 Villagómez 52
🇫🇷 Giusti 51
🇮🇹 Testa 39
🇳🇴 Stenshorne 37
🇨🇴 🇺🇸 Montoya 29
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Loake 29
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Wharton 25
🇵🇾 Dürksen 23
🇳🇱 van Hoepen 22
🇧🇭 Abadi 19
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Voisin 16
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Pulling 16
🇦🇷 Alvarado 12
🇳🇱 Gademan 11
🇪🇸 Boya 10
🇲🇽 León 6
🇮🇹 Fornaroli 5
🇫🇷 Meguetounif 4
🇧🇬 Tsolov 3
🇦🇹 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Wurz 1
🇷🇺 🇮🇹 Bedrin 0
🇿🇦 Brunt 0

[foggy locust]

2029 DUTCH GRAND PRIX
WEEKEND PREVIEW

With just one race to go until the Summer Break and a six point difference in the Drivers’ Championship, we head to Zandvoort and the Dutch Grand Prix. How will this one play out and who will take the momentum into the Summer Break?

LAST TIME AROUND

It was Grand Slam Leclerc at Spa-Francorchamps, as the World Champion reduced the gap to the Championship leader Oscar Piastri to just six points, as Piastri recovered from a poor qualifying to finish third. Lando Norris took the best non Ferrari result of the season, P2, breaking up the Ferrari 1-2 Streak this season. Verstappen took fourth and Sainz fifth, while Gasly and O'Ward were sixth and seventh. Both Astons took points, eighth for Tsunoda, ninth for Bottas, Pourchaire took the final point. Meanwhile, in the Sprint, it was a win for Piastri in a close battle with Leclerc. Zane Maloney will carry a grid penalty to Zandvoort for crashing into Daniel Ricciardo, who himself had a penalty for the race at Spa for crashing into Oliver Bearman during the Sprint.

THE CIRCUIT

The Orange Army descend on Circuit Zandvoort every year to support local hero Max Verstappen, and they're welcomed a 4.259km track situated in the dunes North of Zandvoort, about 35km (or 22 miles) west of Amsterdam. The Circuit Zandvoort is, aside from the Orange Army, best known for its high banked corners and fast, sweeping corners, including Tarzanbocht, named for the nickname of a local who wanted a corner named after him in order to give up his vegetable patch to allow the Circuit to be built. The corner is the most famous on the circuit and is a prime overtaking spot, with a long DRS run into it, one of two DRS Zones around this 14 turn circuit. We will go racing for 72 laps, and it's expected to rain on Sunday. The circuit signed a new long term contract to stay on the F1 calendar after initially announcing its exit after 2026. New funding allowed the circuit to remain on the calendar for the foreseeable future.

STORYLINES WE ARE WATCHING THIS WEEKEND

MAX'S HOMECOMING

And of course at the Netherlands the first focus will always be the massive support for Max Verstappen. Verstappen comes into his home race having had a difficult season for Subaru, who simply haven't had the pace this season, and struggled to the point of being lapped twice at Spielberg, something that has earned the team the frustrations of their star driver. Verstappen hasn't won his home race since 2023 and it would be very surprising if he were to do so this season, even despite his Pole for the Spa Sprint, and P2 start in the main race, he ended up P5 on the Saturday and P4 on the Sunday. Verstappen finds himself in his old title rival Charles Leclerc's situation back in 2023 - trying to outperform a car that simply just doesn't have the race pace. Can Verstappen perform the miracle this weekend? Unlikely, but it'd be some party if he pulls it off.

WHO WILL TAKE THE MOMENTUM IN THE TITLE FIGHT?

The Ferrari Championship battle is the closest we've seen since the 2026 season, and after Leclerc won at Spa, the gap is now just six points. A win for either would take them top of the Drivers’ Championship this weekend, unless Leclerc wins and Piastri takes both Pole and the fastest lap. That being said, the momentum has swung back and forth between the Monegasque driver and the Australian driver, and the Championship battle is on a knife-edge midway through the season. A win for either would be huge momentum this weekend, and Ferrari, as usual, enter as favourites. Who will take that momentum swing?

LAST CHANCE TO IMPRESS BEFORE THE SUMMER TRANSFER WINDOW

The Summer Break is usually when teams start announcing their driver signings - the controversial 2024 transfer window embargo aside - and this year six drivers are the focus after Kimi Antonelli signed his one year extension for Williams early. Yuki Tsunoda is expected to renew at Aston Martin, while Mercedes and McLaren still hold interest. Colton Herta is also a focus of both McLaren and Mercedes’ interests, but where does that leave Pierre Gasly? And after struggles in F1, have Gabriel Bortoleto, Liam Lawson or Franco Colapinto done enough to retain their places on the F1 grid, and what rookies will break through for next year? This could be a very intriguing summer window for several teams and Drivers. Before that, Zandvoort is one last chance for these six drivers to make a statement on why they should be on the grid next year.

RAIN EXPECTED THROUGHOUT SUNDAY, HOW WILL THAT AFFECT THE RACE?

The weather may play an important part in Sunday’s race, as it has here in the past. A high chance of rain is expected to come into play for Sunday only, which may level the playing field. How will that affect the battles up and down the grid this weekend? It may make what would normally be a two stopper into a one stop race, with the Ints expected to last longer than the usual dry tyres, but will we require the full Wets at any point on Sunday? Another level of intrigue going into this weekend.

And so to the final race before the Summer Break, with a lot to play for in both the Championship and the future of certain drivers on the grid. One thing’s for sure - you will not want to miss it.

Running Câmara and Coulthard for FP1. Pin will likely get a shot at Abu Dhabi I think

FP1 Reserves: Câmara (Leclerc), Coulthard (Piastri), Miní (Lawson), O'Sullivan (O'Ward)

Not as many reserves this time at Zandvoort - Ferrari run both Rafael Câmara and Dayton Coulthard who will likely be pushing for 2031 seats, not 2030. Gabriele Miní and Zak O'Sullivan likely in the same boat.

Well, that's one way to impress, Franco Colapinto

FP1: COU RUS CÂM

For the first time since the mid 2000s, a Coulthard tops a session. David's son Dayton Coulthard tops FP1 ahead of George Russell and Ferrari reserve Rafael Câmara. Franco Colapinto was a highly impressive P4 ahead of home hero Max Verstappen. Kimi Antonelli in 6th, with Lando Norris 7th and Ollie Bearman 8th. Théo Pourchaire and Valtteri Bottas complete the top ten.

Antonelli and Tsunoda make contact in FP2! Looks like Antonelli locked up and Tsunoda turned into him. Nowhere for Yuki to go on that one, either.

FP2: LEC PIA NOR

First appearances of Leclerc and Piastri this weekend and they go 1-2, ahead of Norris. Leclerc 5 tenths up on his title rival and the pack, however. Verstappen fourth ahead of Sainz and Bottas, Russell, Tsunoda, O'Ward and Bearman complete the top ten. Tsunoda and Antonelli have a trip to the stewards to come for a collision at Tarzanbocht.

NO PENALTY FOR TSUNODA OR ANTONELLI

Aston Martin's Yuki Tsunoda and Williams' Andrea Kimi Antonelli had a collision at Tarzanbocht during FP2, and they were both summoned to the stewards after the session.

However as Friday concluded, neither driver was seen as at fault for the incident, which was ruled a "racing incident", and both will escape penalties for this weekend.

FP3: PIA LEC NOR

Piastri quickest in FP3, 0.089 ahead of Leclerc. Norris takes third again, with Verstappen fourth. Bottas fifth, with Sainz sixth and Colapinto again impressing in 7th, Tsunoda, Ocon and Hadjar complete the top ten.

Round 12 and one more before the Break, as we head to Qualifying for the Dutch Grand Prix. The home hope is for a Max Verstappen Pole, the likelihood is a Ferrari Pole, but you cannot count out Lando Norris either. But can Verstappen bring on a bit of magic on home soil?

IT IS A RED FLAG TOWARDS THE END OF FP1. WHAT HAS HAPPENED HERE?

PÉREZ. PEREZ IN THE WALL, AND THAT BRINGS AN END TO Q1, AND HIS CHANCES OF MAKING Q2.

PEREZ RADIO "I'm okay. Sorry guys"

OUT IN Q1: Pérez, Gasly, Hadjar, Ocon, Herta, Ricciardo
Bubble: Pourchaire
Top Five: BOT, NOR, LEC, SAI, RUS
PIA P6

The Red Flag caused by Pérez's crash saw himself, Pierre Gasly, Isack Hadjar, Esteban Ocon, Colton Herta and Daniel Ricciardo all eliminated. Franco Colapinto had just gotten out of the bottom six, ironically knocking Pérez out in the process, when the crash happened. Bottas quickest from Norris and Leclerc, then Sainz and Russell. Verstappen lucky to make it through in 14th.

OUT IN Q2: Bearman, Verstappen, Colapinto, Antonelli, Pourchaire, Bortoleto (no time)
Bubble: Lawson
Top Five: PIA, LEC, BOT, SAI, NOR

Verstappen goes out at the second hurdle in qualifying on home soil! He hit traffic on his final lap in Q2, and exits P12. Bearman just misses out to Lawson, while Colapinto's impressive weekend so far sees him P13. Antonelli and Pourchaire both drop out, as does Bortoleto who had technical issues and didn't set a time. The two Ferraris of Piastri and Leclerc on top ahead of Bottas, Sainz and Norris. Tsunoda, Russell and the two Audis of O'Ward and Maloney also into Q3.

Q3: Leclerc, Piastri, Bottas, Norris, Tsunoda. Sainz, O'Ward, Lawson, Russell, Maloney

Charles Leclerc takes Pole for the fifth time this season, but he needed his last lap to do it, as Oscar Piastri used his last lap to go from P10 to P2, then Leclerc went from P7 to P1. Bottas third ahead of Norris and Tsunoda, with Sainz sixth. O'Ward and Lawson on row four, Russell 9th, Maloney will drop out of the top ten with that penalty.

2029 DUTCH GRAND PRIX
STARTING GRID

LEC PIA

BOT NOR

TSU SAI

OWA LAW

RUS BEA

VER COL

MAL ANT

POU GAS

HAD OCO

HER RIC

PITLANE START - BOR

PITLANE START - PER

Quick break before the race!

[foggy locust]

Hello and welcome to a wet and windy Zandvoort, just off the coast, 35km, or 22m west of Amsterdam. The Dutch Grand Prix made its return to the F1 calendar in 2021 and has been a staple of the year ever since, and the Orange Army are here in some numbers to support local hero Max Verstappen, but he's got a bit of a comeback to do. However, these are the conditions for him to do it in. 72 laps, 4.259km, wet, windy and rainy throughout today, so forget the two DRS Zones, they won't come into play here. Nor will those Softs, Mediums or Hards, it's all about the green Intermediates or even the blue Wets maybe making an appearance.

Let's race in the rain at Zandvoort!

The rain is heavyish but not absolutely pouring down, about 2.30mm of track water as the cars go round for the formation lap

One red light, two, three, four, five...AND IT'S LIGHTS OUT AND AWAY WE GO, LET'S GO MOTOR RACING

Leclerc is away well, Bottas gets away quicker than Piastri but Piastri holds him for now, then Norris, Tsunoda, Sainz, O'Ward, Russell, Lawson, Verstappen into the top ten! The fans love that already!

(BON) "Update us on conditions when you can"

(PIA) ...It's wet."

Tsunoda with a big lock up at turn 11, running through the grass, and he drops from P5 to P21! A disaster of a start for him!

Verstappen up to eighth ahead of Lawson!

Leclerc off to a good start here, the Champion now about 2 seconds ahead of his teammate Piastri.

(BOZ) "Try to cool these tyres as soon as you can please"

(LEC) "I'll try but they're going to overheat anyway in these conditions"

LECLERC

ANTONELLI RUNS WIDE AND TAPS THE BARRIER! He cannot re-enter safely though and drops to the very back of the pack! A heartbreaker for the Italian!

LAWSON

Lawson is under pressure at Alpine and that fastest lap point could be huge for him. He's running P9 as it stands.

(LEC) "Seems to be drying quickly"

(BOZ) "We are expecting more Class 2 rain soon. Stay out."

PITSTOP: Bortoleto pits on Lap 9! He takes on new Intermediates and I have to say that's a surprisingly very early decision by Andretti.

Bortoleto immediately locked up on his outlap and runs wide. Welp.

BOTTAS

PITSTOP: Maloney in for new ints, as is Tsunoda. They rejoin P20 and P21.

NORRIS
SAINZ

Norris sets a fastest lap, then Sainz immediately takes it off him.

PITSTOP: Russell in from P6! Not the quickest stop from the Bulls however.

Verstappen overtakes O'Ward and is into P6!

Bortoleto wide at turn 3, he's lucky to avoid the barrier.

PITSTOPS: HAAS DOUBLE STACK. COLAPINTO IS IN IMMEDIATELY AHEAD OF OCON, AND OCON IS NOT HAPPY ON THE RADIO. He's even less happy as COLAPINTO HAS A SIX SECOND PITSTOP. Colapinto, and Ocon as a result, are delayed massively! That was a disaster class in double stacking.

Guenther Steiner, from the Alpine pitwall, watching his former team DO THAT.

Sainz wide at turn 3, but he doesn't seem to have lost a lot of time.

PITSTOPS: Herta and O'Ward pit for new inters.

Norris overtakes Bottas for P3!

COLAPINTO

I sense more and more that this might be a two, or even a three, stop race.

VERSTAPPEN RADIO "Vibrations are picking up a little"

Surely not here. Verstappen having some issues again with that Subaru, and I couldn't think of a worse place for this to happen for him.

PITSTOPS: Lawson in, Pourchaire in. Good stop for both, both get out in P13 and P14.

GASLY

(BOZ) "We are switching to Plan C here. Plan C."

(LEC) "Yeah, I agree. Copy."

Bortoleto with a big spin-off there.

(BOZ) "Box Charles, box this lap"

(LEC) "Copy, box"

PITSTOP: Leclerc in from the lead! Piastri into the lead. A 2.190 stop for Leclerc. Norris and Sainz both in for the first time too. Piastri leads from Bottas, Leclerc P3.

(BON) "Okay Oscar, box this lap, box box box"

(PIA) "Copy, box"

PITSTOPS: Piastri is in, a 2.210 stop for him. Bottas follows him into the pitlane, and Leclerc once again has the lead of this race. Max Verstappen now the only driver yet to pit.

NORRIS

TSUNODA OFF AT TURN 12!! He hits the wall, but he's kept the car going. Slight damage for him.

PITSTOPS: Second stops for O'Ward and Bortoleto. Both take on new Ints.

PITSTOP: Verstappen finally in for the first time today, and he rejoins in P12.

VERSTAPPEN RADIO "It's not only upshifts, it's downshifts"

Verstappen having serious issues with the gearbox, and this is a major problem for the Dutchman on home soil!

Contact between Herta and Hadjar! Hadjar tried to overtake Herta, and clipped the sidepod of the Mercedes!

INCIDENT BETWEEN CAR 6 (HADJAR) AND CAR 26 (HERTA) - RACING INCIDENT

It's been accepted as a racing incident. No penalties for either Hadjar or Herta.

Hadjar is at it again though, as he clips the Audi of O'Ward!! He went for the overtake but it didn't work out, and they make contact.

INCIDENT BETWEEN CAR 6 (HADJAR) AND CAR 29 (O'WARD) - RACING INCIDENT

Hadjar got away with one there.

PITSTOPS: Gasly, Herta and Hadjar all box for the second time today.

PITSTOP: Second stop for Verstappen, not that long after his first...that is worrying for the Subaru.

PITSTOP: Bottas in from P4, new inters and rejoins P5.

(BON) "So box box"

(PIA) "Copy box"

PITSTOP: Piastri in from P2 on Lap 50! A 2.152 stop and he'll rejoin in P3.

(BOZ) "Box this lap Charles, box this lap"

(LEC) "Copy box"

PITSTOP: A 2.360 for Leclerc who comes in from the lead. Norris now takes the lead, 11 seconds up on Leclerc.

Norris could brave the one stop here, and have a shot at the race win. Those tyres are definitely struggling though. 20 laps to go.

Looks like McLaren are trying for this. Leclerc closes the gap to about 7 seconds however.

LECLERC

That could be a big point for the Championship, as Leclerc puts up a FL.

(BON) "No more rain forecast. Dry line is forming"

🌥️ Well, isn't this the potential game changer? Norris leads Leclerc by 3 seconds, but the rain is starting to go off. How long before slicks are needed, shockingly?

(LEC) "The rain is going off"

(BOZ) "Copy. And push, get the best out of this tyre"

Leclerc 1.5 behind Norris, but McLaren have played a strategic brilliance today.

(BOZ) "Box for Softs, box for Softs"

(LEC) "Box this lap"

(BON) "And we'll box for Softs."

(PIA) "Yeah, Box."

PITSTOPS: Norris, Leclerc, Piastri and Sainz in, Bottas stays out!

Russell makes contact with Bearman!!

CAR 63 (RUSSELL)

Well, any small chances Russell had of points have gone out the window now.

PITSTOP: Bottas in, and that gives the lead back to Norris!!

NORRIS

PIASTRI

Norris trying to use the lapped cars to slow up Leclerc and increase his advantage. That includes the struggling Verstappen.

Verstappen determined to race Leclerc wheel to wheel, despite being a lap down. Old habits die hard. That has very much decreased Leclerc's advantage to Piastri, who now has DRS to the Champion!

LECLERC TRIES TO OVERTAKE NORRIS BUT NORRIS HOLDS HIM OFF, PIASTRI GOES FOR P2 AND LECLERC JUST HOLDS HIM OFF. WE HAVE A MOTOR RACE HERE, FOLKS

PIASTRI AHEAD OF LECLERC. COULD THAT BE TITLE DEFINING?

Four laps remaining. Norris laps a Williams and builds up a brief gap, but the Ferraris are closing again.

PIASTRI GETS THE OVERTAKE ON NORRIS DONE, AND LECLERC FOLLOWS SUIT. A brave, brave effort by Lando Norris here, but one that may not be rewarded with a race win now!

Norris gets back ahead of Leclerc!!! Piastri pulling away, and the rain going off has completely changed the course of not only this race, but the Championship fight!

FINAL LAP

Leclerc down the inside of Norris!! He's recovered for P2, damage has been limited, but Piastri is going to gain in the title fight!

A race that looked completely lost for Oscar Piastri has been turned on its head, he's going to increase his title advantage, OSCAR PIASTRI WINS THE DUTCH GRAND PRIX!!! CHARLES LECLERC P2, LANDO NORRIS P3. What an ending to this race!

(BON) "And P1, Oscar! That was absolute perfection mate. What a win! Get in there!"

(PIA) "Very very nicely done, everyone! Ah, that was really fun. Good race, and good job, timed that to perfection. Thanks guys."

(BON) "Amazing job."

(BOZ) "And P2, Charles, P2. Good job, you did everything you could today. Great effort."

(LEC) "Yeah. Sorry guys, I let that slip at the end. The car was, really really good. The rain going off changed everything though. Thanks for the effort today"

(BOZ) "We'll bounce back. Monza next."

Bottas P4, Sainz P5, Gasly P6, O'Ward P7, Pourchaire P8, Ocon P9, Herta P10.

2029 DUTCH GRAND PRIX
RACE CLASSIFICATION

1. Oscar Piastri 1.36.19
2. Charles Leclerc +2.141
3. Lando Norris +2.456
4. Valtteri Bottas +25.462
5. Carlos Sainz +29.210
6. Pierre Gasly +50.293
7. Pato O'Ward +66.667
8. Théo Pourchaire +66.682
9. Esteban Ocon +68.327
10. Colton Herta +1 lap
11. Andrea Kimi Antonelli +1 lap
12. Franco Colapinto +1 lap
13. Oliver Bearman +1 lap
14. Max Verstappen +1 lap
15. Zane Maloney +1 lap
16. Liam Lawson +1 lap
17. George Russell +1 lap
18. Sergio Pérez +1 lap
19. Isack Hadjar +1 lap
20. Yuki Tsunoda +1 lap
21. Daniel Ricciardo +1 lap
22. Gabriel Bortoleto +2 laps

Oscar Piastri 1.12.660
George Russell 1.981s
Lando Norris

DRIVER OF THE DAY: LANDO NORRIS

A brave effort from Lando Norris, who nearly won this race but was just overpowered by the pure pace of the Ferraris at the end. Still, another brilliant podium, and a Driver of the Day Award to boot for Lando Norris!

Top Five: Norris, Gasly, Piastri, Ocon, Herta

2029 FIA FORMULA 1 WORLD DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP

🇦🇺 Piastri 295
🇲🇨 Leclerc 282
🇫🇮 Bottas 129
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Norris 122
🇪🇸 Sainz 109
🇯🇵 Tsunoda 88
🇳🇱 Verstappen 78
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Russell 68
🇲🇽 O'Ward 47
🇫🇷 Gasly 45
🇫🇷 Ocon 25
🇺🇸 Herta 20
🇫🇷 Pourchaire 16
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Bearman 14
🇮🇹 Antonelli 4
🇧🇧 Maloney 1
🇦🇷 Colapinto 0
🇳🇿 Lawson 0
🇦🇺 Ricciardo 0
🇧🇷 Bortoleto 0
🇫🇷 Hadjar 0
🇲🇽 Pérez 0

2029 FIA FORMULA 1 WORLD CONSTRUCTORS CHAMPIONSHIP

Ferrari 577
Aston Martin-Honda 217
Red Bull-Ford 177
McLaren-Mercedes 167
Subaru-Honda 94
Audi 48
Mercedes 34
Haas-Ferrari 25
Williams-Ferrari 4
Alpine-Mercedes 0
Andretti-Ford 0

2029 WORLD TYRES CHAMPIONSHIP

Bridgestone 838
Pirelli 442
Goodyear 63

DHL FASTEST PITSTOP AWARD:

Red Bull 211
McLaren 210
Ferrari 199
Williams 125
Subaru 124
Alpine 92
Andretti 88
Aston Martin 56
Mercedes 55
Audi 50
Haas 0

No F3 this weekend, that returns at Monza, with two more rounds at Baku and Sakhir to finish the year

[foggy locust]

DANIEL RICCIARDO TO RETIRE AT END OF 2030 SEASON

Daniel Ricciardo will be retiring from Formula 1 at the end of next season, he announced today.

Ricciardo has been driving for Andretti on and off the last few years since they bought the team from the Red Bull group, with a one year stint in IndyCar before returning to Formula 1 in 2028.

But Ricciardo has announced today that he will retire from the sport at the end of his current deal in 2030.

Andretti have been back markers this season and struggled throughout, and Ricciardo has now called time on his career - although he has said he has committed to a contract through 2030, and is prepared to see it out.

[foggy locust]

COLTON HERTA RETURNS TO ANDRETTI FOR 2030 SEASON

In some somewhat shocking news, Colton Herta has opted for a return to Andretti on a new long term deal.

Herta has decided after two seasons with Mercedes to reunite with Andretti, despite interest from McLaren and Zak Brown.

Herta's move back to the team that currently sit at the back of the grid has sent shockwaves through Formula 1, but he believes he can help the team return to the sort of form that they had in their debut Formula 1 season, when they finished fourth.

Mercedes will now be looking for a new driver to sign alongside Oliver Bearman for 2030.

Andretti meanwhile will see Herta partner Daniel Ricciardo in Ricciardo's final season in Formula 1, and Gabriel Bortoleto will exit the team at the end of this season.

2030 Grid:

Ferrari:
Leclerc (2032)
Piastri (2032)

Aston Martin:
Bottas (2032)
????

Red Bull:
Sainz (2030)
Russell (2032)

McLaren:
Norris (2032)
????

Subaru:
Verstappen (2031)
Pourchaire (2032)

Audi:
O'Ward (2032)
Maloney (2031)

Mercedes:
????
Bearman (2032)

Haas:
Ocon (2032)
????

Williams:
Antonelli (2030)
Hadjar (2031)

Alpine:
Pérez (2031)
????

Andretti:
Ricciardo (2030)
Herta (2032)

[foggy locust]

HAAS STICK WITH COLAPINTO FOR 2030

Haas have announced that Franco Colapinto will remain with the team, and on the F1 grid, for 2030.

Colapinto has improved a lot through the course of this season and the Haas team have clearly seen enough in him to continue his contract on a multiple-year deal.

Colapinto will partner Esteban Ocon for the 2030 season and beyond.

[foggy locust]

YUKI TSUNODA RE-UPS WITH ASTON MARTIN ON LONG-TERM DEAL

Yuki Tsunoda has signed a new long-term contract with Aston Martin, choosing to remain with the team and turning down a move to McLaren or Mercedes.

Tsunoda has held extensive talks with all three teams over the last few weeks, however Tsunoda has been happy with his progress at Aston Martin, and Aston Martin have beaten out the challenge of two teams to re-sign Tsunoda.

Tsunoda and Bottas will remain teammates for at least three more seasons, as Tsunoda has signed on until 2033 with Aston.

TOTO WOLFF REVEALS MERCEDES PLAN TO SIGN A ROOKIE

In an interview with Toto Wolff, the Mercedes Team Principal and CEO revealed that the team will partner Oliver Bearman with "someone currently from the F2 grid".

Wolff was asked about the future of Mercedes after failing to sign Tsunoda or re-sign Herta, and Wolff talked about wanting to invest in the future, and that's why Mercedes will sign a rookie for the first time since Andrea Kimi Antonelli.

Wolff also talked about the fact that the team are assessing "one or two options" and are likely to announce their decision after Monza.

Believed to be in the frame are names such as Arvid Lindblad, Paul Aron, Pepe Marti, Chloe Grant, Dennis Hauger and Mercedes junior Héctor Araya.

GASLY POISED FOR McLAREN EXTENSION

Pierre Gasly and McLaren are likely to renew on a long-term extension, keeping him as Lando Norris' teammate for the next few seasons.

Gasly and McLaren are said to be "close" on a new deal that would keep the French driver in the team, and the sport as a result.

Gasly sits 10th in the Drivers' Championship, and while McLaren had put out feelers to Yuki Tsunoda and Colton Herta, who have opted for Aston Martin and Andretti respectively, McLaren are now looking at sticking with continuity.

Gasly is expected to sign a new deal around the Italian Grand Prix.

STEINER AND ALPINE "STILL ASSESSING" 2030 OPTIONS

Alpine have yet to make a decision on one of the seats for their 2030 driver lineup.

Sergio Pérez is signed through 2031, but Liam Lawson is out of contract at the end of the season, and the team are expected to take more time to assess whether Lawson will retain the seat for next year, or whether Alpine will go in another direction.

Alpine are one of two teams yet to score a point this season, (with Andretti being the other), and while Steiner isn't said to be under pressure yet, the team want to make changes in order to bring themselves up the grid further.

And Lawson could be one that's at risk. Lawson and Gabriel Bortoleto are the two drivers most in danger of dropping off the grid for next season, and both are now essentially competing for the Alpine seat, along with a handful of F2 rookies.

Gabriele Miní has been linked with the seat, given that he's in Alpine's academy and has received numerous FP1 sessions this season.

Outside of their Academy, Alpine have said to have particular interest in the likes of former F2 Champion Victor Martins, Arvid Lindblad, Roman Staněk, Felipe Drugovich and Chloe Grant, amongst other names.

A very intriguing seat to keep an eye on.

2030 Grid:

Ferrari:
Leclerc (2032)
Piastri (2032)

Aston Martin:
Bottas (2032)
Tsunoda (2033)

Red Bull:
Sainz (2030)
Russell (2032)

McLaren:
Norris (2032)
Gasly (TBC)

Subaru:
Verstappen (2031)
Pourchaire (2032)

Audi:
O'Ward (2032)
Maloney (2031)

Mercedes:
????
Bearman (2032)

Haas:
Ocon (2032)
Colapinto (2033)

Williams:
Antonelli (2030)
Hadjar (2031)

Alpine:
Pérez (2031)
????

Andretti:
Ricciardo (2030)
Herta (2032)

[foggy locust]

ITALIAN GRAND PRIX 2029
WEEKEND PREVIEW

We are back from the Summer Break! With just nine rounds remaining of this 2029 Formula 1 season, it is full steam ahead towards the end of this season. And with Ferrari on the verge of another Constructors Championship, they could take a massive step towards it on home soil.

LAST TIME AROUND

The fight at the front in the rain at Zandvoort came down to the last few laps, as Lando Norris tried to hold off both Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc. It was in vain for the McLaren driver, as Piastri went on to take his Seventh victory of the season, and Leclerc got past as well to make it eleven Ferrari 1-2s in 12 races. Norris had to settle for third, while Bottas took fourth for Aston Martin ahead of Sainz and Gasly, who recovered to Sixth. O'Ward took seventh with Pourchaire P8, Ocon 9th and Herta 10th. Max Verstappen had more car issues and struggled to 14th in his home race.

THE SUMMER BREAK

A surprisingly quieter Summer Break this time around, with three official signing announcements - Colton Herta shockingly moving back to Andretti, the team he left Mercedes for at the end of the 2027 season, while Franco Colapinto secured a new deal with Haas. Yuki Tsunoda of course has re-upped with Aston Martin, turning down the advances of McLaren and Mercedes. Mercedes are now likely to take on a rookie for next season, while Pierre Gasly is hoping he's done enough for a new deal with McLaren, who have missed out on both Herta and Tsunoda. Gabriel Bortoleto and Liam Lawson's futures in F1 remain very much in the balance. McLaren, Alpine and Mercedes are the three teams still yet to decide their second seats for 2030.

THE CIRCUIT

Known as “The Temple of Speed”, Monza is the fifth oldest motor racing Grand Prix in history (after France, USA, Spain and Russia). As of next year, Monza will be the oldest remaining on the calendar. The Italian Grand Prix has been racing since 1921, and has been held the most times in history - next year will mark the 100th edition of the Italian Grand Prix. Every single Italian Grand Prix of the World Championship era has been right here at Monza, with one exception - 1980 in Imola. The Temple of Speed, the 5.793km circuit, is known for long straights and fast corners, including the famous Parabolica, the final corner of the circuit, and a sea of Red as the Tifosi travel from all over the world to visit their racing cathedral. Charles Leclerc has won the last five editions of this famous race in that famous Red suit, and has the most wins in this race's history, with six.

STORYLINES THAT WE ARE WATCHING THIS WEEKEND

CAN LECLERC EXTEND THE STREAK AS THE CHAMPIONSHIP FIGHT RAGES ON?

History beckons for both Ferrari drivers this weekend to the backdrop of their inter-team Championship rivalry. Oscar Piastri sits 13 points ahead of Charles Leclerc as we return from the Summer Break, with seven wins to five, and six Poles to five. But both are looking for history this weekend, as Charles Leclerc looks to win this race for the sixth time in a row - and seventh in total, extending his record. However an Oscar Piastri win here would see him become the 12th Ferrari driver to win at Monza. Alberto Ascari, Phil Hill, John Surtees, Ludovico Scarfiotti, Clay Regazzoni, Jody Scheckter, Gerhard Berger, Michael Schumacher, Rubens Barrichello, Fernando Alonso and of course, Charles Leclerc have won here for Ferrari. Can Piastri be the latest to that list, and increase his Championship advantage, or can Leclerc continue the Streak and close the gap in the title race?

GASLY CLOSE TO NEW McLAREN DEAL?

Pierre Gasly and McLaren have been in talks about renewing his contract with the team, and likely this would be his one shot at staying on the grid for the 2030 season, with Mercedes favouring a rookie, and Gasly and Alpine unlikely to reunite at any point in the near future. So it seems like it is McLaren or bust for Pierre Gasly to remain in Formula 1 for next season. By all intents and purposes, Gasly has not had a bad year - he sits tenth in the Drivers Championship and has been a solid midfield driver this year. And McLaren have already missed out on Tsunofa and Herta this season, staying pat with Gasly could be a good option. However this is a team that wants to challenge Ferrari for the Constructors next year - can Gasly convince the team that he can be part of that challenge going forward? A good performance at Monza, where he took his one and only victory in Formula 1 back in 2020, could be a huge step in the right direction.

ASTON LOOK TO FEND OFF RED BULL AND McLAREN

Now that Aston Martin have secured Yuki Tsunoda on a long term deal going forward, the team's attention now switches to the matter of fending off Red Bull and McLaren in the fight for second. Aston have a 40 point buffer to Red Bull, who have struggled mightily in the last few weekends, and a further 10 to McLaren, who seem to be the team with the biggest momentum in Formula 1 outside of Ferrari. Aston have five podiums to Red Bull's four and McLaren's three - but McLaren's three have come on the last three weekends - Spielberg, Spa and Zandvoort. McLaren have momentum and may fancy their chances of not just surpassing Red Bull, who have taken just 22 points from three races and one Sprint in the last three weekends, but Aston as well.

CAN ANTONELLI SCORE POINTS AT HOME?

Andrea Kimi Antonelli has his second home race of the season this weekend, and the Williams driver will be hoping to score points in his home country, something he couldn't quite manage at Imola. It has been a difficult year for Antonelli and Williams - the team sit ninth in the Constructors and have struggled with their car concept all season, and even when Antonelli has shown pace this year, it has been mostly for naught. But home races can be a big boost to the momentum, and Antonelli and Williams could do with the momentum. Could the young Italian bring Williams some points on Italian soil?

And so we head to the Temple of Speed, and Ferrari look to move one step closer to their sixth Constructors in a row - and 22nd overall - this weekend. On home soil, it will be some party if a Ferrari driver wins again this weekend. One thing's for sure, you won't want to miss it.

FP1: Grant (Sainz), Lindblad (Russell), Miní, Abadi (Bottas), Stenshorne (Verstappen), Shwartzman (Pourchaire)

Gabriele Mini gets a chance to directly compare to Liam Lawson, while Red Bull and Subaru have reserves in both seats. Shwartzman putting a case forward for a seat for 2030, Grant, Lindblad and Stenshorne gaining experience, as is Abadi for Aston.

FP1: NOR LEC PIA

Norris quickest in FP1 ahead of the Ferraris, with Leclerc 2nd and Piastri 3rd. Tsunoda fourth and Antonelli fifth on home soil, with Colapinto and Ocon following in 6th and 7th, and Hadjar eighth. Gasly 9th, Red Bull junior Grant 10th.

FP2: LEC PIA SAI

Leclerc back quickest ahead of Piastri, with Sainz 2 tenths back in 3rd. Verstappen 4th with Norris 5th, while Bearman takes 6th ahead of Ocon and Hadjar. Tsunoda and Antonelli in the top ten.

FP3: RUS SAI ANT
LEC P4, PIA P5

A surprising Red Bull 1-2, as Russell ahead of Sainz in final practice. Antonelli continues his fantastic practice in P3, Leclerc and Piastri 4th and 5th, Norris 6th. Bearman, Gasly, Colapinto and Pourchaire in the top ten.

It is indeed "Our historic Monza", but on the occasion of the 99th Italian Grand Prix, what will Monza bring us this year? It's Saturday, it's qualifying and three different teams have topped all three practice sessions - McLaren, Red Bull and of course, Ferrari. Williams have shown a lot of pace, as have Haas, can they translate that to qualifying, and will we have a multi team fight for Pole? This could be very, very fun.

OUT IN Q1: Ricciardo, Bortoleto, Colapinto, Pérez, Pourchaire, Maloney
Bubble: Lawson
Top Five: SAI, LEC, PIA, RUS, BEA

Both Andrettis out, Ricciardo just misses out to Lawson, while Lawson's teammate Pérez also exits. Pourchaire, Colapinto and Maloney also had poor qualifyings and went out in Q1. Antonelli needed a last lap to reach Q2, Sainz quickest from Leclerc and Piastri.

OUT IN Q2: Bearman, Sainz, Hadjar, Verstappen, Lawson, Antonelli
Bubble: O'Ward
Top Five: PIA, LEC, RUS, TSU, HER

Traffic meant that Sainz and Antonelli couldn't get round to complete a second lap, while Bearman couldn't quite dislodge O'Ward to reach Q3. Verstappen's struggles in that Subaru continue as he exits, alongside Lawson and Hadjar couldn't quite convert the Williams' practice pace. Piastri quickest from Leclerc, then Russell, Tsunoda and Herta. Both McLarens through, as are Ocon and Bottas.

Q3: Piastri, Leclerc, Tsunoda, O'Ward, Russell, Herta, Norris, Gasly, Ocon, Bottas

Oscar Piastri takes his Seventh Pole of the season! The Ferrari driver won the battle with his teammate by two tenths, as Charles Leclerc joins him on the front row. It is Yuki Tsunoda and Pato O'Ward on the second row, Russell and Herta fifth and sixth. The two McLarens of Norris and Gasly on row four, Ocon and Bottas on row five.

2029 ITALIAN GRAND PRIX
STARTING GRID

PIA LEC

TSU OWA

RUS HER

NOR GAS

OCO BOT

BEA SAI

HAD VER

LAW ANT

RIC BOR

COL PER

MAL

PITLANE START - POU

Welcome to the Temple of Speed, welcome to historic Monza, and welcome to Round 13 of this 2029 Formula 1 World Championship. On a weekend where Ferrari are close to clinching the Constructors for a sixth successive time, and their Drivers are locked in a title fight, the Tifosi are at their cathedral with high expectations, and they've locked out the front row. 53 laps, 5.793km of this fast paced circuit, 11 turns, 2 DRS Zones - it's high speed corners and long straights all the way here.

Théo Pourchaire has opted for a pitlane start after a poor qualifying so that leaves Zane Maloney alone on row eleven. Sergio Pérez starts 20th and it's 19th for Franco Colapinto, while the two Andrettis of Daniel Ricciardo and Gabriel Bortoleto start on row nine. Kimi Antonelli starts his home race 16th, then Liam Lawson in 15th as he fights for his place on the F1 grid. Max Verstappen just fourteenth in that Subaru and Isack Hadjar lines up 13th, then it's Carlos Sainz and Oliver Bearman on row six. Valtteri Bottas starts alongside Esteban Ocon on row five, Pierre Gasly won this race nine years ago, he starts alongside teammate Lando Norris on the fourth row. Colton Herta starts sixth and George Russell fifth, then it's Pato O'Ward in fourth and Yuki Tsunoda starts third. A Ferrari front row lockout at the home of Ferrari once more - Charles Leclerc is going for six wins in a row here and starts P2, it is Pole for Championship leader Oscar Piastri who aims to become the 12th Ferrari driver to win here. Charles Leclerc's Ferrari teammate has never won this race, can Piastri change that today?

Let's go racing at Monza!

As the cars file round here on the formation lap, the two Red Ferraris in front. Can they stay there though, and who will come out on top today?

One red light, two, three, four, five...AND IT'S LIGHTS OUT AND AWAY WE GO

Piastri away well, Tsunoda and Russell have both jumped ahead of Leclerc who's had a horrendous start, O'Ward down to fifth, then Norris, Herta ahead of Gasly, Ocon, Bottas, Sainz ahead of Bearman now too, Verstappen has dropped to 19th off the start!!!

(LEC) "I don't know what happened"

(BOZ) "Don't worry about it, lot of racing left. Head down."

Leclerc seems to be struggling and O'Ward overtakes him at the first Variante! What is happening to the Champion?

Problems for. Norris who seems to be struggling with his gearbox.

Leclerc down the inside of O'Ward into the Curva di Lesmo, and he regains P4.

Tsunoda has DRS, TSUNODA HAS THE LEAD. WOW!

Leclerc overtakes Russell and he's back to P3.

Piastri down the inside of Tsunoda and he leads again!

(BON) "We are happy to pick up the pace now, you can drop the management for now, we'll pick that up again later."

Tsunoda currently keeping Piastri honest here in the battle for the race lead!

Ocon up to sixth ahead of Gasly!

Norris struggling a lot in that McLaren, down in 12th.

Verstappen meanwhile really struggling for pace, he's P20.

Hadjar is up to 10th! He's into the points, this could be huge for him and Williams!

Tsunoda retakes the lead!! He's back into P1, while Leclerc is closing on him and Piastri!

Russell with a lovely move to take P4 from O'Ward.

SAFETY CAR HAS BEEN CALLED

GASLY IS OFF IN THE GRAVEL. HE'S BEACHED IT. SAFETY CAR IS OUT, GASLY IS OUT OF THE RACE.

(BON) "Safety Car. Gasly is in the gravel, he's beached his car. Box now, box."

(PIA) "Need to be quick here but yeah box"

PITSTOPS: A flurry of stops as Piastri gets out in 2.012! Leclerc gets a 2.210 stop, but he does have a delay due to cars releasing and he cannot get out ahead of O'Ward, Leclerc down to P4!! Bottas has a delay and that'll cost him places!

Lap 11, under SC: Piastri, Tsunoda, O'Ward, Leclerc, Russell, Ocon, Norris, Hadjar, Sainz, Ricciardo, Bottas, Lawson, Herta, Maloney, Verstappen, Bearman, Colapinto, Pérez, Pourchaire, Antonelli, Bortoleto. Gasly out of the race.

Green flag racing on Lap 15!!

(BON) "So lead has control, that's you, do your best here. Try and cool these tyres best you can."

(PIA) "Yeah, understood thanks"

Piastri away well but so are Tsunoda and O'Ward, Leclerc then Russell, Norris, Ocon and Sainz ahead of Hadjar, Ricciardo hanging onto tenth atm

LECLERC

O'Ward drops three places as he runs wide!! Leclerc ahead and into P3, Russell up to P4, Norris into P5!

Pourchaire spins off at turn 2! He's gotten back on track but falls to the back!

Leclerc gets Tsunoda for P2!! Leclerc now chasing Piastri for the lead, and the two title rivals are now battling for the win!

Leclerc on the attack here but Piastri fends him off for now, Leclerc's down the inside, Charles Leclerc leads this race!

Bottas up ahead of Ricciardo, who seems to be struggling with his car.

Piastri retakes the lead from Leclerc, LECLERC RUNS WIDE. Tsunoda, Norris, O'Ward all ahead of him now!

(LEC) "F----ck! I ran wide there"

(BOZ) "Keep going, keep pushing"

THREE CARS WIDE, LANDO NORRIS TAKES THE LEAD, TSUNODA UP TO P2! PIASTRI DROPS TO THIRD

(PIA) "I'm not sure, uh, not sure where our pace has gone here"

(BON) "Keep at it. Keep pushing"

O'Ward ahead of Piastri and Ferrari are now running P4 and P5, which is surprising, to say the least.

O'Ward slips off the side of the circuit and drops to P8!

Piastri has caught Tsunoda and regains P2!

Leclerc is back in play too! He's back up to P3!

[sterile breach]

Had to be at the track Ferrari care most about

[foggy locust]

Norris is struggling a bit, and both Piastri and Leclerc get him in quick order! Ferrari have quickly gone from P4 and P5 to P1 and P2!

LECLERC

[foggy locust]

It's basically bumper cars here tbh mate. Positions changing lap after lap

[sterile breach]

Yeah, typical Monza, one of my least successful tracks, you can't get away from anyone

[foggy locust]

Both Red Bulls up to P3 and P4, ahead of Norris and Tsunoda.

[foggy locust]

Agreed. It is so difficult. But patience is huge round here

Leclerc down the inside of Piastri, Leclerc leads once more!

O'Ward ahead of Norris and Tsunoda for 5th.

Sainz ahead of Russell. Worth noting that Sainz has gained nine places today.

PIASTRI GOES FOR THE OVERTAKE AND THE FERRARIS NEARLY MAKE CONTACT!!! THAT WAS A NERVY ONE!

(LEC) "Oh come on, Oscar!"

(PIA) "That was a nervy one, Charles"

PITSTOP: Ocon rolling the dice! The Haas driver is the first to pit for the second time as he switches to the Mediums!

Piastri grabs the lead back from Leclerc!

AND IT IS A SECOND SAFETY CAR!

Colapinto has beached his Haas in the gravel, and probably screwed his teammate over in the process! Everyone else getting a free stop!

PITSTOPS: Everyone now coming in for a second stop! Piastri held up due to a release, 2.335, Ferrari get Leclerc away in 1.986!!! WOW! That probably saved Leclerc from losing more positions though! He rejoins P3 behind O'Ward, who didn't have his teammate double stacking.

Lap 36, under SC: Piastri, O'Ward, Leclerc, Sainz, Bottas, Norris, Russell, Tsunoda, Ocon, Antonelli, Verstappen, Hadjar, Herta, Lawson, Ricciardo, Bearman, Pourchaire, Maloney, Bortoleto, Pérez. Colapinto and Gasly out of the race.

We are racing again on Lap 39!!

Piastri is away very well, O'Ward defending Leclerc, then Sainz, Bottas, Norris, Ocon, Antonelli in the points for his home race, Tsunoda down to 9th, and our of nowhere, Verstappen is now in the points ahead of Russell!!!

Leclerc down the inside of O'Ward!!! Leclerc regains P2, but can he close the gap to Piastri now?

Sainz up to P3 and onto the podium!

Antonelli running P6, Verstappen P7. Unreal recoveries.

PIASTRI

A THIRD SAFETY CAR

Herta becomes the third driver to beach the car, and now it is looking like nil pua for Mercedes today!

Lap 46, under SC: Piastri, Leclerc, O'Ward, Sainz, Bottas, Antonelli, Verstappen, Tsunoda, Ocon, Hadjar, Lawson, Norris, Ricciardo, Pourchaire, Bearman, Russell, Pérez, Maloney, Bortoleto. Herta, Colapinto and Gasly out of the race.

WE ARE RACING ON LAP 48, AND IT'S SIX LAPS TO THE LINE

...and the game crashed

Before the second SC

A REPRIEVE FOR HERTA. He gets his car out of the gravel, but he's running P13.

Leclerc managed to save the car from the gravel, and has kept it in P3!

Leclerc has regained P2 from O'Ward!

Antonelli drops to P10!!

Antonelli ahead of Lawson, who is now fighting Bearman and Hadjar for the final point!

(LEC) "The tyres are gone. Absolutely gone."

Bearman into the points, and now up to 9th. Antonelli and Hadjar fighting over the final point. Lawson fading and Herta now in contention.

FINAL LAP

Oscar Piastri about to become the 12th Ferrari driver to win the Italian Grand Prix, he has had an amazing drive today, and fully worthy of his win, Ferrari on the verge of the Constructors, Piastri getting closer to the Drivers title for the first time, Oscar Piastri rounds the Parabolica, OSCAR PIASTRI WINS THE ITALIAN GRAND PRIX TO THE DELIGHT OF THE TIFOSI!!! AND ON ITALIAN SOIL, IT IS A 1-2 FOR THE SCUDERIA AS CHARLES LECLERC COMES HOME SECOND!!

(BON) "Oscar Piastri, you are an Italian Grand Prix winner with Ferrari! Incredible mate, incredible! Very beautifully managed!!"

(PIA) "WOOOO! Wow, wow wee. That was very lovely stuff guys, means more than I can say to win here with Ferrari! Uh, this is amazing. Absolutely amazing. And as always, very nicely done, everyone! Thank you very much!"

(BON) "Amazing job. Amazing."

(BOZ) "And P2, Charles. P2. Great effort today, great effort."

(LEC) "Yeah, thanks Bryan. Gave it everything today, think we maximised it, but yeah. A shame not to win here, but a lot of wins here. Congrats to Oscar today, enjoy it. The pace was really really good, good job guys."

(BOZ) "Fantastic work."

Lawson has a puncture and it's all gone wrong for him now!

O'WARD GETS A PODIUM FOR AUDI! Russell P4, Tsunoda P5, Sainz, Ocon, Verstappen, Bearman, HADJAR GETS A POINT!

2029 ITALIAN GRAND PRIX
RACE CLASSIFICATION

1. Oscar Piastri 1.24.04
2. Charles Leclerc +3.519
3. Pato O'Ward +7.253
4. George Russell +9.560
5. Yuki Tsunoda +13.975
6. Carlos Sainz +15.672
7. Esteban Ocon +18.149
8. Max Verstappen +29.439
9. Oliver Bearman +34.458
10. Isack Hadjar +34.847
11. Andrea Kimi Antonelli +35.758
12. Gabriel Bortoleto +35.833
13. Colton Herta +36.222
14. Théo Pourchaire +37.915
15. Sergio Pérez +39.249
16. Valtteri Bottas +46.163
17. Lando Norris +49.446
18. Daniel Ricciardo +49.856
19. Zane Maloney +51.719
20. Liam Lawson +56.876
21. Franco Colapinto DNF
22. Pierre Gasly DNF

Oscar Piastri 1.21.113
Max Verstappen 1.933
Oscar Piastri

DRIVER OF THE DAY: OSCAR PIASTRI

Through a chaotic race, Oscar Piastri kept a cool head and would go on to win the Italian Grand Prix, becoming the 12th Ferrari driver to win at Monza, and extending his title advantage in the process. Oscar Piastri is your Driver of the Day!

Top Five: Piastri, Hadjar, O'Ward, Verstappen, Leclerc

2029 FIA FORMULA 1 WORLD DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP

🇦🇺 Piastri 322
🇲🇨 Leclerc 300
🇫🇮 Bottas 129
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Norris 122
🇪🇸 Sainz 117
🇯🇵 Tsunoda 98
🇳🇱 Verstappen 82
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Russell 80
🇲🇽 O'Ward 62
🇫🇷 Gasly 45
🇫🇷 Ocon 31
🇺🇸 Herta 20
🇫🇷 Pourchaire 16
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Bearman 16
🇮🇹 Antonelli 4
🇧🇧 Maloney 1
🇫🇷 Hadjar 1
🇦🇷 Colapinto 0
🇳🇿 Lawson 0
🇦🇺 Ricciardo 0
🇧🇷 Bortoleto 0
🇲🇽 Pérez 0

2029 FIA FORMULA 1 WORLD CONSTRUCTORS CHAMPIONSHIP

Ferrari 622
Aston Martin-Honda 227
Red Bull-Ford 197
McLaren-Mercedes 167
Subaru-Honda 98
Audi 63
Mercedes 36
Haas-Ferrari 31
Williams-Ferrari 5
Alpine-Mercedes 0
Andretti-Ford 0

2029 WORLD TYRES CHAMPIONSHIP

Bridgestone 887
Pirelli 487
Goodyear 72

DHL FASTEST PITSTOP AWARD:

Ferrari 218
Red Bull 217
McLaren 210
Subaru 157
Williams 150
Alpine 92
Andretti 88
Mercedes 77
Aston Martin 56
Audi 56
Haas 0

F2/F3 updates and news later

[foggy locust]

F2 MONZA

SPRINT

1. Dayton Coulthard
2. Chloe Grant
3. Dennis Hauger
4. Doriane Pin
5. Rafael Câmara
6. Tim Tramnitz
7. Jak Crawford
8. Zak O'Sullivan
9. Dino Beganovic
10. Ritomo Miyata

FEATURE RACE
Pole Position: Dayton Coulthard

1. Dayton Coulthard
2. Dennis Hauger
3. Chloe Grant
4. Jak Crawford
5. Rafael Câmara
6. Zak O'Sullivan
7. Doriane Pin
8. Ritomo Miyata
9. Pepe Marti
10. Gabriele Miní

F3 MONZA

SPRINT

1. Daiane Afonso
2. Alexander Dunne
3. Alessandro Giusti
4. Joseph Loake
5. Hamda Al Qubaisi
6. Abbi Pulling
7. Vincenzo Testa
8. Nikita Bedrin
9. Mari Boya
10. Udo Arnold

FEATURE RACE
Pole Position: Alexander Dunne

1. Martinius Stenshorne
2. Hamda Al Qubaisi
3. Joseph Loake
4. Alessandro Giusti
5. Alexander Dunne
6. Daiane Afonso
7. Vincenzo Testa
8. Udo Arnold
9. Abbi Pulling
10. Mari Boya

F2 STANDINGS

🇳🇴 Hauger 222
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 🇧🇪 Coulthard 185
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Grant 154
🇧🇷 Câmara 132
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Barnard 115
🇯🇵 Miyata 112
🇫🇷 Pin 105
🇩🇪 Tramnitz 101
🇵🇱 Sztuka 60
🇺🇸 Crawford 56
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 O'Sullivan 47
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 🇸🇪 Lindblad 43
🇪🇪 Aron 29
🇪🇸 Marti 15
🇦🇷 Araya 13
🇮🇹 Miní 12
🇧🇷 E. Fittipaldi 11
🇳🇱 Verschoor 9
🇸🇪 🇧🇦 Beganovic 9
🇨🇿 Staněk 9
🇮🇳 Maini 1
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Browning 0

F3 STANDINGS

🇮🇪 Dunne 178
🇳🇱 Arnold 152
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Bennett 118
🇦🇪 Al Qubaisi 91
🇵🇹 Afonso 77
🇫🇷 Giusti 71
🇳🇴 Stenshorne 63
🇺🇸 Esterson 56
🇩🇪 🇩🇰 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Goethe 55
🇦🇺 Mansell 52
🇲🇽 Villagómez 52
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Loake 51
🇮🇹 Testa 48
🇨🇴 🇺🇸 Montoya 29
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Wharton 25
🇵🇾 Dürksen 23
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Pulling 23
🇳🇱 van Hoepen 22
🇧🇭 Abadi 19
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Voisin 16
🇪🇸 Boya 13
🇦🇷 Alvarado 12
🇳🇱 Gademan 11
🇲🇽 León 6
🇮🇹 Fornaroli 5
🇫🇷 Meguetounif 4
🇧🇬 Tsolov 3
🇷🇺 🇮🇹 Bedrin 3
🇦🇹 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Wurz 1
🇿🇦 Brunt 0

[foggy locust]

McLAREN BACK GASLY WITH NEW THREE YEAR DEAL

McLaren have announced the renewal of Pierre Gasly with a new three year deal.

Gasly had been rumoured to have been in danger of losing his seat, with Yuki Tsunoda and Colton Herta both linked the team.

But with Tsunoda committing his future to current team Aston Martin, and Herta opting for a return to Andretti, McLaren have backed Gasly with a new long term deal.

Gasly will remain at the team through 2032, which is expected to be a huge driver transfer market, and will partner Lando Norris, who is also contracted until 2032.

MERCEDES ANNOUNCE PAUL ARON FOR 2030

Mercedes have announced a lineup for 2030 of Oliver Bearman and Estonian F2 driver Paul Aron.

Mercedes had promised to sign a rookie for 2030, and they have done just that, with a driver that spent time in their academy and has bounced around Alpine and McLaren.

But now Aron will return back to Mercedes, this time in a full race seat. Aron will become the first ever driver from Estonia to reach Formula 1.

Aron has signed a 1+1 deal, initially for 2030 with an option for 2031, and will replace Andretti-bound Colton Herta at the team.

A huge day for Aron, Mercedes and for motorsport in Estonia.

[foggy locust]

2030 Grid:

Ferrari:
Leclerc (2032)
Piastri (2032)

Aston Martin:
Bottas (2032)
Tsunoda (2033)

Red Bull:
Sainz (2030)
Russell (2032)

McLaren
Norris (2032)
Gasly (2032)

Subaru:
Verstappen (2031)
Pourchaire (2032)

Audi:
O'Ward (2032)
Maloney (2031)

Mercedes:
Aron (2030)
Bearman (2032)

Haas:
Ocon (2032)
Colapinto (2033)

Williams:
Antonelli (2030)
Hadjar (2031)

Alpine:
Pérez (2031)
????

Andretti:
Ricciardo (2030)
Herta (2032)

[foggy locust]

2029 AZERBAIJAN GRAND PRIX
WEEKEND PREVIEW

Round 14 of the 2029 Formula 1 season heads to Baku, Azerbaijan and the street circuit in Baku City Centre. And with eight rounds to go, Ferrari can wrap up a sixth consecutive Constructors Championship this weekend. Plus there'a a 22 point gap in a title Drivers’ title fight. What will Baku bring us?

LAST TIME AROUND

It was a chaotic Monza but joy for the Tifosi as Ferrari brought home yet another 1-2. Oscar Piastri won the Italian Grand Prix, becoming the 12th driver to win that famous race for Ferrari at Monza, and snapping Charles Leclerc’s five year winning streak at that circuit. Leclerc finished second to drop 22 points behind Piastri in the Drivers’ title fight, while Pato O'Ward took a sensational podium for Audi. Red Bull were fourth and sixth to close the gap on Aston Martin, while Haas, Subaru, Mercedes and Williams all took points. Isack Hadjar claimed his first point of the season.

THE CIRCUIT

The 6.003km, 51 lap Baku City Circuit has been on the Formula 1 calendar since 2016, when it hosted the European Grand Prix, with the debut of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix one year later in 2017. This will be the 12th Azerbaijan Grand Prix and 13th race at this circuit, only missing 2020 in the process. The Baku City Circuit takes us around the modern and the ancient, with the middle sector in particular travelling around the UNESCO-protected Walled City, dating back to the 12th Century. The modern section of the Circuit features the 2 DRS Zones and more predominate for the overtaking, and those barriers are always a danger - a Safety Car or two always needs to be planned for. The Circuit is generally kind on tyres, so if we don't get that Safety Car, a one stop is expected from most teams, especially with a longer pitlane.

STORYLINES WE ARE WATCHING THIS WEEKEND

CAN FERRARI CLINCH THE CONSTRUCTORS THIS WEEKEND?

Ferrari are on the verge of a sixth consecutive Constructors Championship, having utterly dominated this season - they've won every single race - with Oscar Piastri winning eight, and Charles Leclerc winning five - both drivers have been on the podium every single race weekend this season, and the only failure to get a 1-2 was in Belgium, when Lando Norris took second. Only two teams can stop them from clinching the Constructors this weekend. Aston Martin must outscore Ferrari by seven points to keep the Constructors alive, or Red Bull must outscore the Scuderia by 37 points. Failure of both of these teams to do so, and Ferrari clinch the Constructors with seven race weekends to spare. This has been sheer domination on a scale we've never seen before in Formula 1 - can Ferrari clinch the title this early? Their drivers’ attention may well be on the Drivers title, as Oscar Piastri sits 22 points ahead of Charles Leclerc, but the team as a whole may be celebrating this weekend.

ONE SEAT LEFT AT ALPINE, WHO WILL TAKE IT?

Alpine are the only team yet to announce their 2030 lineup after McLaren confirmed they were retaining Pierre Gasly, and Mercedes announced F2 talent Paul Aron for their race seat next year. We know Sergio Pérez will remain with the team through 2030, but who will be his teammate next year? It feels like last chance saloon for Liam Lawson, the incumbent of that Alpine seat, but he's struggled all season, and this might be a last chance to make a statement after a puncture late ended any chances he had of points. Gabriel Bortoleto is the other driver in danger of losing his seat - he has had a torrid time at Andretti this year, and the team have announced the return of Colton Herta for 2030. Can Bortoleto push for the Alpine seat for next year? Rumours have it that Alpine are considering an F2 candidate, like Mercedes have gone for. This weekend is crucial for both drivers.

McLAREN LOOK TO BOUNCE BACK AFTER SCORELESS MONZA

Of the eleven teams on the grid, eight of them scored points at Monza. The three that didn't were the two scoreless teams, Alpine and Andretti…and McLaren. Safe to say McLaren's challenge for the top three took a bit of a hit this past weekend. Pierre Gasly beached the McLaren early in the race, ending his afternoon, and bringing out a Safety Car, and Lando Norris struggled with power unit issues and ended up in 17th, having qualified 7th. A tough weekend for the Woking team, but the Papaya look to bounce back this weekend. They sit 30 points behind Red Bull and 60 behind Aston Martin, but had taken three race podiums in a row - all Lando Norris - before a difficult Italian Grand Prix. Having confirmed Gasly will remain with the team for three more years and contract doubts behind, can McLaren pick up that momentum again this coming weekend?

CAN HAAS GO ABOVE MERCEDES?

Haas have quietly been having a solid season. Esteban Ocon is performing as well as he has been in a long time, consistenly reaching the top ten in qualifying and having put some good points on the board. Franco Colapinto, although scoreless, has been very unlucky in some situations and has improved consistently as a driver, having finished just outside the points several times this season. Haas have shown faith in Colapinto and renewed him on a new long term deal, believing he will come good with the team in the long run. Haas find themselves just five points behind a struggling Mercedes side who were tipped to finish third in the pre-season and have not lived up to expectations, but Haas will be happy to be challenging them, although they find themselves 32 points off Audi for sixth. Although, Haas are a team that have gone scoreless three times in five years, and have finished bottom the last three seasons in a row - this is nosebleed territory for them. Can Haas go above Mercedes this weekend? What a story that would be.

And so to Baku. With no rain expected this weekend, it should be a very intriguing race as always around here. Can Ferrari clinch both Championships this Sunday? One thing's for sure - you won't want to miss it.

FERRARI WILL RUN PIN AND COULTHARD IN FP1

Doriane Pin and Dayton Coulthard will take part in FP1 this weekend. The two F2 drivers will be in the session as part of Ferrari's mandated rookie reserve sessions. Pin will take Charles Leclerc's car, Coulthard will take Oscar Piastri's car.

FP1 Reserves: Pin (Leclerc), Coulthard (Piastri), Bennett (Gasly), Araya (Herta), O'Sullivan (Maloney), Stenshorne (Pourchaire)

Of note in FP1, the two Ferrari reserves getting a run out in place of the two title rivals. Subaru shifting away from Shwartzman as Stenshorne gets the nod? FP1 Regulars Grant, Bennett, Araya and O'Sullivan all get another shot in their teams' cars. Also of note: two Scottish drivers in this session in Coulthard and Grant.

A rare rookie mistake by Chloe Grant, who's gone off at Turn 12. She's kept the car going, but has picked up a bit of damage on George Russell's car!

FP1: COU PIN COL

A Ferrari 1-2, but not as you know it. Coulthard and Pin go 1-2 and continue to impress, with Colapinto a fantastic third ahead of Sainz and Grant, who recovered from a Turn 12 crash. Verstappen P6 ahead of Lawson and Tsunoda, Ocon 9th, Norris 10th.

FP2: LEC OCO TSU
PIA P11

Leclerc quickest from Ocon and Tsunoda, with a last lap to secure top spot. Title rival Piastri was just P11 as he couldn't get a clean lap on Softs, Sainz 4th ahead of Verstappen and Norris. Bottas 7th with Hadjar 8th, Russell 9th and Pourchaire 10th.

FP3: SAI LEC PIA

Carlos Sainz quickest in Saturday's third practice, ahead of Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri, but can he push for Pole? Russell Fourth with Norris 5th and Bearman 6th. Maloney ahead of Pourchaire and Verstappen, Antonelli in the top ten.

Practice summary: Can Sainz fight for Pole later on today? He's pushed the Ferraris well, but Leclerc and Piastri will remain the favourites for Pole. Red Bull looking second fastest behind Ferrari, McLaren have shown some pace, Haas looked quicker yesterday than they have so far today, same with Aston. Mercedes, Subaru, Audi and Williams have some hopes, might be tough for Alpine and Andretti once more.

Well, isn't this an intriguing Saturday here in Baku? On a weekend where Ferrari can win the Constructors if they outscore Aston Martin by 6 points and Red Bull by 36, they will be Champions for a sixth time in a row with seven rounds to spare. But they might have a fight for Pole and a potential race win from the Bulls here. Let's see what today brings us.

[foggy locust]

IT IS A RED FLAG IN Q1!!!

It's Max. Max Verstappen in the wall and he's crashed out in Q1!!! He's okay, annoyed, but okay. The session will continue, but leaving little time left for anyone to get a lap in!

OUT IN Q1: Antonelli, Pérez, Bortoleto, Maloney, Lawson, Ricciardo
Bubble: Colapinto
Top Five: PIA, LEC, NOR, VER, BOT

Despite a top four finish, Verstappen crashed out in Q1 and caused a Red Flag, ending his session early! Antonelli exits in Q1, as both drivers without a contract for 2030, Bortoleto and Lawson, also go out in the first session and that won't help their chances. Bortoleto's teammate Ricciardo, Lawson's teammate Pérez, and Maloney are also out. Piastri quickest from Leclerc and Norris.

A SECOND RED FLAG IN Q2!!!

Tsunoda has fallen victim to the wall, and at this point, it looks like Ferrari are landing the Constructors this weekend! Tsunoda is thankfully okay, but his Saturday ends early.

OUT IN Q2: Ocon, Gasly, Hadjar, Colapinto, Verstappen (no time), Tsunoda (no time)
Bubble: Norris
Top Five: PIA, LEC, RUS, SAI, BOT

Verstappen and Tsunoda didn't set times as Tsunoda crashed out in Q2. Gasly couldn't quite knock teammate Norris out with a late lap, Herta meanwhile sent Ocon out. Hadjar and Colapinto also exit. Piastri quickest from Leclerc, Russell, Sainz and Bottas follow, O'Ward, Pourchaire and Bearman are also through to Q3.

Q3: Sainz, Leclerc, Piastri, Russell, O'Ward, Norris, Bottas, Bearman, Pourchaire, Herta

For the second time this season and first since Melbourne, Carlos Sainz takes Pole! A stunning final lap to deny Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri, and neither Ferrari could find anything to answer Sainz's Pole lap. They'll start 2-3, with George Russell fourth. Pato O'Ward had a purple first sector but settles for fifth, with Lando Norris sixth ahead of Valtteri Bottas and Ollie Bearman. Théo Pourchaire and Colton Herta on row five.

2029 AZERBAIJAN GRAND PRIX
STARTING GRID

SAI LEC

PIA RUS

OWA NOR

BOT BEA

POU HER

OCO GAS

HAD COL

VER ANT

PER BOR

MAL LAW

RIC

PITLANE START - TSU

Break for a bit - race this afternoon!

[foggy locust]

Welcome to Azerbaijan on this beautiful Sunday afternoon on the Caspian Sea, and Round 14 of the 2029 Formula 1 World Championship. On a day Ferrari can clinch the Constructors, it's Red Bull who start on Pole. 51 laps of this 6.004km circuit, 20 turns, those long straights and two DRS Zones make this ideal for overtaking, and those barriers are always lurking.

Yuki Tsunoda starts from the pitlane for the third time this season which leaves Daniel Ricciardo on the back row alone, Liam Lawson and Zane Maloney are on row ten, then it's Sergio Perez and Gabriel Bortoleto on the ninth row. Kimi Antonelli alongside Max Verstappen who crashed out in Q1, so he starts 15th, while Franco Colapinto is up in 14th with a new contract for Haas, Isack Hadjar finds himself 13th. Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon on the sixth row together, Gasly now renewed by McLaren of course this past week.

Colton Herta starts 10th alongside Théo Pourchaire, Ollie Bearman and Valtteri Bottas find themselves on row four. Lando Norris starts from P6 beside the man he replaced at McLaren, Pato O'Ward who begins fifth, and it's Ferrari and Red Bull on the front two rows. George Russell starts fourth beside Championship leader Oscar Piastri, Charles Leclerc begins second with the opportunity to close that title gap, and it is Pole number two of the season for Carlos Sainz and Pole number two of the season for Red Bull. But can it be their first win of the year, and the first non Ferrari win of the season?

As the cars round this mix of the modern and the ancient around Baku City Centre during the formation lap, we prepare for Round 14. How will this one go?

The cars have slotted into place on the grid...One red light, two, three, four, five...AND IT'S LIGHTS OUT AND AWAY WE GO

Sainz is away well, Piastri gets a better start off the line than Leclerc and Piastri has overtaken his teammate! Russell 4th, O'Ward, Bottas ahead of Norris, Bearman, Pourchaire and Ocon is up into the points already!

Piastri on the attack of Sainz into turn 1 on the second lap, and Oscar Piastri leads this race!! Leclerc having to defend Russell, but holds him off for now.

PIASTRI

Leclerc down the inside of Sainz, and it is a Ferrari 1-2! Piastri now with 1.2 on Leclerc, can he break away from his teammate? Can Leclerc shake Sainz for P2?

(BOZ) "Some room to push here Charles, try and break from Sainz"

(LEC) "Copy that. They're quite quick in the corners though, it is tricky"

(BON) "Yeah we just need to make sure we don't fall off a cliff on this tyre. Push, but keep it cool"

Piastri has extended to 1.6 ahead of Leclerc, who is struggling to clear Sainz, and his Championship leading teammate is taking full advantage of that. Sainz goes down the inside of Leclerc and takes P2 back with DRS!

Bearman overtakes Ocon and clips him in the process! Ocon falls behind Pourchaire to P10!

CAR 87 (BEARMAN) - CAUSING A COLLISION

Oliver Bearman lands himself a penalty for that collision with Ocon. He'll have to take that on his pitstop. Not ideal for Mercedes, especially with Herta running P11.

Leclerc gets back ahead of Sainz, but his battle with his former teammate of four years is massively helping his current teammate (of three years, as of this year.).

Leclerc goes super close to the wall at that chicane. Yes, at the Leclerc Chicane, which was officially named for the current Champion this weekend. We all know what happened there once upon a time.

Verstappen up to P12 and pushing the points. Only 2 seconds behind Ocon and Herta, who are currently fighting for P10.

GASLY RADIO "Problem with the gears"

Gasly reporting a problem with his gearbox. The McLaren driver, who was just renewed, currently running P15.

Bortoleto hits the wall, and Tsunoda clips him on his way past!! Don't think there was much Yuki could have done to avoid that, and it looks like the Andretti came off worse in all that.

Sainz ahead of Leclerc again for P2! This is some battle here, and the two have reduced the gap to race leader Piastri to 2.4.

This could again become a three car race for the lead. 1.6 between Piastri and Sainz, with Leclerc 0.2 behind Sainz.

RUSSELL

Leclerc on the attack of Sainz and gets DRS, and makes the move stick. He's now starting to build a gap to the Red Bull.

GASLY RADIO "I have some vibration"

Game on here between Piastri and Leclerc, about 1.3 between the two.

Verstappen ahead of Herta and Ocon, and into the points!

LECLERC

PITSTOP: Perez in and onto the Mediums. Can those go the distance of this race, though?

PITSTOPS: Russell and Norris in! Russell has a delay due to unsafe release, Norris has a delay due to the car jack sticking for McLaren. Not ideal for either driver.

Leclerc within DRS range of Piastri, he has DRS, Piastri defends for now.

PITSTOPS: Red Bull going for the undercut and bring Sainz in. Clean stop from the Bulls, 2.189s. O'Ward in and onto a second set of Softs. Herta in, Antonelli in, Audi double stack with Maloney. Ricciardo in.

(BOZ) "So Sainz has pitted. Sainz has pitted."

(LEC) "Are we boxing? Red Bull undercut?"

(BOZ) "We are sticking to the plan, we are not worried about Red Bull"

Interesting radio there from Leclerc’s side of the garage...but Red Bull may well have to two stop Sainz. Ferrari's tyres seem to be holding up for the one stop.

Leclerc gets DRS, THE TWO FERRARIS WHEEL TO WHEEL, LECLERC BRIEFLY IN FRONT BUT PIASTRI WILL HAVE DRS AGAIN, AND THAT IS PIASTRI BACK IN FRONT.

Leclerc back on the attack and he gets the move done!

PITSTOP: Bottas making his stop, and he has a massive delay with the jack there!! That wasn't ideal!

Sainz having some mechanical issues, looks like engine trouble again! That Ford engine playing up once more?

O'WARD

PITSTOPS: Verstappen and Tsunoda both in. Clean stop for the Subaru who rejoins P10, Tsunoda back out in P14.

Gasly is into the pitlane, and the team are pulling him up. His gearbox is gone, his afternoon's over.

PITSTOP: Bearman in and he takes his penalty. A five second wait, and a quick stop afterwards, and he rejoins P14. Work to do for the Mercedes driver, but his pit crew were on it.

It's wheel to wheel for Leclerc and Piastri again, and Leclerc fends him off. Just.

(BOZ) "Box, box"

(LEC) "Copy box"

Leclerc as the race leader getting the call first! These two stops may well be vital for the lead of the race!

BEARMAN

PITSTOP: LECLERC IN. Piastri takes the lead. A 2.262 stop for Leclerc, who will now be on Mediums until the end of this race.

(BON) "Box box, box box"

(PIA) "Yeah, copy box"

TSUNODA

PITSTOP: PIASTRI IN FROM THE LEAD. DISASTER FOR PIASTRI, THE JACK HOLDS UP AND HE GETS DELAYED. A 4.339 STOP. A HORRIBLE TIME FOR THAT TO HAPPEN. Leclerc now in front by 3.3!!

(PIA) "What happened there?"

(BON) "Sorry about that, the jack got stuck."

(PIA) "F--- me, mate, I'm fighting for a title. That can't happen here."

Piastri less than pleased with his tram here as that delay has handed Leclerc a 3.5 advantage! Potentially crucial in the Drivers title fight!

Lawson and Maloney make contact! Maloney went for the overtake, Lawson closed the door and they make contact! Looks like Maloney picked up some damage from that.

INCIDENT BETWEEN CAR 30 (LAWSON) AND CAR 72 (MALONEY) - NO FURTHER INVESTIGATION

Lawson may have gotten away with one there. No penalties given.

Colapinto pulling into the garage, and the team pull him up. Looks like a gearbox failure, his race is over on Lap 29.

Worth noting from a couple of laps ago - Sainz was struggling, and the team order came in to swap with Russell. Some disagreement on the radio from Sainz, but he makes the swap.

PITSTOP: Second stop for O'Ward, who pits and takes the Mediums. That was mandated, as he'd gone Soft-Soft previously. He's back out there in P10.

Sainz drops behind Norris for P4!

PITSTOP: Russell comes in for a second stop! He takes Mediums and rejoins in P7.

SAINZ RADIO "I'm not sure what we are doing strategy wise, but we should probably do something different"

Bottas ahead of Sainz for P4!

The fight for that final podium spot may well be Bottas versus Norris now! Bottas slips past the McLaren to take it for now!

SAINZ RADIO "Carlos, let George through" "...what are we doing"

Sainz does indeed let Russell through, but he's not happy about it. Russell then responds by putting up a fastest lap.

RUSSELL

PITSTOP: Tsunoda in for fresh Softs. He's down to P11

Russell is now once again entering the third place battle conversation, and he has the fresher tyres on both Norris and Bottas. He dives down the inside of Norris, he's P4.

Verstappen is having a superb drive here down the order. He's running P6, having just overtaken the struggling Sainz.

PITSTOPS: Bottas, Norris and Verstappen all in for fresh Softs! That leaves Russell clear in P3, but Verstappen gets ahead of Norris in the pitlane!

PITSTOP: Pourchaire boxes and he's rejoining in P11, with fresh Softs.

O'Ward chasing Sainz and gets past him with DRS, and O'Ward is up to 4th! What a season he's having for Audi this year!

SAFETY CAR CALLED

Maloney off at the second corner!! He crashes out on Lap 41, and that changes everything here!!!

(BOZ) "Maloney off at the second corner."

(LEC) "He's OK?"

(BOZ) "Yeah he's unhurt. Box now, box now"

(LEC) "Yeah, box"

(BON) "And Maloney off turn 2. He's okay, watch for debris. Box now please"

(PIA) "Copy, box. Hoping for a better stop here"

PITSTOPS: Ferrari double stack, a 2.304 stop for Leclerc, 2.084 stop for Piastri! Much better than last time for the Australian. We will wait and see how many racing laps we get. O'Ward and Sainz also box for a second time under the SC.

Lap 43, under SC: Leclerc, Piastri, Russell, O'Ward, Bottas, Verstappen, Norris, Tsunoda, Sainz, Bearman, Ocon, Pourchaire, Antonelli, Herta, Hadjar, Lawson, Pérez, Bortoleto, Ricciardo. Maloney, Colapinto and Gasly out of the race.

Lapped cars now being allowed to overtake - that's the two Andrettis of Ricciardo and Bortoleto.

We are racing again on Lap 45!!

Leclerc and Piastri away well but we have a fight on now for the race win!

NO. WE DON'T. SAFETY CAR DEPLOYED

Liam Lawson goes off immediately after the Safety Car resumes, and that may well be that for his time in the Alpine seat. He's unhurt, thankfully. Safety Car deployed.

Lap 47, under SC: Leclerc, Piastri, Russell, O'Ward, Bottas, Verstappen, Norris, Tsunoda, Sainz, Bearman, Ocon, Pourchaire, Antonelli, Herta, Hadjar, Pérez, Bortoleto, Ricciardo. Lawson, Maloney, Colapinto and Gasly out of the race.

A rare break caught by Andretti, though, as their two, who were a lap down, have now caught up to the pack.

We go racing again on Lap 49!!

A THIRD SAFETY CAR IN AS MANY LAPS

Isack Hadjar is off at the Leclerc Chicane!!! His race is over, and essentially, this race is now over as a contest!!

(BOZ) "Safety Car. Hadjar in the wall."

(LEC) "He's OK?"

(BOZ) "He is okay. Safety Car, we'll end under the Safety Car it looks like."

(LEC) "I'm glad Isack is okay. I guess we can start the Constructors celebration now?"

LAST LAP

It's over as a contest here. Charles Leclerc will win the race, Oscar Piastri P2, it's a 15 point gap in the Drivers, and for the sixth year in a row, FERRARI ARE THE CONSTRUCTORS WORLD CHAMPIONS!!! Russell P3, O'Ward P4, Bottas P5, Verstappen P6, Norris P7, Tsunoda P8, Sainz P9, Bearman P10. The cars round the final corner, the Safety Car ends, and they cross the line, IT IS OFFICIAL. 13 1-2S, FERRARI HAVE BEEN DOMINANT THIS SEASON. THEY ARE CHAMPIONS AGAIN!

(BON) "And P1, P1. We are Champions again, Constructor Champions again!"

(LEC) "Mamma Mia...YES! AHHH, Yesss! Fantastic. Fantastic guys, even under a Safety Car, it is amazing to win a Constructors this early. This is some team. Thank you guys, what a season already. Still a job to do, but let's enjoy this for now"

(BOZ) "Amazing job this weekend and so far this season. We'll enjoy tonight, then back to work for Bahrain"

(BON) "And P2, Oscar, P2. We are the Constructors Champions, congratulations mate! Amazing job this season!"

(PIA) "Wow wee, yesss! Very, very nicely done, very nicely done everyone. This is a fantastic team to be part of, and uh, very happy to be Constructors Champions again. Thanks guys."

(BON) "Amazing work. Still work to do yet though for the Drivers."

2029 AZERBAIJAN GRAND PRIX
RACE CLASSIFICATION

1. Charles Leclerc 1.43.58
2. Oscar Piastri +0.214
3. George Russell +0.346
4. Pato O'Ward +0.480
5. Valtteri Bottas +0.706
6. Max Verstappen +0.851
7. Lando Norris +1.051
8. Yuki Tsunoda +1.205
9. Carlos Sainz +1.359
10. Oliver Bearman +1.650
11. Esteban Ocon +1.835
12. Théo Pourchaire +2.057
13. Andrea Kimi Antonelli +2.235
14. Colton Herta +2.449
15. Sergio Pérez +2.633
16. Gabriel Bortoleto +2.820
17. Daniel Ricciardo +3.024
18. Isack Hadjar DNF (+3 laps)
19. Liam Lawson DNF
20. Zane Maloney DNF
21. Franco Colapinto DNF
22. Pierre Gasly DNF

George Russell 1.44.850
Pierre Gasly 1.956s
Max Verstappen

DRIVER OF THE DAY: MAX VERSTAPPEN

Max Verstappen recovered from a Q1 crash to take home a valuable P6 and some big points for Subaru. It's been a tough season for the Dutch driver, but this was a big recovery from a difficult Saturday. Max Verstappen is your Driver of the Day!

Top Five: Verstappen, O'Ward, Leclerc, Tsunoda, Piastri

2029 FIA FORMULA 1 WORLD DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP

🇦🇺 Piastri 340
🇲🇨 Leclerc 325
🇫🇮 Bottas 139
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Norris 128
🇪🇸 Sainz 120
🇯🇵 Tsunoda 102
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Russell 96
🇳🇱 Verstappen 90
🇲🇽 O'Ward 74
🇫🇷 Gasly 45
🇫🇷 Ocon 31
🇺🇸 Herta 20
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Bearman 17
🇫🇷 Pourchaire 16
🇮🇹 Antonelli 4
🇧🇧 Maloney 1
🇫🇷 Hadjar 1
🇦🇷 Colapinto 0
🇳🇿 Lawson 0
🇦🇺 Ricciardo 0
🇧🇷 Bortoleto 0
🇲🇽 Pérez 0

2029 FIA FORMULA 1 WORLD CONSTRUCTORS CHAMPIONSHIP

Ferrari 665
Aston Martin-Honda 241
Red Bull-Ford 216
McLaren-Mercedes 173
Subaru-Honda 106
Audi 75
Mercedes 37
Haas-Ferrari 31
Williams-Ferrari 5
Alpine-Mercedes 0
Andretti-Ford 0

2029 WORLD TYRES CHAMPIONSHIP

Bridgestone 944
Pirelli 532
Goodyear 73

DHL FASTEST PITSTOP AWARD:

McLaren 237
Red Bull 227
Ferrari 226
Williams 165
Subaru 164
Alpine 108
Mercedes 95
Andretti 88
Aston Martin 56
Audi 56
Haas 0

F2 BAKU

SPRINT

1. Arvid Lindblad
2. Ritomo Miyata
3. Taylor Barnard
4. Dennis Hauger
5. Tim Tramnitz
6. Pepe Marti
7. Jak Crawford
8. Kush Maini
9. Richard Verschoor
10. Chloe Grant

FEATURE RACE
Pole Position: Ritomo Miyata

1. Ritomo Miyata
2. Tim Tramnitz
3. Rafael Câmara
4. Taylor Barnard
5. Jak Crawford
6. Chloe Grant
7. Richard Verschoor
8. Dennis Hauger
9. Pepe Marti
10. Kush Maini

F3 BAKU

SPRINT

1. Hamda Al Qubaisi
2. Nina Gademan
3. Udo Arnold
4. Oliver Goethe
5. Alexander Dunne
6. Abbi Pulling
7. Charlie Wurz
8. Mari Boya
9. Jordi Alvarado
10. James Wharton

FEATURE RACE
Pole Position: Alexander Dunne

1. Hamda Al Qubaisi
2. Alexander Dunne
3. Alessandro Giusti
4. Nina Gademan
5. Udo Arnold
6. Lulwa Abadi
7. James Wharton
8. Sami Meguetounif
9. Oliver Goethe
10. Mari Boya

F2 STANDINGS

🇳🇴 Hauger 231
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 🇧🇪 Coulthard 185
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Grant 162
🇯🇵 Miyata 149
🇧🇷 Câmara 147
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Barnard 133
🇩🇪 Tramnitz 123
🇫🇷 Pin 105
🇺🇸 Crawford 68
🇵🇱 Sztuka 60
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 🇸🇪 Lindblad 53
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 O'Sullivan 47
🇪🇪 Aron 29
🇪🇸 Marti 20
🇳🇱 Verschoor 15
🇦🇷 Araya 13
🇮🇹 Miní 12
🇧🇷 E. Fittipaldi 11
🇸🇪 🇧🇦 Beganovic 9
🇨🇿 Staněk 9
🇮🇳 Maini 3
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Browning 0

F3 STANDINGS

🇮🇪 Dunne 204
🇳🇱 Arnold 170
🇦🇪 Al Qubaisi 127
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Bennett 118
🇫🇷 Giusti 87
🇵🇹 Afonso 77
🇩🇪 🇩🇰 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Goethe 64
🇳🇴 Stenshorne 63
🇺🇸 Esterson 56
🇦🇺 Mansell 52
🇲🇽 Villagómez 52
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Loake 51
🇮🇹 Testa 48
🇳🇱 Gademan 32
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Wharton 32
🇨🇴 🇺🇸 Montoya 29
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Pulling 28
🇧🇭 Abadi 27
🇵🇾 Dürksen 23
🇳🇱 van Hoepen 22
🇪🇸 Boya 17
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Voisin 16
🇦🇷 Alvarado 14
🇫🇷 Meguetounif 8
🇲🇽 León 6
🇮🇹 Fornaroli 5
🇦🇹 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Wurz 5
🇧🇬 Tsolov 3
🇷🇺 🇮🇹 Bedrin 3
🇿🇦 Brunt 0

[foggy locust]

ALPINE ANNOUNCE STANĚK FOR 2030

Alpine have announced their 2030 Driver lineup, and it's a shocker. Sergio Pérez will be joined at the team by Czech rookie Roman Staněk.

Staněk will be the first full-time Czech driver in Formula 1, and the first since Tomáš Enge competed in three races for Prost in 2001. Funnily enough, Staněk will also make his debut with a French team, but as a full time driver.

Staněk has had a tough season in Formula 2, mostly due to reliability issues for Hitech, Alpine's direct feeder team.

However, he finished 3rd in F2 back in 2027, and has plenty of FP1 experience for both McLaren and Williams in the past, and now he gets his opportunity at a race seat.

Staněk has signed an initial one year deal, with an option for 2030 on both sides, and will replace Liam Lawson at the team next season.

2030 Grid:

Ferrari:
Leclerc (2032)
Piastri (2032)

Aston Martin:
Bottas (2032)
Tsunoda (2033)

Red Bull:
Sainz (2030)
Russell (2032)

McLaren
Norris (2032)
Gasly (2032)

Subaru:
Verstappen (2031)
Pourchaire (2032)

Audi:
O'Ward (2032)
Maloney (2031)

Mercedes:
Aron (2030)
Bearman (2032)

Haas:
Ocon (2032)
Colapinto (2033)

Williams:
Antonelli (2030)
Hadjar (2031)

Alpine:
Pérez (2031)
Staněk (2030)

Andretti:
Ricciardo (2030)
Herta (2032)

Two rookies, and the 2030 Grid is officially complete

[foggy locust]

BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX 2029
WEEKEND PREVIEW

Round 15 of this 2029 Formula 1 World Championship and we head to the Middle East for a double header, the first part involving the fourth and penultimate Sprint Weekend of the second. It's Bahrain, what will it bring us this year?

LAST TIME AROUND

Ferrari clinched the Constructors Championship for the sixth time in a row as they posted their 13th 1-2 in 14 races, winning the title with seven rounds to spare. In the Drivers’ Championship it was Charles Leclerc closing the gap to Oscar Piastri to just 15 points. Meanwhile behind the two Ferraris was chaos, with five retirements, and three consecutive Safety Cars. Zane Maloney crashed to bring out the first, and Liam Lawson and Isack Hadjar both crashed off the Safety Car restarts. The race finished behind the Safety Car, with the win for Leclerc, second for Piastri, third for George Russell, as the Ultimate Opportunist strikes again. O'Ward Fourth, Bottas fifth, and Verstappen recovering from a P15 start and a Q1 crash on the Saturday to take sixth. Norris settled for eeventh, Tsunoda P8, Sainz down to 9th from Pole after issues with his car, Bearman snatched the final point.

THE CIRCUIT

It is the 25th anniversary of the first ever race at the Bahrain International Circuit, racing here for the first time in 2004, Formula 1's first venture into the Middle East. The race took place at night for the first time ten-years later, and has remained at night ever since, 15 years on. Bahrain also hosted two races in the shortened 2020 season - the Bahrain and Sakhir Grand Prix. Infamous for a horrific crash involving Romain Grosjean, where he was lucky to walk away alive from a fiery blaze. Sergio Pérez won his first ever rafe here the following week, as George Russell's impromptu Mercedes debut ended in heartbreak. The 5.412km circuit was the first race of the season from 2021-2026, but reverted to a September race last Season and has settled in well as a mid-season race at this point. Tyrewear is very difficult around here, however overtaking is always prominent around this circuit. The Sprint moved here in 2027, and has remained at Bahrain since then, proving popular with fans and drivers.

STORYLINES WE ARE WATCHING THIS WEEKEND

CHAMPIONSHIP FIGHT HEATING UP BETWEEN LECLERC AND PIASTRI

The gap is down to fifteen between Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri, as Leclerc looks to defend his Championship and win his fifth World Title, and third in a row. Oscar Piastri meanwhile looks for his maiden Championship, and this is the first time he's had an opportunity to properly challenge for the title, and has taken to it brilliantly. Piastri leads Leclerc in race wins (8 to 6), Qualifying (again, 8 to 6), and Pole Positions (7 to 5, with Carlos Sainz having the other 2 so far this season.). With the Constructors wrapped up already, the focus switches to the Drivers Title fight. It won't be decided in Bahrain, but with more points on offer this weekend, who can take the momentum into the last six rounds?

THE 2030 GRID IS LOCKED IN

We now know the 22 drivers that will be competing in the 2030 Formula 1 season, and of the six drivers that were out of contract this year, three have re-upped with their current teams, one is moving teams, and two are dropping off the grid. Yuki Tsunoda, Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto remain with their current teams in Aston Martin, McLaren and Haas respectively. Colton Herta will return to the team that brought him to Formula 1 in the first place, Andretti, with the hopes of leading a revival in the struggling American side. And for Gabriel Bortoleto and Liam Lawson, the pressure is on to prove their places in other series for next year and work their way back to Formula 1 for 2031. We will see two rookies on the grid next year - Paul Aron, who will become the first Estonian driver in Formula 1 history, and just the second rookie to debut within the modern iteration of Mercedes (Andrea Kimi Antonelli being the first), while Alpine hand a debut to Roman Staněk, who becomes the first full-time Czech driver in Formula 1. Aron and Staněk will continue in Formula 2 this weekend as they prepare for their F1 debuts next season.

THE FIGHT FOR SECOND IN THE CONSTRUCTORS

Red Bull outscored Aston Martin by five points last weekend, despite Carlos Sainz's car troubles, but Aston still hold a 25 point advantage over the Bulls, and McLaren find themselves a further 67 points back. A tough Baku halted McLaren's momentum and they may find themselves still on the outside of the top three looking in by season's end, as they currently sit well back in Fourth. Carlos Sainz vented some frustrations to the team about team orders to George Russell, who ended up on the podium, and Sainz finished just P9 after engine issues with his car. Aston Martin saw Yuki Tsunoda recover to Eighth after his third pitlane start of the season, but the qualifying crash won't have helped. This is another home race for McLaren - they're owned by Bahrain - and they will want a big result this weekend. Both Aston and Red Bull have their own issues to fight, can McLaren regroup and challenge once more? Or is this a two team battle at this point?

PATO O'WARD: EMERGING SUPERSTAR?

Pato O'Ward has done nothing but impress since he arrived in F1 back in 2027 at McLaren, and after losing his seat to a returning Lando Norris, found himself at Audi and doubts creeping in on whether he could remain competitive. He's done just that though, finishing P4 in Azerbaijan, and having taken a podium at Monza, is on a great run of form. Just 16 points behind Max Verstappen and 22 behind George Russell, just how high can O'Ward finish this season? Another big result at Bahrain would help his, and Audi's, chances massively of moving up the table. Audi sit 6th - 31 points behind Subaru, 38 ahead of Mercedes, 44 ahead of Haas. Moving up is possible.

F3 TITLE FIGHT CONCLUDES THIS WEEKEND

It is a busy weekend in Formula 1, as well as the Sprint and Sorint Qualifying, we will have the full array of Formula 2 and Formula 3, and the title decider in Formula 3 this coming weekend. Alexander Dunne finds himself 34 points ahead of Udo Arnold, and they are the only two that can still win the F3 Championship and succeed Chloe Grant as Champion. Dunne moves from the Red Bull Academy to the Ferrari Academy this year, Arnold still looks for his next career move and is likely to leave Subaru this year - but there's a good chance we see these two renew this rivalry in Formula 2 next year. As for this weekend, it would take a massive swing for Arnold to beat Dunne to the Championship - a 34 point gap with 39 available - but it is still possible. If Arnold takes the Sprint, he can keep the title fight alive into Sunday afternoon. Who will be the F3 Champion this weekend?

And so we head to Sakhir and the Bahrajn Grand Prix. With 57 laps and the Sprint to come this weekend, plus F2 and F3, a whole lot of racing. And one thing's for sure - you won't want to miss it.

Usual approach for a Sprint Weekend - three-parter

FP1 Reserves: Bennett (Norris), Grant (Sainz), Araya (Bearman), Abadi (Bottas), Barnard (Tsunoda), Stenshorne (Verstappen)

Still always surprising to see Teams give up the only practice, but hey, who needs practice? McLaren, Red Bull and Mercedes opt for their usual rookie in Bennett, Grant and Araya respectively, Aston trying out both Abadi and Barnard, and Stenshorne once again gets the nod over Shwartzman at Subaru.

FP1: GRA HER RUS
LEC P5, PIA P7

A fantastic effort from Chloe Grant who goes quickest in FP1, ahead of Colton Herta and George Russell. Title rivals Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri are P5 and P7 respectively, while Pato O'Ward was fourth and Pierre Gasly was sixth. Isack Hadjar, Esteban Ocon and Aston junior Lulwa Abadi complete the top ten.

It's early Thursday evening in Bahrain and after a busy day with F3 and F2, it is time to go Qualifying for the F1 Sprint. The fourth Sprint of the season, vital Championship points on the line here. The sun has set and we're ready to begin, but who will start their weekend on the right foot?

OUT IN SQ1: Maloney, Verstappen, Lawson, Hadjar, Bortoleto, Ricciardo
Bubble: Pérez
Top Five: LEC, TSU, SAI, PIA, BOT

Verstappen's run of form goes from bad to worse as he drops out in SQ1! Maloney also just misses out as Lawson, Hadjar and the two Andrettis also exit. Leclerc quickest from Tsunoda and Sainz, Piastri P4, Bottas P5 ahead of Colapinto.

OUT IN SQ2: Antonelli, Gasly, O'Ward, Colapinto, Herta, Pérez
Bubble: Bearman
Top Five: SAI, LEC, PIA, RUS, BOT

Bearman with a late lap to knock Antonelli out of Qualifying, as Gasly just misses out too. O'Ward down in P13, Colapinto, Herta and Pérez also out. Sainz ahead of Piastri and Leclerc, then Russell and Bottas. Norris, Pourchaire, Ocon and Tsunoda also into SQ3.

SQ3: Sainz, Piastri, Leclerc, Bottas, Russell, Norris, Pourchaire, Ocon, Tsunoda, Bearman

Carlos Sainz takes Sprint Pole, beating out both Piastri and Leclerc! A superb lap from the Spanish driver to take another Sprint Pole. Bottas fourth ahead of Russell and Norris, with Pourchaire and Ocon on row four, and Tsunoda and Bearman on row five. But Sainz may well be the story so far, what a lap that was.

2029 BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX
SPRINT GRID

SAI PIA

LEC BOT

RUS NOR

POU OCO

TSU BEA

ANT GAS

OWA COL

HER PER

MAL VER

LAW HAD

BOR RIC

Break for a bit, will return this afternoon for Sprint and Qualifying!

[foggy locust]

It's Friday afternoon and one of two Friday Qualifying days, but before that, it's the 19 Laps of the Bahrain Sprint! Sprint Friday is here, and this 5.421km track os one of the quickest, the toughest on tyres, and always a favourite.

The two Andrettis on the back row, Daniel Ricciardo alongside Gabriel Bortoleto, then it's Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson on row ten. Max Verstappen had a shocker in SQ1 so he's down in P18 alongside Zane Maloney, it's Sergio Pérez and Colton Herta on row eight, then we find Franco Colapinto and Pato O'Ward on the seventh row. Pierre Gasly and Kimi Antonelli on row six, then it's Oliver Bearman and Yuki Tsunoda just outside the points to start today. Esteban Ocon lines up just inside the points in eighth beside Théo Pourchaire, an all English third row with Lando Norris and George Russell, while Valtteri Bottas starts fourth beside Charles Leclerc. Oscar Piastri on second, and it's a second Sprint Pole this year for Carlos Sainz.

Let's go Sprinting in Bahrain!

One red light, two, three, four, five...AND IT'S LIGHTS OUT AND AWAY WE GO

Sainz away well, Piastri has just held off Leclerc, Bottas ahead of Russell, then Norris, Ocon up ahead of Pourchaire, Tsunoda, Antonelli into the top ten

Piastri gets Sainz into turn 1 on Lap 2!

PIASTRI

(BON) "Gap to Sainz 0.3, gap to Charles 2.2."

(LEC) "I am struggling so much...so much on these tyres"

(BOZ) "Head down, long way to go"

Leclerc holding off Bottas, who seems to now have a bit of issues with power.

Sainz back ahead of Piastri and into P1!

Worth noting that the two Ferraris opted for Mediums against the rest of the field going Softs. Interesting to see how that plays out over the course of this Sprint.

The new regs have made overtaking a lot easier, so we're seeing a lot of it. Sainz still in front, Leclerc has caught up to the back of Piastri now.

And we've just seen that in full play. Piastri, and then Leclerc, ahead of Sainz, and we have a Ferrari, top two in the Championship, 1-2.

We've seen Ferrari v Red Bull classics here before, remember 2022 and 2024? Funnily enough, right now the two playing out that battle were teammates for Ferrari back then, now on opposite sides, Leclerc and Sainz.

Lando Norris meanwhile, up to fifth, ahead of Bottas.

The title fight now being renewed at the front between Leclerc and Piastri, Leclerc has DRS, Leclerc leads this race!

Ocon with a lock-up, chasing Pourchaire for the final point, but he drops from P9 to P19 and that will likely cost him, and Haas, any shot at points today.

Antonelli takes advantage and he's up to P8!

Piastri trying to fend off Sainz and Russell, Leclerc trying to break from the pack.

Sainz takes advantage of the Ferrari in-fighting as the cars go three wide, he takes both Ferraris to take position, Piastri ahead of Leclerc, Russell nearly gets by them both too!

Leclerc gets ahead of Piastri for position!

Sainz now building up a gap. Could this be the first non Ferrari racing win of this season?

Gasly going for the overtake on Maloney, THE TWO MAKE CONTACT!!! Maloney slides off, and he's lucky to avoid the barrier!!! But that's completely compromised his Sprint!

CAR 10 (GASLY) - CAUSING A COLLISION WITH CAR 72 (MALONEY)

Gasly lands a penalty, and that's completely compromised his race, too.

Piastri gets Leclerc for position!

Showing you how quickly it can change - Piastri, and then Leclerc, get Sainz! Back to the Ferrari 1-2!

Leclerc retakes the lead of the Sprint with five laps left!

Russell overtakes Sainz and is up to third!!

Four laps to go. Piastri attacking Leclerc for the lead, but neither car is giving up the ground just yet!

This is a thriller to finish up here. Five cars in contention, the two Ferraris, two Red Bulls, and one McLaren of Norris. Leclerc holding firm for now.

Piastri gets the overtake done in the final corner, AND gets DRS into the bargain! Will that be enough on the penultimate lap?

FINAL LAP

LECLERC GOES ROUND THE OUTSIDE OF PIASTRI TO TAKE THE LEAD. RUSSELL TRYING FOR THE OVERTAKE ON PIASTRI. WOW.

Last chance here on the straights for Piastri, HE GETS THE OVERTAKE DONE, HE ROUNDS THE FINAL CORNER, OSCAR PIASTRI WINS THE SPRINT AHEAD OF CHARLES LECLERC!! RUSSELL P3, SAINZ P4, NORRIS P5. Bottas, Tsunoda and Antonelli pick up the remaining points. Incredible racing this afternoon.

(BON) "Amazing, amazing job Oscar. Well done, well done!"

(PIA) "Wow wee! Very nicely done, everyone! Fantastic start to the weekend, brilliant race...yeah, enjoyed that!"

(BON) "Fantastic work"

(BOZ) "And P2, P2. Great effort there Charles."

(LEC) "Thank you, thank you guys. Good effort, gave it all I had. We'll get them tomorrow"

(BOZ) "Long way to go this season. Good points."

BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX 2029
SPRINT CLASSIFICATION

1. Oscar Piastri 00.30.13
2. Charles Leclerc +0.240
3. George Russell +0.416
4. Carlos Sainz +0.693
5. Lando Norris +1.463
6. Valtteri Bottas +6.747
7. Yuki Tsunoda +11.186
8. Andrea Kimi Antonelli +21.952
9. Théo Pourchaire +23.377
10. Colton Herta +25.252
11. Franco Colapinto +25.408
12. Max Verstappen +26.033
13. Oliver Bearman +26.934
14. Pierre Gasly +31.637 5s
15. Pato O'Ward +37.756
16. Daniel Ricciardo +37.876
17. Sergio Pérez +37.896
18. Liam Lawson +38.724
19. Isack Hadjar +39.034
20. Esteban Ocon +40.106
21. Gabriel Bortoleto +45.822
22. Zane Maloney +46.243

Oscar Piastri 1.33.052

2029 FIA FORMULA 1 WORLD DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP

🇦🇺 Piastri 348
🇲🇨 Leclerc 332
🇫🇮 Bottas 142
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Norris 132
🇪🇸 Sainz 125
🇯🇵 Tsunoda 104
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Russell 102
🇳🇱 Verstappen 90
🇲🇽 O'Ward 74
🇫🇷 Gasly 45
🇫🇷 Ocon 31
🇺🇸 Herta 20
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Bearman 17
🇫🇷 Pourchaire 16
🇮🇹 Antonelli 5
🇧🇧 Maloney 1
🇫🇷 Hadjar 1
🇦🇷 Colapinto 0
🇳🇿 Lawson 0
🇦🇺 Ricciardo 0
🇧🇷 Bortoleto 0
🇲🇽 Pérez 0

2029 FIA FORMULA 1 WORLD CONSTRUCTORS CHAMPIONSHIP

Ferrari 670
Aston Martin-Honda 246
Red Bull-Ford 227
McLaren-Mercedes 177
Subaru-Honda 106
Audi 75
Mercedes 37
Haas-Ferrari 31
Williams-Ferrari 6
Alpine-Mercedes 0
Andretti-Ford 0

2029 WORLD TYRES CHAMPIONSHIP

Bridgestone 963
Pirelli 548
Goodyear 74

Well, here we go then, the lights are on and after a thrilling Sprint, it is time for qualifying for the race itself. Should be a good one here, Ferrari and Piastri won the Sprint, but Red Bull and Sainz took Pole for it, so what will happen here this evening?

OUT IN Q1: Bortoleto, Pérez, Colapinto, Herta, Maloney, Ricciardo
Bubble: Piastri
Top Five: LEC, SAI, BEA, BOT, NOR

The Championship leader breathes a sigh of relief, as a lock up by Herta at the final corner saved Piastri from a stunning Q1 exit! Bortoleto misses out on Q2 by 0.062, while Maloney had issues with his engine and couldn't get through. Pérez, Colapinto and Ricciardo also exited. Leclerc quickest from Sainz, with Bearman an impressive third.

OUT IN Q2: Hadjar, Verstappen, Pourchaire, Lawson, Antonelli, Gasly
Bubble: Bearman
Top Five: PIA, BOT, TSU, LEC, SAI

A late lap from Sainz just denies Hadjar Q3, as Verstappen and Subaru's struggles continue, with both he and Pourchaire out. Lawson out as well as Antonelli and Gasly. Piastri quickest from the two Astons of Bottas and Tsunoda, then Leclerc and Sainz. Norris, Russell, O'Ward, Ocon and Bearman complete Q3.

Q3: Piastri, Russell, Leclerc, Sainz, Bottas, Norris, Bearman, Ocon, O'Ward, Tsunoda

Piastri takes Pole number 8 of the season, beating out the field, as Russell will join him on the front row. Leclerc settles for the second row beside former teammate Sainz, with Bottas and Norris on row three. Bearman and Ocon take the fourth row, O'Ward and Tsunoda on row five.

2029 BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX
STARTING GRID

PIA RUS

LEC SAI

BOT NOR

BEA OCO

OWA TSU

HAD VER

POU LAW

ANT GAS

BOR PER

HER MAL

RIC

PITLANE START - COL

Back later this evening for the race!!

[foggy locust]

Good evening, as the lights settle on Sakhir, it is Round 15 in the Desert. The 25th Formula 1 World Championship Bahrain Grand Prix, and after yesterday's Sprint, expectations are high. 57 laps of this 5.412km circuit, it is almost certainly a two stopper, you'd be brave to try a one stop, as this circuit is notoriously tough on tyres.

Franco Colapinto has opted for a pitlane start after his Q1 exit yesterday, so Daniel Ricciardo finds himself alone on the back row, Zane Maloney and Colton Herta are on row ten, then it's Sergio Pérez, who had his debut win here back in 2020 and Gabriel Bortoleto on row nine. Pierre Gasly alongside Kimi Antonelli on the eighth row, Liam Lawson starts beside Théo Pourchaire on row seven. Max Verstappen begins from 12th tonight and it's Isack Hadjar just outside the points, then Yuki Tsunoda and Pato O'Ward begin on row five. Ollie Bearman starts just beside Esteban Ocon on row four, Lando Norris begins tonight from P6 and Valtteri Bottas starts 5th. The two front rows are a Red Bull starting behind a Ferrari - Charles Leclerc starts ahead of former teammate Carlos Sainz on row two, George Russell is on the front row for the first time since Mexico City, and it is once again beside Oscar Piastri, who has Pole number eight for the season. But can he convert it for his ninth win of the season and really take charge in this title fight with his teammate Charles Leclerc?

The cars are settling in as the sun has set and we are ready to begin!

One light, two, three, four, five...AND IT IS LIGHTS OUT AND AWAY WE GO

Piastri has gotten an okay start, LECLERC HAS GOTTEN A BRILLIANT START SND STORMS PAST RUSSELL AND INTO P2 IMMEDIATELY, HE BRIEFLY TAKES THE LEAD BUT THEN LOSES IT BACK TO PIASTRI. P4 for Sainz, Bottas next, then Norris, Bearman, Ocon, O'Ward and Tsunoda.

LECLERC

(LEC) "Whoo hoo!"

(BOZ) "Fantastic first lap, let's get into a rhythm here, this is an excellent start"

A lot of back and forth between Leclerc and Piastri thus far. Leclerc takes the lead, RUSSELL RUNS WIDE, but hasn't lost a lot of time in the process.

Bottas gets Sainz for 4th!

Bottas moves into third!

Ocon up ahead of Bearman!

Leclerc and Piastri not really breaking away from the pack as suspected here, as Piastri takes the lead back on Lap 9!

VERSTAPPEN

Verstappen back into the points with a nice overtake on teammate Pourchaire.

Antonelli overtakes Bearman, and the two make contact! A small bit of debris off the Mercedes there!

Leclerc back in front as we enter the 11th lap!

Bottas and Russell battling tough for that P3 and P4, they're not that far off the Ferraris, either!

Norris ahead of former teammate (twice, at their current teams respectively) Sainz!!

Russell has won out, for now, anyway, in the P3 battle, and Norris gets past Bottas too!

Verstappen up to 9th ahead of Tsunoda!

Norris up ahead of Russell, that was a lovely move!

(BON) "Let's use the tyres here"

(PIA) "Copy"

PITSTOPS: First to box tonight is Max Verstappen! He comes in for Mediums, clean stop and he's away, but down the order in P21. Ricciardo also in for Mediums at the back of the pack.

PITSTOPS: Pato O'Ward in from P8, trying to undercut the Astons ahead of him. Herta also in, as is Pérez. O'Ward now P19.

PITSTOP: RUSSELL IN. He's onto the Mediums, trying to undercut the Ferraris now.

(BON) "Box box, box box"

(PIA) "Copy box"

Piastri retakes the lead and gets the call from the Ferrari garage first! However Leclerc then retakes P1!

PITSTOP: Piastri is in the pitlane from P2! A delay on that drone tyre and this is a horrendous stop by Ferrari!!! 8 seconds!!

(PIA) "What the hell?"

(BON) "Sorry about that, the wheel got stuck"

(PIA) "Two in a row. Come on, guys"

(BOZ) "Box, box Charles"

(LEC) "Yeah, copy box this lap"

PITSTOP: Leclerc is in! A 2.068 stop, much better than Piastri's, but Norris comes in and McLaren jump Ferrari in the pitlane! Norris now ahead of Leclerc!!

Leclerc regains his place from Norris!

Piastri has some work to do. He's currently 6 seconds behind!

PITSTOP: Bottas is in on Lap 21 from the lead, and Sainz takes the lead, Ocon second.

Leclerc gets Ocon, who has yet to pit today! He's up to P2, about 10 seconds behind Sainz!

Russell now ahead of Ocon, and Leclerc is trying to build up the gap to the Red Bull now, without the Haas as a buffer!

PITSTOPS: Sainz and Ocon in, both are onto the Softs! Sainz now P8, Ocon P11.

Piastri down in Fourth, and struggling to close the gap to Norris in third atm. Could this be the massive shot in the arm for Leclerc's title challenge?

Bad weekend for Audis overtaking. O'Ward trying to overtake Ocon, and they make contact and O'Ward goes flying off the track!! Lucky to avoid the barrier!

CAR 31 (OCON) - CAUSING A COLLISION WITH CAR 29 (O'WARD)

Penalty to Ocon. Feels like a little while since we've said that, but here we are.

Piastri goes down the inside of his former teammate Norris, and he's up to P3. Damage limitation for the Championship challenger?

Norris keeping Piastri under pressure as both are catching up to Russell.

Leclerc meanwhile about 5.7 out in front at the moment.

(BON) "Pace is still good here, keep it up"

PITSTOP: Tsunoda in for the second time, he's onto the Mediums.

Piastri is back in second position! He overtakes Russell, the Ferrari 1-2 back in play. But can he catch Leclerc for the lead?

PITSTOPS: Subaru double stacking Verstappen and Pourchaire! Not the worst attempt we've seen at it this season, but not the best either. Verstappen P14, Pourchaire P15.

(BOZ) "Russell is in. Box, box."

(LEC) "Copy, box."

(BON) "Okay, box this lap, box this lap"

(PIA) "Boxing this lap"

PITSTOP: Russell comes in, clean stop by the Bulls, and he rejoins in P6.

PITSTOPS: Ferrari are responding and they're double stacking! Leclerc in, Piastri in, a 2.191 stop for Leclerc, he's away cleanly, a 2.069 stop for Piastri, also away cleanly, and that was fantastic from the Ferrari pitcrew! Leclerc rejoins P4, Piastri P5, crucially, ahead of Russell!!

Leclerc overtakes Bottas on track, then makes quick work of Sainz, both of whom are yet to pit!

PIASTRI

PITSTOP: Sainz in for fresh Softs. He's rejoined now in P7.

Piastri up to Fourth, ahead of Bottas!

Leclerc has DRS on Norris, and once again takes the lead! Is Norris trying to one stop here?

PITSTOP: Bottas is in for Softs, and rejoins P7.

Ricciardo has spun off big time at the final corner!!! He's kept the car going, but he's now firmly last. Leclerc about to lap him.

Piastri with another overtake on Norris, he's back to P2! With 12 laps to go, can he push Leclerc for the win now?

PITSTOP: Late stop from Antonelli. Can he make the most of it?

Big lock-up from Russell at turn 1! He slides off, but keeps it going and is back on track in P4.

10 laps remaining of this race here in Sakhir. All eyes on that 3.775 gap between Leclerc and Piastri.

PITSTOP: Norris in, and he's onto the Softs. Not a lot of time left now to recover that, as he rejoins P7.

Leclerc about 4.5 up on Piastri with three laps left. Making his way through traffic, it looks like the Championship lead is going down to eleven points this evening.

Colapinto could be on the verge of a breakthrough! His first points in F1 if he holds out for P9 here.

LAST LAP

It has been a superb drive from Charles Leclerc, composed, and mistake free. The Champion is keeping this title fight alive, his second consecutive win and seventh win of the season, he rounds the final corner, CHARLES LECLERC WINS THE BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX!!!

(BOZ) "And P1, P1! That's another win, number seven on the year! Brilliant job, you've done an amazing job!"

(LEC) "Mamma Mia, YES! Let's goooo! Good job guys, good job today, and all this weekend. We worked hard, we got our reward. Good job to all the guys at the factory. We're in this fight, and we'll keep pushing until the last race"

(BOZ) "We'll keep pushing. Amazing job."

OSCAR PIASTRI HOME IN P2

(BON) "And P2 Oscar, P2. Great recovery job today. Sorry about the stop, but you recovered well."

(PIA) "Yeah, thanks everyone. Apart from the stop, uh, yeah, we did well to recover. Thank you everyone, it's been a fun weekend between the Sprint and today. We need to keep pushing now."

(BON) "We'll keep pushing. Still well in this."

A 3-4 for Red Bull, Russell gets another podium, Sainz 4th. Norris in 5th, Bottas 6th, Tsunoda 7th, O'Ward 8th...COLAPINTO GETS NINTH AND POINTS!!! Ocon tenth, IT IS DOUBLE POINTS FOR HAAS. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME FOR THAT?

It's the first time IN THIS SAVE that Haas have scored double points

2029 BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX
RACE CLASSIFICATION

1. Charles Leclerc 1.31.41
2. Oscar Piastri +4.464
3. George Russell +30.387
4. Carlos Sainz +32.319
5. Lando Norris +35.799
6. Valtteri Bottas +37.362
7. Yuki Tsunoda +43.256
8. Pato O'Ward +64.111
9. Franco Colapinto +76.385
10. Esteban Ocon +79.398
11. Théo Pourchaire +79.668
12. Pierre Gasly +87.220
13. Max Verstappen +91.655
14. Colton Herta +93.685
15. Oliver Bearman +1 lap
16. Zane Maloney +1 lap
17. Isack Hadjar +1 lap
18. Gabriel Bortoleto +1 lap
19. Liam Lawson +1 lap
20. Andrea Kimi Antonelli +1 lap
21. Sergio Pérez +1 lap
22. Daniel Ricciardo +1 lap

Oscar Piastri 1.30.762
Carlos Sainz 1.989s
Franco Colapinto

DRIVER OF THE DAY: FRANCO COLAPINTO

A long time coming. Having improved a lot throughout the year, and with some near misses, Franco Colapinto finally hit paydirt in Bahrain, and he did it from the pitlane. From the pitlane to the points, a stunning drive for Franco Colapinto, for his first points in F1, and Haas' first double points in over seven years. Franco Colapinto is your Driver of the Day!

Top Five: Colapinto, Leclerc, Tsunoda, O'Ward, Norris

2029 FIA FORMULA 1 WORLD DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP

🇦🇺 Piastri 368
🇲🇨 Leclerc 357
🇫🇮 Bottas 150
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Norris 142
🇪🇸 Sainz 137
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Russell 117
🇯🇵 Tsunoda 110
🇳🇱 Verstappen 90
🇲🇽 O'Ward 78
🇫🇷 Gasly 45
🇫🇷 Ocon 32
🇺🇸 Herta 20
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Bearman 17
🇫🇷 Pourchaire 16
🇮🇹 Antonelli 5
🇦🇷 Colapinto 2
🇧🇧 Maloney 1
🇫🇷 Hadjar 1
🇳🇿 Lawson 0
🇦🇺 Ricciardo 0
🇧🇷 Bortoleto 0
🇲🇽 Pérez 0

2029 FIA FORMULA 1 WORLD CONSTRUCTORS CHAMPIONSHIP

Ferrari 725
Aston Martin-Honda 260
Red Bull-Ford 254
McLaren-Mercedes 187
Subaru-Honda 106
Audi 79
Mercedes 37
Haas-Ferrari 34
Williams-Ferrari 6
Alpine-Mercedes 0
Andretti-Ford 0

2029 WORLD TYRES CHAMPIONSHIP

Bridgestone 1017
Pirelli 593
Goodyear 77

DHL FASTEST PITSTOP COMPETITION 2029

Red Bull 256
McLaren 247
Ferrari 240
Subaru 179
Williams 167
Alpine 126
Mercedes 95
Andretti 81
Aston Martin 68
Audi 56
Haas 0

F2 BAHRAIN

SPRINT

1. Doriane Pin
2. Dennis Hauger
3. Taylor Barnard
4. Kacper Sztuka
5. Rafael Câmara
6. Zak O'Sullivan
7. Jak Crawford
8. Ritomo Miyata
9. Pepe Marti
10. Luke Browning

FEATURE RACE
Pole Position: Jak Crawford

1. Jak Crawford
2. Dennis Hauger
3. Zak O'Sullivan
4. Taylor Barnard
5. Kacper Sztuka
6. Rafael Câmara
7. Ritomo Miyata
8. Doriane Pin
9. Pepe Marti
10. Dayton Coulthard

F3 BAHRAIN

SPRINT

1. Christian Mansell
2. Nina Gademan
3. Joseph Loake
4. Martinius Stenshorne
5. Alexander Dunne
6. Hamda Al Qubaisi
7. Nikita Bedrin
8. Abbi Pulling
9. Oliver Goethe
10. Sami Meguetounif

FEATURE RACE
Pole Position: Martinius Stenshorne

1. Martinius Stenshorne
2. Abbi Pulling
3. Hamda Al Qubaisi
4. Jordi Alvarado
5. Joseph Loake
6. Alexander Dunne
7. Nina Gademan
8. Udo Arnold
9. Oliver Goethe
10. Alessandro Giusti

ALEXANDER DUNNE WINS F3 CHAMPIONSHIP

Alexander Dunne clinched the F3 Championship at Bahrain this weekend with a P5 in the Sprint and P6 in the main race.

With title rival Udo Arnold unable to score in the Sprint and just P8 in the main race, that meant that Dunne's title was secured with ease.

With three wins and one Sprint win, Dunne has been the class of the F3 field, and now looks to make the move up to F2 for next year. Ireland's F3 Champion will move from the Red Bull Academy to the Ferrari Driver Academy for 2030.

[foggy locust]

ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX 2029
WEEKEND PREVIEW

We head to Abu Dhabi for Round 16, and we are closing in on the end of the 2029 Formula 1 season, with just six rounds left this year. The Championship fight continues between the two Ferrari drivers, the fight behind them continues, and we now know the full 2030 grid. What will Abu Dhabi bring us this weekend?

LAST TIME AROUND

The two Ferrari drivers traded wins on Bahrain weekend, with Oscar Piastri taking the win in the Sprint with Charles Leclerc second, and Charles Leclerc won the Race with Oscar Piastri recovering to second after a second weekend with a slow pitstop, although he did take the Pole and Fastest Lap points. George Russell got on the podium ahead of Carlos Sainz, with Lando Norris fifth and Valtteri Bottas sixth ahead of his teammate Yuki Tsunoda. It was eighth for Pato O'Ward, while Haas took double points for the first time since Austria…2022. Franco Colapinto got his first F1 points in 9th, Esteban Ocon 10th.

THE CIRCUIT

The Formula 1's sunset race, the race begins in the early evening, and goes under the lights as the sun sets, finishing in the dark of night. The Yas Marina Circuit on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates was the second Grand Prix circuit to have a race in the Middle East, and is the second of three this season, with Saudi Arabia being the last this year, however we will go down to two next year as Morocco takes Saudi’s place. The 5.281km circuit first saw racing here in 2009, and was the regular host of the season finale from 2014 to 2026, before moving to its current date in September. The Circuit has 16 turns, 2 DRS Zones and passes by the marina as well as the W Abu Dhabi Hotel. Known for its medium speed cornering, the aforementionrd day to night transition during the race, and of course, several title deciders over the years, Abu Dhabi’s Grand Prix is now a regular on the F1 Calendar.

THE STORYLINES WE ARE WATCHING THIS WEEKEND

ELEVEN POINTS, SIX ROUNDS TO GO BETWEEN PIASTRI AND LECLERC

With six races and just one more Sprint in Brazil to come, every weekend is crucial in the Drivers’ Championship battle and this is a battle that could go all the way to Las Vegas. The momentum right now is with the defending Champion, the points advantage is with the Challenger. Charles Leclerc has won the last two races and goes for three in a row this weekend, while Oscar Piastri is eleven points ahead in the Drivers Championship. The team has already secured top spot in the Constructors for the sixth time in a row, can anyone fight Ferrari's dominance for the win this weekend? And if it is another win and even another 1-2, will it be Leclerc reducing the gap or Piasti extending the gap?

JUST SIX POINTS BETWEEN ASTON AND RED BULL

Second place is still very much in play between Aston Martin and Red Bull, and Red Bull have slowly been closing the gap as of late, having briefly gone above Aston before the summer, although Aston took it back when Red Bull blanked. Both teams were expected to be up here, but Aston have arguably outperformed expectations this season with challenging for second spot. Having secured their long-term line-up of Yuki Tsunoda and Valtteri Bottas, and with Red Bull retaining Carlos Sainz and George Russell next year, these are the two teams - maybe adding McLaren, who have had a lot of momentum but find themselves 57 points off Red Bull and 63 off Aston - that would hope to break through and challenge Ferrari next season. However, for now, they're locked in a fight with each other this weekend.

CAN MERCEDES ARREST THE SLUMP?

Mercedes have struggled this season, in a year where they were hoping to be up with Red Bull and Aston, with a car that's proven difficult to drive, so much so that Colton Herta has opted to return to familiar territory in Andretti next year. A bit harsh saying that's the reason, as Herta wants to be the catalyst to lift Andretti back up to challenging for the top four again, but Mercedes have been slumping significantly lately, finishing 14th and 15th in Bahrain. The team find themselves 7th, just three points ahead of surprise package Haas, and they are bringing massive upgrades this coming weekend that they hope will boost them up towards at least the top six, although they are currently 62 points behind another surprise package in Audi. Mercedes simply need to start getting points on the board again, as they will have a fairly inexperienced lineup - Oliver Bearman enters Year 4 next year, and will be joined by rookie Paul Aron for 2030 - and they hope to get themselves a foundation for the future.

COULD THE F2 CHAMPION BE CROWNED THIS WEEKEND?

With 76 points to play for, Dennis Hauger could clinch the F2 Championship this weekend simply by finishing in the points this race. Hauger will not be heading to F1 next year, and has already ruled out the possibility of defending a title here as Kacper Sztuka opted to do under the new rules allowing the F2 Champion to defend the Championship, implemented this season. Hauger finds himself 72 points ahead of Dayton Coulthard, and 96 ahead of Chloe Grant, who can no longer go back to back with F3 and F2 Championships. But can Hauger clinch the F2 Championship this weekend? Or will Coulthard take the fight to Sakhir?

And so to an eventual Formula 1, and Formula 2, weekend ahead of us. Unsurprisingly, no rain is expected this weekend, making a likely two stop race, although a one is possible. Should make for some intriguing racing, and as always, you will not want to miss it.

We're expected to have the 3rd and 4th best cars this weekend 👀

CÂMARA AND PIN TO RUN FP1.

Pin will take Leclerc's car, Câmara will take Piastri's car.

FP1 Reserves: Pin (Leclerc), Câmara (Piastri), Bennett (Norris), Miní (Pérez), Vesti (Bortoleto), Drugovich (Ricciardo), O'Sullivan (Maloney), Crawford (O'Ward)

Most intriguing is Vesti and Drugovich for Andretti, as both will be assessed as potential replacements for the retiring Daniel Ricciardo at the end of next season. Câmara may also stake his claim for that seat on the 2030 grid, as it won't be with Ferrari who are locked in with Leclerc and Piastri. Crawford, Mini and O'Sullivan may also be in play, Bennett likely just getting experience with McLaren.

FP1: SAI GAS RUS
CÂM P7, PIN P8

Red Bull and McLaren take the top three, as Sainz is quickest, Russell P3 and Gasly splits them. Fourth for Verstappen and 6th for Pourchaire for Subaru, with Tsunoda splitting them. P7 and P8 for the Ferrari Reserves, Câmara ahead of Pin, with Antonelli 9th and Crawford 10th.

FP2: PIA LEC SAI

Piastri quickest from Leclerc in a Ferrari 1-2, Sainz 2 tenths back in 3rd. Bearman 4th in a much needed boost for Mercedes, with Tsunoda and Bottas split by Russell in 5th, 6th and 7th. Norris, Ocon and Antonelli complete the top ten.

FP3: PIA BOT SAI
LEC P13

Piastri quickest from Bottas and Sainz, with Leclerc down in P13. Bearman and Herta 4th and 5th, while Tsunoda was ahead of Lawson and Russell in 6th, 7th and 8th. Antonelli 9th, Verstappen 10th.

Practice summary: Hard to tell. Ferrari probably just ahead of Aston and Red Bull, while Mercedes have shown some real pace. McLaren struggling towards the bottom half so far, while Subaru and Williams have some hope. Haas and Audi. haven't really shown too much pace, while Alpine got some hope today, and Andretti continue to struggle at the back.

Welcome to Abu Dhabi and to qualifying here on Yas Island! Round 16 about to get into full swing, and while Ferrari looked quickest of all, Aston and Red Bull pushed them well, and could there be a surprise on for Pole? This could be very intriguing here.

OUT IN Q1: Herta, Bortoleto, Ricciardo, Lawson, Maloney, Pérez
Bubble: Hadjar
Top Five: Russell, Sainz, Piastri, Leclerc, Bottas

Herta the shock exit of Q1, as Bearman tapped the barrier and abandoned his last lap but made it through. Bortoleto and Ricciardo also out, as well as both Alpines and Maloney. Russell quickest from Sainz, then Piastri and Leclerc.

OUT IN Q2: Bearman, O'Ward, Gasly, Colapinto, Hadjar, Pourchaire
Bubble: Antonelli
Top Five: PIA, RUS, LEC, SAI, NOR

Bearman just misses out to Antonelli, while both Ferraris needed late laps to get out of the bottom six. Gasly and Colapinto both miss out, as do Hadjar and Pourchaire. Piastri quickest from Russell and Leclerc, then Sainz and Norris. Bottas, Tsunoda, Verstappen and Ocon also into Q3.

Q3: Sainz, Piastri, Leclerc, Russell, Tsunoda, Bottas, Norris, Ocon, Verstappen, Antonelli

Carlos Sainz snatches Pole! He took Pole at the last second away from Oscar Piastri, his third Pole of the season. Charles Leclerc settles for third, with Russell 4th, Tsunoda 5th and Bottas 6th. Norris takes 7th ahead of Ocon, with Verstappen and Antonelli completing the top ten.

2029 ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX
STARTING GRID

SAI PIA

LEC RUS

TSU BOT

NOR OCO

VER ANT

BEA OWA

GAS COL

HAD POU

HER BOR

RIC LAW

MAL PER

Race later this afternoon!

[foggy locust]

Well, it's go time in Abu Dhabi this evening, and the Championship fight is coming to a head, but neither protagonist finds himself on Pole, as a Red Bull enters the mix. Round 16 of this Formula 1 World Championship in 2029 brings us to Abu Dhabi, the second part of this Middle East double header, which next year will be one of only two Middle Eastern races on the calendar, for this year it's the second of three. 58 laps of this 5.281km circuit, we start in the daytime, we finish in the nighttime, we have a sunset in-between. 2 DRS Zones, 16 turns, plenty of chances for overtaking, could be a two stop, could be a one stop.

Sergio Pérez finds himself at the very back of the grid alongside Zane Maloney, then it's Liam Lawson and Daniel Ricciardo on row ten, row nine is Gabriel Bortoleto and Colton Herta. Théo Pourchaire lines up in 16th alongside Isack Hadjar in 15th Franco Colapinto looks for his second points finish in a row and starts 14th with Pierre Gasly 13th. Just outside the points is Pato O'Ward in 12th and Oliver Bearman who had a slight crash in Q2 but still made it to 11th. Kimi Antonelli 10th, Max Verstappen has won a Championship infamously here in 2021, he starts 9th tonight. Esteban Ocon up in 8th alongside Lando Norris, the two Astons of Valtteri Bottas in 6th and Yuki Tsunoda in 5th. George Russell starts 4th with Charles Leclerc, who won the Championship here in 2025, 3rd. Oscar Piastri starts ahead of his teammate as the title battle this year continues, he's on the front row with Carlos Sainz taking his third Pole of the season, and second in three races.

The cars heading round the formation lap now, as we are getting ready for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Still daylight, at least for now, but the sun is slowly starting to set.

Let's race in Abu Dhabi!

One light, two, three, four, five...AND IT'S LIGHTS OUT AND AWAY WE GO

Sainz is away well and holds off Piastri, but Russell has gotten a better start than Leclerc and gets ahead of the Ferrari! Tsunoda then Bottas, NORRIS LOCKS UP!!! He's off, Verstappen up to 7th, Ocon up to 8th, 9th for Antonelli, O'Ward 10th! Norris falls to the back of the pack!

Piastri dives down the inside of Sainz and takes the race lead, Russell still holding off Leclerc, in fact Russell is pushing Sainz for second!

(BON) "Temps look good, can probably afford to push a little bit more"

(PIA) "Yeah, copy. DRS is going to be very difficult to break around here though."

Leclerc struggling to get past Russell, Piastri defending Sainz who's tried several divebombs so far, but so far, Piastri has held the Red Bull off.

(LEC) "Mamma Mia."

(BOZ) "Good job, keep pushing"

Leclerc gets by Russell and into 3rd. Something Red Bull have to think about that Ferrari don't here is team orders, as Red Bull are fighting Aston for P2...the Ferrari drivers are fighting each other for the Drivers' Championship.

Pérez makes contact with one of the Andrettis...looks like Bortoleto!! He's unhappy on the radio about it! Bortoleto looks like he has damage!

Sainz back into P1 ahead of Piastri!!

No further action for Pérez and Bortoleto down in P20 and P21. A relief for the two teams.

Norris, after his earlier error, has found his way back up to P18. Just overtook Maloney for position.

NORRIS

Sainz caught napping there and lets not only Piastri, but Leclerc by as well!! Ferrari now into a 1-2 position!

(BOZ) "Free to race, nothing silly now though. We're fighting for a title, we need these points"

(LEC) "I know, Bryan"

Leclerc down the inside of a Piastri and into the lead, but Piastri gets DRS and retakes position!!

The two Red cars wheel to wheel, Leclerc takes position back! This isn't the decider unlike past years round here, but it could be a big points swing!

LECLERC

Antonelli with a lovely overtake on Verstappen for P7!

After the early battles, the two Ferraris starting to take out a bit of a gap to the Red Bulls.

Piastri back ahead of Leclerc, but Leclerc will get the inside line, he takes the lead, then Piastri gets the inside line and takes it back!

Bortoleto wide at turn 13! He's currently running P22, and he has fallen further back with that!

Sainz has pushed on and is now back in the conversation for the lead!

(BOZ) "Thoughts on Plan D, Charles?"

(LEC) "I think we should go for it"

Leclerc is back in front on Lap 13!!

🌤️ The sun beginning to set on Abu Dhabi here on Lap 14.

Leclerc holding off Piastri for now, at least.

O'Ward up to P7! Fantastic job from the Audi so far today.

(BON) "How are the tyres?"

(PIA) "Lot of deg, too much deg in fact"

(BOZ) "Box Charles, box this lap"

(LEC) "Copy box"

(BON) "Charles is boxing this lap"

(PIA) "Bring me in next lap please. Same tyres as Charles"

(BON) "Okay, box box"

PITSTOPS: LECLERC IN. SAINZ IN. 2.043 for Leclerc, both he and Sainz take the Hards, Antonelli in, Pourchaire in, Norris in, Ricciardo in.

COLAPINTO

PITSTOPS: Piastri, Russell, Bottas and O'Ward in. 2.141, and Piastri does take the same tyres as his teammate, the Hards. He rejoins P3, just behind Leclerc! Tsunoda leads!

The Ferrari in-fighting may well help Tsunoda here, who's eight seconds ahead of Leclerc and Piastri.

(BON) "Hold off on attacking Charles until we get you both past Tsunoda. Free to race after that."

(PIA) "Yeah, copy"

Well, Ferrari have nulfied that by having Piastri stay behind Leclerc until they're both ahead of Tsunoda. Interesting team strategy considering they're fighting for a title here, but Ferrari want one of their cars to win this race.

PIASTRI

Both Leclerc and Piastri get ahead of Tsunoda, and we are back to the Ferrari 1-2!

(BON) "Job done, good teamwork, you're once again free to race Charles here"

(PIA) "Copy, understood"

Ferrari honour their word to Piastri, and the race is on in the title fight once more!

PITSTOP: Tsunoda comes into the pitlane anyway from P3, he's onto the Hards. Can he take those to the end?

VIRTUAL SAFETY CAR CALLED!!!

Liam Lawson slides off at the final corner and hits the barrier!!! He's okay, but his race has ended!

Lap 23, under VSC: Leclerc, Piastri, Sainz, Russell, Bottas, Verstappen, Tsunoda, O'Ward, Bearman, Pourchaire, Antonelli, Colapinto, Ocon, Gasly, Maloney, Norris, Hadjar, Herta, Ricciardo, Pérez, Bortoleto. Lawson out of the race.

PITSTOP: Bit of luck for Maloney, who gets a free pitstop, although he's taken Softs, so he'll likely have to stop again.

We are racing again on Lap 24!

Piastri chasing Leclerc here for the lead, so far, the Champion is holding the Challenger off as we enter the halfway point of this race!

Piastri gets a run of DRS and gets by Leclerc, but Leclerc gets DRS, tries for the move, and Piastri holds him off! Piastri leads!

TSUNODA

One lap later, Leclerc returns the favour in the exact same manner, and takes the lead back!

Piastri back in front on Lap 29! This is looking to be another thrilling battle between the Championship contenders!

WHEEL TO WHEEL, AND LECLERC POWERS THROUGH TO LEAD HERE ONCE MORE!

Piastri on the attack, Piastri gets DRS, Piastri gets through!!!

Piastri laps Bortoleto who doesn't immediately let Leclerc through as well, and Piastri now opening up a gap!

PITSTOP: Bearman into the pitlane, and he drops from P13 to P16.

Both Verstappen and Sainz having mechanical issues within seconds of each other!

Leclerc back in DRS range, he's going on the attack here but Piastri holds him off again! Both lap Pérez, and the fight continues!

PITSTOP: Second stop for Verstappen. He's onto the Mediums and that'll be him to the end of the race, rejoining P11.

🌕 The sun has set in Abu Dhabi.

PITSTOP: Sainz in for his second stop, he takes Mediims to the end.

OH MY GOD IT IS A RED FLAG!!!

HERTA AND PÉREZ MAKE BIGTIME CONTACT, AND BOTH GO OFF THE TRACK!!! PÉREZ BOUNCES OFF THE BARRIER AND CLIPS HERTA ON THE WAY BACK, DAMAGING BOTH CARS. BOTH ARE OUT.

Both drivers, after a second, thankfully emerge unhurt. Big, big accident here. That's a Red Flag on Lap 37.

Restart order on Lap 39: Piastri, Leclerc, Russell, Tsunoda, Bottas, O'Ward, Sainz, Antonelli, Ocon, Norris, Verstappen, Gasly, Pourchaire, Bearman, Maloney, Colapinto, Hadjar, Ricciardo, Bortoleto. Herta, Pérez, Lawson out of the race.

AND IT'S LIGHTS OUT AND AWAY WE GO AGAIN

Piastri and Leclerc away well, then Tsunoda, Russell, Bottas, O'Ward, Antonelli ahead of Sainz! Norris and Gasly both into the top ten!

Tsunoda got ahead of Russell and today has completely turned around for Red Bull and Aston!

Leclerc down the inside of Piastri!!! The Champion retakes the lead here!

Sainz retakes P7 from Antonelli.

LECLERC

Antonelli back ahead of Sainz!

ANTONELLI

Russell ahead of Tsunoda, those points could become oh so vital in the fight for second.

Piastri retakes the lead!!!

The title fight is on an absolute knife-edge here with 13 laps remaining. Piastri leads from Leclerc, if could be 18 points or it could be 4 points after tonight. Neither has the FL either, so you could add on an extra point.

And speaking of which Leclerc has just gone back in front!

Piastri retakes the lead with ten laps remaining!

Antonelli ahead of O'Ward and into P6. This could be a big result for Williams, especially adding on the fastest lap point.

RUSSELL

Never mind, Russell's just taken it. Russell up to P3 as well, ahead of Tsunoda.

Hadjar wide there! He doesn't lose too much time though.

Leclerc back into the lead for now on Lap 50!

Piastri back in front on Lap 51! This one could absolutely go either way!

Antonelli up to fifth! This could be a massive result for Williams!

RICCIARDO OFF AT THE FIRST CORNER. He's just avoided the barrier, but he drops to P18.

The Ferraris wheel to wheel again and Leclerc leads but Piastri comes back at him and retakes the position!

LECLERC STORMS PAST AGAIN. MY WORD WHAT A RACE THIS IS

WHEEL TO WHEEL ONCE MORE AND PIASTRI BACK IN FRONT

Ocon having engine issues, but should make it to the line.

TWO LAPS REMAINING

Bottas up ahead of Tsunoda and Antonelli to P4.

Norris and Gasly ahead of O'Ward.

FINAL LAP

Now or never for Leclerc. He's gotta get it done and now, Piastri holds him off, Leclerc will get one more shot with DRS BUT PIASTRI HOLDS HIM OFF, PIASTRI ROUNDING THE FINAL CORNERS, OSCAR PIASTRI HOLDS ON TO WIN THE ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX!!! WHAT A FIGHT THAT WAS, BUT PIASTRI COMES OUT ON TOP TONIGHT!!!

(BON) "P1, OSCAR. P1. Over the line. You won that tonight. Amazing mate. Amazing."

(PIA) "Wooo! Wow, wow wee! Very nicely done everyone, uh, yeah! That was probably the most stressful race of my life! Fantastic job though. Thanks everyone, thank you."

(BON) "Amazing job, Oscar."

(BOZ) "P2, Charles, P2. Amazing, amazing effort the less."

(LEC) "Yeah, good job. The car was incredible today, the team were incredible, I gave it all I had, I really did. Congrats to Oscar, he beat me fair and square today. We'll keep our heads up, we keep pushing, and we've still got five more rounds to win this"

(BOZ) "We'll keep pushing Charles."

RUSSELL

Russell takes P3 and the fastest lap on the last lap, then Bottas, Tsunoda, Antonelli, Norris, O'Ward, Gasly, Sainz. Thrilling, thrilling race this evening.

2029 ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX
RACE CLASSIFICATION

1. Oscar Piastri 1.24.52
2. Charles Leclerc +0.448
3. George Russell +9.553
4. Valtteri Bottas +15.205
5. Yuki Tsunoda +16.856
6. Andrea Kimi Antonelli +19.921
7. Lando Norris +22.337
8. Pato O'Ward +22.712
9. Pierre Gasly +25.586
10. Carlos Sainz +30.213
11. Oliver Bearman +33.402
12. Théo Pourchaire +34.220
13. Esteban Ocon +34.505
14. Max Verstappen +34.926
15. Franco Colapinto +39.840
16. Isack Hadjar +45.216
17. Gabriel Bortoleto +55.044
18. Daniel Ricciardo +59.210
19. Zane Maloney +60.160
20. Colton Herta DNF
21. Sergio Pérez DNF
22. Liam Lawson DNF

George Russell 1.24.625
Sergio Perez 2.004s
Andrea Kimi Antonelli

DRIVER OF THE DAY: ANDREA KIMI ANTONELLI

A magnificent result for Antonelli and for Williams, their best performance of a season, as he went up to P6 to claim some valuable points for the team. Andrea Kimi Antonelli is your Driver of the Day!

Top Five: Antonelli, Piastri, Leclerc, Norris, O'Ward

2029 FIA FORMULA 1 WORLD DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP

🇦🇺 Piastri 393
🇲🇨 Leclerc 375
🇫🇮 Bottas 162
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Norris 148
🇪🇸 Sainz 139
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Russell 133
🇯🇵 Tsunoda 120
🇳🇱 Verstappen 90
🇲🇽 O'Ward 82
🇫🇷 Gasly 47
🇫🇷 Ocon 32
🇺🇸 Herta 20
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Bearman 17
🇫🇷 Pourchaire 16
🇮🇹 Antonelli 13
🇦🇷 Colapinto 2
🇧🇧 Maloney 1
🇫🇷 Hadjar 1
🇳🇿 Lawson 0
🇦🇺 Ricciardo 0
🇧🇷 Bortoleto 0
🇲🇽 Pérez 0

2029 FIA FORMULA 1 WORLD CONSTRUCTORS CHAMPIONSHIP

Ferrari 768
Aston Martin-Honda 282
Red Bull-Ford 272
McLaren-Mercedes 195
Subaru-Honda 106
Audi 83
Mercedes 37
Haas-Ferrari 34
Williams-Ferrari 14
Alpine-Mercedes 0
Andretti-Ford 0

2029 WORLD TYRES CHAMPIONSHIP

Bridgestone 1069
Pirelli 637
Goodyear 85

DHL FASTEST PITSTOP COMPETITION 2029

Red Bull 256
Ferrari 252
McLaren 247
Subaru 205
Williams 167
Alpine 163
Mercedes 99
Andretti 96
Aston Martin 74
Audi 56
Haas 1

F2 ABU DHABI

SPRINT

1. Arvid Lindblad
2. Doriane Pin
3. Chloe Grant
4. Kacper Sztuka
5. Rafael Câmara
6. Dennis Hauger
7. Dayton Coulthard
8. Taylor Barnard
9. Ritomo Miyata
10. Jak Crawford

RACE
Pole Position: Chloe Grant

1. Chloe Grant
2. Rafael Câmara
3. Dayton Coulthard
4. Arvid Lindblad
5. Ritomo Miyata
6. Dennis Hauger
7. Kacper Sztuka
8. Taylor Barnard
9. Doriane Pin
10. Jak Crawford

F2 STANDINGS

🇳🇴 Hauger 269
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 🇧🇪 Coulthard 202
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Grant 197
🇧🇷 Câmara 181
🇯🇵 Miyata 166
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Barnard 155
🇫🇷 Pin 123
🇩🇪 Tramnitz 123
🇺🇸 Crawford 99
🇵🇱 Sztuka 86
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 🇸🇪 Lindblad 75
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 O'Sullivan 65
🇪🇪 Aron 29
🇪🇸 Marti 22
🇳🇱 Verschoor 15
🇦🇷 Araya 13
🇮🇹 Miní 12
🇧🇷 E. Fittipaldi 11
🇸🇪 🇧🇦 Beganovic 9
🇨🇿 Staněk 9
🇮🇳 Maini 3
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Browning 0

DENNIS HAUGER CLINCHES F2 CHAMPIONSHIP

Dennis Hauger is the 2029 Formula 2 Champion.

Hauger clinches the F2 title EIGHT YEARS after winning the F3 Championship, ending his time in the junior formulas on a high.

Hauger took sixth in both the Sprint and the Race at Abu Dhabi, and that was enough to wrap up the title with one race to spare.

Hauger is expected to join the IndyCar circuit next season.

THREE PLACE GRID PENALTY FOR PÉREZ AT SUZUKA

Sergio Pérez has been handed a three place grid penalty for causing a collision with Colton Herta during Sunday's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Pérez clipped Herta and took both cars off the road during an overtake attempt, ending both men's races and bringing out the Red Flag.

Pérez was found to be at fault for the incident, and will now serve a grid penalty at Suzuka.

RED BULL ANNOUNCE GOODYEAR PARTNERSHIP FOR 2030 AND BEYOND

Red Bull are the first team to announce a tyre switch for 2030, switching from Pirelli tyres to Goodyear for the 2030 season.

The Austrian team have struck a long term deal with the American tyre manufacturer to provide their tyres for 2030 and beyond.

We wait to see if any other teams will announce a switch of tyres for next season.

[foggy locust]

ASTON MARTIN AND HONDA RENEW ENGINE PARTNERSHIP THROUGH 2033

Ahead of this weekend's Japanese Grand Prix, Aston Martin and Honda have renewed their engine deal for another four years.

Although no longer an exclusive deal, as Honda provide Subaru with their engines and will continue to do so for the foreseeable, Honda and Aston Martin have come to terms on a new contract.

It is believed that the re-signing of Yuki Tsunoda to Aston Martin for the next four seasons was the sealer of the new deal for both parties. Tsunoda has performed well for Aston this season and sits Seventh in the Drivers' Championship, with Valtteri Bottas third.

However the team's overall success was said to be the biggest factor in extending the deal, with the team currently second in the Constructors Championship.

A popular deal for both team and engine provider, Aston and Honda have announced their new agreement ahead of Honda's home race at Suzuka.

[foggy locust]

JAPANESE GRAND PRIX 2029
WEEKEND PREVIEW

With just five rounds to go in the 2029 Formula 1 World Championship, the season is hotting up as we head to our second and last triple header of the season. Singapore and Saudi await us, but we go to a real favourite of the calendar next, Suzuka, Japan.

LAST TIME AROUND

A thriller in Abu Dhabi, as Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri battled for victory once more, and Piastri came out on top after a Red Flag caused by Sergio Pérez crashing into Colton Herta, something he'll take a penalty for. For the Ferrari title fight though, Piastri extended his advantage to 18 points over Leclerc. George Russell took his fifth podium of the season, with Aston holding firm in the fight for second as Valtteri Bottas and Yuki Tsunoda took fourth and fifth. A big result for Kimi Antonelli and Williams in sixth, more than doubling their points this season so far, McLaren took double points in Seventh and Ninth but the top three looks a way off now, Pato O'Ward was eighth, Pole sitter Carlos Sainz struggled to just tenth after a badly timed pitstop before the Red Flag.

THE CIRCUIT

The 5.807km Figure of Eight Suzuka International Racing Course in Ino, Suzuka City, Mie Prefecture, Japan is owned and operated by Honda and has been the home of the Japanese Grand Prix since 1987, and held a race here every year since with four exceptions in 2007, 2008, 2020 and 2021. It hosts both Formula 1 and Super Formula, and remains incredibly popular with Drivers and fans alike in both series. The aforementioned Figure of 8 layout features a mix of Medium and High Speed corners, some of the most challenging in the sport. Having flirted with a move to earlier in the year, Japan has remained in its mid October spot, and as always, the threat of rain is high, and is expected all weekend this weekend, which should make for a very challenging twist this weekend.

STORYLINES WE ARE WATCHING THIS WEEKEND

FERRARI TITLE FIGHT HEATS UP AGAIN

It's nine-seven in terms of wins and an eighteen point advantage to Oscar Piastri, but with double points in play at Vegas, this is looking more and more likely to go all the way to the final day, especially with Ferrari's 1-2 record this season - every single race bar Belgium, where Lando Norris was second for McLaren. If that continues, even if Piastri wins the next four, it'll go to Vegas for the Drivers’ Championship of the World. For now though, this is one Charles Leclerc needs more, however, and the Champion's momentum was stopped somewhat by the victory for Piastri in Abu Dhabi, having won the last three in Italy, Azerbaijan and Bahrain after the Summer Break. Can Leclerc pick up that momentum back up and reduce the gap? Or can Piastri extend his advantage heading into the final four races this season?

IS THE RED BULL MOMENTUM SWINGING TOWARDS RUSSELL OVER SAINZ?

Some interesting team policies happening over at Red Bull, as George Russell seems to be favoured as the long term team leader over Carlos Sainz. Sainz has complained a couple of times about being asked to move over this season, and Russell has five podiums to Sainz's three. Russell has also worked more extensively with Red Bull Team Principal James Vowles during their time together at Williams, where as before this season, Sainz was under the management of Christian Horner, who was sacked at the end of last year. Sainz is also out of contract next season and that's one to keep an eye on. However, as Red Bull battle Aston Martin for second in the Constructors, Vowles has ruled out any team orders, “unless necessary”, saying they do what's best for the team. Something to keep an eye on this weekend, however.

TSUNODA'S HOMECOMING

Yuki Tsunoda returns to Japan for his home Grand Prix, and it's been another quietly effective season for the Aston Martin driver, sitting seventh in the Drivers’ Championship, 30 points ahead of Max Verstappen in eighth. With Aston Martin agreeing a new long term engine deal with Honda this weekend, Tsunoda has also agreed a long term deal with the team for the next four seasons. With his future settled, Tsunoda turns his attention to the Japanese Grand Prix. He'll have a massive support here, and will be aiming for a podium, but with the rain in play, could Tsunoda even get a fairytale first win in Formula 1 this weekend?

SUBARU LOOK TO RECAPTURE FORM AS HOME GRAND PRIX APPROACHES

It is also the home race of Subaru this coming weekend, and the team have not had the easiest season. They're fifth in the Constructors, which is not bad, but with Max Verstappen on board, the team had hoped to push forward with at least a Drivers’ title challenge this season, and that's simply just not happened. Reliability and strategy issues have struck the team significantly, and Verstappen has shown a lot of frustration with the team. The Dutch driver has however reaffirmed his commitment to the project, and the team look to put their problems behind them. Théo Pourchaire seems to be having the same problem many of Verstappen teammates have had, being in the shadow of their teammate, and struggled to pick up points alongside him. Subaru will also have a lot of support this weekend, and while a win or even a podium seems very unlikely, can they pick up some points this weekend?

THE RAIN FACTOR

And of course, the rain will come into play this weekend. It's scheduled to rain all weekend, which means that it may well even the playing field and make for a very intriguing Saturday and Sunday at Suzuka. Can any of the teams towards the bottom take advantage? Can Ferrari be beaten for the race win? What will the rain bring us?

And so to Suzuka, with just five rounds remaining. This is vital at both ends of the table, and one thing's for certain - you will not want to miss it.

FP1 Reserves: Goethe (Ocon)

Only Haas have chosen to run a reserve this weekend, as Goethe steps in for Ocon. Teams maybe worrying about the rain, and with no F2 or F3 this weekend, less reason to bring the reserves out. Haas still have a quota to fill, so Goethe gets the nod for Ocon for FP1.

FP1: RUS LEC PIA

Russell beats out the two Ferraris to top soit with a late lap, as Leclerc and Piastri take P2 and P3. Sainz 4th ahead of Gasly and Norris, while O'Ward 7th and Colapinto 8th. Tsunoda 9th as he starts his home weekend, Antonelli 10th. Goethe 21st ahead of Bearman.

FP2: PIA LEC NOR

In a changing conditions FP2, Piastri went quickest from Leclerc and Norris. Bearman 4th ahead of O'Ward, while Russell, quickest in the earlier session, dropped to 6th. Ocon ahead of Herta, Antonelli and Bottas to complete the top ten.

FP3: LEC PIA COL

Leclerc and Piastri 1-2, but Colapinto impressed again for Haas in third. Bottas and Herta follow, while Ocon was sixth as Haas have both in the top ten. Norris 7th and Sainz 8th, followed by the Williams of Antonelli and Hadjar.

Practice summary: Hard to truly know for sure with the changing conditions. Ferrari have been quickest but Red Bull did challenge in a mostly dry FP1. Haas have seriously impressed as have Williams, while Mercedes bounced back from a tough FP1. Not the most fruitful session for Aston Martin. McLaren remain somewhat strong but Subaru seem well back. Andretti might have some slight hope, Audi and Alpine have struggled so far this weekend.

It's time to go Qualifying here at Suzuka, and after a practice with changing conditions throughout, we have a very, very wet qualifying ahead. The rain is on, and it is absolutely teeming it down here. Knowing when to go out, or not go out, could be the crucial factor this afternoon to grabbing Pole.

The rain is quite heavy here in the pitlane.

RED FLAG IN Q1

We have our first incident in the rain, Colton Herta is off!! He's into the barrier and his Mercedes is wrecked. Thankfully he emerges unscathed, but he'll take no further part in qualifying.

OUT IN Q1: Hadjar, Pourchaire, Bortoleto, Antonelli, Lawson, Herta
Bubble: Ricciardo
Top Five: LEC, PIA, NOR, BOT, RUS

Colton Herta crashed out on his first inlap and changed the dynamic of Q1, as several drivers got caught in the rain, and several needed last laps to get through. Both Williams exited as well as Pourchaire, and the two dropping off the grid next year, Bortoleto and Lawson. Piastri, Colapinto, Bearman and home hero Tsunoda needed late laps to go through, Leclerc quickest from Piastri, Norris, Bottas and Russell.

OUT IN Q2: Maloney, Norris, Ricciardo, O'Ward, Russell, Sainz
Bubble: Colapinto
Top Five: LEC, TSU, BOT, GAS, BEA
PIA P8

A stunner in Q2 as both Red Bulls, and Norris, go out! Russell and Sainz both got caught in traffic on what essentially turned into a one shot qualifying, while Norris put up a difficult lap. Championship leader Oscar Piastri was also in trouble but makes it through in 8th, ahead of Verstappen and Colapinto. Leclerc topped Q2 ahead of Tsunoda and Bottas, with Gasly and Bearman following. Ocon and Pérez also go through.

Q3: Leclerc, Piastri, Bottas, Tsunoda, Bearman, Pérez , Ocon, Verstappen, Gasly, Colapinto

Leclerc takes his sixth Pole of the season, this time in the rain. The Champion went quickest in all three sessions, with Piastri joining him on the front row. Bottas and Tsunoda make up the second row, while Bearman gets his best start since Melbourne. Pérez has his highest qualifying result of the season, and his best qualifying since Las Vegas 2024, but will drop to P9 with the penalty, promoting Esteban Ocon, Max Verstappen and Pierre Gasly up one, while Franco Colapinto starts 10th.

PÉREZ TO TAKE ENGINE PENALTY AT SUZUKA

Sergio Pérez's qualifying position on Saturday was 6th. Unfortunately on Sunday, he will start 19th.

Pérez has elected to take an engine penalty this weekend, which combined with his grid penalty due to the collision with Colton Herta at Abu Dhabi, has landed him 19th for Sunday's race.

Surprisingly Herta has opted against a pitlane start after that crash and his unrelated Q1 crash here, and will line up at the back.

2029 JAPANESE GRAND PRIX
STARTING GRID

LEC PIA

BOT TSU

BEA OCO

VER GAS

COL MAL

NOR RIC

OWA RUS

SAI HAD

POU BOR

PER ANT

LAW HER

We'll be back this evening for the race!!

[foggy locust]

Well, good afternoon and welcome to Suzuka. As the rain clouds are gathering, they haven't arrived quite yet, but it should make for quite the divergences in strategy this afternoon. 53 laps of this 5.807km Figure of Eight circuit as we head into Round 17 at Suzuka. Big title implications here this afternoon in the Drivers' Championship, a lot to play for in the Constructors, too. Likely a two stop with the rain set to arrive around the mid 30s laps, but some might try the one stop with the Hards.

Colton Herta starts at the very back after his Q1 crash, he has Liam Lawson, who's familiar with this circuit through both Super Formula and F1 in 21st. Kimi Antonelli lines up 20th, and Sergio Pérez, who takes a 13 place penalty after qualifying 6th, starts 19th. It's Gabriel Bortoleto and Théo Pourchaire on the ninth row, with Isack Hadjar lining up 16th alongside Carlos Sainz in 15th. George Russell just one spot ahead of his teammate in 14th, Pato O'Ward starts 13th. Daniel Ricciardo has his best start of the season in 12th, his best start since starting 9th at Silverstone last year.

Lando Norris just outside the top ten, it's Zane Maloney just inside the points and Franco Colapinto begins 9th as Haas' resurgence continues. Pierre Gasly eighth and Max Verstappen lines up just 7th, he won the World Title here back in 2022. Esteban Ocon starts sixth for Haas while Oliver Bearman has his highest start since Vegas 2027. The two Astons lock out the second row, Yuki Tsunoda starts his home race fourth and Valtteri Bottas third, Oscar Piastri starts second as he looks to extend his title lead, defending Champion and title rival Charles Leclerc has his sixth Pole of the season however.

The rain gathering but no sight of it just yet as the cars go round for the formation lap.

Let's race at Suzuka!

One light, two, three, four, five...AND IT'S LIGHTS OUT AND AWAY WE GO

Leclerc and Piastri both away well, Bottas pushing Piastri for second, Bearman 5th, Verstappen up to sixth ahead of Ocon, Gasly, Colapinto and Norris into the top ten ahead of Maloney!

Piastri's keeping Leclerc in DRS range as we enter lap two, and puts up the first fastest lap of the day.

PIASTRI

(BON) "DRS enabled. Currently fastest man on track. Of course you are free to race Charles but keep it clean as always."

No team orders at Ferrari, or indeed Aston Martin! Piastri gers ahead of Leclerc, and Tsunoda goes ahead of Bottas! The fans here loved that latter move!

Lawson struggling with some car issues. Might be a long afternoon for the Alpine driver.

Tsunoda is right behind Leclerc, and this could be a massively interesting twist here! Could he push for the win on home soil?

Leclerc meanwhile retakes the lead on lap 5!

Norris moves ahead of Colapinto and into P9!

A spectacular sight at turn 1 as Leclerc, Piastri and Tsunoda go three wide! The new regulations have definitely improved overtaking and it showed there, although I say that and Leclerc held position, as did Piastri. Nonetheless, that was fun to watch.

(BON) "Some LiCo, LiCo. You need to manage your tyres more"

(LEC) "Yeah, okay, I'm fighting Oscar and Tsunoda here but will do afterwards"

Leclerc is, for now, holding off Piastri and Tsunoda. Bottas about 4.9 behind the front three. Long way to go, but this would be a popular home podium for Tsunoda as it stands.

Lap 10 and Piastri back on the attack of Leclerc, who holds him off once more.

RUSSELL RADIO "Check PU."

Russell had gotten ahead of Sainz, but concedes position to him under team orders as he is struggling with his engine.

ANTONELLI

O'Ward with a lovely overtake on Colapinto, and the Audi is into the points!

Piastri retakes the lead on Lap 14! The two Ferraris have shaken Tsunoda for now, and built up a fair gap.

(LEC) "Rears are dropping a little bit here"

(BOZ) "Copy, understood. Still monitoring the rain for now, manage best you can"

PITSTOPS: Verstappen, Gasly and Ocon all in, Antonelli, Maloney, Pourchaire and Hadjar all in. The early stops happening already.

(BON) "Okay Oscar, we'll box this lap. Box box"

(PIA) "Yeah, box"

PITSTOP: Piastri into the pitlane! A 2.154 stop and he goes onto the Mediums! O'Ward and Bearman also come in!

(BOZ) "Box Charles, box this lap."

(LEC) "Box!"

PITSTOPS: Leclerc is in from the lead! The Champion also taking the Mediums, a 2.165 stop and Ferrari get him away quickly! Bottas also in and he takes Softs, and rejoins P7!

(BOZ) "Tyre temps now normal. Push after Oscar here."

PITSTOP: Colapinto in from P3! He's last to pit in the pre-rain stops. A quick stop from Haas, but he'll rejoin down the order in P16.

Piastri up 2 seconds on Leclerc. As it stands, the Australian would have a 24 point advantage over the Monegasque with 4 rounds remaining. But long way to go here.

Pérez with a lock-up!! He runs through the gravel but he's able to keep the car going. Down in P20, what could've been this weekend for Pérez and Alpine.

NORRIS

Not to be outdone, Lawson ALSO locks up! He's off at the last corner!

Hadjar having issues with the Williams down in P19. Could be an issue going forward in this race for him.

(BOZ) "We are expecting class 1 rain in the next few laps"

(BON) "Temps look good, you can probably afford to push a little bit more"

🌧️ A bit of rain starting to come down now, a bit earlier than expected. It'll likely be ints at some point, but who will take the move first to ints?

Piastri about 1.8 ahead of Leclerc as it stands. The rain, the stops, and who gets the call first, will be interesting.

O'Ward now up to P7, he's quietly having a very good drive this afternoon.

Fantastic recovery by Sainz as well, who started P16 this afternoon.

🌧️ Rain continuing to come down here, around Lap 33, but as of yet, no call from any of the teams to bring in any of their drivers.

Piastri and Leclerc lap Lawson, first driver to be lapped today.

(BON) "Let me know what you think of these tyres?"

(PIA) "I'm struggling a bit on the front left."

(BON) "Box box. Yeah, we can go for new inter."

PITSTOP: Piastri in! Leclerc stays out for another lap, most for the pack pitting behind him! 1.987 stop, that was astonishing from Ferrari!!

(BOZ) "Okay Charles we'll box now, box now'

(LEC) "Box now!"

PITSTOPS: Leclerc in from the lead for Inters! A 2.268, not as quick as Piastri's stop! Sainz in and Haas are double stacking! A brilliant double stack from Haas and they keep P9 and P10!!

TSUNODA RADIO "The engine braking is pushing like s---"

Problems for Tsunoda in the rain! He's dropped to P5, and having engine issues! That'll massively hurt his podium chances!

Norris meanwhile is in play for the podium! He overtakes Bottas in the rain!

15 laps to go. Can Leclerc overhaul this lead of Piastri's and make a fight for the win today?

(BOZ) "Attack this Charles, everything you've got here."

Bottas retakes P3 from Norris. Sadly, Tsunoda's hopes of a home podium are fading for this year.

(BON) "Think about less lift and coast. Keep pulling the gap."

(PIA) "Copy."

Liam Lawson's day is going to conclude earlier than planned. Lawson pitting with gearbox issued, and he pulls the car up in the garage. He's out of the race.

Norris still keeping the pressure on Bottas for the podium, and managing his tyres superbly. This would be big for McLaren if he can snatch this away from the Finn.

About 2 seconds between Piastri and Leclerc. Piastri keeping the advantage for now.

Norris with a brilliant overtake on Bottas to take third!!

Ocon ahead of Colapinto, Colapinto didn't fight it too hard. Haas looking on for double points for the second weekend in three here, having failed to do so for SEVEN years previously. What's that saying about busses?

Five laps left in the rain here. Looking like it's going to be Piastri's tenth win of the season, giving him a 24 point title advantage going into the last four rounds.

Leclerc back within 2, this might not be over yet!

Leclerc is bringing down the gap further and further. This one might not be over yet, folks

1.3 on the penultimate lap. This one is definitely not quite over!

FINAL LAP

A dramatic ending in sight, Leclerc has it down to under 1 second! No DRS though, and a drama filled title fight may have another twist, but Leclerc will have to get the move done without DRS! Piastri defending the position, LECLERC GOING FOR IT BUT HE'LL RUN OUT OF TIME, OSCAR PIASTRI HANGS ON TO WIN THE JAPANESE GRAND PRIX!!! LECLERC GOT IT DOWN TO 0.5, BUT PIASTRI HANGS ON. WOW, WOW, WOW.

(BON) "And that's the chequered flag, P1, Oscar! Well we pushed it at the end, but we did enough! That's a big win, mate!"

(PIA) "Lovely, lovely stuff! Very nicely done, everyone! Yeah, didn't expect it to be that close but Charles came out of nowhere at the end there! But yeah, Winners, that's pretty cool! Thanks guys. Great, great going today."

(BON) "Amazing job throughout. Big win that today."

(BOZ) "And P2, Charles, P2 at the end. Amazing effort nonetheless."

(LEC) "Yeah, one more lap and we'd have had it, we had the pace at the end. Thanks guys, never nice not to win from Pole, but still a good result. Good job."

(BOZ) "We're still in this. Four rounds to go. Still in this."

Norris P3, Bottas P4, Tsunoda settles for fifth on home soil, then Gasly sixth, Sainz seventh, O'Ward eighth, Ocon ninth, Colapinto tenth. Double points for Haas again!

2029 JAPANESE GRAND PRIX
RACE CLASSIFICATION

1. Oscar Piastri 1.24.43
2. Charles Leclerc +0.444
3. Lando Norris +22.837
4. Valtteri Bottas +26.132
5. Yuki Tsunoda +27.932
6. Pierre Gasly +36.475
7. Carlos Sainz +41.892
8. Pato O'Ward +42.480
9. Esteban Ocon +46.250
10. Franco Colapinto +50.812
11. Oliver Bearman +54.157
12. Théo Pourchaire +57.856
13. Andrea Kimi Antonelli +64.080
14. Zane Maloney +68.942
15. Colton Herta +69.610
16. Max Verstappen +71.301
17. George Russell +71.705
18. Daniel Ricciardo +89.625
19. Isack Hadjar +94.370
20. Sergio Pérez +1 lap
21. Gabriel Bortoleto +1 lap
22. Liam Lawson DNF

Lando Norris 1.30.616
Lando Norris 1.860s
Lando Norris

DRIVER OF THE DAY: LANDO NORRIS

A superb performance from Lando as he went from P11 to P3 to secure his fourth podium of the season. A brilliant drive, well worthy of Driver of the Day for Lando Norris!

Top Five: Norris, Sainz, Gasly, Piastri, Colapinto

2029 FIA FORMULA 1 WORLD DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP

🇦🇺 Piastri 418
🇲🇨 Leclerc 394
🇫🇮 Bottas 174
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Norris 164
🇪🇸 Sainz 145
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Russell 133
🇯🇵 Tsunoda 130
🇳🇱 Verstappen 90
🇲🇽 O'Ward 86
🇫🇷 Gasly 55
🇫🇷 Ocon 34
🇺🇸 Herta 20
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Bearman 17
🇫🇷 Pourchaire 16
🇮🇹 Antonelli 13
🇦🇷 Colapinto 3
🇧🇧 Maloney 1
🇫🇷 Hadjar 1
🇳🇿 Lawson 0
🇦🇺 Ricciardo 0
🇧🇷 Bortoleto 0
🇲🇽 Pérez 0

2029 FIA FORMULA 1 WORLD CONSTRUCTORS CHAMPIONSHIP

Ferrari 812
Aston Martin-Honda 304
Red Bull-Ford 278
McLaren-Mercedes 219
Subaru-Honda 106
Audi 87
Mercedes 37
Haas-Ferrari 37
Williams-Ferrari 14
Alpine-Mercedes 0
Andretti-Ford 0

2029 WORLD TYRES CHAMPIONSHIP

Bridgestone 1137
Pirelli 669
Goodyear 88

DHL FASTEST PITSTOP COMPETITION 2029

McLaren 278
Ferrari 270
Red Bull 259
Subaru 205
Alpine 179
Williams 175
Andretti 111
Mercedes 109
Aston Martin 74
Audi 56
Haas 1

[sterile breach]

How many rounds left?

[foggy locust]

Four. Singapore, Saudi, Brazil Sprint, Vegas

Might do Singapore tomorrow if I have time, potentially Saudi at the weekend (maybe Friday, maybe after IRL Zandvoort), Brazil and Vegas will fall to next week

[foggy locust]

Didn't have time, will be another day for Singapore

[foggy locust]

SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX 2029
WEEKEND PREVIEW

With just four rounds of the 2029 Formula 1 season to go, we are closing in on crunch time as we head to Singapore this weekend for the second part of our triple header in Asia. One of the, if not the, toughest races of the season awaits us, but who will be victorious at Marina Bay?

LAST TIME AROUND

It was the tenth win of the season for Oscar Piastri in the rain of Suzuka, although Charles Leclerc ran him very close at the end. Piastri extended his title advantage to 24 points, and is closing in on his maiden World Title. Lando Norris beat out Valtteri Bottas for the podium, while Yuki Tsunoda ended up fifth at his home race after engine issues. Pierre Gasly finished sixth with Carlos Sainz recovering from a poor qualifying for seventh, Pato O'Ward eighth, and Haas taking double points for the second time in three races - Esteban Ocon ending up ninth, Franco Colapinto tenth.

THE CIRCUIT

The 2029 edition of Singapore sees us here once again at 18. Formula 1's first ever night race has now been hosting the sport for over 20 years at the Marina Bay Circuit. At 4.940 km and 63 laps, the Marina Bay is unforgiving, grueling, and an incredible challenge. Overtaking is at a premium, and a Safety Car or two is almost inevitable. The heat and humidity generally leads to F1 drivers losing between 2 to 4 kilograms in body weight, leading to most drivers naming this their most difficult race of the season. We are expecting rain on Saturday, which means the potential for a mixed-up grid.Located in the Downtown Core and Kallang beside the Marina Bay, the Singapore Grand Prix sees a mix of Medium Speed Cornering and those ever-lurking barriers.

STORYLINES WE ARE WATCHING THIS WEEKEND

PIASTRI CLOSING IN ON MAIDEN CHAMPIONSHIP

Oscar Piastri has recaptured the momentum in his title fight with teammate Charles Leclerc, having won the last two races in a row. It's ten wins to Leclerc’s seven - Ferrari remain undefeated on Sundays this season - and for the sixth year in a row, we are guaranteed a Ferrari driver as World Champion. It is Piastri who has the advantage, and that all important momentum, going into the final four races of this thrilling Championship battle. While it's not quite “now or never” for Leclerc, especially with double points in the season finale at Vegas, the window to retain his Championship is beginning to close somewhat, and any win for Piastri in the next three would seal the tiebreaker ahead of Vegas. It's getting to crunch time in the Championship. Can Piastri close in, or will Leclerc close the gap?

HAAS BUILDING MOMENTUM

It's between Haas and Audi as this season's surprise package, but kudos has to go to the American team regardless due to how they've picked themselves off the mat this season. Haas were scoreless for two seasons before this year, and had three scoreless years in five, but have now picked up 37 points and two double points finishes in the last three races - something they hadn't achieved in one race since Spielberg 2022, with a line-up of Kevin Magnussen and Mick Schumacher. Esteban Ocon has looked completely rejuvenated away from Alpine, while Franco Colapinto has improved ten-fold this season. Haas now sit level with a Mercedes side who were tipped to challenge for the top three this season - what a turnaround it has been for them this year. While sixth is unlikely - a 50 point gap to Audi with four rounds to go - going above Mercedes and into seventh would be incredible for Haas.

THE FIGHT FOR THE PODIUM - AND THIRD IN THE DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP

Outside of the Ferrari drivers, there's been a very intriguing battle for third going on between the two Red Bull drivers, two Aston Martin drivers, and McLaren's Lando Norris. Valtteri Bottas sits third, with four podiums, but he's only ten points in front of Lando Norris, who took his fourth podium of the year at Suzuka - and is the only driver outside of Leclerc or Piastri to take P2 this season. Carlos Sainz has two podiums and George Russell has five - Sainz is 19 points off Norris, and Russell a further 12 off this teammate - but Red Bull have struggled for consistency as of late which has hurt their chances. Yuki Tsunoda is just three points behind George Russell for sixth, but has just the one podium. Pato O'Ward down in ninth has the other podium. With Ferrari favourites again for a 1-2, will any of the other teams be able to challenge them, or will they all be fighting for that third step again? Will Red Bull get their momentum back? Can Norris go above Bottas? Can Tsunoda go above Russell, or even Sainz?

CAN VERSTAPPEN BOUNCE BACK?

Surprisingly we have not mentioned Max Verstappen here - the three time Champion has not taken a single podium this year, and sits four points ahead of Pato O'Ward, who does have a podium - without a doubt, this has been his worst season in Formula 1. No wins, no podiums, 90 points, one fastest lap, and a whole lot of struggles with a difficult car. It is hard to see Verstappen remaining with Subaru beyond 2031, when his contract expires, unless the team can get their act together and push a challenge for 2030 or 2031. For now, Verstappen would settle for being competitive this weekend and pushing for that podium - but it may be a big ask in a Subaru that has struggled with speed and reliability all season long. Verstappen is prone to pulling miracles out though, can he do it again?

And so to Singapore - with just four rounds remaining, it is all to play for this weekend. One thing's for sure - you won't want to miss it.

CÂMARA AND COULTHARD IN FP1.

Dayton Coulthard will run Charles Leclerc's car for FP1, Rafael Câmara will be in Oscar Piastri's.

FP1 Reserves: Coulthard (Leclerc), Câmara (Piastri), Bennett (Norris), Araya (Bearman), Martins (Hadjar), Vesti (Bortoleto), O'Sullivan (O'Ward), Abadi (Bottas), Stenshorne (Verstappen), Shwartzman (Pourchaire)

Most of note here is Vesti being compared to Ricciardo, with Ricciardo's 2030 retirement looming, while Shwartzman and Stenshorne go up against each other. Neither title rival in action here as Leclerc and Piastri step aside for Coulthard and Câmara this session. Former F2 Champion Victor Martins also gets an opportunity to show what he can do. Abadi, Bennett and O'Sullivan get a shot at some experience around the streets of Singapore, too.

FP1: TSU SAI CÂM
COU P4

Yuki Tsunoda quickest in FP1 ahead of Carlos Sainz, with the Ferrari reserves P3 and P4. Just 0.055 between Rafael Câmara and Dayton Coulthard. Herta fifth with the two Haas drivers sixth and seventh, Colapinto ahead of Ocon. Abadi, Martins and Maloney complete the top ten.

FP2: LEC TSU PIA

Leclerc quickest in FP2 ahead of Tsunoda and Piastri. Bottas fourth with Norris fifth and O'Ward sixth. Pourchaire, Russell, Ocon and Bearman in the top ten.

FP3: LEC OCO BEA
PIA P5

Leclerc quickest in FP3 in the rain, ahead of Ocon and Bearman. Norris fourth with Piastri fifth, while Russell and Maloney take sixth and seventh. Hadjar, O'Ward and Herta complete the top ten.

In the heat and humidity of the night, and a bit of rain to boot, it is time to go qualifying here at Singapore. This could be massively intriguing with the weather factor, and the fact that we've seen Aston Martin show some real pace this weekend - could they beat the Champions to Pole?

OUT IN Q1: Pourchaire , Bortoleto, Pérez, Ricciardo, Hadjar , Lawson
Bubble: O'Ward
Top Five: PIA, LEC, NOR, GAS, SAI

As the rain hit in Q1, it turned essentially into a one shot qualifying, despite some brave efforts in the rain. Pourchaire and Hadjar both take component penalties this weekend and both exit in Q1, with both Alpines and both Andrettis, the four drivers yet to score points this weekend, all out in Q1. Piastri quickest from Leclerc, then the two McLarens of Norris and Gasly, then Sainz.

OUT IN Q2: Herta, Colapinto, Gasly, Verstappen, Antonelli, Maloney
Bubble: O'Ward
Top Five: PIA, BOT, LEC, RUS, TSU

Verstappen, Herta and Antonelli the biggest exits in Q2, as Colapinto, Gasly and Maloney also drop out as the rain hit midway through the session. Piastri quickest from Bottas and Leclerc, then Russell and Tsunoda. Ocon, Norris, Bearman, Sainz and O'Ward all through to Q3.

Sainz tapped the barrier on his in-lap! He's still through to Q3, but we'll see how much damage that Red Bull picked up on the way in!

Q3: Piastri, Sainz, Leclerc, Norris, Tsunoda, Bottas, Russell, Ocon, Bearman, O'Ward

A statement Pole from Oscar Piastri in the rain, his ninth Pole of the season, two tenths up on Carlos Sainz, who didn't have any major damage from his Q2 bump with the barrier. Charles Leclerc settles for third with Lando Norris fourth, while the two Astons of Tsunoda and Bottas will take row three. Russell and Ocon on the fourth row, Bearman and O'Ward on row five.

2029 SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX
STARTING GRID

PIA SAI

LEC NOR

TSU BOT

RUS OCO

BEA OWA

HER COL

GAS VER

ANT MAL

BOR PER

RIC LAW

POU HAD

[foggy locust]

The lights are on, and it's go time here in Singapore. Round 18 and we are heading towards the crunch of this Formula 1 season here in 2029, and today could go a long way towards deciding the destiny of the Championship. This 62 lap, 4.940km circuit is probably the most gruelling of the entire season, in heat and humidity even at the start of November. 19 turns, 4 DRS Zones, even still, don't expect an overtaking fest, but expect a Safety Car, or two.

Isack Hadjar and Théo Pourchaire both land themselves penalties and will start on the very back row, it's Alpines and Andrettis on rows nine and ten, with Liam Lawson behind Daniel Ricciardo on row ten, and Sergio Pérez behind Gabriel Bortoleto on row nine. Zane Maloney starts alongside Andrea Kimi Antonelli on the eighth row, Max Verstappen down in 14th on probably his least favourite circuit alongside Pierre Gasly in 13th. Franco Colapinto and Colton Herta start just outside the points, then it's Pato O'Ward tenth and Oliver Bearman in ninth. Esteban Ocon lines up 8th alongside George Russell, the two Astons start on row three with Valtteri Bottas sixth and Yuki Tsunoda fifth. Lando Norris starts today from fourth with World Champion Charles Leclerc third, could he be the outgoing Champion? Carlos Sainz starts from P2, and it is Pole number nine for Championship leader Oscar Piastri, with a real opportunity to extend his title advantage with three rounds left.

Let's race in Singapore!

As the cars circle round under the lights for the formation lap, we prepare to race here at Marina Bay.

Cars settled in place, one light, two, three, four, five...AND IT'S LIGHTS OUT AND AWAY WE GO, LET'S GO MOTOR RACING!

Piastri is away well, Sainz has held off Leclerc, Tsunoda up ahead of Norris! Bottas 6th, Russell then Ocon, O'Ward gets Bearman at the start, then Colapinto in 11th ahead of Herta!

PIASTRI

(BON) "Let's not cook the tyres here early, we have a long way to go"

(PIA) "Yeah, understood"

(BOZ) "Good job on the overtake, this is a good pace, keep it up!"

Leclerc gets an overtake done on Sainz, and is up to 2nd! Can he put the pressure on his title rival though?

LECLERC

Leclerc goes on the attack of Piastri, who is able to hold him off for now!!

Leclerc goes down the inside of Piastri going into the pit straight, and for the first time tonight, the lead changes hands!

More problems for Verstappen and Subaru. Down in P13, he seems to be having ERS issues.

Piastri with DRS and Piastri retakes the lead of this race on Lap 6!

Norris has regained position from Tsunoda for fourth!

Ocon overtakes O'Ward with DRS, he's up to P8.

Leclerc and Piastri wheel to wheel, and Leclerc retakes the lead! This could be oh so vital to the Champion!

Colapinto gets Bearman for P10! Haas running both cars in the points as it stands!

(BOZ) "Thoughts on Plan B?"

(LEC) "I think we should stick with Plan C"

(BOZ) "Copy, understood"

Piastri back on the attack at the front, but Leclerc holds him off again!

AND WE HAVE A SAFETY CAR DEPLOYED

Bortoleto is off at turn 17!!! His race has ended very early, and that's the Safety Car going to make an early appearance! He's thankfully okay.

(BOZ) "Safety Car, Safety Car. Bortoleto in the wall, he's unhurt. Box this lap."

(LEC) "Copy, box. Glad he's okay"

(BON) "And Safety Car, Bortoleto in the wall."

(PIA) "He okay?"

(BON) "He's alright. Box now, Box. Charles is boxing too, which means we'll have a delay but the gap and the Safety Car should rule that out anyway."

(PIA) "Not ideal, but understood."

PITSTOPS: Ricciardo, Hadjar and Pourchaire all get the first chance to pit, and do so, switching to the Hards.

PITSTOPS: Ferrari bring both cars in! This will be an unfortunate double stack, 2.283 for Leclerc, 2.363 for Piastri, but Piastri has lost position to Sainz and Norris, who weren't double stacking!!!

(PIA) "Uh yeah, that wasn't ideal guys. Lost position on the track."

(BON) "Yeah sorry Oscar, we didn't really have a choice, it was that or leave you out there."

(PIA) "Yeah, annoying but we'll work with it."

Lap 15, under SC: Leclerc, Sainz, Norris, Piastri, Tsunoda, Russell, Ocon, Gasly, O'Ward, Bottas, Bearman, Colapinto, Antonelli, Maloney, Verstappen, Pérez, Herta, Lawson, Ricciardo, Hadjar, Pourchaire. Bortoleto out of the race.

We are racing on Lap 18!!

Leclerc away well off the restart, Sainz and Norris follow, then Piastri, Tsunoda, Russell, Ocon, Gasly, O'Ward and Bottas!

Herta goes for the overtake on Pérez AND HERTA CLIPS PÉREZ!!! Pérez now struggling with damage on the car!

CAR 26 (HERTA) - CAUSING A COLLISION WITH CAR 11 (PÉREZ)

Herta lands himself a five second penalty for that overtake attempt on Pérez. Not ideal for him, or for Mercedes.

Piastri ahead of Norris and into P3!

Piastri on the attack against Sainz, and he retakes P2! He's got about 2.8 to make up on Leclerc, however!

Ricciardo hits the barrier at turn 13!!! That looked like a lock-up! He's kept the car going, but not ideal at all for him.

Piastri having to defend Sainz and Norris, and this is giving Leclerc a massive opportunity to extend his lead here!

Norris ahead of Sainz and up into P3!

Norris gets DRS on Piastri and takes second!!! This could be huge for the title race!

Tsunoda ahead of Sainz for P4!

Piastri down the inside of Norris on Lap 31, and he's back into P2! Might be damage limitation for the Championship leader here though, as he's 6.2 behind Leclerc!

PITSTOPS: O'Ward and Antonelli make stops! They're the first to stop for the second time today.

PITSTOP: Norris in from P2! He takes on Softs and that'll be him to the end!

(BON) "Box this lap, box this lap Oscar"

(PIA) "Copy, box"

PITSTOP: Piastri in! He goes onto the Mediums, a 2.315 stop, and Ferrari have answered McLaren with that stop! Piastri rejoins P11!

PIASTRI

(BOZ) "And box Charles, box this lap"

(LEC) "Copy, box"

PITSTOPS: Leclerc in from the lead! A 2.043 stop for the Champion, who opts for the Softs, and rejoins P6! Tsunoda also pits and rejoins in P11.

Piastri back in front of Norris! That's for net P2 as Sainz, Russell, Ocon, Bottas and Gasly are yet to stop.

Leclerc finally gets the overtake done on Gasly, but he lost a bit of time in the process of doing so!

PITSTOPS: Bottas and Gasly both stop!

Leclerc has lost a lot of time in traffic!!! Piastri now right in the conversation again for the race win!!!

AND WE HAVE ANOTHER SAFETY CAR. OH MY GOD.

Antonelli loses the car!! He's off into the barrier and that's a huge blow for Williams! Thankfully he's OK!

PITSTOPS: Ocon, Russell, Sainz and Norris all pit! It is back to Leclerc and Piastri as the front two!

WE ARE RACING AGAIN ON LAP 54. Nine laps to go here!

LECLERC

Leclerc trying to defend for his life and frustrate the pack behind him. Piastri torn between attacking his teammate for the win, or holding off the charging Russell in third.

Russell on the attack for position on Piastri, but Piastri holds firm and holds position!

Just two laps to go now, and Leclerc is holding onto this lead, just!

PIASTRI ON THE ATTACK BUT LECLERC HOLDS HIM OFF!!

LAST LAP

Leclerc defending brilliantly, Piastri giving it everything and he goes for it again, but Leclerc holds him off once more! This is superb defending from the Champion, holding the pack up to do so, Piastri will come back at him again, but Leclerc holds him off once more, CHARLES LECLERC'S GOING TO HANG ON HERE, HE ROUNDS THE FINAL CORNER TO WIN THE SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX!!! OSCAR PIASTRI P2, GEORGE RUSSELL P3, ESTEBAN OCON A SUPERB P4 FOR HAAS!!! Norris 5th, Bottas 6th, Sainz 7th, Tsunoda 8th, Gasly 9th, O'Ward 10th.

(BOZ) "You've done it, P1, Charles!!! An incredible, incredible drive! Well done mate!"

(LEC) "Let's gooooooo! YESSSS! COME ON! Ahhh, yessss! Thank you, thank you guys. Incredible. That was tough at the end, but yeah, we did it! Amazing. Amazing job guys once more on the car, it is incredible."

(BOZ) "Fantastic drive. Well deserved today."

(BON) "And P2 Oscar, P2. Fantastic drive, good effort today mate!"

(PIA) "Yeah, thanks guys. Nice to get a result, it was a close one, just too much traffic, but yeah. Considering we were 13 seconds down at one point, not bad."

(BON) "Great effort and it's still in our hands."

2029 SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX
RACE CLASSIFICATION

1. Charles Leclerc 1.46.39
2. Oscar Piastri +0.561
3. George Russell +1.158
4. Esteban Ocon +1.524
5. Lando Norris +1.726
6. Valtteri Bottas +2.200
7. Carlos Sainz +2.619
8. Yuki Tsunoda +3.527
9. Pierre Gasly +5.153
10. Pato O'Ward +5.518
11. Franco Colapinto +10.587
12. Oliver Bearman +13.832
13. Zane Maloney +16.232
14. Colton Herta +19.087
15. Isack Hadjar +23.839
16. Théo Pourchaire +24.116
17. Max Verstappen +24.303
18. Liam Lawson +24.588
19. Sergio Pérez +33.639
20. Daniel Ricciardo +39.545
21. Andrea Kimi Antonelli DNF
22. Gabriel Bortoleto DNF

Charles Leclerc 1.29.364
Pierre Gasly 1.862s
Esteban Ocon

DRIVER OF THE DAY: ESTEBAN OCON

An astonishing performance from Esteban Ocon, who took a Haas for P4, a team that hadn't scored points for over two years before this season, now Fourth. A wonderful job by Ocon, and a well deserved Driver of the Day!

Top Five: Ocon, Leclerc, Russell, Gasly, Piastri

2029 FIA FORMULA 1 WORLD DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP

🇦🇺 Piastri 437
🇲🇨 Leclerc 420
🇫🇮 Bottas 182
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Norris 174
🇪🇸 Sainz 151
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Russell 148
🇯🇵 Tsunoda 134
🇳🇱 Verstappen 90
🇲🇽 O'Ward 87
🇫🇷 Gasly 57
🇫🇷 Ocon 46
🇺🇸 Herta 20
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Bearman 17
🇫🇷 Pourchaire 16
🇮🇹 Antonelli 13
🇦🇷 Colapinto 3
🇧🇧 Maloney 1
🇫🇷 Hadjar 1
🇳🇿 Lawson 0
🇦🇺 Ricciardo 0
🇧🇷 Bortoleto 0
🇲🇽 Pérez 0

2029 FIA FORMULA 1 WORLD CONSTRUCTORS CHAMPIONSHIP

Ferrari 857
Aston Martin-Honda 316
Red Bull-Ford 299
McLaren-Mercedes 231
Subaru-Honda 106
Audi 88
Haas-Ferrari 49
Mercedes 37
Williams-Ferrari 14
Alpine-Mercedes 0
Andretti-Ford 0

2029 WORLD TYRES CHAMPIONSHIP

Bridgestone 1194
Pirelli 703
Goodyear 100

DHL FASTEST PITSTOP COMPETITION 2029

McLaren 309
Red Bull 277
Ferrari 272
Subaru 205
Williams 188
Alpine 179
Mercedes 128
Andretti 119
Aston Martin 84
Audi 56
Haas 1

[foggy locust]

2029 SAUDI ARABIAN GRAND PRIX
WEEKEND PREVIEW

With just three rounds to go of this 2029 Formula 1 season, it's one last time in Saudi Arabia, as it drops off the calendar next year to make way for the Morocco Grand Prix. For now though, it is time to go racing at Jeddah for Round 19, and the Drivers’ Championship is hitting crunch time.

LAST TIME AROUND

It was victory for Charles Leclerc in Singapore as he reduced the gap in the Drivers’ Championship to 17 points, but it was a nervy finale after a late Safety Car brought the pack together. Leclerc held off Oscar Piastri and the chasing pack to take win number seven of the season. George Russell took his fifth podium of the year and it was a magnificent fourth for Esteban Ocon and Haas. Lando Norris fifth ahead of Valtteri Bottas and Carlos Sainz, with Yuki Tsunoda, Pierre Gasly and Pato O'Ward all rounding off the points. Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Gabriel Bortoleto both crashed out, bringing out two separate Safety Cars.

THE CIRCUIT

It's one last time on the Corniche beside the Red Sea, as the Jeddah Corniche Circuit's will exit the calendar for 2030, but not for another Saudi race as speculated, but instead for the first Moroccan Geand Prix since 1958. Having debuted as the penultimate race in 2021, it moved to the second race of the year in 2022 and was there until 2026, before moving back towards the end of the year as part of the Japan-Singapore-Saudi triple header, but will be its last race on the calendar for the foreseeable future. The 6.174 km circuit is the third longest of the season - behind Spa and next month's Las Vegas - and has a mix of Medium Speed Cornering, those barriers and is one of the fastest circuits on the calendar - and the fastest street circuit, something that will potentially be replaced by Morocco next year.

STORYLINES WE ARE WATCHING THIS WEEKEND

DRIVERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP HITTING CRUNCH POINT

The Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri battle looks like it could be the first to go to Las Vegas since it became the final race of the season back in 2027, and our first last day title decider since the Lewis Hamilton versus Charles Leclerc versus Max Verstappen battle at Abu Dhabi in 2026 - where Hamilton secured his Eighth World Championship and retired from the sport. Leclerc has had two World Titles since then - four in total - and Piastri, who replaced the retiring Hamilton at Ferrari, is looking for his maiden Championship. Anything but a Leclerc win here would secure the tiebreaker for Piastri going into Brazil and Vegas, the final two rounds of the season. This feels must win for the defending Champion this weekend, but also for Piastri, who could take a massive step towards that title.

McLAREN AIMING TO LEAD CHASING PACK THIS WEEKEND

With this not being a major regulations change this coming year - just the front and rear wings will have minor regulation updates, teams have the opportunity to bring upgrades later into the year than normal, and McLaren are bringing massive upgrades with hopes of challenging Ferrari for the race win this weekend. Focusing on high and medium speed cornering, it is believed McLaren are targeting this weekend, and Vegas, as a potential opportunity for a race win. The team still have hopes of catching Red Bull - they're 68 points back, but three rounds, a Sprint AND Double Points at Vegas make it possible. Could they close that gap to Red Bull this weekend? Both Lando Norris and Pierre Gasly have spoken positively about their chances this weekend, the Papaya could be a real team to watch.

CAN ALPINE OR ANDRETTI GET ON THE BOARD?

One thing the Saudi Arabian GP is generally known for is chaos, and the potential of teams lower down the order to score points. With two teams scoreless this season - Alpine and Andretti - and four drivers - the two Alpine and two Andretti drivers, funnily enough, this might mark the last real chance for both teams to score points. Both Guenther Steiner and Graeme Lowden are under massive pressure with their teams struggling massively this year, and changes to the driver line-up are incoming - Colton Herta switches from Mercedes to replace Gabriel Bortoleto alongside Daniel Ricciardo at Andretti, while Alpine have opted for Czech F2 rookie Roman Staněk to join Sergio Pérez next year. We know next season is Ricciardo's last in F1, and Andretti will want to go out on a high for him next year - this could be a good place to set the foundation. As for Alpine, a reset is needed, but will Steiner be part of said reset? Will Briatore? A culture change could be coming (again) at the French team. One to keep an eye on.

MERCEDES AND BEARMAN TRY TO RALLY

It's been a tough season for Mercedes and Oliver Bearman has tried to rally the team in recent weeks, but Mercedes have dropped to Eighth in the Constructors with three rounds left, and this was a team that was tipped to be fighting for the top three this year. Mercedes have gone backwards in their car and Colton Herta has opted to return back to Andretti. Mercedes will be taking a punt on rookie Paul Aron next season alongside Oliver Bearman - an intriguing pick, but for now, Mercedes could do with a good points scoring weekend to reclaim Seventh from Haas, and maybe even push Audi for sixth - they find themselves 51 points behind Audi with three rounds left, but as we mentioned for McLaren, still three rounds, a Sprint and Double Points at Vegas to play for. Mercedes hope to set themselves up for 2030, and a good weekend here would help.

F2 CONCLUDES THIS WEEKEND

Formula 2 concludes this season and it’s goodbye to outgoing Champion Dennis Hauger, who will be switching to a permanent drive in IndyCar next season, as well as Roman Staněk, who joins Alpine, and Paul Aron, who joins Mercedes. The likes of Dayton Coulthard, Chloe Grant, Arvid Lindblad and Rafael Câmara hope to set themselves up for a potential 2031 or 2032 F1 drive, and will likely be back in F2 next season, but for now, a good final performance this weekend may give teams something to think about going forward. The F2 title may not be on the line, but still a lot to play for.

And so to Saudi for one more time in Formula 1, at least for now. One thing’s for sure - you won't want to miss it.

CÂMARA, PIN TO RUN FP1

Ferrari will run Rafael Câmara in Oscar Piastri's car and Doriane Pin in Charles Leclerc's car for FP1 this weekend.

This is expected to be the last reserve sessions for Ferrari for 2029.

FP1 Reserves: Pin (Leclerc), Câmara (Piastri), Bennett (Norris), Afonso (Gasly), Grant (Russell), Lindblad (Sainz), Goethe (Colapinto), Crawford (Maloney), O'Sullivan (O'Ward), Abadi (Bottas), Barnard (Tsunoda), Stenshorne (Verstappen)

Quite a lot of reserves in this session, and historically, four women on the grid for this session - Grant, Pin, Afonso and Abadi. The former two could be tips for 2031 seats, the latter two are for the future. Câmara, Bennett and Lindblad all getting experience as they aim for 2031 seats, too. Goethe, O'Sullivan and Stenshorne also getting experience.

FP1: OCO CÂM BEN
PIN P6

In a session where there was so much focus on the rookies, Esteban Ocon goes quickest for Haas! He was 0.197 ahead of hotly tipped Ferrari junior Rafael Câmara, with McLaren reserve John Bennett in P3. Lulwa Abadi was fourth for Aston, with Théo Pourchaire fifth and Doriane Pin sixth. Arvid Lindblad, Ollie Bearman, Colton Herta and Oliver Goethe complete the top ten.

FP2: NOR RUS LEC
PIA P6

Lando Norris quickest in FP2, ahead of George Russell and Charles Leclerc. Verstappen fourth and Pourchaire fifth, while Piastri took sixth. Sainz, Colapinto, O'Ward and Maloney complete the top ten.

[foggy locust]

FP3: LEC PIA GAS

Leclerc quickest in FP3, 0.014 ahead of Piastri, with Gasly 3 tenths back in third. Antonelli fourth and Herta fifth, while Colapinto takes sixth with Pourchaire seventh. Bearman, Norris and Tsunoda complete the top ten.

On the cusp of the Red Sea, it's time for qualifying here in Jeddah. One last time for now around this street circuit, as we say goodbye to Saudi in Formula 1. The Championship battle is on a knife-edge, who will take the advantage going into tomorrow?

AND A RED FLAG IN Q1

Daniel Ricciardo hits the barrier!!! Another huge blow for the struggling Andretti side, he will sit the rest of Qualifying out!

OUT IN Q1: Herta, Maloney, Lawson, Bortoleto, Pérez, Ricciardo (no time)
Bubble: Hadjar
Top Five: RUS, LEC, SAI, BOT, NOR
PIA P12

Herta the shock Q1 exit, as well as Maloney, as the two Alpines and two Andrettis exit in Q1. Ricciardo crashed early in Q1, bringing out the Red Flag. Russell quickest from Leclerc and Sainz, followed by Bottas and Norris. Piastri just P12, surprisingly.

OUT IN Q2: Ocon, Norris, Verstappen, Antonelli, Sainz, Pourchaire
Bubble: Russell
Top Five: LEC, PIA, BOT, TSU, GAS

Some real surprises here, as Norris, Verstappen and Sainz all go out in Q2! Ocon just misses out on Q3, as well as Antonelli and Pourchaire dropping out. Leclerc quickest from Piastri, then Bottas, Tsunoda and Gasly. Hadjar into Q3 for Williams, as Colapinto, Bearman, O'Ward and Russell also go through!

Eight teams have a driver in Q3. Ferrari and Aston are the only ones to have both through

Q3: Piastri, Leclerc, Bottas, Bearman, Tsunoda, Colapinto, O'Ward, Russell, Hadjar, Gasly

Piastri beats out Leclerc by a tenth and a half to take his tenth Pole of the season! Bottas and Tsunoda split by Bearman, while Colapinto has his best career Qualifying in P6. O'Ward 7th ahead of Russell, while Hadjar and Gasly complete the top ten.

2029 SAUDI ARABIA GRAND PRIX
STARTING GRID

PIA LEC

BOT BEA

TSU COL

OWA RUS

HAD GAS

OCO NOR

VER ANT

SAI POU

HER MAL

LAW BOR

PER

PITLANE START - RIC

We will race after dinner!

[foggy locust]

Well, one more time then here in Saudi Arabia. Round 19 of the 2029 Formula 1 World Championship brings us to the Jeddah Corniche Circuit for the final time in F1 for the foreseeable future, as the contract ends and this time next year, we'll be in Morocco! 50 laps, 6.174km for the fastest street circuit that made its debut in 2021 and leaves the calendar eight years later. Expect some potential chaos, maybe a Safety Car, maybe a Red Flag, and some major Championship implications.

Daniel Ricciardo had a Q1 crash so he starts from the pitlane, Sergio Pérez finds himself alone on the back row, Gabriel Bortoleto and Liam Lawson start from row ten and will need chaos ahead for any shot at points. Zane Maloney and Colton Herta on row nine, then it's Théo Pourchaire and somewhat surprisingly, Carlos Sainz down in 15th. Kimi Antonelli and Max Verstappen on row seven, Lando Norris just one spot ahead of his teammate and Esteban Ocon lines up 11th. It's 10th for Pierre Gasly who's directly in front of his teammate, Isack Hadjar starts ninth with hopes of points today for Williams. George Russell and Pato O'Ward take the fourth row, Franco Colapinto has his highest career start in 6th with Yuki Tsunoda 5th, Ollie Bearman lines up alongside Valtteri Bottas on the second row. And it's another Ferrari front row lock-out. Charles Leclerc starts from second and needs a win for his title hopes, Oscar Piastri has the advantage both today and in the title race, his tenth Pole of the year - an 18 point gap in the title fight.

Let's go racing here at Jeddah!

The cars going round under the lights on the formation lap. Tyre life is going to be fascinating here, a lot starting off on the Softs.

One light, two, three, four, five...AND IT IS LIGHTS OUT AND AWAY WE GO

Piastri gets away well, Bottas ahead of Leclerc at the start however and that's huge for the title fight!! Bearman P4, then Tsunoda, O'Ward, Russell holding off Colapinto, Hadjar holding off Ocon. Gasly, Norris, Verstappen up to P13!

BOTTAS

Bottas a potential kingmaker here. Piastri currently trying to back Bottas up into his teammate, and more importantly, his title rival!

(LEC) "Argh"

(BOZ) "Head down, keep at him"

Piastri extending the advantage here, and every second Leclerc spends stuck behind Bottas is losing him time! Leclerc gets the move done, but he's 1.5 behind Piastri!

Bearman retakes P4 from Tsunoda! Could be a big potential result for Mercedes tonight if that sticks!

Leclerc has shaken Bottas and is closing in on Piastri's DRS range, remains to see if he'll get it this lap, though!

(BON) "Charles is 0.5 behind. Keep him behind, keep it clean"

An intriguing five car battle behind the front two, Tsunoda back in front of Bearman, Colapinto, Russell and O'Ward pushing those two however.

Norris and Gasly attack Ocon, but only Norris can get through!

Verstappen, who started today on the Hards, currently running P17. Ooft.

Leclerc overtakes Piastri with the DRS!! Our first lead change of the day! This could be huge for the defending Champion!

Piastri takes it right back a lap later!

Leclerc overtakes Piastri down the main straight!

CONTACT BETWEEN MALONEY AND LAWSON!!! Maloney slides off, that was a somewhat dangerous re-entrance from the rookie, and Lawson takes some contact! Nothing the Alpine could've done there!

Piastri back in front on Lap 11. Still very much game on in this race AND the title race.

Ricciardo off! He spins off and hits the barrier!!

PITSTOP: Ricciardo wrecked his tyres and front wing in the process, he stops for the first time today, and rejoins last of all, a fair bit down on his teammate.

Leclerc back on the attack here, has several looks but can't get the move done, he's going for it again, but Piastri heads him off once more!

The Ferraris are wheel to wheel, and Leclerc finally gets the move done!!

Colapinto is currently running P4!!

PITSTOP: Colton Herta in on Lap 15. He's onto the Mediums - is this a one stopper?

PITSTOPS: Bottas comes in! Is this an undercut attempt to try and get himself back in the conversation for the race lead? Sainz in as well, and he's also onto the Mediums.

(BOZ) "Box Charles, box this lap"

(LEC) "Yeah, copy box"

PITSTOP: Leclerc in on Lap 20! A 2.175 stop for the Champion and he'll rejoin in P7, but in traffic!

(BON) "Box this lap Oscar."

(PIA) "Yeah. Box"

Leclerc is in traffic which may help Piastri massively! He overtakes Piastri for P6, though.

PITSTOP: Piastri in for Mediums! A 2.204 stop, it's close but Piastri out ahead of Leclerc!

Leclerc ahead of Ocon and now within DRS range of Piastri. Game on again.

Yes, you're seeing that correctly. Franco Colapinto leads the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. How far Haas have come.

PITSTOPS: Norris, Tsunoda, Ocon and Russell all in for Medoums. Hadjar as well.

Leclerc overtakes Piastri again for what is essentially the net lead, with Colapinto yet to pit!