Guenther Steiner has got himself in trouble again – the Haas team boss was summoned by the stewards regarding comments he made to the media about the stewarding in Monaco last week.
“It is alleged that Steiner breached of Articles 12.2.1.c, 12.2.1.f and 12.2.1.k of the FIA International Sporting Code during a media conference conducted on June 1.” [pitpass.com]
It’s always interesting when they do this – the FIA isn’t saying he’s wrong (they carefully ignore his complaints) but no doubt will penalise him for daring to speak out against them. (I can’t find any documentation of the outcome as yet)
The chicane between turn 13 and 14 has been removed, which should make for some fastest sector 3 times at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
Free Practice:
- FP1: VER (1:14.606), PER, OCO, DEV, GAS
Some teams using flow-vis to help compare updated packages
GAS and SAR tapped wheels - FP2: VER (1:13.907), ALO, HUL, PER, OCO
RUS took to the gravel to avoid the slow-moving McLaren of PIA - FP3: VER (1:13.664), PER, HAM, SAI, ALO
Rain threatened so everyone on track as soon as the session started
SAR off across the gravel in the final turn; red flags
ALO fastest on intermediate tyres
STR and GAS both ran wide, across the gravel, but rejoined the track
Qualifying session 1 (Q1)
ALO ran wide in the final turn just as he was winding up to start his quick lap
DEV lost the rear of his AlphaTauri, spinning but recovered
BOT spins into the gravel
ALB spins, digs the Williams out of the gravel trap but the debris causes red flags to clean up
HUL 1:13.420
Chequered flag; bottom 5 are RUS, NOR, BOT, SAR, TSU
TSU P7, relegating DEV to P16
DEV P4, SAI P16
NOR 1:13.295, ZHO P16
RUS P2, LEC P16
HAM 1:12.937
SAI P4, ALB P16
BOT P15, MAG P16
ZHO P10, BOT P16
Back of the grid: BOT, MAG, ALB, LEC, SAR
Qualifying session 2
PER spans under braking, cuts across the gravel
VER 1:12.760
Chequered flag; bottom 5 are ZHO, PER, PIA, DEV, TSU
PIA P6, NOR P11
PER P11
HAM was passing on RUS’ left but RUS moved left to avoid a slow-moving Ferrari; contact between the Mercedes pair!
Middle of the grid: PER, RUS, ZHO, DEV, TSU
Qualifying session 3
Top 10 shootout is between VER, NOR, SAI, HAM, OCO, PIA, STR, ALO, GAS, HUL
VER 1:12.272
Order after the first run: VER, HAM, NOR, OCO, SAI, PIA, STR, GAS, ALO, HUL
Chequered flag; VER, SAI, HAM, HUL, ALO, NOR, OCO, PIA, STR, GAS
STR P3
OCO P4
NOR P3
PIA P9
GAS P4
HAM P5
Front of the grid: VER, SAI, NOR, GAS, HAM, STR, OCO, HUL, ALO, PIA
GAS under investigation for impeding
Provisional grid: VER, SAI, NOR, GAS, HAM, STR, OCO, HUL, ALO, PIA, PER, RUS, ZHO, DEV, TSU, BOT, MAG, ALB, LEC, SAR
GAS has been given two 3-sec penalties: one for impeding SAI in Q1, the other for impeding VER; this drops him to P10 on the grid
LEC will start from the pit lane following a series of changes to his Ferrari’s rear-end
SAR will also start from the pits after Williams made set-up and brake cooling changes
Grid: VER, SAI, NOR, HAM, STR, OCO, HUL, ALO, PIA, GAS, PER, RUS, ZHO, DEV, TSU, BOT, MAG, ALB; pit lane: LEC, SAR
Air temperature 23°C; track 35°C; humidity 62%; chance of rain 20%
VER leads everyone* away on the formation lap (*except LEC and SAR who wait at pit exit)
Everyone on soft tyres except VER, PER and SAR on mediums and LEC on the hard tyres
01/66: SAI challenging for P1 but VER stays ahead
Contact between HAM and NOR; both have damage
STR sneaks past for P3
02: NOR pits; new front wing; hard tyres go on; slow stop; rejoins P20
PER up to P10
RUS harrying ALO for P6
03: VER fastest lap 1:20.402
DRS enabled
Replay of the start; HAM had passed NOR for P3 before Turn 1; SAI slows behind VER, causing HAM to slow and NOR tags him
NOR f/lap 1:20.072
04: ZHO uses DRS to pass HUL for P8
05/66: VER, SAI, STR, HAM, OCO, ALO, RUS, ZHO, HUL, PER, TSU, PIA, MAG, GAS, DEV, ALB, BOT, LEC, SAR, NOR
06: PER closes on HUL; dives inside into T1 and takes P9
BOT pits; hards go on; rejoins P19
HAM has DRS behind STR
07: RUS takes P6 from ALO
LEC past ALB for P16
08: HAM around STR for P3
PIA dives past HUL for P11
09: VER f/lap 1:19.894
HUL pits; mediums go on; rejoins P19
10/66: VER, SAI, HAM, STR, OCO, RUS, ALO, PER, ZHO, TSU, PIA, MAG, GAS, DEV, LEC, ALB, SAR, BOT, HUL, NOR
ZHO pits; hards go on; rejoins P16
DEV pits too
11: RUS has passed OCO for P5
12: HUL f/lap 1:19.527
13: LEC fights the Ferrari through
14: OCO pits; switches to mediums; rejoins P13, just ahead of the battle between HUL, TSU and ZHO
15/66: VER, SAI, HAM, STR, RUS, ALO, PER, PIA, GAS, LEC
STR pits; hards; rejoins P12
16: SAI pits from P3; mediums go on; rejoins P9 behind teammate LEC
ZHO now ahead of HUL
Radio from HUL reporting that his “tyres are still really good mate”
17: LEC pits, followed by ALB
LEC takes on hard tyres; rejoins P18
18: PIA pits; hards and a front wing adjustment; rejoins P15
19: SAI uses DRS to pass GAS for P6
20/66: VER, HAM, RUS, ALO, PER, SAI, GAS, STR, OCO, TSU, ZHO, HUL, MAG, PIA, DEV, BOT, LEC, NOR, ALB, SAR
ALO and GAS pit; softs and mediums respectively
21: Radio from RUS asking if 1-stopping is possible
ALO takes P9 from ZHO
22: GAS f/lap 1:19.437
VER’s lead now 10sec over HAM
23: NOR makes his second pit stop; mediums go on
GAS passes DEV for P14
24: GAS now past MAG for P13
25/66: HAM pits; mediums; rejoins P5
26: RUS pits; mediums; rejoins P6
27: VER pits; hards; rejoins still P1
HUL pits; both rear jackmen try to take postion – whoops! One of them is meant to be the reserve jackman!
28: HAM catches and easily passes SAI for P2
RUS f/lap 1:18.878
Radio from RUS reporting rain in Turn 5
29: VER f/lap 1:18.707
RUS 1:18.264
30/66: VER, HAM, SAI, RUS, STR, OCO, TSU, ALO, PER, ZHO, PIA, GAS, LEC, DEV, BOT, ALB, SAR, HUL, MAG, NOR
VER’s lead now over 12.5 secs
PER closing on ALO
31: PER breezes past ALO to take P8
32: RUS asks if anyone is reporting rain or is it sweat from inside his helmet; told it’s only him
33/66: HUL dives inside ALB for P16
PER takes P7 from TSU
34: PER now P6 after an easy pass on OCO
35/66: VER, HAM, SAI, RUS, STR, PER
RUS past SAI for P3
STR pits; hards; rejoins P13
TSU pits too; mediums; P14
36: OCO pits; hards; P14
Radio from SAI asking his team to “find the best way to beat Checo” – PER is almost 1-sec per lap faster than SAI
37: ZHO pits; hards; P15
40/66: VER, HAM, RUS, SAI, PER, ALO, PIA, GAS, LEC, STR, OCO, TSU, HUL
PIA, GAS and BOT all pit
42: SAI pits from P4; hards go on; rejoins P6
LEC pits too; hards too; P14
43: ALO is on 23 lap old soft tyres; he’ll need to pit soon
44: ZHO passes HUL for P10
45/66: VER, HAM, RUS, PER, ALO, SAI, STR, OCO, TSU, ZHO, PIA, GAS, LEC, DEV, NOR, HUL, ALB, SAR, MAG, BOT
ALO pits; hards go on; rejoins P10
MAG f/lap 1:18.069
46: RUS pits; softs go on; rejoins P4
VER has his lap time deleted for exceeding track limits; 2nd warning
47: HUL pits; problem with the rear jack not connecting initially
It’s looking a bit overcast but Mercedes say no rain forecast before the end of the race
49: RUS f/lap 1:18.057
ALO takes P9 from ZHO … then he closes on TSU and takes P8
50/66: VER, HAM, PER, RUS, SAI, STR, OCO, ALO, TSU, ZHO, GAS, PIA, LEC, DEV, NOR, HUL, ALB, MAG, SAR, BOT
RUS f/lap 1:17.875
Red Bull are looking are tyres but is that a dummy?
51: HAM pits from P2; softs go on; rejoins P2
PER pits; softs; P4
52: OCO makes a robust defence, forcing ALO into the pit exit lane; ALO takes P7
53: VER pits; softs; rejoins still comfortable P1
PER takes P4 from SAI
PER f/lap 1:16.666
55/66: VER, HAM, RUS, PER, SAI, STR, ALO, OCO, TSU, ZHO, GAS, LEC, PIA, DEV, HUL, ALB, MAG, SAR, NOR, BOT
TSU closing on OCO, but ZHO is on TSU’s tail
Radio for RUS telling him PER will be in a position to attack in the last couple of laps
57: PER is about 0.5sec/lap faster than RUS
58: DEV closing on PIA
59: Black and white flag for VER for exceeding track limits
60/66: VER, HAM, RUS, PER, SAI, STR, ALO, OCO, TSU, ZHO, GAS, LEC, PIA, DEV, HUL, ALB, MAG, NOR, SAR, BOT
Radio from ALO telling his engineer that teammate STR doesn’t need to worry – he’s opening a gap over OCO but won’t attack STR
61: NOR attacking MAG for P17
VER asks about fastest lap; he’s reminded that he’ll get a 5-sec penalty if he exceeds track limits again
62: VER f/lap 1:16.330
5-sec penalty for TSU for forcing ZHO off track
63: PER is 5sec behind RUS
Radio for VER, “Now can you bring it home within the white lines please?”
VER laps PIA (P13)
LEC tucked up behind GAS
65/66: VER, HAM, RUS, PER, SAI, STR, ALO, OCO, TSU, ZHO, GAS, LEC, PIA, DEV, HUL, ALB, MAG, NOR, BOT, SAR
NOR takes P17 from MAG
66: PER over 3sec behind RUS
VER takes the chequered flag
HAM P2, 24secs behind the Red Bull
RUS P3
Provisional result: VER, HAM, RUS, PER, SAI, STR, ALO, OCO, ZHO, GAS; LEC, TSU*, PIA, DEV, HUL, ALB, NOR, MAG, BOT, SAR
*5-sec penalty for TSU drops him to P12
f/lap: VER (1:16.330)
[2023 calendar and driver line-up]
Mercedes was fined €10,000 because “the physios / drivers’ assistants of Cars 44 and 63 entered parc ferme in violation of the Post Race Interview and Podium Ceremony Procedure”.