This is the fourth of the six Sprint format weekends, and the second of three races in the USA. (Yes, I’m still annoyed that the States has 3 races and other countries get dropped from the calendar.)
McLaren claimed the Constructors’ Championship in Singapore two weeks ago, so the focus is solely on the Drivers’ battle between PIA, NOR and VER.
The FIA have declared a heat hazard for this weekend because the forecast is for it to exceed 31°C
Free Practice
- FP1: NOR (1:33.294), HUL, PIA, ALO, VER
A few drivers ran wide or cut corners; not unusual for the first session of the weekend
Brief red flag so a marshal could retrieve a piece of STR’s bodywork
SAI was told to pit due to a gearbox problem
OCO ran across a gravel trap and reported that the brake stayed at 100%
LEC reported a smell of oil from his Ferrari
Sprint Qualifying
Sprint Qualifying session 1 (SQ1)
VER 1:34.140
Chequered flag; bottom 5 are LEC, GAS, OCO, COL, BOR
LEC P12, relegating ALB to P16
OCO P18
ALB P6, TSU P16
NOR 1:33.224
COL P16
GAS P15, BEA P16
Back of the grid: BEA, COL, TSU, OCO, BOR
Sprint Qualifying session 2
NOR 1:33.033
Chequered flag; bottom 5 are LEC, LAW, STR, HUL, GAS
STR P13
HUL P5, HAD P11
GAS P12
LEC P8, HAM P11
HAM P10, ANT P11
Middle of the grid: ANT, HAD, GAS, STR, LAW (LAW’s lap time was deleted)
Top 10 shootout is between NOR, VER, PIA, RUS, HUL, SAI, ALB, LEC, ALO, HAM
Sprint Qualifying session 3
RUS 1:32.888
HUL 1:32.645
LEC P5
HAM P4
Chequered flag; order is HUL, RUS, SAI, HAM, ALB, LEC; rest are yet to set a time but are on track
NOR 1:32.214
ALO P4
PIA P2
VER 1:32.143
Front of the grid: VER, NOR, PIA, HUL, RUS, ALO, SAI, HAM, ALB, LEC
Provisional Sprint grid: VER, NOR, PIA, HUL, RUS, ALO, SAI, HAM, ALB, LEC, ANT, HAD, GAS, STR, LAW, BEA, COL, TSU, OCO, BOR
Penalties
BOR didn’t set a time so Sauber had to appeal to the stewards for him to be allowed to race, which was approved
Sprint Race
Grid: VER, NOR, PIA, HUL, RUS, ALO, SAI, HAM, ALB, LEC, ANT, HAD, GAS, STR, LAW, BEA, COL, TSU, OCO, BOR
01/19: HUL hits PIA in Turn 1, spinning NOR around
TSU is dragging some damage around – looks like HUL’s front wing
PIA has suspension damage
ALO looks to be out too
02: SC deployed – there’s a lot to clean up
05/19[SC]: VER, RUS, SAI, LEC, HAM, ALB, TSU, BEA, GAS, ANT
SC coming in at the end of this lap
06: Clean restart
08: RUS dives inside VER into Turn 1; both run wide
09: HAM inside teammate LEC to take P4
10/19: VER, RUS, SAI, HAM, LEC
16: STR goes for a late lunge up the inside of OCO into Turn 1; STR smacks into OCO; both cars are out
SC deployed
19/19[SC]: the Sprint race will end behind the SC
Provisional result: VER, RUS, SAI, HAM, LEC, ALB, TSU, ANT, LAW, GAS, BOR, HAD, HUL, COL, BEA
DNF: STR, OCO, PIA, ALO, NOR
Penalties
STR is given a “Drop of 5 grid positions for the next Race in which the driver participates” and 2 penalty points for causing the collision with OCO
BEA receives a 10sec penalty for gaining an advantage when he left the track; he finished P15 (last) so that’s unchanged
That result means the Drivers’ points are now: PIA (336), NOR (314), VER (281).
Qualifying
Qualifying session 1 (Q1)
HAD is in the tyres – red flag
Replay shows he lost the RB on a bump going into Turn 6
VER 1:33.207
Chequered flag; bottom 5 are OCO, STR, COL, ALB, HAD
COL P15, BOR P16
ALB P8… but his time is deleted
Back of the grid: BOR, OCO, STR, ALB, HAD
Qualifying session 2
VER 1:32.701
Chequered flag; bottom 5 are HUL, LAW, TSU, COL, GAS
COL P14
GAS P14
Middle of the grid: HUL, LAW, TSU, GAS, COL
Qualifying session 3
RUS 1:32.959
NOR 1:32.904
VER 1:32.510
Order after the first run: VER, NOR, RUS, ANT, BEA, SAI, PIA, ALO, HAM, LEC
LEC lost the rear in the final corner
Chequered flag; order is VER, LEC, NOR, RUS, ANT, BEA, SAI, PIA, ALO, HAM
HAM P4
BEA P7
RUS P3
SAI P8
NOR P2
PIA P6
ANT P7
Front of the grid: VER, NOR, LEC, RUS, HAM, PIA, ANT, BEA, SAI, ALO
Provisional grid: VER, NOR, LEC, RUS, HAM, PIA, ANT, BEA, SAI, ALO, HUL, LAW, TSU, GAS, COL, BOR, OCO, STR*, ALB, HAD
*STR has a 5 place penalty to be applied from the Sprint race
Penalties
HAD didn’t set a time so RB had to appeal to the stewards for him to be allowed to race, which was approved
Sauber were fined €100 for BOR exceeding the pit lane speed limit
Race
Pit lane is open; drivers can make their way to the grid
Grid: VER, NOR, LEC, RUS, HAM, PIA, ANT, BEA, SAI, ALO, HUL, LAW, TSU, GAS, COL, BOR, OCO, ALB, STR, HAD
Air temperature 28°C; track 44°C; humidity 24%
RB had to do a quick rear wing change on LAW’s car after it was broken on the rear jack!
VER leads everyone away on the formation lap
Everyone starting on medium compound tyres except LEC, BOR and STR on softs, and OCO, ALB and HAD on hards
01/56: Clean through Turn 1
LEC has taken P2 from NOR
PIA and HAM have passed RUS
Yellow flags – ALB was off but has rejoined and the flags are removed
02: VER, LEC, NOR, HAM, PIA, RUS, ANT, BEA, SAI, TSU
SAI takes P8 from BEA
Incident involving ALB and BOR has been noted
03: TSU has a look at BEA and takes P9
LEC already having to defend P2 from NOR – those soft tyres can’t be going off already, surely?
HAM has DRS to help him close on NOR
04: VER has opened a 2sec lead
05/56: VER, LEC, NOR, HAM, PIA, RUS, ANT, SAI, TSU, BEA, HUL, ALO, LAW, GAS, BOR, COL, STR, OCO, HAD, ALB
NOR is right on LEC’s tail, but HAM is closing on the McLaren
06: PIA is starting to close on HAM
HAD has already received a black and white flag for repeatedly exceeding track limits
OCO has been noted for a false start
07: ANT has been spun around by SAI
Yellow flag – SAI has stopped at the side of the track
VSC deployed so the marshals can move SAI’s Williams
08[VSC]: VER, LEC, NOR, HAM, PIA, RUS, TSU, BEA, HUL, ALO
ALB pits; mediums go on; rejoins P19
VSC ending
09: DRS enabled
10/56: VER, LEC, NOR, HAM, PIA, RUS, TSU, BEA, HUL, ALO, LAW, GAS, BOR, COL, STR, OCO, HAD, ANT, ALB; out: SAI
Radio from PIA concerned about his front-left tyre
11: Radio from NOR, also concerned about his front-left
12: Current battles are LAW holding off GAS and BOR for P11, and STR closing on COL
STR takes P14
13: NOR is closing on LEC again
14: NOR now has DRS behind the Ferrari
15/56: VER, LEC, NOR, HAM, PIA, RUS, TSU, BEA, HUL, ALO
BOR pits from P13; switches from softs to mediums; P19
NOR all over LEC’s tail
17: NOR close enough to attack LEC again
ANT inside HAD to take P16
19: NOR has another look but LEC defends; NOR exceeds track limits for the third time, so he needs to be careful
20/56: VER, LEC, NOR, HAM, PIA, RUS, TSU, BEA, HUL, ALO
Radio for NOR telling him to pit to overtake, but that’s got to be a bluff; yeah, he’s told to stay out
21: ANT past OCO for P15
NOR given the black and white flag for repeatedly exceeding track limits
NOR finally finds a way past LEC to reclaim P2
22: Radio for NOR telling him about the flag; “I know, I know, I know”
HAM has a look at passing teammate LEC but that’s some forceful defending
23: LEC pits from P3; mediums; P9
STR is the only one still running on softs
24: ANT takes P14 from COL
Interesting that McLaren didn’t pit NOR – are they going to extend his stint on mediums?
25/56: VER, NOR, HAM, PIA, RUS, TSU, BEA, HUL, LEC, ALO, LAW, STR, GAS, ANT, COL, OCO, ALB, HAD, BOR; out: SAI
OCO pits; mediums; P19
26: LEC easily past HUL for P8
27: ALB takes P15 from COL
28: LEC past BEA for P7
GAS pits; rear-left was slow going on; softs; P19
Half distance
29: STR and HAD pit; rejoin P16 and P19 respectively
30/56: VER, NOR, HAM, PIA, RUS, LEC, TSU, BEA, HUL, ALO
TSU pits; P11
31: PIA pits from P4; softs go on; P7
BEA, ALO and LAW pit too
32: HAM pits from P3; softs; P6, still ahead of PIA
ANT pits; softs; P18
33: NOR pits from P2; felt a bit slow but no obvious problem; softs; P4
34: VER pits from P1; softs; P1
RUS pits from P2; softs; P6
HUL pits; softs; P9
So now everyone has done their mandatory stop; they’re all on softs except LEC, ALB, STR, BOR and OCO
BOR nearly rear-ends TSU; BOR spins
Replay shows TSU moved under braking
35/56: VER, LEC, NOR, HAM, PIA, RUS, TSU, BEA, HUL
HUL pounces to take P8 as BEA recovers
36: NOR sliding out of Turn 19
37: ALB and BOR pit; softs for both; P16 and P19
39: NOR has DRS behind LEC
40/56: VER, LEC, NOR, HAM, PIA, RUS, TSU, HUL, BEA, ALO, LAW, STR, OCO, ANT, GAS, ALB, HAD, COL, BOR
Radio from NOR reporting his tyres are gone
Black and white flag for ANT
42: NOR has backed off; hopefully he can recover his tyres
45/56: VER, LEC, NOR, HAM, PIA, RUS, TSU, HUL, BEA, ALO
46: Fortunately NOR is over 9sec ahead of HAM so he can afford to back off and let his tyres cool to get some of that grip back
48: ALO has LAW and STR closing on him
ANT takes P13 from OCO
49: NOR is starting to close on LEC again; he’s back within DRS range
50/56: VER, LEC, NOR, HAM, PIA, RUS, TSU, HUL, BEA, ALO
51: LEC has a little slide out of the final turn
NOR dives down the inside into Turn 1 but LEC cuts back and hangs on to P2
NOR makes another move on the back straight and makes this one stick
52: Radio for LEC, “Keep the pressure on, he has three strikes”
HAD takes P16 from GAS
53: NOR has a 2.5sec lead over LEC, so he still needs to be careful not to pick up a 5sec penalty by running wide
54: VER closing on BOR (P19) to lap the Sauber
Radio for COL telling him to hold position behind teammate GAS; COL says “but he’s slow”
55/56: VER, NOR, LEC, HAM, PIA, RUS, TSU, HUL, BEA, ALO
COL dives inside GAS into Turn 1, taking P17 from his teammate despite having just been told not to do that
56: BOR has a look at GAS into Turn 1; the Sauber takes P18
VER takes the chequered flag
Provisional result: VER, NOR, LEC, HAM, PIA, RUS, TSU, HUL, BEA, ALO; LAW, STR, ANT, ALB, OCO, HAD, COL, BOR, GAS
DNF: SAI
Penalties
SAI was given a “Drop of 5 grid positions for the next Race in which the driver participates” and 2 points for causing a collision with ANT
Red Bull was “fined €50,000, €25,000 of which is suspended for the remainder of the 2025 season” because “A team member entered the gate well area of Gate 1 after the formation lap had
commenced”.
[2025 calendar and driver line-up]
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