SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium: Max Verstappen, facing a 10-place grid penalty for taking a new engine, topped the times for Red Bull ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in a qualifying session run in mixed wet-and-dry conditions at the Belgian Grand Prix on Saturday.
Leclerc will start Sunday’s race from pole position as he did in 2023 with Sergio Perez alongside him in the second Red Bull, the Mexican having ended a nightmare run of qualifying failures amid reports that his future with the team is at risk.
Seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton qualified fourth for Mercedes and will share the second row of the grid with McLaren’s Lando Norris, who qualified fifth ahead of team-mate Oscar Piastri and George Russell in the second Mercedes.
Carlos Sainz was eighth in the second Ferrari in front of compatriot and two-time champion Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin, Esteban Ocon of Alpine and Alex Albon of Williams — who will be 10th on the grid ahead of Verstappen.
“It was a nice qualifying and luckily the weather was ok,” said Verstappen, referring to earlier heavy rain that turned final practice into a washout. “It was raining a little bit, but we could do a decent session.
“I know I have to start 10 places back so this was the best I could do today and we’ll go from there. I don’t know quick we are going to be, but I hope we can be in the mix.”
Verstappen will be bidding to win the Belgian race for the fourth consecutive year, having won previously after taking grid penalties, but his car this year lacks the same clear superiority. Last year, he won from sixth. This year he starts 11th.
“It’s exactly the same as last year and, for me, it’s good as I didn’t expect that. We had tricky conditions and the rain helped us a bit and it’s good to be back at the front of the grid,” said Leclerc.
In steady but light rain, Norris led a train of cars from the pitlane for Q1, followed by both Haas cars and his McLaren team-mate Piastri, who was forced to drop to fourth by an exit by Kevin Magnussen that he described as “dangerous.”
A heavy shower was forecast by McLaren and this accelerated all 20 drivers to join the fray in pursuit of an early banker lap before the conditions deteriorated. All were on intermediates as Norris clocked 1:58.894 before being beaten by Piastri, in 1:57.411.
Verstappen then took over on top in 1:56.003 with Piastri threatening and taking second before rising to take command with five minutes to go in 1:55.549, before the Dutchman regained the ascendancy.
He clocked 1:54.938 to go six-tenths clear of Piastri while Norris struggled to match him and Russell fought to survive, rising from 17th to third in the final seconds of Q1.
Taking advantage of a problem for Verstappen, who was involved in a blocking incident with Zhou Guanyu’s Sauber, Piastri took top spot again in 1:54.835 ahead of Pierre Gasly.
The early departures were taken by the two Haas men, Nico Hulkenberg and Magnussen, RB’s Yuki Tsunoda, who will start from the back of the grid after taking a penalty for new power unit parts, Logan Sargeant of Williams and Zhou.
Q2 began in similar fashion, with rain forecast and all 15 runners on track, Alex Albon setting the early pace for Williams before Norris took over in 1:54.459 and then Verstappen, in 1:53.857. All were on ‘inters’ again.
With five minutes to go, Russell and Leclerc, with fresh tires, were both in the drop-zone as the rain intensified. Russell reacted by leaping to fourth followed by Leclerc, taking third, and Hamilton up fifth.
Late faster laps from Perez, Ocon and Gasly pushed the Mercedes pair to go second and third while the under-pressure Perez survived by 0.003 seconds. Albon, Pierre Gasly of Alpine, Daniel Ricciardo of RB, Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas and Lance Stroll, whose Aston Martin team had rebuilt his car after his crash in FP3, missed the cut.
Hamilton was first out for Q3 and posted a lap in 1:54.011 as a marker.
On their first runs, only the two Red Bulls beat him, Verstappen going top in 1:53.159, leaving it all down to the final laps to decide the final grid order.
Penalized Max Verstappen tops qualifying, Charles Leclerc takes Belgium pole
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Penalized Max Verstappen tops qualifying, Charles Leclerc takes Belgium pole
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- Seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton qualified fourth for Mercedes
- Carlos Sainz was eighth in the second Ferrari in front of compatriot and two-time champion Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin
Martin roars to victory in San Marino sprint
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- Martin has not won a GP since May but his consistency has helped him accumulate a decent advantage
MISANO ADRIATICO: Jorge Martin claimed a statement victory in Saturday’s sprint race at the San Marino and Rimini Riviera MotoGP, extending his overall lead over reigning champion Francesco Bagnaia with a stunning performance.
Pramac rider Martin is 26 points in front of pole-sitter Bagnaia ahead of the main event Grand Prix on Sunday after charging to an unexpected second sprint win of the season.
The Spaniard, who won at Misano Adriatico last year, started in fourth on the grid but got away like lightning and was ahead of Bagnaia by the first turn.
He comfortably held off Ducati’s Bagnaia for the rest of the 13-lap sprint and crossed the finish line 1.495 seconds in front of his Italian rival, improving his position at the top of the standings.
“Today I expected maybe to be fighting with Pecco (Bagnaia) but I didn’t expect to do that start,” said Martin.
“I even had a gap to keep for the last two laps so super happy. For tomorrow it’s another story but I feel confident that we are in a good way, super good and super fast.”
Martin has not won a GP since the French back in May but his consistency has helped him accumulate a decent advantage as he searches for his first MotoGP title. The 27-year-old had finished second in both the sprint and GP at four of the previous five events and his display on Saturday means he cannot be overtaken in the standings this weekend by Bagnaia, regardless of what happens in Sunday’s race.
It was a big blow for Bagnaia, who was favorite to cut the gap separating him from Martin after claiming pole position with a record-breaking fastest lap at the “Marco Simoncelli” circuit earlier on Saturday.
Two-time champion Bagnaia is riding with injuries to his shoulder, neck and collarbone after crashing out of last weekend’s Aragon MotoGP but looked in great form before Martin left him for dust.
“I’m absolutely not happy ... The start was a disaster, I lost first position and from that moment it was very difficult,” said Bagnaia.
“In any case, second position after what happened last week is OK. We will work to improve the start because it was a disaster and try to be in a better shape tomorrow.”
Bagnaia is at least helped by this weekend being the first of two in a row at the Misano, as the same circuit is being used later in September for the Emilia Romagna GP which replaces the canceled race in Kazakhstan.
Marc Marquez, a double winner at Alcaniz last weekend, had a harder time in Italy and lost ground on Martin, dropping to 77 points off the summit in third after finishing the sprint in sixth place.
Six-time champion Marquez battled up the rankings from his starting position of ninth on the grid, but has been caught on 234 points by Enea Bastianini.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc wins Italian Grand Prix as Max Verstappen falters again
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- Huge roars engulfed the stands as Leclerc took the chequered flag for his second win over the season
- Verstappen finished nearly 38 seconds off the pace in sixth
MONZA, Italy: Charles Leclerc won the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday to delight Ferrari’s massed ranks of fans as Lando Norris again chipped away at struggling champion Max Verstappen’s lead in the Formula One drivers’ standings.
Monegasque Leclerc claimed victory at Monza for the second time after winning in 2019, holding off McLaren pair Oscar Piastri and Norris in a thrilling race in which Verstappen finished nearly 38 seconds off the pace in sixth.
Huge roars engulfed the stands as Leclerc took the chequered flag for his second win over the season, after his own home Monaco GP, after holding out on a set of hard tires he had changed during his one and only pit stop on the 16th lap.
“I thought that the first time would feel like this and the second time wouldn’t feel as special,” said Leclerc as he basked in the cheers of fans who made the track a joyous, noisy sea of red after the race.
“But my god the emotions in the last few laps; Monaco and Monza are the two races I want to win every year and I’ve managed to win them this year. It is so, so special.”
All of Leclerc’s major rivals, apart from teammate Carlos Sainz who ended up finishing fourth ahead of his Ferrari replacement Lewis Hamilton, pitted twice and McLaren were hoping that the Ferrari pair would do the same.
Instead Leclerc managed to keep his tires in good enough condition to stay ahead and in the end finish the race comfortably in front of Piastri, who had taken the race lead early on after an overtake maneuver on Norris which was as daring as it was tactically questionable.
“Not going to lie it hurts a lot. I did a lot of things right today,” said Australian Piastri.
“Happy with the race, the pace I achieved but when you finish second it hurts.”
Briton Norris — who clocked the fastest lap right at the end — will be disappointed by his finish after starting on pole but he managed to chop Verstappen’s championship lead to 62 points with eight races remaining as his Dutch rival’s barren run continued.
“We considered (pitting once) the whole race but it was impossible with our graining. Just disappointed. Ferrari did a better job, so hats off to them,” said Norris.
Verstappen has now failed to win any of the last six GPs after claiming the honors in seven of the first 10, and his and Red Bull’s dominance of F1 looks increasingly in question.
A fourth straight world title looked a near certainty when Verstappen won in Spain back in June, but since then he has only finished on the podium twice.
And his teammate Sergio Perez finishing in eighth meant that McLaren are now only eight points behind Red Bull in the constructor’s standings and look favorites to win it for the first time since 1998.
Argentine rookie Franco Colapinto, who replaced axed Logan Sargeant for Williams following his disastrous showing at the Dutch Grand Prix last weekend, finish in 12th in his F1 debut.
Earlier Leonardo Fornaroli became the first Italian to win the F3 title, the 19-year-old doing so without winning a single race in this year’s championship.
Trident driver Fornaroli overtook Australian Christian Mansell on the final corner of the 10-race season to grab third place and snatch the title from Gabriele Mini by two points.
Gabriel Bortoleto won the F2 race in dramatic fashion after starting last on the grid, cutting Isack Hadjar’s lead at the top of the stands to just 10.5 points with three races remaining in the season.
UAE’s Rashed Al-Qemzi takes powerboat pole position in Italy
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- World champion leads Team Abu Dhabi to 1-2 to give himself a chance to reclaim lead in title race
San Nazzaro: Team Abu Dhabi’s Rashed Al-Qemzi gave himself the ideal opportunity to reclaim the lead in the 2024 UIM F2 World Championship title race on Sunday by securing pole position for the Grand Prix of Italy.
Making it a perfect day for the team, Mansoor Al-Mansoori qualified second after winning the Q1 and Q2 sessions, and also leading the six-boat Q3 shootout before being edged out by his teammate.
Defending F2 world champion Al-Qemzi, bidding to become the first driver to win the crown five times, goes into the grand prix just four points adrift of Lithuania’s Edgaras Riabko, who will start in fifth place.
Sweden’s Mathilda Wiberg, winner of the previous round in Lithuania, is level on points with Al-Qemzi, but faces a difficult task when she starts behind the two Abu Dhabi boats after qualifying in third place.
It all adds up to a fascinating Sunday in San Nazzaro, with everything to race for ahead of the two remaining rounds of the championship on back-to-back September weekends in Portugal.
Having won in San Nazzaro last year on his way to securing a fourth F2 world crown, Al-Qemzi arrived in Italy with his sights set firmly on a repeat win to lift himself back in front in this year’s title battle.
He started well, setting the fastest time in the morning official practice, with championship leader Riabko down in eighth and Wiberg in third spot.
After clocking the fifth best time, Al-Mansoori was quickest over the early part of the afternoon’s Q1 session, later dropping several places before recording another best lap to go through in first place, just ahead of Al-Qemzi.
The momentum was clearly with Al-Mansoori who powered his way through Q2 with another fastest lap to reach the six-boat shootout ahead of Britain’s Matthew Palfreymen and Wiberg, with Al-Qemzi fourth ahead of Riabko and Frenchman Nelson Morin.
It was a similar story in Q3 as Al-Mansoori again clocked the best early lap, only to be nudged out of pole position by Al-Qemzi who now carries the advantage into the grand prix.
Lando Norris sets up chance to chop Max Verstappen’s F1 lead with Italian GP pole
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- Briton Norris claimed his fourth pole of the season, and second in succession
- Verstappen’s troubles continued, the Dutchman complaining on the team radio about steering and lack of grip
MONZA, Italy: Lando Norris gave himself a great chance to further cut Max Verstappen’s Formula One championship lead by taking pole position for the Italian Grand Prix on Saturday.
Trailing by 70 points in the drivers’ standings, Norris clocked one minute 19.327 seconds in a one-two with teammate Oscar Piastri, as Red Bull’s Verstappen finished nearly seven-tenths of a second behind in seventh.
Briton Norris claimed his fourth pole of the season, and second in succession, in a car which looks capable of a similar result as at last weekend’s Dutch GP, when he romped home to victory nearly 23 seconds ahead of the three-time champion Verstappen.
A dominant display from Norris and Piastri is great news for McLaren who are only 30 points behind Red Bull in the constructors’ championship.
“Another pole which is amazing. To have two cars first and second when the field is as tight as it has been all weekend is a surprise, but a nice one,” said Norris.
“My lap, it hurts me to say, wasn’t a great lap. So a bit surprised at the end but very happy.”
Verstappen’s troubles continued, the Dutchman complaining on the team radio about steering and lack of grip on the newly laid tarmac at the Temple of Speed.
The 26-year-old has failed to win any of the last five GPs — only finishing on the podium in two — after claiming the honors at seven of the first 10.
George Russell will sit on the second row for Mercedes alongside Ferrari driver and home hope Charles Leclerc while Lewis Hamilton was one place and 0.509sec ahead of Verstappen in the second Mercedes.
Hamilton is racing for the last time at Monza as a Mercedes driver and Ferrari fans will be keen to see how the 39-year-old will perform on Sunday ahead of his move to the Scuderia at the end of the year.
Mercedes announced on Saturday morning that Hamilton would be replaced by teenage rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who has had an eventful weekend after crashing and damaging Russell’s car in Friday’s first practice.
The Italian, who celebrated his 18th birthday last weekend, nearly crashed out of his Formula Two sprint race almost straight after the start, but managed to get back on the track and finish in 18th.
Another rookie Franco Colapinto will have a tough debut F1 race after replacing struggling Logan Sargeant who was axed by Williams after a disastrous weekend at Zandvoort.
The 21-year-old is the first Argentine driver to compete in F1 for over two decades but will start way back in 18th after being eliminated in Q1.
Toyota Hill Climb Championship event revs up in Taif
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- The competition unfolds on a challenging 4.2km track, encompassing approximately 30 turns
TAIF: The second round of the Hill Climb Championship, part of the Saudi Toyota 2024 series, began on Thursday at Al-Mohammadia Hill in Al-Shifa in Taif.
The three-day event is organized and supervised by the Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation (SAMF) in collaboration with the Ministry of Sports and the governorate of Taif.
Featuring 66 elite drivers of various nationalities including female drivers, the championship will offer a stiff test for the drivers.
The competition unfolds on a challenging 4.2km track, encompassing approximately 30 turns, where competitors start from the bottom of the plateau and race uphill to a final point at an altitude of 1,900 meters all the way to the finish line at 2,150 meters above sea level over the course of two days.
The first day saw the completion of participant registration and the technical check of the competing cars, along with a reconnaissance round and free practice sessions.
On Friday competitors will begin free trials in three successive stages, whilst the final day concludes on Saturday with competitions for participants, and an awards ceremony.