LEC, F1 constructor

With a freeze on power units until new rules arrive in 2026 and its emphasis on aerodynamics, Formula 1 is almost the exact inverse of the electric series I’ve raced in for the past decade.Formula E is all about powertrain efficiency, optimising a spec chassis with standard aerodynamics and none of the underfloor black arts. It’s not perfect, but Formula E has shown that investing in ...

read on

Running in second place behind leader Max Verstappen, Leclerc attempted to give third-placed Sergio Perez a slipstream in the final laps to help him pull clear of Russell, who was on course to give Mercedes second in its fight against Ferrari.Perez needed to finish five seconds clear of Russell after being handed a five-second penalty for a clash with McLaren's Lando Norris.But while Leclerc let ...

read on

Turns 12 to 16 are notably off-camber, where the apex of the corner is marginally higher up compared to the outside, and this has often resulted in limited opportunities to race side-by-side with a clear racing line defined.There are also off-camber corners through Turns 7 and 8, which break up the two DRS zones, which Verstappen added makes it difficult to gain traction on the run down to Turn ...

read on

Leclerc ultimately lapped only 0.139 seconds shy of polesitter Max Verstappen in the final part of the shootout, with the Red Bull driver failing to improve on his last flying lap.It marked a quick recovery for Leclerc, who was only ninth after his first run in Q3. He reckoned his driving was on the money but that the car had let him down in a straight line.He felt as though the "peaky" SF-23 then ...

read on

Mercedes’ George Russell was fastest in Free Practice 1, by 0.28s from Aston Martin’s reserve driver Felipe Drugovich.Leclerc paced a massively disrupted FP2 with a fastest time of 1m24.809s, following two red flags for big crashes for Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) and Nico Hulkenberg (Haas).Abu Dhabi GP FP1 results: Russell fastest from ...

read on

The two incidents left only a quarter of an hour of real running at the end of the session, in which Leclerc posted a 1m24.809s to fire his way up to the top of the order - then at the expense of the two Alfa Romeos who had opened the last-gasp soft-tyre running with good pace.Prior to the red flags, George Russell had landed on top of the pile to reprise his position from FP1 with a 1m25.906s on ...

read on

Ferrari’s SF-23 car proved well-suited to the high-speed Las Vegas track last weekend, as Leclerc and team-mate Carlos Sainz were able to lock out the front row of the grid for the race in terms of qualifying pace. Sainz ultimately dropped down the grid thanks to a power unit change penalty. In the race, Leclerc took the battle to Red Bull and he appeared to have the pace to grab his first win ...

read on

On an extremely slippery circuit, Verstappen went deep into Turn 1 and forced polesitter Leclerc to go off the track with him, coming out of the corner in front of the Ferrari driver.The incident was soon investigated by the FIA stewards but rather than giving the position back to Leclerc Red Bull decided to cop a five-second penalty instead. Verstappen therefore enjoyed free air for the first ...

read on

A second safety car stint in the Vegas race occurred to clear debris from the track after Max Verstappen and George Russell clashed on lap 25 of 50 – the Mercedes driver picked up a five-second penalty and he admitted to not seeing the Red Bull driver's lunge at Turn 12.While the safety car gave Sergio Perez a cheap second pitstop, as he pitted from the lead for fresh hards to return in second ...

read on

Verstappen started alongside polesitter Leclerc on the front row and ducked down the inside of the left-hand Turn 1 to grab the lead.But as grip was extremely limited on the brand-new surface, as evidenced by Fernando Alonso spinning off behind them and other drivers also making contact, Verstappen went deep into the run-off area, taking Leclerc with him.Verstappen kept his lead while the stewards ...

read on

Polesitter Leclerc finished second to Max Verstappen, despite the three-time champion earning a five-second penalty for running his front-row rival off track through Turn 1 to nick the early lead.A second safety car interruption that afforded Sergio Perez a cheaper pitstop then put Red Bull on course for a 1-2 result only for Leclerc to dive back past on the final lap with the aid of DRS.For the ...

read on

Leclerc will start ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and George Russell (Mercedes) after the one-hour qualifying session, which is split into three segments with five cars each being knocked out in Q1 and Q2 before the top-10 shootout of Q3.The second Ferrari of Carlos Sainz was second quickest but drops down to 12th with a 10-place grid penalty.Las Vegas Grand Prix grid: Leclerc on pole from ...

read on

In a somewhat anti-climactic end to the shootout, Leclerc was guaranteed a 23rd F1 pole when Carlos Sainz failed to jump his team-mate and Red Bull's Max Verstappen abandoned his final flying lap.That ensured Leclerc's 1min32.726s effort was sufficient to cement top spot, having pipped Sainz by 0.044s - although the Spaniard will drop to 12th owing to a 10-place grid penalty for taking new power ...

read on

Leclerc led all three segments of qualifying, which featured Lewis Hamilton and Sergio Perez not making the finale and both McLarens being knocked out in Q1.In the first two segments, the cars completed multiple runs on the same set of softs to build temperature and gain grip on the slippery, cool new Vegas track surface, but in Q3 the frontrunners completed typical single-lap efforts.After ...

read on

Leclerc was fastest in Free Practice 1, which was curtailed after only eight minutes due to a water valve cover working loose and smashing the bottom of team-mate Carlos Sainz’s car, and also paced FP2 with a fastest time of 1m35.265s.Las Vegas GP FP1 results: Leclerc fastest from Hulkenberg



Cla 
 Nº 
 Driver 
 Car / ...

read on

Fernando Alonso finished third, with Red Bull's Max Verstappen down in sixth.The session got underway 2.5 hours later than planned following repairs to the track surface along the city's famous Strip following Ferrari's Carlos Sainz and Alpine's Esteban Ocon suffering big damage in an FP1.FP2 took place in front of no fans after the police, on behalf of the race organiser, F1 itself, had to clear ...

read on

The Ferrari driver suffered a power unit and hydraulic failure on the formation lap, triggered by an electronic command issue.
This pitched him into the barrier, and despite his best efforts to get the car going again, he was unable to do so.
 
Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur confirmed that the Leclerc’s failure to get away from the accident scene had been caused by “the same ...

read on

Leclerc was due to line up second on the grid behind Red Bull driver Max Verstappen, but the Monegasque spun off at Turn 6 (Ferradura) on the formation lap and continued into the barriers.This had been preceded by a small puff of smoke from the rear of his SF-23 before the back axle appeared to lock and snapped the car into its spin. From then on, the driver was a passenger.Speaking to Sky Sports ...

read on

A 15-minute delay to the start of qualifying, owed to clearing the track of debris, meant Q3 ran late. That allowed for a storm to arrive in the closing stages of the shootout.As a result, Q3 was ultimately red-flagged with four minutes to run when the thunder and lightning hit.Max Verstappen therefore bagged pole for the Sunday race with a 1min10.727s flying lap set early in the session. The Red ...

read on

All 20 drivers wasted no time getting out as the condensed sprint race format only leaves teams a single-hour practice to nail down their set-ups for the entire weekend.Because of the lack of practice time, duties were split between race runs and just a handful of qualifying sims, with all teams kicking off proceedings on a dry Interlagos circuit on Pirelli's hard tyre compound.Red Bull's world ...

read on

Leclerc had a solid first stint on the medium tyre despite missing a front wing endplate after a first-corner clash with Sergio Perez.He pitted for hards just a couple of laps before Kevin Magnussen's crash brought out the red flag.During the break Ferrari replaced his damaged front wing but rather than switch to medium tyres for the restarted second half of the race, as some rivals did, the team ...

read on

The Ferrari driver had started from pole but did not make a brilliant getaway, as he found himself under attack from Red Bull duo Max Verstappen and Perez.Verstappen was charging to his right down the inside, while Perez had more momentum as he slipstreamed past on the left and attempted to swoop into the lead as the cars ran three abreast into the first corner.But there was not enough room for ...

read on

Hamilton and Leclerc were excluded from the result of last weekend’s race in Austin after scrutineering checks discovered that their underfloor planks had worn away by more than the 1mm that is allowed in the rulebook. While there was no dispute that both cars were outside of the regulations, the subsequent emergence that the FIA only checked four cars in total prompted some intrigue about ...

read on

Leclerc will start ahead of his team-mate Carlos Sainz and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen after the one-hour qualifying session, which is split into three segments with five cars each being knocked out in Q1 and Q2 before the top-10 shootout of Q3.Read Also:


Formula 1F1 Mexico GP: Leclerc grabs pole as Ferrari stuns Verstappen


Mexico Grand Prix grid: Leclerc on pole from ...

read on

Verstappen ended up third after the Ferrari pair had nipped ahead on the first Q3 runs and could not beat them even though neither Leclerc nor Sainz improved on their second efforts.Verstappen faces an investigation for a Q1 impeding incident, as does George Russell, while Lewis Hamilton is also under investigation for a yellow flag speeding incident.On the first runs in Q3, the Ferrari cars ...

read on